The other day, we joined a guided, three hour walking tour of Ascoli. At the outset, the guide asked, “How many tourists are in the group?” Appropriately, neither Arlene nor I raised our hands. It was one of those little reminders we fortunately get that we actually now belong here – we aren’t visitors! But being stranieri, resident foreigners, in a land different than where you have spent your life up to now is quite a new experience for us. It has been a little over four months since we first stepped onto the ground in Ascoli. There has been the inevitable, readjusting to do – in particular, overcoming the challenge of attempting to communicate in a language other than our own. From the minimal amount of Italian we acquired on previous visits to Italy, augmented by Rosetta Stone, we can, sort of, get by – that is until we encounter the local dialect. Then all bets are off – for now. Progress with communication seems slow at times but we are making some progress, thanks largely to the very tolerant Italians. Being ‘off the beaten track’ means there has been little necessity to use or acquire English by many of the Ascolani. As a result, most Italians are grateful for our still inadequate attempts to speak Italian. We sense some occasional amusement at our feeble attempts that we have generally found to be a source of mutual enjoyment. Thankfully, this has been a shared amusement and not condescension. Just one more element in the generally socially positive and open attitudes we experience in Italy. When it comes to learning Italian, first, the ear needs to get retuned to new pronunciation pitch sounds and cadences. For some reason, understanding Italian doesn’t seem to work well if you are expecting it to sound like English. The vowels are all different sounding and then there is that staccato, r-r-r-rolled “R.” Each day seems to add a couple of new words and retunes the ear to the point of recognizing, ‘so that is what they are actually saying!’ And the Italian proclivity to gesticulate does wonders. Reading sign and body language turns out to be an excellent augment to an inadequate Italian...

(See related photos under Portfolio menu. Note they are photographed with a wide-angle lens so rooms are not quite as large as they appear, however, the ceilings really are 11 ft. high.) The brother of Mario, our unofficial food critic, named Giampaolo, knows about the artist who painted the frescoes in our apartment and says a relative of the artist still lives in Ascoli and has a photography studio. The artist, Egido Coppola (1852-1928), lived in Ascoli and was a famous artist in his time. He painted frescoes in several villas and churches in the surrounding areas. Our landlord told us that one of the buildings in the courtyard behind us use to be a silk factory and he thinks the person who lived in our building was associated with it, while the building directly behind us was the servant quarters. Italy had a flourishing silk industry beginning in the middle-ages that lasted for centuries. The other day when we attended the opening Mike’s art exhibit, we discovered that a couple we met there owned our apartment from 1999 to 2006. Sergio and Laura said the place was a shambles when they bought it and they are responsible for the beautiful restoration. Sergio spoke fondly of the property saying he left his heart here, and I would guess a lot of lire, and sold it to our current landlord in 2006 or 2007. Laura, who supervised the restoration, speculates that the original building was built sometime around the end of the 16th Century. They also said the living room area of our apartment was once the dining room of a villa where silk merchants were fed and that is why the frescos are about game and associated foods. Laura is a friend of Cinzia M. and is the person who told the Mike and Avril, who have the apartment below them, about our blog. Crazy coincidence? Maybe this kind of thing is just normal in a town this size? Living/dining room area – Sergio and Laura confirmed that they are not aware of another bay window like ours in Ascoli and told us the current woodwork at the bottom of the windows was salvaged from the kitchen. We assume...

Our Italian Home – Photos

By Larry & Arlene on Oct 30, 2013 in Portfolio | 1 comment

Living/dining room w/south bay Living/dining room opposite Fresco living/dining room Baldo My cucina My cucina opposite Island Kenwood Funky sink/stove Living room out to terrace Terrace looking south Terrace looking back to kitchen Master bedroom/closet door Master bedroom looking south Master bath Master bath Guest room Guest room Family bathroom Family bathroom Larry’s office Larry’s...

Caterina’s American Breakfast: I did the typical American thing, making dishes that required out-of-season fruits and vegetables. Blood orange juice Ina’s Garten’s roasted asparagus with scrambled eggs Bacon (pancetta affumicata) Ina’s chive biscuits Ina Garten’s fruit salad with wine and mint Caffe Our first party menu: For our first party menu I decided I wasn’t going to try and out-Italian the Italians with local dishes. Instead I decided to have a traditional American meal served in Italian courses. (Members of our Barefoot Contessa Supper Club should recognize, and even may have cooked, some of these recipes.) I started cooking dishes on Wednesday and had a delightful time in my new kitchen for three days. By spreading it out I didn’t have to make but three dishes each day, yet everything was fresh. Everyone seemed to appreciate it because when I put a new course on the buffet table there was a loud “Ahhhhhhh” and many took photographs. I finally had to tell them to stop photographing and start eating because the food was getting cold. Wines, beer, Coca Cola Antipasto: Ina Garten’s panfried onion dip with chips and veggies Ina’s roasted rosemary cashews Ina’s crostini with tuna tapenade Arlene’s deviled eggs Ed Mayes’ crostini neri Frances Mayes’ red peppers melted with balsamic vinegar Primi: Arlene’s baked beans Secondi: Hamburgers and Hot Dogs with all the fixings Contori: Ina’s blue cheese cole slaw Dolci: Ina’s hot apple crisp served with vanilla gelato from a local shop Digestivo: Lemoncello, Meletti & Averna liquors...

