Happy Wednesday from Cervinara!
Anyone who has been here for a visit or who knows us even slightly, knows that Wednesday is market day. We love our little market and have made a weekly pilgrimage to pick up our necessities and to "window shop" at all the stands. A couple of years ago I wrote a post about an indiscretion we committed, when we opted to make a purchase from a different vendor than our usual one. We were duly chastised and given a slightly chilly reception for a couple of weeks until all was forgiven.
Today was our first day back and we were so happy to see our regular clam guy, our regular olive guy, and our regular "any gadget you may need" guy. I particularly like the olive fellow. He greets us with fist bumps, he gives us tastes of all his olives (he knows our tastes and is usually spot on with his recommendations), and he's always ready to throw in a few more items just because he's that kind of guy. It was no different today, even though we've been away for almost a year. It's always a happy reunion when we get our first taste of those fat, green olives!
The fish vendor has a new young man handling his customers. He wasn't aware that we are weekly regulars and he actually had to ask us what we wanted. Our usual fellow would start bagging our clams as soon as he saw us, and he too would throw in a few extras because of our loyalty. We'll break this young giovanotto in!
We have found a new fruit/vegetable vendor, and I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. This woman is funny and pushy, she laughs at how I speak Italian with an accent, and has the best produce around. Tiny eggplants, salad tomatoes with just the right amount of green on them, grapes, peaches, melon....you name it, she has it. It's like shopping with the Italian version of Bette Midler with the added bonus of some really good products. Plus she's right across from olive man so it's like one stop shopping!
If Wednesday is market day, it's also spaghetti with vongole day. I think this is why we come back here every year and stay for as long as we do. Nothing beats the tiny clams that cook up quickly in some garlic scented olive oil, some white wine, and a hearty sprinkle of peperoncino. The clams are small and sweet and taste of nothing but sun and sea. I've tried more times than I can count to reproduce this perfectly simple dish at home, and it's pointless. It's not that we don't have good clams in Connecticut. After all we're not an hour from the shore. But the big Quahogs that we have are tougher, and just don't have the special flavor of our little verace clams here. I officially invite anyone who knocks on our door on a Wednesday to join us for lunch. You won't regret it!
Shopping at the market is a remnant of the past here in Italy. There's really no need for it to exist anymore, as shopping malls and big super markets have popped up everywhere. But we cling to this bit of tradition, just as we do with our itinerant vendors who drive their trucks laden with merchandise up into the hills here to serve anyone who isn't able to get down to the stores. The relationships we have here will never be replaced by someone who mindlessly scans our items at the Lidl. We become part of the community when we support our local vendors and then we become friends rather than just customers. I don't know how long these traditions will continue, but I hope it's as long as we continue to come to our beloved Cervinara.
Buon appetito!
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Hiccups
Well we are back in the hills of Cervinara, sweating through a big heatwave. They say it should break soon, and personally I can't wait. I'm sitting in our local bar where air conditioning is non-existent, and I feel like I need to put an umbrella over my computer to protect it from the sweat that is raining off my face! Fortunately, the house is always pretty comfortable, and a fan keeps the air moving. By evening, we are always able to relax and enjoy a bit of company in the shade of the house.
Our trip was basically uneventful, and that is all we can hope for now. When we boarded our plane in Bradley Airport we were dismayed to find that we were directly across from the loo, against a wall so there was not even a millimeter of space to recline. Yikes! Fortunately I have a resourceful husband who went in search of empty seats and found a whole row available. We scooted our butts up there real quick before anyone else scoped it out. Made for a very comfortable flight.
But what about hiccups? This first came to mind as we were waiting to board our Aer Lingus flight in Bradley. I was working a crossword puzzle when I heard what sounded like the worst hiccups ever, the kind of body wracking spasms that are painful. I looked up and saw a big man with shaved head, gauges in his ears, and sleeves of tattoos sobbing in the arms of a young woman. These were the sobs of such sorrow that my heart immediately broke for this young fellow. He was someone whom I might have wanted to avoid if I met him walking down the street, and yet here I just wanted to reach out to him to offer him whatever solace I could. I can only imagine the loss he was feeling and what was awaiting him at his destination. I was brought up short at the prejudice that I might have felt and was reminded that even under the most hardened of appearances we are all just one step away from painful losses.
