The Liebster Award!

January 1, 2019February 10, 2022 Niche Travel Design3 Comments

Niche Travel Design has been nominated for The Liebster Award!

I was nominated by A World in Reach for this peer award. For a somewhat new blogger like me, this is a special treat. It’s always a great feeling to be recognized by your peers. Thank you, Sydney and A World in Reach.

What is the Liebster Award?

The Liebster Award is a peer to peer award, given to bloggers, by bloggers as a way to foster collaboration and support. What a nice idea.

I noticed a message board in my German friend’s house that said “liebe und respekt.” I asked what liebe or liebster meant. She told me it means dearest or kindest. Thus, bloggers being dear and kind to one another. This is an award I can get behind. I am always seeking advice from others and I am happy to promote the idea of collaboration. I strongly believe in the theory that what you give comes back to you.

The Rules of Engagement

Once you’re nominated with the Liebster Award, you have to follow a few rules to celebrate your win and spread the award throughout the blogging community.

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and put a link to their blog on your blog.

2. Display the award on your blog.

3. Write a small post about what makes you passionate about blog posting.

4. Provide 10 random facts about yourself.

5. Answer the questions from your nominator and provide a fresh set of questions for those you nominate.

6. Nominate 5 – 10 blogs that you feel would enjoy blogging about this award.

7. List these rules in your post.

How I Began My Blogging Journey

I began blogging when I first moved from California to Parma, Italy in 2011.

When my daughter was a toddler she frequently made up words that sounded similar to the adult versions. She would say strawbellies instead of strawberries; froggy instead of foggy. One of the words she transposed was Parmesan. In her toddler mind, Parmesan cheese was Purple John cheese. For years our family asked each other to pass the Purple John cheese at the dinner table.

Imagine our surprise when we realized that we were moving to Parma, Italy – the birthplace of Purple John cheese. Apparently, the universe has a sense of humor. It seemed like serendipity. What we did not know is that an international move is difficult. Life in another country is difficult. It is not all adventure. I had 2 very sad children who did not want to move and leave the comfort of their home.

[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Read about the reality of an international move here.[/dropshadowbox]

All that being said, life in Italy was often quite funny because things were soooo different than what we were used to. Thus, my original blog, Purple John, began by me just telling friends about the difficulties and the funny stories that we encountered along the way.

[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Read funny stories about life in Italy in the drop-down menu here. [/dropshadowbox]

And of course, just when we were settled into life in Italy, the universe struck again and we had a second move to Malmö, Sweden. Once we moved and settled into Malmö, I toyed with the idea of reworking my past experience as a travel consultant and incorporating the blog as part of the business. The kids were older and they did not need me as much as they did in Italy. This last year I began my existing blog Niche Travel Design using my name and domain name from the travel business that I ran in the USA. So now my travel business has a blog attached to it.

My blog still occasionally includes funny ex-pat tales of excitement and woe, but now I am more focused on the business of travel. The funny thing, though . . . that little toddler that inspired my first blog name, she now works with me on the business.

At Niche Travel Design, our philosophy is that designing the perfect vacation is as much an art form as designing a home’s interior or a garden’s landscape. We curate a unique experience for each of our clients.

We are experts in finding the best cup of coffee, the most interesting art gallery, the best place to sip Prosecco while watching the sunset, and the best accessories to make your adventure more comfortable.

The perfect cappuccino

Aperol Spritz – the classic summer cocktail

Niche Travel Design is more than a travel blog. We are a community featuring stories of life abroad, cultural experiences, recipes, ideas, and tips for creating unique memories to last a lifetime. We also recommend products and services.

10 Random Things About Me

I once sort of crashed a funeral. My friend was supposed to go and I was staying with her so I went too because it was celebrity filled. In the end, I felt like a heel and a looky-loo. People (even celebrities) were grieving. I don’t recommend it. Not my best moment.
I always top off my gasoline, despite the warnings.
I love Gene Kelly movies and I got to meet him once and had a conversation with him about his more obscure movies. It was amazing and he was so kind.
I am secretly a Carpenters fan. I guess it is not a secret anymore.
I sing all the time in public even though I really shouldn’t.
I once got into a car accident on the way home from a car accident and neither one was my fault. I know you don’t believe me, but it is true.
Apparently, according to my family, I say Google incorrectly? Who knew?
I hate, I mean really hate, The Pillsbury Doughboy. His voice makes my skin crawl.
I once stayed at a “pensione” in Barcelona that was actually the host’s children’s room. He was clearing toys out of their bedroom. It was weird, but it was late and there was a train strike so I paid to sleep in a stranger’s kid’s bed.
I generally don’t like chick flicks despite being a chick. I seem to be missing a gene or something.

