photos from Sunday in the city

After my lovely bagel in the city this past Sunday, Grace and I went on a walk... and I took the following photos...

An 'S' on a window!

That is the tram that I take into the city 

(first is a bus from Opera... then the tram, which ends at the Duomo)...

BAGELS!

This past Sunday morning I went into the city on public transportation and met up with a returning teacher, Grace. This is Grace's 2nd year at ASM and like many teachers, after her first year here, she's moved into the city.

We went by a cafe to grab coffees to-go... and the lady at the counter already knows Grace's name! We then walked to another area in the city... to go to The Bagel Factory (in Piazza Maggio). YES!

We each had a breakfast sandwich on a bagel (fried egg, cheddar cheese, and bacon). ...They even have fresh orange juice!

Amazing. ...I feel that any city with a good bagel at hand... is a city that I can live in.   :D

the circus is in town!

I had been seeing the poster above ALL over Opera since moving here.

And sure enough... looking out my bedroom window yesterday, I saw a big white circus tent set up... which I didn't think had been there before. (It is right on my path to school, so I figured I'd have noticed it before).

Sure enough... taking a closer look at one of the posters, the circus was in Opera this past Friday, September 20th!

Opera is pretty cute

Many places around town aren't open on Saturday. ...Or, at least it seems that they make up their hours as each day comes and goes.

...But that doesn't stop the cuteness in the town of Opera!

I love the colors... and their shop doors... now I'll have to attempt to make it here when they're open and get a yummy gelato!

homemade pickles

Oh, you know... I just made my own pickles is all...   :D

I'm not a cook... and I'm hardly a baker... but I'm working on both of those things. And I'm fairly proud of these homemade pickles that have gone from cucumbers... to PICKLES!

My brothers, Lenny and Sean, are both great in a kitchen... and Lenny has inspired me now to make my own chai concentrate in Vietnam - and now, to make my own pickles from cucumbers!

I will work on this to perfect it... but my first batch turned out pretty well!

It took some time to find hot peppers... so I added those a bit late... but the spice is there now and awesome. Cucumber, garlic, some white wine vinegar, water, and about a week or so... and mmmmmm. PICKLES!

well? why not more sunsets?... ok!

I feel so lucky to be given such beautiful views each evening. Living in Italy always seemed like a dream... I'm working hard (librarian-ing!) to continue the reality of this dream coming to fruition...

The next two were from the same evening... a few minutes apart... 

 You want more? ...Ok!...

I love the moon in this one...

Saturday morning market, Opera

I went to Opera's market Saturday morning.

And I LOVE it!

The market is a pretty good size for a small town... selling clothes and random things... and lots of fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats, etc.

I stocked up on cheese... getting two huge hunks of asiago and provolone. First walking into the market, I ran into the elementary school principal and his family and he recommended one of the cheese guys and the asiago. ...Good choice!

Then I was also able to get blueberries, local tomatoes, and some basil. (Next up? - fresh mozzarella from the dairy vending machine in town!)

The basil was 1.50 euro for two bushels... I asked for one bushel and it was 1.00 euro... hmmmm... lesson learned. (It was about 0.35 for the same amount at the grocery store when I bought it there.)

I also bumped into two teachers from school, Katie and Angela (--Angela, my travel buddy from the night before!). We decided to meet up at a cafe down the street in a bit for a coffee and chat. That was really nice; I enjoyed it.   : )

While I was waiting to get the basil, a guy popped in front of me and enthusiastically waved and said hello. ...My new friend, Paolo the Taxi Man!! Haha. I love it. Angela said that he also recognized her and said hello. I think being friends with the taxi man will be awesome.

As I was leaving the market, my eye caught CANNOLIS. I back-tracked... asked for uno cannoli and now truly had a bag full of treats to take home. Perrrrfect.

Note: the cannoli was amazing.

I will definitely be making regular trips to the Saturday market! I surely hope it's open year-round.

My belly is mostly full of delicious cheeses right now.

...And after our cafe date -- Angela, Katie, and I walked through Opera a bit. Angela showed us where the guy's shop is for wine and olive oil. Basically, you bring bottles (or he has some)... and he'll fill it with wine for 2 euros. He also has a great selection of olive oils. Ooooookay! I'm loving the sound of this. ...And getting great ideas of what I can do with my parents and brother, Sean, when they come for the winter holidays. (Stoked!!)


Learnings from my first trip to the market:

• asiago cheese costs about 3 times that of provolone... but it's worth it
• basil is expensive... I need to learn to grow my own
• a cannoli is 2.50 euros... and also totally worth it
• next trip? --> find the Chicken Man everyone has been raving about