It is August, the hottest month of the year in Italy. July was quite nice – 80’s in the daytime and 70’s at night and almost no rain. Since the last week of July the temperature has been increasing and is now in the high 90’s and humid. We are told this is when the hot wind from the Sahara blows through (an Italian Santa Anna, but with higher humidity). It was mentioned in an earlier post that July brought several parades through the town streets with an increasing number of locals dressed in authentic medieval costumes. Following each of these parades there is a competitive event. These competitions were held in Medieval times as a way to keep the townspeople battle-ready. The Quintana was resurrected in 1955 by local historians and has been held every year since with increasing popularity country-wide.  It is also filmed for television. The competitions are between the six communities (Sestieri) of the town laid out according to ancient town planning. The July competitions are in flag waving (Sbandieratori) and archery, all free and open to the townspeople and the tourists. Because we arrived too late we had to view the Sbandieratori competition through the crook of someone’s arm, however, we got some great casual shots behind the bleachers.  The last competition, held the first weekend in August and requiring a ticket purchase, is The Joust of the Quintana (La Giostra Sella Quintana). The rivalry between the Sestieri is very real (when competing) with fans in face paint, tee shirts, and bandanas just like any other sport. Larry and I are not sports fans, as many of you know, but jousting may be our sport. It is considered a great honor to be able to participate in the parade or any of these events representing your Sestiere. If you happen to win any of the events for your Sestiere, well let’s just say you will have a very good year. There are more saints than there are days of the year and each Italian town claims a patron saint of their own. That saint’s “day” becomes a holiday for the town and is marked by celebrations – religious and otherwise. I can’t imagine that...

Photos- The Quintana

By Larry & Arlene on Aug 19, 2013 in Portfolio | 2 comments

Entering Piazza Arringo Drums and Clarions Waiting Backstage Refreshment from the Fountain Out of Central Casting The Offering of the Candles Parade Head of the Joust Enjoy the Pageantry Child Ready to Present Candle Mayor and Magistrates Greet Bishop Knights & Horses are Blessed Yes, a Real Falcon Authentically Over the Top On...

This was my first joust, so I didn’t have a clue what to wear. Since we were in the expensive seats (50 Euro each), certainly we should consider our bella figura. The weather actually made the decision for us. Since it was so hot and humid I wore a sundress I purchased before we left home and Larry wore a nice pair of shorts and shirt. Since the last fashion post we have made some more observations. Mature local men and women rarely wear shorts in town, except during the dog days of August. The women mostly wear sleeveless tailored shifts and sundresses when it is really hot so next year I’ll have to get some. My legs were delighted when August arrived and I could set them free in shorts. Now the younger folks are a different story. The guys don’t really wear baggies (thank goodness, I hate them). They wear a closer fit short that stops just above the knee, this year with the cuff turned up, and in bright colors. (All the better to show off their tight bun.)  The only baggies I have seen are on tourists from other countries. If not wearing tees, they wear polo shirts with the collar up, often with the designer name printed on the back of the upturned collar. Most wear Converse/Vans type tennis shoes in bright colors. Many guys have a haircut which is closely shaved on the sides and front with the top cut to about two inches. Not a mohawk, more like a small field of hair on top. I think it’s dumb looking, but I’ve seen worse. The girls/young women wear shorts that sometimes barely begin, but if longer end mid-thigh. There is also a newer fashion emerging that, until now, I had only seen on lovely Caterina (who was obviously on the cutting edge of fashion). Harem pants, starting low on the hips, loose and gathered at the bottom or crossed over the front of the leg, are being seen more frequently now that more tourists have arrived. The trend is spreading fast and I don’t blame them for quickly discarding those uncomfortably tight pants. There is also a shorts version that is looser...

There is so much we take for granted in our everyday lives. Many of the little things have enough consistency in how they work that you don’t really have to think about them – until they are different. Even if you have travelled before, the reflexive mindset probably doesn’t consider changing its orientation to differences all that much because, in due course, you are going ‘home’ to the automatically familiar. But once ‘home’ becomes a different place, it is funny how some of the little, every day things that seemed automatic have to be rethought. The following is just one area that comes to mind that is currently being ‘re-thought.’ Space – the territorial imperative. As an American, I grew up assuming there was a certain amount of physical territory surrounding me that I could rely upon as something of a safety zone or buffer between my physical being and the rest of the world. On the other hand, Europeans have been dealing with a much higher population density for much longer than we Americans. They seem to have congregated themselves quite early into more densely packed communities for mutual support and security. As a result, in comparison with we Americans, the idea of a personal space and privacy entitlement appears to have become less imbedded into the European psyche. Now that we are starting to settle into Italy, we are coming to feel our surrounding ‘territorial imperative’ bubble has shrunk. There is nothing personal in what might otherwise be thought of as an ‘assault on my territory.’ It is simply we are among people who have accommodated to being more densely concentrated than we have been accustomed to. Take for example walking on ancient, narrow cobblestone streets. These thoroughfares, most often minus sidewalks, are shared by people – some walking dogs or pushing strollers and others stopping in groups to chat – plus cars, both in motion and some, more-or-less parked, and then there are the two-wheeled vehicles, mostly noisily motorized and going fast. As a result, while walking as close to walls and sort-of parked vehicles as you can, you are passed by cars, motorcycles, motorbikes and motor scooters – plus bicycles – and other people. Space...

