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Published: March 29th 2008
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The view of Firenze from a park just north of the city centre. Mom is really sick at this point (bummer!) with a bout of bronchitis, so we have gone into Pratolino a couple of times to the Farmacia to get her cough syrup and drops. These outings have been a great test of my use of the Italian language (or should I say my phrase book?). We’ve been able to get these items despite the handicap of not knowing whether the term for cough syrup in the book means “suppressant” or “expectorant” or whether the drops we requested were the kind that come out of a dropper, or the kind you put in your mouth to suck on. I really think the Italians appreciate it when you get right down to play-acting what it is you need, frankly, because when I said “mia mama, tosse… … tosse pastiche… …” the pharmacist got right on it and brought out exactly what I requested! Language can be universal, especially in times of need. And especially in a country where everyone speaks with their hands!
In spite of Mom not feeling well, Dad and Tim and I have been going into Florence, to get
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cool dragon sculpture in the horticultural park around a bit and see what we can without making it an all day affair, as we don’t want to leave Mom at Ortaglia by herself for extended periods. Anyway, this morning we had arranged for a guide, Roberto, to take us to the Accademia (Michealangelo’s “David” is here), the Bargello, inside the Duomo and Campanile, etc. Roberto came very highly recommended by Renate, the English woman who handles all of the bookings for the estate. It is a rather big deal in Florence to be a licensed guide - I guess you have to have some really substantial art history background and pass rigid tests to get a license - so it seemed like a great idea to have someone with all that knowledge show us around. You can waste literally hours just trying to find the front door to these places, some are very obscure! Anyway, I had several email exchanges with Roberto prior to leaving the states and we had a basic plan in place. Well, we had some sort of miscommunication and we went to Piazza San Marco to meet him and alas, no Roberto. We waited for about an hour and looked so much like
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The trompe l'oeil at the Museo Archeologico was amazing... that relief is all painted! wayward tourists, it would have been impossible for him to miss us. But, to no avail. Oh well. Plan B. This week in Italy is called the “Settimana della Culturale” which means Week of Culture. All of the state owned and run museums, galleries, and otherwise are free entry. So we decided to go to the Museo de Archeologico which was very close to where we would have met Roberto. There we took in an amazing array of Etruscan, Greco-Roman, Egyptian, and Syrian archaeological artifacts. Very cool, but man museums make you hungry so that set us up for lunch near the Duomo. We have made a habit of each ordering something different then sharing samples with each other. Been a great way to get a little taste of everything.
In addition to the restaurants, we have a well equipped kitchen at Casa Limone, and we have had great offerings from the market in Pratolino. I must be inspired, what with having a Cucina de Italiana and all… I’ve been cooking here like crazy and everything has been wonderful. After Grazia’s great meal of lamb and peas with prosciutto and the homemade ravioli, well that of course would be
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More beautiful frescoes at the Museo Archeologico tough to top. But she did leave us another section of lamb chops and I had also purchased thin cuts of chicken breast at the store when we originally shopped. One night I made chicken piccata with lemon butter sauce and capers and put the leftover peas and prosciutto into a spaghetti with gorgonzola cream sauce to make carbonara - yum. Another night I made the leftover chops with roasted red potatoes, peppers, onions, and dressed mixed greens. I don’t know… everything just tastes BETTER in Italy! My Dad says I should just stay and open “Bryn’s Trattoria”… I could definitely consider that. Meanwhile, check out my Dad helping out with KP. Now don't get any ideas! He is not a cross-dresser, but he does routinely use an apron when working in the kitchen. Well, Grazia's chef get-up was the closest thing.
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