Post #2

So I cannot figure out how to post pictures right now because I am using Gianna's old laptop for blogging now. My tablet that I brought it too slow to type on and this is much faster. I can maybe figure out how to post pictures on facebook or instagram later. I haven't taken as many pictures as I want to because I don't want to stand out in a crowd more than I already do now. People think my freckles and pale skin are very strange and Gianna said that I needed a tan tomorrow when we go to the beach! I said no, no, I don't tan, I burn! She laughed and laughed. 

So while I was making breakfast in my pajamas, there was a knock at the door. I answered because I heard the girls outside. It was Gianna's younger brother, Giulio, who lives in Milan that came for the girls' dance recital later that night. He knows English very well because he lived in London for one year as a chef at a very nice restaurant. I hurried and bathed while the girls took a nap and he made lunch. It was delicious! It was pasta with whole tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, and oil. Once again, the pasta came first and then the bread with ricotta cheese and a light salad for the end of the meal. And, then of course, gelato again! Gianna asked me if I wanted coffee with my gelato and I said sure, that would be nice. I looked at my gelato, and the coffee was at the bottom of my bowl! I guess they add them together sometimes in the same cup and drink the last part out of the cup when it melts. Strange but very good!

After lunch, Gianna went back to work and Giulio and I talked for a long time about music, museums, and about the States. Gianna and Angelo had a magazine article on Boise and the outside areas in a vacation magazine they have in Italy! They had pictures of Sun Valley, Ketchum, Lava Hot Springs, Twin Falls, Shoshone Falls, and lots of Boise! They thought the article on the cycle pub that runs through downtown Boise was very funny. I don't really understand it either so I couldn't explain to them why we do that, drink and cycle at the same time. Also, they like the ideas of rodeos and cowboys...how dangerous it is and they love the boots and "cowboy clothes". Giulio was a chef at a very nice restaurant where all the stars of the big concerts were held. He said he has seen and cooked for Madonna, JayZ and Beyonce, Paul McCartney, and The Rolling Stones! Very impressive! He has been very nice to me and has been helpful to have around as a translator for when I don't understand their Italian. 

Gianna's mother, Pina, also came into town for the dance recital, just for one night. She had dinner with us, cheese pizza, light salad, and ricotta cheese with bread. VERY GOOD! Then, it was off to the theater to see the show. It was put on by dancers who run a dance school that teach children from 4 years old to 19. The show had all kinds of different music but it was all American! I didn't know it but all of Northern Italy listens to American music and it is all current. They danced to Justin Timberlake, LMFAO, Adele, Neyo, and The Doors. I understand it as Northern Italy is more current with their music and Southern Italy listens to Italian music more often. After the show, we went for another round of gelato, this time at a bar in town. I had it in a cone with pistachio and strawberry together, the best I have ever had! 

One thing that I didn't know about the Italian lifestyle is how they don't go to bed until very late at night. The concert last night did not get over until midnight and then we did not get into bed until about 2:00am. Dinner here is much later, about 8 or 9:00pm and not any earlier. We didn't go to bed tonight until about 1:00am so it is a very short time to sleep at night but then   in the afternoon, you relax and sleep until about 4 or 5:00 and then off to work or about the town again. It is very different from the way we live but it is nice to have small naps and breaks everyday.

Today, I woke up and was ready by 10am. We had fruit and coffee outside on the patio because it was a nice morning, instead of rain. Then, Gianna, the girls and I went downtown to show me how to get around town by the bus and to show me the train station. Her parafarmacia is not far from downtown and the bus station or the local swimming pool. It will be nice to take the girls there in the afternoons when they do not have school in July. Gianna and Angelo said I could drive their cars instead of the bus but I had to tell them that I don't know how to use a stick shift....and they were surprised! I really wouldn't want to drive anyway because the roads are so narrow and people drive so fast, I was sure we were going to be in a wreck many times in just two days. I haven't seen one wreck at all! 

