The nice folks from expat interviews asked me to answer some questions for their site. This is a handy resource for people thinking about moving to another country. Here you can find real answer to practical questions, as well as personal blogs by expats all over the world.
My regular visitors know a lot about me, but if you are curious, you can find more about what I think here.
The wonderful Becca has a new site for Write on Wednesday. This is a great place to share ideas about writing, the creative process, and the motivations behind our words. I am very excited about this forum, and I think I will participate often.
Today, there was no Cucina di Nicola, as this week is the last week of school, and I have been playing chauffeur to all the social events leading to the last day of Nicolas' school: TOMORROW! He is graduating from elementary school, and moving into scuola media, a big change for all of us.
In lieu of my usual recipe, I am going to try an answer Becca's questions:
Have you found your line yet? Do you think you have one? How do you go about expressing it?The answers to these questions lay hidden in a corner of my mind. I have always been creative, and when I was young I would dream of becoming a writer. Back then, I wanted to write children's books, stories full of surprising characters, colors, and made-up universes. I wrote my first short story for a national contest when I was 10. I was very surprised when I did not win!!! -Can you say self-confident?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!
Romeo, Act II, scene ii
Verona, the perfect backdrop for Romeo and Juliet's love story. Verona, a UNESCO world heritage monument. Verona, a city that took my breath away.
We went to the beautiful city of Verona on Saturday, to see Tosca at the Arena! We headed there under blue skies and hot temperatures, Summer has finally arrived and we are enjoying every minute of it. Neither one of us three had been to an Opera before, and we were really excited. The tickets (5 of them) were a present from our dear friends Gloria and Juan, who were coming to Italy from the States, but had to cancel their trip at the last minute! What a gift! I still wish they had been able to make it though. I could have gone to Verona any other time!
We invited our friends Debby and Marcelo to join us and we enjoyed a day of fun, good food, and great opera. Marcelo was an excellent guide, showing us all the sites and telling us all about the history of the place. The Arena is the third largest in Italy, and even though what is left of its facade is a small piece, the structure left is stunning. To think that it was originally built in the year 30 AC! The inside of the Roman amphitheater is like it was 2000 years ago. I just can't get over the fact that history permeates everything in places like Verona. 
We wandered through the medieval streets, arriving at open spaces, with magnificent architecture like the piazza delle erbe, which during Roman times used to be the forum -the center of the city. Today it is still a meeting place, with a market at its center. In the piazza there are several monuments, including the fountain of the madonna Verona, as well as the 14th C. Gardello tower, the baroque palazzo Marfei, and the Lamberti tower with its panoramic views of the city.
We also learned about curious things like this "bone". It hangs over one of the street passages. First, people speculated that it was a mammoth tusk, later they called it a dinosaur bone, but after some scientific tests it was discovered to be a whale bone! If this is not curious enough for you, legend has it that the bone will remain in place until one who has never said a lie in his life walks under it. Only then it will fall. May I mention that it has been in place for a century? Also one can visit Juliet's house (she was a fictional character, wasn't she?) There is a bronze statue of Juliet in the courtyard, and legend has it that if you stroke her right breast, good fortune will be vested upon you and/or fertility will be aplenty. You can see a picture of said statue on my first photo, on the lower left corner.
We walked to the Adige river, and we visited Ponte Pietra or the stone bridge, which was originally built in the first Century by the Romans, later it was destroyed by the Napoleonic forces, to be reconstructed with the original materials in its new location. The bridge connects the old town with the Roman theater (another exceptional site.) Not all was walking about in the heat, we also had time for an aperitivo, and some wonderful dinner near the Arena.
I have no pictures of the opera (Tosca) because we were not supposed to bring a camera to the performance. Well, I think we were the only ones not taking pictures at the performance. To tell you the truth, sometimes I miss really seeing things because I am limited by my camera's viewfinder. I have the images in my head, and the music in my ears. Absolutely gorgeous, an experience unlike any other. I loved the third act, but I guess that is predictable. Everything comes together beautifully in the third act, all the drama, the desperate solos of the main characters, the bare scenography, the almost full moon raising from behind the scenario... surreal!
What a gorgeous day!
