Friday, March 13, 2009
News Flash
We interrupt your regular blog reading to bring you the latest news from the Cranford family. We are having a baby! It will be appearing sometime in early October 2009. Below is the first picture of our little bean at approximately 10 weeks. It is already quite lively! Stay tuned for further updates.
Firenze in February
Emily was out of school the last week of February. They called it the "White Week," and it had something to do with Carnevale (Mardi Gras), but I'm not sure what. So, we decided to take a couple of days and go to Firenze (Florence). Jeff and I had been to Firenze in 2006 on vacation, but Emily had not been. It is a very beautiful and nice city, and we had a good time.
We took the train down Monday night, and Tuesday morning headed out to see the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, better known as the Duomo. We got there before it opened to tourists, and ended up being the first ones inside that morning. It wasn't too crowded that early, and I got several good pictures.
This is a view of the front of the church. There are so many buildings around, you can't really get far enough away to get a full view of the front with no obstructions.
Jeff and Emily in front of one of the main doors to the church. Gives you an idea of how big and ornate they are.
This is the top of the dome, with people out on the walkway around the cupola. We did not go up there.
The marble floor inside the church. The inside is not as ornate as the outside, but it is still very beautiful.
This is the mosaic floor under the church. You can go down under the floor of the main cathedral and see some of the excavations to older parts of the church, as well as some of the Roman structures that predate the church entirely.
Here is a view of the side of the cathedral, where you can see the dome a little better.
After we saw the church, we had booked a tour of the Galleria dell'Accademia, where Michelangelo's David is housed. Jeff and I had not seen it when we were in Firenze previously, so we wanted to do it this time. It was well worth it. Everyone has seen pictures of the David (and you're not allowed to take any in the museum), but there is no way you can truly appreciate it if you don't see it in person. The exquisite detail is breathtaking. There are many other works of art in the Galleria, but the David is definitely the centerpiece, and you can stand and marvel at it for hours. We learned some interesting facts from our guide on the tour, but I'm not sure that it was worth it to book the tour. The line was not very long at the Accademia, so I don't know that we saved any time there.
That afternoon, the other half of our tour took place at the Uffizi Galleries, with a different guide. That one was definitely worth the tour. Not only did we get to bypass the line, but the Uffizi can be totally overwhelming (we had gone there previously without a guide), and our guide was extremely well-informed, and full of interesting facts about the works of art that we saw, as well as the history of the Galleries themselves. There are many masterpieces in the Uffizi, and, while we certainly did not see them all, we got a good overview and saw several. No photos allowed in the Uffizi, either, though we got a few outside.
The courtyard of the Uffizi is surrounded by statues of artists, scientists, and important historical figures. Here is Jeff in front of the statue of Michelangelo.
Emily was fascinated by the "moving statues" outside the museum. Here she is with one of them.
Just down from the Uffizi Galleries is the Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio (pictured above), the oldest bridge in Firenze. It has been a center of trade since the Middle Ages.
On Wednesday, our last day in Firenze, we went to the Pitti Palace, which we had not visited before. We toured the main art galleries (which were awesome), and the Royal Apartments (also beautiful).
This is the Piazza in front of the Palazzo Pitti. No pictures allowed inside.
Before time to catch our train home, we went back to the Piazza dei Signoria for a last look at the Palazzo Vecchio (unfortunately no time for a tour), and the statues.
The Palazzo Vecchio.
Emily with her favorite statue of Perseus and Medusa.
We had a very enjoyable trip. We didn't see everything, but it's only a 90 minute train ride to go back again, so I'm sure we will!
We took the train down Monday night, and Tuesday morning headed out to see the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, better known as the Duomo. We got there before it opened to tourists, and ended up being the first ones inside that morning. It wasn't too crowded that early, and I got several good pictures.
This is a view of the front of the church. There are so many buildings around, you can't really get far enough away to get a full view of the front with no obstructions.
Jeff and Emily in front of one of the main doors to the church. Gives you an idea of how big and ornate they are.
This is the top of the dome, with people out on the walkway around the cupola. We did not go up there.
The marble floor inside the church. The inside is not as ornate as the outside, but it is still very beautiful.
