La Mia Famiglia a Reggio Emilia

My family in Reggio Emilia! My family is from Genoa, but since my dad’s brother lives in Reggio Emilia, my aunt and two cousins traveled by car to visit us all in one place. Today was such a lovely day visiting my dad’s side of the family in a small town outside Bologna. My dad’s older brother Angelo lives here with his wife Adrianna and they have one daughter Carla that lives here as well. Carla and her husband Stephano were gracious enough to house us for the night and take us around town. We’ve had just a splendid day and I think my Italian has improved ten fold.

We started off by meeting everyone and taking pictures. Some people I’ve met once and others I’ve never met. There’s a resemblance, yes?

That is mia zia Ginetta who I’m named after. We ate a lovely lunch at an authentic Reggio Emilia restaurant where we had rabbit, ribs, and a bird like a pheasant. It’s so cool to try new foods! And can you believe that in this part of Italy (the Tuscan area) it’s customary to serve this bread with dinner? You cut it open and fill it with cheese or meat (like prosciutto) then make a sandwich and eat it. It was very similar to a small pancake. Not what I imagined in Italy!

We had many other great foods as well, but this isn’t a food blog so I’ll skip those. We saw the city center and the shopping mall where many teenagers were hanging out before school starts again Monday. Sounds familiar huh? Some things are the same all the way across the pond! We saw this old Theater where opera and musicals were performed so we stopped to take a picture.

Todd and I had a chuckle when we saw this sign. The Italian word for stop is too long for the size of the sign so they just use stop. We thought it was hilarious.

We were so thankful that two of my cousins went to college and studied language so they speak English very well. Otherwise there would be more hand movements than I’m sure you’re already imagining. We are all hoping she comes to America again to practice her English and visit us.

Guess what - we’re Italian so we eat again! It was dinner time so out came another feast.

We found the erbazzone (not in the picture) to be so good that we looked up a recipe on Pinterest and Emily is going to make it for us. Oh, and we were talking about foods that the twins love (since they tend to be more discerning in their tastes) and we mentioned tortellini Alfredo. Well they’ve heard of tortellini but never have they heard of Alfredo. When we explained it to them they said they didn’t have it in Italy. Say what?!? So we started talking about sauces and apparently they make bechamel sauce which has milk and flour. This is also what they put in lasagne. Yes you heard me right. They don’t use ricotta cheese in their lasagne! Guys, we’ve been doing it wrong. So we found a recipe for lasagne Bolognase with bechamel sauce and Emily shall be making that for us as well when we get home.

Espresso after dinner (short and strong (just like Italian women!)), and more family photos. We were even able to Facebook Video with my dad who can’t travel. It was a beautiful thing to see his brother and sister see his face through technology. They haven’t seen each other in ten years and are all getting too old to travel. I know that so many have issues with technology, but between google translate and Facebook video - Technology wins today. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

We had lovely conversations until near midnight before we realized the time and the early train to Milan that we must catch. We talked about politics, religion, Trump, even immigration. It was pretty interesting to find that the things they talk about, are the same things we talk about. Perhaps we aren’t that different after all. And I’ll leave you with that. Such joy in my heart as I hit the sack this evening. Such joy.

Buona notte!

We heard from Adrianna that Grams and Papa John have enjoyed Venice. Here is what they had to tell us about their two day trip to Venice:
Venetian breakout crew Recap
1/5 & 1/6

Friday-
After saying goodbye to the Berry’s, we headed off for our train ride to Venice. It was such a comfortable and beautiful ride there. There were 14 tunnels that Papa and Adrianna counted along the way (possibly more!). We took a water bus and there were lots of “oohs and aaaahs” as we came up the grand canal and San Marco stop. We checked into our hotel and then headed off to meander through the many cobblestone streets towards the famous Rialto bridge. Grams could not keep herself out of all the stores with the pretty Murano glass and beautiful masks.

After having a cappuccino under the bridge we took the water bus tour back to our hotel and rested up for the next  adventure. Papa decided he had had enough and so we had a girls’ night out. We walked through San Marco square and looked at the lights and beautiful shops next to the basilica. We found a place to have a glass of wine and some dinner before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Saturday-
Day two in Venice started with a lovely breakfast provided by our hotel. It has been really great staying here as they even packed us a breakfast for our early morning journey tomorrow. It is also very convenient and close to the main attractions.

Once we were fed and full, we headed off to our very first museum. We walked outside to a misty foggy morning. It was actually not as cold as it had been though.
In San Marco square they have the Doge’s palace where the former ruler of Venice took up residence. This was where the senate met as well. The walls and ceiling were frescos and paintings with gilded gold frames. There was also a prison area that had the “bridge of sighs”. Grams said that she was glad to be a law abiding citizen when she saw the beds and commodes in the prison cells.
We were ready for the next adventure after seeing the weapons area and coming back down to the lovely courtyard. By this time, the sun was peeking out from the fog.

We then took the water bus to the island of Murano. On our way, we saw a walled island filled with trees that we learned was a cemetery. Once we got to Murano we went to the glass blowing museum. It was truly a wonderful experience seeing the movie that showed all of the art making techniques. We also saw glass from Mesopotamia and Egypt dating back to a time long ago. (Can’t remember how old-but they said that glass making started 4000 years ago!!) The different glass pieces were amazing!

We then took a break and had the best cappuccinos and hot chocolate (according to papa) since we had been in Italy. Most of the coffees here have been very strong and luke warm and the hot chocolates gave been more like warm rich dark pudding.  We will forever dream of the Paris Cappuccinos!
We walked through the shops and over bridges on Murano and headed back to the water bus. The day was warmer and so the ride was beautiful.
We rested at the hotel for a spell and then headed out for our last dinner in Venice where we talked about the best parts of the trip. We all agreed that the lunchtime meal near the Vatican was one memory we will never forget and we’re all so thankful for Gina and her efforts in planning this trip. It has been an amazing experience traveling with family and we would not change ANYTHING for the world! We are taking two trains and a plane back to London-town tomorrow and will meet up with the family there. We hope we have enough time to show Papa and Grams Buckingham Palace.
Fingers crossed!

We will miss you Venice and Europe, but we looking forward to seeing the Berry’s tomorrow and also heading home on Monday.