A World In Reach’s Questions For Me

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned during your travels? That once one strips away all the cultural differences, we are all the same. We all just want safety, family, friends, love, and respect in our lives.

What’s your favorite part of traveling? Exploring and learning about a place. Finding off the beaten path things to do. I am a researcher and enjoy the discovery of new things to do, a great local restaurant, a specialty shop, an unusual experience in a typical tourist spot. Least favorite? The getting there bit. The airports, etc. Ugh.

Do you collect any souvenirs from your travels? I used to collect art from each place but now I have too much. I had to stop. No more room to hang anything. We have also always collected ornaments for our Christmas tree. It is nice to remember our trips as we put up each ornament every year. Now I collect photographs and memories.

What is the most unique experience you’ve had with a local while traveling? Swimming with horses in Croatia. Just incredible.

[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Read more about swimming with horses here. [/dropshadowbox]

If you could travel with one person you’ve never traveled with before, who would it be? Barack Obama. He is intelligent, funny, has done some cool stuff and met a bunch of interesting people. I’ll bet he has good stories. Plus, he gets V.I.P. treatment and if we were traveling together I’d get V.I.P. treatment too.

How did you come up with your blog name? It was the name of my travel business in the USA. I focus on niche, unique, unusual travel experiences. I curate and design your trip for you.

What tip would you give to a new blogger? Learn all the technical stuff before you begin.

Is there a book or a movie that has inspired your wanderlust? No. My wanderlust was developed as a child. Actually, I feel like it has always been there.

What are the top 3 things on your bucket list? Africa – all of it! Australia/New Zealand and Asia.

What is your biggest travel regret? I had a chance to go to Africa for a summer. I didn’t go because it wasn’t practical. I should have gone.

My Nominations for The Liebster Award

I have really enjoyed the Liebster Award process. I also enjoyed reading about each of these bloggers that I am nominating. I hope that you each take the time to read up on what they have to offer.

1. Divine Kabwe at beingyourselfblog.wordpress.com

2. Diana Danciu at ourblindlife.com

3. Jenny Toney Bhatia of travelingpartyof4.com

4. Temeka Flack Green of worklifemommyhood.com

5. Heather Eyre of thefemalefactor.me

6. Jamie Joseph of wearefreeindeed.wordpress.com

7. Samantha Norman of SammiNormanFit.com

8. Louise Emerson of 12books.co.uk

9. Mallory Herrera of mamaonparade.com

10. Megan Henderson of thehendersonhouse.org

Questions For My Nominees

Since I have a travel blog, my questions are all about travel.

Where would you go if money and time were not issues?
What is the best advice you would give to new travelers?
What is the one accessory that you cannot travel without – your phone and/or computer don’t count?
Where is one place you would return over and over again? And why?
Where is one place you’ve been but never want to return to? And why?
What is the funniest travel mishap you’ve had?
What is the scariest travel experience you’ve had?
What is your favorite travel souvenir?
What is your favorite local cuisine?
What is your next destination?

Looking forward to reading my nominees’ answers and getting to know them better.

And once again, a BIG THANK YOU to A World In Reach for my nomination!

Everyone, please be sure to check out Sydney’s blog for ideas on budget travel. A World In Reach can provide you with all sorts of ideas on traveling on a budget.

Americans abroad · aperitivo · Buon Natale · Christmas · Christmas cocktails · cocktails · day drinking · Emilia Romagna · Emilia Romagna · European travel · ex-pat life · favorite recipes · Insider Tips · international travel · Italian cocktails · Italian food · Italian recipes · Italy · Parma Italy · Travel

Italian Liqueurs | Day Drinking In Italy: The Italian White Russian.

November 26, 2018 Niche Travel Design2 Comments

ITALIAN LIQUEURS ARE NECESSARY | Our First Winter In Italy

a young girl holding an enormous snow ball.

