Last Summer Weekends

Two weekends ago we went to Nice for Fabri's 29th birthday.  After work on Thursday, we all converged on Cuneo to head off to Nice.  All meaning Danny, the Chinese Flower (Danny's girlfriend), Anna, Claudio, Fabri and I.  We met at Fabri's office and found that Fabri's car was stuck in the parking lot.  Half of the gate that is never closed was closed!  We were all ready to go, so we decided to try to get through the opening.  We juuuuuust made it!!

From Summer Fun with Friends

Thursday night we met Mickey and Sonia and went to Festival des Moules for some all you can eat mussel and fry action.  We got there very late, and drank too much yucky rose' wine, but it was fun.

From Summer Fun with Friends

The rest of the weekend we did a little bit of everything: playing guitar and singing on the beach,

From Summer Fun with Friends

Eating and drinking at Wayne's,

From Summer Fun with Friends

Shopping (my favorite activity),

From Summer Fun with Friends

Napping and hanging out!

2nd Anniversary

As of Monday, August 16, 2010, we've been married for 2 years.  We celebrated, similar to last year, on our balcony with a bottle of spumante.

From Blogger Pictures

Fabri made a yummy tagliere (cutting board) of meats and cheeses.  Then I made us a candlelight dinner with panna cotta for dessert.  Panna cotta is one of Fabri's favorites.

From Blogger Pictures

Fabri also brought me some beautiful red roses and Olney wore his red holiday collar.  It was a very nice night.

From Blogger Pictures

Anniversary Weekend in Switzerland

Swiss Customs Post

From Switzerland (mostly mountains)

Last weekend Fabri and I took an early anniversary trip to Switzerland.  We had a free weekend and we wanted to go somewhere new and decided on Lake Geneva.  A friend of Fabri's suggested Lausanne because it's more beautiful than Geneva.  Lausanne is also home to the Olympics Museum, so we found a good deal on a strange hotel and set off.  Lausanne was only 3.5 - 4 hours by car and it's a very pretty drive up through Valle d'Aosta.  There is a tunnel from Valle d'Aosta (Italy) to the Valley of the Grand St. Bernard (Switzerland), but we decided to take the pass over the mountain at 2,500 meters.  Just FYI it's COLD at 2,500 meters, even in August. 

From Switzerland (mostly mountains)

We arrived in Lausanne at about 8:30 on Friday night.  We checked in to the Agora Hotel and then we headed down to the lake to find somewhere to eat.  I want to take a minute to talk about the crazy decorating of the Agora Hotel.  It's like 1960s modern futuristic.  So if you want to pretend to be a Mad Man in a "state of the art" hotel, check it out.

From Switzerland (mostly mountains)

Anyway, we went down to the lake and found a country music concert with a bunch of stands for food and cowboy hats.  I wish we could have stayed there, but we had no Swiss francs and I doubt the kiosks accepted credit card.  So, not knowing where an ATM was, we walked on looking for a restaurant.  We eventually settled on a cafe.  The food was all right (I liked mine more than Fabri liked his), but it was sooooo expensive and the wine was VERY expensive and NOT good. Oh well, that's the thing about traveling, it's not easy to know the good restaurants.

Look at the slant in the metro station!

From Switzerland (mostly mountains)

Lausanne is built on a steep hill rising up from the lake.  Thankfully, there is a lovely metro system that runs up and down the hill.  It would have been very difficult without it.  After dinner on the lake, we took the metro up to "the Flon" which is a zone filled with clubs and bars.  We checked out the King Size Pub that Fabri read about and had a few pints.  One of the bar tenders was crazy and they were playing Linkin' Park every other song which was not so good, so we left and walked around a bit before heading back to the hotel.

Organ in the Cathedral of Lausanne

From Switzerland (mostly mountains)

On Saturday we woke up and took the metro up to the cathedral.  The view of the lake from up there was quite beautiful, as was the cathedral.  Next we saw a really well put together Darwin Exhibit in the natural history museum.  Then we walked around a market and the pedestrian shopping area.  I found it peculiar because there were no sales.  Apparently the Swiss aren't happy unless it costs a lot.  We bought some souvenirs including Swiss cheese and Swiss chocolate and headed to Les Brasseurs brew pub for lunch.  We had "Swiss pizza" aka flammekueche.  Say that 10 times fast!

