Retired (In pensione)

Officially, I retired on April 27, but those of you who have worked as teachers will understand that the word “retirement,” like the phrase “work-week,” needs to be understood loosely in the teaching profession.  Yes, classes ended on April 26, but the grading of finals did not, nor did work-related email exchanges.  I’m still working on letters of recommendation students have asked me to write.   There is a sense in which I’m not sure that I’ll ever be completely retired.  Still, I am getting used to this retirement thing, such as it is.

At the final gathering of students prior to the end of the program, the Study Abroad program hosted a raucous karaoke bash at a bar in Florence near the Piazza della Signoria.  Underage drinking was involved, although only according to U.S. reckoning.  Over the course of the semester the students became very sophisticated culturally.  Accordingly, they introduced Lois to a drink called “Irish Car Bomb.”  I’m fairly sure they don’t call it this in the UK or Ireland, but it consists of a shot of half Bailey’s Irish Cream and half Irish whiskey dropped into a pint of Guinness – a real Italian cultural experience.  Lois received kudos all around for being able to down it in fairly short order while remaining conscious.

Florentine Idol

The organization that handles all of the students’ travel and housing, arranges cultural activities for students, supports the Study Abroad faculty, handles any emergencies and advises students about travel and Italian culture is the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS).  Naturally it is staffed in Florence mainly by folks from the UK, although there is a token American and Italian. All of them are fluent in Italian.  The Florence team is headed up by Ged McAteer, who has a degree in engineering from the UK, further proof that even engineers are occasionally able to find jobs.  Ged and the entire AIFS team are just wonderful, and this is universally agreed upon by students and faculty.  Ged organized the going-away party and was an enthusiastic participant in the karaoke fest, belting out a number that had no discernible melody, but was delivered with a passion that precisely captures the attitude of Ged and the rest of the AIFS staff toward their work –

“But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be that man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door”

Ged sings “I would walk 500 miles,” while coeds swoon.

At the going-away party Lois surprised me with the very sweet tribute that she mentioned in her “Il Giorgio” post.   What she didn’t mention was that her husband and several of the students were in tears as she was speaking.  How she managed to accomplish this in the midst of loud and frenzied singing and dancing at a Florentine bar is a mystery to me.  The downside of this retirement thing is that I am already missing these students and my colleagues and friends at AIFS.

The upside is that I don’t have to work  

After the students left for home and after AIFS moved out of the Study Abroad classroom in the Piazza della Repubblica in the center of Florence, the weather suddenly turned beautiful.  Lois and I lingered in Florence for a few days, saying arrivederci to the local shopkeepers we’ve gotten to know, walking along the Arno, and enjoying one last dinner at Il Profeta, our favorite restaurant in all of Italia – just across the street from our apartment.

Hottie by the Arno, the Oltrarno side.

We took advantage of the weather to take the short bus trip to Fiesole, a small hill town overlooking Florence.

Fiesole

Fiesole is a much more ancient town than Florence, well known for its Etruscan and Roman ruins.  We had an outdoor lunch, visited the archaeological site and museums,

Archaeology babe at Fiesole ruin.

and (naturally) stopped to sample some Fiesole gelato.

Gelato connoisseur conducts a visual examination in Fiesole

The next day we said our farewells to Firenze and boarded a plane for Luton Airport north of London.  We stayed with our good friends Pat and Paul at their beautiful home in the town of Hoddeston, which apparently is well accustomed to retired folks.  I think I was able to fit right into the community.

A cave, a mansion, and lots of little lambs

Whether you call it hiking, trekking, tramping, hill walking, trail walking, or fell walking, it sure feels good to get out and do it. We visited the Peak District National Park today, a surprising 30 miles from our place here in Derby. SO gorgeous.

Love our little orange Ford Fiesta.

After taking a couple of wrong turnings, we ended up over in the Staffordshire Moorlands which are so lovely. (Big, big kudos to George for driving on the wrong side of the road and the wrong side of the car to get us there! Go George!)

After arriving, we stopped in and had tea to fortify ourselves and set out on the trail. We just couldn’t resist these little contraptions they have in England that keep the sheep where they belong, but allow (invite, even) hikers to climb the fence and tramp through the pasture. There’s even a tiny sign that says “Public Trail.”