Big Snow for the Big Lebowki

Emilia Romagne snow.

Our first winter living in Italy was brutal. Snow for months. My husband and I were snowbound, watching the movie, The Big Lebowski and dreaming of White Russians to keep us warm. A White Russian is a lovely concoction comprised of vodka, cream, and coffee flavored liqueur, Kahlua. The drink features prominently in the movie. Unfortunately, while Kahlua is very popular in the USA, it was impossible to find in Italy. Literally impossible. Our Big Lebowski dreams were shattered.

Then one day my husband walked in from work with a look on his face like a little boy with a frog in his pocket. He excitedly pulled out a bottle of Borghetti, a coffee based Italian liqueur. White Russians were back on the menu. And, we quickly realized that the regional Italian liqueurs, well, they are necessary to survive winter.

White Russian cocktail on the bar stand on rubber mat. — The classic White Russian cocktail. Photo credit: iStock Photos.

Now, after 2 or 3 White Russians, you’d think that we would have been out cold. I am an insomniac, but my husband can literally sleep anywhere, at any time. Yet this night, no sleep was to be had. No sheep were being counted. At about 3:00 a.m., we were both wide awake with the edgy energy that only high amounts of caffeine have ever given me. We tossed. We turned. We tried to figure out why my husband couldn’t sleep. Eventually, it dawned on us to look at the Borghetti bottle.

ITALIAN INGREDIENTS | Hint, They Are Sticklers For Natural, Pure Ingredients.

There it was right on the front of the bottle, “di vero caffe espresso.” Arrgh. Our excitement had made us foolhardy. While Kahlua is a coffee “flavored” liqueur, Borghetti is made with pure espresso. Italians do not believe in artificial ingredients. Not even in their liqueurs. We had essentially consumed 3 espressos each before bedtime.

ITALIAN COFFEE | Borghetti, Not Suitable For Evening

We concluded that Borghetti is only suitable for day drinking. Borghetti is a day drink because one cannot drink it in the evening and expect to get any sleep. If Borghetti bested my sleep connoisseur husband, a normal person doesn’t stand a chance.   Borghetti is delicious. I like it even better than Kahlua. It has less of a sugary taste and more of a strong coffee flavor. So the conundrum. The stuff is tasty but there is no way we can drink after 12:00 noon and how many times a year does one sit around drinking during the daytime? Hum . . . when could we consume this lovely liqueur?

We decided that Borghetti is the perfect Christmas morning drink. A little Borghetti in with some cream and Nat King Cole singing Christmas carols is a pretty damn near perfect way to start your day.

Two Christmas gnomes with a bottle of Borghetti. — The Italian liqueur, Borghetti. The necessary ingredient for an Italian Christmas White Russian.

ITALIAN RECIPES | The Italian White Russian

Despite the name, the White Russian was not invented in Russia. I suspect that the alleged inventor so named it due to the inclusion of vodka, but I have no proof (pun intended) of that.

Legend has it that Gustave Tops, a Belgian bartender, not a Russian, created the cocktail in 1949 at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels. The drink was quite popular initially and eventually spread across the globe. In the USA, the concoction hit the height of its popularity in the 1970s. Today, not too many people drink them and it is considered a retro cocktail.

Our recipe adds a new twist with the addition of the espresso liqueur. In our house, we have cross pollinated 2 cultures and now our cocktail’s official moniker is Il Russo Bianco di Natale Italiano or the Italian Christmas White Russian.

Makes one drink:

2 oz vodka.
1 oz Borghetti
1/2 oz whole milk or heavy cream.
Ice.

Buon Natale a Tutti!

Americans abroad · Emilia Romagna · European travel · ex-pat life · ex-pat reality · football · Insider Tips · Italy · Parma Italy · soccer · Travel · world cup

The Most Popular Game In The World

June 13, 2018February 10, 2022 Niche Travel Design9 Comments

Football match in Italy. Parma vs. Inter Milan — Italian football match. Parma vs. Inter Milan

Italian Passion

Italians are a passionate bunch in general, and their passion for life can be triggered on a dime. Amazingly though, they also seem to make up with one another right away. I have seen them yelling and screaming at each other, faces reddened, spittle flying, arms waving and then shake hands and walk away five minutes later. Given this passionate culture, I was eager to attend a football match because one thing that Italians are very passionate about is football, the most popular game in the world. You know, what we Americans call soccer.

