My Dog, Mabel, Leaves for her Holiday in Campi Bisenzio, Florence, Italy

written by La Mamma Ansiosa

Today Mabel packed her suitcase -- a blue Ikea bag filled with her favorite things, food, and toiletries -- and has left to begin her week-long vacation with a family in Campi Bisenzio, a suburb of Florence, Italy. Her adopted Italian family for the week includes the two cutest 2 and 5 year olds, Niccolo and Sara, with gorgeous giant globes for eyes.  It is like summer language camp.  Mabel will have a week of immersion and return home with a much stronger understanding of the Italian language and culture.  (I want to go to summer camp too.) The little girl arrived with a couple of her stuffed animals to take Mabel to her house.  I do hope Sara will hold on tight to her toys because Mabel has a thing about hoarding other dogs' and children's toys.  She places them under her neck and all around her body, and when the dog or child wants one of their toys back, Mabel just looks at them very smuggly as if to say "haahaa, you can't have it" while the other wimpers and cries afraid to reclaim the toy.

Mabel sprawled out on two of her beds on a hot day

I hope Mabel and her host family will enjoy many adventures and lots of fun together.

Mabel was unaware that she is going on vacation and that I will not join her.  After the children were buckled into their car seats, Mabel climbed into the back of the SUV and settled in.  We closed the door after many kisses.  My heart broke as they all drove off.  Mabel looked at me, her eyes fixed on me, not understanding why I was left behind.  The look in her eyes was as though she thought that would be the last time she would ever see me.

I cried.  

But meanwhile, there is the mommy, La Mamma Ansiosa.  That would be me. I am in favor of Mabel going off and exploring new things, but she is still my baby.  

A giant sea separates attachment and detachment. Letting go is very painful for those of us who suffer from our attachments.  But in this case, I know we will soon see each other again in just under a week.  

Non vedo l'ora. I can't wait / I look forward to it.

Unità d'Italia / Unification Day

Most people know today is St. Patrick's Day.  Some will eat corned beef and cabbage; others, drink green beer and play darts; and even others, look for an opportunity to pinch someone not wearing green. But do you know that today is yet another holiday in Italy?  

That's right.  Today in Italy is Unification Day, the 150th anniversary of the day Italy became a unified nation, Italy's birthday.  Many people have the day off.  Italians love an excuse to celebrate, and the festivities actually began last night with another holiday in preparation for today, "Tricolore Notte" (three-colored night).  

Don't feel bad if you didn't know today is Unification Day. I didn't know last night was Tricolore Notte until it was happening, and I was already in for the night. Not for long, though, as I got up and joined the sea of people.  Live music was played in various piazze (squares). The queues to get into the museums that stayed open and gratis until 1:00 a.m. were long.  A giant mongolfiera (hot-air balloon) came to rest in Piazza Santa Croce. Fuochi d'artificio (fireworks) went off at mezzanotte (midnight) from atop Palazzo Vecchio.

No photos of my own to share with you in this post, but you can look here as well as here.

Life in Florence, Italy, is an endless festival, a carnival of happiness.

Fett'unta

What the heck is fett'unta? It's a greasy, garlicy, piece of toasted or grilled bread. It is the Italian version of garlic bread and tastes delicious.

Fett'unta = fetta (slice) + unta (from the verb ungere, meaning greasy or oily) = oily slice or greasy bread.  End of math lesson.

In Tuscany, the traditional Tuscan bread is saltless and rather boring for that lack.  This happened because during the 12th Century the Pope put a hefty tax on salt, which the Florentines couldn't afford to pay. Even today, in the 21st Century, they continue to make bread without salt.   Saltless bread does not detract from the flavors of the rest of your well-seasoned meal.

At this time of year, late autumn, fett'unta is served more often in restaurants in Tuscany than during the rest of the year.  After the back-breaking labor of picking olives and then within a few days going to il frantoio (the olive mill), everyone rushes home with their new oil to make fett'unta and swallow it with a glass of Chianti. New oil is made from the first harvest of the olives in the fall when the olives are not quite as ripe as they become after a few weeks more in the sun.  The quality of the oil is peppery with a punch, the color is green, and the health benefits are higher.