From Switzerland (mostly mountains)

For dinner Saturday night we decided on a French brasserie located in a 4 star hotel and recommended in the tourist guide of Lausanne.  We had escargots, smoked salmon, beef tips & grilled lamb and it was all delicious.  So as not to repeat the mistake of the night before, we went with an Italian wine we are VERY familiar with, Dolcetto. 

Fabri posing before dinner

From Switzerland (mostly mountains)

Sunday morning we went to the Olympics Museum.  The International Olympic Committee are headquartered in Lausanne.  My favorite parts were the medals and torches from every modern Olympics.  They also had Greek artifacts depicting the sports back then. 

From Switzerland (mostly mountains)

Then we picked up the car and headed back up the valley and up the mountains.  We had fresh chanterelle mushrooms (me with pasta, Fabri with potatoes) for lunch in a restaurant at 2,000 meters and then we finished the climb and went to Ruffia to pick up the Olney puppy.  Happy early anniversary to us!

From Switzerland (mostly mountains)

(Just for reference, our anniversary is on August 16)

Pool Parties!!

Beer can chicken on the grill

From Pool Parties!

This summer we bought a big Weber gas grill for Ruffia and I took up my position as Queen of the Grill.  Someone had to show these Italians how to do it.  And we've been having a lot of fun.  I've made a ton of grilled veggies, ribs, sausages, burgers, shrimp, steaks and 3 beer can chickens. The beer can chickens are REAL party pleasers.

Gaetano, Sofia and Detta in the pool

From Pool Parties!

The other great thing about Ruffia is the pool.  We've been going at least once a week.  Sofia (above with her mom & dad) really loved the water.  Almost as much as Olney!!

Olney loves the pool!

From Olney Puppy

This summer the Motta's built two extra roofs in back of Ruffia.  One to cover the patio outside of the kitchen, and the other in front of the garage as an extra car port type thing.  I told them they needed to put a ceiling fan in the one off of the kitchen to keep the flies and mosquitoes away.  We've been very happy with the results! I'm glad my ento knowledge translates to helping our everyday lives.

From Pool Parties!

This week Fabri & I hosted a dinner party in Ruffia. They were all friends of Fabri from high school and their significant others.  It wasn't as warm as we had hoped it would be, so people didn't come early to use the pool unfortunately.  But Olney got plenty of use out of it, and Fabri went for a swim before dinner as well.  I made salsa with home grown tomatoes for an appetizer/snack.  Then Fabri & I made bruschetta on the grill which was really yummy.  Mia brought a delicious chicken and artichoke salad.  Then we had a couple of beer can chickens, salad and steak on the grill.  Yum!  Chiara made a lovely tiramisu and Francesca (ready to give birth any day now) made a yummy little apple tart. I want to include an honorable mention for Paolo for bringing the wine & Gibo for bringing a yummy salami.  Edo, Andrea & Volario brought their ladies'. 

From Pool Parties!

Besides eating well, we had a lot of fun hanging out and chatting.  Mia also brought her dog Zoe to play with Olney.  The only problem is that Olney is very protective and dominant over the house and the dinner table and really put Zoe in her place a couple of times, upsetting Mia.  But no one was injured, they were just communicating how dogs communicate.

From Pool Parties!

Anyway, Fabri & I had a lot of fun and we're happy to get a lot of use out of the grill and the house!!

It's nice in Nice

From Summer Fun with Friends

I'm behind on posting as usual.  Two weekends ago we went to Nice to meet Amy, Josh & Kevin from SMC.  They were in Europe for a wedding and decided to come down to Nice to party with us for their last 4 days or so.  Fabri and I arrived at our apartment Thursday evening and waited for the others to find us.  Amy, very impressively, navigated her way to the apartment and I was waiting on the balcony to greet them.  A few cold beers later, everyone was happy and ready to go out and explore a little of Nice.  We, very unfortunately, went to McDonald's for dinner which is always a mistake and I didn't end up getting anything there.  Then we went to Wayne's, our favorite hot spot, and I got a delicious chicken, bacon club sandwich.  We ended the evening with a sing along on the beach which did not make Josh & Kevin happy, but Fabri, Amy & I enjoyed it.

