An Evening Spent in Portalbera

Saturday, March 25, 2011 (Part 5)

Our last night in Italy was spent in Portalbera. Antonia had invited us for dinner. We were picked up by Carluccio and made the short drive to Portalbera where Antonia and Carluccio live with Angela in a beautiful home in the center of town, right across from the church.

Antonia and Carluccio have two children, Lucca, age 22, who is studying business at an English school in France, and Roberta. Roberta is 29 and works for a consulting company in Parma. We were in for a very nice surprise tonight because Roberta was home for a visit, and so we were able to meet her. It was especially nice to have Roberta here because she speaks very good English -- which is always so helpful for me and Katherine. She was able to play "interpreter" for us. We had a lovely evening visiting with all of them.

Carluccio is a very interesting man. As I understand it, he was once a professional football (soccer) player, and he was very good. Nowadays, he seems to have many interests. He is a farmer and owns a good amount of land in and around Portalbera. We drove by some of his fields where soybeans and wheat are grown. Carluccio also has a band! He plays the

electronic saxaphone, and I think he sings in the band as well.

Antonia, like her mother Angela, is a very gracious and wonderful hostess. She served us the perfect, light supper. We enjoyed a wide variety of crudite: celery, carrots, onions, artichokes, etc. We also had some sort of spinach torte and cold shrimp in lemon and olive oil. There were also breadsticks and olives on the table, and we drank several bottles of a local white wine. The bottles did not have labels. I think they were made from grapes harvested from one of Carluccio's properties.

We were also served something sweet. We started with fruit salad and yogurt gelato. This was followed by a peach tart (really beautiful) that Angela made. And finally, Carluccio opened a bottle of Proseco. It was wonderful.

We had the best time visiting with Angela, Antonia, Carluccio and Roberta. It was a lovely evening and a great way to end our day.

A Walking Tour of Piacenza

Saturday, March 26, 2011 (Part 4)

After lunch, Maurizzio and Barbara drove us into the center of town, and we took a brief walking tour of Piacenza. There is a very nice piazza in the center of town around which sits a church

(which we ducked into), a town hall (of course) and another very grand building the precise purpose of which I never quite figured out. I will have to look it up!

Piacenza's town center is closed to cars so it is a very nice place to stroll, and there were many people outside today doing exactly that. There are also many nice shops that line the streets around the piazza. And as is so common in Italy, there are several lovely cafes that surround the piazza on all sides with outdoor tables and chairs.

It was such a beautiful day, and we enjoyed our afternoon stroll in the sun. We also had fun

taking photos in different corners of the piazza, which was also occupied by some traditional, and very non-traditional, statues.

A Family Luncheon Celebration

Saturday, March 26, 2011 (Part 3)

One of Dad's chief goals on this trip was to host a special party for his family and friends in Pavia. He invited over 25 people and only one (Lucca, who is in school in France) was unable to attend. In addition to all of our family from Stradella, those who attended included Dad's second cousin Rimo Marchetti and his immediate family -- his wife and their daughter and her husband and son.

With Barbara's help, Dad had reserved space for our large party at a restaurant in Piacenza -- which is the capital city of the Province of Pavia. Barbara and Maurizzio were also a big help in placing the order for all of us. Everything was served family style.

As I am learning is the custom, our first course was a plate of prosciutto, mortadella and salami. At the same time, a relish tray of pickled or marinated peppers, mushrooms and onions also was passed around the tables. This was followed by a platter of two kinds of fried fish. One was eel (yes, eel), and the other looked like tiny minnows. They were very salty, especially the eel.

The next course was three kinds of pasta: (i) fettucini bolognese, (ii) ricotta stuffed tortelloni in olive oil with pine nuts, and (iii)

pasta with beans! I tried each one. The bolognese was to die for. At some point, we were also served rosemary roasted potatoes. And finally, we had a selection of desserts -- a cheesecake and several tortes -- plus a choice of liqueurs, one of which was limoncello (a personal favorite). And, of course, during the meal, we drank red wine out of bowls, which is another custom in Piacenza.

But the best part of this lunch was visiting with our family.

Everyone had a great time. The conversation was lively, and it was wonderful to meet some relatives we'd never met before (like Christina Marchetti and her husband, Giuseppe). Katherine had a great time with the cousins and friends her own age (especially Cecelia). Most of the younger generation speak really good English.

This was a wonderful party. In fact, it could not have been better. Bravo, papa!