Because I am not crazy about the plain, old Tuscan bread, I visit one of several of my favorite panetterie or forni (bakers or bread stores) and choose from a variety of whole grain breads.

Then I slice bread from the widest part of the loaf (not too soft nor too fresh).  Toast it or, better yet, grill it on top of the stove.  Cover with new virgin olive oil, and rub the bread with fresh garlic. If you like, add a little sea salt and pepper.  That's fett'unta. Enjoy!

What you do from here is up to you. What I have been doing is adding to the recipe as the Tuscan's do. This makes for a very healthful, quick to prepare, and economical dinner loaded with protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and flavor.

You could, for example, cook cavolo nero (lachinato kale) or bietola (beet greens): Boil water in a pan. After rinsing the leaves, place in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Drain.

Add on top of the fett'unta.

Add some beans of your choice. I am using a mix of ceci (garbanzo beans) and cannellini (Italian white beans). I buy dried, organic beans. After soaking a minimum of eight hours and changing the water frequently (to reduce the gassy problem), I cook the beans in water with a small amount of olive oil, garlic, and some sea salt until the beans are al dente and the water is just cooked out.

Add the beans on top of the kale. Top with more new olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.

And wouldn't you know? All this talking about fett'unta caused me to crave some now. What better occasion than a visit by a friend? He's Italian, from another part of Tuscany. He'd never heard of it before and never ate it. So, of course, I made fett'unta for lunch. I thought it was cute how about five times I had to tell him the name, fett'unta, and why it's called that.  So maybe it's even more regional than I thought. No matter, he liked it. So will you.

Buon appetito.

Mantra

MATTINA

M'illumino

d'immenso

Seven melodic syllables.  Italian. Not Sanskrit, not English. So simple, yet profound. Written by Giuseppe Ungaretti, a classic Italian poet.  Lost in translation, the essence of it's meaning: Immensity enlightens me / I enlighten myself by immensity.

Morning.  Immensity.  Greatness.  Power.  Spiritual illumination.  All that is possible when I choose to get out of my own way.

Today this poem serves as my mantra.  

Italian Men in a Nutshell

Who doesn't love Italian men? I am a sucker for them.

Since I have been coming to Italy, I learn over and over that they are like Pinocchio.

"Pinocchio, you can only become a real boy if you learn how to be brave, honest, and generous."

End of story.

Not Halloween

Tonight might be Halloween in America and other parts of the world. But in Italy, it is just another day. However, it is a long weekend because tomorrow, November 1, is Ognisanti or Tutti i Santi (All Saints' Day). It is a religious holiday celebrating all known and unknown saints. And the day after tomorrow is All Souls' Day, which commemorates the departed who have attained the beatific vision.

So for Italians it is a long weekend, and the streets are packed with local tourists from the south and elsewhere.

Look at all those people waiting to get into the Uffizi! That is why I recommend making a reservation in advance. Think about all the gelato you would miss out on if you spent hours waiting to enter the museum. With a reservation, you just walk in to the museum at your reserved time.

Last night we turned our clocks back an hour, and this weekend officially marks the beginning of the holiday season. From now until early January, there will be one holiday after another. What I remember from last year was the challenge in keeping up with which days I needed to shop in advance of the closure of stores and for how many days in advance did I need to plan if I wanted to eat each and every one of those days. Obviously, I don't like to miss my meals. Coming from America, I was in shock when there were a couple weeks where everything was closed five days in a row, then they would open for two days, and then close again.

Maybe I should consider taking up canning ... like right now.

Immacolata Concezione

Yesterday was Immaculate Conception Day, a holiday taken seriously in the Roman Catholic religion.  Although it is a religious holiday and some do go to church, most people take it as a day to relax and catch up on sleep. Italians work long hours. Nearly everything was closed, although I was able to find a place open for my morning ritual, un cappuccino. The holiday fell on Tuesday this year. Many Italians were able to facciano il ponte ("make the bridge," to take the day off between the weekend and the holiday) and enjoy a long weekend out of town. Florence was quiet with virtually everything closed and so few cars and motorini ("scooters"), but still there were plenty of Italian tourists that came into the city for the day.

-- Josslyn 'Giosalina'
Florence, Italy