Update – Country House San Giorgio (click here to go to website) On the first really hot Sunday since we’ve been here (and it has continued) we were trying to think where to go that might be cooler and a great way to spend an afternoon.  Of course, we thought of Country House San Giorgio up in the hills outside of town.  We looked at the bus schedule and it said we’d get to their town about 1:15, so we emailed our landlord/Italian angel, Caterina, for reservations for 1:30.  She emailed back that she wasn’t sure the bus ran on Sunday and if 12:30 was okay her father, Peppe, would pick us up.  We hated to impose but we really wanted to spend the afternoon there, so we accepted their incredibly kind offer, again. When we arrived at 12:45 there were patrons already parking their cars.  We took “our table” in the garden and before long there were more than 40 of us to feed, which included a table of 20.  As before there were children of all ages and a dog, but being in the country there was lots of room to run around.  It was still hot, but not as hot as in the city.  We didn’t care because we didn’t have to lift a finger while the Frollo family and hunky Cesare worked really hard in the oppressive heat.  I don’t know if I mentioned before that they do not put the platters of food on the table until they have served everyone individually.  Daniela put on an impressive feast that day, which is why they are #4 on TripAdvisor.  They’d be higher if they were in the town. This is also the other restaurant that will not let you pay a penny over the tab. We started with cold bottles of water and a crisp local white wine.  The usual basket of bread was replaced by a beautiful handmade satchel of linen and tied with ribbon with rolls in it.  You never see butter on a table in Italy. Antipasto: Very thinly sliced beef (cured) w/pine nuts Black rice salad w/onion, carrots, zucchini, white raisins and pine nuts Ascoli mixed fried plate – stuffed olives,...

Update – Ristorante Piccolo Teatro (click here to go to website) This is the restaurant we went to our very first night in Ascoli that is literally a half block away (and was once owned by the Frollos).  We didn’t expect them to be open on Sunday night, but as we walked by the owner was standing in the door and invited us in even though it was only 7:45. I believe in this case that the husband is the in the kitchen and the wife takes care of the customers.  Maybe because of all the people in town for the Quintana, they were open, and they are very smart because when we left almost all the 30 seats were taken.  Piccolo Teatro is rated #3 on TripAdvisor for good reason. We only had two courses but they were fabulous.  I love giving you the Italian name of each dish from their menu because they are the longest item titles I’ve ever seen.  It’s not that we can read every word but enough to have an idea what it is and the rest is a surprise. First a cold bottle of water and a nice local vino rosso. Antipasto: I ordered:  Flan di pecorino di fossa di sogliano dop e fungi porcini freschi dai boschi della laga.  A flan of pecorino (sheep’s milk) cheese with a sauce of cream and porcini mushrooms. OMG! Larry ordered:  Millefoglie con cremosita al marscarpone e basilico, ratatouille di pomodorini e miele alla cannella.  Shards of puff pastry (a million leaves) with a marscarpone/basil cream and pieces of tomato flavored with honey and cinnamon between them.  Fabulous! Secondo: Both of us had:  Roast beef di vitellone marchigiano cotto all inglese con ruchetta e vellutata di tenera ascolana.  Wonderful choice for the end of a hot day.  Very thin slices of rare beef from the best white cows served slightly chilled, with arugula and what was like a creamy olive pesto. (Not like a tapenade, it was pulverized and mixed with cream or cheese.)  I’m out of adjectives! After our second bottle of cold water we left and walked the piazzas which were buzzing with activity until late in the...

Photos- ExPats in Ascoli

By Larry & Arlene on Aug 5, 2013 in Portfolio | 2 comments

Piazza del Popolo – People’s Square Palazzo di Capitani Interior Discussion of the affairs of the day The cool of evening means socializing Eat and Greet in the Cool Evening The Night is Young 15th Cent. Loggia – Merchants Meeting At Night Cathedral of St Emidio- Piazza Arringo- Bishop’s Palance and Seat of Governmnet Sea Horse Fountain Fortress Maletesta – Ascoli Fortress Guarding the Eastern Approach Fortress Bridge The ‘Leaning Tower’ of Ascoli Porta Romana – Roman Gate and Wall Communal Laundry Another Communal Laundry Pre-Laundromat Roman Gate and Bridge – ‘Solesta’ Roman Brdge – 1st Cent CE ‘New Bridge’ – 1079 CE Ascoli Skyline Skyline with Towers Tronto River Valley Walkway Tower...

