On Italian Time

Patience. I need to learn to be more patient.

Actual phone conversation on Saturday moments after my plane touched down in Pisa.

“Signora, sono Janie. (it’s Janie)” Followed by silence, utter silence.

Again I said “sono Janie, con l’apartamento (with the apartment), Via Guinigi”. I begin to think there might be a problem with my Italian.

Now la Signora responds “Oggi? (today)”and for a moment I think she has forgotten that I am renting an apartment, starting today!

We have had about 20 e mails in the previous weeks back and forth with details about the rental and my arrival. She had informed me to call an hour before I got to Lucca. So there I am, sitting on the bus thinking that the timing is perfect. By the time I arrive in Lucca and walk over to the apartment it will be a little over an hour.

Now she responds “Sono a Firenze (I’m in Florence)” which I know means she will not be meeting me in an hour. She says she will be there in about an hour and a half. What’s an extra half hour? I will stop for a caffe on the way to the apartment.

There I am sitting on a stoop in front of the building (the front door in above photo), which is not exactly a bad thing because I am in Italy! What’s bad about it is that I am starving and all my emergency chocolate has been devoured. Almost 2-1/2 hours later she arrives on the back of a bicycle, apologizing for her tardiness. Truth be told, once she told me she was in Florence, I knew better than to expect her soon.

Italian time. I have to realize I’m on it now and stop rushing about. I can do that. I can…

***Update: La Signora responded right away to my distress call that the internet wasn’t working in the apartment and came over and stayed until the problem was resolved.

Meet Your Tea Expert

I want to introduce you to me good friend L. and the cookbook that she recently published. Her lovely book “Tea With Betty” is chock full of recipes to serve at “teas” in addition to having all the info you’ll need to make a great pot of tea. You need not throw a tea party to take advantage of her recipes, as many of them would be wonderful as hors d’oeuvres or the perfect bite to serve with a cup of tea or coffee at any time of day.

You can find all kinds of useful information and recipes on L.’s new blog Tea With Betty. Stop by and find out about her lovely book. Isn’t it time you got a group of friends together for an afternoon of tea (and maybe champagne…) and those delectable little bites, both savory and sweet? Don’t forget to send me an invite!

Let’s Get Cooking!

Do you live in the San Diego or southern Orange County? Are you tired of cooking the same old things? Do you have trouble getting dinner on the table? Don’t even tell me you’re eating take out night after night! Let me help you out.

If you’ve stopped by here more than a few times, you know that food is my passion. Over the years I’ve been a cook for a family, ran a dinner delivery business, was a caterer and owned a cafe. I’ve been shopping at my local farmers’ market for the past twenty years, before it was the “in” thing to do. I cook with the seasons and sometimes that drives J. crazy since I won’t buy tomatoes in the winter!

I am offering two different services for those of you who live near me. Get into the kitchen with me for private cooking classes. My specialty is Italian cuisine and the food of the Mediterranean. From starters to homemade pasta to desserts, you tell me what you’d like to know more about.

Don’t really have the time or the interest in cooking yourself but want delectable, well balanced meals? I am available to prepare food to go which I will deliver to your home. Wouldn’t it be great to come home and not have to worry about what’s for dinner?

You may live somewhere else in the country but if you know someone in my neck of the woods, fill them in on my blog and my services. Want to know even more about the food of Italy? Come along with me on my next trip to Tuscany next spring and we’ll explore, shop and cook together for a fun filled week in the gorgeous walled town of Lucca. Check back next week for the specifics on the tour.

Get in touch at paninigirl4@gmail.com

Welcome To The Neighborhood

My group arrives tomorrow. The weather is unbelievable and what a joy to be out and about without stepping in puddles and constantly being on the lookout for someone’s umbrella coming your way. That was last year-this is now and it’s perfect. I have been savoring every moment walking around the neighborhood where we’ll be staying, checking out the closest panificio (shop selling all types of bread and focaccia), where to have our morning caffe, and of course my personal favorite-the pasticceria. After all, this is a food focused trip-do I really need to explain?

Just around the corner is this small canal running the length of the street. It’s a real neighborhood with people walking and riding their bikes to run their errands. I found it interesting that in Lucca there are people on bikes everywhere, whereas in Arezo I never saw a single one-too many hills there!

These towers are close by and they aren’t even part of the wall surrounding the city. I wouldn’t mind being locked up in this neighborhood-that is as long as I could send someone out for food!

Autumn In Tuscany-Cook With Panini Girl In Lucca

Arezzo Bound?

When I first began researching Italian language schools some years back, I had no intention of attending a class in Tuscany. I imagined myself in some other part of the country, somewhere less traveled, less touristy, somewhere I would hear Italians speaking Italian and not English. Little did I know that I could have that very experience and still be in Tuscany. Where, you ask? Well, it’s Arezzo. Once a month Arezzo hosts the largest antique fair in Italy and this charming town is overrun by tourists from various places, including Italians. The rest of the month, Arezzo is exactly what I had been searching for-quiet, friendly and full of locals going about their business. I consider myself lucky to have spent a month there, working on my Italian at Cultura Italiana and strolling alongside the arretini (citizens of Arezzo) during the evening passeggiata.

