This is a look down one of the streets of Motta. It really doesn't do it justice. It is a rustic town built on a hillside. The doors you see on either side are entryways to people's homes. They open their doors and are right on the street.
Our first stop was for Andrea to get a warm loaf of bread to bring with us to an olive oil pressing plant, so we could sample the product. He had each of us feel through the bag, and it felt like it had been taken out of the oven minutes before he walked into the shop.
The olive oil press we visited is a company that has its own farm and bottles its own olive oil as well as a place local farmers can bring their crop and have it pressed for them
These are some of machines they use to make olive oil. It didn't seem like a big factory, but Andrea said it is one of the bigger ones and I guess they have won all sorts of awards for their oil.
After learning about the equipment, Andrea brought us to the tasting counter and prepared our snack.
Here is my new best friend, Andrea.
After slicing the warm bread, he "killed it with olive oil" as they say here in Italy, and added black pepper and oregano.
He put it back together and sliced 8 perfect slices, and it was delicious! I guess this is another of the Italians favorite mid morning snacks.
After the tasting we were offered the opportunity to purchase some oil. We could buy the oil in a glass bottle with a label as you would see it in the store, or we could purchase a cheap plastic bottle and have them fill it as we waited. In the future, we can just bring our own bottle in and have it filled.
I purchased a liter bottle, which you see the lady filling in the left. Andrea said that would last me a week, not at this point, but maybe if I start to really cook like an Italian. If you look at the silver container on the shelf in the picture on the right, that is how Andrea buys his olive oil. I guess that is a year's supply.
From there we walked to the next room in this big barn like building to a place where they make wine. Like the olive oil, they have it in large vats where you can bring your own bottle and have it filled there.
Andrea said that this wine really needs to be finished withing a day of purchasing it.
After the olive oil and wine tasting, we went into Motta to walk around and learn about shopping at the various markets and stores. Andrea also made us practice our very sad Italian. One of the other women and I were sent into a coffee bar to ask where the bread store was, only to have the woman smile at us (Italians don't smile) and point across the street.
Here is one of the stores we stopped into. It is a deli and butcher shop. I guess if you want water or soda when you are out, this is the place to go for a reasonable price. They will also make you a panini. It is also kind of like a 7-11 in as much as there are a few grocery type items there.
In addition to the deli, we walked into a car parts store, a hardware store, a jewelry store, a hair salon and a spa type store. Another fun Italian fact, if you get a massage in Italy, they will not only massage your whole backside, they will also massage your whole front side, if you know what I mean. Andrea told us it is OK to ask them to limit where they massage us =)
After walking around all day, we stopped into a different deli to get a sandwich
If I could remember the meat I got I would tell you, but I can't. It was a lean beef and very tasty. The Italians don't put sauces on their sandwich. They had something like the antipasta bar at Wegmans and you can pick something from there to put on your panini and give it some moisture. I had grilled eggplant that was in oil kind of like sun-dried tomatoes are in. It was delicious!
On my trip I did buy some bread. I got 8 rolls, maybe the size of a small sub roll, and it was only 1 Euro. I also got some asiago cheese where I got my sandwich. It was the best cheese I have tasted! Mike and the kids were happy to help eat the bread and cheese when I got home.
While walking around, I was able to chat with Andrea a little bit. He had met Tommy and knew that he is a swimmer. He told me once we get settled and Tommy is more comfortable here, he would be happy to set up for him to go into town and have a swim lesson or work out with an Italian team. He also said he would help me find a viola instructor for Sam. In addition, he has a program called Amici, which means friends. In this program, he matches an Italian family who wants to learn about American culture and practice their English with an American family on base. I believe the Italian families are from the Italian side of the base, so they are military as well, and he tries to match up the families so the kids are of similar ages. Once we feel a little more comfortable, we might look into this. It would be a great way to really learn about Italy.
Fortunately, this will not be my last class with Andrea. He has a cooking class once a month. Each month he takes the group to a different restaurant where they teach how to make some local dish and give hands on opportunities too. The next one is the end of August, right after school starts. I will be signing up next week!
I want to sign up for the cooking classes, as well. I will pass on the massage...
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