Markets and Feasts, oh Italy.

Hi everyone!
I have been away on holidays for two weeks and will slowly be covering high lights of my trip, though a little late, better so than never.

My first 9 days were spent in the Veneto region of Italy, visiting tons of churches, eating tons of food, and trying to keep my sanity on a very rigid and timed trip.

 The second day we got there we spent our morning in the town we were staying in- Padova, and then visited the town of Este. The morning market in Padova is a really nice market and sprawls over their 3 piazzas back to back (di Signori, delle Herbe, de la frutta).

In the market, the stalls have to take turns taking certain spots, as placement is key for a market. So, the sellers will hang mascots from their stalls so that buyers know which stall they loved, and can return.

That night we had our first grand dinner of the trip- a five course meal in Este....

 A local prosciutto to the region and spinach pie

 pumpkin risotto

 cinnamon gnocchi (think of sticky buns!)

 Tender steak, roast potatoes, fennel

Tiramisu and Prosecco.... after all, it's Italy!

This was only the start of several feasts throughout the trip, and needless to say, everyone on the trip is now doing cleanses and diets! But we enjoyed it for the time.
G

You should above all things be glad and young

Today's poem of the day from NPR's the Writer's Almanac is a favorite poem of mine that I wanted to share with you all. I am reposting it as a celebration of E. E. Cumming's birthday today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY EE CUMMINGS)....!
You shall above all things be glad and young...  by E. E. Cummings






you shall above all things be glad and young
For if you're young, whatever life you wear

It will become you;and if you are glad
whatever's living will yourself become.
Girlboys may nothing more than boygirls need:
i can entirely her only love

whose any mystery makes every man's
flesh put space on;and his mind take off time

that you should ever think,may god forbid
and (in his mercy) your true lover spare:
for that way knowledge lies,the foetal grave
called progress,and negation's dead undoom.

I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance




(TO listen to the wonderful Garrison Keller read today's writers almanac:) 


http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/writers_almanac/2011/10/twa_20111014_64.mp3?_kip_ipx=2012126590-1318580319




<3 G

In my room..

Dear friends, foes, and followers,

For those who know me personally, you know that I've had a bit of a dodgy time living with two other girls in the apartment. We come from very different backgrounds, and, living in a triple, it's terribly easy for two to bond, thus creating a third room mate. 
This third roommate phenomenon is almost inevitable... Even when one gets along with their room mates, two are ALWAYS going to click more. However, when you don't really get along with one of them, an added awkwardness and hardship is the affect of the third room mate phenomenon. 
Well guess what?
It's official. And, honestly, it's been official for a good while... I am quite the third room mate.

How to deal when you're the third room mate... a guide to (trying) not to add drama, frustration, and anxiety to your life:

1. Try your best to keep your things neat and orderly. If your mess spreads to communal areas, you'll give additional reasons for fighting/ganging up.
2. If your having friends over, encourage  them to join you. Show them you're putting an effort in. Sometimes people just need to be shown the right way and they'll catch on (for my sake, let's hope so!)
3. Don't eat their food, and keep your food separate as well. Perhaps if you feel you have too much of something or feel generous, offer. It kind of goes along with the first two... If you DO share, don't EXPECT them to reciprocate or you may be sorely disappointed. On the other hand, if you do it enough, perhaps they'll offer to fetch you water when they're already in the kitchen too or a bite of their delicious whatever. But don't hold your breath. Sometimes this sort of thing simply turns into expensive adventures and feeding your room mates.
4. Regardless of whether or not they ask you how you are, continue to greet them and care how they're doing. It's tiring but let's be civil.
5. Expect them not to notice when you buy things for the good of the apartment. It's sad but pretend you live alone and no one would thank you for picking up nice hand wash for the bath room or trash bags.
6. Along with the above, and equally or more importantly, be the bigger person and hang in there.

I suppose my "rules" are more what I've learned from living with strangers.
A rose by any other name...

Wish me luck with this situation, because honestly it's starting to eat me up and tire me out
<3 G

Just when you think you'll never have it... There it is.