This is the mosaic floor under the church. You can go down under the floor of the main cathedral and see some of the excavations to older parts of the church, as well as some of the Roman structures that predate the church entirely.
Here is a view of the side of the cathedral, where you can see the dome a little better.After we saw the church, we had booked a tour of the Galleria dell'Accademia, where Michelangelo's David is housed. Jeff and I had not seen it when we were in Firenze previously, so we wanted to do it this time. It was well worth it. Everyone has seen pictures of the David (and you're not allowed to take any in the museum), but there is no way you can truly appreciate it if you don't see it in person. The exquisite detail is breathtaking. There are many other works of art in the Galleria, but the David is definitely the centerpiece, and you can stand and marvel at it for hours. We learned some interesting facts from our guide on the tour, but I'm not sure that it was worth it to book the tour. The line was not very long at the Accademia, so I don't know that we saved any time there.
That afternoon, the other half of our tour took place at the Uffizi Galleries, with a different guide. That one was definitely worth the tour. Not only did we get to bypass the line, but the Uffizi can be totally overwhelming (we had gone there previously without a guide), and our guide was extremely well-informed, and full of interesting facts about the works of art that we saw, as well as the history of the Galleries themselves. There are many masterpieces in the Uffizi, and, while we certainly did not see them all, we got a good overview and saw several. No photos allowed in the Uffizi, either, though we got a few outside.
The courtyard of the Uffizi is surrounded by statues of artists, scientists, and important historical figures. Here is Jeff in front of the statue of Michelangelo.
Emily was fascinated by the "moving statues" outside the museum. Here she is with one of them.
Just down from the Uffizi Galleries is the Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio (pictured above), the oldest bridge in Firenze. It has been a center of trade since the Middle Ages.
On Wednesday, our last day in Firenze, we went to the Pitti Palace, which we had not visited before. We toured the main art galleries (which were awesome), and the Royal Apartments (also beautiful).
This is the Piazza in front of the Palazzo Pitti. No pictures allowed inside.Before time to catch our train home, we went back to the Piazza dei Signoria for a last look at the Palazzo Vecchio (unfortunately no time for a tour), and the statues.
The Palazzo Vecchio.
Emily with her favorite statue of Perseus and Medusa. We had a very enjoyable trip. We didn't see everything, but it's only a 90 minute train ride to go back again, so I'm sure we will!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Porto Garibaldi and Comacchio
On Sunday, February 22, we went with some British friends of ours to the beach towns of Porto Garibaldi and Comacchio, about 40 minutes away. It was, of course, too cold for swimming, but we took a nice walk on the beach and the kids enjoyed picking up seashells.
Porto Garibaldi is apparently quite the popular beach destination in the summer, but was fairly quiet on a Sunday in February.
The beach was just covered in seashells of all different colors, shapes, and sizes.
Despite the chill, there were still people out sailing!
Here's our crew: Sue, Mick, and Jeff, with Charlie, Kirsten, and Emily in front.
From Porto Garibaldi, we went a short ways over to Comacchio, which has a few bridges and canals like Venice.
The three-way bridge in Comacchio.
Emily and Kirsten in front of the bridge.
A large boat in the canal. Not sure how they got it in there!
I hadn't really realized how close we were to the coast, but it's nice to know that, in the summer, we'll be able to run over to the beach for the day. We bought some fresh fish in Porto Garibaldi, and Mick cooked up a lovely halibut for dinner that night - mmm!
Porto Garibaldi is apparently quite the popular beach destination in the summer, but was fairly quiet on a Sunday in February.
The beach was just covered in seashells of all different colors, shapes, and sizes.
Despite the chill, there were still people out sailing!
Here's our crew: Sue, Mick, and Jeff, with Charlie, Kirsten, and Emily in front.
From Porto Garibaldi, we went a short ways over to Comacchio, which has a few bridges and canals like Venice.
The three-way bridge in Comacchio.
Emily and Kirsten in front of the bridge.
