The Cove

We managed to find some FREE parking and started walking along the boardwalk. On of the things that has been common for the riviera towns to do is take the old train tracks that used to run along the seafront, pave them over and turn them into boardwalks. Pure genius!

The Sunset

We enjoyed walking along the walk, then going down and exploring the beaches. It is really lovely to go in off season – there are no umbrellas, the beaches are open to everyone, and there are not too many people.

The Moonrise

We even dared go off the beaten path and found a small cove hidden away, and just gorgeous. Stunning actually. And hubby was a very patient man as I took about 40 minutes to try and take the “perfect” picture.

Staircase to the beach

We then continued on our way, enjoying the sunset, until we thought it was getting a bit late, and turned around only to be greeted by the full moon rising up behind the mountains. It was huge and close to the earth and amazing in all senses of the word. With the sun setting behind me and the moon rising in front, the crash of the waves on the shore and the occasional cry of the gulls, I really felt lucky to be alive. And happy too.

Peacefulness

Another one of those little things in life to be happy about.

The thing is that this period, bad as it has been, has also had it’s joys. They were small, but they were there.

Other times in my life have been difficult, and I would go into a spiral of darkness that would nearly overwhelm me. This time though, in all the dark, I decided to look for some light. And I thought, what a wonderful thing to share. So many many things are going wrong in this world-just turn on the news and take your pick- but maybe it is important for us to stop, breathe and take a look around us and revel in one thing that brightens our day. It doesn’t have to be big- it can be a bird singing in a tree, the moon, the sunny day, a baby’s funny face, anything. It is so nice to know that lovely things continue to happen to us no matter how hard things get.

So, one of the happy things I discovered around me today? This:

Hubby gave me this African violet as a gift a few months back. it was full of lovely delicate blooms. I put it on the shelf and was very careful about watering it according to instructions (for as much as I love gardening and plants, I am not gifted with a magic green thumb like my mother), but the flowers withered and died. Undaunted, I kept water and talking to it (yes, talking), and then magically I noticed the other day, that it was starting to bloom again! I have never ever managed to get a plant to bloom again for me, even if I keep it alive it just sits there looking leafy. This was a wonderful, beautiful thing that I had right there. My light on a dark day.

So, what’s yours?

So, nigh on six months ago I was telling you all about my Italian language classes and my decision to study in Italy. Well, studying meant spending money, which I didn’t have, and so, I decided to look for a job. At this point my Italian was pretty good, I could sustain a conversation without getting too exhausted and confused. So I decided to start applying for jobs. Thinking like a good Canadian, the first thing I thought of was a waitressing job, or working in a cafe’. Little did I know, that the very complex Italian school system actually had a secondary school specialized in the hospitality sector, and there was a diploma course in it. So being a waitress or learning how to make cappuccinos required a diploma! And a special certificate! Good lord! However, a few kind souls decided to try me out anyway, under the promise that I would go get the certificate (assuming they hired me).

The first was a cafe’ in the centre. My constant failure to produce the foam in a cappuccino resulted in not being called back for a second day. Sigh.

The second was in a cafe’ in Nervi (a very posh area of town near the sea). There, I proudly managed to make perfect cappuccino foam and was all excited, convinced that yes they would hire me for the job. Then the owner put me on the till. He showed me how to punch in the number and OK the receipt. Seemed easy enough. He observed me while I did a few and then went off to run some errands. I was alone in the cafe. A client came in and asked for a coffee, which I made and served. He also asked for a piece of foccaccia which I also gave him. Things were looking good. When he asked for the bill, my lack of math shone through and I punched in the wrong total. I wanted to cancel what I had punched in. Among all the buttons and knobs there was not one with the word DELETE written on it. I pressed one. It multiplied the number by almost a thousand and printed the receipt. Good lord. The 2.50 total became 250,000. And the receipts had been printed. This was financially accountable money. Just at that time the owner came back and saw my pale face. I explained. He swore and picked up the phone to call his accountant. I finished the day, but needless to say, I never heard from them again.

Deciding that clearly working in a cafe was not meant to be, I applied for another job. It was a job in a call centre, making appointments for a spa. I figured it couldn’t be that hard, and it was only part-time in the evenings, allowing me plenty of time to study. I applied, I was called for an interview and I was hired! Success.

There was one day of training before I could begin. That lead to – my first experience with Italian seduction. I’ll make you wait until next time for that one…

This is how I made it. The original recipe can be found here, but I made a few modifications based on what I could find in Genoa. This recipe serves 2 abundantly.

Ingredients

200 g Thai rice noodles (if you can’t find them a good sub is rice linguini broken in half, in Italy you can find them under the Scotti brand)

1/2 tsp ground chili pepper

1 egg

4 tsp light soy souce

3 cloves minced garlic

ground pepper

1/2 lime (or lemon)

2 tbsp demerara or raw cane sugar (or palm sugar)

2 tbsp tamarind paste (this can be tricky to find in Italy. Find your nearest Chinese supermarket – they will certainly have it. Or you may be able to  find it in a Eastern food market)

1 small block firm tofu

2 tbsp wok oil (I used wok oil from the UK, but peanut oil is an excellent substitute)

2 thinly sliced leeks

1 1/2 cup chives (or green onions, including the green parts)

2 tbsp shelled peanuts

1 pkg fresh soy bean sprouts

1 pkg jumbo shrimp tails/prawn tails (leave this out if you want to go veg)

Method

Place the noodles in a bowl with lukewarm water and soak them. While they are soaking, prepare your other ingredients. Finely slice the leeks. Mince the garlic. Slice the chive to lengths of about 1/2 inch, and set some aside to serve fresh. Julienne the tofu. Shell the peanuts. Peel and devein the shrimp. Rinse the bean sprouts and set about a handful aside to serve fresh. Mix the tamarind paste and the soy sauce together in a cup and measure out the other ingredients. Once you start cooking, you have to be fast.

