Survive and Thrive

Thursday was a day just for spouses at INDOC, and it was my favorite day.  On Thursday we went to Motta, a small town right near base.  It was just 7 women and Andrea, which really allowed us to ask questions and learn alot about Italy and its culture.

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!

Lido Azzuro

Wednesday was our field trip to a beach.  Instead of the nice cushy bus we took into Catania, we got to ride on what essentially was a school bus.  The kids were so excited

In Catania, there is an area of beaches known as La Playa.  Here there are several Lidos, which are beaches with an entrance fee.  There are also some beaches where you don't have to pay.  The Lido we went to was Lido Azzuro

In the lidos, you can pay just for entry, which allows you to take part in the services provided once inside.

Here are some signs you see when you enter the lido which indicate some of the services they provide.

They had foosball tables, soccer areas, volley ball areas, a kiddie pool, and more.

If you want to pay more than the entry fee, you can get chairs with an umbrella or a beach hut with chairs and your own changing room

We got the chairs and umbrellas for the afternoon.  There are vendors that are constantly walking around like you find at a baseball game.  They sell jewelry, blow up beach toys, sunglasses, sun screen, water, and massages.  Yes, you can pay a woman to give you a massage right there in your beach chair.  It was nice that a drink guy walks around so you don't have to get up and wait in line to get some water or soda.  I think one guy was selling beer, as well.

This was the view from my seat.

Tommy and I walked down to the water.  However, the kids were afraid to walk around because someone might talk to them in Italian and they didn't know what they would do.  So mostly they sat in their seats.  It was a relaxing afternoon.

The water was really calm and felt cool at first but you got used to it quickly.  Of course it was probably 100 degrees outside, so even if the water was in the 80s it would have felt cool.

In addition, they had a DJ playing and a stage where they sometimes invited little kids to dance and sometimes they had dance leaders and played disco music...

You can kind of see the stage from here.  The yellow shirts are the dance leaders. It seems as though every song has a specific group dance that goes with it, and everyone wants to be there in front of the stage dancing.

At 1:00 we met up at the restaurant in the lido for lunch.  It was cafeteria style.  Thankfully we could just point and ask for what we wanted.  The food was good, and the portions were huge.  I decided to try this Sicilian soda that Andrea had told us about.

Andrea said that people either really love it or really hate it.  Sam, Tommy and I all tried it, and we did not like it.  There is a strong after taste and it kind of tastes like medicine.

Across from the Lido was a big outdoor pool with stadium seating.  Tommy decided he would like to swim there.  There was also a familiar site

A YMCA. 

It was a nice day, and the lido is a great way to go to the beach!  Fortunately, the bus right outside housing stops right in front of the lido, so it will be very easy to go back if we want.

Catania Field Trip

This week has been the final week of INDOC, and the most interesting by far!  Monday was all day classroom time learning survival Italian and about Italian culture.  Tuesday we went into Catania.  Wednesday we spent at a beach, and Thursday I had the spouses Survive and Thrive class in the town of Motta.

Andrea is the gentleman in charge of ICR.  He was born in Australia and lived there until he was 12, however, his parents are from Sicily.  So he speaks Italian and Sicilian like a native and speaks English with an Australian accent, and he is constantly having to translate his native languages into American English.  He does a fantastic job, but does get stuck every now and then.  He seems to know everyone and everything around and loves to share it with us newbies, and even throughout our stay here.  I am sure he will be my go to guy.

*Fun (and important) Italian Fact we learned on Monday, not only do public restrooms not have a toilet seat, they most likely do not have toilet paper.  So you must always travel prepared!*

So Tuesday, 46 of us boarded a nice bus for our tour of Catania, the largest city close to Sigonella.  We learned how to take a bus to the beach, to the main bus and train station and to the bus stop that will get us to the center of the City.

  Once at the main bus station, it is a short walk to the Piazza Duomo, which basically translates to Cathedral Square.  You know you have arrived because there is a large Cathedral....

There is also a statue of an elephant.  It is a special elephant and is called u Liotru

From here we walked down Via Etnea, which is a major shopping district in Catania.  They had everything from Foot Locker, to Coin (an Italian Department Store which reminded me of Sibley's in Midtown), to all sorts of little specialty stores, bars (which is where you get coffee here) and restaurants.

I think that is the beginning of Via Etnea between those to buildings.  The biggest market around is right off of Via Etnea.  It is a flea market and has anything and everything you can imagine!  There is an area with fresh produce and meat and fish.  There are all sorts of clothes and shoes and sunglasses, and everything else!

Sam checking out her new obsession.

Hi Tommy!

The market goes on and on.  I think we probably didn't even see half of it.  There is also a fresh fish market, but we didn't get over to see it.  We tried to find the castle that was nearby, but we missed the turn and instead got a walking tour of the neighborhood around the city.  There is also another shopping district, Corso Italia I think it is called, which has all the really high end shops.  We didn't make it there, but have plans to.

After 2 1/2 hours on our own, we met up with the group at a local 5 star restaurant.

That is the building where the restaurant is.  The statue in front is of a cardinal.  I think that he is the one whose body is in a glass box in the cathedral from the square.  We didn't get in there, but Andrea told us his face is covered with a brass mask so it isn't too scary.

This is the name of the restaurant.

The lunch was 20 Euro for a 5 course meal.

Water was included in the meal and was served in bottles.  As soon as the table finished a bottle they would bring a new one.  Soda, beer, and wine were available.  They were 2 Euro each and you had to pay for them when you ordered them, they are not added to the bill.

  We all had an appetizer plate

We each had a plate that looked like this and had fried cheese (top left), bruchetta, something made with chickpea flour and then fried, and a rice ball.  It was all delicious!

Then we had a pasta course.  I think normally you would pick which pasta you wanted, but we got both.

This was wonderful!  It is pasta with pistachio sauce.  We all loved it.  I only ate about half, knowing we had a lot more food coming, but everyone else cleaned their plate.

This is pasta normale, which is pasta with red sauce and chunks of eggplant.  Delicious, but given a choice we would all pick the pistachio pasta.  I guess we are near a big pistachio region, so that is why they have that kind of sauce around here.

Then came our main course.  There were 4 offerings, so we each got a different one.

Tommy decided to try the fried calamari.  He said it was very good.  In Sicily, seafood, meat, and chicken are not served with sauces or dressings, only lemon or lime.  As you can see, this is also the time when they brought the bread.  Instead of filling up on tons of bread before our meal, we got to enjoy each course and only had 1 roll each.  I guess in Italy they never serve bread with pasta, you either have bread or pasta.

Sam went for the lemon chicken, and ate about half of what was given her.  I tried some, and it was yummy.

Mike had the grilled swordfish and enjoyed it.

And I had the grilled vegetables, which were amazing!  All they use is olive oil and salt and lemon, and nothing else is needed!  Again, I didn't finish because I knew we had dessert coming.

Sorry this is not the greatest photo.  Dessert was a small slice of a lemon cake which had lemon custard between the layers and a small slice of an almond flavor cake.  Almonds are a big deal here in the summer.  Both just melted in your mouth.

After we filled our bellies, we headed back to the bus and back to base.  It was a great learning experience. The city bus actually stops right at the gate of the housing area, so we can easily hop on the bus and get to the city and avoid the headaches and fees with parking.

Tomorrow I will post about our trip to the beach.