The Riches of Small Town Life

Saturday, March 26, 2011 (Part 2)

As we walked through Stradella this morning, I was struck by the wonderful benefits of growing up and living in a small town like this one. Everyone knows everyone! We could not walk 10 steps without Niki seeing someone she knows and stopping to exchange a few words. Often, those stops included great hugs and kisses and greetings that might suggest that Niki had not

seen her friends for weeks or months -- when, in fact, she probably saw them last only a week or several days ago. Everyone is so genuinely glad to see each other. It is a really wonderful thing, and it is so unlike anything I have every experienced in any of the places where I have lived.

After our little bit of shopping, we continued on our walk through town

and met Rosita walking with a friend. She invited us to join her for a cup of tea or coffee at her favorite cafe in the center of town. Roberto and Dad met us there. What a wonderful place was this cafe. And, once again, everyone knew everyone else. Rosita and Niki greeted everyone warmly, and the waitress also was a close friend - of course!

After our coffee/tea break, we all headed back to Ca' Rosa. But on the way, we made one small detour to see a beautifully restored, small theater where Paolo will be performing a play in May. It was a wonderful place - very intimate. And then we really did head back to Ca' Rosa where everyone had started to congregate for our excursion to lunch.

Shopping in Stradella on a Saturday Morning

Saturday, March 26, 2011 (Part 1)

What a wonderful day we had today in Stradella and Piacenza. We began the day in a very leisurely way - not emerging from our room until 9:30 a.m. We had a nice light breakfast, and then Katherine and I walked into town with Niki.

I had made the "mistake" yesterday of telling Niki how much I admired her oversized handbag. It's actually more like a tote bag. So this morning, Niki greeted us with the proposition that she and Rosita and Renza wanted to buy presents for me and Katherine -- perhaps a handbag like hers.

So one of our goals this morning was to do a little shopping. We stopped in one store and looked at several fun bags, but nothing suited us as much as Niki's style of bag. So then we went to the store where she had purchased her bag and we were delighted to find that they had about a dozen different colors and patterns. We looked through the entire collection, one bag at a time. We each found one that we liked very much, and Niki made the purchase for us. We are so blessed to have such wonderful cousins. I was very touched by their generosity.

The photo at the top of this page is not a very good picture of Niki, but it's a great shot of her bag! And now Katherine and I each have one just like it.

Dinner at Ca' Rosa

Friday, March 24, 2011 (Part 5)

When we returned to Ca' Rosa from our driving tour, we were greeted by Rosita and Renza. Chiara also stopped by briefly to say "ciao." Meanwhile, Niki was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Niki claims not to be much of a cook, but she definitely knows how to entertain. We had a wonderful meal consisting of (i) Parmegiane cheese with aged balsamic vinegar drizzled on top, (ii) focaccia with proscuitto, (iii) ravioli in broth (which I could not finish!!!), (iv) sauted zucchini, (v) flatbread with cheese, (vi) salad with tomatoes, and (vii) crostata di Renza (dessert).

Also for wine, we had a bottle of red wine, bottled in 2009, from the vineyard where I had taken pictures of the harvesting when we visited in September 2009. It was not the best wine, but it was fun to taste it. We also had Proseco (Italian champagne) with dessert. It was a great meal. I just wish I could have eaten all of it. Most of all, I cannot believe that I did not eat all of my ravioli.

But I am very glad that I was able to find some room for dessert because Renza's crostata was excellent. I had her dictate the recipe to me so that I can try to duplicate it at home. It may be difficult to do because some of the ingredients are not commonly found in the US. Also, all the quantity measurements Renza gave me are metric, so I'll have to figure out the conversion. But if I can even get close to her results, it will be worth the effort.

The photos here are (i) a picture of Paolo on his Vespa -- taken in Stradella, and (ii) a picture of Niki and Katherine in front of the anchor war memorial in the park in the center of Stradella.

Ca' Rosa

Friday, March 25, 2011 (Part 4)

When we were last in Stradella in September 2009, Rosita and Renza were living in Ca' Rosa. This is the home that Rosita and her husband, Ugo, bought many years ago andraised their family in. But now, Roberto, Niki and Paulo live here, and Rosita and Renza live in the apartment that Roberto and Niki used to live in, in the center of town. They have swapped houses! And along with the swap came some pretty impressive remodeling. Ca' Rosa looks very different today, and it is really beautiful.

This traditional home (from the outside) has been turned into a very modern home on the inside. Walls were moved, spaces were opened up, bright colors were introduced and some beautiful finishes were added. It now has a very contemporary feel, but it is still very comfortable. I was very impressed.

Some of my favorite remodeling changes to the house include a beautiful sliding etched glass divider that separates the kitchen from the dining room and beautiful floor coverings of slanted hardwood in the dining room

running into black slate tiles in the kitchen. And the colors! Wow. The dining room and living room have bright red walls. The downstairs hallway is bright orange, and the upstairs hall is

bright yellow. And when I say "bright," I mean bright, but it all works beautiful well.