Aren’t these clever? We’ve seen them all over the Midlands area.

After crossing the field to get a look at the river, I stepped right smack in… no, not sheep dip… about 5 inches of water. My shoes and socks got soaked, but it was worth it because I got to climb over a fence that, in America, would likely get me shot for climbing over it. We were surprised to see tiny little lambs (maybe a month old?) in the fields with their mamas. I think of February as lambing time, but it is much farther north here, so perhaps they come later at this latitude. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of lambs.

We made our way over to another trail that led straight up the hill to Thor’s Cave. This is one big cave, with a spectacular view. The opening is 30 feet high and about 20 feet across.

Thor’s cave from a distance

Thor’s cave, getting closer.

The locals say the name may come from the Old Welsh word “tor” meaning hill, but most say it comes from the loud noises that early settlers heard emanating from the cave, which led them to name it after the norse god Thor, with all his thunder and lightening.

Thor’s cave, from the inside looking out.

We then made our way over to a little town called Bakewell, that boasts two beautiful mansions nearby – Haddon Hall and Chatsworth House. Both have been featured in movies you’ve heard of: Haddon Hall was in Princess Bride and Chatsworth House was used in Pride and Prejudice (the Kiera Knightley version.) We parked the what we thought was the car park for Chatsworth House, got directions, headed out and found that it was about a mile and a half walk away. Fortunately, the walk was in a gorgeous park with lots of sheep and lambs and big beautiful trees and a river running through it. The house wasn’t open for tours, but it was pretty amazing just from the outside.

Lovely river along our walk

Beautiful bridge near Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House, Peak District National Park

Approaching Chatsworth House

By the time we made it back to our car, it was 7 pm and we were famished, so we went out to Felicini’s for Italian food. (You’d think we’d be sick of it by now, but no.) The restaurant had a moat around it (!), and the food and wine were absolutely scrumptious. It was a fantastic day and we are already planning to head back to the Peak District as soon as we get the chance.

Here are lots more photos from our day out in the Peak District National Park

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The quick and dirty

No, we haven’t fallen off the edge of the earth. For about two weeks there, I was writing nearly every day and then all of a sudden I just stopped. This isn’t because I wasn’t thinking about all of you. I was. Often. It’s because things got really busy, and then I got behind, and then I started to feel guilty, and then I started avoiding my computer altogether. It is time to get back on track.

Here are the highlights of what have happened in the last month. Each of these deserve their own post, and I may or may not get to writing them all, but I am including one image from each of these highlights, because, well… you deserve it.

April 10th – 17th: The California Redwood Chorale came to Verona for an international chorale festival and competition. I met them at the airport, we all transferred over to our gorgeous digs in the little town of Bardolino on the shores of Lake Garda. Singing ensued. Laughter ensued. WAY too much food ensued. We saw the sites in Verona and Venice. On the 15th we all transferred to Florence where we continued to eat and sing and see the sites. More detail on our exploits in another post.

CRC signing at Santa Maria dei Ricci church in Florence. I am way on the left of this photo at the piano.

April 19 – 21: We went to Turin with one of George’s colleagues (Diana) for the weekend. What a fabulous city! We loved it. We stayed with some friends of Diana’s there, and they showed us around their city. We spoke a lot of Italian and ate a lot of asparagus and took a lot of pictures.

A beautiful meal in a beautiful setting next to the Po River. From right to left: Diana Bennet (George’s colleague), Gabriele (the son), Fabrizio (the papa), Marco (a friend of Gabriele), and me.

April 24th: Student going away party, marking nearly the end of the semester. The students celebrated their time in Florence, the friendships and memories they had made, and mourned their impending departure. I made a speech about George’s retirement, which I posted for you all to read.

Colin and Drew singing karaoke with all their hearts!

April 27th: George’s first official day of retirement. Students left Florence. George and I had a few days to say good bye to the people in our neighborhood and to squeeze in a few more sights.

