I hear more and more from my family about the impending doom of Hurricane Sandy, ripping her way up the eastern seaboard of America and bringing massive amounts of rain along with it. I don't know if the Amalfi Coast felt left out by natural disasters, but we too have had a weekend full of rain. That rain that brings this really creepy windy with it that sounds like whistling as it pushes against the walls of my apartment creak. "This apartment is up to codes, I hope. And reinforced with strong metal to hold it in place??" I ponder, feeling the walls once again creak under the strain. "It's going to be JUST like Dorothy in Kansas. My house is going to fall on some elderly woman wearing fantastic shoes and then I'll have to go on a very, very long walk."
What's more, Tom was gone all weekend and I spent my rainy Saturday watching Flashpoint, my newest obsession on Netflix. "What's Flashpoint, Lynne?" you might (or more likely probably are not) asking yourself? Well gather round, friends, and let me tell you a little story. It's the tale of a band of misfits in, wait for it, Toronto, fighting Canadian crime in a SWAT-like environment. It took me a good 3-4 episodes to figure out that the show was set in Canada. For those non-American followers (there are about 3 of you total, but welcome nonetheless), Canada is like America. Alarmingly similar, so it would seem. Our accents, aside from "about" or "sorry" are very similar to those of Wisconsin, and as Sarah Palin has taught us, apparently Alaska. Who knew? But we have a jovial rivalry, much like Australia-New Zealand rivalry. Everyone else in the world thinks that they are the same place. But they know. We know too. Well it's the same with us and Canada. We poke fun at them for their funny accents and love of hockey, but really, after watching this show, I'm convinced that Canada has potential. I mean, they love nature, they have a large variety of attractive men, dressed well. And aside from Amy Jo Johnson, the lone American (better known as the Pink Power Ranger), a group of surprisingly talented actors. Canada is certainly looking up! Granted, based entirely on this show, I'd never bank in Canada. Too many bank heists. I mean really, where is the safety in banking, Canada? How is a person to put their trust in your financial institutions when your own tv series show them riddled with crime?? But I've digressed, in a big way.
After almost a full day of watching Canadian TV on the couch, I bathed. It was a big step. I unlocked my front door for the first time and ventured out into the cold, rainy day ahead. But it was the weekend of the much-loved Truffle and Chestnut Festival. In Italy, I've recently learned, the word "sagra" is used to describe country festivals that often include food (check) and music (check). Sagra season is starting to wind down for the colder weather, so we were sure to check this one out again! Off we trudged to Bagnoli Irpino, about an hour west of Napoli and into what seemed like another world of Italy. Once outside of the hustle and bustle of Naples, things moved slower. The grass was green once again, fields were spotted with cows and sheep and pigs and trees grew tall, their branches filled with orange and gold. I've never considered myself much of a country girl, I've always preferred city life, but since living in such a dense, noisy city like Naples, I felt my roots sigh at the ease of life in this quiet, quaint little town.
Gillian and I enjoying the Truffle Festival!
There were a seemingly endless number of stalls holding everything from wild boar sausage (bought it!) to truffle ravioli (ate it!), cheap wine (drank it!) and some very disappointing corn on the cob (whomp, whomp. Tried it, regretted it immediately. Who messes up corn on the cob???). But there were good friends to spend the day with and lots of good food to be had! Another successful truffle festival, even if my sweetie wasn't there to enjoy it with me, and the promise of next year ahead!!
Please forgive the quality of my pictures, once we arrived, I realized that I had left the SIM card for my camera in my computer. These are entirely iPhone photos. Did what I could with what I had.
Same as last year - incredible delicious cheese toast. To make: 1. Roast cheese over flames. 2. Scrape onto toasted bread. 3. Top with truffles. 4. Make guttural noises while consuming. Mmmm.... sooooo delicious!
Pig head. Just hanging out.
Truffle pastas: close up is "paccheri" which is really big, tube pasta. The far one is truffle ravioli. Which was very, very, very good!!
Truffle eggs! Oh my goodness, they were soooo delicious!!
Close up of my truffle eggs.
Ciao for now!
What's more, Tom was gone all weekend and I spent my rainy Saturday watching Flashpoint, my newest obsession on Netflix. "What's Flashpoint, Lynne?" you might (or more likely probably are not) asking yourself? Well gather round, friends, and let me tell you a little story. It's the tale of a band of misfits in, wait for it, Toronto, fighting Canadian crime in a SWAT-like environment. It took me a good 3-4 episodes to figure out that the show was set in Canada. For those non-American followers (there are about 3 of you total, but welcome nonetheless), Canada is like America. Alarmingly similar, so it would seem. Our accents, aside from "about" or "sorry" are very similar to those of Wisconsin, and as Sarah Palin has taught us, apparently Alaska. Who knew? But we have a jovial rivalry, much like Australia-New Zealand rivalry. Everyone else in the world thinks that they are the same place. But they know. We know too. Well it's the same with us and Canada. We poke fun at them for their funny accents and love of hockey, but really, after watching this show, I'm convinced that Canada has potential. I mean, they love nature, they have a large variety of attractive men, dressed well. And aside from Amy Jo Johnson, the lone American (better known as the Pink Power Ranger), a group of surprisingly talented actors. Canada is certainly looking up! Granted, based entirely on this show, I'd never bank in Canada. Too many bank heists. I mean really, where is the safety in banking, Canada? How is a person to put their trust in your financial institutions when your own tv series show them riddled with crime?? But I've digressed, in a big way.
After almost a full day of watching Canadian TV on the couch, I bathed. It was a big step. I unlocked my front door for the first time and ventured out into the cold, rainy day ahead. But it was the weekend of the much-loved Truffle and Chestnut Festival. In Italy, I've recently learned, the word "sagra" is used to describe country festivals that often include food (check) and music (check). Sagra season is starting to wind down for the colder weather, so we were sure to check this one out again! Off we trudged to Bagnoli Irpino, about an hour west of Napoli and into what seemed like another world of Italy. Once outside of the hustle and bustle of Naples, things moved slower. The grass was green once again, fields were spotted with cows and sheep and pigs and trees grew tall, their branches filled with orange and gold. I've never considered myself much of a country girl, I've always preferred city life, but since living in such a dense, noisy city like Naples, I felt my roots sigh at the ease of life in this quiet, quaint little town.
Please forgive the quality of my pictures, once we arrived, I realized that I had left the SIM card for my camera in my computer. These are entirely iPhone photos. Did what I could with what I had.
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Truffle pastas: close up is "paccheri" which is really big, tube pasta. The far one is truffle ravioli. Which was very, very, very good!!
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Ciao for now!
Lynne
