I’ve been trying to put as much sun, sand and sea in my life as possible these recent weeks and along the way I’ve snapped some photos for you.  And a video too!

The boat is that of my good friend, the beer is a return to old graphics to mark the 100 year anniversary of Ichnusa, the courtyard is adorable, and the beach is Costa Rey.

Last week I spent the better part of a day [a beautiful, sunny, fantastic day] sailing around the gulf with a good friend of mine.  One of the perks of having less work these days is that I have more time for fun!

Costa Rey is spectacular in every sense of the word, and it was the first time I’d been able to make it out there.  The water could not have been much warmer than freezing but the day was very hot, and time is short, so I jumped in.  And out.  Very quickly.

But, I also made you a video!  I probably won’t be going into video making anytime soon, but I hope you like it just the same!

I had a professor once in school [okay, not my professor, but another Fundamentals professor in Leazar] who posted Bruce Mau’s ‘Incomplete Manifesto for Growth‘ on the walls of Leazar.  I loved it so much that I sat down and wrote every word down in my sketchbook [long since put away in a box in Raleigh] and it has stuck with me for the last 11 years.  If you’ve never read it, stop right now and read it.  Every word.  One of the parts that always echos in my head is number nine: “Begin Anywhere.  John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.”

That was a very long explanation to tell you that I have no idea how to start this.  So I’m just going to go…

I sat down to write this post and I thought it would be interesting to take a look at my very first posts – wow.  What a distance we’ve come.  I can almost hear the nerves in my keystrokes as I wrote that.  What was I going to face?  Would I find a job?  Could I get by without any Italian?  What was going to be on the other end of that airplane?  Would I stay in Alghero?  For how long?

And then I jumped ahead to the post I had been working on to mark my ‘one year‘ here.  And though I feel much more in common with the second, I feel pretty distant from both of those people.  In a good way.

I’ve told many people here that I’m going and the most common reaction is shock and surprise.  Which, if you watch this video will make sense:

Apart from that, and in my opinion, of much larger importance – I will miss the life here.  The people.  The food.  The wine.  The hospitality and generosity.  The language.  And they’re right to be surprised.  There aren’t words in either of the languages I now have to explain adequately how lucky I feel and how grateful I am.

I set out to have an adventure.  To challenge myself and allow myself to be changed by my adventure.  To see a new part of the world.  To get to know a culture, a people.  To learn a language.  To check off a few ‘must-do’ boxes.  And I’ve done all that.

I have met some of the most fascinating and wonderful people in my time here.  I have been adopted by an amazingly kind family.  I’ve made the most lovely friends – people whom I hope to always have contact with.  People whom I hope to one day host in America, so that I might return even a tenth of the kindness I have received.  I have been challenged in more ways that I thought possible, and as a result, I’ve grown in more ways than I thought possible.  I’ve checked every box that I wanted to check.  I have made a life here, and I have experienced every range of emotion that comes with a new life.

So, it is actually breaking my heart to leave.  But, it is something I’ve been thinking about for some time now and I just know that now is the right time.  The same instinct that told me I had to come here is telling me it’s time to go home; there is a new chapter to begin.  I’ve done what I set out to do, and so, so much more, and now it’s time to move forward.

And while I have the moment, I’d like to say:  Thank you.  From the bottom of the depths of my heart.  Thank you to everyone who has [and continues to] bless me with their love and support.  My parents, my adopted parents, my family, my adopted family, Paolo, Tim, my friends on both sides of the ocean, my students, my teachers, all of you.  Thank you.

It is important to say also that it is not only instinct driving me home.  If I’m being completely honest, there are also serious financial reasons to consider, bureaucratic nonsense that has left me at my wit’s end, and frankly – I miss Raleigh.  I miss my family, my friends, my little nieces, my dog, my city, and the sound of southern voices.

So, what am I going to do?  A fair question, in that I have no idea, but I’d really like your help in determining it.  I can’t see myself going back into real estate, although my love for The Glenwood Agency has only grown in the last two years, I’m ready for a new challenge.  I want to be a part of the forward moving energy that exists in Raleigh.  I want to be working with clients again, solving problems and providing answers [I get a real kick out of that...] and seeing things through from start to finish, but I’m open to industries.

I am back in Raleigh as of the 24th, though I depart from Cagliari on the 23rd.  Yeah, that’s next week.  There is the possibility of a ‘going-away’ type thing this weekend, but I spend those things crying so I’m not very keen on the idea, as I’m not one of those girls who is super cute when she cries.  But, odds are that good sense will prevail and we’ll organize something, and if so I’ll post about it on Facebook probably for anyone who might want to come.

Will I come back to Sardinia?  Without question.  I cannot imagine my life without Sardinia.  I’ve even got this half an idea to start an import/export of Sardinian products, but we’ll have to see how that plays out.   Plus, if you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know there are also some personal ties that will bring me back to the island, but this isn’t the time or place to get into that.

Am I happy?  Yes.  In a short answer, yes.  But I am also immensely sad.  For now though, I am dedicating my time to getting the absolute most out of the remaining time here.  There is plenty of time in the future [and in particular, a night in Barcelona alone, a 9 hour flight alone, a 7 hour layover in JFK alone, and a flight to Raleigh] for tears and sadness.

The boxes are shipped, the suitcases are half-packed, goodbyes are half-said, and work is winding down, and next week will be here before I know it – and probably before I’m ready for it.  But, this is the blessing and the curse of time.

So, dearest Sardinia, this is not goodbye – let’s think of it more like arrivederci.  Whether we meet again in America or Sardinia, I will be eagerly awaiting the day.

And Raleigh, I cannot wait to kiss your beautiful face. :)  See you all in a week!

First, I mentioned a few weeks back that I had some things going on personally that had me distracted from blogging, well that hasn’t decreased at all in fact, it’s amplified.  You see, I’ve decided the time is right to move back to Raleigh.  I promise to dedicate an entire post to the decision, my thoughts, my motivations, etc., but today isn’t that day.  Just know that it’s a positive move.  But, what that does mean is that I’ve quickly been flung back into the job hunt [think you can help me? check out my details!] – so I’m reaching out to old contacts, new contacts, doing searches, and preparing résumés, on top of juggling all the things that go into an international move.  Plus, I’m trying to back as much sun/beach/boat/life into my last few weeks as possible.  [That is not a request for pity, simply an explanation. :)]

So, let’s talk about all those fun things instead, yeah?  Great.  :)  With visual aids as well!

1 – 6) You may remember that about this time last year we celebrated St. Efisio Day [and if you've tuned in since then, there's a great history and summary of the event on last year's page], and this year, we rounded out our 3rd 4-day-work-week-in-a-row by celebrating again this year!  The weather was predicted to be a bit crap and Paolo was working, so I spent a lot of the morning trying to finalize job stuff but was able to meet up with Daniele to catch the end of it in Piazza Jenne.  So we watched the passing of the Saint as the weather cleared up to become a spectacular day and we spent the rest of the day bouncing around the city with friends.  We even went to see a harp festival!