With our friends Vincenzo and Dejan at one of our favorite restaurants in Florence: Da i’Boia

May 1st: We flew to London to visit our friends Pat and Paul Hunt and their two lovely children. We stayed for 5 days, had a blast, did some really great stuff that I’ll tell you about in another post, and headed for London

Pat, Paul, and Ethan on the iron horse in the town of Ware.

Lois and Ellis on the seesaw.

May 6th: Two days in London of sightseeing. We fit in quite a bit for such a short time there.

Oxford Street all dressed up in her finery for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee coming up in June.

May 8th: Arrived in Derby, very nearly the center of England. We are doing our part of a home exchange here for 3 weeks.

Our lovely 4 bedroom manor house in the English countryside. Yippee for home exchanges!

May 9th: Came down with nasty, rotten colds. BOO! Slept a lot. Got out for a few walks to see the local area. A little.

Fields of rape (a relative of mustard) on our most ambitious walk in the English countryside so far.

Today! May 16th: Feeling better (though not all the way). Got a car and are poised to go see more of the English and Welsh countrysides!

Ok. That’s the quick and dirty. Guilt assuaged. Maybe now I can get back to “word of the day.”

Calcio

Well, I’ve gotten behind, way behind, on my blog posts.  Once the semester in Florence actually began, I knew I’d be neglecting cyber-space in favor of the three-dimensional spaces of Florence and the classroom.  I did make one attempt at blogging after Easter, but the Blog-gods must have been offended by my post, and my comments disappeared in the cyber-ether as I attempted to post them.

Anyway, I have catching up to do.  Currently we are on a four-hour bus trip from London to Derby in the center of England, and the weather here has brought back fond memories of our frigid February in Florence.  As part of its mission of deepening the cultural experience of our American students in Florence, the Study Abroad Program introduces them to the  national sport of Italy – calcio (“soccer” as Americans, and only Americans, call it).  The Florentine calcio team is called Fiorentina, and students and faculty were able to purchase tickets to games held in the Florence Stadium through the Study Abroad program at a substantial discount.  Incentives were necessary because the temperatures were expected plunge way below freezing.  The soccer stadium is on the outskirts of Florence, and the walk across town to the soccer stadium took Lois and me close to 45 minutes.

We all attempted to dress for the occasion.  The Fiorentina color is purple, and students and faculty were advised to display Fiorentina colors during the game or risk being subject to an inquisition on the grounds of disloyalty to the faith.   Lois and, as it turned out, many of our American students, have an impeccable fashion sense, but even they couldn’t pull it off the way the Florentines do.

Hooyah, dahling!

Still I don’t want to give the wrong impression.  A Florentine calcio match is not an evening at La Scala.  It actually gave me the same sort of feeling I’d have if I’d attended a tractor pull in February at Soldier Field in Chicago.  Fashion sense notwithstanding, the fans made me uneasy.  I was in the midst of a study abroad group consisting of approximately 50 American co-eds from 18 to 21 years age, and the Italian men in our section of the stadium were certainly not paying a great deal of attention to the game.

In a soccer match Lois and I had attended in Florence three years earlier the Fiorentina fans seemed to have much more interest in taunting the opposing fans than in watching the match.  This is where we learned many of the words they generally leave out of college courses in the Italian language.  The opposing team’s fans are caged off for their own protection in a segment of the stadium that is surrounded by a 15-foot high chain-link fence, which only the sober could possibly scale, and they’re given a police escort out of the stadium at the end of the match.  It’s the sort of thing you’d wish they’d do at Dodger Stadium.

For today’s game, however, there were no opposing fans.  The opponent of Fiorentina was Udinese.  No fan from Udine, a somewhat obscure Italian town near the Slovenian border, is going to travel to Florence in bitter cold temperatures for the privilege of watching his/her team lose whilst being verbally and perhaps physically abused by a mob of salivating septuagenerians wearing furs and purple scarves.

Since the wind chill factor was expected to drive temperatures to minus 12 degrees Centigrade, all of the fans were crammed into the “warmer” end of the stadium so that the stadium appeared to list to the northeast.  Remarkably the players still appeared on the field in shorts and seemed reasonably cheerful, as did the Italian fans from Florence, who stood and sang together for much of the first half.  The study abroad students were doing their best to fit in.  They came out cheering the home team and chanting “Forza Fiorentina!”

