Love Thursday: Grandfathers
My grandfather was reportedly always a gruff, crotchety man; I think that’s because he was saving that soft spot in his heart for my arrival. He had other grandchildren, but anyone in my family will tell you that there was just something different about him when I was around.
I don’t know what I did to deserve such a special love from my Pap Pap, but since he passed away 10 years ago this summer, I’ve thought about him every single day, doing my best to keep his voice alive in my head, to remember his smell, to envision that scowl.
And I always, always wake up with a smile and a tear after he has visited me in my dreams.
I snapped this photo the other day as I was waiting for the bus after having enjoyed my gelato:
There are few things in the world that give me warm fuzzies like seeing a little girl with her grandfather.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
Do you have special memories with your grandfather?
tour del gelato in badolato, calabria
Ever have one of those evenings when all you want for dinner is ice cream?
Well today there will be no cooking (i.e., no What’s Cooking Wednesday for me, but do check out the others!) because we’re going out for gelato!
Those of you who have been around the Italian expat blogosphere for a while know that Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy runs a fabulous Tour del Gelato–a virtual tour of the best places you can enjoy gelato in Italy and elsewhere, or as Sara writes “discovering the world’s best gelato, one lick at a time!”
I’m not the only one getting gelato today, though. Be sure to head over to my Calabrian blogging buddy Cherrye’s My Bella Vita to check out her Tour del Gelato stop at Marrons Glacés in Catanzaro!
Last summer I featured Golosia in Gioiosa Ionica Marina, which is just down the SS106 from me. But today we’re staying right here in Badolato, in the Marina at least, and we’re going to:
I love sitting here on a late morning in the summer and enjoying a gelato.
First, your choices:
Oh, just in case you aren’t in the mood for gelato, how about a pastry?
I often go with pistacchio and some other flavor–today nocciola. Grazie Barbara!
Too pretty to eat?
Nah. Now hurry before it drips!
And just *look* at those hazelnuts.
So, if you’re in Badolato Marina in Calabria, stop in:
€uro Bar 2000
Pasticceria Gelateria
V. Nazionale, 180
88060 Badolato Marina CZ
Italia
338/545.2807
What’s your favorite flavor of gelato or ice cream?
my interview at ‘this eclectic life’
When my friend, professional storyteller Shelly Kneupper Tucker of This Eclectic Life heard that I got a new gig writing Guarda! A Video Tour of Italy at Italy Magazine, she immediately asked if she could interview me on her blog to help spread the word.
She typed up some fabulous interview questions and had them to me within a day.
How great is Shelly?
So great that you need to head over there right now
and read her interview with me:
Is She Really Bleeding Espresso?
Thanks so much Shelly!
People like you bring sunshine wherever you go!
La Notte di San Lorenzo: Make a Wish!
Each year on August 10, La Notte di San Lorenzo, Italians turn their eyes skyward in the hopes of seeing a shooting star, one of the many that will fall during the Perseid Meteor Shower.
Read on...interactive friday:
blog my blog II
***UPDATED!***
Please come visit me at Italy Magazine where I’ll be writing a weekly column, Guarda!, about interesting aspects of Italian life, sharing lots of great videos along the way. This week’s feature is The Palio in Siena, a most unique horse race. Comments over there will certainly be appreciated!
******
OK, back to the regularly scheduled blog post.
I so enjoyed when you blogged my blog back in April that it’s time for you to blog my blog again.
I’ve also had an *extremely* busy and stressful work week, which means I have very little brain power left, so it’s your turn to create here.
Taking direction from Kailani of An Island Life, here’s how it works for those who don’t remember:
1. I start with a question/phrase.
2. The first commenter answers that question and leaves a new question for the next visitor to answer. It could be a general question, fill in the blank sentence, a “tell me about a time when,” etc.
3. The next commenter answers the new question and provides a question for the following visitor (i.e., the third commenter).
4. And so forth until you’re all bored to tears. Yes, I expect actual tears before we stop (photographic evidence will do).
5. Note: I reserve the right to delete or modify any questions that, you know, rub me the wrong way. Ahem.
6. In a situation where two commenters have answered the same question and you’re next to answer, please either choose one of the questions or answer both; if you don’t answer both, you are free to pass along the question you didn’t use or come up with a new one.
The first question:
Do you read your horoscope?
Buon weekend!
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