Football, The Most Popular Game In The World

We decided to support our local football team and we went to watch Parma play against Inter Milan. I was a tad nervous because my husband had warned me that when Parma scores the crowd goes a little crazy – their passions are unfurled with yelling, screaming, shoving, running up and down the stands. Joe was actually knocked over at the last game he went to. He was not hurt, but that knowledge made me anxious as neither my daughter, nor I, do well in crowds. I was also anxious because Inter Milan was ranked fifth and Parma was ranked sixth, so tensions were indeed high. Ultimately. my desire to experience Italy to its fullest won out over my fear. We donned our blue and yellow and headed out to the stadium.

Upon arriving, I noticed that there is no alcohol allowed at an Italian soccer game. Now, bear in mind that Italy is a place where one can find a full bar just about everywhere – the park, the movie theater, the shopping mall, the gym. But not at a football stadium. I have to say, that I support this practice. I think it is a wise idea to prohibit alcohol at sporting events where passion and loyalties are on overdrive. One of my dear friends in California is a sweet, gentle guy unless you encounter him at the UCLA/USC football game. Then, he is a rabid dog. Give him some beer at the UCLA/USC game and he is a rabid bear. It may be a good thing for America to follow the Italian example in this case.

Something else that I noticed was that even stone cold sober, Italian fans are INTENSE about, and loyal to, their football team. One of our Italian friends welcomed his second daughter into the world on the morning of the game that we attended, but he still made it to the match that afternoon!

Warning – Foul Language Ahead

The intense loyalty that they feel for their team is most often manifested by hurling insults at the other team. Through the entire game, Parma fans were chanting “Inter, Inter, vaffanculo, vaffanculo!” which literally translates as “Inter, Inter, up your a**,” but is used more as Americans use f^%k you. Imagine half of a stadium chanting “f^%k you!” Here were some of the antics I was hoping to experience.

Italians are a poetic people. They value the poetry of their art, food, fashion and language. Given this love of language, a simple vaffanculo would not suffice and the fans occasionally intermixed the vaffanculo’s with the chanting of an Inter Milan player’s name and then “pezzo di merda.” As in, for example, “Zanetti piece of shit.” They also broke into song once or twice singing along to the tune of Guantanamera but replacing the Guantanamera with “pezzo di merda” and then a player’s name so that the tune went something like this – “♫ pezzo di merda. Zanetti, pezzo di merda. ♪♪ peeeezzzzzo di merdaaa, ♫ Zanetti, pezzo di merda.” Again, imagine a huge crowd all swearing together in song. Fascinating and entertaining stuff, I tell you.

The most perplexing expression of loyalty for me, however, was the yelling of “cinesi vai via!” or “non ci sono cinesi in Italia!” This translates as “Chinese go away” and “There are no Chinese in Italy.” As factually incorrect, and as racially insensitive, as these comments were, the funny thing to me is that they were yelling these insults at Inter Milan player Yuto Nagatomo . . . who is Japanese. I swear I saw Nagatomo looking around for the mysterious Chinese guy once or twice.

The final thing that I noticed about Italian football games is that the previously blogged about colpo d’aria – the dreaded hit of air – that Italians feel must be avoided at all times and at all costs for fear of ending up in the hospital – seems to have a waiver for football matches.

During our game, for example, the weather was rainy and cold and yet scores of fans were without umbrellas or rain gear. And quite a few were without shirts. In the rain! There they were, standing in the freezing rain, getting hit by air for 2+ hours and not a one seemed to be concerned that they were going to end up in the hospital. Once again, questions arise in my American mind about the colpo d’aria malady.

Alas, for Parma fans, despite their best insults and choral talent, Inter Milan won. Parma didn’t score a single goal so I didn’t get to see the post score craze of happy fans that I craved. And despite the racist epithets, Nagatomo dominated the field. But, you know what they say . . . karma is a Japanese Inter Milan player.

