Saluzzo with the Rents!

Before our weekend in Nice, Mom and Dad spent the week in Saluzzo at our house!  We weren't too lucky with the weather.  Rain off and on all week, but we still managed to have a good time.

We went to the Palace of Racconigi.

Mom & I in the garden at the castle.

We went to lots of microbreweries and drank lots of microbrew beer!

We had fun on our drive to Nice.  We stopped in the mountains to let Olney out and stretch our legs!

Thankfully we found beautiful weather in France and everyone had fun just the same.

Nice with the Rents

We had a nice visit with my parents.  The weather was pretty so-so: rain off and on, but we still managed to have some fun.  On Saturday morning we went to Nice.  The weather in Italy was overcast and chilly, but as soon as we passed through the tunnel into France we saw a blue sky ahead.  I love when it works like that!

This trip was extra exciting because we brought Olney to Nice for his first time.  Now he's officially an International Travel Pup! 

We did a lot of walking and exploring and a bit of shopping in Nice.  I think we really tired out Mom & Dad with all that walking. We found an artisans market in a piazza.  I felt bad for the sellers though because it was REALLY windy and things were getting broken and blown around. 

We took Mom & Dad to Wayne's to experience that craziness.  It was a little too crazy for them and we escaped to the Promenade to watch the sunset.

On Sunday we did some more shopping and bought some Lily of the Valleys.  May first is the Lily of the Valley fair in Nice.  As far as I can tell, they just sell a bunch of the flowers all over the city.  It's also a communist holiday, so we saw a workers' demonstration march as well.

Mostly we just soaked up the sun and enjoyed hanging out together and Olney was so well behaved I want to go back again next weekend!!

Earth Day

Wildflowers growing near the house

Lauren asked to see garden pictures, and I can't deny a fan, so that's what I have for you today!  Friday is Earth Day so I thought it was very appropriate to talk a little about my garden and my gardening philosophy.  Now all I have in the way of a garden is two balconies and various windowsills, and believe me, I fill those spaces as best I can.  Besides just wanting to have pretty flowers, I think growing plants is important for a few reasons.

I keep houseplants to filter the air in the house and get some of that good O2.  They also humidify the air.  I keep fresh cut flowers around because they smell good and brighten everyone's day.

Both vases hold hand picked wild flowers

Outside I grow several herbs: parsley, sage, basil, mint, rosemary and thyme.  Fresh herbs for cooking is pretty much the best.  For edibles, I also grow jalapeno peppers, lettuce and sometimes sprouts. 

Lemon Thyme

Other than that I have a bit of a random mix of flowers.  I attempt to have something flowering at all times to attract bees and wasps and get some biocontrol action.  I have had problems with aphids, white flies, and mealy bugs.  It's not easy to attract beneficial insects to such a small open space. 

Some of those plants are native to Europe

I also like to plant native species.  In a balcony garden, I'm not sure that I have a big effect, but I have a few European wild flowers that I'm enjoying.  Check out my Mom's garden for a bunch of natives I made her plant!!

My Space :)

But mostly I try to create a space I can enjoy and be proud of.  Happy Earth Day!!

Food Adventures

Fabri has some really generous patients.  He has one woman who is doing quite well that he's been following for about 9 months.  I have not bought eggs in all that time because every week she gives Fabri between 6 and 12 farm fresh eggs.  Last summer she gave us at least 5 kilos of tomatoes that I turned into salsa, tomato soup, and lots of caprese salads.  She always sends Fabri home with some sort of veggies: lettuce, cabbage, turnips...

Recently a patient gave Fabri a bag of wild hops they collected.  Thankfully they explained what I was to do with them because I never ate such a thing before!  They said to treat them like wild asparagus which I do have some experience with.  So you either boil them and eat them with a little oil or make them into a frittata.  Since we have all those free eggs (some of which I'm hoarding to decorate for Easter), we went the frittata route.

First I boiled the hops in salted water for 5 or 6 minutes to make them soft.  Meanwhile I whisked six eggs together with salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and a couple of splashes of milk.  Then I put the hops and the egg mix together in a pan and let it cook covered for about 10 minutes.  You have to lift up the sides of the frittata to let the egg run underneath so that it will all cook. 

It was really good.  The hops don't have a strong taste at all.  We didn't eat the flowers (cones) which are what is used for beer and have a strong flavor that Fabri loves in his IPA.  We ate the fresh spring shoots; the leaves were barely open on them.  They just gave the omelet a crisp, fresh taste and of course a beautiful green color.  We ate the frittata along side some chicken quesedillas.  Fabri ate so fast he didn't have time to breathe, so I guess he really liked it all, as did I.

I like the idea of collecting food.  Here they collect berries, mushrooms, greens, asparagus, and apparently hops to eat.  I wish I could do that.  At our friend Angela & Gabrielle's house I tasted wild strawberry liquor that Angela's mom made with berries she collected.  That's on my list of things to make; it was very yummy!  And in the fall I go crazy for the porcini mushrooms which can be collected in the mountains.  Thankfully neighbors and patients like to share in what they've found and Fabri and I get to have these food adventures!

Food & Friends

A couple of weeks ago I went out with some great English speaking ladies.  We were celebrating a birthday in style with fancy cocktails and then a yummy dinner.

English speaking ladies!!

Then about a week ago Fabri and I went to dinner with a big group of friends we don't get to see enough of.  We thought we were going to go out in Saluzzo with two or three other couples.  On Saturday Fabri called me to make the dinner reservation (he was working) and told me we would need a reservation for 18!!  I thought he was crazy!  I tried to find a restaurant in Saluzzo that could handle us with a few hours notice with no luck.  Miki thankfully made a reservation for us at the Osteria del Teatro in Savigliano. 

Table for 18 please!

We had a lot of fun catching up with all those Savi-beach friends.  Pej and his girlfriend even came all the way from Turin just for dinner!  I have to say, the food wasn't great, but the company was amazing and there was never a lull in the conversation.  It was good practice for my Italian because all the girls sat at one end of the table and the boys at the other, so Fabri and I were too far apart for him to help me speak.  I just had to prove my awesomeness!!

Some of those Savi-Beach friends 2.5 years ago at our Italian wedding reception.

Exploring Lombardy with Micah & Anna

I am overwhelmed by the idea of writing about everything that happened this super fun weekend in Lombardia, so I'm starting by just sticking some captioned photos on here and see if something more organically flows from that beginning!

We visited Bergamo, Cremona and Piacenza with Micah & Anna!

Bergamo is all decked out to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.

Exploring Bergamo Alta (high) - the historic center is up on a hill above the modern city

The facade of the Duomo of Bergamo

The main piazza - we ate at that restaurant to the right

Looking down on Bergamo Basso (low)

Walking down to get the car & head to Cremona for night #2!

Piazza duomo in Cremona

Tallest brick tower in Italy, and we went up it!

Fabri climbing the final staircase up the tower

It took me some convincing and I was the last to arrive to the top.

Here we are in front of the duomo.  The rain began Sunday morning,

This is a very rainy Piacenza where we stopped for lunch before heading home.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

Wearing green on St. Patty's Day before going out for a Guinness!