By the end of the first half, although Fiorentina was dominating the game, the score was tied (it’s always tied…. it’s soccer!).  The Florentines in the stands were still optimistic and chipper; they were drinking a lot of Peroni.   However, the American students were beginning to look hum-down and funky.  They were huddled together attempting to wiggle their fingers and toes, some running up and down the stadium steps in vain attempts to de-ice the remaining fluid in their extremities.  It was about 10 minutes into the second half when Fiorentina went ahead by one goal.  Lois could no longer feel either of her feet.   We sneaked silently out of the stadium and limped toward a nearby café/bar to get warm.  It was teeming with study abroad students gone AWOL from the game.   The Italians were steadfast.  They remained in the stands, their voices swelling and falling in song and letting out a giant roar, which we could hear from the bar, as Fiorentina scored its third goal.

There is something raw and visceral about attending a professional calcio contest in Florence.  You wouldn’t dream of taking your kids there.  The reader may wonder why the opposing fans in Florence, one of the world’s bastions of high culture, would have to be caged in order to avoid being attacked by Florentine women in fur coats.   Well, there are historical reasons for this.  What is now called calcio originated in Florence in 1530 in a Renaissance sport that is now called calcio storico (historical soccer).   To commemorate its glorious past, Florence puts on a yearly calcio storico tournament in the Piazza of the basilica of Santa Croce.   The match to determine the champion is preceded by a ceremony of great pomp and pageantry complete with parades, a medieval drum corps, costumed flag throwers, and speeches by dignitaries in formal renaissance attire.

After the pageantry is over, teams of 27 burly brutes representing two of the four districts of Florence square off against each other in the Piazza, wearing renaissance bloomers.  They begin the match wearing shirts, which have mostly been torn to pieces by their opponents a few minutes into the contest.  No head gear, shoulder pads or protective equipment of any kind is worn by the competitors.  The final match takes place on June 24, the festival day for St. John the Baptist, who famously died by decapitation.  That theme is honored by the competitors who begin the game by trying to take each others’ heads off in a great fist-fighting, wrestling, kicking and street-fighting extravaganza until the opponents are incapacitated enough so that a goal can be scored.  Huzzahh!

A photo of the brawl/game.

Another snapshot of the fun

The winning team is awarded a gargantuan chianina ox – to eat!   These are the same white oxen that pull the giant cart through Florence on Easter Sunday, mentioned in one of Lois’ earlier posts.  A grown man is shorter than the back of one of these beasts.

A snack for the winners

 Apparently, aside from the numbers of people on a team and the specifications as to what counts as a goal, this game is refreshingly rule-free, although recruitment violations recently forced officials to establish a rule stipulating that athletes/combatants may no longer be murderers or highwaymen.

Since the game has been going on for nearly 500 years, it has been played by some well known historical figures – including Florentine rulers Piero the Unfortunate (the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent), and Cosimo I de Medici.  It has even been played by Popes Leo X, Clement VII and Urbano VIII.   Apparently Pope Benedict XVI has just been offered a big bonus to sign on with the Santa Croce Carnivores.

Pope Benedict XVI – giving the sign of the Santa Croce

Anonymous sources confirm that representatives of the Carnivores initially offered to sweeten the deal by transferring Galileo’s tomb from the basilica of Santa Croce to the Vatican, but this offer was rejected by Pope Benedict, who apparently still maintains the view that the Earth is the center of the universe.   (Despite his predecessor’s long-overdue apology for the Inquisition’s prosecution of Galileo, Pope Benedict/Cardinal Ratzinger always defended the view that the Church had been correct to convict Galileo for his belief that the earth circles the sun…….really!)   Rumor has it that Benedict would prefer the tomb of Machiavelli, who also rests in peace (improbably) at the Church of Santa Croce.

