Happy Halloween!

     I think it a little strange but fantastic that Italians, and especially Florentines, find Halloween to be so intriguing. I knew that as a strongly Catholic country, the celebration of "All Saints Day" would be observed, which it is, but not nearly with such fervor and frivolity as Halloween has come to be celebrated. This most American of holidays, as many have referred to it, has only recently found favor among the children and youth of Italy. They see it as another way of appreciating and assimilating the American culture that has sprang up with the arrival of numerous American University programs and US nationals living within the city walls. I am amazed at how often I can hear English spoken in what is commonly called the "Cradle of the Renaissance" and in the heart of Tuscany. Often you hear the Queens English, rarely the Aussie dialect, and quite regularly a hodgepodge of Yankee speak, California slang, or Southern twang. Florentines apparently have a weakness for the gore and bloody aspect of the holiday, and many storefront windows display an array of ghoulish masks and ghastly costumes to get one in the holiday spirit. I myself have recently realized how much fun this night can be, and appreciate the fact that for one day out of a year, we can be scary, cruel, disgusting and everything that is downright opposite to what we are the other 364 days a year. It offers a chance to rebel within accepted limits and is interesting to ponder the effects of such a day on our psych. Living amongst a family with one small child, we tended to tone down the decorations and lightened the mood as not to over scare Giova, who for all his boyish gusto can still be scared quite easily.
     Eventually we escaped the town for our retreat off in the country where we could celebrate a more laxed and down home holiday. Our weekend was full of pumpkin carving, of course more hunting, and visits with friends and family. For lunch on Saturday I was charged with the task of cleaning and preparing the dove and "pigeone" for what is now Luca's favorite dove dish. I have to give credit to Casey Marbutt for his Philly cheese and dove breast stuffed peppers wrapped in bacon. I am a hit in Italy because of his recipe. The family and our guests were amazed by this simple preparation and loved my ability to both harvest the dove and then cook it within hours of each other. Our guests for the weekend were the Maretti family, father Corso, mother, daughter Olivia, son Leo, and their German Au Pair Frederike, who I have already mentioned before. It was nice to have someone my own age with us for the long weekend and I think she enjoyed watching and being involved in what was a fairly standard American Halloween. As I mentioned earlier, we spent a great part of the day carving pumpkins or "Zucca" in Italiano, which I later realized, that as the superior member of the gourd family was so called in comparison to zucchini or the little pumpkin. Anyways, I was still ecstatic after the news that my Georgia Bulldogs pulled out an amazing victory against you know who and for that reason my pumpkin proudly displayed the "G" in their honor (wish I was there). Giova wanted something scary, so his pumpkin face had a crooked smile and eyes slashed from his knife. We hoped to save the seed for baking later, but never got around to it. Later that evening we all dressed in our costumes and visited several houses on the property where workers handed out candy. Giova was a skeleton, Olivia a Spiderwoman, and I Spiderman. It was after we exhausted our limited homes within range, that we returned to the villa and again, in classic American form, poured out our candy to see what we had gotten. I received a few chocolate Euros, and several candy bars called Kinder which are milk cream filled and rank right up there as my favorite candy EVER!
     The next day was another beautifully warm day full of sunshine and great fun with all the kids. Giova had a few more friends over and wanted to show them my skills and uncanny ability to start small little fires in what we had named our fire spot. To be completely honest, I use plenty of matches, and it takes multiple tries, but Giova cares about only one thing, fire! When we had a small flame burning and some warm coals to speak of, he ran to the house and returned with a handful of chestnuts. We through them on the fire and watched them slowly open and crack to reveal the nut inside. I have never seen this process for myself, so I was in a bit in awe and amazement of the first time I had "chestnuts roasting on an open fire". The adults were also highly impressed when we showed and had this very Tuscan treat in hand. Again, Aquisti did not disappoint and for my first holiday experience abroad I would have to say that it was a fantastic hit. Happy late Halloween to everyone back home, and GO DAWGS!

Wine Tour Through the Val d'Oro (Valley of Gold)

     While in Firenze I have been lucky to find many new friends and have spent many fun nights hanging out and getting to know a little about where each one is from. Megan hails from the motherland of England, while Apryl is a hilarious Aussie, Frederike is from Germany, and Rachel is a fellow American from Seattle. These girls are all so much fun and fantastic in their own way and are helping me to feel more at home in this beautiful Tuscan city. A company known as "Florence for Fun" runs tours and vacation trips for students and young people here in town, and offers day trips to many famous sites around Tuscany. One such trip goes to the coastal towns of Cinque Terra perched high atop precariously ledges between mountains on one side and the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean lapping at their other. I had the pleasure of visiting these five towns on my last trip to Italy, but was still excited about the possibility to visit them again. Apryl and I had decided that we would make the trip and that it would be a great opportunity to get to know each other better and have one last weekend of sun and sand before the winter came to Italy. We spent the week leading up to the trip keeping a watchfull eye on the weather and quietly hoping for a blazing heat wave to roll in. Sadly our hopes were slowly eroded when we began to see pictures of rain and floods striking the coast. Massive devastation hit the town of Manarolo when a mudslide barreled down its historic main avenue and washed much of the town into the sea. I'm sure many of these pictures never made it to the States, but were morning, afternoon, and evening news here in Europe. Needless to say our trip was canceled just a day before we were to leave, but were lucky to reschedule a different trip through Chianti and its world renown wine country full of beautiful vineyards and old Etruscan hilltop towns. I was actually not so disappointed and looked forward to a relaxing day of hiking and breaks filled with delicious vino. Apryl and myself also hoped that this would be an opportunity to find more guys living in Florence that we could all hang out with and give me some relief from all the estrogen floating around when we hang out. The day started with a bus ride through the amazingly picturesque scenery of rolling wheat fields and the changing fall foliage of grape vines splashed with yellows/"gold", oranges, and reds.