As we were walking through Dublin airport to get to our connecting flight, we passed a woman sitting on the floor in front of an emergency call box. The contents of her purse were strewn around her and I could see some diabetes tools among them. She was with her husband so I knew she would be taken care of, but as someone who recently had a health "hiccup" in an airport, one that caused us to miss our flight and to spend a day in the ER, I felt for her. As we age I find myself thinking more of how we are all susceptible to unexpected health issues and I am grateful for every trip that we are able to get through without complications!
We arrived in Naples at Capodichino airport and then....we sat. It took a good 20 minutes for the stairs to arrive so we could disembark. We finally got on the bus transport to the terminal, went through passport control and headed to the baggage pick up area where.....we waited, and waited, and waited some more. It was very crowded in the room and yet strangely silent. None of the carrousels were working. Finally our "nastro" started rolling and about 30-40 suitcases came through, including one of ours. And then it stopped, and we waited, and waited, and waited some more. Again, everything was idle. After half an hour things got rolling again and we were able to gather our last bag and head out.
Italy has a charming tradition called "lo sciopero a singhiozzo" or a hiccup strike. They work, but only part of the time. Of every hour, maybe 30 minutes is spent on strike. It's not really enough to bring things to a screeching halt, just enough to drive you crazy! Fortunately for us, that was the last hiccup of the day and everything else went smoothly. But thinking about the "hiccups" that I witnessed during this latest trip, I had to admit that ours was pretty minor. We weren't suffering the loss of a loved one, nor were we having a medical emergency. We were inconvenienced, and that is the kind of hiccup I can handle.
Health and happiness to all, my friends.
Our trip was basically uneventful, and that is all we can hope for now. When we boarded our plane in Bradley Airport we were dismayed to find that we were directly across from the loo, against a wall so there was not even a millimeter of space to recline. Yikes! Fortunately I have a resourceful husband who went in search of empty seats and found a whole row available. We scooted our butts up there real quick before anyone else scoped it out. Made for a very comfortable flight.
But what about hiccups? This first came to mind as we were waiting to board our Aer Lingus flight in Bradley. I was working a crossword puzzle when I heard what sounded like the worst hiccups ever, the kind of body wracking spasms that are painful. I looked up and saw a big man with shaved head, gauges in his ears, and sleeves of tattoos sobbing in the arms of a young woman. These were the sobs of such sorrow that my heart immediately broke for this young fellow. He was someone whom I might have wanted to avoid if I met him walking down the street, and yet here I just wanted to reach out to him to offer him whatever solace I could. I can only imagine the loss he was feeling and what was awaiting him at his destination. I was brought up short at the prejudice that I might have felt and was reminded that even under the most hardened of appearances we are all just one step away from painful losses.
As we were walking through Dublin airport to get to our connecting flight, we passed a woman sitting on the floor in front of an emergency call box. The contents of her purse were strewn around her and I could see some diabetes tools among them. She was with her husband so I knew she would be taken care of, but as someone who recently had a health "hiccup" in an airport, one that caused us to miss our flight and to spend a day in the ER, I felt for her. As we age I find myself thinking more of how we are all susceptible to unexpected health issues and I am grateful for every trip that we are able to get through without complications!
We arrived in Naples at Capodichino airport and then....we sat. It took a good 20 minutes for the stairs to arrive so we could disembark. We finally got on the bus transport to the terminal, went through passport control and headed to the baggage pick up area where.....we waited, and waited, and waited some more. It was very crowded in the room and yet strangely silent. None of the carrousels were working. Finally our "nastro" started rolling and about 30-40 suitcases came through, including one of ours. And then it stopped, and we waited, and waited, and waited some more. Again, everything was idle. After half an hour things got rolling again and we were able to gather our last bag and head out.
Italy has a charming tradition called "lo sciopero a singhiozzo" or a hiccup strike. They work, but only part of the time. Of every hour, maybe 30 minutes is spent on strike. It's not really enough to bring things to a screeching halt, just enough to drive you crazy! Fortunately for us, that was the last hiccup of the day and everything else went smoothly. But thinking about the "hiccups" that I witnessed during this latest trip, I had to admit that ours was pretty minor. We weren't suffering the loss of a loved one, nor were we having a medical emergency. We were inconvenienced, and that is the kind of hiccup I can handle.
Health and happiness to all, my friends.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)