7) Sigh….Calamosca.  Love.

8 – 13) After 4 days or trekking to Pula, St. Efisio makes his triumphant return back to Cagliari and to his church, where he will spend the next 361 days in peace.  Last year for some reason [early work?] I wasn’t able to catch this part of the ceremony so this year I knew I really wanted to.  The timing can be difficult as the re-entrance depends a lot on the exit from Pula and how things go along the way, but we managed to make it jussssssssst in time to see everything – and almost be run over by bulls.  On the way back into town the procession follows a similar path to the one it took to leave, but it is a more solemn procession.  After, everyone [thousands] goes to his church to make wishes and donations.  With my love for crowds, I was grateful when we opted to have dinner first and then go back and fall in at the end of the line.  We arrived at the church just before they were to close the doors, but we were able to sneak inside.  I was taken aback – it was so beautifully decorated; flowers and candles everywhere, and the most vibrant red hung and draped all about.  Wow.

14 – 15) We didn’t stay out late that Friday because we wanted to get up early the next day for Monumenti Aperti!  This event is, to be short, the jam.  I think it’s the most fantastic city-wide cultural idea and I think it will be come a mission of mine to see it happen in Raleigh.  Of course, I woke up on Saturday to discover that it didn’t start until 4 – lame – so we spent the afternoon running errands and things.  But, promptly at 4 o’clock we made our way up to Castello as we wanted to see Pozzo di San Pancrazio.

I can’t find a good English translation but essentially this giant well was built in 1235 to bring water to the city [which at that time was more or less only Castello].  A system of pulleys and wheels operated by animal power and overseen by one lucky citizen every year [he got to sell the water].  Interestingly, at 290 feet deep [incidentally about 00 feet about sea level] it is the deepest well in Italy.  The well was used for a length of time until populations increased and local residents [it's a pretty central piazza] began to complain about the noise and smell of the animals.  So, they decided just to bury it – leaving access points through sloped tunnels.  Awesome job turned not so awesome very quickly.

It went on being used like this for another 3243847823 years until the regional aqueduct was put in.  After that it was essentially just forgotten through time [being underground and all] and was only rediscovered when a bus fell from the piazza above into the working area around the well below.  [They could have told me that after I was out of the ground, being that there were 320324 cars and 834854357459 people in the piazza above, but I made it out just fine.]

We wandered about and saw a few other things but the wait had been about an hour just for that so it was nearly closing time.  I had wanted to see Tuvixeddu [the biggest Phonetician-Punic necropolis still in existence] which is generally closed to the public, but it’s on the other side of the city and it was raining by the time we finished.   So we retreated to home and a case of oysters we’d bought for dinner.

16 – 25) Normally we’d have gone to see Tuvixeddu on Sunday, but because the wedding had been postponed, we had a wedding to go to!  Wow!  So first thing in the morning we met up with a handful of other folks [friends and family of the groom] at the groom’s house.  After everyone was assembled we caravaned to the wedding site [there were other people responsible for doing the same thing for the bride].  The mass was held in the bride’s hometown and was an absolute strain on my Italian language skills.  General conversation – no problem.  University lessons on Economics – no problem?  Church language – nearly impossible.  I can’t even tell you if the content was mostly the same as ours because apart from the exchange of vows, I didn’t really understand anything.

But the church was lovely, the bride looked spectacular, and I adore any opportunity to see people dressed nicely and taking pictures.  After the ceremony there were some pictures and signings inside and the bride and groom came out to be pelted with rice.  And pelted they were.  Differences?  The bride and groom received guests and well-wishers on the steps of the church before going to the reception.  Oh, and there was a plate of candies and goodies smashed on the ground for good luck.

After all was said and done the caravan reformed and took a little trip through the village with people waving, honking, and throwing rose petals before we set off for the reception site.  [Portoscuso is the ferry port where you leave for Carloforte] At this point the weather had fully committed to being ugly but the site was still beautiful.  Right on the water with gorgeous views of Carloforte.

Here, we began 5 hours of eating.  Seriously.  At least 5 – probably closer to 6.  And don’t get me wrong, we ate exceptionally well, but I’ve never eaten so much in my life.  [One thing I've learned to do very well here is eat - a lot, and for a long time.]  10 courses, including cake.  Amazing pasta and seafood and everything was just delicious – though I only photographed my favorites.  In between pauses of courses we did get the chance to move around and have a few laughs with friends at different tables,  so that was a nice opportunity to move around, but I have a new respect for short meals and dancing at American weddings.

I had an amazing time and the sunset was spectacular.  It was a little sad as I had to say goodbyes to some friends who don’t live here and that I won’t see again before I leave, but a very very fun day!

You’re still waiting for a near death experience, yeah?  So, let’s rewind to those oysters I told you about.  After having demolished half a case [minus one] of the best oysters I’ve possibly ever eaten in my life, I arrive at the last.  I open it and it has a funny appearance.  [I've been eating oysters probably since the time I could walk]  I call Paolo over – what do you think about this?  Looks strange, yeah?  Paolo wisely says, Ashton, you’ve eaten 12, let it go.  I rationalize it’s appearance and that fact that it is still alive and go on about my eating.  Sunday passes just fine and I’m feeling pretty smug with myself as I down pounds and pounds of mussels and clams and other delicious goodies.  Monday is a different story.  I spent all of Monday and half of Tuesday lying in my bed [when I wasn't running for the bathroom] in a near death like coma.  I even called a doctor [say whaaattt?] and he assured me that I wasn’t going to die but the next few days were going to be unpleasant.  He was right.  ha.  No one can pinpoint exactly what it was that made me sick, but I’m still betting on that oyster.  Lesson learned.

Fortunately the rest of the week passed relatively uneventfully – at least until Friday – but that’s another post!! :)

So from our last post it went a lot like this – crazy time at work, friend in from Bologna, Easter in San Sperate with the Pinna clan, Easter Monday [Pasquetta] in Torre delle Stelle, crazy time at work part 2, late night at via Farina [that's my house] on Friday, Mexican dinner with some friends on Saturday at via Farinia, and a birthday lunch for Mr. Paolo on Sunday, Paolo’s birthday, friend leaving, finally catching my breath.

And so, we’re here.  And on a bit of a diet as you can imagine that all of those events just mentioned involved eating – a LOT of eating.  In fact, most of these photos are foodstalking – so take a look!

1 and 2) Ma and Pa Pinna put together a delicious [and gigantic] spread for Easter – including both fish and meat.  These are some before shots of our what would be lunch!

3) Easter eggs – old school style.

4) Just getting warmed up!

5) Cooking the clams!!!

6 and 7) Gotta get the table readyyy!

8) Dinner getting delicious!

9) I’m obsessed with these things; they’re little peppers stuffed with tuna and left in oil to sit and become spicy wonders.  Paolo’s mom makes them every year even though she hates spicy food.  In fact, the only people who eat them are me, Paolo and his brother-in-law.  And, when you’re all finished eating all that deliciousness, you’re left with wonderful spicy olive oil.  Yummz.