From Summer Fun with Friends

On Friday we woke up late and went to Monaco.  It was the last place on Kevin's list of places to see before he turned 30 (HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!!).  People were a bit hung over/busted, so we took it easy and got some sandwiches and ate in the park in front of the castle.  The only other site we saw was Princess Grace's tomb in the beautiful church there.  A very expressive albatross that reminded Fabri & I of Olney stole the rest of Kevin's sandwich right out of his hands and flew away with it! Then we drove around the port of Monte Carlo and the casino and headed back to Nice for an afternoon nap!

From Summer Fun with Friends

From Summer Fun with Friends

After we all came to, we had a French aperitivo in the house with brie and french salami and wine.  Then Fabri & I took our guests to my favorite Nice restaurant, the Fleur de Jade.  It's a Vietnamese restaurant full of aquariums and they love Americans there.  We ate a LOT of yummy food and then went to Old Nice for a couple of drinks.

From Summer Fun with Friends

Saturday was their last full day in Nice, so we really focused on eating as many mussels as humanly possible at the Festival de Moules!  For the boys, that was 7 pots of mussels!  For Amy & I, it was a bit less.  Amy and I took advantage of the boys being slow & food drunk to do some shopping after lunch and I got a ceramic cicada garlic grater.  For some reason, the cicada is one of the symbols of Provence, along with lavender.

From Summer Fun with Friends

For dinner we went to Wayne's for a light dinner and to watch the Germany:Uruguay soccer game.  Some of those German boys are VERY cute.  After eating, Amy, Fabri & I went to get some table dancing in before we all went home on Sunday.  Dancing at Wayne's is a hot sweaty mess, so afterward we headed to the beach for a midnight dip before going home.

From Summer Fun with Friends

On Sunday we had our last pain chocolat and Fabri took the American-living Americans to the airport.  Then he and I headed home stopping in Limone for an afternoon snack.  It was awesome in Limone, I was in long-sleeves and shorts and I was cold outside!  In these hot days, I take comfort knowing I can jump in the car and be in Limone in less than an hour!

Summer Fun with Friends

Last week was my friend Anna's birthday.  We went to the Moni Bar in Fossano and had some sushi.  It was good, but Italiafied with mayonnaise and such.  I'm happy to see more food diversity in my region though.  I have to open up a Mexican restaurant here in Saluzzo!!

From Summer Fun with Friends

This past weekend we spent relaxing at home for the first time in a month.  We mostly stayed at home in front of the fan trying to keep cool.  Saturday night we went out with Fabri's friends from high school.  In standard Italian fashion, they were at least 45 minutes late, but we were happy they decided to come to Saluzzo.  We started at a bar with an extra large bottle of prosecco.  Yum!

Fabri and I had made a reservation at our favorite restaurant, the Trattoria dei Artista for 10:15pm.  We got there about 5 minutes early and were pleasantly surprised to see them preparing a table for 8.  We were not so happy when they proceeded to seat another group of 8 before us.  They claimed they would have another table ready for us in 15 or 20 minutes, but when it was almost 11, we called another restaurant and went there to eat.  Fabri & I were so mad, we're regulars at Artista and they always treat us poorly.  We decided we're never going back because they embarrassed us in front of our friends.  We were trying to show off Saluzzo.

From Summer Fun with Friends

Edo, Chiara, Francesca and Fabri

But anyway, we went to Quatro Staggioni (4 Seasons) and had some yummy pizzas and everyone was happy.  There was no waiting for a table in their beautiful courtyard and the service was good, much better than at Artista.  Take that losers!!

From Summer Fun with Friends

Mia, Valerio, Andrea & Me

After dinner I went home to get Olney and we hung out at another Saluzzo bar for a bit.  We all promised to hang out more often and we're looking forward to the birth of Francesca's baby (she's due at the end of the month) and Chiara's wedding (at the end of August).

Another Weekend Trip

First, Happy Independence Day!!  We canceled our 4th of July party this year because very few people were in town this weekend and there was construction at the country house where we hold it.  I'll just have to come up with another reason to make some beer can chicken and barbecued ribs....you know, like a day of the week ending in "day."