When the noodles are ready (they should be limp but not expanded, almost translucent), it’s time to start cooking. Heat up the wok. Toss in the peanuts. When they are toasted, remove them from the wok and set them aside. Add the oil and toss in the leeks and the garlic. Stir well. Then add the tofu. When the tofu is starting to brown, drain the noodles and add to the wok. Add the soy sauce-tamarind mixture, sugar and the chili. Toss together. Heat should be fairly high. Push the noodles out of the way and crack the egg into the wok. Partially scramble the egg, then fold it into the noodles. Test a noodle. If it is still undercooked, add half a glass of water (i used my soy glass to get all the tamarind goodness out of it). When the noodles are ready, add the shrimp and stir.  When the shrimp are almost cooked, add the bean sprouts and the chives. Add the ground pepper. Stir well.

Place on serving dishes and sprinkle with toasted peanuts, chives and fresh sprouts. Add a slice of lime to the side.

Serve. Squeeze the lime juice into the Pad Thai and enjoy!

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,200 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Anyways, we decided to stop by that lake we happened to drive next to and go for a walk around it. Lake Toblino has lovely walkways all around the lake – some parts are on raised pylons right in the water, others are along gravel paths on the shore.

There is a resident colony of happy ducks, which everyone stops to feed, and they are really cute to watch as they battle it out amongst themselves for scraps of bread.

But what is really amazing about the lake is the view. Nestled among the mountains, shimmering in the light, and surrounded by two castles. One at the top and one at the end. One of these castles is now a restaurant and has a lovely garden which is rented out for ceremonies (can you imagine getting married in such a romantic place?).

We enjoyed walking around in the crisp clean air, listening to the birds, and the ducks, and the water lapping at the shores. One of those amazing surprises that Italy always has in store for you, if only you search them out.

The main square

The day after we got to Arco, we had a hearty breakfast and hopped into the car, ready for the 3-hour drive to Innsbruck, Austria.

Upon the concierge’s council we didn’t go straight for the highway but took the statale to Trento and then hopped on the highway. This saved us a lot of traffic and gave us the bonus of discovering Lake Toblino (more in the next post) and its castles.

We were very proud of ourselves in that we managed to navigate the German signage and find the downtown core, and parking! A very kind gentleman showed us the way, and we got out of our toasty warm car into the fresh, but bitter cold, and started heading down to the markets.

We were pretty ravenous, and began looking for a place to eat, but it was already 230 and the only place we saw that was open was… a pizzeria, run by Italians, and equally full of them. At first I refused to go in, but my grumbling belly insisted that I fill it so, begrudgingly I went in. We ordered a couple of pizzas…and they were some of the best I’d ever had! Seriously!

Magic!

With full bellies, we proceeded to through ourselves into the crowd and explore the Christmas Market. It was full – very very full, people were swarming everywhere in all directions, but with some patience we were able to look at some of the merchandise on display. It was beautiful, hand-crafted Christmas decorations, blown glass baubles, Nativity scenes, magic potions (it was bubble bath, but still), wreaths and centerpieces. Lots of sauerkraut and wieners and lots of people eating them!

Yum!

Hubby and I excitedly walked through the throngs of people, enjoying the atmosphere and the roadside decorations. One house was decked out as a giant advent calender, there was Hansel and Gretel’s house, well the evil witch’s house, actually. A nutcracker with his ballerina bride, and a little theatre, as well as Santa Claus and all his reindeer, and a huge Christmas tree.

At a certain point we got a bit chilled and ducked into a cafe’ for some hot chocolate and strudel for me; black forest cake for hubby, although he ate most of it (including the cherry) before I could take a picture of it!

Did I eat that?

Yummy!

Strudel

As the sun set, we started on our way back. As we wound up the hillside into the snow-capped mountains, I looked back at the glimmering city lights below, nestled in among the peaks. Certainly a place worth visiting – again.

Arco Christmas Market

Over last week’s long weekend, hubby and I decided to give ourselves a break and go visit the Christmas markets in Northern Italy and Austria. It was a beautiful experience, and I really felt the Christmas spirit – I made the poor man suffer through Christmas music the whole 5 hour drive up to Arco. I may have exaggerated, but just a little…

We left a little late and reached Arco just as the sun was starting to set over Lake Garda. We stopped the car and dug our cameras out of the trunk of the car – it was too stupendous to be missed.

Once we settled in to the hotel, we decided to go off and explore the town and its Christmas market. Arco is small, with a little historical centre, but it has space, so the houses aren’t all squished together like they are in Genoa. There are arches leading to side roads of the centre square, dominated by the church and its clock tower. The market was all around and the stalls were all made of wood, putting all the local handmade goods on display. I was in heaven!

Sunset over Lake Garda

But the part that really got me, was the little Nativity. No baby Jesus, Joseph or Mary, but a little donkey family (with a fluffy little white foal!) and a camel – the famous Ali’ star of the show. And saintly patience. He gave little kids rides on his back, around the park over and over again, and seemed to smile through the whole thing.

Ali'!

Yummy!

The church

After dinner, excitement began to pervade the air. The day of our arrival was also December 8th – the Immaculate Conception – and to celebrate that, the city organises an amazing fireworks display. At 915 the warning shots were fired, and the siege on the castle began. A build up of fireworks which was amazingly executed and choreographed. The siege ended with the capitulation of the castle, and an ominous red glow.

Fireworks over the Castle

Amazing.