10) A mixed up seafood salad – crab, octopus, veg and some other great things.

11) I love tulips.

12) Pasta with shrimp and zucchini!

13) I promise this is better than it looks – it’s one of my favorite pastas.  Fregole [which I'm sure you remember is like a big cous cous - it's made in the same way but toasted during the process, so it retains this wonderful flavor and it has a fantastic texture] with all those delicious clams!  And obviously cooked using their divine salty goodness.

14) It’s not a party without a pig.

15) Strawberries!

16) I made cookies!  These are the last batch I made with the brown sugar that my amazing father sent over for Thanksgiving.  Now I’ll have to go back to using molasses and white sugar.  My hands hurt already…ha.

17) Tiramisu! [which, trivia time, means 'pick me up' in Italian.]

The rest are from Torre delle Stelle for Pasquetta:

18) Boys “grilling”.

19) It’s like a magazine.  Sigh….

20) And there was that thing….

21) Everybody together, sitting in the spectacular sunshine eating an amazing meal.

22) More fregole!  But this time with sausage and mushrooms – yummmmmmmmmzz!

23) After a big meal [any meal] a nap is needed.

24 and 25) A gorgeous sunset to round out the day.

And, that’s all!  More soon!  Promise!

Friday was a low key night with some friends, wine and a background of piano.  Saturday was up early to go sailing again – but for the first time in very [very] calm winds.  For most people that’s a problem – for me, who’s learning, that’s wonderful.  I finally had the opportunity to really focus on the little changes and their effects on the movement of the boat.  Hooray!  It was also beautiful outside.  A calm lunch, and aperitivo on the Bastione.  Now that the time has finally changed here, watching the sunset over the sea and mountains doesn’t seem like such an impossible task.  So, I seized the opportunity!

In the evening Paolo and I went to Sa Piola, a delicious and adorable restaurant where we shared samplers and I plate of pasta that I’m very interested in recreating.  Yummmm!  One downer?  I couldn’t read the menu.  It was written in Sardo.  I’ve been here two years – not being able to read a menu is NOT an expected hurdle in my life.  Grumble.  Good news – like two years ago, I spent a lot of time asking Paolo what things were.

Sunday we woke up in time to head to a birthday lunch at Torre delle Stelle, just down the coast.  In the end we ate a bit late, drank a bit early, but with such a distracting view – no one seemed to mind.  Also!  I ate [for the first time!] pasta con nero di seppia!  I’ve always hesitated because it looked scary – and it’s rumored to turn your mouth black from the ink of the fish.  [Once, during a lesson, playing a game I found on the internet, a student answered the question, 'Have you ever brushed your teeth with salt?' with a yes.  The reason?  To remove the ink!  Won't be signing up for that...]  But, in reality it was really good and did not require the use of salt to remove the color – I just ate a bit of bread and had no problems!

The day finished out with good friends, good fun, and an unforgettable sunset.

Annnd then it was Monday again.  :)

This week has been reallllllly busy, and next week looks pretty intense too.  But, we’ve got Easter and Pasquetta [Easter Monday] which means lots of eating in the mean time.  Mama Pinna has already sent the menu for Sunday, and we’ll be foodstalking for sure.

Apart from all that, we’re working on organizing a trip to Bologna, there is St. Efisio, we’ve found an awesome Groupon to use on the east coast which I’ve never visited, and nearly every weekend seems to be filling up between now and the end of May.  Of course, it’s heart-stopping to realize that I’ll be Stateside in less than 50 days – but we’re ignoring that for now.

Okay, photos!

1) In love with those colors.  The light in Italy in Spring and Fall is something difficult to explain.  It’s always the time when I re-fall in love with Italy.

2) For some reason it took me a while to come around to the Aperol Spritz, but I’m addicted.  Expect me to be shoving this down American throats in the near future. :)  Also, the view past it is one of my favorites.

3) Sunset.

4) Delicious pasta – linguine with wild asparagus, clams, and a divine sauce.

5 – 8) Torre delle Stelle

9) Pasta made with ink!

10) Flowers

11) I wish this happened more in my American life.  Joy, laughter, food, drink, friends and family all around a table.

12) Big news!  Finished another book!  I love love love to see the difference a year makes versus the new, fresh, pretty book.  It took me weeks to find this.  I went to literally 6 book shops to find it – everyone was out.  They had the 23094832094932490 types of new Moleskines, but not the classic.  I was about to buy it in red, but thankfully I held out.  I had a very difficult time explaining that I didn’t want it in any other way.  “No, I would not like it with squares, or lines, or fancy colors.  No, I would not like a giant, a miniature or with fancy spines.  I do not like those strange Moleskins, I do not like them Mr Salesman.”  In the end a very nice man at a bookshop called their partner bookshop and I was able to find it.  Whew.  Crisis averted.  [I know, I know.  I a bit...particular.]

13) Look at all that cheese!!!

14-17) On a boat.  I love being on a boat.  And learning to sail has been super fun – but sometimes it’s nice to give up the tiller and snap some photos.

18 and 19) Lunch prep!  [This thing hates to leave photos in order.]

Boom.  Happy Easter Raleigh!  Love you lots!

This is something that’s been on my Italian Bucket List since day 1 and a very kind new-ish friend asked me sort of spur of the moment if I wanted to go out with him as he’s de-winterizing his boat.  Naturally, I said yes!!!!  But, I tried to play cool.

Paolo caught up with us and we spent about an hour in the Gulf of Cagliari and I think I’m hooked.  I’d been talking with [a very experienced sailor] about how I’ve been wanting to take sailing lessons for quite some time now, though I’ve been stopped by cost and even more so, a fear of a language barrier.  [I can't drive a manual transmission and listen to instructions in Italian as it is.]

There were more than a few moments of incredible nerves, but as he began to explain the physics of everything I felt much better.  And, once I relaxed, I realized how ammmmazing it was!  I’m super grateful for the opportunity, and spent the whole trip [and many many hours after] giggling with excitement.

It’s always difficult, I think, to remember what it feels like when you’re learning something new.  Look at driving, rarely do we remember the days of Driver’s Ed.; behind the wheel for the first time, the car lurching, slamming on the brakes, remembering to signal, mastering acceleration.  Learning a new language has been the same for me.  And in the same way learning to teach – I certainly take those two things for granted now.  Things that two years ago took immense concentration now come much easier to me.  [A more extreme example?  Watch a tot learning to walk.  It's exhausting just to watch.  All that falling down and knocking into things!]

Anyway, I think I’m obsessed with that feeling now.  Or maybe better said, the feeling of learning less than the panic of not knowing.  Interestingly, 2 years ago I had a policy of not doing things I wasn’t already good at.

Between the sun, the wind, the waves, the boat, and the view of Cagliari, I’m hooked.  So, I intend to follow up with the possibility of doing a course here and I’ll definitely keep you all posted on how that goes!!

