Issue #8 "Italy Fever E-Notes" by Darlene Marwitz 12.20.01

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ITALYFEVER.COM: The Italy Lover's Pre- and Post-Travel Online Companion
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IN THIS ISSUE:

- - - LIVING LA DOLCE VITA
- - - FOOD AND DRINK
- - - HOME AND GARDEN
- - - BOOKS AND MOVIES
- - - MUSIC AND OPERA
- - - TRAVEL AND TIDBITS

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Dear Italy Lovers,

Finally, at year's end, I'm peddling my passion for Italy again with a Christmas edition of "E-Notes." I hope you missed me! Sadly, this fall, my Italy trip (a Rome-to-Venice cruise and villa stay in the Veneto) was canceled, but it was NOTHING in comparison to all that was going on in the world-the loss of life and businesses going under especially in the travel industry. Today I appreciate my life in America more than ever, but I am also thankful that I can still find room to cherish Italy too. When doubts start seeping in to drown ongoing dreams, it is Italy that inspires me in challenging ways. She jumpstarts my dead batteries when I'm totally discharged. Mille grazie Italy-for nourishing la dolce vita in my heart-even at home in Texas!

LIVING LA DOLCE VITA: "A Hill Country Vacation"

It wasn't Italy, but at least it was Texas-the Texas Hill Country, a diverse terrain with sprawling rivers to navigate, granite mountains to conquer, sunsets and vistas worth writing poetry about. And our sporting Miss Hanna was ready.

Instead of canceling a fall visit to Italy, our year-old Labrador was booting two weeks of boarded bliss. Within the first six days of trooping from one state park to another, our Hanna girl turned "river dog" on us, swimming in six Texas rivers in as many days. She flopped in the Frio, splashed in the Sabinal, meditated Medina shores, lollygaged in the Llano, galloped Guadalupe sand bars, and then dog-paddled the Pedernales on repeated, I say repeated, occasions. Throw toy in. Dog swims to get toy. Throw toy in. Dog swims to get toy. Throw toy in. Dog swims to get toy.

On one of these outings we also took time to hike the winding hidden trails at Lost Maples State Park near Uvalde, where, wouldn't you know it, we stumbled upon a glimmer of Italy. In the heart of rugged Texas, with a failed Italy trip far from mind, David and Hanna and I crossed leaf-shrouded paths with two of the most handsome Italian Greyhounds I'd ever laid eyes on. Tall and skinny! Hairless profiles tall enough for Hanna to walk under IF she tucked her tail. Unlike the miniature greyhounds, a brother and sister team of Chloe and Zoe, that Hanna sometimes meets in our neighborhood at home, these greyhounds were regal to the core, all nose and tail. They had the kind of nose that can embarrass you with a single sniff; each had a whip tail that could fly a flag in your face. Needless to say, Hanna fell in love. The three of them sniffed in all the wrong places, licked each other for safe measure, then circled like a wagon train before parting a friendly, "Ciao wow."

When I had first learned of losing the October trip to Italy, I had also predicted that "Italy would find me." And she did. Thoughts of midday siesta and daily passeggiata started creeping in right away. How wonderful to be gifted with the luxury of FREE TIME, time to partake of simple Italian pleasures no matter where the soil that I walked on.

Starting with our first morning walk (from our tiny Fredericksburg house) to a local bakery for breakfast, it didn't take us long to adjust, shift gears and slow down. In Italy it's common for locals to drop in at the SAME tiny bar, day after day, to "make" colazione-enjoy a simple breakfast of caffé and a pastry. We followed suit. By day three, Hanna automatically hung left, leading us down a skinny path off Main Street for a routine stop at Rather Sweet Bakery-chunky banana muffins and decadent apricot scones-to die for!

At every turn we found Italy, especially in the landscape (rivers and vineyards, distant vistas and undulating hills) and in our passeggiata habit (evening strolls up and down Main Street in Fredericksburg, plus day trips walking town squares in nearby small towns). Watching the sun set across the Pedernales river one last time put everything in perspective. What I love most about Italy is the same as what I love most about Texas: the land, the people, small towns where everybody knows your name.

See you again come springtime!
Darlene Marwitz

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FOOD AND DRINK:

Cookbook: New Italian cookbooks keep flooding the market, a testimony that Italy's cuisine remains the top ethnic food in America. This time I'm smitten with a charmer that is several years old, Diane Sneed's Rome for All Seasons: A Cookbook (1996). In addition to the recipes, you'll be smitten with the beautiful watercolor illustrations by Marlene McLoughlin (author and artist of the handsome sketchbook, Road to Rome: An Artist's Year in Italy (1995). Always on the lookout for recipes using farro, I especially enjoyed Sneed's recipe on page 40, Zuppa di Farro (Spelt Soup). It was in Lucca a number of years ago that I first fell for the texture and flavor of farro grain.