After the walk downtown, we went to the supermarket called the Co Op, for groceries for the week. It is very similar to our grocery stores but there are important things to know when I am there by myself. First, you have to pay to use a shopping cart. There is a little coin slot on each cart that has a lock on it. To unlock it, you out a euro in the slot and the lock comes off so you can use it around the store. When you return the cart, you slide the lock back in and the euro comes out! It was good to know because I would not have figured that out by myself! At the deli section, there is a place for breads, cheeses, desserts, meats, and fresh foods, just like in the States but you have to take a number from the machine. Otherwise, you will just stand there and no one will help you! (Good tip Kel!) Gianna bought so many pounds of meat that I was wondering how we would eat it all. She bought at least 15 packages of meat and then two whole chickens from the deli. Also, when you buy vegetables and fruits, you have to wear a plastic glove when you touch them. You also have to weigh each item on the scale and it prints off a bar code to use at the register, cashiers don't remember codes for produce. After we went to the supermarket, we had a very big lunch of cooked chicken, salad,  fruit, a tart with marmalade (pie filling but better), and whipped cream. ALSO, they have fry sauce!!! She brought out mayonaise and ketchup and the girls started putting it together. They call it pink sauce! I just couldn't believe that there are states in the U.S. that don't know what fry sauce is but Italians do! I laughed so hard...a part of home here in Italy!

After lunch, it was time to rest. I finally put all my clothes away in a closet they have for me and took a nice nap. I was awakened by the loud thunder and lightening, it was raining very hard again. I understand that it does not normally rain like this in June, only in the spring months so this is not good for this area to have this much rain. We got ready for dinner and had SO MUCH MEAT....I can't even explain to you. I have never eaten that much meat in my life in one sitting....they just piled it onto my plate and I didn't want to say no, no, not that much! But everything was very good. There was a large pork chop, two bratwurst, two sausage links, one chicken leg, and lots of a grilled corn mush that tastes like grilled potatoes. It is the same texture but I can't remember the name right now, it starts with a P...

Before dinner, Giulio and I went to a different supermarket where we bought lots of beer, wine, and spritz (a wine with sparkling alcohol in it I believe). It was fun to go to the store with him because he was asking me what brands we had in America and what we didn't. Because he lived in England for a year, he knows some of the customs and culture, other than Italian. We talked about music and movies he likes right now. He loves rap and hip hop, like Wiz Khalifa, JayZ, and Kanye West. He asked me if I had seen "The Great Gatsby". I told him I wanted to see it before I left but I never did. He liked it because Leonardo DiCaprio was in it and he likes him as an actor very much. Milan is close to Lake Como, where George Clooney's house is. He told me that he has seen it before and it is about a $40 million home!!! He knows who Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are. He is very connected with the current events of the world. I assumed that all countries knew famous celebrities from the States but not this well. They love actors from the movies and TV shows. Their favorite shows are Man vs. Food, Top Chef, America's Best Dance Crew, and Game of Thrones. They love the man from Man vs. Food, they think he is very funny and eats way too much! Giulio told me that for every American actor who is famous and has a lot of movies, they have one person who is paid to be the voice of that actor in every movie they are in. So for George Clooney, his voice is translated by only one man for every movie shown in Italy. Same for Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and so forth. They don't know what their real voices sound like but they know who the translator's voice is for. Also, their TV is very nice and has an option to change the language to English if I am ever wanting to watch a show. They were flipping through channels tonight after dinner and they had "The First Wives Club" on! They had seen it before so I think they have a lot of the same movies that we do in America. 

At dinner, we talked about how their country is in a financial crisis like America because all their taxes and monies go straight to the Italian mafia, the government, or the Vatican. I understand it as Northern Europe is much nicer to live in with less crime, but everything is more expensive. There is more work in Southern Italy but more crime and a lot more people. We talked about Obama and how they wish they had a President like ours who was fair and kind. I was surprised that they knew so much about him and our government. It made me feel awful that I don't know anything about their country or government. 

Well, enough for now...it is now 2:30am and I am waking up at 8:00am for a trip to the Adriatic Sea all day! I guess we are staying there until night time and then coming back. It should be very fun and very pretty pictures. Ciao for tonight and I will post more tomorrow....hopefully with pictures attached!