Many, many thanks for the opportunity!  And, thanks to Paolo for snapping these photos! [I was too focused on not sailing us into anything.]

In other amazing news, Paolo was able to find a way this weekend for me to watch NCAA Basketball!! They’ve blocked it to Italy this year, and I’d tried 23094823904390493024032989034 solutions to stream, proxy, hack, etc., to be able to watch the games but I wasn’t successful.  Paolo set himself to the task Sunday morning and found a solution just in time to watch NC State beat Georgetown!!

I then spent the rest of the night and into the morning watching basketball.  Glorious College Basketball.  And not on my computer – connected through our wonderful new TV!

And, this would often be enough to leave me elated for the next two weeks, but there’s even bigger news!  This same ‘fix’ is allowing me to watch Hulu AND listen to Pandora!  And Netflix!  And everything beautiful and wonderful and American that was previously blocked to me by this ridiculous, absurd, internet censoring country.

HOOORAYYYY!

Of course, the question now is how on  Earth I’m going to stay awake long enough to watch the Sweet 16 game.  But, I’m sure I’ll find away!

Anyway we popped into our B&B [fantastic] and were able to leave our things there.  From there we set off to accomplish our ‘giant’ to-do list:

• drink coffee and eat pastries
• eat pizza
• drink coffee
• eat pizza
• eat pastries
• visit the Museo Archeologico
• see the famous secret room
• drink coffee
• eat pizza
• drink local limoncello
• visit Pompeii
• search for craft/local beer
• see the Spanish Quarter
• walk the Lungomare
• drink coffee
• eat pizza
• see the catacombs

In the end, we managed to accomplish all but one of those things – the catacombs.  And all with the help of the always wonderful Rick Steves.  In a perfect world, we’d have had an extra day or two to knock out the catacombs and underground world, and perhaps make a jaunt to Capri, but, another time.  [Also, the idea of putting myself underground in a place that has a reputation for exploding, city smothering volcanoes didn't seem like a priority.]  If you’re interested, check out his video tour [3 minutes....] ’cause you know I’ll never put together a video.  :]

We spent Saturday exploring the city and the Archeological Museum which was amazing.  One of the striking things about art in Italy is how close you’re allowed to get to it.  You can touch it.  Whhhhhhhat!  For a quick tour, take a look at dear ole’ Rick’s video:

One thing he leaves out is a spectacular grand ballroom that was once a university library.  An honest to goodness jaw dropping moment.

We also did a bit of exploring in the Spanish Quarters area of the city [the part you see in movies] which is exactly like you see in the movies.  Except you can’t possibly imagine the smells of fresh bread, fresh sweets, pizza, fish markets, coffee and general life going on around you unless you’ve ever smelled them.  And, in the movies you don’t get quite so many ‘I think I might get run over by a scooter’ moments.  [The pavement is uneven, so you have to look down, the city is captivating, so you have to look up, but the scooter is coming from behind you, so you have to look around you.  Wowza.]  But, more or less, it’s like you imagine.  Rick has a great video too!  This is probably my favorite as he’s totally geeking out.  I pretty much look exactly like that when I travel.  I’ve come to accept it.  :]

That afternoon we sat down for our first pizza – which we found with a bit of luck and a bit of guidance.   Indescribable.  Soft, light, warm, amazing.  And the mozzarella to leap tall buildings for. [Which we brought back to Cagliari.]   Yummmmmmmmm.  We talked about ordering a 3rd to split but opted to try desserts too.  Who can say how amazing the pizza would have been, but the desserts were local and really delicious.

Of course, after stuffing our faces we rolled down the hill back to our hotel and rested for a bit.  In the evening we went out in pursuit of local/craft beer.  We didn’t do well with local local, but we did find some good Italian craft beer in a place that was playing TIM McGRAW!  Imagine my delight!  Country music and hops!  Hoooooray!  Anyway, the folks there were super nice and accommodating to us and we ate what I think was semi-cured pork muscle.  The hospitality was appreciated, but that’s on the list of ‘never again’.

After that we had a list of places to check out, as I often travel with beer in mind, though none of them really lived up to our expectations in terms of local/craft selection.  Eh,  è cosi…

We followed a recommendation to a gigantic and good dinner where I spent a lot of my time running in and out of the restaurant trying to get a good enough phone signal to follow the State/Carolina game.  After that, we were just beat so we headed back to the hotel to rest.

Up and at ‘em early on Sunday, we made our way towards the main train station to head for Pompeii!

Spectacular, amazing, wonderful, unbelievable.  Again, Rick says it better than I do:

We opted out of following a group and managed to get disoriented in a non-existent city with a sea and a volcano as reference points.  But, these things happen….the streets weren’t clearly marked.  :]

I’ve wanted to see Pompeii since the first time I heard about it – so I must have been like 10 or something.  So it felt wonderful to check that off my list, and to make things even better, then sun came out while we were there!

Obviously, after we finished in Pompeii, it was time to eat again.  So, we took the train back into the station, used our new found navigation techniques to catch a cross town train [super quickly] to another recommended spot.  When we got to the neighborhood we had a hard time finding the exact restaurant, but a local pointed us to his favorite place.  Okay!

Here, we ate 3 pizzas.  Really.  :]

But, to make up for our gluttony, I made Paolo walk the almost 2 and a half miles of Lungomare back to the hotel.  But, it was a beautiful day!  One of the things that surprised me was the number of people out on a Sunday afternoon, but that made for nice people watching.  I’m sure we were a sight too though!

On the threat of death, I let Paolo rest and we recouped a bit before packing up [our B&B was awesome and let us use the room all of Sunday!] and headed towards the airport.

Overall thoughts?  I loved it, but I could never ever live there.  A million people in a space made for 1/10th of that – chaos and over stimulation in every sense of the word.  It took me 3 days to recover.  Apart from that, and despite its reputation for being dirty and its citizens being rude, I found it to be a lovely city.  In fact, I found it to be quite clean and the people no more rude or welcoming than would be reasonably expected.  The food and drinks surpassed any expectation – coffee, limoncello, pizza, pastries, sweets, all of it.  Delicious!  [Though, I prefer Sardinian pasta dishes.]

One gripe?  The two times I asked someone where we were [with a map in my hand] they BOTH responded – ‘Where are you going?.  Seriously.  As if all people at all times have a destination in mind.  Tell me where I am and then I’ll decide where I’m going.  Hmph.  And at the end, no one ever told me where I was!

Though, on the subject of language – even though Neapolitans speak their own dialect [virtually another language], I was really surprised by the apparent level of English in the city.

So, if you ask me, Naples is a must do for anyone who loves food, a bit of chaos, and a LOT of history.  As Rick says at about 4:05 in that one street video, ‘If you don’t like Naples, you’re tired of life.”

Per usual, I took 150 pictures in 36 hours.  Imagine I was sleeping for at least 7 of those…uf.  But these are the trimmed down ones:

Friday all day planning and packing and organizing [as I like to do].  Saturday, we got up very early, got ready, and went to pick up our friend Daniele who had kindly agreed to ride with us to the airport and then bring the car back into the city.  This is still before 6AM, so you can imagine what a gem I am.