Americans abroad · Emilia Romagna · European travel · ex-pat life · ex-pat reality · Insider Tips · international travel · Italy · laundry

Do You Iron Your Jeans and Underwear? How To Do Laundry In Italy

June 11, 2018 Niche Travel DesignLeave a comment

Ok. Each of you Americans out there – I want you to stop what you are doing and go hug your dryer. Personally I never thought about my dryer before moving to Europe. It was just another appliance. There was the occasional story about a family whose house caught on fire due to too much lint in the vent, and I’d stop and think,”how awful” and “what a tragedy” and I would make a mental note to clean out my venting tube. And then I’d forget about it again. Then we moved to Italy.In Italy, most people line dry their laundry. Dryers are available, but we were told they are expensive to run since electricity is costly there. It is not uncommon to see laundry hanging on lines outside apartments and houses. It is also not uncommon to visit a friend’s home and see laundry drying in various places. It is not rude. It is simply a way of life. In fact, it is one of the things that Americans find charming when they visit. It can be beautiful and colorful. It evokes a simpler time. Days gone by.

When we first arrived in Italy and were in temporary housing Joe told me that the washing cycle took about 2 hours. I scoffed. Surely he must not have understood the instructions. Turns out, he understood better than I did. After all, he had been living there for 6 months. The wash cycle at the temporary housing did indeed take 2 hours. Thus, when we were looking for a washing machine to buy, I wanted the largest load capacity that we could find. If it was going to take 2 hours per load I wanted to wash as many things as I could in one cycle. And we found a big one! Unfortunately, it had to be returned. It was too big to fit up our narrow Italian stairs. Eventually, we found one that fit and could run a load in 1 hour. We were making progress. We were fortunate enough to have a large laundry room so we had the space to line dry laundry out of sight. And, there was the environmental impact. I knew that if you line dry your clothes HALF OF THE TIME you will save 1150 pounds of CO2 emissions . . . the work of 23 trees! I felt good about that. Plus, I was in Italy and as they say, “when in Rome” . . . I was committed to line drying.

What I didn’t realize is that depending on the season, clothes don’t always dry quickly. And, while the laundry room was large, it had no ventilation. In fact, many times the dampness of the laundry room left the clothes smelling musty and moldy and I would have to wash them all over again. I then had to place towels and jeans strategically on radiators all over the house since they take a particularly long time to dry. And all the other items in the living room in front of an open window – even when it was cold out – letting all the warm air escape. So much for energy efficiency.

In some cases, when you combined the length of time that it took to run a load of laundry, with hanging clothes, the actual drying process, then taking them off the hangers, then folding it and putting it away – one load of laundry would take up to three days from start to finish. I was constantly checking laundry. In the winter, if I had to rewash a load, it would be a 4 – 5 day process for each load. We had a few mishaps. “Mom, I am out of jeans to wear.” Ooops. One cannot magically run a load of laundry and guarantee that they’d be dry overnight. Laundry became a strategy. A lifestyle.

While I did feel good about reducing our carbon footprint by line drying,* I grew weary of the process and the resulting crunchy clothing and towels. Italians have these big industrial sized steam irons they use to soften up crunchy clothes. Yup, they iron their towels, sheets, socks, underwear and jeans to make them soft again. The thing was, I was already spending a significant part of my day, every day, on laundry. I did not want to add steam ironing into the mix. Besides, after using a towel once or twice or wearing your jeans for a day, they soften up . . . a bit.

So anyway, imagine my delight when we moved into our house in Sweden and I went down to the basement and discovered that our rental included a dryer! I ran a load of laundry (30 minutes! Let’s hear it for Swedish efficiency!) and placed it in the dryer.

Now, calling it a dryer is a bit of a misnomer. It doesn’t dry the clothing with heated air producing fluffy warm clothes, towels and sheets. It works by spinning the clothes and wicking the water out into a container at the bottom of the machine. I set it for 90 minutes. I returned 90 minutes later only to realize it had not completed its cycle. The laundry was still soaking wet. I fumbled about trying to figure out why and realized that the machine stops once the container at the bottom is full of water. I emptied the container. The machine started up again. When I checked on it again 30 minutes later, again, the container was full and the cycle had once again stopped. I emptied the container and started the machine again.