Machiavelli’s tomb

Word of the Day: Il Giorgio

Il Giorgio: THE George, (In Italian, when the article il or la is placed in front of a name, it is a sign of respect and endearment)

There have been about 14 days worth of things I should have been writing about, but today is about George. Tonight was the student going away party. It also marked the end of George’s last semester as a full time teacher. I have felt so incredibly privileged to be part of the life of such a wonderful teacher and human being and I so wanted to make sure that he was properly celebrated. I got to say a few words about the incredible teacher and colleague that George has been across his career. Here they are:

As most of you know, Thursday will be George’s very last day as a full time teacher. As of Thursday, he will have completed 30 years of teaching for Santa Rosa Junior College. During that time he has been recognized many, many times for outstanding teaching, and for leadership and exceptional service to the college.  I have had the great good-fortune of knowing George for almost 20 of his 30 years at SRJC, and I can tell you from first hand experience that not only has he has given his heart and soul to teaching, he has had a tremendous impact on the lives of his students and his colleagues.

His students know him as a passionate, organized, dedicated, and knowledgeable instructor. He is relentlessly prepared for his classes. When he was selected to teach in the semester abroad program in Florence, he began learning everything he could about the Renaissance and became incredibly knowledgeable about not only the philosophy, but also about the art, history, and politics of Renaissance Florence. The depth and breadth of his knowledge is always impressive. He seems to know just about everything there is to know about philosophy, though at this very moment he is shaking his head “no” and trying to convince us that it just isn’t the case. Smart and humble are such a winning combination.

Not only does he hold himself to high standards, he holds his students to high standards, too. He is known as a demanding and fair instructor. Students usually come out of his classes feeling like they really learned a lot. What I find most impressive about George as a teacher, though, is the kindness and compassion with which he approaches his students. He truly likes them and this shines through in his interactions with them. I have watched George in action as a teacher many, many times, and I am always impressed with his ability to draw out the quietest students and guide the more opinionated students toward humility. He delights in watching his students learn and grow. He sees their potential and, even better, helps them to see it, too.

As a colleague, he is fair-minded, diplomatic, thoughtful, considerate, and wise. He is gentle with those who disagree with him, though he knows exactly when to put his foot down on an issue. His colleagues seek his counsel on nearly everything and everyone knows that if you want to get something done, you want George on your team.

Under his guidance and leadership, the Philosophy Department has become a model of collaboration and collegiality for other departments on campus. If the members of his department were here today, they would tell you how very, very much they are going to miss having him in the department.

He leaves behind him the tremendous legacy of having co-founded the Institute for Environmental Education at SRJC and acting as its director for many years. This labor of love has included the following accomplishments:

• creating and directing SRJC’s Environmental Forum
• heading up the effort to establish an Environmental Studies Major
• helping to guide the expansion of the environmental studies curriculum
• helping establish a General Education requirement in Global/Environmental Studies
• facilitating the establishment of sustainability as one of SRJC’s institutional goals
• co-founding SRJC’s Integrated Environmental Planning Committee
• working with the Foundation to establish a series of environmental studies scholarships
• and working on the coordination of student environmental events, one of which helped launch SRJC’s move toward green building design

He was also one of the first instructors in the state of California to offer a course in Environmental Philosophy. Sometimes when faculty are involved in something as momentous as setting up a whole new program for their college, they can become quite territorial about it. Not George. He has been a model of collegiality. Over the past few years he has been gradually training the next wave of leaders (and it takes several of them to do what he has been doing for many years) so that the program will continue well into the future.

So much more important than his long list of accomplishments, though, is the fact that he has been such an incredible role model to so many. I like to think of it this way. During the span of 30 years, nearly 10,000 students have come and gone from his classrooms. Thousands of hearts and minds have been opened and expanded by his expert teaching. Hundreds of colleagues have benefited from his friendship and gentle leadership style. But beyond being an exemplary teacher and colleague, he is an exemplary human being. He helps us all to see and understand what it means to live well.

SO, Please join me in raising a glass to George…  Thank you for all you have done for your students, your colleagues, your community, and your planet. And thank you for all that you are in the world. May you have many wonderful adventures as you start this new chapter of your life.

