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Taking a Guided Winery Tour

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This was one of our best days in the Piemonte! Why so great, you ask? Because we got to visit four great wineries with our new friend, Matteo.

Our wine guide for the day, Matteo Montegazza

Of course, you can find wineries to visit on the internet before you go to Italy, and then see them on your own. And we’ve done that. However, it was so much more fun and relaxing to let Matteo drive us around the Langhe to four excellent out-of-the-way wineries that we would not normally find on our own. It turns out that you don’t have to be a big, mega-winery to produce excellent wines.

Here’s what we did!


Aurelio Settimo Winery

Matteo picked us up Villa Gremi’, our lodging for the week, to start our day at Aurelio Settimo winery, on the slope just below the town of La Mora. Laura greeted us and acted as our host for the tour and tasting.

As we toured the vineyards, we were astonished to see that the soil shown in this photo is considered to be very good soil for growing grapes. It’s called calcareous, for the calcium from ancient limestone laid down when seas covered Italy. 

Don’t adjust your monitors, folks…this is not a black and white photo! And this this is ‘the good stuff’. Go figure.

 

Laura informed us that the Settimo’s settled here in 1943 and began working their land to grow a mixed bag of vineyards, fruit trees, hazelnuts, hens, rabbits and cows.  Aurelio’s father, Domenico, soon realized the value of his grapes and he began to bottle his wine under the Settimo Dominico label. When Domenico passed away 1962, Aurelio took over the family business, and he decided to focus on just the growing of grapes, abandoning the farming and animal breeding activities. He extended the vineyards and created the Aurelio Settimo label. For about 10 years, he sold 50% of his grapes to other wineries. Then in 1974 he began to vinify all his grapes on site. Since Aurelio’s death in 2007, his daughter Tiziana has been successfully running the family business.

Here, we are in the vineyards of Aurelio Settimo. That hilltop tree in the distance is an iconic symbol of Langhe.

This is a small cluster of Nebbiolo grapes, the key to Barolo and Barbaresco wines. These grapes were left on the vine after hand-picked harvesting due to their inferior quality.

 

Now, from the vineyards to the winery. The large cask below holds a Barolo Riserva Roche Annunziata 2012. And, this cask was constructed by Gamba, one of the largest producers of wood barrels and casks in Italy — for seven generations.

This is the first winery where we saw glass-lined concrete tanks used for the ‘finished’ wines, before aging in oak casks.

 

So you ask, “Just what wines do they produce at this nice, small winery?” Glad you asked!

There are 6 different labels produced here. This includes a Rose’ wine called Sett, Dolcetto d’Alba, Langhe Nebbiolo, a traditional Barolo, their special Barolo Rocche dell’Annunciata, and right now aging to perfection for you is a Barolo Riserva Rocche dell’Annunciata.

The four wines we tasted are in italics.

Cases of Aurelio Settimo Barolo Rocce dell’Annunziata wine are ready for shipment.


Our next stop was Damilano, though this was not a visit to their winery proper, but just their tasting room.

At Damilano, Alicia presented us four, tasty, locally vinified wines. The tasting of four wines seemed to be typical of today’s tastings.

First was a white Arneis (which we had fallen in love wih a couple of days earlier in Neive), Barbera d’Alba Lablu, Nebbiolo Marghe, and a Barol Cerequio.

 

What we didn’t try was one of the bottles in this photo. These riserva wines (reserve wines – aged longer before release) average over $200 a bottle.

 

Later, as we conferred in the car, we each agreed that the Damilano wines were excellent.


LUNCH TIME

Our next stop was lunch at Trattoria Cascina Schiavenza, advertised as a ‘typical kitchen of the Langhe’.

 

The terrace provides a nice view of the surrounding countryside.

 

As we waited for our food, Ellen pulled out watercolor pencils and paper for each of us, including Matteo…budding artists, all.

And of course, we tried another bottle of Arneis, which seems to be a reoccurring theme, doesn’t it?

The menu shows what we had for lunch. Reading down the menu, the highlighted dishes we had are shown from left to right in the photos, above.

A porcini mushroom crepe, an antipasto plate, ravioli with a browned-butter sage sauce, a tajarin pasta ragu, and a Barolo-braised beef.


