Another Beautiful Family Home

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #23 - September 28, 2009 - 8:00 am

After touring the church in Portalbera, and the small park next door, we were then invited inside Angela's house. This is a very old home, but it is also very beautiful and extremely comfortable inside. I have the feeling that Italians build things to last! As is common, however, we did not stay inside the house. Instead, we toured a few of the downstairs rooms and then proceeded out the back door onto a beautiful outdoor patio area -- under a wonderful old arbor! This is where we visited for a few minutes and enjoyed tea and coffee with biscuits.

We did not stay long, but Angela joined us in the car for the return trip to Stradella. On the way out of Portalbera, we drove by the Moroni family homestead where Dad's mom and Zia Chiara were born. This house is 400 or more years old. Today, a cousin, Rafaella, and her family live in the house.

We made one more stop on the way out of Portalbera - the local cemetery where many of our

ancestors are buried. This is a cemetery unlike any I have ever seen in the US. Most of the markers are in the walls that surround the cemetery and on each marker is a photograph of the deceased. On many of the grave sites, there are flowering plants, and at the wall markers, there are also fresh flowers in vases as well as an occasional light fixture or candle. Clearly, Italians very much honor the memories of their dead. Some of the graves we saw here included Angela's husband, Rosita's husband, Ugo, and Dad's grandmother.

We Explore our Family Roots: Portalbera

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #22 - September 28, 2009 - 8:15 am

On Sunday morning, we slept in and did not go down to breakfast until 10:00 am! Awaiting us was a beautifully set table. Breakfasts are usually light in Europe. We had orange juice, coffee and tea, and biscuits with Rosita's homemade marmalade - peach and apricot. Molto bene.

After breakfast, Roberto drove us the few short miles to Portalbera where Dad's mother and her brothers and sisters (including Zia Chiara) were born. Portalbera is a very small town that has a mix of very old and very new homes. This was historically a farming community, and we passed many farms on our way there. There is a single church in the center of town, and Angela's house is right across the street from the church. Angela immediately came out of her house to greet us, and her daughter Antonia was right behind her. We hugged and kissed and then took a quick look inside the church. This is the church were Dad's mom and all her siblings were baptized.

Next to the church is a World War I monument to those local men lost in the War. Dad's Uncle Angelo died very early in the War, and his name is on this monument. While walking through the tiny park where the

monument stands, we were joined by Carluccio and Luca. Luca spent a month in San Diego in August and he speaks English pretty well. It was nice for Chris to have someone to talk to!

We Dine with the Locals

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #21 - September 28, 2009 - 7:30 am

After an hour's rest, we went back downstairs to visit some more with Rosita and to get a better feel for the house. This home is quite beautiful. What is most notable is that the outside of the house is an extension of the inside. We spent most of our time here sitting outside.

There is a large yard that is separated down the middle by a gravel driveway that leads to a rear exit / entrance. Both the front and the rear entrances are gated. There is much outdoor seating on the concrete patio next to the house. It is all very comfortable.

For dinner, we were taken to a local favorite restaurant. What a meal! Altogether, those joining us were Rosita, Maurizio and Barbara, Roberto, Nikki and Paolo, Renza and Chiara, and the three of us. The meal started with hard salami (most meals here do), and fried polenta (with melted cheese dip) and fried fat (!?!). I'm not quite sure what this last thing was, but I tried everything. We also drank a local red wine and we drank it out of bowls! They explained that you use the bowl to swirl the wine up the sides. The residual color left on the side of the bowl

allows you to judge how good the wine is. The main courses were two kinds of pasta: (i) tortellini stuffed with ricotta and spinach and (ii) fettucini with procini mushrooms. There is no such thing as bad food in Italy.

Oh and one more thing. I was make to try horse meat! It came with polenta and it wasn't bad -- although psychologically, I could not regularly eat horse.

*****

I am making this journal while on my flight from Milano to Paris. The plane has taken off and we are flying over the Alps. The highest ones are snow capped. And they're very pointy. I think we flew over Lake Como, Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta earlier. Dad and Chris are driving there today!