A large boat in the canal. Not sure how they got it in there!I hadn't really realized how close we were to the coast, but it's nice to know that, in the summer, we'll be able to run over to the beach for the day. We bought some fresh fish in Porto Garibaldi, and Mick cooked up a lovely halibut for dinner that night - mmm!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Aceto Balsamico
On Monday, 16 February, I went with a few of the other wives to Modena, where the best Aceto Balsamico (Balsamic Vinegar) in the world is made. We went to one of the family-owned, artisan operations to see how it is made. It was a brief, but interesting tour.
The family grow their own grapes on the property and harvest in the fall. They then cook down the juice and begin the long evaporation process. They have many barrels of varying sizes up in the attic of one of the buildings. The barrels are stored on their sides and have square holes cut in them, covered with cloth. The vinegar is poured first into the larger barrels and allowed to evaporate over the course of the year. As it becomes more concentrated, it is poured into smaller barrels until it finally goes into the smallest barrels, which looked to be about 2 gallon size. Our host told us that some of his barrels were at least 200 years old.
All of the vinegar is aged at least 18 years, and the best is 25 years old. We tasted both varieties, and they were both very good, though you could certainly tell that the older one was better. I couldn't afford the oldest one, though. I got a bottle of the not quite so old variety, 100 mL, and it was still 40 Euro.
There are, of course, large companies that manufacture aceto balsamico as well, of varying qualities and prices. The more aged and better quality, the more expensive, but most are still reasonable. My bottle from the tour will be saved for special occasions, but I have found another variety at the grocery store for everyday use. It's about 12 Euro for 250 mL, and is still good quality. Some of the cheap varieties are not very good, and you have to be sure that it says from Modena on the label.
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar is about the only salad dressing available in Italy in restaurants, but as long as the balsamic vinegar is good quality it's quite nice. Balsamic vinegar can also be used to marinate meat and vegetables. Our host for the tour even had jellies and sauces made with it.
The family grow their own grapes on the property and harvest in the fall. They then cook down the juice and begin the long evaporation process. They have many barrels of varying sizes up in the attic of one of the buildings. The barrels are stored on their sides and have square holes cut in them, covered with cloth. The vinegar is poured first into the larger barrels and allowed to evaporate over the course of the year. As it becomes more concentrated, it is poured into smaller barrels until it finally goes into the smallest barrels, which looked to be about 2 gallon size. Our host told us that some of his barrels were at least 200 years old.
All of the vinegar is aged at least 18 years, and the best is 25 years old. We tasted both varieties, and they were both very good, though you could certainly tell that the older one was better. I couldn't afford the oldest one, though. I got a bottle of the not quite so old variety, 100 mL, and it was still 40 Euro.
There are, of course, large companies that manufacture aceto balsamico as well, of varying qualities and prices. The more aged and better quality, the more expensive, but most are still reasonable. My bottle from the tour will be saved for special occasions, but I have found another variety at the grocery store for everyday use. It's about 12 Euro for 250 mL, and is still good quality. Some of the cheap varieties are not very good, and you have to be sure that it says from Modena on the label.
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar is about the only salad dressing available in Italy in restaurants, but as long as the balsamic vinegar is good quality it's quite nice. Balsamic vinegar can also be used to marinate meat and vegetables. Our host for the tour even had jellies and sauces made with it.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Le Mura
Last Friday was beautiful and sunny, and I was inspired to walk up on the wall and take pictures. If you are not aware, Ferrara, the city where we live, is a walled city. The wall was built mostly during the 15th and 16th centuries. Ferrara was the capital of an important duchy for many centuries, beginning in the middle ages. Now, there are walking and biking trails both on top and around the exterior of the wall.
I only covered a very small portion of the wall (I believe the total circumference is something like 9 kilometers), but got some good shots of what it looks like in the area near Emily's school.
This is a view of the wall from the outside, as we approach it from our house.
This is the lane on top of the wall, where you can walk. It is nicely planted with trees on either side. This is a very popular place for joggers.
This is a view down along the wall from the outcropping shown in the first picture above. The road shown on the other side of the large, round building is Corso Porta Mare, the closest road to our house that enters through the wall.
This is a view looking down on the wall from the lane above onto some interesting ruins. Not sure what they used to be, but they looked kinda neat!