Anyhow, we get to the airport without any problems and get inside where I see a very long line to check-in for somewhere.  ‘Hmm…odd.’ I think, ‘It’s barely 6 in the morning, in March, where are all of these people going??’  While I’m pondering this, Paolo catches up with me.  Having already checked in online, we’re headed straight to security.  For curiosity’s sake I take a peek at the screens running down the check in counters.  Where are these people going??  Ah.  Milan.  Hmmm…strange, but, okay, whatever.  I glance at the screen next to it, Palermo, Roma, and then a flashing red line on the sign for Naples.

Now, we know my eyes aren’t great, but that’s flashing in two languages and I’m pretttttty sure that word is ‘Cancelled’.  Excuse me??  So I get Paolo’s attention – ummmm…does that say ‘Cancelled’??

A few swear words and we walk towards the counter, naturally which has a line of its own.  We get to the counter where we are told that there was a problem with the plane in Naples this morning and it hasn’t, and won’t be, coming.  Ha.  Really??  We have another option though…we can take a flight to Milan, and from Milan to Naples [ahhhh, it's all so clear now....] arriving at 1030.  But, we have to go around the corner to the ticket office to change our tickets.  Or, if we want, they will give us a refund.  Either way, we have to go to the ticket office.

Soooo off we go….

Although this is not a perfect situation, it is also seemingly not so awful.  As it was, our flight gets into Naples at 8:10 – this would arrive at 10:30.  Not exceptional when you only have 36 hours in a city, but perhaps tolerable.  Except, we’re in Italy.  And for us to arrive at 1030 means that a lot of things related to transport have to function on time.  We have to leave for Milan on time, arrive in Milan, change plans, leave Milan on time, and then arrive in Naples on time.  Counting historical experience, we’d be lucky to be at the airport before 11.  And then we’d have to get into the city.  So, we were weighing our options…

A few minutes later though, a manager would arrive to say that the flight for Milan had to go/was full/was no longer an option.  Not too worry, there was another option; we could now go to Rome an hour later and from Rome they’d kindly put us on a bus to get to Naples.  HA.  That’s like 250 km, and at least 3 hours.  With smelly, angry, my-flight-got-unexpectedly-cancelled-and-no-one-gave-me-notice people.  Give me a limo [plus champagne] and I’ll think about it.

Door number 3, please.

And, door number 3, which, to be honest, was not a terrible choice for us, was to cancel our tickets or reschedule.  We are super fortunate that right now our weekends are free and we were able to just reschedule.  Sooooo that’s what we did.  To add to our fortune, the weather in Naples last Saturday was not superb, where instead, Cagliari was spectacular.

So, we went home, slept a little, woke up, went to the beeeeeach!  Got sunburned, came home, and slept some more.  By now I was restless, having expected to spend the weekend sightseeing.  So, I finally managed to drag Paolo to see a church I’ve been wanting to see for almost the 2 years I’ve been here – Bonaria.

The story of the church is pretty cool, and the white stone exterior shines in the sun [so naturally I'm distracted by it often] but I’ve just never made it past.  Today was the day.  Some remarkably thorough but not overwhelming history [obviously you should visit the site for all the rest]:

The hill of Bonaria is sited on the south-eastern part of the town of Cagliari.
In 1323 King Alfonso of Aragona placed his camp there in order to conquer the town and built a fortified castle and church.
In 1325 the King donated the church to the friars of The Order of Our Lady of Mercy. They built a convent and still live there nowadays.
The Order of Our Lady of Mercy was founded in Barcelona by St. Peter Nolasco to free the Christian slaves from the Moors. Many slaves were redeemed by the monks of Bonaria.
In 1370 a sailing-ship from Spain was caught in the middle of a violent storm. The whole shipment, including a heavy case, was thrown into the sea. As soon as the case touched the water, the storm suddenly calmed down miraculously.
The case was found at the port of Bonaria and opened by the friars: it contained a wonderful statue of the Madonna holding the infant Jesus in her left hand and a lit candle in her right one.
Soon, devotion for the Madonna spread both in the island and in the world, particularly among sailors who invoked her to be their protector.
The “conquistadores” gave the name Buenos Aires to the capital of Argentina as a sign of their devotion to the Madonna of Bonaria which, in fact, means “good air”.
On September 13^th 1907, St. Pious X proclaimed the Madonna of Bonaria as the Highest Patron of Sardinia.”

So, we walked around a bit, peeked into the cemetery [it was closed] and I snapped some photos in the fading spring sun.

A short trip, but definitely worth while.  Having seen a glimpse of the cemetery though, I’d love to get back inside and take a better look.  Anyhow, some photos:

So, as it is, we’ve got everything crossed for an easy voyage tomorrow and nice weather all weekend!  I hope to bring you Pompeii photos next week!

1.  An amazing hot chocolate, that is really like drinking liquid chocolate, from the always wonderful Antico Caffè.  This was the same day that it went from sleeting to brilliant sun in 10 minutes.

2. and 3.  Paolo and I went down to the supermarket on a Saturday [I think?] only to find ourselves in the deli section with a handful of Spaniards dressed as Mario and Luigi.  Beautiful.

4. The same day I saw this pizza.  Ha.  Salami, Ham, Corn, Pepperoni [as we know it], Mushrooms, and Tomatoes.

5. This is what happens at Poetto the moment the sun comes out.

6 – 11.  Paolo’s parents invited us for lunch where his Mom kindly showed me how to make le zeppole - also she let me eat it fresssssh out of the oil.  Ahhhmazing.  Also, you can see in 7 a well crafted tool to make the job a bit easier.  Genius.

12.  A Ferrari.  [Does that need an explanation?]  One of my students recently bought me my own red Ferrari.  It’s 1/45 the right size, but I think with water and good sun it’ll grow up nice and big.  :]

13.  When we moved into our apartment it came with a TV, not the newest TV, but a TV nonetheless.  But last weekend when it started popping and wheezing and splashing color on the screen we realized it had reached the end of its life.  We’d been talking about buying a flat screen for a while [okay, ages] but the cost/available money ratio was never ideal.  But we thought instead of taking the plunge, we’d let our landlady know the situation.  Apparently, she had an ‘extra’ TV available.  So it was quite a surprise to come home to a 32 inch flat screen after work one Tuesday, but a very happy surprise!  I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I’ve reallllllly missed watching sports in HD.  Also, with it being the month of MARCH MADNESSSSSSSS I’m reallllllllllly excited to not be repeating this scene this year!

14. and 15.  Paolo also surprised me with a new coffee machine!!  The kind that’s automatic and that you don’t have to get the water just right and wait, but not wait too long, and sometimes the handle melts and sometimes the top doesn’t fit right, etc.  Of course I’ve survived just fine with one of these since I arrived – I even brought one home at Christmas.  But, like the TV, an automated one was an expense we just couldn’t justify yet.  Until they went on super amazing sale and la famiglia Pinna scooped one up and let us know about the sale too.  This little guy makes verrrrry good coffee and cappuccino, of which I made my very first today!  So delighted to play with all my new toys!