My time spent in Arezzo is one that I will always remember fondly. Being immersed in everyday situations where I had to speak the language gave me just the boost that I needed. I came home feeling more confident and vowed to keep up my studies, which I did, for a while… This year I made a New Year’s resolution to practice/study Italian everyday. J. even gave me a workbook to help me along. In a few mere months I will be the spokesperson for my tour, being that I am not only the guide, but also the only person that speaks any Italian (oops, V. speaks some and I will be counting on her to help out!). I will have few days there before my group arrives to get in the speaking mode, but what if I were to go a little earlier and attend school again? Would that be just what I need? J. seems to think so. What do you think?

Gratitude Friday: Hope

This will not be a long post. I just want to say that when things are looking rather dismal and there’s nothing to hold on to, you have to look ahead and hope for the best. Isn’t there a saying “the best is yet to come”?

Hope. It doesn’t cost a dime, but it’s invaluable. Without it, you are lost. I have held on to hope and have been rewarded-enough said!

Head over to Diana at Creative Structures for more thoughts on being grateful. It might just make your day.

Second Anniversary?!

It’s hard to believe that I am celebrating my second blogiversary. It seems like so much has happened in that time. First off, I must thank J. for pushing me to start a blog. It probably took me six to eight months of hemming and hawing before I actually sat down and attempted to create a blog. Next a huge THANK YOU to those of you who continue to check in and see what I’ve been up to. I will continue to cook day after day and blog about it when I have the time. Without a doubt I will be returning to Italy again and again, and until that happens, I’ll be talking about every wonderful thing about my favorite place and the ways I keep my dream of Italy alive. Grazie!

November Stands For…

Blogging. I’m not officially signed up for NaBloPoMo (blogging every day in the month of November), but I’m willing to give it a try. I credit this event for giving me my sea legs last year when I had only been blogging for a few weeks. I decided then to take on the challenge and did my best to post every day that month and I was successful. In the last month or so I felt that I have been less than inspired in my blogging pursuits and maybe this is just what I need to get my creative juices flowing.

You might be wondering what this picture has to to do with NaBloPoMo. Well, the thought of drifting around on the seas, taking in the scenery, is just what I may need to get me through this month of writing. Whenever I feel the stress of NaBloMoPo setting in, I’m going to imagine that I am out on this boat off the coast, floating to nowhere.

Panini Girl Turns 1

Yes, it’s hard for me to believe that it was one year ago when I started this blog. I remember thinking about it for months, trying to figure how to do it (not a lot of computer skills here…) and finally getting it together and beginning to post. What was I going to write about? How often would I actually sit down and post? And what about photos?

When I was still in the “thinking about it” phase, I really thought it would be a food and cooking blog only. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my passion for Italy was just as strong as my feelings about cooking. How could I not include my love for Italy? And so I began to write and have never looked back. It now seems like a natural part of my day and I can’t believe that it took me so long to get it going.

I would like to thank all of you who take time out of your day to see what I have to say. I also would like to thank all of you whose blogs I savor-you have all inspired me. Stay tuned for year 2. Who knows where it will lead me and what I’ll be writing about!

The Joy Of Blogging

Since the “big” weekend of people looking at my blog, I’ve been thinking a lot about blogging. Two years ago I probably hadn’t even read a blog. I think the first time I ever heard of them was when my husband handed me the Wall Street Journal with an article about popular blogs. He pointed to one on the list and said to me “This looks like something that you might be interested in”. It was Melinda Gallo’s Living in Florence and the rest is history. I immediately began reading her blog and became so engrossed that I read every post that she had written. If I couldn’t be living in Italy, at least I could live vicariously through someone who did!

In the beginning I just read Living in Florence. Not long after, my friend B. in England told me about a food blog-the wildly popular Chocolate & Zucchini. She had actually read about it in Bon Appetit and thought it would interest me, and she was right. I love to cook and am interested in everything to do with food and cooking and Clotilde at Chocolate & Zucchini does not disappoint.

I started reading just these two blogs-one for each of my obsessions-food and Italy-and from there a passion grew. J. had been after me for some time to start my own blog. I kept agreeing, but did nothing about it. Eventually I started writing and had about fifteen pieces written and that was it . I remember thinking at some point I really would start a blog, but wasn’t sure exactly how to do it. Time passed and the links on Living in Florence and Chocolate & Zucchini led me to more interesting reading.

Finally, alone with my limited computer skills I started this blog and have enjoyed every minute of it. I remember thinking “how will I find things to write about?” and almost one year, later I must say that I love the challenge of finding a topic and sitting down to put words on a page. I’ve always enjoyed writing and after doing a fair amount of “creative writing” in college, I have never really indulged my interest. Blogging has given me the opportunity to write on a daily basis and share my thoughts and interests with the those of you with similar interests. I look forward to hearing what others have to say and get inspiration from the rest of you. So to my fellow bloggers and all of you who make time to check out what I’ve written, I say “grazie”.