Mercato Italiano in the Piazza
Like ‘the light in the piazza’ the morning of the first Mercato Italiano was especially bright, hot and humid; typical of a South Florida morning in what we loosely refer to as ‘autumn’. However, that did not stop the vendors from setting up and displaying their wares on the ‘piazza’ of the Coral Gables Museum [...]
Mercato Italiano
In Italy there are as many different types of markets as there are days of the week. Che fortunata (how fortunate) Societa’ Dante Alighieri has recently moved to Coral Gables and will begin an alfresco market this weekend. The market will take place in the ‘piazza’ of the Coral Gables Museum on Saturday, October 6th - 10 [...]
Coral Gables Museum
As you know I am passionate about Italy as well as my home town city of Coral Gables. In Italia there are an inordinate amount of museums and I am told that Italy possesses 60% of the world’ s art. Not one to be left behind, Coral Gables has recently established its own museum Coral [...]
Italian Lessons
Now that the Societa’ Dante Alighieri has officially moved to Coral Gables (300 Aragon Avenue) there are even more opportunities to learn and practice Italian. The other day my friend Rosamaria called to alert me to a small ad she had seen in the paper for Italian conversation and coffee at Books & Books also located [...]
The Silver Palate
One of the first cook books that I was given, (I did not buy them for myself in those long ago days) was The Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins. It was first published in 1979 when people did not refer to themselves as ‘home chefs’ , the term ‘foodie’ had not been coined, [...]
Peddlers Trail
Not sure if this is the real name or just what I call it, but Peddlers Trail is an area north of Hutchinson Island comprising a string of antique stores winding its way up the Florida coast. My husband and I have spent every summer on Hutchinson Island two hours north of our home in Coral Gables, but [...]
Vino Cotto – Cooked Wine
Vino cotto (cooked wine) was sort of an urban myth from my childhood. The stuff that culinary legends are made of. My grandparents were born in Italy and even though they sought economic relief from their small town of Francavilla, Calabria; every day life necessitated that they utilize and not waste any food products. [...]
Inside La Dolce Villa
No photographer am I. I do not even possess a camera with SLR (single lens reflex – only just learned what that is). Plus no i Phone, therefore no Instragram to attain those wonderful photo effects and no editing program save iPhoto which came installed on my computer Oh the difficulties of staying current in [...]
Tu vuo’ fa l’Americano? (Do you want to be Italian?)
I don’t want to feel that my posts are becoming too serious (are they?) so thought I would try and lighten it up a bit this week. In an effort (continuing) to improve my Italian language skills I ordered the book, The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Brisith author Patricia Highsmith in Italian. After moving myself [...]
Great Grappa
Once upon a time in what seems a lifetime ago during the early 1970′s while living in NYC, I had a job working for American Airlines. All right, it was not the glamorous job of Flight Attendant as personified in Mad Men or the ill fated series Pan Am, but as a secretary in the [...]
Water, Water Everywhere
On a not so recent trip to Italy I was having dinner with my husband and son in the hills of Artimino outside Firenze. We happened upon Da Delfina as we happened upon most places in those early days. We were bound for one destination and arrived at another. Translation: We got lost. Ad ogni modo [...]
What’s in a Name?
When our family traveled to Italy for the first time many, many years ago my son remarked that we should all have Italian names. My given name is Elissa, so that was no problem. My husband Arthur easily became Arturo and our son Matthew morphed into Mateo. But what to call our daughter Lucienne whose name [...]
Depression Glass at Last
Marketplace Opens with Depression Glass My fascination with depression glass goes back many years. As far as antiques, it is the first thing I ever liked. Perhaps it is that I am attracted to the way the light glints off the glass and the pretty colors and patterns. And now, recycling and reusing fits into [...]
Coral Gables – A Mediterranean City At the Gates
Home town Coral Gables My home town of Coral Gables is not unlike the medieval walled cities of Italy in that there are specific entranceways to the city center; however our entrances have not had to fend off warring tribes nor prevent neighboring cities from invading. Instead, they were designed by city founder George Merrick [...]
Mother’s Day Memories
First Mother’s Day I recall my first Mother’s Day spent with my mom and family in New York. There was a feeling of pride as I sat at her table, wearing the corsage that my sentimental brother-in-law, Mickey, had given to me while our young daughter, Lucienne, played at our feet. I experienced the feeling [...]
Say Cheese
One of the best things about being in Italy is the access to freshly made food products, and especially mozzarella. So it was with some anticipation that I made a reservation for an evening at a local establishment, The Cheese Course, to learn the art of making mozzarella. It had to be good, I thought, [...]
Be Italian
My last trip to Italy was one of exploration. My philosophy in life has always been that ‘one must always pay attention.’ So when a friend of a friend introduced me to two young Italian watchmakers, I did just that. When traveling to Italy, other than enjoying the lifestyle, art and culture, my desire [...]
Italian National Day
Italian National Day (Festa della Republicca) is celebrated on the second day of June and commemorates the day Italy became a republic after World War II and the fall of Fascism led by Benito Mussolini in 1946. After 85 years of monarchy, Italy became a Republic, and the monarchs of the House of Savoy were deposed and [...]
