Ascoli has a few food specialties: Ascolana – Ascolan olives stuffed with meat and then lightly battered and fried. They are way better than they sound. Aribitta – grilled lamb on a stick Rosso Piceno – made from Multipulciano grapes. Fact: The town of Multipulciano in Tuscany, which is famous for it’s Vin Noblie, is actually made from Sangiovese grapes. Talk about staying open to change – Larry is unrecognizable by his eating habits. He is not just eating, but ordering vegetables. I had to point out to him after the first three days that, other than the salumi we purchased in the Saturday market, he had not eaten any meat – only pasta and vegetables. He said he’s eaten more olives in the last two weeks than in his whole life. We went to a fish (pesce) only restaurant one night and he not only ate the shrimp (gamberetti) but the steamed clams (vongole) in the shell and attacked the small lobsters (langostine) and then deboned his own dover sole entree. His mother, who wouldn’t touch anything from the sea, would have been horrified. But the new Larry is...

Okay, so I put off doing laundry for two weeks because I really didn’t want to tackle the washing machine instructions. I wanted to take the easy way out so I sent Larry off with the shirts to what I thought was a dry cleaner, but it turned out to be a leather repair place????? Still hopeful, I asked a couple of our quasi English speakers where we might find a dry cleaner but no one knew what I was talking about. So lucky for me the machine instructions were also written in English and after 30 minutes of intense study I was off and running oblivious to my real problem – drying. I have no dryer, as most people don’t. Many hang their wash out over the street, but I’m on the ground floor. Others, like us, have to use a drying rack. Fortunately, our landlord has provided us with a very nice one as well as an ironing board and the dreaded iron. In retrospect I clearly should not have waited so long to do the laundry because I now have three loads (albeit small because my washer is small) to dry and one rack that is looking smaller by the moment. Problem #2 – the only room in the house without hardwood floors is the bathroom (which is way too small to consider) and the “cantina.” Many older Italian buildings have cantinas which are essentially dry-storage where they keep the homemade wine, cured meats and root vegetables. Our apartment has one, but it is more of a damp-storage. As our landlord explained, it is because we are so close to the river (2 blocks?) that it is damp and musty and she just stores cleaning supplies and building materials there. Now I was never great at science but I’m pretty sure if you put a rack full of wet clothes into a cool damp room they will not dry. So I gave Larry a hopeful estimate that the laundry might be done in three to five days. I checked this morning (48 hours in) and even his wash-out-in-the-sink-dry-by-next-morning-travel-underwear was still wet. Since the clothes were at least no longer dripping wet we moved them into the...

Out of Fashion?

By Larry & Arlene on Jul 13, 2013 in Fashion | 2 comments

Not here.  Here they are into retro big time!  We have only been here two weeks and last night was the third night we have enjoyed this Medieval Pageantry and there will be more tonight. It seems they do this all through July and August as part of a reenactment of events that happened here in the 1500’s. These awesome costumes come with lots of marching in the streets, music, flag throwing, jousts and members of local families, young to old, participate. The costumes are exact replicas from the time and very beautiful, expensive and may I say HOT – these are the hottest months of the year here. All the more reason to admire their investment, dedication and...

First, I had to delete and re-post the Hello Italy! post as the formatting was all screwed up and it was the only way I could fix it. Regretfully, I also lost your wonderful comments, although I think we had read and answered them all. So keep those comments coming! I had a post ready a couple days ago but managed to delete it, and I don’t know how. Ah, the continuing saga of my love/hate relationship with technology. Those of you that asked when you would see more photos will be delighted to know that Larry went out this morning on a photo expedition to add to those he had taken the during our first two weeks. So it won’t be long now. Before we introduce you to the people of Ascoli (Ascolani), let’s talk about the people we don’t see. We have seen no homeless people. There are pleasant men from Africa selling roses and trinkets (and umbrellas when it rains) to make a living and others, some Gypsies, playing music for the donations – and I truly don’t have a problem with that. There those who weren’t successful at commerce that just ask for money, but they are few. Ascoli has very few criminals and, therefore, little crime. I asked someone about crime statistics and they had no idea what I was talking about. You can walk anywhere in the city late at night in safety, and because the city is so alive, you are usually not alone no matter the time or place. All this at a time when the country is in a deep recession. This is July and in Rome, Florence or Venice you would be cheek-to-jowl with thousands of tourists everywhere you went. In Ascoli, with all it has to offer, 90% of the people on the piazzas are locals. We saw our first tour groups last Saturday but they were so small that there was no need for the tour guides to hold up an umbrella or flower for the people to follow and we have not yet seen a typical tour bus parked anywhere. The Italians are very social people who live in relatively small apartments, so their living rooms...

