It's Peanut Butter & Jelly Time

Ciao, ciao, ciao! Did you know that Italians like to say that word multiple times in a row for goodbyes? Two ciao's in a row specifically means goodbye (as opposed to hello) while three or more ciao's in a row means "Goodbye, I'm in a hurry." It's common and it makes me laugh.

First Pharmacy Visit


Today Tyson started feeling under the weather, poor bambino, so we had our first visit to the pharmacy, or farmacia as they call them here. We needed Sudafed, so I looked up the Italian equivalent which is called Actifed.

There are no true 24 hour pharmacies and many are closed on Sundays. So how do Italians get their medicine? They designate one pharmacy to stay open 24 hours and they list the address of that pharmacy on their store window. Since it was a Sunday, we found the only open pharmacy and went to get his medicine. Tip: if you're ever looking for a pharmacy in Italy, find a green cross sign and there it will be.

I told the pharmacist that I only spoke a little Italian and told him that we needed Actifed. Luckily he understood me easily and I had the right name. He actually knew Italian, Spanish, French, and German-everything but English! He gave us instructions that were easy to understand and that's how we successfully procured our first medicine. Additional note: if you go after 10 pm, you have to pay a 3,75 euro convenience fee. Luckily we were there much earlier.

Another Movie


We were in the mood to watch another movie, so when we saw this poster for an Italian Christmas movie we decided to see it. It was called "The Worst Christmas of My Life" and it's based on a British television show. So how was it? Not bad. It had a lot of slapstick humor and it reminded me of a less funny version of Meet the Fockers. We probably missed some verbal jokes, but all of the physical humor was easy to understand.
We went to a different theater this time and it was way too toasty. They had the heat up really high. I probably prefer the other theater for this reason alone.

Food
Ever wondered what a traditional Italian breakfast is? It's a cappuccino with a brioche. Yum! Tyson and I headed down to a local restaurant on Saturday morning to try their special- a cappuccino and brioche for only 2 euros.


It was so delicious. The cappuccino was foamy and warm and the brioche had melted chocolate inside and brown sugar sprinkled on top.

We also tried out a restaurant called Due Giganti (two giants). At this place you pay a 4 euro cover charge per person and you can order any type of fresh, made to order pizza, plus you get a buffet with all you can eat pizza, sides, and desserts. So basically it's very American in style, like a tastier version of Cici's pizza. We even saw two girls sharing a pizza covered in French fries! Here's what we got:


It's half pepperoni and half potatoes/speck, which is like bacon. It was delicious! This is a great place to go if you want a cheap but very filling meal. It's a huge hit with students for that reason.

Kinder eggs: these things rule, it's sad that they're illegal in the U.S.


The chocolate is great quality and the surprises are fun, though mostly meant for kids. For those who don't know, kinder eggs have a chocolate coating over a plastic egg that contains a small toy, or surprise (sopresa). Tyson is especially enamored of the chocolate on these, so when I get the chance, I pick one up at the store for him.

Italy also enjoys the Twilight series and this fact is reflected even in the grocery store. Here are some Twilight-themed Pepsi cans:


He's ice cold...and he wants you to drink him!

Peanut butter and jelly time: our Italian class had a Christmas party and everyone was supposed to bring food from their native country. American ingredients are hard to find here, but we decided on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Now, Italians don't really do peanut butter. They typically use a hazelnut chocolate spread like Nutella. We found one grocery store that had peanut butter. Just one and it was more expensive because it's imported. We didn't think we'd have trouble finding the jelly because they have every flavor imaginable, but here's the thing: they don't like wasting grapes on jelly when they could use it to make wine instead. Tyson finally found a stand that sold boutique jellies and they had green grape jelly. This tastes almost identical to grape jelly, so all was well! Pb&j's were enjoyed by all.

Malls
We went to the mall here and these are the differences we found:
1. They serve lots of alcohol in the food court. I imagine this is handy for husbands who accompany their wives to the mall.
2. You can gamble in the mall. You can play slots or buy lotto tickets.
3. This is my favorite....there is a "sexy" portion of the mall. All the stores here are very sexy, so watch out. It's not for children.

Well that's all for today's blog, this Sunday we're off to London for Christmas, so next week's blog will be about fry-ups and Jack the Ripper!