From Caserta June 2010

Second, we bought TWO new cars!!!!!!!!   Whoot whoot.  Both from Seat (pronounced C-ot), a Spanish brand owned by Volkswagen.  Fabri got an Ibiza pictured above and my Altea XL will arrive in September.  In Europe they don't make thousands of cars in advance to sit around parking lots and be bought, they do more custom orders and you have to wait for the factory to make your car.  I think it's good because dealers aren't stuck with cars no one wants and it eliminates the need for giant parking lots, but I really miss that instant gratification where you buy a car and they hand you the keys that day.  Fabri's was one of the cars that was already made, so he got his a few days after we bought it (they had install the Bluetooth for him). 

So the new cars were very important because two days after getting Fabri's we drove it about 9 hours to Caserta for the weekend.  For those of you who don't know, Caserta is down near Naples and it's where Fabri's parents are from and were many of his aunts & uncles & cousins still live.  We went down for Fabri's cousin's wedding.  Olney came with us for his longest road trip ever and he was great in the car.  He slept in the backseat pretty much the entire time and did not bark or cry or make any noise at all.  I have decided we need to sell our house and buy an RV and just live there so that Olney can be so perfect all the time!

From Caserta June 2010

We left Thursday afternoon after Fabri finished work and got to his uncle's house in Pozzovetere (in the hills above Caserta) where we were staying about 12:30 at night.  We had a quick meal and were off to bed.  Unfortunately, since Olney slept all day, he had some extra energy and we didn't sleep that well...

From Caserta June 2010

That's the palace of Caserta which was built to be like Versailles in France.

On Friday we took Olney around Caserta vecchia which is the medieval town of Caserta up on the hills above the modern city.  It's very beautiful and you can see Caserta and Naples all the way to the sea from up there.  There were a lot of stray dogs around and one of them took a liking to Olney and followed us around a bunch.  It wasn't a big deal until he followed us all the way to the car....  It was very funny though, there was some old bread on the road, and the stray dog passed it by without a thought, but our dog who eats two meals a day and gets a ton of treats pulled to eat some of the old bread....

From Caserta June 2010

I need to go into a little detail about the lovely Caserta vecchia.  It has excellent tourist potential, and we talked a while with two owners of a bar/restaurant where we had aperitivo who said they do get a fair amount of English tourists.  The problem is that a lot of the beautiful medieval sites aren't open to the public.  During the week, the cathedral and the smaller churches are closed and the castle and tower have been deemed unsafe and you can't get closer than Olney and I are in the picture below. Sadness.

From Caserta June 2010

There are beautiful medieval streets to explore and a LOT of restaurants and bars with good local food and wine, so Fabri and I happily went there both Friday and Saturday mornings with the Olney pup.

From Caserta June 2010

Saturday afternoon was the wedding.  I went down to the center of Caserta to get my hair done with Maria Pia & Francesca.  Life is very different in the south of Italy from the north.  The cities are dirtier and more dangerous and the mafia presence is much, much more apparent.  People are really only concerned with themselves and don't think about other people.  Even though Caserta is a relatively small city (the same size as Cuneo), it is full of beggars and crime.  There are a lot of stray dogs that form packs and roam around at night looking for food.  The center around the palace is very nice though with nice stores and restaurants and parks.  It's nice to visit, but I would never want to live there.

From Caserta June 2010

After the hair we went back up to Pozzovetere to get dressed and go.  The wedding ceremony was in a room of the castle of San Leucio (above), another town in the hills above Caserta. Unfortunately it started to rain as the guests were arriving and got even worse when the guests were exiting to go to the reception which was held at the groom's parents' country house.  The house was gorgeous and like at all Italian weddings, there was a ton of food.

From Caserta June 2010

First there were passed hors d'oeuvres.  Then there were two buffets of appetizers.  One with meat and cheese including 3 types of mozzarella di bufala, the best, freshest mozzarella in the world.  The other with fish and seafood including stuffed mussels and octopus salad.  Then there were two pasta dishes and a main course of fillet of fish and a mini eggplant parmigiana.  Then there was a HUGE cake and an even huger dessert buffet.  I just had a little cake and a couple mini cannoli. 

From Caserta June 2010

Sunday we left in the morning to get home as soon as possible.  Fabri had to work early on Monday morning and it was a tough week because 3 of his colleagues were on vacation.  Now we're looking forward to the next weekend road trip.  Our summer vacation is made up of several short weekend trips, but I think that's great and it means seeing a lot of different places!  Next stop: the beach!!