*****

Back to Stradella: Saturday was a long day, but it was a very good day. We all slept well, although I noticed that Rosita's neighborhood has a wide variety of background noises. Cars buzz by well into the night, and every house seems to have at least one or two dogs. They like to visit with each other and bark well into the night. And then, of course, there are the bell towers which chime periodically! Ah, well. Luckily, I was very tired and fell asleep quickly.

We Make Our Way to Stradella

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #20 - September 28, 2009 - 7:00 am

The Duomo is one of two major tourist attractions in Milano. The second one is a fort, several hundred years old. We drove by but did not go in because we were all excited to get to Stradella. Before leaving the city, however, we stopped for lunch at a favorite restaurant of Barbara's. Here, we had a traditional Milano meal. We started with bread served like a pizza with no toppings -- only spices and olive oil dribbled on the top. The main course, however, was osso bucco and risotto milanese. The osso bucco was exquisite. It was incredibly tender. The meat fell away from the bone with just a fork. And the risotto was cooked just right - slightly al dente. I wonder how they managed to cook it to such a perfect consistency! We have been so incredibly spoiled by the food on this trip.

After lunch, we drove around Milan a bit, and went past La Scala, and then headed south to Pavia and Stradella. the drive was longer then I expected - over an hour. We drove pas

t a very old bridge, and Dad had us get out and take a few photos. The bridge ran over the Po River which is the main river that runs through the plains of Pavia Province. This, by the way, is wine country, but more about that later.

When we arrived a Ca' Rossa - Rosita's house, we were greeted by Rosita and her daughter, Renza, who lives here with her. Within about 10 minutes, we were next joined by Chiara, Renza's daughter. We visited with Rosita briefly and then went to lay down for a rest before dinner. We were all going out to eat at a favorite restaurant of the family. Chris and I watched a movie while trying to rest. We watched "The Italian Job," because we wanted to compare the opening scenes (which were shot in Venice) to the real thing -- since we'd just been there.

The Duomo, Milano

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #19 - September 28, 2009 - 5:50 am

I am two days behind in my journal, but I now have plenty

of time to catch up. This is to be a long travel day -- a very long travel day. I was up at 3:00 am today. Roberto was

picking me up at 3:30 am to drive me to the Malpensa Airport - northwest of Milano.

What a wonderful courteous and generous man is Roberto. In fact, everyone I met in Stradella and Portalbera - our family - were beautifully kind and giving. And I am

especially grateful to Roberto for driving me to the airport

today. It was a long drive (well over an hour), and it was a very confusing route. I think that if Dad had driven me, as we had planned, we may very well have gotten lost. We were never on a major highway and there were lots of rotaries -- one every few miles it seemed. There were regular signs to Milano and Malpensa, but they were not at every rotary and intersection. Maybe Dad could have done it, but this was so much better, and certainly less stressful.

But let me back up and describe our day in Milano. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we crossed the street to the piazza in front of the Duomo. This church was a huge surprise for me. I had no idea there was such a fantastic church in this city. The Milano Duomo reminded me very much of Notre Dame in Paris. There were many differences, of course, but there were many similarities.

The Duomo sits in front of a huge piazza and there is a large statue there, but I cannot recall at present who it represents. The Duomo is constructed in the gothic style - with flying buttresses (hence, the likeness to Notre Dame). It was built over a 400 year time frame, and it is no wonder it took that long. The details are intricate in the extreme. The exterior is constructed of beautiful marble -- in many different colors -- and thousands of spires with statues perched atop each one. There are also several hundred gargoyles perched along the sides. It looks a bit like the type of sand castle we would build at the beach by dribbling wet sand into delicate mounds and towers.

Upon entering the Duomo, the first thing I noticed was (i) its size and (ii) all the stained glass. Then, I spied a desk where one could purchase an audio tour guide. I asked the others

whether they minded if I did the tour. Of course, they said "no" and I proceeded to rent one of the headsets. They missed out because not only was the audio tour very informative, it permitted me to go into areas of the church where other tourists were not allowed (primarily beh

ind the altar).

I did not listen to everything on the tour. I was selective. The church has the best stained glass I saw during our entire trip. It was everywhere. In each section of the very long sides of the main part of the church

there were very tall windows with dozens of individual panes. In each pane was a unique biblical scene. Often, a bible story was told through over the course of several panes. The colors and the detail were fantastic. But the largest stained glass windows were behind the altar and choir stalls.