 

Word of the Day – Buona Pasqua

Buona Pasqua: Happy Easter

We had a lovely day, although it didn’t end as we would have liked. After writing for about 4 hours last night, George read me his post on the Easter traditions in Florence. I laughed out loud several times. It was the funniest post he has written to date (and one of his rare writing stints for this blog, since he is so busy with school.) A few minutes later, he told me that he pressed the “save draft” button and lost nearly everything. What remains of his post is about a quarter of what he wrote. Makes me a little heart-sick because it was so good. He doesn’t want to post it until he can re-create what he wrote. In the meantime, I wanted to share a few pictures and a far more prosaic description of our Easter Sunday here in Florence.

The day started out with a few friends coming over to watch the Easter parade come right under the window of our apartment here on Borgo Ognissanti. We heard the drums at 9:00 and soon we saw people marching solemnly down the street in their medieval costumes. There was a drum and bugle corp, women in renaissance garb, and men dressed as soldiers who looked like they were straight out of the crusades (minus all the muck and grime from sacking and pillaging).

Next came the Renaissance cart, carefully rigged with fireworks to be exploded in front of the duomo after the Easter mass. This cart is pulled by 4 chianina bulls, the largest cattle breed in the world. These bulls can weigh up to 3500 pounds (nearly two tons) and their backs stand about 6 feet tall. They are absolutely enormous. They are decked out with flowers in their horns, celebrating spring. The cart is followed by women pulling small carts filled with flowers and eggs.

When this procession reaches the main square of town, the oxen are unhitched and led off for a nice breakfast in the neighboring Piazza della Republica. The cart is parked right outside the door of the duomo, and a wire is attached to it that goes inside the duomo. At the end of the mass, the bishop lights a mechanical dove on fire which then zips out the huge cathedral doors and comes into contact with the cart, starting the fireworks on the cart. While onlookers are waiting for this rigging up to be completed and for mass to end, they are entertained by traditional Tuscan flag throwers and music. This is also the time that lots are chosen for the mid-summer sporting classic – the calcio storico (historical soccer match) – in which men from the four quarters of Florence compete in a soccer match in which it is perfectly acceptable to tackle, throw punches, and brawl their way into position to score goals. The winning team receives a chianina bull (the huge ones that pull the cart) as a prize.

The fireworks display lasts about 10 minutes and at the end, 3 flags unfurl at the top of the cart. It looks and sounds like a battle scene, with smoke everywhere and the deep reverberations of gunfire (fireworks fire) echoing through the piazza. The procession then leaves the piazza to the sounds of drum and bugle.

It began to rain about 45 minutes before the fireworks were to begin, which thinned the crowd considerably. Several of our party went home to get warm, but the stouter souls stayed for the entirety. At the end of the fireworks display, the revelers in costume process out of the square, followed by squadrons of amazed onlookers. We found a group of Renaissance dudes hanging out on the corner and wandered over for a photo. They were happy to oblige. My friend, Diana, and I got into the middle of the big group of guys for photos. They began joking and laughing. When George tried to join in the photo opp, they said, “No, only women!”

A few of us returned back to our place to finish off the mimosas, fresh ricotta, deviled eggs, and other easter delights. This unique and colorful festival is one of the highlights of the spring season here in this city of history and art.

Here are few photos of highlights from the day:

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Word of the day: Giardino

Giardino (jar-DEE-noh); Garden

It is spring in Florence and we are getting some much needed rain, which is bringing out the leaves and blossoms in great abundance right now. It seemed appropriate to head out to a green space between the rain showers and enjoy the fresh air and flowers. We could have headed for the Boboli Gardens, the enormous green jewel that sits behind the Pitti Palace, but we opted instead for the smaller, less well known Bardini Gardens.

The Bardini Gardens are in the Oltrarno (the area on the other side of the river from the main area of Florence) area, up the hill toward Piazzalle Michelangelo. This means that not only do you get to meander through the beautifully laid out garden, you also get spectacular views of Florence.

I’ve been waiting until April to go there because I knew the wisteria would be in bloom. I think I’m still about 2 weeks too early to see them at their peak, however. That just means I will have to return. There is a coffee house and lots of great little spaces to sit in the garden and read or just listen to the birds.

Here are a few of my favorite photos of the garden and the views out over Florence.