Ristorante Piccolo Teatro  (click here to go to website) We’ve been very lucky with food this first 10 days – and with no Rick Steves to guide us! We have only had one average meal (pizza) and many excellent ones. You might have heard me say that I did not know how we were ever going to get on the Italian meal schedule – dinner at 8:30 earliest. Well, we managed to stay up until 8:00 the first night and have eaten at 8 or 8:30 every night since. The trick is the afternoon aperitif (which always comes with a little bite of something) and then walking for a while after dinner. On our first night in town we were too tired to venture far so we stopped into a place literally in the next building around the corner – Piccolo Teatro. They sat us at a lovely little corner table by the door (our experience has been that if you do not have a reservation you often end up with the table by the door). This restaurant seats 20 people maximum and, off course, the menu was entirely in Italian – a good sign. Fortunately our owner/waitress understood a little English so we managed to order a bottle of local red wine made of Multipulciano grapes – excellent! Larry had an appetizer of a potato and cheese gratin and since I did not want an appitizer, I ate half of it – yum. Then Larry ordered spaghetti carbonara w/porchinni and I ordered a made-on-site pasta with a ragu of wild boar – both heavenly.  Yes, this is the food we came for.  (Description from menu: Spaghetti di Gragnano alla carbonara modificata con tartufo new estivo & Mafaldine con ragu di cinghiale.) Suddenly the wine hit me and I was honestly afraid I might do a face plant in my pasta because I could not keep my eyes open. So I went straight back to the apt and fell into bed while Larry walked over to see the Piazza del Popolo lighted at night and had his first...

Hello Italy!

By Larry & Arlene on Jul 9, 2013 in Blog | 2 comments

Good day (buongiorno) to our 50 subscribers! I know we promised not to bug you with posts more than once a week but so much has happened since we arrived that we need to break it down into smaller subsections and several posts to keep it crisp and interesting. Since we did not post for three weeks, bear with us as we make up for lost weeks over the next couple days. For our subscribers who are world travelers, some information may be well known. However, we must also give enough information to introduce those subscribers who have not been to Italy – such as our grandchildren – to this incredible country. Additionally, we started a new page with the inspired title of “food” so only those who really want the details of this incredible gastronomic experience may indulge. Don’t neglect going on the “Portfolio” page for some beautiful photos to back up the stories. These pages will be populated soon. After moving out of our house on Tuesday/Wednesday and then on Thursday/Friday spending 22 hours in transit (door to door), the word “exhausted” didn’t adequately describe our condition when we arrived in Rome at 9:30 AM. Getting through customs was uneventful and the van was there to meet us. Our driver, Antonio, was right out of central casting and spoke no English. That was okay because by then my vocabulary was reduced to pointing and grunting. So we had a very quiet three hour trip to Ascoli while we tried to imagine what was in store for us. It was raining on & off when we arrived but we immediately purchased an umbrella (left them behind) and walked to main piazza to see if it is beautiful as the pictures – and it certainly is. When we returned to the apartment, Larry took a nap while I, newly revived, attempted to dig all the non-clothes items from the suitcases. No surprise there were several notes from TSA that they had opened our luggage. I later would regret not joining Larry in the nap as I started nodding off in the middle of our first lovely dinner that evening and then had to pass on my first gelato opportunity....

