Italy

We saved Italy for last, staying at a renovated farmhouse in northern Tuscany, then a few days in Florence and finally to Santa Margherita by the sea for down time.  Leaving Switzerland tomorrow morning, this is a last minute post before the miles make this memory beyond meaningful reach.

The Duomo and Bell Tower balanced by the Palazzo Vecchio anchor the Florentine "skyline." 

This Genovese cake (after the port city of Genoa) was HUGE.  Traditional Italian cuisine seems to prefer the bold and simple.  This bakery was in nearby Santa Margherita.
The main cathedral in Siena was astounding. Black and white, horizontal striped marble throughout the interior.

From the cafeteria terrace of Florence's Uffizi Gallery.

The gated doorways of our apt in the farmhouse made for prisoner and dungeon play.  Our farmhouse villa had a dog whom we promptly named, "killer dog." Sorry to report that the craze for owning dogs that can kill people is present in Europe, too. 

"Leather, leather, everywhere." Name that tune.  Florentine leather is renowned, but the markets made it hard to sort out the authentic, ie quality of grain, where I heard every sort of animal hide mentioned as absolutely THE best kind. antelope, camel, lamb, etc.  Then I heard antelope was illegal and a term now used to describe the finest lambskin, ie as though "antelope."  While trying on a "camel" jacket, the vendor suddenly struck a match and held it against me to prove (I guess) its fire retardant quality.  I was impressed when one vendor grabbed a jacket and wrung it out like a chamois (we had a brief rainstorm).

Something about this Leonardo - the Annunciation; it became a personal favorite. 

We recommend the above, Fun in Florence, breaking down key art sites by patterns, shapes, color, and simple history. 
Hydrangea blooms in the Santa Margherita hotel grounds. By contrast, Florence had few public places or park benches to just sit and take a break. Not easy with kids.  14% fewer tourists compared to last summer, due to the euro.  Many Europeans now take their holidays at cheaper locales - former eastern bloc countries - and skip traditional Italy, but fewer Americans this time, as well, though still a favorite.

I REALLY liked the gelato - served with such flair.  One stand made a fantastic watermelon flavor; there was even a seed in my cup!  Sad to report though that they have limited the number of flavors you can stack onto the cone.  I used to fit 5 flavors onto a single-size serving.  The chocolate was almost pitch black.
The sea was a bit rough for the Mediterranean, but the children enjoyed the rare wave action.

Pesto is a Genoa dish, served with green beans and potato in the sauce.  Jack could eat pasta breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Most days he got got 2 out of 3.

This braided roll made a lovely template.

This merry-go-round had a Pooh with a tail attached that the children yelled and screamed for.  Catching the tail won a free turn. Great gimmick.

Clever postcards that outline famous paintings for children to color in.

Lunch with the Millers.

Dinner with Guernaldo, a retired chef in Florence, who came to our apt and gave cooking lessons (more like demos): full menus served and cleared AND cleaned! Warm seafood salad, wild boar fresh pasta, grilled rosemary steak, and flourless chocolate cake. 
The boys did fine with museums and churches, as long as we gave breaks and prepped them for things to see and find, like a treasure hunt.

Olive groves outside the apartment.  Locals press their own oil - the fresher the better.

Except for a few spots, the beaches tend to be gravel, not sand; sheltered, little coves - all flanked with umbrellas, deck chairs, eateries, and mostly Italians. Marconi transmitted the first radio signal from our hotel terrace.  Never learned why one street was named Via Antonio Gramsci, as I could not trace any history between the Marxist theorist and the seaside city.  

There is this enchanting blend of history - Roman steps climbing the hill behind our hotel are still in use - with good food and beautiful vistas.  Undoubtedly owed to zoning laws, European cities are often set in a bucolic landscape, compared to American urban centers; so it's not just the comparatively older civilization, but also the proximity to greenness that marks these countries.

On the other hand, if you're talking representative democracy, then America is probably the one with the deeper history; most of Europe (and Asia) being the new-kid-on-the-block.

coffee

My parents were avid drinkers of what has become known as "American" coffee - large quantities of weak brew, basically. While in Japan, Carolyn and I were amused to find Japanese coffeemakers had a switch for the "American" option.

My mother percolated her coffee on the stove, reheating it numerous times, recalling days in Minnesota where some even cracked an egg in the coffeepot - a filter for the grounds - a technique brought over from Scandinavia.

It's interesting to see how much Starbucks - albeit 600 fewer franchises - has changed things java. I mentioned before that in the not-too-long-ago past there weren't really places in America where you could just sit and enjoy coffee; "coffee shops" seemed more like full-on restaurants. Tables have turned and now many Americans come to Europe searching for a coffee experience to match State-side.