     When we arrived into the little town where we were to begin our hike the air was crisp and the sun was warm on our sleepy faces. The hike was dotted with old villas, ruins of Etruscan temples, and even a small reliquary dedicated to a Catholic saint who brought faith to the region and discovered a small spring where he performed baptisms. For lunch we stopped in a small town where a wine maker and vineyard owner opened both his home and his wine to us. Lunch was very relaxed and full of information about the Chianti region and its many wine producers. After probably 3 hours of wining an dining we had to leave and catch our bus back to Firenze, but not before a toast of grappa and a heartfelt good-by by the owner and his family. This trip will for sure be a highlight in the memories I make here in Italy, and was a fantastic way to enjoy the fall season as well as the company of a new and now even closer friend.

A Hunter's Paradiso

     One of great things about living with the Guicchiardini family is getting to know some of the history and heritage that comes with this old Italian noble family. From medieval villas with lush gardens, to even older palazzos and town homes, this family has it all. Although we spend most of out time in Florence or Firenze in Italian, where Giovanni has school, swimming, and karate, we also spend a lot of time at the country villa called "Aquisti" in Maremma, Toscana, Italy. Here, the family has acres of open pasture space freshly turned over in preparation for winter wheat, and numerous barns, glistening lakes and other perfect habitat for every species of game animal you could imagine.  I knew that Luca, Giova's father, was overjoyed with my love of hunting, when I overheard him on the drive to Maremma telling a friend on the phone that he was bringing a " Cacciatore carino" or loosely translated "a cute/good Hunter" with him. We stopped on our way at a local gun shot where we loaded up with shells for the weekend and I had a moment to gaze at some of the most beautiful guns. This first weekend at Aquisti was spent still getting to know the family and settle down to the much slower Italian pace of life. When we arrived Luca became very enthusiastic about showing me around and giving me a tour of this working egg and dairy farm. Latte Maremma as it is known, is the families brand of milk and Uova Maremma is its egg branch. After the more formal drive through in what I think is a pretty awesome Land Rover, it was time for lunch. Family from all corners of what must be several hundred acres showed up to our house for a lazy afternoon in the sun with meats, cheeses, pasta, and plenty of wine. Afterwards, Luca again came to me with that childlike enthusiasm and said that it was time to show me his duck hunting spot. Little did I know that this "spot' was multiple spots, build into the thick bamboo marsh and dense brush that surrounded multiple large lakes. Dusk was settling on the farm and the sun was glowing bright orange behind the distant Tuscan mountains, when Luca and I slowly made our way onto a narrow bridge and through the brush to a little shack that sat right in the middle of a lake surrounded by all variety of waterfowl. I could hear the familiar sound of drake mallards call just in front of us and then the squeal of a teal as it flew overhead. "I had arrived" I though to myself as we sat in awe of this, our hunters paradise.
     We never discussed when we might make it out to hunt, but early the next morning, around 5 am, Luca knocked on my door and said "we go hunting now". A funny thing about Italians speaking English, is their lack of expressing the tone of a question. Theirs come across more as demands or as matters of facts that you have no hope of denying. I sprang out of bed groggy from a large dinner with healthy portions of wine to hurriedly dress in my UGA Ducks Unlimited t-shirt and jeans, and threw on my jacket and camo ball cap. I met Luca downstairs where he handed me a wooden stocked, gold triggered masterpiece of gunmaking that had "Barretta" engraved on its side. I was enamored by this beautiful gun and could not believe it was now mine to go hunting with. It was still dark as we drove to the lake we visited the day before and Luca dropped me off at another fantastic hunting blind. Standing quietly in the early morning fog I could not help but to feel so blest by such an amazing opportunity. As dawn broke, gunfire rang through the valley as duck hunters began the rush to shoot ducks on the move. Adjusting to the 20 Gauge over-under gun took some time, and still is difficult. But as the gunfire subsided and ducks were settling back down into their feeding spots, I finally achieved what I though was merely an unrealistic dream. My first set of curls! Those reading this with a hunters background will know that this meant for me, my first greenhead or drake mallard! I could not believe that I had actually done it, and that finally a bird folded midflight and landed in the water over my right shoulder. I was an Italian hunter now. As we gathered out birds and met back at the Land Rover it was so cool to have been part of this amazing experience.
     The rest of the day was again filled with a fantastic lunch, that was followed with a dove and pigeon shoot above the cow barn, which two weeks later resulted in my first ring necked dove as well. And this same story has been repeated over and over every weekend we spend out in Maremma. I look forward to my first Teal and eventually to the "Cinghiale" or wild boar hunt we are sure to experience during my stay here in Italy.
    