This is actually looking from the top of the wall inward, toward town. I believe that this is the Jewish Cemetery.
And of course, here is a local soccer team practicing just on the outside of the wall. The road in the background runs around the outside of the wall. You can pretty much circumnavigate the wall by car along the roads, with the occasional roundabout allowing access inside the wall. I don't believe that there are any actual working gates on any of the entrance roads, though some of the entrances are quite narrow.
I only covered a very small portion of the wall (I believe the total circumference is something like 9 kilometers), but got some good shots of what it looks like in the area near Emily's school.
This is a view of the wall from the outside, as we approach it from our house. 
This is the lane on top of the wall, where you can walk. It is nicely planted with trees on either side. This is a very popular place for joggers.
This is a view down along the wall from the outcropping shown in the first picture above. The road shown on the other side of the large, round building is Corso Porta Mare, the closest road to our house that enters through the wall.
This is a view looking down on the wall from the lane above onto some interesting ruins. Not sure what they used to be, but they looked kinda neat!
This is actually looking from the top of the wall inward, toward town. I believe that this is the Jewish Cemetery.
And of course, here is a local soccer team practicing just on the outside of the wall. The road in the background runs around the outside of the wall. You can pretty much circumnavigate the wall by car along the roads, with the occasional roundabout allowing access inside the wall. I don't believe that there are any actual working gates on any of the entrance roads, though some of the entrances are quite narrow.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Money Matters
We had a little problem with SKY a few weeks back when all of a sudden it would not work anymore. Through some friends who speak Italian, and a customer service rep who spoke English, we managed to discover that we were supposed to pay a bill, though we had never received one. We paid it over the phone and the service was restored. We hear that one has not truly lived in Italy until you have had at least one service cut off for nonpayment. Friends have told us stories of water, gas, and electricity being cut off, mostly because they did not receive a bill.
Bills are only sent out every 2-6 months and are usually due within a week of the time that you receive them, though sometimes you don't receive them until after they are due. When you don't receive your bills consistently, it is hard to know when to expect them and whether you are missing one. Checks are almost nonexistent in Italy, so you do not just write a check and send it in. Internet payment is in its infancy here, so that is not really an option either. The most common way to pay bills is to take them to the post office. The bill actually comes with a little form that is just used to pay through the post office. You must pay in cash, no checks or credit cards.
Most transactions in Italy are done in cash. The Bancomat (ATM) machine on the corner by Emily's school is always busy. Some of the larger stores, especially chains, will accept credit or Bancomat (debit) cards, but most smaller, local stores only take cash. Stores also will not issue refunds for returned merchandise. You can only get store credit.
Today I had my first experience at an Italian bank other than the one on the US Army base. Jeff got a parking ticket last week when he took Emily to her guitar lesson at school. Parking tickets must be paid within 8 days, or the fine doubles. We were actually told by a couple of the British folks here not to pay it, because the license on our car is issued through the US Army base and the number is not available in the regular Italian license database. They said that the Army would not release the information about who owns the car or where they live to the police, so they would not find us and make us pay it. However, we decided to play it safe and pay the fine. With Jeff's luck, the rules would change, and the Army would, as a gesture of goodwill, open their database to the Italian police, and they would come and charge us some huge amount for this unpaid parking ticket.
Anyway, the only way to pay the parking ticket was to take it to the Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara (the local bank) and pay in cash. I knew where the bank was, because I pass by it every day on the way to Emily's school, but I had never been inside. I dropped Emily off this morning and waited a few minutes until the bank opened at 8:30. By the way, the bank is only open from 8:30-1:30, and 2:45-3:45. Talk about banker's hours!
I went into the vestibule of the bank and was immediately intimidated when I could not see how to enter. There was a door, but it was locked, and had a sign with an arrow pointing to the right that said Entrata (Entrance). In the direction of the arrow were very large (person sized) plastic tubes in the wall, but they both said Uscita (Exit) and gave no indication of how to go in. I read the note on the door that said no bags, cell phones, or metal items could be brought in. I turned around and found lockers (like you find in amusement parks) in the vestibule for depositing these forbidden items. I got the ticket and money out and put my purse and umbrella in a locker. Fortunately, at that point, someone else came in and pushed a button in between the two tubes. The plastic part that said Uscita opened and he stepped through. It remained open, so I went in, too.
