Buskers

Ahhh, the season of festivals in Ferrara. So much fun. This week was Buskers... a music festival that draws musicians from around the world. I heard more English here this week than I've heard in a year. (I also heard it out our window well past 3:00 in the morning every night last week. Buskers is super fun when we were there, but sleeping in our house which is in the middle of the city was another story. Lots of drunk singing... in all languages... at all hours.)



Anyway, the city fills with people and musicians. The atmosphere is amazing although it is kind of strange to hear Bob Marley songs in front of a 13th century cathedral.

(Mi amore... aren't they so cute? I couldn't resisit adding this one)

Effortless

What the Italian mommies are wearing. . .

That's jeans and a t-shirt and some great shoes and she looks fabulous. Don't you love that effortless Italian style?

Perhaps today you should...

Linger over a coffee... in a real cup... at a table (that means not in the car)...

Happy Saturday!

It is AUGUST!

It is cool here for August, but it is still in the 80's.

Check out the photos the Sartorialist snapped in Northern Italy. The guys look great, but it is OVER 80 degrees outside!

Look for this entry: Thursday, August 19, 2010: First Steps Towards Fall http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

I totally get it. About this time of the season, I am tired of my summer clothes and ready for fall. However, I just can't wear sweaters in the summer, no matter how great they look. What do you think? Are you ready for fall?

La Posta

Even after living here a year, some things still seem strange. Everyday normal things are still different. Like paying the elecricity bill.

It has to be paid in person,

in cash (and electricity is crazy expensive here),

at the post office.

You read that right. At the post office.

As if it isn't strange enough to walk to the post office carrying hundreds of dollars of cash, last week I walked in and saw this.

I like cats but can you ever imagine a pet cat at a government office in America? Ever? In a cute little boutique, maybe. Or perhaps a sleepy antique store. But at the post office?

When we walked in, the boys said "look Mommy! un gatto!" I thought how funny, there can't be a cat here. I wonder why they both chose to practice the Italian word for cat right now. And of course, there was a cat.

"Um scusi, can you move il gatto so I can get a postal form?"

Molto Vecchio

Today I'm loving...

Gorgeous, ancient cobblestone roads. How amazing is it that these have held up over hundreds of years?

As beautiful as it is, cobblestone is rather precarious to navigate in heels. Seriously, not only is it uneven, but the space between the stones is just enough for a stilleto to get stuck down in there. Last year it was all wedges and flats for me. This year, I'm braving the heels and am always thankful when my husband is there to hold my hand. We just look all affectionate but really he's keeping me from busting it.

The Italians tromp through on four inch heels like they're wearing Nikes. They never even hesitate or look down. Oh, that Italian confidence.

Craving. . .

I am craving the September issue of American Vogue. If I can't find one here, it will be the first time since 1993 that I won't spend a whole August evening engrossed in the 300+ pages of fall fashion forcasts.

I don't have a subscription because the September issue is the only issue of Vogue I read all year. Maybe someone should buy a copy for me then pack it in a suitcase and come visit. I'll trade free room and board in Italy for one September Vogue. Any takers?

Rispettate i Fiori e Le Piante

Today I'm loving. . .

. . . our garden.

We spend almost every evening out here and I occasionally find myself daydreaming about what has happened here in the last 500 years. You can almost see the history. There are still iron rings built into the building that were used to tie horse reins and the crazy tall double doors are just wide enough for a carriage. It is like stepping back in time.

How great is it that this is not just an Italian inspired garden. It's the real thing, complete with orange trees with actual oranges. They are growing in these enormous 60 year old planters from Tuscany. It takes a forklift to move them for winter. There are roses, hydrangeas, wisteria, statues that are older than America, and several pet turtles. The planters outside our back door and throughout the garden sit on pieces of old columns. I'd love to know the story about those. Roman? Greek? Part of the original house? Who knows.

Our garden is small with a tiny piece of grass. But the boys love moving the gravel around in dump trucks (like a giant sandbox, I guess!). Our front yard is a street. Literally. So it is so nice to have this little piece of green tucked inside an urban city block.

(You can see one of the old column pieces here in the top right.)

My project for today

It was a gorgeous weekend here in Italy. I'd love to tell you we spent the weekend doing something fun and exciting but we were stuck in the house attempting to get our two year old potty trained. All the windows were open all weekend because the weather was beautiful and that is what you do here (no air conditioning, remember). We live on a fairly busy city street and I can only imagine what the Italians walking by thought when they heard what was going on in our house. It is times like these that I am thankful for the language barrier. Hopefully only a few understood the joyous yells of "Yay, you put it in the potty!!"

Glamorous, isn't it?

We did escape for a bit Saturday night and went out with friends for an amazing dinner. Two courses of seafood and endless wine. When the waiter put the first course in front of me, most of the food was looking at me. Lots of heads still on the fish, whole octopus, whole shrimp. When I say whole, I mean the entire thing, head, eyes, everything. The second course was much the same. I got over it quickly and it was delicious. We left the restaurant after 1:00 and bicycled home, riding past the moat of the 13th century castle on the way. Quite surreal after being away for a month.

But back to today. Here is my project for today. This is the list of school supplies for my son. The only thing in English is the supplies used for English class. Lovely.

INGLESE/MATEMATICA/SCIENZE/STORIA/GEOGRAFIA/ICT
2 BOOKS WITH 1CM SQUARES
2 BOOKS WITH LARGE, WIDE LINES (RIGHE DI 5°)

ITALIANO
1 QUADERNO A QUADRETTONI GRANDI ;
4 QUADERNI A RIGHE DI 1°;
1 QUADERNINO PICCOLO (RIGHE O QUADRETTI) DA UTILIZZARE COME DIARIO;
1 CARTELLINA CON ELASTICO;

ARTE
ALBUM DA DISEGNO FOGLI LISCI

MUSICA
1 QUADERNO A QUADRETTONI GRANDI
1 RACCOGLITORE GRANDE AD ANELLE CON CARPETTINE TRASPARENTI


So I thought, no problem, I'll just type it into google translate.
Right. Check out the google translation...

ITALIAN1 notebook A LARGE plaid;
4 PAPERS OF STRIPED 1;
1 SMALL notebooks (rows or squares) HOW TO USE DIARY;
1 CARD WITH ELASTIC;

ART
Sketchbook smooth leaves

MUSIC
1 notebook A LARGE quadrettoni
1 LARGE RING BINDER WITH TRANSPARENT CARPETTINE

And so I'm off to the Italian store to find a "card with elastic", a "large plaid notebook", and a "stetchbook with smooth leaves".

Wish me luck.

So Italian

My brother sent me this and I couldn't resist sharing it with all of you.

A few weeks ago police captured an alleged mob boss in Naples. Check out this picture of the arrest http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/102701971/AFP .
Now, take a look at the policewoman next to him. Those are Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses. Only in Italy do the cops wear D&G sunglasses on the job. Kudos to her for capturing the mob boss suspected of more than 80 killings around Naples AND looking that fabulous while she did it.

By the way, the policewomen who help with traffic control around my son's school often wear heels. Heels. With a police uniform. Standing in the middle of a 4 lane (or sometimes 5 lanes depending on how the Italians are driving that day) city street. Only in Italy. You've got to love it.