Although I haven’t had time to blog about it, our Italian angels have been very busy these last eight weeks. Lovely Caterina told us that her father had asked around to see who our new landlords were to be sure they were reputable – how sweet – and yes they are. She is an attorney and he has an important role in his family’s winery in nearby Teramo and gave us a case of wines from his winery as a welcome gift – they were wonderful. We asked Caterina if she knew someone with a truck and a strong back that we could pay to help us move to our new apartment. She promptly introduced us to Emidio (yes named after Ascoli’s patron saint). He is a muscular attractive entrepreneur, maybe in his early 30’s, who describes himself as a “problem solver” which is surely a great guy to know. He has a company that deals in moving items out for companies going out of business, buying their office furniture, and reselling it to new companies he is helping set up. Oh yes, and he also rents cars and has a shoe outlet in another town. I think he also has several other enterprises but I can’t remember what they are. He delivered boxes and tape, moved us to our new apartment (he lives up the block, how handy) and later rented us a very large panel van to drive to IKEA for one of our major pick-ups. When he came by to retrieve the van, upon our late return at 8:30 that night, he would not let us take our purchases up the stairs without his assistance – what a guy. Caterina told me I needed to sign up for the recycle program, so she picked me up one day and took me to the recycle facility to register and pick up our organic recycle bin and four different recycle bags. She explained that Ascoli just started recycling a couple years ago (too late in her opinion) but is now proceeding with an Italian passion. Organic is picked up three days a week, non-recyclable the three alternate days each week, plastic and paper/cardboard once per week (except, of...

Homies in Ascoli

By Larry & Arlene on Oct 11, 2013 in Blog | 4 comments

We had a wonderful visit from one of the BATB*, Laura Klesper, and her husband Gary. Laura just retired and they are celebrating with a long vacation  in Italy and France. They visited Ascoli on the heels of a one-week cooking school in the countryside east of Rome, prefaced by time touring Rome, Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii. We sent Carlo, a local taxi driver, to pick them up at the cooking school to maximize their time in Ascoli. The Klespers arrived bearing delicious gifts of wine, cheese and salumi from farms they had visited the week before. Their time here was too short, only a day and a half, but we were glad to see them and appreciated their extra effort to get to Ascoli. It was fun to show someone from home our new town and confirm that we are not looking at Ascoli through rose-colored glasses. We heard them say things like, “wow, there is a photo op around every corner,” and “this is like the place you always hope to find when you travel, but rarely do.” We had great meals at Il Desco and Country House San Giorgio, now rated #1 and #2 respectively on Trip Advisor. However, Gary said if it were up to him he’d switch the ratings as he thought Country House was better. They left Ascoli by bus to Fiumicino airport outside Rome. From there they flew to France where they are now spending a relaxing couple of months enjoying the country Laura loves. So, who’s next? (Sorry about the photo but an hour of messing with it has gotten me nowhere but older. You can see the important folks!) *BATB – acronym for Babes at the Beach. This is a group of about 17 incredible women from SAIC that I am so proud to be a part of. We have been getting together for a pot-luck every three months or so for about 24 years – yikes! When we started, we worked in La Jolla and originally met at La Jolla Cove or on the beach near Scripps.  All the BATB have now either retired or left SAIC, but our bond just gets stronger every...

GRADARA Traveling may very well be something of a voyeuristic exercise.  Of course there are the valued works of art, the architectural gems and the flow of history into which one can immerse.  But in experiences in new places there can also be a fascination in deciphering how other people live both now and in the past. So, in that sense, perhaps we really are voyeurs. Around us here, the world of medieval Europe is evident in so many places.  With America being such a young country, there is nothing to directly connect us with reminders of that very turbulent era. Over time, America’s cultural mix has been enriched through increased diversity but in our case, we happen to look to our cultural roots in Europe. It is perhaps for that reason the remnants of medieval life here can hold such a fascination for some us from the ‘new world.’ European medieval history is marked by constant rivalries and outright war by various power bases seeking domination and conquest in the power vacuum left after the fall of the Roman Empire.  Powerful families came to dominate independent power centers in what is now Italy in places such as Milan, Florence, Pisa, Naples, Venice and the Rome of the Papacy. The Papacy controlled vast areas of territory and was a major military power dominated by families such as the Medici and the Borgia. In July of this year, having already experienced some of the pageantry of Renaissance re-enactments here in Ascoli, we visited a promising one at a site a little over 120 kilometers north and easily reachable by train.  The place is the medieval fortress town of Gradara. The hilltop at Gradara is situated in the eastern foothills of the Apennine Mountains just south of the Po River valley in a position to dominate the narrow coastal plain of the Adriatic Sea.  Given the attraction of this advantageous strategic location, construction was begun on a fortification in the XII century.  Over succeeding centuries, the fortification was strengthened as changes of control by powerful families occurred.  Among the changes in control was a series of sieges in 1446 and 1463 supported by the powerful Sforza family whose power base was...