Our next stop was just feet away, as the Schiavenza winery is connected to the family’s ristorante.

The entrance to the winery entrance is unassuming.

 

Here we see Matteo with Waldo, our host.

 

Once again, we came across concrete wine casks, as can be seen in the distance in this photograph.

 

What’s Leslie measuring in this photo? Waldo had just told us how the casks were cleaned after being emptied. He says that he climbs through that little arched opening and brushes and hoses out the casks…and he wasn’t kidding.

 

So, were the Schiavenza wines tasty? Of course they were!


This is our last stop today and it was super fun.  Francesca led us through the winery before our tasting…though we did seem to do a bit of tasting right out of the wine casks! That was a first for us.

 

There was quite the discussion going on about which of the tapped casks we enjoyed the most.

Leslie had to get another taste before making her decision. Smart girl! No use rushing to judgement.

 

A toast to Giovanni Rosso wines was in order. And oh, by the way, we haven’t even made it to the tasting room yet!

Francesca next served up 4 wines for tasting. They were, a typical Barolo, a Barolo Serra, a Barolo Cerretta, and a Langhe Nebbiolo. All were excellent!

 

Here we are at the end of our wonderful day of winery touring. That’s Ellen, me, our new friend Matteo, Leslie and Craig. It was a wonderful day.

 

Dinner

And the evening wasn’t so bad, either. That night, the four us dined in La Mora at Osteria More e Macine.

At this osteria, the menu is presented on a chalkboard.

And what a surprise as we were presented with a bottle of Prosecco, complements of Matteo. As I said, it was a wonderful day, and a wonderful evening.

 

And where did we leave our evening? Right back where we started the day…with a bottle of the fine Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata from the Aureiio Settimo winery.

 

The food was delish! Especially that orange-glazed pork belly…yum!

We had many toasts on our trip…and here is one to complete our wonderful day in the Langhe.


Here is information that I hope you will find helpful:


Are you planning to visit Piemonte? Then the Barolo-Langhe region should be in your plans, also. And as you are there, please consider dropping Matteo an email, or call, to arrange a most excellent day of touring, tasting, laughing, and friendship.

Ciao for now,

Steve

The Results Are In -- Part 15

I’m really excited to let you know that Black & White Magazine has once again elected to publish some of my photos as award winners. The “Special Issue 2019 Contest Winners” for single images was published in February, 2019. The term ‘single image’ is in contrast to recognition for a ‘portfolio’ of several images (like the New Orleans portfolio I previously showed here).

In this current issue, the editors selected three of my photos for publication. And one was even a photo from Italy!

 

Laundry Day

The photo from Italy is found on page 80 and is titled ‘Laundry Day, Isola Burano, 2012”.

Laundry Day, Isola Burano, 2012

Burano is a lovely and colorful island in the Venetian lagoon. Almost every house is painted in bright colors, though you could not tell that from the photo above. The wall in the photo is a nice lemon yellow. You can see a color version in my print store here.

I love this simple composition. And, I like that the laundry is from the toddler's room...complete with baby-blue, bunny-rabbit sheets and pullups.  You may have seen this photo before, as the judges for the International Black & White Spider Awards liked this one, too, as they gave it a 2nd Place - Merit of Excellence Award in their 2014 contest.

 

Sunset Gospel

On page 40 you will find a familiar photo from “The Results Are In — Part 14'“. The photo is titled “Sunset Gospel, Grenville, New Mexico, 2014”. To find out more about this photo, see the aforementioned article.

Sunset Gospel, Grenville, New Mexico, 2014

 

Rapid Transit

Finally, here is an old favorite that I captured on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Pedicabs are a great way to negotiate the streets of New Orleans, and I had fun ‘slurring’ many photos as they passed by, using a very slow shutter speed as I panned my camera. This one was my favorite. The color version was nominated in the 7th Annual International Pollux Awards back in 2015.

On page 189 you can find, “Rapid Transit, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2012

Rapid Transit, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2012

 

OK, consider my horn as tooted! Now it’s time that I got back to thinking about, and writing about, good times in Italy. I’ll fill you in on that sort of thing very soon!