Recipes from Cooking Class

Last week we had our second cooking class at In Tavola, which is a fabulous cooking school. If you’re coming to Florence and want to do cooking classes, you should check out their website. We made a 3 course meal, and then at the end we got to eat everything we cooked. They gave us a little recipe booklet, but I don’t want to carry around little pieces of paper, so I’m transcribing it here so you can try it out at home and I can have it again later, too.

Menu

• Artichoke soufflè (starter)
• Fresh egg pasta (used for the ravioli)
• Spinach and Ricotta Filled Ravioli (main dish)
• Panna Cotta (dessert)

Artichoke Soufflè

• 300 g. artichoke hearts, sliced (see note)
• 20 g butter
• 3 eggs
• 25 g grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 dl thick bechamel sauce (see below)

Note: We used small, fresh artichokes. Cut off the top third of the artichoke. Pull off the outside leaves until you get to the heart. Peel the stem. Cut the artichoke in half lengthwise. Cut out the choke (the little fuzzy part that you would throw away if you were eating the artichoke cooked).

PROCEDURE:

Prepare the bechamel sauce (see below.) Boil the artichokes for 7 minutes (see note above). Drain and toss with the butter. Grind the buttered artichoke hearts in a mortar with a pestle, then pass through a sieve, or puree in a blender. (We used an immersion blender, with a little of the bechamel sauce in with it.) Combine the artichoke paste, bechamel, cheese and eggs. Puree until smooth. Put the mixture int a greased and floured pan (or ramekins) and cook in a water bath in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, approximately 15-20 minutes. Let stand a few minutes before reoming from pan to a plate and serving.

Bechamel Sauce

• 60 g butter
• 60 g flour type 00, sifted (all purpose flour should be fine)
• 1 litre milk
• nutmeg to taste
• salt to taste

PROCEDURE: Melt the butter, whisk in the sifted flour little by little. Add the nutmeg and continue cooking and stirring for one minute to thicken. Put the milk in a separate saucepan and add a pinch of salt; bring to a boil. Slowly, add the milk to the flour mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook sauce for at least 5 minutes over low flame, stirring occasionally.

Fresh Egg Pasta

• 2 eggs
• 50 g flour of durum wheat
• 150 g flour type 00
• salt to taste

PROCEDURE: Put the flour in a mound on a large wooden pastry board, making a large well in the center of the mound. Break the eggs into the hole, add a generous pinch of salt. Beat the eggs, then slowly begin incorporating the flour from the inside perimeter of the well into the mixture with a fork. Knead well until smooth and elastic. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes before using.

Cut dough ball into 2 equal parts. Working with one half at a time, slightly flour, roll with a rolling pin. Fold into thirds and roll again. Using a pasta machine, run the dough through the machine at settings 1, 3, and 5. Fold into thirds again and roll with pin to width of the machine. Repeat until pasta is desired consistency. For ravioli finish on setting 6.

Spinch & Ricotta Filled Ravioli

• 250 g spinach
• 250 g ricotta cheese
• 60 g grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• ground nutmeg to taste

PROCEDURE: Clean the spinach, boil and let cool; squeeze well to remove the liquid and mince finely. Strain the ricotta through a sieve then put into a bowl; add the spinach, cheese egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Put the spinach mixture into a pastry bag (or a plastic bag and cut a hole to dispense the mixture.) Roll out the pasta dough into one thin strip, about 5 inches wide. Using the pastry bag, place a dollop (about 1 T.) of filling in the center of the strip. Place another dollop about 3 inches from the first one. Keep working your way down. Leave 2 finger widths of pasta at each end. Gently fold the long strip in half. Using the blunt side of a round cookie cutter, press down gently around each dab of spinach mixture. Use your fingers to press out any air bubbles and seal the pasta together. Using a pronged pasta cutter, cut between the dollops to create individual raviolis. Gently flour the tops. Use a spatula to lift the raviolis onto a floured cardboard tray, taking care not to overlap them or they will stick together.

Place in boiling, salted water and cook for 5-7 minutes. While they are cooking, melt some butter and olive oil together. Scoop the raviolis into the butter and slide around the pan to coat. Sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese and serve.

