Guardare fuori Italia …. arriviamo! We are very excited about this trip. Foremost, Italy has a very special meaning in our family. Roselie’s family is of Italian descent. Her grandfather and grandmother entered the United States via Ellis Island, memorialized with their names engraved on the American Immigrant Wall of Honor.
American Immigrant Wall of Honor
The Buonauro Family on the wall!
Our ‘invasion brigade’ is spearheaded by our son Bill, his wife Kelly, and their two children – Alex, age 13, and Erin, age 11. Erin is about the same age as Bill was when he first visited Italy with his parents and grandparents in 1970. A déjà vu event! However, the specific catalyst for this trip is Kelly’s celebration of her 50th birthday. In other words, this is going to be a two-week birthday party! I guess we’ll be singing Happy Birthday every day. Why did Kelly decide on Italy? As a dancer with the Lucinda Childs Dance Company and a principal dancer with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, she toured throughout the world. Her favorite region was Italy, where she performed as a member of Childs’ dance ensemble in Milan and the coastal Tuscan town of Castiglioncello.
Performing in Milan
Happy Birthday, Kelly!
We’ve visited Italy many times, initially for business reasons which relegated us to airports, business hotels, meeting and conference rooms, and the occasional restaurant – mostly in Milan. I love the richness of Italy’s culture, history, architecture, art…and of course food and wine. It seems there is never enough time to see or enjoy all the options. I have not been to Venice, nor Tuscany, and didn’t get the opportunity to see Michelangelo’s David while touring Florence, nor explore historical Milan. As with other trips we’ve taken with grandchildren, we expect to ‘see’ Italy through different eyes…and learn something new. Our trip last year with two of our grandsons included a stop in Lugano, Switzerland which is adjacent to the Italian border. It was their favorite city. It embodied the Italian charisma on a foundation of Swiss precision and timeliness. BTW, we’re still holding them to their promise to buy us a vacation home on the shores of Lake Como.
Italy is about the size of Arizona and has a population of about 60 million (or the combination of California and New York). We opted for immersion rather than fly-bys, so our journey will be focused on northern Italy, and save southern Italy for some future trip. As you can see below, we will start our adventure in Milan, then onto Venice, Florence, Tuscany, and finish in Rome. With the exception of Tuscany where Bill will rent a mini-van, we will be traveling by high-speed train between major stops, staying in Airbnb properties, and using local transportation – mostly walking – in the main cities.
Our Italy Itinerary
As is the case for all our trips, we grasp everything Italian to get us in the spirit.
Movies:
Cinema Paradiso – our favorite – but you have to endure subtitles. Watch the full version and not the cut down, Netflix version.
Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck romping around Rome.
A Room with a View – A British woman releasing her spirit via the culture and sites of Rome.
Tea with Mussolini – location is Florence – great actors, but poor casting.
Bread and Tulips – set in Venice, of course. Fun! Very Italian. Lots of yelling and arm waving.
Three Coins in the Fountain – That’s the Trevi Fountain in Rome, schmaltzy with dated acting, but charming settings. Perhaps a dip in the fountain a la Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita?
The Tourist – with Angelina in Venice – lots of intrigue and sights.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – includes a speedboat chase through the Venice canals and of course the discovery of skulls in St. Mark’s Square.
Summertime – with Katherine Hepburn. This is the movie for which she decided not to use a double, but rather fall into the Venetian canal for each of the many takes, contracting an eye infection that remained with her for the rest of her life. Note to self: Don’t take a dip in the canals!
Rome Adventure – a 1962 movie starring Troy Donahue and Suzanne Pleshette. Why is it on the list? Good scenery, plus the fact that our grandson Alex, looks like a young Troy Donahue. Well, it IS a reason to watch it!
Books:
Angels And Demons, a typical Dan Brown novel – you only need to read one.
Food:
Roselie made a couple of batches of her famous, pepperoni based pasta sauce to get us in the mood.
Octopus ink pasta
Pizza Margherita
Gelato
Italian Coffee
Bill is collecting a set of recipes he wants to try, depending on availability of local fresh ingredients. He is practicing: Rosticciana w/ olives – a pork rib Tuscan specialty.
Bill’s Tuscan Ribs
Current Events:
It will be interesting to see what impact the migration of people from the Middle East has on the populace. Given the recent terrorist attacks throughout the world, has it had an impact on the Italian mind-set and outlook? I recall some of my early trips to Milan in the 1980’s, when our aircraft was surrounded by machine-gun armed military personnel after pulling up to the gate. Have things changed?
How do they view Brexit as Britain leaves the European Union? Does it impact Italy?
What of today’s zeitgeist brought into focus by the Trump-Berlusconi similarities? There is an excellent Opinion piece by Roger Cohen in the New York Times, March 14, 2016 entitled: The Trump-Berlusconi Syndrome, addressing the vox populi that elected Berlusconi as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2011. Additionally, and as widely discussed, Trump’s campaign tack of using ethnic stereotypes and exploiting the fear of foreigners comes directly out of a fascist’s play book. How much will we hear about our election – especially as we arrive right after the conclusion of the Republican Convention and the start of the Democratic Convention?
We are very excited to start our journey, to taste the incredible food. And yes, I will include some photos of Bill’s and Kelly’s cullinary creations! Wheels up on Monday, July 25th.
Ciao
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