We are back! I know I have been a very bad blogger lately, but I just haven't had the time, nor the peace of mind to sit down and write. But, I am back, and Nicolas couldn't be happier. I guess the little one is getting used to our time cooking together.
Today we are making our FIRST Italian dessert together, and we chose a simple, yet delicious one. Panna Cotta means literally "cooked cream", which is a misnomer as this custard is not cooked at all, no eggs, no double boiler, just gelatin as the tickening agent. Simple, the perfect recipe for my 10 year old.
Originally from the Piedmont region, in the mountainous regions of the Italian north where cream is abundant. Today you can find this dessert all over Italy. A silky, refreshing end to a meal, perfect served with seasonal berries. This could well qualify as the easiest dessert we have made together, and one of our favorites!
Based loosely on a recipe found in Basic Italian by Schinharl/Dickhaut/Lane, published by Silverback.
PANNA COTTA WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE
Feeds 4
1 Vanilla bean
2 Cups + 2 Tablespoons cream
1/4 Cup sugar
1.3/4 teaspoons powdered gelatin (always check package for proportions) 2-3 gelatin sheets
Butter for greasing ramekins (we used silicon molds)
Split open vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out black seeds and place in a pot with the vanilla bean, the 2 cups of cream and the sugar.
Heat cream mixture and bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes (do not let it boil), whisking occasionally to help dissolve the sugar.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir powdered gelatin into the 2 tablespoons of cream - allow to soften for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove the cream/sugar mixture from the heat, add the softened gelatin mixture, and whisk to dissolve the gelatin.
Strain the mixture into a heat-proof container with a spout (a glass measuring cup works well), lightly swirl the mixture before pouring into ramekins to evenly distribute the vanilla seeds. Pour mixture into buttered ramekins and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate 4 to 6 hours until the cream is firm enough.
To serve, carefully dip the bottom of each ramekin in hot water, loose the edges of the panna cotta with a thin knife, cover the ramekin with an upside-down plate and reverse. The panna cotta should slide into the plate. Garnish with strawberry sauce.
For the sauce:
1 Pint strawberries, thinly sliced
1.1/2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 Tablespoons sugar
Toss strawberries, balsamic vinegar, and sugar in a large bowl to combine. Let stand 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Spoon strawberries over and around the panna cotta and serve.
As overheard by my husband at our local bar this morning.
I am back to a VERY rainy Italy... enough is enough. I am wearing a feather down vest on June 16th! I bet you it will be sunny from the moment we leave for Colombia... Good thing I love the rain!
All my paperwork went well, and my unorthodox re-entry went well as well. Thank you all for your good energy. Now, if we could all focus on making the rain stop, everything would be perfect!
This flickr meme is doing the rounds, and it is so much fun that I couldn't stop myself from doing it. I have seen it at many of my favorite places, first at Michelle's, then at Erin's, and last at Joanne's. I may have missed some others, but these are great examples, so go take a peek!
The meme works like this:
• Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.
• Using only the first page, pick an image.
• Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into mosaic maker.
QUESTIONS
1. What is your first name? Beatriz
2. What is your favorite food? Arepa con queso
3. What high school did you go to? Sagrado Corazón de Jesús
4. What is your favorite color? moss green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? George Clooney
6. Favorite drink? Mojito
7. Dream vacation? India
8. Favorite dessert? Apple pie
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Artist
10. What do you love most in life? My son
11. One word to describe you. Colorful
12. Your Flickr name. BeatryFer
I made it! I am in the States! I am surprised by all the things that were once familiar and that today seem foreign to me. It starts with all the little details, the smiling clerk at immigration (gasp!), the organized line of people waiting to be helped in the air conditioned room, and the paper liner in the airport's restroom. It all continues with the big: the size of my portion of fries, the parking spaces (and for that matter, the parking lots), and the people around me.
I see everything anew, and I am waking up to flavors, and faces and the familiarity of a language I know well. I am perplexed at the availability of things, the open hours, the prices! I find it a little overwhelming, in a very positive way!
I have watched TV looking for old favorites, I have eaten a hamburger (SOOOO good!) and Thai, and I have plans for Mexican today. I have browsed through books and magazines for hours at a time, and I have been to the mall for what seemed to be months! And this is just one day of my week!