Ciao for now,

Steve

Learning to Cook Italian

Who doesn’t love Italian food?! Not many of you, I’m sure. It’s become one of our favorite comfort foods: think of a fettuccine pasta with a Bolognese sauce on a cold winter day. Or a four-cheese ravioli with a brown-butter-sage sauce almost anytime.  Buon appetito!

We spent a few fun hours learning techniques for preparing some typical Italian dishes from two experts — Patrizia and Mama at Per Tutti I Gusti.  The ‘we’ I refer to were in-laws Leslie and Craig, wife Ellen, and me. And let’s not forget new friends — newlyweds Lihi & Ido, Barbara & Jim, and Linda & Kevin. The twelve of us had plenty of room to move around Patrizia’s well-appointed working kitchen. Enough talk – let’s get started!

 

Per Tutti I Gusti is located on the spine of one of the many Piemonte piemonte (that would be ‘foothills’, which is why this region of Italy is called ‘Piemonte’) about 4 twisty-turny miles above and northeast of the town of Alba. As you can see on the aerial view, agriculture is king here, with vineyards and orchards along both sides of the road. And oh, be sure to slow down on that hairpin curve!

But enough talk…let’s cook!

 

OK, I need to talk just a tad bit more. This article will be relying on a great new program from Adobe that is free for all to use. It is called Adobe Spark. It allows you to create web pages with very little effort, whether you are using your computer, smart phone or iPad-like device. It is as simple as dragging-and-dropping your photos into Spark and then adding captions if you want. It’s as easy as scrolling to view your newly-created web page.

So, I now direct you to a Spark page that I created to show you our most excellent cooking adventure. Just click the button and then scroll away.

Want to create your own Spark page? See how here at Spark.


Finally, here are a few photos of two of my grandkids helping me to make pasta at home, now that we know how to do so, thanks to Per Tutti I Gusti. We are using my new, fully electric ‘Imperia Restaurant’ pasta sheeter with cutter attachment.


Are you planning to go to Italy? (If not, why the heck not?!) I would strongly suggest that you work Piemonte into your plans. And after doing that, go ahead and work in a few hours of cooking instruction at: Per Tutti I Gusti


I hope you enjoyed making an Italian lunch with us! Until next time buon appetito, and…

Ciao for now,

Steve



Milano : Go? or, No Go?

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[NOTE: If you don’t envision ever traveling to Milano for a bit of sightseeing, you might want to skip this rather wordy article…but at least take a look at the photos to see if your interest might be peeked]

This article focuses on the cultural side of Italy, usually found while you are in one of the larger cities. The question I put before you is, ‘Should you spend a significant amount of your precious time in Milano?’

OK, you are planning a trip to Italy. You will have limited time, and you want to make the most of that time whilst there. Generally, there are two potential primary venues for your trip’s focus. Perhaps you want a cultural experience -- one where you find yourself in the larger, history-laden Italian cities, with a focus on art museums and churches. Or, maybe you will be focusing on the Italian countryside experience -- its people, land, wine and food. More than likely, you will be shooting for a bit of both of these venues.

This article focuses on the cultural side of Italy, usually found while you are in one of the larger cities. The question I put before you is, “Should you spend a significant amount of your precious time in Milano?” Here is my opinion.

An Italian city’s cultural draw is not defined by its population. For instance, Rome is the largest city at 2.3-million people, and has a huge cultural footprint (more below).  But Florence, Italy’s 8th-largest city, has only 350,000, and also super-cultural. And then there’s little Venice, which is chock-a-block full of culture, but is the 110th-largest city, and tips in at only 50,000 Venetians!

Of course there are undeniably many other cities of culture in Italy, like Verona, Palermo, Turin, Bologna, Naples and others; but, I am confident that the three cities of Rome, Florence and Venice make up the Big-3 for those seeking overall cultural satisfaction. And, if you go to the website of a city-aggregating travel agency, you will find, front-and-center, itineraries for Rome-Florence-Italy, complete with connecting first-class trains. 

Now, let’s add Milano to the list of biggest cities, as it is indeed Italy’s second largest city – tipping in at about 1.2-million inhabitants. So, it’s a big city. But, does that mean it’s worth a significant amount of your sightseeing time if you are seeking the most interesting cultural sights? 

I have spent time in Rome, Milano, Florence and Venice seeking my own Italian-cultural awakening. Though Rome is a good bit larger, it has a charm that is missing in Milano. Consider Rome’s centro storico, or historical center.  It is about 5 square miles and holds most all of what you would think about when you think of Rome – that would be the Vatican, with its museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s, the Spanish Steps, Forum, Colosseum, catacombs, Trevi fountain, Piazza Colonna, Pantheon, Campo de Fiori, Piazza Navona, Villa Borghese, Piazza Venezia, Trastevere, a whole bunch of beautiful churches, and many, many museums – pretty much everything you would want to see if visiting the whole of Rome…and it’s all right there in one central location.

Then there is Florence. It is considered to be one of the most walkable cities in the world, and at its fabulous centro storico, you find almost all it has to offer in less than a 1/3-square-mile area. In that area is the: Duomo with climbable dome and Baptistery; Accademia where David stands tall; storied Uffizi Gallery with over 100 rooms and a 5-hour wait in the summer; Ponte Vecchio, intentionally left undamaged by the Germans in WW2; Piazza delle Signora; Basilica Santa Croce, housing Gallileo’s tomb, among others; Santa Maria del Fiore; Pallazo Pitti; Boboli Gardens; Basilica of Santa Maria Novella; all of the Medici lore and properties; etc.

And then there’s Venice. It’s unique in that the centro storico is pretty much the whole lagoon island of Venice proper, with its six sestiere making up an area about 1.25 miles square. Add in the charming and historical parts of the Giudeca, the island of Murano, as well as the island of Burano. The whole place is full of historical charm, art, architecture, etc. Almost by definition, it’s a floating museum that is assuredly impossible to understand until you’ve been there.

And now to Milano. Milano, in my humble opinion, has a centro storico of about 5 square blocks, not miles. That area contains the Duomo with its piazza, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and La Scala. To be sure, there are museums like the Sforza Castle, monuments and piazzas galore in Milano. But they are spread out over an area of less-than-charming commercial/residential neighborhoods with their maze of crowded streets.  And of course there’s Piazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie, where Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’ masterpiece can be found, which is about a not-in-anyway-charming mile from the centro storico.

I’m not trying to beat up on Milano, but as a tourist with limited time to spend in Italy, there is much more to see of historical interest in Rome and, of course, Venice, and then of course, Florence. If you want to see the sights of Milan, I would say that you can do it easily in a day…I’ve done it twice…once on a 3-hour train layover and more recently in about a 5 hour visit.

But don’t let me denigrate the cultural features within Milano’s centro storico, because they do have some magnificent features, though they be few.

 

The Duomo of Milano

First, is the Duomo. This basilica has the most fascinating façade of any you will find in Italy, or anywhere else for that matter. To be exact, there are 3,400 statues, 135 gargoyles and 700 other figures that decorate the exterior of the Duomo of Milano!

It is the largest church in Italy (remember that St. Peter's Basilica is in the ‘country’ of Vatican City), the third largest in Europe and the fourth largest in the world.

What we find so interesting is that you are encouraged to walk around on the roof. It is such a treat to be way up there among all of those carved features. The tricky walking ‘path’ is such that one would not be allowed this opportunity within the U.S. And everywhere you look, there seems to be a statue, either sitting atop a spire, or embedded within some other feature.

Did you know that Napoleon was crowned King if Italy at the Duomo in 1805? Well, he was – though ‘Italy’ was a rather loose term at the time, with the country of Italy being established in only 1861. And as the time for his coronation approached, he directed that the embellishments of the Duomo’s façade be quickly completed at the expense of France. Though the façade was completed, France never coughed up the funds. Maybe the check got lost in the mail?

Yes, the inside of the church is large, though a bit austere. Nothing like the embellishments of St Peter’s in Rome.

 

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Now to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is basically a shopping mall. But not just any mall. Built in the mid-1860s, it has a four-story double arcade (like a plus sign), all covered with glass, and with a central glass dome.

The ends of each of the four entrances are open, so a nice breeze passes through. It’s named after the first king of the true Kingdom of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II.

Note the statues adorning the walls of the fourth floor…you can see them in the previous photo, also…and each is different

The floors are covered in mosaic-patterned marble and all-in-all, it is a very impressive sight. Especially considering when it was designed and constructed…about the time of our U.S. Civil War.

Of course, Milano is the fashion capital of Italy, and the Galleria has it all.

I was fortunate to join a supermodel photo shoot as they were strutting their stuff in the Galleria.

 

La Scala Opera

If you are an opera fan, you probably dream of attending one of your favorites at the La Scala opera house. It was originally known as the Nuovo Regio Ducale Teatro alla Scala (New Royal-Ducal Theatre at the Scala).

It’s called the ‘new’ theater because the original one burned down in 1776, about the time our forefathers were signing the Declaration of Independence. At the site of the new opera house was the church of Santa Maria alla Scala (that would be St Mary of the Ladder, by the way…go figure), which was de-consecrated and torn down to make way for the now-famous La Scala.

Whatever you might call it, call the inside of La Scala beautiful.

But in spite of its beauty, the opera fans can get quite rowdy…it they don’t like a singer, they will let it be known. You’re going to love what happened during the 2006 season opener. When his rendition of the duet aria Celeste Aida was greeted by boos and whistles, Roberto Alagna, a world-renowned tenor, stopped singing and walked off, leaving his startled partner in the duet stranded on stage. The understudy Antonello Palombi was literally thrown onto the stage a few moments later, dressed in jeans rather than a costume. In case you are wondering, Antonello did well. I don’t know about you, but I would have loved to have been there to see that!

 

Leonardo De Vinci’s Last Supper

About a mile outside of the centro storico you will find Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’. It is located next to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in an unassuming museum called Cenacolo Vinciano.

You must get tickets in advance, and as they are quite popular and are released only two-months in advance, you’ve got to be prepared. Alternatively, various tour companies gather up bundles of tickets. We used GetYourGuide for ours. The folks in the photo at right-above don’t look very happy…they just walked a mile in the Milano heat along streets crowded with traffic to get to the second half of this ‘Best of Milan Tour’…we taxied.

The Last Supper is located at one end of a large, windowless room. We were captivated by the painting and its size…it’s really big at 15’ by 30’.

The friars did something really strange to the painting. The kitchen lay behind the wall of the painting (which didn’t help to create a humidity-controlled atmosphere), so they cut a hole in the wall, removing Christ’s feet, as well as those of some of His disciples. A couple of Da Vini’s assistants painted large canvases of his masterpiece, and these are well preserved today, giving us a much better idea of what the original work looked like. These paintings were used by the restorers to fill in missing information.

The Last Supper is not-quite-a-fresco. If it was a true fresco, it would be in much better shape. A fresco is painted on wet plaster and when it dries, the paint is embedded into the plaster. Da Vinci painted the Last Supper on already-dried plaster, which has led to a bit of peeling (actually, a lot of peeling) and several restorations over the years.

Here is what the painting looked like in 1975, before significant restoration at the turn of our century. We were pleased to see the current, restored version.

Turns out that Leonardo was a bit spirited. A prior from the monastery complained to Da Vinci about the amount of time it was taking him to finish the painting (from 1495 to 1498). Leonardo wrote to the abbot of the monastery, explaining he had been struggling to find the perfect villainous face for Judas’, and that if he could not find a face corresponding with what he had in mind, he would use the features of the prior who complained. Hah!

Here are the names of the apostles in the painting, from your left to right: Bartholomew, James the Minor, Andrew, Judas, Peter, John, Jesus, Thomas, James the Greater, Phillip, Matthew, Jude and Simon.

Last_supper_right_wall.jpg

During WWII, the allies did a bit of bombing in our fight against the Germans. At least one bomb landed on the friary, but in anticipation of such an event, the painting was protected, as can be seen in this photo.

 

There is a wall-covering painting by Giovanni Donato called ‘Crucifixion’ at the other end of the room. This one is in better shape, as it is a true fresco, painted on wet plaster.

 

So, that’s about it for cultural interest, though as stated before, there are other museums scattered around Milano. If you find yourself in Milano by design or in a layover, by all means, take a few hours to see these fabulous sights. Otherwise, if you have one day in Italy to see historic sights, spend it in Rome, Venice or Florence, where each is full of fascinating things to see. Have two days? Then spend them in those same cities, as you can easily fill those two days in each. Do you have a week you want to dedicate to historical sights? Then divide your time among those cities. After you’ve satisfied yourself with what you’ve seen in Rome, Florence and Venice, then go spend a day in Milano.


How I Would See Cultural Milano

Here’s how I would see Milan: take a tour…one that includes the historical area around the Duomo, as well as Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’.  You will find nice, live-guided, English-spoken tours by searching for (in no particular order) Veditalia, Viator, GetYuorGuide, Trip Advisor, and others. Or, if you are in the off-season when you don’t have to fight for entrance tickets (if that time actually exists!), see the sights on your own. Have a nice street-side trattoria lunch and a roof-top dinner. Then, as Milano is the transportation hub of Northern Italy, get up in the morning and head to points north (like the Lake District), points east (like Verona and Venice), points south (like Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi coast, and Sicily), or points west (like Piemonte and Cinque Terra). There is so much more to see and do in Italy than to wander the uninteresting and disagreeable, traffic-laden streets of Milano.  


In closing, for me, whether to visit Milano depends on:

  1. How much time you have to spend in Italy;

  2. How much of that time you want to spend on historical art and architecture, versus Italy’s charming countryside; and

  3. Whether you’ve already seen the cultural sights of the aforementioned cities.

By now, I think you probably get the point…at least I hope so.

And I’ll probably visit Milano again at some point. If you’re climbing those spiral, stone steps to the top of the Duomo, that’s probably me just ahead of you doing the huffing-and-puffing on the way up!

Ciao for now,

Steve

The Results Are In -- Part 14

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While I was away for a bit, I am pleased to say that recognition of my photography once again came my way. This particular recognition came from the Vermont PhotoPlace Gallery. The gallery is located in the oldest remaining residence in Middlebury, Vermont. It was built in 1799 as a residence for the foreman of the water mill on Otter Creek. I haven’t been there, but it’s said to be a beautiful structure, with sagging, hand-hewn beams of lumber from local virgin forest of yesteryear.

I received word that one of my photos was selected for the juried show of July, 2018 — a show simply titled, “Black & White 2018”. Each year this gallery departs from a specific monthly theme to display black and white photos that they feel merit exhibition.

Here is the photo that was selected for the exhibition. I have titled this photo, “Sunset Gospel” — a play on the fact that the sun has set on this particular old church.

Sunset Gospel

I am always pleased when one of my personal favorite photos is selected for framing and exhibition, and this one is one of my favorites. i was doubly pleased (is that possible?) that my photo was selected for two other honors for the exhibition: it was blown up to 36” x 54” for the large banner advertising the upcoming showing; and it was the featured photo on their website’s banner, shown below.

WebsiteBanner.jpg

The story of how the photo came about is typical of my photo journeys through the southwest. I am drawn to the communities that have begun to fade away, or have already done so. There were hopes and dreams involved with each structure I find abandoned. Someone selected a paint color, cooked in a kitchen that they organized, worked in a shop, preached at a pulpit, taught in front of a blackboard, served up a chicken-fried steak that probably covered the plate. So many busted dreams and broken hearts. But I hope along the way there were times of love, snuggling, happiness, warmth, success and fulfillment.

I came upon this structure in Grenville, New Mexico, just before sunset. Grenville is located between Clayton and Raton. Though I have traveled this road often, I had not noticed this small community sitting just off the highway. According to census figures, the population of Grenville in 2000 was 25 souls. Here is a photo of Grenville as it sits today. The red rectangle defines the building depicted in Sunset Gospel.

Here is the main entrance from the highway to the Village of Grenville.

Though not going strong, I’m guessing that Grenville is not at all down and out. A welcome sign, some concrete sidewalk, a picnic table with a tiny bit of afternoon shade, and a community center complete with a piano, are testament to community pride. I’m guessing that those who live here enjoy their community. I’m optimistic that their hopes and dreams are being realized each day while hundreds pass by without even noticing the place they call home — which is probably the way they like it.

Sorry for the departure from things Italian! We’ll get back to Italy next time.

Ciao for now,

Steve