This went on for about 3 more hours. I could have taken them out and just line dried them, however, at this point I was in the middle of an experiment. I wanted to find out how long this was going to take. The next morning (yes you heard me correctly) I set it for another 90 minutes. Surely, there could not be enough water left in the clothes to fill the container again. OMG! I was wrong. After 2 more 90 minute cycles including breaks for emptying the water container, the clothes were dry. That particular load took 30 hours start to finish. I guess 30 hours is better than 48 or 72. I don’t know if our dryer is an old crappy one or this is the norm, but I have now resigned myself to line drying the clothes and placing towels and jeans strategically on radiators again. I am back to saving the planet.

And while saving the planet feels good, I have a confession to make . . . truth be told, I miss being able to dry jeans, sweatshirts and towels in a heated wonderland. So my American brethren, heed my tale of woe. Go hug your dryer. Clean its venting tube, its lint trap and wipe down the exterior. Treat it like the appliance it is. And give it a kiss from me.

* http://www.simpleecology.com/eco/clothesline.html

Americans abroad · ex-pat life · Italy · Parma Italy · Travel

“Toto, I’ve A Feeling We’re Not In Kansas Anymore.”

March 19, 2016February 10, 2022 Niche Travel DesignLeave a comment

Today my poor daughter did what I long to do most days. She burst into tears when the tutor asked her what the correct article was for her sentence in Italian.

I have always loved words. I like reading. I like researching the origin of words. I like learning about colloquialisms. I like learning the difference between a colloquialism and an idiom. I like to keep lists of words that appeal to my ear. Words like verdant, flummoxed, phalanges and evanescent.

About a hundred years ago I took a year and a half of French. I was young, I never studied and I rarely paid attention. Not surprising then, that my French didn’t stick. Living in California I picked up a smattering (another favorite word) of Spanish – you know, enough to order food and beer and find a bathroom when needed, but I have always felt as if there were a hole in my education because I don’t speak another language other than English.

So, imagine my delight when I learned we were moving to another country where I could immerse myself in another language – a beautiful Romance language no less. I was naive enough to think it would be easy. I thought, “First I’ll learn Italian since we will be living there. Then I’ll learn French because the kids are learning it and I certainly don’t want my teenagers to have a whole other language that they can communicate in that my husband and I do not understand. And, besides France will be so close and its a Romance language too so how hard can it really be?” HA!

It has been a year and I still don’t speak Italian, let alone French! I can get around, I can order food in a restaurant. I have simple conversations with shopkeepers, but I am frustrated at how long it is taking me to really learn Italian.

Learning a new language at age 49 is very difficult for my old brain. Il mio cervello e’ stanco e anziano. I had always heard (from other Americans) that, “English is one of the hardest languages to learn.” My experience, and discussions with people who speak English as a second or third language does not bear that out, however. The people in my Italian class and our European friends all tell us that English is simple. In English the articles do not change very often (a, an, the) and our verbs do not change for every person as they do in Romance languages. Granted, English pronunciations and spelling are difficult, but our grammar is relatively simple.

Italian verbs change for every person (I, you, he/she, we, us, you guys, them) that you are speaking of or about. And they have a separate verb tense if you being polite. There are so many articles I need charts and graphs to remember them all. And, there seems to be an exception for every grammar rule that I learn.

I also discovered that Italians don’t believe in silly rules. Rules are mere suggestions. When I asked a friend why the grammar rule that I just memorized didn’t apply, her answer was “because it is more poetic to say it this way.” Now I have to think about the poetry of the language too? Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.

Americans abroad · Emilia Romagna · European travel · ex-pat life · international travel · Italian food · Italy · Parma Italy · Travel

A Slight Turn Of Phrase

March 19, 2016February 10, 2022 Niche Travel DesignLeave a comment

Learning Italian

When learning Italian, it is important to remember that inflection and emphasis on a particular syllable can make all the difference between getting your point across and really offending someone.

A slight turn of phrase can change the meaning of a word entirely. I believe in trying to speak the language. I try to speak the language. I butcher it regularly and generally frustrate Italians, but it is the only way to really learn and I feel that it is respectful to at least try to speak the official language of the place that I live. But Lord knows, I have really made a mess of it at times.