HOME AND GARDEN:

Tip: Christmas at home may be less romantic than a Tuscan or Umbrian holiday, but here's a simple "fix." Try crafting a Christmas stocking in the shape of a boot, an Italian boot! Use a photocopier and enlarge a small map of Italy to create the desired size and pattern profile and then cut two layers of yellow-gold felt to create a stocking base. Next, sew or glue the appropriate edges together before adding surface decorations. My favorite "ornaments" consist of miniature objects found in dollhouse supply shops. Glue a tiny chunk of cheese in the Emilia-Romagna region (representing parmigiano reggiano-the king of cheeses!); attach grapes clusters (or wine bottles or glasses) near special vineyards you've visited; locate Ferrara with a bicycle or two; identify Vicenza with a tiny gold pendant or leather handbag (great shopping); apply ice cream cones to favorite gelato cities (mandatory); and lemons and pizza slices are a must for southern Italy-you get the idea. Embroidered place names and icons may also be added as finishing touches. Let your imagination soar, take you to Italy via fireplace mantel at home!

BOOKS AND MOVIES:

Non-Fiction: Sometimes it only takes a title or dust jacket to lure me, but this book is more. Restoring a Home in Italy (2001) by Elizabeth Helman Minchilli, photography by Simon McBride, is a large, handsome, and informative resource for anyone who has ever dreamed of restoring a house in Italy. It's both glamorous and useful, depicting restored houses throughout Italy: "Twenty-Two Home Owners Realize Their Dream." I especially enjoyed the "project notes," "glossary of building terms," and handful of construction details that are scattered among the chapters.

Non-Fiction:

Movie: I'm anxiously waiting for video release of Bread and Tulips, or Pane e Tulipani, (2001) (http://www.breadandtulipsthemovie.com). Though never able to catch it in a theater, I've read wonderful reviews and many of you have said it's "lovely, romantic, filmed in Venice." I'll try to mention it again once I can tell you the details first hand, but catch it if you can before me!

Movie: Not long ago in a video store I stumbled upon The Luzhin Defence (2001) (http://www.spe.sony.com/classics/luzhin/index.html) at the video store, a British movie that caught my eye once I noticed it was partially filmed in the Italian Lakes district. The story is one of obsession and chess and far from upbeat, but the 1920s setting on Lake Como is worth mentioning. The movie is based on an original novel by Russian author Vladimir Nabokov, best known for writing Lolita.

MUSIC AND OPERA:

A recent Andrea Bocelli CD, Cieli di Toscana (2001), is turning into a favorite of mine. Once I started reading the lyrics (printed in the CD jacket in Italian and English), I favored it more. There's one selection, "L'Incontro (The Meeting)," where Bocelli speaks/sings in English-charming.

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Sting's "Tuscany project," where he was first scheduled to record a live album on September 11 at his Tuscan home, prompted me to go to the music store, but I came home with an old Zucchero recording instead! I exchanged a British rock star for an Italian one, one with a blues twist. I've been told that Zucchero's earlier recordings (where he sings a number of melodies in English) are less than desirable, but I disagree. It's nice to hear his voice in both languages. The CD I bought is called Miserere (1992), including a duet with Pavarotti-the title song. I can only describe this collection as "eclectic A to Z," but I love it. Hope you do too.

TRAVEL AND TIDBITS:

Here's an exciting and "new-to-me" Web site for Italophiles worldwide! Zoomata.com (http://www.zoomata.com) is a Milan-based Web site that promises to entertain you with lifestyle and news tidbits, travel and language tips, plus a monthly first-person account of someone who actually took the plunge-moved to Italy for real! Be sure to check this out.

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Already, I mourn the loss of the lira Euros hit the European market in January and I'm not ready! It's the "Wal-Marting" of currency, generic super currency, one for all? I hate it. Anyone who knows me well knows that I never shop at Wal-Mart, never set foot in their stores. How many small-town stores have been closed on their account? Recently, I read in The Washington Post that a "wave of nostalgia has swept across Italy and France as they prepare to jettison their lira and francs." It seems that Italian pop stars have even created lyrics paying tribute to the lira. Hooray! I agree it's worth singing, or shouting, about for it's a cultural loss in my opinion. For more information on the Euro you can check the European Union's Web site (http://www.europa.eu.int).

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I laughed when I read that John Steinbeck once wrote, "I've seen a look in dog's eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I'm convinced that dogs think humans are nuts." It's surely the same look of astonishment that I often catch in dear Hanna's brown beauties! And for fun, here's a Web site for the Italian Greyhound Club of America (http://www.italiangreyhound.org).

Tip: The next best thing to travel is reading about travel even if you never leave home. How easily we forget this. If travel narratives bore you, try fiction or mysteries set in Italy. And for children or baby gifts, my favorite selection is a trio of "first" language books: Italian, French, and Spanish. I wish I hadn't been forty years old before trying to learn Italian!

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Parting Words: Following one's passion IS possible, even at home, one tiny "Italianized" step every day.

Ciao and Buon Natale,
Darlene Marwitz

P. S. If you're experiencing difficulty with the links in this newsletter, please check to see if your browser is set to receive HTML. Some viewers are receiving activated links without a problem, but many of you are not-sorry about that. You may also view current and past newsletters online-with activated links!

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Questions, comments, suggestions, or corrections?
Please send e-mail to darlene@italyfever.com. I welcome ideas for making this a better newsletter for Italy lovers seeking la dolce vita all year long!

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ITALY FEVER E-NOTES
Copyright 2000-2001, Darlene Marwitz. All rights reserved worldwide.
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