Our City

By Larry & Arlene on Jul 9, 2013 in Blog | 8 comments

The morning of our first full day in Ascoli we looked up and both the sun and the Italian laundry was out and the twice-weekly market, held in the courtyard of the old cloister of St. Francis’s Church (also known as The Square of the Vegetables) was in full swing. We grabbed a quick caffe and pastry and then made our first purchase from the market – underwear. Yep, left those behind too everything but what I was wearing, but that was unintentional. Fortunately, my good friend Linda went back to our house and retrieved them and they arrived via Federal Express today. Yes, you can buy anything at the market on Wednesday & Saturday – kind of like a Wal-Mart road show, in addition to the fresh vegetables, cheeses, meats, etc. that are available every day in the cloister built completed in 1568. We walked around town for about three hours the first day to familiarize ourselves with the where things were. With the exception of locations being closer than perceived on Goggle Earth, it immediately felt like we had been here before and like a place we definitely could call home for a while. Larry knew exactly where everything was and I was clueless, following him and taking it all in. Since then we have walked at least two miles a day and many days three or four checking out the neighborhoods. Unfortunately, that just balances out the pasta/vino/gelato consumption. The City (Citta) – They call it Ascoli. From now on it will be referred to as “our city”. We truly have been dropped into heaven. There are two beautiful main squares (piazzas) located a block from each other and only two blocks from our current apartment which we have enjoyed every day. The largest, the People’s Square (Piazza del Popolo) which was built in the first decade of the 1500’s is about the size of a football field with about four cafes (one of them being Cafe Meletti, which has been there since 1905) around the edges. This is also where the evening passeggiata and many performances and concerts are held. We have already seen a free dance performance and a free pop-rock concert there in...

As you can imagine, even after almost a year of planning and preparation the last week in San Diego was frantic. In addition to getting the packing done (and one last sort to get rid of what had to be deemed as surplus) family and friends were picking up large items they were acquiring and “shopping” from the various food, household and clothes items we weren’t able to take, all while saying our bittersweet goodbyes. The tough decision (ladies you will understand just how tough) was made early on that as far as clothes items went – that if we did not take it to Italy – it was out. Only the sentimental clothing items went into the one wardrobe box that went into storage. I’m pretty sure we would not have gotten it all accomplished without the kindness and help of some very special people whom we must thank here. Thank you Roberto for the loan of your truck and Deb & Linda (who bought our Lexus) for the inspired idea of trading us for your van with the seats out. Thanks to Sarah & Scott (Hannah & Simon), Lisa & Roger (Josh & Kenny), KJ, Christin, Manny and Sam V. for picking up what you needed to when you needed to. And to Lisa & Arianna and Sarah for dropping everything to pick up stuff we had to jettison at the last minute. Grazi mille! So off we went to the Hilton Harbor Island for the last two nights with ten (yes 10) bags to check at the airport not counting our four carry-on. As shipping out-of-season clothes was found to be cost prohibitive (at about $500 per box) it was decided to take everything with us. After the four free checked bags allowed between us it was only $150 each to check additional bags, as long as they did not exceed the size and weight requirements, up to 10 checked bags per person. In order to make room for the remaining computer equipment, Larry’s minuscule assortment of tools and enough computer cables to circle the earth twice we still had to jettison three more pairs of shoes (hope housekeeping could use them) and have Sarah pick...

Movers arrive a week from today!  We just got our international drivers licenses this morning and stopped by our bank to let them know that we’d be banking from Italy for the foreseeable future.  For the really curious, below is a link to a video of our first apartment for 60 days @ 40 Euro a night in an old (as in Italy old) stone building in the historical center of Ascoli Piceno.  This is a holiday rental – fully furnished with everything you need, plus a weekly change of linens and cleaning.  It is one big room so the bedroom is an open loft above the kitchen area.  Notice the stone vaulted ceilings and how they must retrofit electricity through conduit on the stone walls.  There is no air-conditioning and it will be July/August, so we will test how well the medieval cooling system of thick stone walls works (with modern fans as back-up).   It is just a couple blocks off the main piazza so we can walk to everything.  If we end up liking Ascoli Piceno enough to make it our home base, we will search on foot for our next apartment with probably a two year lease.  The girl ( in her 40’s) who owns this rental lives next door and works in her family’s restaurant nearby – yes – our first restaurant connection! Once on the site, click on the British flag in the upper right corner to translate the site into English.  Click here to view silent...

Fortunately, our first 60 days in Italy will not just be all about setting up bank accounts and looking for a more permanent accommodation.  Luckily for us our arrival in Italy is just in time for all the summer festivals.  We are very excited to have just booked accommodations for July 19 & 20 in the ancient town of Gradara in northern Marche’.  This is the home of one of the best Medieval re-inactments in Italy, the Assedio al Castello, commemorating a famous siege on the castle in 1446  by Francesco Sforza.  I don’t want to blow our July post already but our accommodations are in the castle which at one time was owned by the Borgia family!  Since we just finished watching the 2nd season of “The Borgia’s” where this siege was recounted, we couldn’t pass this up.  This year is a one-off special event, but you will have to wait until July to hear more. Click here for a you tube piece on the castle – note – with sound and...