Panna Cotta

• 6 g gelatin
• 40 ml of whole milk
• 200 ml of whipping cream
• 40 g of sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean (or vanilla extract)

PROCEDURE:

Whisk together the cream, vanilla, and sugar. Put the sheets of gelatin in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes. Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until hot, but do not boil. Wring out the gelatin and put it into the warm milk; stir until the gelatin melts. In a saucepan, warm the cream mixture over low heat stirring constantly until just oiling; remove from the heat; add the milk/gelatin to the cream and stir to mix well.

Run individual serving cups or ramekins under cold water. Shake out excess water but do not dry cups. Fill each cup with the panna cotta until full, being sure the tops are level; refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Turn each panna cotta out onto dessert plates. Top with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce or fruit sauce as desired.

Thanks to our expert guides and the elves in the kitchen, everything turned out beautifully. We had a great time, too. It’s always so much more fun to cook with others than to cook alone. If you decide to try these out, invite a friend.

Word of the day: Moda

Moda (MOH-da): Fashion

Professoressa Giuili, the Women’s Studies and International Relations teacher in the study abroad program, was doing a field trip to the Florence high fashion outlet mall with some of her students, and I decided to tag along. The mall is actually about 20 km outside Florence (a 50 minute bus ride), through the now deliciously green countryside. There you can find designer fashions at about half of “boutique” prices, plus additional discounts, up to 70%, on end-of-season items. This still makes it all more expensive than I am willing to pay, but it was definitely an interesting outing.

All the big name Italian brands are there – Pucci, Gucci, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Fendi, Valentino, Ferragamo, and Giorgio Armani. There were lots of others that I had never heard of, including Balenciaga, Hogan, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, and Zegna. Some items seemed very “every day” while others had that high-fashion, slightly-outrageous edge to them.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the outing:

Although they are nice, these scarves don't look all that special to me. They were €120 EACH, marked down from €240. Americans, €120 equates to over $150. The next time I see a scarf I love for €5 (or even €8 or €10), I'm buying it!

Cute, right? But almost $1,000 worth of cute? I'd rather stay on a beautiful island for a week.

Awesome heels for going out clubbing. Can't quite remember how much they cost, but somewhere in the neighborhood of $500.

These shoes were more practical and a steal at €85.

I believe this jacket was on sale for a little over €1,000. The black one, right be hind it, with silver bling, reminded me of Michael Jackson.

And for the baby in your life, how about a white fur stroller? This was marked down from €5,760 to €2,880. Love the tiny little jacket next to it.

This photo is actually from the Dolce & Gabbana shop in downtown Florence. This is the store window of a clothing store. The beautiful food is certainly eye catching and it did make me want to buy that hot-mamma chili pepper shirt in the display. I like the idea of using beautiful food to sell a tank top. That works for me.

All in all, I found the outing fascinating, though all I brought home was an empty (very fancy) bag that someone had abandoned on a chair. I’m going to use it to wrap a gift for a friend. What you spend your money on all comes down to priorities, I guess. I know it is tremendously important for some people to have the very best in clothing. I love to look nice and dress well, but I would much rather spend my money on experiences than stuff. I am a huge fan of the fun and the practical in clothing. I could see spending a good chunk of change on the most comfortable pair of shoes in the world, or even a classic black dress that you will wear for years. What I have a harder time understanding is spending this kind of money on clothes that you will wear for one season and then discard in favor of newer stuff next season. Of course, I’ve had the same $20 pair of hiking boots for over a decade. Hey, they’re comfortable and still in good shape. What can I say?

I did stop into the Roberto Cavalli store in Florence this morning. They have a little cafe and I got a very upscale, visually stunning caffè machiato for €1. I admired the gorgeous chocolate easter eggs and fantastic cakes, and went on my merry way with money in my purse, whistling a tune, and keeping an eye out for a good deal at the local street market.

 

 

 

 

Newsflash

I just figured out how to have all my blog entries post to Facebook automatically. I also added the ability to share posts with others by email and Pinterest. Please feel free to send posts on to others you think might like them.