kristina

Almost a year into our station abroad in Italy, without family nearby, we decided it was time to hire some help with Smalls, so I could get out of the house, and perhaps we could even squeeze in a date- night. 

The Major started asking around at work, and mentioned to his Italian language tutor that we were looking for a nanny.  She thought that perhaps her nephew's wife might be interested.

Kristina, a mother of two, had not worked outside of the home in eleven years-since she moved from Croatia to marry her Italian police officer. But she had been working at a hotel when they met - and speaks Italian, English, and I think even a bit of German.   She knows what it is like to be an outsider in Italy, and thanks to her aunt's particularity (especially when it comes to food), she is a fantastic cook. But more on that later...

When we finally met, Smalls fell for Kristina in a way that makes a mother jealous. And relieved. It was a match. And for a year, Kristina has been a part of our family, and a dear friend. 

When we got orders to leave Italy one year early, I felt sad about the missed opportunities we would have as a family in Europe, but I felt a much deeper regret for Smalls - who by then was speaking better Italian than either of her parents, singing Italian songs, counting, and mastering her colors... Not to mention eating the best home cooked lunches a toddler's mother could wish for. 

Seriously, if Kristina made it, Smalls would eat it. Zucchini, lentils, red sauce with ricotta, crepes, pumpkin, risotto, gnocchi, peas, and carrots, were daily sightings on her pasta pranzo. Now, Smalls is also a self-declared vegetarian, so there were a few limits to her culinary adventurousness, but Kristina got her to eat food that made me simultaneously envious, and gleefully thankful. And there was always enough for me to have whatever she was making for lunch, and even leftovers for dinner. 

In fact, Kristina did a heck of a lot of cooking for us. And I looked forward to it every single day. Not because I don't enjoy cooking, but because I learned so much from watching her cook, cooking alongside her, and asking questions about the local cooking, ingredients, and customs. I even traded some typical American recipes with her - since her curiosity about America is about on-par with ours about Italy. 

I know it will take years for me to come close to her mastery of gnocchi - which took only moments to convert my husband. 

And I swear that if we were still in Italy I would not, for one second, share her amazing, and impossible-to-refuse talents for sweets.  With anyone. 

The last thing she taught me to make was chocolate covered cream puffs. 

You would be hard pressed to find a cooking class with a better instructor. 

Our time with Kristina opened our minds and hearts to sharing our home, and trusting the care of our daughter to a stranger. It's not easy to have faith in a society overshadowed by mafia mystery. It's definitely not easy trusting the care of your firstborn child to, well, anyone...

Our fortune was to have crossed paths with a woman who knows how to help a mother in a supportive, loving, and ever cheerful manner. The kind of person who helps you to be a better mother- just by being herself.  

Now, as we prepare to welcome an au pair into our home for the next year, we look forward to the cultural exchange opportunities that are unavoidably guaranteed.  

And we can't wait. 

really nice

For our last major trip before returning stateside, we got last-minute news that The Major was approved for language training in Nice, France. 

There being no objections from the peanut gallery, we headed North towards the blue coast of the French Riviera. 

Along the way we stopped in Rome to visit St. Peter's with Smalls. 

I had been dreading the Vatican. My last visit there was anything but spiritual...  And this time we were encountering a near-miss with the sanctification of two popes, with two popes scheduled for attendance... 

But the reaction by Smalls to the chiesa grande was worth it. 

She is finally old enough to be struck by the grandeur. And it just shows how much she has grown in our time here. 

Finally, instead of sleeping through the experience, she got to explore some of the curiosities.

And it was quite lovely to roam the city without the pressure of seing anything in particular - which of course allowed us to enjoy everything we did discover just a little more...

Smalls took a decidedly "when in Rome" attitude and mounted a tiny trusted steed. 

Then it was off to collect balsamic in Modena for our shipment back home.  We stumbled into town just at the right time for lunch. 

At the highest rated restaurant in the city...

 

So we sampled some fantastic fresh pasta,

And steak in balsamic...

And where else but Italy would you be served warm prunes in balsamic for desert?

Seriously delish. 