Recently last summer when I started making afternoon espresso's (and not adding milk thus turning them into cappuccinos... and thus needing a different type of cup), my mum pulled out her demi tasses which were a gift from her friend back when she was living in Austria.
There are two of them, and they remind her of a time of her life, and now I've used them while at home.
So being the sentimentalist that I am, I made it a goal while I'm giving here to get my own demi tasse.
There's a little shop on the way downtown that I've stopped in and spoken french with the woman who runs it (my italian is terrible... or at least worse than my french!) and I really love what she sells in there but it's SO expensive. One plain white espresso cup is over 24 francs! (not my cup of....espresso)
Nonetheless I passed the 2nd hand shop on the way down to get gelato today, and I saw some beautiful demi tasses. Let me just explain that the "2nd hand" shop is a beautiful boutique on the cobblestones and usually the least expensive item there is over 80 fr.
I mentioned to the small group of friends the whole I want my own demi tasse cups and my friend piped right up and said she has a mess load and I can have how ever many I want. Apparently her parents were staying at a bed and breakfast here when they came to visit her and mentioned to the owners that she is trying to set up her apartment and furnish a kitchen. So they gave them a mess load of extra demi tasse cups.
Sometimes he who asks will receive.
This morning, I'm drinking my espresso from a story of friends and coincidences.
CHIN CHIN.
G

Like A Rolling Stone: Volume 1

Now that I’m living on my own, and especially in a foreign country with a different language, there are a few realizations of REALLY simple things I do not know how to do… Like The Swiss Standard, the Like A Rolling Stone will focus on these little things with either answering the question of how to do it, asking YOU how to do it… Or some strange combination of the two… Enjoy!

Boiling an Egg.

Okay, so maybe I’m not as clued in as I previously thought I was. While I can make to-die-for omelets, ratatouille with panache, lovely lemon-white wine chicken, and a squash pumpkin soup that will drive you wild, I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO BOIL AN EGG. So after much anguish on my part, with this personal lack of knowledge, I plan on successfully boiling an egg! Follow these great instructions found at: http://www.goodegg.com/boiledegg.html

Directions for Large Eggs:

1. Place eggs in a saucepan with enough COLD tap water to cover completely by 1 inch. Bring to a ROLLING boil over HIGH heat. Once the water is brought to a rolling boil, PROMPTLY reduce heat to a lower medium boil and cook an additional 10 minutes for a “hard boiled” egg. For a “soft boiled” egg reduce the time by a few minutes.

2. Remove from heat and IMMEDIATELY place eggs under ice cold water or in a bowl of ICED water to chill promptly to help yolks stay bright yellow. Chill for a few minutes in the cold water until the egg is completely cooled. This is an extremely important step which prevents the greenish “ring” from forming on the surface of the yolk over time. If the egg is not chilled immediately after cooking an unsightly dark greenish ring will eventually appear on the outside of the yolk.

3. To peel...crack on all sides, roll egg between hands to loosen shell,and remove shell. Enjoy, with a light sprinkling of salt if desired.

To serve in egg cup, place egg in cup small end down, slice off large end of egg with knife or egg scissors and eat from shell with spoon.

Refrigeration is necessary for hard boiled eggs if the eggs are not to be consumed within a few hours.

Refrigerated boiled eggs, kept in the shell, can be kept for up to 1 week.

 Good luck!

<3 G

The Swiss Standard: Volume 3 (light it up)

Growing up in the US, there are certain paradigms ingrained in my brain. For one, you don't smoke inside, usually. And especially as of lately, you don't smoke in a club.
So, to my surprise, and perhaps ignorance, I was caught quite off guard last night.

Entering a segmented club, there was a clear "smoking" and "non smoking" dance floor. In the smoking dance room, one was elbow-to-cigarette, hoping your neighbor would not get too 'jiggy with it,' thus marking and burning you with their Marlborough.

It took me back to a romanticized age of smoke filled bars, a complete throwback to something I never expected.

It honestly cracked me up exchanging a lighter with a stranger, and the use of the dance floor as an ashtray! It was an alternate universe, so far from the sparkling Swiss streets.

Yet even in the perhaps non smoking dance floor, every so many songs, one still goes out and smokes.
(And I was told this sort of thing didn't exist anymore!)

To be frank, I thought it was lovely.

Everyone was so much more comfortable, amiable, and calmed.
<3