I am not in California, but in Atlanta, where we have family. The only problem is that our family is not here, so I am boarding at their house, and using their car, but I am by myself. I have some friends in the area, and I am seeing them, but the majority of the time it is just me.
Just me, standing at the border between the known and the forgotten. Again.
And the winner is Joanne of frutto della passione! I used a random number generator that gave me the number 7. I will be contacting the winner via e-mail. Congratulations!
As you know, I am BUSY! Poor Nicolas is getting neglected, as we are not cooking together lately. I will be gone all next week, so La cucina di Nicola will be back on the 19th. It is not really a vacation for me, but I couldn't resist using a little sign like the Italians do...
Have you commented on my giveaway post yet? You have until tomorrow. Hurry up!
I will be around, blogging from afar, and visiting my usual places. I won't disappear!
Have you checked my giveaway yet? Hurry up, comments close on Friday, June 4th at 8:00 AM- Italian time (GMT+2.)
I am running in circles trying to finish a big project, while at the same time arranging a (not planned) trip back to the States. I do not want to bore you with the details but it has to do with my resident status and my application to citizenship. To make matters worse, I have no "legal" status in Italy yet, which can be a problem on my way back. Ah! The joys of having a Colombian passport! As I find myself "between a rock and a hard place," we are taking an unorthodox solution to the problem. I won't give out any more details, but keep me in your mind as I can use all the good energy available.
Not everything is stress and work in this corner of the world though. Yesterday Italy celebrated "Republic" day. Business, schools and shops were all closed, making the weekend a long one. We took full advantage of it, running a local 6K on Friday and a 10K on Sunday (Fernando came in 3rd from all the men from our little town.) We also took a day trip to Bergamo (città alta) on Monday. We enjoyed the beautiful town, the view, the many available pastries. All in all a fabulous weekend!
Here at Suitcase Contents we are celebrating the big ONE O O. Please, come on in, have a glass of wine, eat some "salatine," get comfortable, and let's start the conversation and the gift giving.
As far as the conversation goes, I am going to get a little serious first, but I promise we will carry on with the party. Some of you might remember my post about the problem that is electronic waste. When I wrote about it, I mentioned that I was going to design a button that we could post on our blogs, which will be a reminder and a pledge to safely recycle our own computers. It took me a while to figure it all out, but I did it! This is the image:
Now, if you click on it, it will take you to the information page, where you can learn a lot about the solutions to e-waste, AND get the code for the button.
When thinking of a giveaway for this post I decided that I wanted a computer related gift, as I am celebrating the joy of blogging and its community. Bloggers not only use computers, you know, for blogging, work, and keeping in touch with family and friends, but we LOVE the silly things. We take them everywhere we go, and we personalize them as much as we can. (We love them so much, we won't let them end up in a landfill.)
So, what to give? I definitely think that a Unique Skin will be a fantastic addition to any laptop, don't you? I first saw this product at Design Sponge and I decided I had to make one of my own. OK, what if you do not own a laptop? The creative minds behind Unique Skins have created all kinds of products, from skins for your cell phone to your MP3 player and beyond. These skins (adhesive-backed vinyl pieces pre-cut to fit your electronic device) are as original as you want them to be. If you are the creative type, you can design your OWN skin, upload the image to the site, and truly personalize your gadget! They also have a fantastic library full of images ranging from nature shots, to patterns, to flags and solid colors for those of you who focus your creativity in your writing. These folks are so nice, that they have donated a custom laptop skin, shipped anywhere in the world, to one of my readers.
To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post. I will choose one winner from all comments on Friday, June 6, at 8:00 AM (Italian time GMT+2), comments will be open until then.
Before I let you go, I want to share with you one gift that I got recently from the wonderful Nonizamboni at Peacock blue. If you have a moment, take a break and enjoy the wonderful world that Noni creates at her blog, with its eclectic mix of great writing, beautiful images, and random thoughts.
Now it's time for the party favors, and I am more than happy to award the excellence in blogging award to:
The creative Amaretto Girl, a fellow artist, and wonderful spirit. You will be inspired, I promise.
Bethany, excellent writer and fellow expat that brings a smile to my face every time I visit her, while making me think about big and little things.
And my new discovered blog pal Becca and her well written blog, full of insight into everyday life. Worth a visit!