Like so many things edible in Italy, sounds like nothing you would ever order - till you try it...  Then you wonder why in the world you thought it would be a bad idea.  

Tricky Italy. 

After locating the dispensary, 

We dropped a small fortune on a year's supply of liquid pleasure. 

We may have gone a bit overboard...

Then again, wait till you see the wine collection...

As we headed onwards to Milan, I really had one thing on my mind...

And thanks to the Major's navigational SA (situational awareness), we hit our target shortly after checking in to the hotel. 

His aptitude for finding (or re-finding) edible treats, leads me to believe that arriving in cities just in time for dinner, but too late for any kind of shopping - with the exception of through windows -

Is probably much more than a coincidence...

But since we have a date set to meet our new au pair and her family in Aqua Terme, we leave Milan sans fashion statements, with happy bellies once again. 

...and speaking of happy bellies... 

Our lunch date with the Au Pair's family turned into A Big Night kind of an affair. It was like the food would never stop appearing from the kitchen. 

Smalls got a heavy dose of cheek pinching and hand kissing, and within minutes was dragging her new playmate from room to room, exploring.  We left with Smalls chattering, rehashing her day with the au pair, all of us a little more excited about the adventure approaching around the corner. 

Two weeks in Nice went by in a flash of baked goods, 

playgrounds,

 and foie gras. 

Smalls and I made a concentrated effort to walk more than we stopped to eat, but France was at her best, throwing crepes with sea salted caramel, 

and even an artiginal, organic gelateria (serving lavender and chocolate-orange flavors) in our path. 

Fortunately these stumbling blocks were matched by the massive underwater themed playground, 

with a life-sized whale,

and public splash park. 

Of course, there was also the sparkling blue beach,

And hilltop parks with amazing views...

On our last night we went for an accidental epic adventure looking for an open creperie. Failing miserably, we happened upon an interesting looking eaterie with a fixed menu. Normally this would not be our first choice - however - there IS something relaxing about letting someone else make the decisions. Especially when you don't speak the language...

When our first course, bowls of asparagus soup, arrived, and Smalls commandeered one for herself, we knew that we had made a good decision. 

When the next plates arrived full of celery "foam", I was sure The Major was instantly over it. 

But the next couple of courses balanced out the eclectic offerings,

and the decorative desert more than sealed the deal. For two of us, at least...

As we headed back down south, we swung through Montepulciano, to taste a couple of wines,

and continue the education of our sommelier...

But she was unsurprisingly more interested in the frozen offerings.

Really it was just a pit stop en route to our final destination - the medieval city of Casperia, outside of Rome, for a lesson in olive oil. 

A city without cars - due to the tiny streets and Escher-evoking staircases, 

We tasted the history of olive oil overlooking Roman hills. 

It was the perfect way to round out our culinary adventures. 

replay

We woke up yesterday in Italy. 

Today it is Alabama. 

The past two years in Italy have truly been an adventure.

Thanks to the chaos of city life, we have learned to better appreciate simplicity, and tranquility. 

Which is good, since our next destination will be very quiet, or so we have heard…

The Major has learned how to negotiate dozens of nations, their political policies, their road rules, and a couple of their languages. 

Smalls has careened through fourteen countries, four micro-nations, and has developed the strangest pallet an American toddler could manage. Black truffle risotto, and asparagus soup are on the top of the list, however, she has yet to encounter a happy meal from you-know-where…. In fact, we tricked her into eating French fries recently by offering her "dips". She was ambivious about the catsup, instead opting for my favorite - the European chip dip of choice - mayonnaise. 

Our last weekend in Italy we decided to spend downtown in Naples. 

To be honest, we haven't really spent much time there. Something about always looking somewhere else for entertainment... we start to realize just how much we have not yet seen in our own backyard...  

Of course Naples IS messy, and dirty, and there is crime...  

And our apartment just north of the city in Pozzuoli, kept us out of the fray... 

But the history and beauty... 

And of course the food...

Perhaps the Neapolitans enjoy some mystery and elusiveness to their city. 

For there is real magic to its existence...

That might be spoiled by too much popularity. 

Or perhaps we were just won over. 

One pizza at a time.