Today I flew from Rome to Atlanta, where I will spend the next week on a business project. My day started at 4:45 to be showered, dressed, fed, and, most importantly, awake when Leonardo picked me up at 5:30 for the the trip to Rome.
My flight was completely full of Italian doctors and pharmaceutical reps on their way to the 2012 American Society of Hematology conference. The (medical) doctor beside me said it is the most important conference in the world in their discipline, so of course they all go. The funny part was that they all knew each other, so it was a bit like a party bus.
I have to admit that the Atlanta airport impressed me. Yes, I had to walk the the half mile between my Concourse E gate and the Concourse F immigrations area. But everything I saw was in pristine condition and perfectly clean. It was a sharp contrast to other airports and train terminals I have been in recently. I thought it made for a very good first impression of the city.
One thing the airport does need to fix is transportation from international concourse to the rental car facility. Domestic customers get a train to zip them to the nearby rental car facility. But international customers have to take an airport shuttle clear around the airport. It is a solid 15 minutes because it is such a big airport. And then, instead of being dropped off at the same level as the train customers are, they are dropped off at the basement level and have to find their way up the elevators.
Even Atlanta can be a small place. I was waiting in line for border control when I saw a familiar profile in one of the lines ahead. Paul Taylor, a co-worker! He pointed out Dan Davidenko and Ed Mink and Rick Mount, and eventually the line snaked so I could talk to them, too. They were also just in from Italy, having made an stop in Paris.
I'm very pleased with one last chore I accomplished today: I got an American SIM card for my Italian phone, so for the cost of a $10 card I can reuse and a $10 prepayment I have all the cell phone minutes I could use for the week I will be here.
Michael
Friday, December 7, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The Holy Family's Cohorts
Florence & I went to see Orietta today. She's going crazy trying to organize the local merchants (like herding cats or Hooks, I suppose), and they're working on a live nativity. But this is one that has to be described: no drive-thru here!
Mary and Joseph will start up at San Fortunato, complete with donkey. They'll wend their way down via the Piazza del Popolo (and the Duomo), knocking on doors (and being refused) as they go. After a trip of roughly 1/2 mile, they'll end up in the Nicchioni Romani (once thought a temple, now thought to be a possible marketplace). There are several nifty niches, one of which will house the Holy Family (complete with manger, donkey, and shepherds).
Ready to meet the neighbors? You guessed it: us! We're going to represent a family of the time. The boys will be mending nets or doing other indoor work, Michael will be mending shoes (hi, Michael! For our readers, he's in the US on a business trip, and this is the first he's heard of it, too!), one of the females will be making bread, we'll knit, etc., etc. Is that not the coolest thing ever?
We might not be a Holy Family, but we'll be right next door to one!
Love,
Alexandra
Mary and Joseph will start up at San Fortunato, complete with donkey. They'll wend their way down via the Piazza del Popolo (and the Duomo), knocking on doors (and being refused) as they go. After a trip of roughly 1/2 mile, they'll end up in the Nicchioni Romani (once thought a temple, now thought to be a possible marketplace). There are several nifty niches, one of which will house the Holy Family (complete with manger, donkey, and shepherds).
 |
| The Nicchioni |
Ready to meet the neighbors? You guessed it: us! We're going to represent a family of the time. The boys will be mending nets or doing other indoor work, Michael will be mending shoes (hi, Michael! For our readers, he's in the US on a business trip, and this is the first he's heard of it, too!), one of the females will be making bread, we'll knit, etc., etc. Is that not the coolest thing ever?
We might not be a Holy Family, but we'll be right next door to one!
Love,
Alexandra
Monday, December 3, 2012
Winter View
Today we have been blessed with a respite from the recent rainy weather. The day dawned bright and clear and cold. Tonight it will drop below freezing here for the first time this winter.
Now take a look at this view from Piazza Garibaldi:
Bright, green, sunny, and snow capped.
Michael
Now take a look at this view from Piazza Garibaldi:
Bright, green, sunny, and snow capped.
Michael
Friday, November 30, 2012
Unexpected Instructions
As you go through life you gain experience in many areas, and eventually in may endeavors you feel confident, even complacent. But occasionally you run into something unexpected where you long since felt there was nothing new to learn.
For me, that just happened opening a panettone.
Panettone is not unknown in America, but it definitely still has "foreign" status. For example, some people describe it as an Italian Christmas fruitcake. Well, yes, it does have fruit in it, but it is really a sweet, light bread. That's the "pane" part of the name. If you expect cake you will think it is dry.
Our family can make a standard 1 kg panettone disappear in seconds, so it is a good thing we are living where every corner grocery has pallets of them.
Tonight we tried a variation on the theme, a "Gocce di Pandoro", this one with cioccolato fondente (dark chocolate). :)
Here is the box:
And here are the contents:
Wait a second! What's that packet? Powdered sugar! Why of course! You can't ship and store the pandoro with the pictured powdered sugar on the bread. And of course it would be unthinkable to eat it without the powdered sugar. Therefore, some assembly required.
So of course I started by taking the pandoro out of the bag:
But when I picked up the packet of powdered sugar I got my second surprise. There were instructions, and not only that but they were instructions that made much more sense than the mess I was about to make. You leave the pandoro in the bag, pour the powdered sugar over it, and then shake it up.
It worked perfectly!
Now back to what we already knew how to do.
Slice:
Serve:
And eat:
For those taking notes, a 1 kg pandoro with dark chocolate serves more people than a 1 kg panettone because the chocolate makes it much richer. Leftovers for breakfast!
Michael
For me, that just happened opening a panettone.