In the beginning, we were meeting all kinds of people and lots of new kids at school. In Italian, much like Spanish, instead of asking “how old are you?” you ask a child how many years they have. The phrase in Italian is “Quanti anni hai?” I was pronouncing the word anni (years) like “ah knee.” My friend Dena, an American who has lived in Italy for over 20 years, was kind enough to tell me “Oh, be careful how you pronounce anni.” See, I was pronouncing anni like ani. Ani means anuses. This explained the strange looks and giggles I got when I asked children at the school how many anuses they had. The correct pronunciation for anni is (ahnn knee) with an emphasis on the double n’s.

Then, at language circle one day my friend Paola was discussing the little yellow structure near the stadium. I said, Oh, you mean the casino?” She looked at me shocked. “No, it is not a casino.” “Sure it is, it says so right on the building. “aah, you mean casino’ ‘” Apparently, there is the casino where one gambles and then there is the casino’ which is a brothel. Oh and casino can also mean a big mess depending on context. In this context I made a casino of the word casino.

And then one time Paola did an entire lesson on the difference between papa’, Papa and pappa. The first, papa’ (pa·pà) is pronounced with a short emphasis on the first syllable then a hard accent on the second syllable. This is one’s father.

Next there is Papa (pà·pa) with a capital letter. This indicates the Pope and is pronounced by keeping an equal emphasis on both syllables, but with a slighter stronger emphasis on the first syllable. But only a slightly stronger emphasis. Too strong an emphasis and you’ve blown it.

And finally, there is pappa. The double consonant ‘p’ requires us mush mouthed Americans to linger for a time on the two p’s. Pappa is baby food. A small snack for babies.

To this day, I cannot hear the difference between them all.

Even Father Christmas Wasn’t Safe!

But my biggest and most famous gaffe happened right after we arrived. It was Christmas and I was determined to keep up our holiday tradition of a new ornament in the kid’s stockings. I really wanted to find ornaments that said “Buon Natale.” Unfortunately, all the ornaments that I saw said “Merry Christmas” in English.

We were out on our last Christmas shopping excursion and Joe was having a coffee. I tried one last store. Low and behold I saw exactly what I was looking for. I went up to pay. I said my few phrases in Italian and the clerk instantly recognized I was not Italian. She asked where I was from in English. I told her and complimented her English. She said she needed to practice. I told her I really needed to practice my Italian as I had only been in the country for 3 months. We decided that she would ask me questions in English and I would respond in Italian.

She asked me why I was buying the ornaments. I replied that I was buying the ornaments for my children’s stockings. She turned bright red. Her eyes opened wide. I had clearly said something wrong. I felt the need to explain further – to fix what I had said incorrectly. I told her that I was buying the ornaments for the stockings of Father Christmas. At that point the clerk emphatically said “basta basta” or “enough, stop.” She held her hand up to make sure I got the point. The little boy behind me let out a guffaw and a snicker. The clerk told the other patrons that I was new and didn’t speak Italian. The mother of the boy said, “Certamente!”

So, let me explain. I was trying to say ‘calza’ which is the word for stocking. I put the wrong ending on it and instead said ‘calzo’ which, with my bad American pronunciation, sounded like ‘cazzo’ – the slang term for the male genitalia. So, in the first instance I had told the clerk that I was buying the ornaments for my son’s willy. When I tried to explain further, I only made it worse by dragging Santa Claus’ willy into the discussion. Everyone in the store had a good laugh about it.

Then months later at the school I was introduced to a friend’s family from England. My friend said to her nephews, “This is the lady that said she was buying ornaments for Father Christmas’ willy!” They all laughed and told me that the story had gone around London. Oy!

But, hey, the mistakes are half the fun and the things that we will remember for years to come.

Americans abroad · Emilia Romagna · European travel · ex-pat life · international travel · Italy · Parma Italy · USA

I Swam Away To Purple John

March 19, 2016February 10, 2022 Niche Travel DesignLeave a comment

parmigiano reggiano — Purple John cheese

Prosecco, Prosciutto and Purple John cheese

I just re-read my first post from 2009. It took me 2 full years, but I did indeed swim away from my perfect island – smack into what one might metaphorically say are shark infested waters. Namely, the chaos of everyday life in Italy. It is a beautiful chaos, however, complete with Prosecco, prosciutto and Parmesan cheese, also known as Purple John cheese in our house.