Some of my foodie friends have asked “what have you cooked?” Well, the answer is nothing. Honestly, I have turned on a burner twice in five weeks. Once to cook scrambled eggs because we haven’t found anyone serving that kind of breakfast yet. The second time was to heat up some left over pasta that we were too full to eat that Peppe saved for us after Sunday pranza. (It was so cute. Caterina, who has traveled in the U.S., said when she handed it to us that she thought the American practice of “doggie bags” was a good one.) Sometimes I fix cappuccino and cereal or heat up a roll in the microwave for breakfast and make cheese, meat and fruit platters some evenings. The food is so good and the prices are so reasonable that we just go out. I know this can’t last but we haven’t made it to EVERY restaurant yet and we want to be able to give accurate first-hand recommendations to visitors. Plus I’m collecting data on new dishes to cook later. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. So this is also why I have not done a post on the farmer’s market. We are a large enough city that there are fresh food stands at the cloister every morning but more and a larger variety on Wednesday and Saturday market days. Plus you have all the Wal-Mart on wheels stands on those days. I have walked around and looked a the lovely produce but have only purchased tomatoes, fresh eggs (I know because the hen was in a crate next to the eggs), peaches and those luscious big green figs like my Aunt Fannie use to grow. Some of the ladies are quite aggressive and want you to buy from them. I have lied and told them I don’t have a kitchen (non cucina). Other qualifiers: Pasta – this is a country of pasta (many brands are produced in Marche) and they are all good and all cooked perfectly al dente with a variety of sauces are wonderful and endless. We have to eat one that is truly exceptional for it to stand out enough to warrant blog space. So...

Shopping

By Larry & Arlene on Aug 4, 2013 in Blog | 7 comments

TIGRE – grocery store chains here are a little different than the U.S. (very similar to Costa Rica, Linda). I’ve seen three different chains here in Ascoli. Mine closes in the afternoon at about 2:00, reopens about 5 and closes again about 8 PM. They are much smaller with a meat department with a real butcher (there’s very little in the way of packaged fresh meats), a person behind the cheese, sausage, fresh bread counter, and a fresh vegetable/fruit person. There is only one isle of personal care items and one of paper products and cleaning supplies. You do not touch the fresh vegetables/fruits with your bare hands. There are plastic gloves provided or you can ask the vegetable/fruit person to help you. You take your produce to that person and they weigh it, bag it (if you did not) and put the price on it. The first time we went into our store around the corner I did remember not to touch the produce with my hands, but forgot that we were supposed to have it weighed before reaching the check-out. So got to use the term “stupido Americani” when the clerk had to go to the back of the store to weigh my bananas while three people waited behind us. I knew he was thinking it, so I figured a little self-deprecating humor was in order-and he did smile. Meanwhile, Larry shopped the liquor department and we looked like we were expecting some long ago grape shortage to hit that week. You also bring your own bags or pay for them, so that day we bought three bags and loaded them up (which you do yourself). Old habits die hard – no car to throw it all in – but luckily we only had to schlep the heavy bags a block. We have been in several times since then and he looks at us, pleasantly, like he thinks we missed our plane home. OASI – however, in contrast, yesterday we took to bus to the huge Wal-Mart type store outside of town, Oasi. The temperature was in the high 90’s and too hot and too crowded (lots of people here for the Quintana this weekend) to stay...

Repeat Customers May we recommend, if you find yourself a stranieri in Italy, when you go to any establishment and the product is good and the service okay – return. Italians have a great memory for faces and I can’t remember ever not being recognized on the 2nd or 3rd visit to an establishment. By the 3rd visit, you are treated like royalty as they cherish repeat customers. Tipping There is no expectation to receive a tip in Italy as people are paid a living wage. However, in tourist areas they have been spoiled and are more than willing to take one. I mean, if you hand someone money, most people will take it. But beware of offending in non-tourist areas and restaurants serving mostly locals. We have actually had two restaurants refuse to take a penny more than the bill. One benefit of the no tipping approach, which is seen some places in the U.S., is that you get better service. One waiter may take your order, another may serve you, any waiter that passes your table will remove whatever items you are finished with, a different one may check to see if you want dessert, and yet another may bring your check. Whomever is available at the time is at your service. The Check Slow service is good service here. Outside the tourist area restaurants do not expect to turn their tables in an evening and Italians do not plan to leave their tables in less than two or three hours. Italians do not arrive for dinner until 8:30 PM earliest and it is quite common for them to arrive after 10 PM on a weeknight with small children. So in tourist areas a restaurant could have a sitting at 7:30 PM of tourists and another sitting of Italians at the same table at 10 PM if they played it right. You can spend all night in a restaurant and you will not get the check until you ask for it – it is considered impolite to rush the customers – and, hopefully, the longer customers stay the more courses they will order. Alcohol Alcohol is everywhere, and I mean everywhere. We went into a bookstore the...