The vacation is over. I am certain of this because last month I washed and waxed hardwood floors, scrubbed a kitchen, hemmed and hung four pair of curtains and performed many other tasks that I never do on vacation. After scrubbing the tile floor in the bathroom on my hands and knees I told Larry that I felt like Cinderella. Nowhere in my imaginings of this adventure did I picture giving up my spoiled princess status I have held for many years. Larry went on about how much we could save by doing the cleaning ourselves and put that money toward travel. He said he didn’t mind pitching in and helping, so I assigned him to washing windows and cleaning his bathroom – which he did without complaint. However, my strategy must have worked because we are now looking for a referral for a housekeeper. I think I’ll go polish my tiara! Yes, six weeks ago we moved into our beautiful apartment here in Ascoli. I have not blogged since because my multi-tasking skills are not what they use to be. Being very goal oriented, Larry and I decided to have our apartment in good order by the time our first visitors arrived, which was last week (more on that in the next blog). So you could say we were speed nesting. If we don’t set a goal then “whenever” sometimes turns into “never” and there is nothing better to get you moving like inviting company. Unlike the last 25 years, Larry and I do not plan to spend our time here renovating where we live. However, Larry did change out the light fixtures to LED, repair some nonfunctioning items and patch and paint walls – some things never change. I never thought I’d be so excited about a clothesline, but I am thrilled that I now have two lines installed on the terrace. Of course, these tasks could only be accomplished with some new tools that must be housed in a new rolling tool box. As we all know, anything with a motor or wheels makes Larry very happy. After countless trips by both rented car and train to IKEA in Ancona, the staff now smile and nod...

Photos- Lucrezia’s Gradara

By Larry & Arlene on Oct 8, 2013 in Portfolio | 0 comments

The Gradara Fortress. Gradara wall crenellations. The guard walkway. Along the town wall. Town wall from the inner street. Gradara Town Gate from inside outer wall. Toward the Inner Gate Inner Gate to the Main Fortress. Gradara Fortress Moat and Wall. Gradara Fortress Drawbridge. The Fortress ‘Keep.’ The Fortress Well. A Giovanni Sforza statement! The Central Stairway. A main private living area. Note the wall thickness. A view of the second drawbridge into the tower area. An upper level of the ‘Keep.’ The fortress chapel. The townsfolk and nobles. The guard on watch patrol. Troubadours. Lovely voice in the afternoon. Allora! What News! Ladies in waiting. ‘Idol’ Finalists – 1445. An encampment. Crafts person preparing pigments. The workshop. The decorators of sword and knife sheaths. Under the spreading castana tree the village smithy stood. A trusty sword blade takes shape. The book binder at her craft. The flag throwers in action. Total coordination. Livestock for delivery. Want to test your mental...

Three months have past since we began the life of Ex-Patriots living in Italy. This blog has generated some inquiries on how we came to make this significant change in our lives. Many have said they emotionally found the idea appealing but could not quite get up any real momentum to make it happen. The question often is, “How did we come to do it?” In honesty, it is something we still talk about and are not quite sure we yet adequately understand the whole process ourselves. In an effort to respond to those who have asked the question, we are offering a few thoughts we have considered in trying to grasp how we got here. High on the list to making something like this work for us has been a commonality of desire and conviction. Several people who have asked how we got here have acknowledged that their other significant partner did not quite share the dream. So let us say at the outset that for us having someone to do this with, as a committed life partner, has been an incredibly important factor in being able to ride through the inevitable frustrations. In our case, having a commonality of goal and commitment to see it through as a partnership, has probably been a make-or-break element. We won’t pretend to have a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution for doing what we have done. We wouldn’t presume to suggest that someone, on their own, couldn’t make something like this work. All we know is that it is very comforting to be walking strange new streets hand-in-hand with someone you care deeply about. Our relationship is a core factor in our sense of security. For us, this is very much a team effort. Perhaps next on the list is we needed something to shake us out of our comfort zone. When travelling in the past, we used to talk about living in Europe but, frankly, we were much too comfortable in our cozy suburban lives. Then along came the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Like so many other people in retirement, a system that we trusted evaporated a chunk of the financial resources we thought we could count on after so many years of...