Mercatino di Natale

Ciao ragazzi, come state tutti? Hi guys, how are you all? In today's blog you'll get to see Trento's Mercatino di Natale, or in English, the Christmas Market. I'll also describe our first movie theater experience in Italy and tell you about our dinner with Tyson's colleagues.

Mercatino di Natale
Starting at the end of November and continuing until the end of December, the Christmas Market in Trento is held in Piazza Fiera and is an absolute must-see. Many vendors set up wooden stands featuring local crafts, food, and wine.

Tyson and I stopped by the market on Sunday morning and it was so packed that we could hardly push through the crowds. We took a few pictures and decided to come back later that night when it was less crowded.
The market during the day:




When we came back later that night, it was still busy but not quite so stifling. The Christmas lights and trees are also prettier at night!
The market at night:












Walking through the chilly night air, we could smell mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, and homemade soap.

We saw a stand with hand crafted chocolates:




These creative chocolates were made to look like tools; I think my father-in-law would love these!




Slightly outside the market, you can find more stands selling mulled wine (2 euros), bombardino (3 euros), hot chocolate, strudel, and other tasty items:




What is bombardino? It's basically an Italian version of eggnog, made with brandy. We tried samples and I have to say they taste nothing like American eggnog but they are delicious! Tyson hates eggnog and he loved this, but I can't say why they're so different in taste. Also, whereas American eggnog is white, the bombardino is quite orange in color.

I did end up making a small purchase at the market:




Limoncello! An Italian favorite. The zest of lemons are soaked in grain alcohol and then mixed with a simple syrup. This is typically used as a digestivo, which is an after-dinner drink to aid your digestion. This was my first time trying it. Verdict? Excellent if you like lemons, which I do. It's not sour, but the alcohol content is fairly high, so it may be too strong for some. I think the taste is improved by chilling it before serving. Cin cin! (cheers!)

Another Italian drink I wanted to try was Grappa, a pomace brandy made by distilling the skins and pulps of grapes leftover from winemaking.




Grappa is also used as a digestivo. I think this particular grappa was too strong for my tastes, but I'm not sure if I bought a good brand. I may do some research and see if I might find another kind more palatable.

The Movie Theater
I wish I had taken pictures, but I didn't think of it. The movie theater we went to shows one movie at a time and only has one screen in the entire facility. They show both American and Italian movies, but all the American movies are dubbed in Italian. This didn't phase us as we're trying our best to learn the language.

Movies are a huge part of our life as well. Tyson and I had our first date at the movies and when we were in America we were well known for seeing a movie in the theater once a week or more. We won't be seeing movies that often here, but it's nice to keep some of our old routine.

Differences: instead of picking your seat, you are assigned a seat. This wasn't a problem because the theater wasn't crowded, but I could see that on a busy night it may not be ideal. Another difference is that there's an intermission during the movie so you can use the facilities. We thought our movie had cut out! In hindsight, I had experienced a movie intermission in Russia, but that was 7 years ago.

The movie prices are about the same as in America. The snacks and drinks are smaller but probably similar in price.

Our Italian was alright enough for us to basically understand the movie, but not good enough to tell if anything was lost in translation during dubbing. I'm looking forward to seeing another movie soon!

The Dinner
Ty sent me a text message that said, "We're going to dinner with (bosses' name) tonight." I automatically assumed the we he was referring to was his other colleague! I was very pleased to find out it was actually me who was invited. The dinner was at a nice Italian restaurant called Antico Pozzo, which means the ancient well. Here's the menu:




Everything was so delicious, including the different wines that they paired with each course. I think my favorite course was the lavender and rosemary risotto. Very fragrant and I had never had lavender in a dish before, quite unique.

Tyson's boss/colleague was very nice, as were all the other people who were in town attending a conference. The Armenian ambassador to Italy was also there- how cool is that? I especially liked one woman there who made me feel very welcome in Trento and gave me my first double cheek kiss! It's hard being a foreigner and it makes you appreciate all the wonderful people in the world who try to make you feel at home. Of course that doesn't mean they didn't make fun of us. Apparently Americans "put ketchup on everything" and "have none of their own cheese." We corrected them on the cheese part, have no fear. It's impossible to find cheddar here!

Addio amici,
Susie