But, perhaps, things haven't changed so much after all. We used to drink gallons of bad, weak java, but - stepping on some toes here - now we drink gallons of bad, strong coffee? Anyway, I've been struck at how the coffee culture of Starbucks hasn't caught on in Switzerland and Italy, where coffee is generally a quality social drink that involves sitting, serving, conversing, reading, and porcelain, in a neighborhood context.

But, curiously, Nespresso seems to be performing a similar revolution here - with home machines and swanky cafes - coffee boutiques, really - popping up here and there. The new Nespresso shop in Lausanne's St Francois square below.

I got one of these for Christmas.

I sometimes think we added an element of connoiseurship to the old brew; the pseudo-Italian (I love hearing Americans ordering lattes in France) Starbucks grammar book adding an aura of "bar talk" to the morning; the surviving elixir of the '90s hi-tech boom which I've certainly benefited from. (For an interesting opinion arguing for the contemporary relevance of liturgy proven by the coffee chain phenomenon, check out "Liturgy and Starbucks").

If the real-estate bust is really unearthing a mistaken, expensive, post WWII premise - that every American should be able to own a house - maybe the humble percolater will be making a quiet comeback? Anyone recall newspaper articles about reusing old coffee grounds - baking them in the oven?

wagamama, itsu

There is not only a Japanese presence in London, but a Japanese language presence, as well, owing to actual Nihonjin who travel and live in the UK and the contemporary popularity of Japanese cultural products like anime film.

WAGAMAMA and ITSU are successful and tasty meal alternatives to the rather stale British offerings. In Switzerland, these kinds of places offer-up most anything Asian - Thai, Chinese, etc - but don't have the trendy cool typology of Romanized Japanese script.
On the other hand, Chinese ideograms have been very popular T-shirt and tattoo designs in the States, while museums like the Boston Museum of Fine Arts made the Japanese collection its hallmark. The BMFA's early links to Japanese art date to a noteworthy curator, Okakura Tenshin, who popularized the tea ceremony in the West.

Japanese culture has been popular in Paris since the late 19th century, but Florence, Italy seemed pretty locked-in to me (although sister city with Kyoto), regarding outside influences of any kind, while obviously catering to Japanese tourists, who buy up exclusive fashion, taste pricey wines, etc. Vendors routinely use Japanese greetings and BOW to me, and our hotel actually had Japanese cable AND a Japanese cartoon network, where Michael and Jack could watch the popular:

Doraemon, a lovable robotic cat.

Most Japanese live in "rabbit hutches" (Thatcherism), so they tend to spend their powerful yen* on the ephemeral: fashion, travel, food. Nothing too permanent. Italy is a natural, given the pervasive display of ritualized style & flair in packaging, gifting, dining. Some of the best French and Italian cuisine in the world are in Tokyo, which recently passed Paris as the city with the most restaurants earning Michelin stars (197 to 91!)


*When the Japanese government privatized the postal banking system several years ago, it was discovered that TWICE THE GDP OF GERMANY was socked away in personal savings accounts. That doesn't even include the private bank accounts held in Fuji, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Bank of Tokyo, etc. Staggering amounts of cash.

Michael's Last 2 Days of School : Farewell Picnic, Last Day of School

Several families from Michael's class threw us a farewell picnic on July 3rd. A rainy evening, we took cover on the terrace of a nearby community center, placing the blankets and food spread under the eaves. A social link revolving around Carolyn, these moms really went out of their way, giving Michael and Jack handpainted sweatshirts, A Bell for Ursule (traditional Swiss folktale), and
a class photo signed by all the children. We were overwhelmed.
There is an Ithaca-like, granola consciousness in Lausanne, layered with the formal traditions of Swiss French culture in manners and cuisine; the picnic offered garlic eggplant slices, hummus, but also pastry covered pate, cured meats, and champagne.
Michael's best friend, Joaz, who instinctively seemed to "know exactly how to eat an Oreo" (our contribution), giving-up too quickly when the cookie outsides wouldn't unhinge.

Jack found something to do.


Last Day at Montriond Ecole.

Madame Curiel was showered with gifts and wished us well, hoping we'd find a way to work on Michael's French. There happens to be a Swiss expat family near us in LA, whose French-speaking daughter, Celeste, was a good friend from preschool.

Joaz was the one who could balance an apple on his head at Michael's birthday party. An attempt at a group shot below.

Pierre really liked playing with Jack, always adjusting his sunglasses, playing hide-and-seek after school, etc.

We do think it was a stresser for Michael, the language barrier held back his social role, but he persisted and had fun anyway, and learned much, though we're not exactly sure what. So maybe he had a normal kindergarten experience after all! Filing departure papers at the city office that day, we were one step closer back to California. After lunch in the city, we took the train to the airport to meet Brad & Nancy Miller, who were making their first trip abroad.