These windows, in three sections, were maybe 25-30 feet tall and 15-20 feet wide. The left panel told stories of the Old Testament, the right panel was devoted to the New Testament, and the center panel was the apocalypse. And on the interior wall that ran around the choir loft, there was a marble frieze that, in about 10 frames, reflected scenes of the life of the Virgin Mary.

Two other items inside the Duomo are worth mentioning. One: There is a really neat candelabra (like a menorah). It's huge -- about 12-15 feet tall. I think it was made of bronze and had over 500 precious gems embedded in it. Two: The Church possesses "the sacred nail" -- one of the nails that pinned Jesus to the cross. It is encased in a crystal box and embedded within a cross that sits at the very top of the ceiling above the altar -- the thought being that this is the safest place for it, because it's impossible to reach.

After my interior tour of the Duomo, we then (all five of use) took the elevator to the roof! Here, we did something you could never do in the US. We walked all over the roof of the Duomo. We climbed up several

sets of stairs and walked on the slanted roof deck. We peeked through the spires and over the edges. From here, we had a great view of the city in all directions. Needless to say, once again, I took a ton of pictures.

Ca'Rossa Stradella

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #18 - September 27, 2008 - 8:55 am

Here it is. My last day in Italy -- for this trip anyway. I will DEFINITELY be back.

We are in Stradella. What a wonderfully friendly and hospitable family are our relatives here. They have been so thoroughly gracious and delightful. We can all take lessons from them.

We are staing at Rosita's house -- called Ca' Rossa -- "the red house." Today, it is more of a pale pink color -- very pretty -- but, historically, it was painted red. It is a beautiful home and we have been given the best rooms to stay in. Dad is sleeping in Rosita's room. I am in Chiara's room, and Chris is in a small room next door. They gave up their bedrooms for us! And the rooms are huge! It's all very comfortable. I will take pictures later.

I should mention (because it amazes me) that Roberto rented a van specifically to pick

us up and chauffeur us around! He knew we would have much luggage and there are three of us. So we were all very comfortable and had no

worries about our luggage. This was our first real experience driving in a car any distance in Italy.

One of the main attractions in Milano is the Duomo and so, after picking us up at the train station, we headed in that direction. Near the Duomo, there is a very exclusive shopping center called the Galleria and we stopped at a cafe there first. We did not have breakfast in Venice, having left os early, so we stopped here for coffee, tea and some wonderful brioche (mine was filled with chocolate, of course).

Happy Halloween

I am taking a short break from the chronicles of our Trip to Italy to share a few photos from our Halloween celebrations here in Wexford.

First, for the first time ever, I succumbed to buying silly costumes for the dogs. I'm turning into one of those crazy pet owners who treat their dogs like children. I guess this is what comes from living alone. Thank goodness Chris has moved back home. Maybe he will be able to stem this tide (but maybe not). Of course, the dogs showed themselves to be more sensible than their owner. They would have none of their costumes (which were only a couple of hats, after all!).

They kept trying to shake them off. So, getting pictures was a challenge. Only Darcy showed himself to be mildely cooperative. Darcy always has been the more gullible of the two.

Second, Chris went to a Halloween party and literally threw his costume together on Saturday morning. Here he is -- all "costumed" up. Can you guess what he is? There are two options: (1) with the hat, he's one of the ______ _________; or (2) without the hat, he is one of the ____ __ _______.

Third, we were expecting some company this Halloween night. Lisa & family were coming to

town to visit Nick and would be staying with us for the night. So I made a cake for the occasion. It was a just a boxed cake mix (a carrot cake), but I had some fun decorating. Pictured below is the result.

And finally, we had a few Trick-or-Treaters stop by -- actually more than a few. I think we had more this year than any other year that we've lived here in the Huntington Woods plan. I stopped counting once we began to approach 100. My best guess is that we had between 120 and 130 kids at the front door. All I really know for sure is that I have very little candy left -- which is such a good thing because now I am not "forced" to eat the leftovers!

Anyway, it was a very pleasant Halloween here in Wexford, and I hope yours was too!