Apart from new gadgets, the warm temperatures have arrived and seeeeeeem to be here to stay.  I’ve managed to sunburn myself a few times recently.  It doesn’t hurt that there is a perfect, white walled, wind-protected space on my balcony that receives direct sunlight in the late morning.  I’m working a good amount [hooray!] but that means less time for sun sitting and internets.  But our previously great, turned non-functional internet seems to be working again!

James Taylor is coming in 10 days and tickets for some unbelievable reason have sold out.  So despite an otherwise good week, that’s a bit of a bummer.  But I’m employing my resources to find tickets….of course, I’m not in Raleigh – so those resources are much more limited.  But we’ll see what happens…

Apart from that, it’s March.  All of a sudden.  Oddly, I’ll be home again in something like 85 days which is nice because these days I’m missing Raleigh a pretty serious amount.  But, the downside of that is that I am going to need to do some serious thinking and planning for the [seemingly] distant future in the coming days.  This is not my favorite activity.

But, in the mucccchhh more immediate [and pleasant] future, Paolo and I are headed to Naples this weekend!  As in, 12 hours from now, we’ll be on a plane!  I’m pretty excited as we traded Naples for Miami last summer and I’ve really wanted to see Pompeii for a long time.  Fingers crossed I’ll be able to catch up with a friend from my InLingua days in Alghero who lives in the area.

So with that, here’s hoping for great weather and smooth travels this weekend!  I’ve got a pretty busy week next week, but I’ll get photos up as soon as I can!  For on the go updates, you can always follow my Twitter feed too!

Though there were a few inadvertent detours in there, you can get the idea.  The first place we arrived was Ottana, where we had a quick lunch [we'd call it quasi-tailgating where I'm from] out of the car before heading into the little town.

Near where we were parked was a huge open space overlooking the town.  There were horses, baby goats, and in a small sectioned off space was another horse and a donkey.  Despite the smell we were all awwwing and oggling the little cute animals, only to round the corner and see a 4×4 sign saying ‘Carne d’asino’ – donkey meat served here.  Ouch.  Mood killer.

Nonetheless, we carried on down the streets – hot in the February heat.  [In Cagliari, it isn't soooo strange, but we were beginning to get into mountain country].

[Read about this super duper crazy old church.]

Being early in the day, there were a lot of ‘tastings’ and shop openings to see local craft work and more specifically the local masks.  Very cool!  Now here is the part where I talk about history, if that’s not your think, skip ahead.

Carnevale as it relates to the Catholic church has almost zero to do with the festivals that happen in Sardinia.  Of course, in modern times they are tied the the Lenten period, but these festivals date back to the Middle Ages, and perhaps earlier.  The Greeks celebrated Dionysus, and so did [they say...] many other culture around that time.  [Hooray wine!!]  Interestingly though, these celebrations tend to focus on the coming year, the harvest, the work of the field, the relationship between man and animal, and a lot of other things.

Better than I can say it [google translation]:

The simple representation of rural life is the basis of this carnival, which is intertwined with ancient rituals, which retains some traces according to anthropologists. Among the latter, in particular, refers to a rite in honor of the god Dionysus, who is reborn every year in spring awakening the earth and vegetation, referring to the typical apotropaic rites of the ancient Mediterranean civilizations.

The characteristics of the Ottana carnival though rather lead to the “worship of the ox,” practiced since Neolithic times in all agro-pastoral societies of the ancient Mediterranean, where the bull was a symbol of strength, vitality and fertility. Although this ritual would ward off evil and practiced to protect against evil spirits and to assist in the fertility of the herds. If man, subjugating and adoring the Bull, runs the risk of becoming like the animal, carnival, staging ironically the transformation occurs, tends to exorcise the risk that this becomes a reality in everyday life for the farmer.”

And in these different small towns of central Sardinia, the core of the tradition seems to remain the same, though the dress has slight variations.  In Ottana for example [again, Google translation];

Sos merdules, ie men, farmers, dressed in mastruche (white or black skins) or in older men’s clothes from the local tradition, with their faces covered with wooden masks, traits often deformed, perhaps to represent the hard work and life in the fields. Walking slowly, a bit curved, they hold with one hand the reins (sas soccas) which drive the Bulls, one or more than one, and with the other hand they are supported by a sort of cane which is also used to hold off Sos Boes (the Bulls).

Sos Boes (the Bulls) wearing skins of sheep or old clothes of local tradition and bring a shoulder belt, usually of leather, from which hang the bells.  They are kept from the reins of Merdule, his face covered by “sas caratzas” (carving wooden masks to work) that looks like bulls, with horns more or less long, with two leaves carved along the cheekbones and a star on the front. The star represents the hallmark of an old local craftsman.

Filonzana Sa, a man dressed as representing an old woman whom everyone is terrified: bent by age, always dressed in black with his face hidden by a wooden mask, or painted with soot, which contrasts with the white of a denture made from a potato. He has in his hands the time, the mantis shrimp and wool line and predicts a future more or less prosperous or unfortunate, depending on the quality of the wine that is offered. Today also has a pair of scissors, as the Fates of ancient life.

And so for the days leading up to Lent, there are celebrations and processions by the local people.  We happened to stop by in the afternoon when not a whole lot was happening, but I was able to get a quick video of an early show.

Pretttttty cool.  Some other photos from Ottana:

After Ottana, we loaded the cars back up and headed for Mamoiada.  A lack of cell phone/iPad/iPhone/Android/TomTom/ signal [not to mention patience] in the mountains of Sardinia had us going in circles and around our elbows to get to our thumbs for an extra hour or so.  The good news?  Spectacular scenery.  And lots of snow covered mountains!  And a whole set of new wildlife in the roads.  Also, I got to re-pass by Orgosolo, even if only briefly.  The bad news?  For the second time in my life I got very car sick.  [Interestingly, the first time was on the same roads, except coming from Alghero to Orgosolo.]

The closer we get to Mamoiada, the more snow there is.  And like, real serious snow.  Well, serious like a Raleigh-ite calls it.  But to the point that what was there remained after having been there a week.

Anyhow, we finally arrived and got parked.  In the snow.  Ha.  Repeating much of the same thing we’d done in Ottana we proceeded to check out some of the local shops and craftsmen.  The style of masks here is completely different.

Biggest difference here?  A lot more people.

Wow.  A lot.  And we had a group of people who were moving pretty quickly from place to place, so as you can well imagine, we inevitably got separated for a bit.  All the same for me, I saw this beautiful church and wanted to stop in and take a look.  It is, no surprise, an exceptionally old church and inside you could see where recent restoration works had revealed original frescoes.  Gorgeous.