I presented the ticket and money to the cashier and completed the transaction. I then went back to the tubes, and one opened, so I stepped inside. The part behind me closed, and I was standing inside the plastic tube, closed on both sides. At that moment I felt like I was going to be beamed up to the Starship Enterprise. Then the part in front of me opened and I stepped out into the vestibule, collected my things, and was on my way. I wish I could have taken a picture of these doors, but I think that would have been frowned upon. It was literally like a plastic tube that opened on both sides to let you in and out. Standing inside, it was very much like one of the pneumatic tubes that you put the capsule into when you send transactions to the teller at the bank drive-through, except that the doors slid to the side, instead of sliding up and down. I don't suppose that they have very many bank robberies here!
Bills are only sent out every 2-6 months and are usually due within a week of the time that you receive them, though sometimes you don't receive them until after they are due. When you don't receive your bills consistently, it is hard to know when to expect them and whether you are missing one. Checks are almost nonexistent in Italy, so you do not just write a check and send it in. Internet payment is in its infancy here, so that is not really an option either. The most common way to pay bills is to take them to the post office. The bill actually comes with a little form that is just used to pay through the post office. You must pay in cash, no checks or credit cards.
Most transactions in Italy are done in cash. The Bancomat (ATM) machine on the corner by Emily's school is always busy. Some of the larger stores, especially chains, will accept credit or Bancomat (debit) cards, but most smaller, local stores only take cash. Stores also will not issue refunds for returned merchandise. You can only get store credit.
Today I had my first experience at an Italian bank other than the one on the US Army base. Jeff got a parking ticket last week when he took Emily to her guitar lesson at school. Parking tickets must be paid within 8 days, or the fine doubles. We were actually told by a couple of the British folks here not to pay it, because the license on our car is issued through the US Army base and the number is not available in the regular Italian license database. They said that the Army would not release the information about who owns the car or where they live to the police, so they would not find us and make us pay it. However, we decided to play it safe and pay the fine. With Jeff's luck, the rules would change, and the Army would, as a gesture of goodwill, open their database to the Italian police, and they would come and charge us some huge amount for this unpaid parking ticket.
Anyway, the only way to pay the parking ticket was to take it to the Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara (the local bank) and pay in cash. I knew where the bank was, because I pass by it every day on the way to Emily's school, but I had never been inside. I dropped Emily off this morning and waited a few minutes until the bank opened at 8:30. By the way, the bank is only open from 8:30-1:30, and 2:45-3:45. Talk about banker's hours!
I went into the vestibule of the bank and was immediately intimidated when I could not see how to enter. There was a door, but it was locked, and had a sign with an arrow pointing to the right that said Entrata (Entrance). In the direction of the arrow were very large (person sized) plastic tubes in the wall, but they both said Uscita (Exit) and gave no indication of how to go in. I read the note on the door that said no bags, cell phones, or metal items could be brought in. I turned around and found lockers (like you find in amusement parks) in the vestibule for depositing these forbidden items. I got the ticket and money out and put my purse and umbrella in a locker. Fortunately, at that point, someone else came in and pushed a button in between the two tubes. The plastic part that said Uscita opened and he stepped through. It remained open, so I went in, too.
I presented the ticket and money to the cashier and completed the transaction. I then went back to the tubes, and one opened, so I stepped inside. The part behind me closed, and I was standing inside the plastic tube, closed on both sides. At that moment I felt like I was going to be beamed up to the Starship Enterprise. Then the part in front of me opened and I stepped out into the vestibule, collected my things, and was on my way. I wish I could have taken a picture of these doors, but I think that would have been frowned upon. It was literally like a plastic tube that opened on both sides to let you in and out. Standing inside, it was very much like one of the pneumatic tubes that you put the capsule into when you send transactions to the teller at the bank drive-through, except that the doors slid to the side, instead of sliding up and down. I don't suppose that they have very many bank robberies here!
