Wednesday morning at the market

 

Many times I worry that I am not living in Italy enough.  Do I appreciate the food, the language, the culture of this beautiful land?  Am I learning the food, the language, the culture?  What ways can I more fully embrace living in Italy?

Once a week I have a ritual that is entirely Italian: Lena and I walk to the Wednesday outdoor market in our town.  I have come to rely on the stalls full of vegetables and fruits to stock my pantry and refrigerator, as I cannot find better prices or fresher produce anywhere during the week. 

I love these trips: pushing Lena's stroller through the streets of our town and waving at our acquaintances (the old man in the general store, the boy who works in the bottled water store), the arrival in the hustle and bustle of the market, the ritual of tearing off a number printed on thin colored paper from the stack dangling in front of my favorite vendors' stall, the meanderings from stall to stall until my number is finally called, the routine of ordering in Italian as best I can and being helped along by the vendors (father, mother, and son, I think) who by now smile in recognition at me, love Lena, and know when my baby is due.

Today Lena and I arrived at the market during the morning rush, so while we waited for our turn to get fruits and vegetables, we wandered around the market and took some pictures.

At last it was our turn to buy fruits and vegetables! Afterwards we checked to see how our car wash was coming along.  We borrowed our friends' van this week while they were out of town and our persnickety old Honda was in the shop.  I decided to get their van cleaned while we were at the market.  The men washed it inside and out by hand... and all for the equivalent of $20.  I'm coming back with our car next week!

Cinque Terre :: Monterosso al Mare

Our last day in Cinque Terre... and did we want to visit one last town?  We decided to swing through Monterosso for lunch on our way back to Milan and a flight to Sicily.

Little did we know what a treacherous road we were about to go down!

We snaked up and down the green hills of the coast, passing through tiny little clusters of houses and shops, villages too small to be considered one of the "cinque terre" towns.  The view from the tops of the hills was amazing: a horizon that melted into the sea, cathedral spires nosing the clouds, bright orange nets spread under olive trees for the picking season.

However, as the road twisted down towards the coast numerous times, the scenery changed.  Water collected quickly and formed dangerous rivulets, then streams, then rivers.  At the bottom of the valleys we felt like we were in a war zone; there were barricades everywhere.  This is why parts of Cinque Terre have disappeared in mud slides in 2011 and 2012, and why the Via dell'Amore was closed between the towns, and why there were so many warning signs on the roads... and perhaps also why we were the only cars on it!

A few times I looked back and saw that the earth had washed away underneath the outer edge of the asphalt.  If we had been driving too close to the edge... would the road have fallen away beneath us?

I was actually trembling when we finally parked in Monterosso al Mare and realized it was because I had been so tense in the car.  What a relief to step out into such a quaint little town and have nothing more on our minds than where to find some lunch!

 Farewell for now, Cinque Terre.  Maybe we'll meet again... in the summertime?

Cinque Terre :: Riomaggiore

Day Three in Cinque Terre dawned rainy and gray.  

This is an unfortunate state of affairs if you are in a small apartment with four children under six years old.  We waited for the rain to abate somewhat and then, hungry and stir-crazy, we headed out into our little town of Riomaggiore.  Below is the view of the heart of town and the boat slip.  Looks a little different on a rainy day than it does in the sparkling summertime!

At the top of the town, the sun came out!  As we looked towards the back of town and the rising hills, low-hanging clouds lingered, but if we looked out to sea there was only sunshine.

For all lovers of Naomi of Rockstar Diaries, we missed each other by one day in Riomaggiore.  She took this same photo a day before I did.  I also have a sneaking suspicion we might have even stayed in the same apartment, but do not yet have proof....

Our apartment included the top floor of the narrow rose-colored house on the far left.  Below is the view from the balcony at the very top.

And then we were home after another fun day of exploring.  Time to cook dinner, read a few stories (this one's her current favorite... thank you, Jo and Will!), and snuggle down into bed.

Cinque Terre :: Vernazza

Beautiful Vernazza, the most famous of the Cinque Terre villages, was our lunch stop (and last stop) that first day.  We had wanted to stay in this town because it was famously lovely, but in the end I actually liked Riomaggiore more.  Nevertheless, Vernazza (ver-NATZ-ah) had a gorgeous coastline and lovely little harbor... and some yummy eats.

All the beached rowboats reminded us that we were visiting in the off-season.  Oh to come again in the height of summer when every captain is plying his oars across the sparkling blue sea!

We found a great little restaurant called Bar del Capitano in the main square and settled down for some traditional fare.  I ordered the trofie al pesto this time, which is pesto pasta that is cooked with sticky homemade noodles.  Delicious.

                                                                                                                                        ^ Waiting for the train! 

At home I carefully set up my camera on the balcony railing to take a photo of Riomaggiore by night.  So beautiful!  Later we played games of "This Little Piggy" before dinner.

After our babes were a-bed, the adults played Settlers of Catan... and I won!  For like the second time in my life?