Let me back up a little. In 2009 I was living in suburban California. My family and I lived in what may well be one of the nicest, most pleasant places to live and raise kids on the planet. It is easy to live there. It is safe, friendly and offers a fantastic location, perfect weather and excellent schools. That being said, I have always been a gypsy at heart and I wanted more challenge in my life. As the saying goes, “be careful what you wish for.” An international move is not for the faint of heart.

Vision Boards and Meditation

So there I was in 2009 hoping to move internationally. Since my husband is the primary breadwinner, this involved getting him on board with my vision. We had casually talked about living abroad over the years. His plan was to move abroad when our children were grown and gone. He saw us spending our golden years traveling and touring the world. My vision was to take the kids with us; to broaden their worlds now; to have them learn another language; to assure them that they needn’t be afraid to experience all that the world has to offer. So the question became, how to bring the two visions together?

I studied my options and evaluated the tools I had in my arsenal. What I arrived it was this: my husband is a first generation Polish American. In the eyes of Poland, he is a Polish citizen despite being born and raised in America. I encouraged him to apply for his dual citizenship. He may even tell you that I badgered him.

My argument went something like this: The world is becoming more global with every passing day. Once he had Polish citizenship (i.e. European Union benefits) then our children would also be Polish citizens with EU benefits. Armed with an international education, fluency in three languages and a comfort level of living in either the US or Europe, the world would be their oyster when they graduated from college. This move and experience would afford them more opportunities, more choices in the long run. These arguments were hard for him to deny. Eventually he acquiesced and applied for dual citizenship.

Next, I adhered to all the new age tenets and I simply willed it to happen. I envisioned an international move in my mind’s eye. I meditated on it. I made a wish every time we went through a tunnel on our way to and from San Francisco. I posted a picture on my bulletin board of London. I had photo magnets of Paris superimposed with a Chinese fortune cookie insert that read “Follow Your Dreams.” But most importantly, I researched international job offers for my husband and continually placed the ads in front of him. He may even tell you that I badgered him.

We evaluated a number of situations that arose over the two years but none of them were quite right. My husband was on board with my vision at this point but didn’t want to move just for the sake of moving. It had to be the right job; the right living situation. We considered Barcelona, London, Grenoble. We decided to be patient. I turned it over to the universe.

And, then one day the right job and the right living situation did come along and va bene . . . here we are. It is September 2011 and we have moved from the suburban comfort of Pleasanton, California to Parma, Italy.

Serendipity

At this point you are probably thinking, that is all very interesting, but why the Hell is this blog called Purple John?

When my daughter was a toddler and just learning to speak she frequently made up words that sounded similar to the adult versions. Quite often, she would repeat a word with her own twist on the pronunciation. For example, she would say strawbellies instead of strawberries; froggy instead of foggy. One of the words she transposed was Parmesan. In her 3 year old mind Parmesan cheese was Purple John cheese. For years our family has been asking one another to pass the Purple John at the dinner table.

Imagine our surprise then when we realized we were moving to Parma, Italy – the birthplace of Purple John cheese. Apparently the universe has a sense of humor.

Americans abroad · Emilia Romagna · European travel · ex-pat life · international travel · Italy · Parma Italy · Uncategorized

Strip Malls Italian Style

March 19, 2016February 10, 2022 Niche Travel DesignLeave a comment

August 2011

Arrived. Tired, bedraggled and sleepy but we made it. Kids cried upon arrival but were laughing later in the day. Internet connection is sketchy at best. Cannot move in yet, but we are going there to unpack and organize. Just want a home again. It has been months.

Things that are going to take some getting used to: lack of space; I have an Easy Bake Oven for an oven – seriously – none of our pans will fit in it and we have a dorm room sized fridge.

Things that I am super excited about (besides the culture, learning another language, travel, shopping): the best pizza ever a block away (Lena said she can never eat pizza in the USA again); a champagneria a block away; an H & M across the street, a movie theater across the street and are you ready for this . . . an outlet mall about 10 minutes north of us with Roberto Cavalli, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Armani, Missoni, Escada, La Perla, Furla, Frette, Bruno Magli, Miss Sixty, and Valentino to name a few. And about five more minutes away from the outlet mall is a thermal bath and spa. Yay!!!!

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Prosecco, Prosciutto and Purple John cheese

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