After a quick peek around with Paolo we headed back out to catch up with the others who had made their way down the street and onward.  As we were walking, we peaked in to a doorway leading to a courtyard that looked like this:

Hmmmm.  That looks like my kinda place…. But alas, the others were much further up ahead, so we made a mental note of its location and hurried on.  Finally catching up with the group and seeing that they were in another mask store, Paolo and I seized the opportunity to follow the exceptional smell coming from nearby.  To the right of the store and up some stairs, we found the source!  A man and his partners cooking [super] fresh sausage and making sandwiches with fresh bread.  Um, yes.  And baby size wine for 50 cents.

The panino was delicious and the wine was really exceptional.  So we had another baby glass.  Soon, our friends joined and we all partook in yummy paninis.  :)

After refilling our bellies we headed back [40 yards] towards the main piazza, where there was dancing and singing and general carrying on.  We poked around to a wine shop, watched some local dances being done, laughed at kids in costumes, and just took in the scene.

Just off the shoulder of that little boy there, is a sign that says ‘Si Mangia Qui –>’.  Eat, this way.  I like signs that say that.  :]  Also, we were hoping it would lead us back to the original place we’d seen, so we talked the crew into following the yellow-brick road.  At the end of it was a very strange space [as if someone had opened up their daylight basement to sell food and wine out of] but very nice people and good wine.  Amongst us, we split 3 delicious but difficult to describe gyro/kebab/flatbread with sausage things.  No matter.  It was greatly enjoyed.

There were also a lot of tourists in Mamoiada [as this is a relatively famous festival] including two Americas at this same place.  Obviously I didn’t speak to them [no one likes that girl...] but it is always amusing to think about what has brought other Americans to places like Mamoiada, Sardinia.

We were finishing our snacks when someone popped into tell everyone that the show was starting!  Off we go!  We get down into the crowd and I manage to lose our friends while Paolo goes to the bathroom, issuing the command to ‘wait right here’.  We all know how that ended…. :]

Okay….a bit of history again.  Jump to the pictures if you’re already bored…

The origins are likely similar to the story of Ottana, though as with that, no one is certain where these things began.  The interesting thing here is the different forms that the participants assume and the costumes that they done.  There is also an element of interaction with the audience!  [These photos show and explain some of the long history of the tradition.] The characters we see in Mamoiada are:

Mamuthones with wooden black visor (face mask) stopped by a dark handkerchief, black mastruca (sheepskin sleeveless) and scrubland (set of bells), are arranged in columns in two rows, creating a space within. A row small steps, moving forward with left foot, right foot backwards, the opposite row, advances and recedes with the right foot with the left. Both columns change the dance step with a variant of three small steps performed more quickly.
Issohadores, with a red vest and white trousers, fringed cloth, girdle of small bells, long string (soha) and black hat with wide brim, you have outside, front, middle and back, leaving only one task coordination and guidance. The external function is to ensure the conduct of the ritual and capture prey, now predominantly female, with soha. as if to reaffirm and re-propose the types of action that led to the domination of the control group.

The tots are precious. The insides are made of bone!

Of course, nothing explains better than a video!

Each one of those sets of bells weighs more than 50 pounds.  Ack!  But, the sound is incredible, nearly scared me half to death when they started and I was taking the super close photos of the bells.  Ha.  Lesson learned.

When those people with ADD had had their fill we all met up and set off to find the place we’d seen originally.  It didn’t take long, and once we were inside, we didn’t leave for a few hours.  As it turned out, the place was a Bed and Breakfast called ‘Sa Rosada, and waiting inside was a little piece of pure happiness.  A fire to keep us warm, locals playing guitar and singing Sardinia songs [they even asked me to join! I kindly declined... :)], homemade wine, locally made pane carasau, fresh pecorino, fresh ricotta, a lively atmosphere, and the people working there were absolutely wonderful.

Pane carasau is already one of my very favorite, don’t know how I’ll ever live without it, foods.  But combined with pecorino [warmed over the fire!  thanks to Paolo's cousin!] and finished with homemade wine is about the best trinity of flavors I can imagine.

Add in good friends and all the excitement from the day, and I’m pretty sure it was a cloud 9 moment.

One of Paolo’s cousins had also bought a traditional mask in Mamoiada, so naturally with 8 people there were about 20 minutes of photo shoot.  :]

I hope also that you noted some of the village specific costumes here.  If you’re the type of person that has any interest in details, etc., check out this site here.  Each village in Sardinia has its own historic ‘costume’ type.  Can you imagine?  Like everyone in Raleigh/Chapel Hill/Durham having to wear their respective school colors [in a much prettier way].

Like the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.  So, eventually the responsible types rounded up everybody and we headed back south.  We did manage to stop on the way and visit an aunt and uncle in Abbassanta, and swing by to visit some cousins in Ghilarza.  [The same cousins we spent last year's Carneval with].

Exhausted after a long but very very fun day, we got home in time to have a bit of dinner and collapse.

As I’m walking to the bar the weather begins to clear up [inside 10 minutes] and Paolo calls me to ask if I want to go to Uta for lunch with friends/family.  Okay cool, pick me up in an hour.  In the meantime, the sun comes out and the weather is suddenly beautiful.  Hooooray!

An hour later, P picks me up and off we go.  All normal, all good.  We arrive at the house in Uta and begin preparations for a normal, average, albeit late, lunch.  Fire, meat, pasta, etc.  Yum!  Again, nothing out of the ordinary here.

Rather suddenly, a car enters the driveway and shortly there after there is a rather petite man in the living room with all of us, he apparently is a neighbor.  Ok great.  And he’s got photos.  Even better.  Wait…..they’re photos of rocks.  With hidden images.

Now it is important here to reveal some details about myself…in my life I have never been good at ‘finding’ things.  Magic Eyes?  Nothing.  Stars, planets, moons, flying chunks of burning rock?  Nothing.  That thing you’re pointing to in the distance….not a chance.  Distance isn’t really the problem either.  As a teenager I resorted to shouting to my little sister every time I lost something small in the carpet [she's got hawk eyes].  As an adult I’ve resorted to hardwoods and a package of extra earring backs.  Even now, I will still call my sister when I’m looking for that missing tiny thing….she’s got a better chance of finding it over the phone than I do staring straight at it.  I’m not the person you send to find something in the basement, the attic, or even the cupboard.  Don’t think this is limited to small things…shoes [just one], socks, shirts, keys, phones, cameras, books, sunglasses, anything that can casually be put in a place you wouldn’t logically put it.  [Which also might explain my organizational OCD - if things aren't in their place I'll never find them - but that's a coping mechanism I think...]

Of course, once I do see something, I’m also afflicted with not ever being able to un-see it.  Wine or faces? The Pillsbury doughboy profile that is created by the states from Minnesota to Louisiana? [thanks Dan.]  But it takes us a while to get there….

Why’s all that relevant, you ask?  Because if a man who doesn’t speak my language hands me a 2D photograph where I’m supposed to see an image of something, there’s about a 1 in 234832098409328493284903284093284093843024 chance that I’ll see it.  Instead I’m left with faking what I can, and the disappointing looks and tone that come with ‘you can’t see the 5 faces?!?!’.  Sigh.