Panettone is not unknown in America, but it definitely still has "foreign" status. For example, some people describe it as an Italian Christmas fruitcake. Well, yes, it does have fruit in it, but it is really a sweet, light bread. That's the "pane" part of the name. If you expect cake you will think it is dry.
Our family can make a standard 1 kg panettone disappear in seconds, so it is a good thing we are living where every corner grocery has pallets of them.
Tonight we tried a variation on the theme, a "Gocce di Pandoro", this one with cioccolato fondente (dark chocolate). :)
Here is the box:
And here are the contents:
Wait a second! What's that packet? Powdered sugar! Why of course! You can't ship and store the pandoro with the pictured powdered sugar on the bread. And of course it would be unthinkable to eat it without the powdered sugar. Therefore, some assembly required.
So of course I started by taking the pandoro out of the bag:
But when I picked up the packet of powdered sugar I got my second surprise. There were instructions, and not only that but they were instructions that made much more sense than the mess I was about to make. You leave the pandoro in the bag, pour the powdered sugar over it, and then shake it up.
It worked perfectly!
Now back to what we already knew how to do.
Slice:
Serve:
And eat:
For those taking notes, a 1 kg pandoro with dark chocolate serves more people than a 1 kg panettone because the chocolate makes it much richer. Leftovers for breakfast!
Michael
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Bright Spot in the Rain
I glanced out my window to see how far dusk had progressed and caught an unexpected glow through the fogged-up glass. Something about the late-evening angle of the sun made this the brightest one I have ever seen.
My poor iPad couldn't handle the contrast, but I assure you all the colors were there in glorious clarity.
Michael
My poor iPad couldn't handle the contrast, but I assure you all the colors were there in glorious clarity.
Michael
Monday, November 26, 2012
Is there a doctor in the house?
We've been mystified by the nameplates we've seen in local offices/places of business: it's almost universal that the title "Doctor" is used. I finally broke down and asked our friend Antonio about this. He laughed and agreed that everyone is called "Dr. So-and-so," but it took quite some time and work to elicit the fact that people with bachelor's degrees may be properly given the honorific.
He, in his turn, was surprised by how it works in the engineering field -- in the US, your title doesn't change regardless of your education (except in academia or those who can come across as a bit pretentious), but if you pass the engineering exam, you put "P.E." after your name. In Italy, you are "Dottore Ingegnere" unless you pass the official exam -- at which point, you are just plain "Ingegnere."
I guess it's better not to be a doctor if you're in Italy?
Love,
Alexandra
He, in his turn, was surprised by how it works in the engineering field -- in the US, your title doesn't change regardless of your education (except in academia or those who can come across as a bit pretentious), but if you pass the engineering exam, you put "P.E." after your name. In Italy, you are "Dottore Ingegnere" unless you pass the official exam -- at which point, you are just plain "Ingegnere."
I guess it's better not to be a doctor if you're in Italy?
Love,
Alexandra
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Questura, Take 2
Yesterday Alexandra and I returned to Perugia to get my Permesso di Sogiorno. The first time we went we had wrong directions from Google Maps and missed the cutoff time for getting a numbered ticket. It was very much like showing up at the DMV for a Saturday driving test after they have given out all of the appointments for the day.
This time we knew where the Questura was, we knew about the cute little Mini Metro, and Alexandra had even found out about the bus that leaves from directly outside our apartment at 6:30 AM and gets us to the Mini Metro in Perugia in perfect time.
Success! We got a ticket!
Unfortunately that was all we got unless you count lots of hand waving, rapid Italian, and exasperated expressions from the woman behind the glass. Two months of collecting paperwork have been insufficient even to start the process.
After much hard work on Alexandra's part it was established that additionally we need:
* A document from the Commune indicating that Alexandra's demographics are on file. Remember that this is my permission to be in Italy and she is just my sponsor.
* A document from the Commune proving that she is an EU citizen. Apparently an EU passport, while required, does not prove citizenship.
* A translation of our marriage certificate. Clearly a certificate filled out in an Official EU language is unintelligible.
* A document indicating that I have my wife's permission to live in the our apartment. We already have a document from the surveyor about the size of the apartment and how many people are living in it.
* Photocopies of EVERYTHING. They cannot accept originals. We think that is because they don't want the trouble of returning anything, but it is very different from in the United States.
By the way, every one of those documents requires that you purchase a tax stamp. Italians may not collect income tax effectively, but they do know how to collect taxes for every official service provided.
Michael
This time we knew where the Questura was, we knew about the cute little Mini Metro, and Alexandra had even found out about the bus that leaves from directly outside our apartment at 6:30 AM and gets us to the Mini Metro in Perugia in perfect time.
Success! We got a ticket!
Unfortunately that was all we got unless you count lots of hand waving, rapid Italian, and exasperated expressions from the woman behind the glass. Two months of collecting paperwork have been insufficient even to start the process.
After much hard work on Alexandra's part it was established that additionally we need:
* A document from the Commune indicating that Alexandra's demographics are on file. Remember that this is my permission to be in Italy and she is just my sponsor.
* A document from the Commune proving that she is an EU citizen. Apparently an EU passport, while required, does not prove citizenship.
* A translation of our marriage certificate. Clearly a certificate filled out in an Official EU language is unintelligible.
* A document indicating that I have my wife's permission to live in the our apartment. We already have a document from the surveyor about the size of the apartment and how many people are living in it.
* Photocopies of EVERYTHING. They cannot accept originals. We think that is because they don't want the trouble of returning anything, but it is very different from in the United States.
By the way, every one of those documents requires that you purchase a tax stamp. Italians may not collect income tax effectively, but they do know how to collect taxes for every official service provided.
Michael
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