Moon and SKY
On Saturday, 10 January, the full moon was incredibly bright. We actually had clear weather, so we could see it, and it was awesome. Pictures do not really do it justice, but they give you an idea.
For the next couple of days after that, both at night and in the morning, the moon put on a good show. This is a picture of the moon in the morning.
This one is at night, a day or two after the full moon.
Now for the SKY portion. SKY is the satellite TV service that we have here. I have heard that the parent company is British, but what we have is definitely Italian. We got a deal on it when we hooked up the phone and internet, so we decided to try it for a while. We have been unable to get AFN (Armed Forces Network) to work, so we are glad that we have SKY. SKY has lots of channels, and several different package options. We just have the basic package, so we don't get the movie channels or the sports channels (including at least 20 soccer channels - really!).
In addition to the real Italian channels, we have several Fox channels (Fox, Fox Life, and Fox Crime) that show mostly American programs. The nice thing about SKY is that, if you watch a program that was originally produced in a language other than Italian, you can switch the language and watch it in the original language. That means that, when we find American programs like CSI, Desperate Housewives, or The Simpsons (yes, all of those are available here, among many others), we can watch them in English. The three Fox channels are also shown with a one hour delay as Fox +1, Fox Life +1, and Fox Crime +1. The nice thing about that is that the same programming comes on one hour later so if 2 programs you want to see are on at conflicting times, you can watch one of them later. The Fox channels show programs that are broadcast on all the nextworks in the US, not just Fox. I was very excited when I found the current season of Ugly Betty on Fox Life on Tuesday nights. The season didn't start until 6 January, so I assume that they had to delay it to get it dubbed in Italian (though of course I watch it in English). We also get the History Channel, National Geographic, Discovery, Hallmark, E!, and MTV, though I think the programming is a bit different than the same channels back home. Not all of the programs are available in English, but most of them are.
We were a bit concerned about keeping up with our favorite shows because you cannot just watch them online like I had originally planned. If your ISP is outside of the US, you are blocked from watching most programs through network websites. Ugly Betty is the only one that I have found so far in its current season on our TV, but I'm sure others will appear, or we will join Netflix next year and watch them on DVD.
For the next couple of days after that, both at night and in the morning, the moon put on a good show. This is a picture of the moon in the morning.
This one is at night, a day or two after the full moon.
Now for the SKY portion. SKY is the satellite TV service that we have here. I have heard that the parent company is British, but what we have is definitely Italian. We got a deal on it when we hooked up the phone and internet, so we decided to try it for a while. We have been unable to get AFN (Armed Forces Network) to work, so we are glad that we have SKY. SKY has lots of channels, and several different package options. We just have the basic package, so we don't get the movie channels or the sports channels (including at least 20 soccer channels - really!).
In addition to the real Italian channels, we have several Fox channels (Fox, Fox Life, and Fox Crime) that show mostly American programs. The nice thing about SKY is that, if you watch a program that was originally produced in a language other than Italian, you can switch the language and watch it in the original language. That means that, when we find American programs like CSI, Desperate Housewives, or The Simpsons (yes, all of those are available here, among many others), we can watch them in English. The three Fox channels are also shown with a one hour delay as Fox +1, Fox Life +1, and Fox Crime +1. The nice thing about that is that the same programming comes on one hour later so if 2 programs you want to see are on at conflicting times, you can watch one of them later. The Fox channels show programs that are broadcast on all the nextworks in the US, not just Fox. I was very excited when I found the current season of Ugly Betty on Fox Life on Tuesday nights. The season didn't start until 6 January, so I assume that they had to delay it to get it dubbed in Italian (though of course I watch it in English). We also get the History Channel, National Geographic, Discovery, Hallmark, E!, and MTV, though I think the programming is a bit different than the same channels back home. Not all of the programs are available in English, but most of them are.
We were a bit concerned about keeping up with our favorite shows because you cannot just watch them online like I had originally planned. If your ISP is outside of the US, you are blocked from watching most programs through network websites. Ugly Betty is the only one that I have found so far in its current season on our TV, but I'm sure others will appear, or we will join Netflix next year and watch them on DVD.
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