So somewhere amongst the conversation and photos it came to light that I was American [relevance?] and perhaps I’d like to see all of these rocks in real life.  Assuming [what's that saying about assuming....yeah.] that ‘neighbor’ meant the guy who lives next door and that it wouldn’t take much to walk over, look at some rocks, oooh, ahhhh, maybe see something, make someone happy, and then come back to sitting in front of a warm fire with walnuts and wine, I said, ‘ok, sure!’.

And then we got in cars.  Hmm…okay, this is the country, perhaps ‘next door’ is not walking distance.  No, it wasn’t.  Nor was he a neighbor in any sense of the world other than regional.  At least the weather was better.  So, 20 or so minutes later [we got stuck behind cows] we are climbing up a small mountain road and get parked outside of a large piece [17 acre] of property.  Now, it is nearly dusk, and none of us are dressed to go mountain climbing.

So we begin with our trusty tour guide [the creator and cultivator of this enormous stretch of land] at the sign with says ‘God creates, Man transforms.’  If you want to read a local publication’s article about the story and the history of the project, go here.  It’s a Google translation, but I think you can get the main idea….

In short, over a span of 20 years, this man has been constructing this ‘Earthly paradise’ by bringing rocks [from the small to the gigantic] to this expansive property, and positioning them in a way where viewers can [theoretically] see a particular image.  Often religious, though there are many animals and even a bit of human anatomy.  He’s also constructed pathways, picnic tables, and stairs to carry visitors throughout the journey.  In terms of labor, it is surely impressive, even if my ability to ‘see’ things is limited to the most obvious images.

After about an hour, and some breathtaking views of the valley below and the sunset, we finished our tour near a little one room house.  He kindly gave us a tour of that too.  It had a fireplace big enough to put people in….!

Anyway, as the article says, it is very difficult to explain, so I took lots of pictures for you.  :)  Fingers crossed you can see more than me…

But, as you  may well know, most of Europe is frozen solid right now.  People are up to their eyeballs in snow in lots of places.  There’s even a foot of snow [and more] in the center of Sardinia [where the mountains are].  We’re lucky here that it didn’t snow, but what that does mean is that it is very cold here.  Of course, I’m pathetic about the cold so by very cold, I mean, it gets below freezing at night.  In my defense, it hasn’t been this cold in some 37 years or something, and our midday humidity rate hovers around 70-75% most days.  That’s what it is in Raleigh at 7 in the morning, just after dew point.

So the point of all this public complaining is to tell you, we haven’t been doing a whole lot out of the ordinary.  Last weekend, we camped.  Inside the apartment.  I only left for a few hours on Sunday to go sit in the sun at the beach, where I burned my face [the only thing exposed].

Now, as Americans, we struggle to understand the importance of outside weather to other places.  In summer we crank the AC in every home, office, and car, at all times of the day and night.  In the winter, everything is heated.  Always.  Sometimes to the point that you wear the clothes for the wrong season because the temperature is extreme.  We are lucky people.  Electricity costs pennies to what it costs other places.  Natural gas is the same.  To the point that Paolo and I managed to spend something like 180 euros in 20 days using just enough gas [when we were home] to not have to wear coats and scarves in the apartment.  That’s $236.  Which does not include electricity used during that time.  So, needless to say, we’ve gone back to coats and scarves inside.

Enter, Paolo’s amazing mother, who recently brought us a little heater for our walk-in freezer of a bathroom [I'm not very clean in the winter....I just can't bring myself to be both naked and wet.] and an electric hot water bottle which has warmed my hands to the point that I can now type.  It also allows me to sleep like a baby every night.  So, many many thanks to her for those!

Anyway, I’ve been snapping most of the photos in my life with my phone recently, and even if the quality isn’t perfect, it is a more on the go perspective of my life.  And, here are some things from the last few weeks [it wasn't so cold until the middle of last week....].

1) We watched the Super Bowl!!  Or, really, I watched the Super Bowl.  Paolo slept [it started at 12:30].  It was broadcast in Italian with the same 4 commercials every commercial break, but through the power of the internet and Twitter, I was able to YouTube the commercials within minutes of when they happened.  Loved the Fiat ad.

2) I made nachos!!  Well, almost, anyhow.  At home, when we were kids, the one time a year we would eat nachos was for the Super Bowl.   So, when we discovered we could watch the game in real time, we decided to try and make nachos!  No sour cream, no jalapenos, and a soup-turned meat/bean mix [much better than that sounds, promise!] and we had some nachos!  Topped with the ever elusive spicy cheese!  [A very nice girl from Vermont who lives in Milan that I met on a very very very long flight from Rome to Philly last year and who also loves Mexican food told me it existed, or that you could make it with two different cheeses, but I'd never been able to find anything like it...UNTIL last week at the Mercato!  We were sampling 230943209493204234 types of cheese from a very kind cheese vendor and I spotted it.  Spicy pecorino!  Hooray!  Hey, small victories.]

3 and 4) Are from our little jaunt into the sun.  If you look closely, you can see the snow covered mountain top in the distance.  Seeing snow from the beach!  Weird.

5) Also, the water was like stained-glass.  Amazing.

6) le Zeppole!  I’ve tried to make a synonym to this in American culture for a long time.  After all, it [at times] resembles the doughnut in shape.  In preparation and eating, it has a lot in common with fried dough.  But at the end of the day, the ingredients are much more extensive that simple fried dough.  Regardless, the result is deeeeelicious.

[hat tip to Ms. Angela for the video!]

7 to 12) Some sort of secret shots from the fish part of Mercato.  One day I’ll go there with a real camera and do the place justice.  Maybe even on a Saturday when the place is full to the gills.  [See that there? ha.]

13) Some recent and noteworthy graffiti near school.

14) An accidental photo that’s kinda interesting….maybe?

And that’s all for now!  I’ve got a few internet things in the works [including a new Tumblr that celebrates my love for proper headwear] and I’m trying to get you all a ‘life-update’ as well.  P and I are also working on plans for a Naples excursion [yay!].

I need to go recharge my hot water bottle now… :)

These days, I check it irregularly, but I’m generally entertained by what I read.  Today, I found this:

“I stumbled upon an engineering textbook for undergraduates. There was a section on how to do technical writing, as opposed to the literary kind. It quoted a poem by Edgar Allan Poe:

“Helen, thy beauty is to me/ Like those Nicean barks of yore / That gently, o’er a perfumed sea, / The weary way-worn wanderer bore / To his own native shore.”

Then the book gave advice to the student: “To express these ideas in technical writing, we would simply say, ‘He thinks Helen is beautiful.’”

Don’t take shortcuts like that, Libra. For the sake of your emotional health and spiritual integrity, you can’t see or treat the world anything like what a technical writer would.”

And, regardless of my birth month – I find that to ring true for me.  :]

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