                         

Double Birthdays!

     I knew coming over to Italy would mean, that for the first time in my life, I would be in another country and quite far from home for my Birthday. 24 will forever be the year that I spent celebrating it with new friend and a new family. This day was full of emotion and mixed feelings about being where I was. The celebration actually started the day before my birthday, when I found out that "Nonna's" (Giova's grandmother) birthday was one the 18th the day before mine. The family was planning on a nice dinner here at the Palazzo with a few friends and close family. I decided that my gift to Nonna and to myself would be homemade bananna pudding! Thanks to Mom back home I had a recipe and thanks to Mavi going with me to the grocery store, I had everything I needed. Pudding ,called "Buddino" here, was a bit tricky to find, and Nilla Waffers would have to be substituted with Lady Fingers, but in the endn fresh cream toped it all off quite nicely. When dessert time came, I quietly and with some hesitation mentioned that I had made this most Southern of desserts, and to my surprise, everyone wanted to try it. Nonna got her's first, and instantly exclaimed "Que fantastico!", "How fantastic!". She loved the lightness and perfect level of sweetness, which I believe was the begining of her love of my cooking. The rest of the family also loved this dessert, and want me to make it again when they are all over. Feeling quite confident and inspired by this reception, we ended the night with more wine and conversation about my home. Speeking of home to these people was emotional, but felt nice to share a little of who I was and reminded myself of the wonderful place and loving people I had left behind in the States.

     I woke up the next morning, my birthday, as usual with the task of getting Giova ready for school. Once he was droped of and I returned home, the weight of this day began to dawn on me. I remembered that on my first trip to Italy, I lit a candle in the Duomo or Cathedral in Florence, as a symbolic prayer for my family back home. I decided that for my birthday I would lite one of these prayer candles in celebration for my birthday. Entering the cathedral the silence was moving and made the moment very special. I then decided that this would be my way of celebrating each and every birthday I would be missing of my friends and family back home. These symbolic "Birthday Candles" would burn for the day as opposed to being blown out as is the American tradition. After a day of erands and still adjusting to being in Florence, Giovanni came home and I spent the day playing Legos, my favorite!  After dinner and his bed time movie, I was invited to go out with some other Au Pairs for drinks and dinner. When they discovered that it was my birthday, free drinks started flowing and a round of Happy Birthday to You was sang in the middle of the Italian bar. When I returned to the Palazzo to Skype with my family I was met with a birthday cake cooked in my honor back home, candles and all. All in all this birthday was quite special and one I will never forget. I cannot wait to celebrate 25 back in America, but am so gratefull for this opportunity to have one abroad, and to recieve such an outpouring of love from everyone back home via facebook.

First week getting acustomed to the life of an Italian Au Pair

I'm trying to catch up on events that have happened in the last few weeks while I have been here in Florence. The very first week I was here was a whirlwind. I am so glad that Niel, the last Au Pair, was still in town and able to show me the ropes and teach me some of the most important Italian phrases like: "Basta!" which means "Stop!" (Giova hears it alot from me and his parents), "Piano" which means "Easy or Carefully", and "Lasha" which means "Let go". Giovanni, or Giova for short, had a few friends over this first week and I recieved a very fast and some might say harsh initiation into life with a 5 year old boy. Sword fighting is common among all young boys, myself included. I figured this would just be a simple and active way of playing and bonding. I was wrong! This was Giova's way of testing my will, patience, and phisical strength. His swords are solid wood and for a group of 5 year olds, their swings were quite accurate and strong. Needless to say I withstood quite a beating and was left with numerouse bruises. Niel later confessed he would have never taken the pounding for as long as I, and sat quietly in the background wondering when I was going to crack. This "torture" lasted for maybe an hour, but was excruciating and was made even more frustrating by my lack of Italian, which made communication very difficult. I would later retreat to my room and wonder to myself what in the world I had gotten myself into. This was the day Giova "lost" his favorite sword which will remain hidden firmly behind my bed out of his reach for the next I don't know nine months or so. His other habits include the not so funny "is my butt clean" question after every poop that is inevitably followed by a bend over spread eagle butt in the air. I say all this looking a few weeks back and laughing at how much better it has gotten. Giova still has his moments for sure, but other moments are much more enjoyable and are very sweet. Our nightly movie time means a snack, blankets, and Giova cuddled up next to me and falling asleep to some of the most fantastic Disney movies that remind me of my own childhood. All of the tantrums and cries for attention are emediatly erased by that sweet little boy sleeping next to me looking so innocent, and I realize it's my job to show him love and affection and how to become a strong and good man one day. This is going to be the most tiring job I have ever had, but I am also realizing that is by far the most rewarding and life affirming, gratifying, and most amazing time of my life. I can only imagine how I will feel when I have one of my own one day.