Feb. 14th. Some observations from Rosemary
Happy Valentine's Day! Here are some things I've observed/experienced while here.1. Everyone we've met here so far has been very nice and helpful. If we can't communicate verbally, pantomiming, etc, works.
2. I've been asked to talk about the food. It is mostly very good - and too plentiful. At a US restaurant, we are lucky to get perhaps one roll a piece. Here, even if you are eating alone, you get a basket full of different breads. Hard to pass up, but I've been trying. You have to ask for butter (burro). Pasta dishes are amazing. Lighter than I'm used to. The parmesean cheese is much better too! Very fresh. I did have a pizza yesterday and although everyone else is raving about real Italian pizza (very light and on a very thin crust) I like the thick crust stuff from home much better.). Desserts are mostly wonderful. There are almost always 4 courses, which are 1-2 more courses than I'm used to or can hold. Water is big here. I don't know when I've drunk so much water on a trip but am glad to have it. We always get bottled mineral water, "still" (not fizzy). We haven't had a good steak yet. They are usually very thin, and tough. Sometime they are barely cooked. There was Hare in champagne in the buffet the other day - after I got over the idea of eating "Thumper", I tried one - it was awful. I think many others agreed as the next night they had Rabbit stew! (I'm assuming it was from all the leftover hare). I did not try it. Most candy and snacks I've tried are awesome. The front desk has some chocolates they are proud of and keep giving us but I don't like it - it is covered in what I would compare to as bitter sweet cooking cocoa powder.
We've eaten twice now at a very unique restaurant, that is up a tiny road, very close to here. David originally wrote about it, but then didn't end up posting the info, so I will tell you about it and include some photos later. It is a small place, all stone inside. Lots of stone arches. Looks like it might have been a wine cellar at some point. The first time we went, the menu was all in Italian so we had no idea what was on it. A man, who we thought was a customer, came over and explained the entire menu to us. Turned out he was one of the owners. He lives in Turin.
Their specialites are fondues (remember the "rage" of fondue pots in the 70's..or was it the 80's?). You can also cook food on hot "stones"...flat cooking tops over burners. The food cooks much quicker on these "stones". When we had supper there last night, they had a 4 course menu, in 3 languages, including English, with one price per person: 50 Euros. It included everything, including wine or beer, and Grappa at the end. If you haven't had Grappa before, it is a clear drink to help you digest your food. I did not have it, but the two Daves had it -- it smelled like lighter fluid or something equally as nasty. I wish I'd had my camera on when the other Dave took his first drink - the look on his face was priceless! You definitely wouldn't want to light a match while drinking that stuff! Oh, the first time we went, I asked for the "toilette" and the person took me outside! The bathrooms are in a separate building across the alley way. Nice bathrooms, but cold!
Speaking of bathrooms.. in Europe, you never know what you'll find as a method to flush them. It is always an experience. Something new to me here, is that they all lock differently. I often worry about getting locked in. That happened to one girl and she later found out that there was a different button to press to unlock the door. Odd.
3. Television: Many commercials, although in Italian, have American songs, sung in English, in them. I saw ____ Superstar (I couldn't read the first word in the title - it was too small) the other night - it is their "American Idol". The intro music was the same. The contestants sang American songs, in English! Even though the judges responded in Italian. The show I saw was the one where someone gets "kicked off" due to receiving the lowest points. They were down to about 7 contestants, who, at this point, are very close. Although it was in Italian, and I had no emotional investment in any of the contestants, I still became misty-eyed as they announced who would stay and who would go.
4. Oh, just one housekeeper has just arrived.. there are probably more waiting to pounce. :=)
This one speaks some English - yeah! I can finally tell someone to not bother to put on the comforter back on our bed (it is too heavy and hot) and see if she can get us another blanket. I could have written out this request from my phrase book, but I've tried that on other occasions, and from the looks I've gotten back from the people I've spoken to, it makes me wonder if the phrase book has tricked me into saying things I shouldn't! :=) Or, I'm guessing it is my bad pronounciations. Wow, she went right out and got me a blanket - yeah! It doesn't take much to make me happy. I want to keep her!! I spoke to someone yesterday who has an apartment in Turin and she had housekeepers who were doing the exact same things as the housekeepers here - and she felt the same way I do. When they started sending 4 people at a time, she got so bothered by everything, that she fired them! She knows someone else with an apartment who fired her housekeepers too! Whoa! I have actually gotten accustomed to the comings and goings and am just prepared to put on my parka and work on staying warm while there are here. yesterday I was wishing I had hot chocolate to offer them.
5. Airborne -- one day, after the housekeepers had left so many windows and doors open, I felt a cold coming on. I had bought "AirDefender" which is a take off of Airborne. I wish you could just swallow a pill, but you have to dissolve a pill in a small amount of water. It fizzes like Alkazeltzer. It tasted awful and I got some unpleasant side effects (intestinal) But I did NOT get a cold! Hmmm..I'll have to weigh out the pros and cons before considering taking this stuff again!
5. I've been watching some of the Olympics on tv. The photography is amazing, but, as I know it is back home, events are chopped up, so you only see bits of several different events. Brian told me that during one of the cross country skiing events, some man tripped in the beginning, tripping up other skiiers. He even broke his ski. He was dead last, but amazingly, he endured and came in 2nd at the finish line! Now, that's an "Olympic moment"!!! I'm sure they people he tripped up weren't too happy though. BTW, if you should watch some of the downhill skiing, you will sometimes see a side view. There is a camera that travels 60mph to follow them! Pretty neat. It takes awhile to get back up the long hill though, so it can't follow every skiier.
I will work on including some photos next. Ciao, ciao! Rosemary
posted by DaveandBrian @ 5:24 AM
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