Advertisement
Published: June 10th 2011
Edit Blog Post
The grandparent's backyard view
I thought it was a cool view from their backyard, will of the the greenery. Look at the close proximity of the neighboring houses? It's something you don't see often in the USA. Tempi moderni. The theme of today's entry. "Tempi Moderni" means "modern times".
Today was the first day of summer for the ragazzi (kids, children, young folks, etc.) of Rovigo. So everything we did today was an example of "i tempi moderni".
In tempi moderni, I actually got to sleep in, get more rest that I usually would on a Friday.
In tempi moderni, I had something for breakfast besides cereali.. (small toast squares with some kind of tasty spread)
In tempi moderni, while Elena and Nico were working, Paolo and Claudia's nonno (granddad) came and picked us up and took us to their house on the other side of Rovigo. Including the ride there, we did many things, like...
---observe an argument in Italian between Paolo and his granddad about leaving the window of the car open when the AC was on.
---ride bikes around the neighborhood
---take photos with granddad's phone and watch him try to figure out how to send a picture
---admire grandma's garden that she's growing tomatos, celery, zucchini, etc. in
---watch the Simpsons in Italian
---read in an Italian magazine that Cuddy is not returning for the next season of House (put
The old Sasso house
It looks small from the outside and from this angle, but on the inside, it is a maze of rooms, stairs, and cobwebs. a huge damper on my day right there)
---eat a ton of food for lunch (I think they are trying to make me fat. I hope it's not working). But seriously, that lady wouldn't stop bringing in food from the kitchen. I thought we were just having some pasta dish, but no, she kept the dishes coming. Some veggies, some weird balls of meat that were actually really good (they had the same look as donut holes...), some chicken, and, of course, some kind of torta (cake) that was delicious and I had to have more than one piece. I hate it when that happens.
---almost fall asleep sitting up straight
---reading some of my "Clockwork Orange" book to give my mind a rest from listening to Italian jabber all day long (seriously! It's exhausting! I'm never this tired at the end of the day in the USA)
In tempi moderni, once Elena took us back home, Paolo and I went across the street to the family's old house, which they moved out of because it was too large. Now let me tell you, it was gigantic compared to the other houses I've been in here in Italy. With
Paolo jammin out
I thought you'd like to see him attempting to play the drums (he usually plays bass, in case you forgot). several different levels, it was a pretty impressive sight. However, it hasn't been occupied in five years, so when we were walking around you'd feel spiderwebs and such and it had that musky, dusty smell. I felt like it was haunted or something. But anyways, there's a drum set of Nico's in there from when he was younger that Paolo played on for a while... he put in head headphones and listened to a song and jammed out to it on the drums. I could pick out Rag Doll by Aerosmith, and what I thought was We Will Rock You, but it turned out to be I Love Rock 'N Roll. Well, the basic drumming is the same... I think I should have gotten half a point for that.
In tempi moderni, we went back to downtown Rovigo, where:
---I had a coffee and mint gelato (mind you, it was pretty dang tasty))
---I turned to see Federico arguing on the phone with someone in Italian while throwing his hands in the air a lot. The stereotype is true! I just had to take a picture of this genuine "Boppity Boopity!" moment.
---We went to "Buone vibrazione" (again) where
Un'altra via e una piazza in Rovigo
Another street and a plaza in Rovigo. Paolo and his friends looked at the same instruments as yesterday. Yay. We actually had to leave earlier though so that was nice 😊
In tempi moderni, we returned home and I got to relax a little until........
In tempi moderni, Elena and Nico took Paolo and I to Tempi Moderni. No, it is not a typo, but it is the name of the restaurant/club where Giulia (from school) was having her 18th birthday party (a bigger occasion there than here because that's the true age they can start driving cars. Did I ever tell you that? Well if I didn't, you know now). Tempi Moderni was a very nice place. Very... well... modern. It had a metallic and clean look with a menu that featured (guess what?) pizza and calzoni (calzones) with names like "ieri", "oggi", "domani", and "d'ora in poi" (which means "yesterday", "today", "tomorrow", and "from now on" respectively). So every dish was some kind of time reference. Pretty sweet if you ask me. Well, instead of a pizza (which I was tiring of), I had a calzone (the "d'ora in poi" one) and it was actually pretty delicious too. (it was basically the same
Tempi Moderni
A good picture of the inside of the restaurant/club where Giulia had her party as a pizza... just cooked after it's been folded in half. Oh well. When Giulia opened presents, it was the same stuff that teenage girls would want in America too... jewelry, bathing suits, and underclothing. The desserts were also pretty good 😊 They were just little random kinds of pastries in bite-sized pieces that you could eat as finger-food.
In tempi moderni, once Nico came and picked us up, we came home.
In tempi moderni, I am tired. Tired as in sleepy, and tired of saying "tempi moderni". You probably are too.
In tempi moderni, buonanotte!
P.S. In tempi moderni, Elena and Nico don't like to have their picture taken unless they are very presentable. So they said when we are somewhere with a view on Sunday, I can take one. So hold on tight. 😊
Advertisement
Tot: 0.123s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 9; qc: 49; dbt: 0.056s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb