tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:05:32 +0000Genoa is the crookedest and most incoherent of cities; tossed about on the sides and crests of a dozen hills, it is seamed with gullies and ravines that bristle with palaces... Henry James, 1877http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Mary)Blogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-3523925221504455641Sun, 08 May 2011 15:45:00 +00002011-05-08T17:45:15.792+02:00 One of my many character flaws is that I am easily distracted.   Life takes a hold of me by the throat, shakes me around a little bit and I fly off in an unanticipated direction focused, or obsessed as Ollie calls it, with some random project until I get distracted by something else.  My most recent focus has been my ongoing quest for an Italian driver's license, ahttp://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2011/05/camogli-visit-to-town-of-houses-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-1820567805539967427Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:22:00 +00002010-09-28T14:22:34.258+02:00 One of Sarzana's charming streets Before I tell about our trip to Sarzana, I need to make an admission.  My plan to take the Italian Driver's License test in Italian has changed.  I spent several weeks translating the manual, answering questions, and banging my head against the wall realizing all the while that I could still be doing this a year from now at the rate I've been going.&http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/09/sarzana.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-7212589496360581533Sat, 11 Sep 2010 19:24:00 +00002010-09-11T21:24:55.197+02:00As you will recall, in my last post I told you that trains were the best way to see Italy.  I stand by my position, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I must tell you that there are a few little issues you should be aware of when traveling in Italy by train.  First of all, the trains are occasionally late.  OK, I said full disclosure, so let's be honest here, how about often http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/09/last-train-to-lucca.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-6553207997499140892Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:38:00 +00002010-09-08T14:38:01.244+02:00Oh the angst!  Can one be angst ridden?  Or feeling angst-ish?  Because that is a perfect description of my state of mind at the moment.  Since I try not to wallow in those kinds of feelings,  rather than spending the day sulking like I wanted, on Friday we went to Pisa. One of the joys of living in Italy is that you can get up in the morning and say, "let's go to Pisa"http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/09/pisa.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-6915161628834136351Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:48:00 +00002010-09-02T19:48:21.686+02:00 CurveBall - The curveball, is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate...and smacks you right in the head.  Wikipedia... sort of.  Yesterday in the midst of celebrating our first anniversary of life in Italy we received some news that has http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/09/didnt-see-this-one-coming.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-7753897297824150107Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:04:00 +00002010-09-01T18:04:37.687+02:00 Piazza de Ferrari Today is our one year anniversary in Italy.  For the last several weeks I've been thinking about this past year and what it means to live in this beautiful but complicated country.  But I've also been thinking about how completely nuts I've become trying to drink it all in and practically drowning in the process.  So, in no particular order, here's what http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/09/drinking-from-firehose-of-knowledge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-1586046792045955568Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:26:00 +00002010-08-29T20:42:26.606+02:00OK, let me just say it...my interest in blogging is inversely proportional to the level of humidity.  The more humid it is the more I just want to lay down and die, as opposed to actually doing something, like going for a walk, cooking dinner or...blogging.  I know that I've said before that I'm easily distracted, but when the humidity is over, say, 55% it sucks the soul right out of mehttp://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/08/august-in-italy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-8545478722257559643Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:42:00 +00002010-08-28T19:40:11.659+02:00My first mistake was buying a book on blogging.  My second was reading it.  If you have been here before, you might notice a few changes to the sidebar and to the heading, because last night I decided to get a little techie with this thing.  I am the essence of the anti-techie...no that's not correct, the anti-techie is the guy sitting next to me asking why I waste my time on the http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/08/trallalero.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-5578495890461090139Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:20:00 +00002010-08-26T21:23:10.763+02:00Sometimes I get excited about the strangest things, and last night was no exception.  I love art and architecture, and so last night I was reading up on architectural styles common in Genova,  I found a reference to Colonna Infame, The Column of Infamy!  Why haven't I ever heard of this before??  I need to find it, and I need to find it now! So early this morning, Ollie and Ihttp://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/08/search-for-column-of-infamy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-6975354080096878934Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:44:00 +00002010-08-22T18:57:30.797+02:00It's called the patente di guida.  In English... the driver's license.  Something I have possessed for more years than I care to admit.  Sounds easy enough, right?  How hard can it be to get a crummy driver's license?  Well, if the reams of blog posts and forum comments are any indication,  this is an ordeal of untold proportions. At this point I must admit that I'mhttp://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/08/fear-and-loathing-in-italy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-1907445414566772332Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:35:00 +00002010-08-22T13:53:42.448+02:00Columbus may be a controversial figure in the US, but here he is the favorite son.  There are more statues, memorials, and references to Columbus per square kilometer that any other historical personage.  This is actually a pretty dramatic statement since this is a city of statues, memorials and plaques, most to people I've never heard of before. So what do we actually know about http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/08/columbus-was-expat.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-999730987431909626Fri, 21 May 2010 10:03:00 +00002010-05-21T12:03:47.531+02:00I'm having a devil of a time with the Italian calendar.  Unlike in the US, the Italian calendar starts on Mondays, not Sundays.  So Thursday, when I was in a rush, I glanced at my Google calendar, saw an appointment on the 5th day of the week and off we went...a day early.  This wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't the second time in 3 days that I've done this.  Ollie is http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/05/this-is-not-how-i-had-this-planned.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-9097317720798721623Wed, 19 May 2010 18:51:00 +00002010-05-20T15:24:38.334+02:00St. George, or San Giorgio, is a very important figure here in Genova.   The symbol of the city is the Saint George cross, red cross on white background, as seen in the right hand column of this blog, not to be confused with white cross on red background which is the symbol of Switzerland. The cross dates back at least to the time of the Crusades. The use of the cross as the symbol http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/05/st-george-and-dragon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-8048369045033180822Wed, 05 May 2010 21:15:00 +00002010-05-05T23:18:11.777+02:00Today, 5 May 2010 is the 150th anniversary of the departure of Garibaldi and the i Mille (the Thousand), from Genova Quarto to Marsala, Sicily in a successful campaign to crush the Napoleonic army in the south.  This was one of the last great campaigns to unify what we know today as the country of Italy.  Garibaldi is one of modern Italy's great heroes and probably the most well know http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/05/5-maggio.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-2638047291525528769Sun, 02 May 2010 17:24:00 +00002010-05-02T19:24:05.647+02:00Italians love their dogs.  Most of the dogs you see in the streets are small dogs.  Maltese, Pekinese, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and an extraordinary number of beagles.    I don't know why so many beagles, makes me wonder if there's a Italian movie out there staring a particularly adorable beagle.  Perhaps one that doesn't bark at everything.  In http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/05/its-dogs-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-5143812649115092392Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:06:00 +00002010-04-29T19:06:58.991+02:00I'm feeling guilty.  I haven't posted anything for exactly one month.  Although I am not a blogger who feels obliged to post on a regular, much less daily basis, I do think that I should be rousing myself enough to post once a week or so.  Especially since I have so much to talk about!  However, I had an attack of obsession again.  Almost one month ago today, I decided tohttp://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/04/arenzano-city-of-turtles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-9036423688618591868Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:51:00 +00002010-03-29T18:51:57.509+02:00Today, for the first time in my life, I voted in an Italian election.  Yesterday and today, 13 of Italy's 20 regions are holding elections, as well as some cities and provinces.  But for me, all I have to worry about is who would get my vote for president of the region and what party would be councillors.  For the last several weeks, I've read everything I could get my hands on http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/03/election-day-or-i-havent-seen-carbon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-9221636935651730782Sun, 28 Mar 2010 09:04:00 +00002010-03-28T11:04:32.033+02:00Dear Daughter, Bring tennis shoes.  No, do not bring those cute Maryjanes.  Yes, I know this is coming from the woman who brought 50 pairs of shoes with her when she moved.  The same woman for whom the clerks in the shoe department at Nordstrom mounted a memorial plaque when she left and the shipping department at Zappo's  threw a "going away" party in her honor.  I'm http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/03/mattonelle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-8439202425386432144Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +00002010-03-27T17:00:55.450+01:00Of course not everything is uphill, but it certainly feels that way, especially living as we do above the Circonvallazione a monte, or the upper ring road. This is a series of roads, that traverse the center of the city midway up the mountain from Piazza Manin in Casteletto quartiere, thru Lagaccio quartiere, Oregina quartiere and dropping back down to sea level at the train station Stazione http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/03/everything-is-uphill-or-life-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-844431950800903931Sun, 21 Mar 2010 09:10:00 +00002010-03-21T10:10:17.920+01:00 The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.  Edmund Burke Sgt. Mark Dunakin, Sgt. Erv Romans, Sgt. Daniel Sakai, Officer John Hege End of WatchMarch 21, 2009http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/03/rest-in-peace.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-3879955033131360675Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:40:00 +00002010-03-16T22:40:36.782+01:00Everyone experiences life in a new country differently, even when they are together in the experience.  My time here has been filed with kind people who are interested in me and my reasons for being here. Ollie's experience however, is somewhat different.  I don't know why, but he gets picked on.   Not by everyone...just the old ladies.  Now, for those of you who don't know http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/03/ignominy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-814044063900940121Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:03:00 +00002010-03-09T17:15:33.036+01:00"Whoever you are,  I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." Blanche DuBois When bloggers and others write about the Italian bureaucracy, invariably their stories are filled with negative images of power crazed or just plain lazy bureaucrats and a system run amuck.  And not just expats.  Italians moan and groan even louder than we do when they are forced to take a http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/03/anagrafe-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-8487037175097636523Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:53:00 +00002010-02-27T18:53:15.257+01:00At the beginning of the 20th century, as cement began to be commonly used as a binding agent, the artisans of Genova developed a flooring technique called Pavimenti alla Genovese.  The flooring surface is prepared by spreading a mixure of crushed brick, or cacciopesto,  sand and cement and then flattened several times with a roller and iron.  Once the base is prepared, a perforatedhttp://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/02/pavimenti-alla-genovese.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-8166658783535135483Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:05:00 +00002010-02-24T16:05:23.908+01:00 First let me say that Ollie just blew up my brand new Bialetti cafettiere.  Brand new in that it has, or was, never used.  How does one do that?  This is not hi-tech.  In fact, the Bialetti, which by the way makes the best coffee in the world, is about as low tech as you can get.  But apparently, where there's a will there's a way.  In theory, that black thinghttp://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/02/adaptations-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7411905910031810982.post-1646146216280048111Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:59:00 +00002010-02-10T19:59:51.345+01:00As languages go, Italian is not all that difficult.  I have in my life studied Latin, French and Russian and Italian doesn't even come close to the complications of those languages. No declensions as in Latin and Russian, no new alphabet, and not all that many irregular verbs like French, but damn, it's hard to learn a language when you're not a kid anymore.  For some reason, I cannot http://betweenthemountainsandthesea.blogspot.com/2010/02/living-in-italian.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mary)8