FRIDAY AUGUST 31st Last Day

LAST DAY AT PALAZZO GALLOTTI

I thought leaving here to go to the next farm was going to be easier.  I've gotten very comfortable here and been allowed to do pretty much what I want given the ITALIAN guidelines.  It's been fairly easy making food that is acceptable to the Italian man (Roberto).  Miriam always said I could do anything I wanted as long as it was healthy.  But I had to stick to the Italian protocol.  I had to learn what to serve with what and when.  You never mix courses.  I always tried to put a spin on breakfast; changing it up a little but in keeping with what this part of the country eats for that meal.  It might be something very simple like putting a few black olives around the sliced tomatoes with a few tiny basil leaves.  Sounds like nothing but when you're used to the same Italian bread, sliced tomatoes and sliced cheese for breakfast, adding a few little touches was very appreciated by my hosts.  But what they will really miss that I started here was getting up early and making some kind of cake with the fruit from our own trees.  The Italians don't eat eggs for breakfast.  They like cake and extra strong coffee.  Miriam doesn't bake. She and Roberto will miss me and all the sweets I made.  Plus if there were any leftovers from breakfast, Roberto would inevitably come looking in the kitchen in the afternoon for something sweet.
I will miss MiMi the cat who finally after 6 whole weeks of not letting me pet her unless she was eating, lets me and will come down inside my kitchen and cry to be petted.  I'll miss her.  The sheep now come charging to me when they see me hoping for food.  The first few days they were here they were scared to death of me.  We just got 2 new chickens last night.  Won't be able to get to know them.  I will NOT miss Sophia.  She is a brat and I have no problem admitting that.  She can and does give her grandmother a hard time now.  Miriams mom will be staying until they all leave here to go back to Munich for 2 months.  I don't know who will take care of the animals while they are gone.  Can't worry about it.  Roberto has mentioned a few times that he thinks I should stay here to take care of them.  Don't know if he's serious.  I have commitments elsewhere so I've never had any comment.
Katia came by last night through the main gate and into the hallway that leads to the fountain and shouted my name a few times.  She came by to give me a hug and say goodbye.  Dora came in to see me this morning also to say goodbye.  I'll keep in touch with Miriam via email.  She said she would like me to come back for the Spring planting next year.
Today I learned that by letting the broccoli (rabe) go to seed and pulling it up, letting it dry, you can get a whole lot of seeds for the next planting.  That is what Miriam's mom and I did today-took out all these tiny, tiny seeds that will be planted maybe tomorrow in the place where we dug the potatoes.  They should have broccoli rate in 60-90 days.  So the planting goes on and so will I.

TRIP TO PAOLA

AUGUST 30TH THURSDAY

When I woke up yesterday at 6 a.m. I decided to get on the 7:15 bus that goes by here, go to Sapri, and then look at the train schedule to see where I could go for the day and be able to return by 6:30 to get the last bus back to Battaglia.  Sicily was out of the question.  It was a 6 hr. train ride and I wouldn't be able to leave until 11 a.m., get there at 5.  So I went to Paola.  I would pronounce it like PAYOLA, the term Italians use when they have to pay someone for protection.  It's not pronounced that way.
The train would be leaving shortly so that was good and it would only take an hour and 15 min.  It was the last train station for that train.  On the way I got to ride along the coast through some really cool towns right on the beach.  Many had really big sandy beaches with many umbrellas and lounge chairs.  Unlike Sapri which has a very rocky beach-no sand.
I went through towns like Praja, Scalea, Diamante Buonvicino, Belvedere Marittimo, Capo Bonifati, Cetraro, Aquapessa and Guardia.  These were all train stops.
When I got off at the train station which was quite large, I had to walk a very short walk to the beach.  It was another one of these beaches with umbrellas and lounge chairs all set up.  So I just picked out one and claimed it knowing it probably was paid by someone to use it.  But if they came I would just move. There were plenty of empty chairs and it was already 11 a.m.
As I'm sitting there on the chair I can hear the people next to me speaking perfect English.  So of course I had to go over and tell them hearing English was music to my ears.  They were all from New Jersey visiting their sister who moved to Rome when she was 18-some 35 years ago.  They showed a lot of interest in what I was doing so we all had a nice chat.  A lady did come and claim her chair.  So I moved but ended up spending most of my 3 hrs. on the beach in the water.  It was very, very nice.  Small waves, strong undertow.  Really difficult getting out.  Kept falling and getting pulled back out.  It was a very nice day.  Still didn't burn though.
The train trip back was in a car that was not air conditioned so I could open the windows which is better because then I can stick my head out and really see the view.  Sometimes the windows on these trains are so dirty, you can't see too clearly.  But this trip back was perfect just like my day.

Today I am making roasted yellow tomato sauce and meatless meatballs made with eggplant.  Saw it on the menu yesterday and never thought of doing it with eggplant.  They came out great!
Miriam, Roberto and the girls went to the beach today at Carla's. Sometimes they tell me stuff that I've never heard before.  Like today they said they had to get to the beach early because it's when the iodine is at it's highest in the air from the ocean and it's good for the kids.  I'll have to GOOGLE it

MARATEA

August 28 Tuesday

I went back to Maratea after learning that the first time I went there I really did not see the center of town.  And there was the statue.  I could see the statue from where I got off the train.  It was very high up on the hill overlooking the ocean and the valley.  I wanted to go up there on my first trip but with no one at the train station to help me, I decided to just go down to the coast and see the ocean.  That was the first time in Maratea.  I had to go back.  Before I did I looked it up on the computer to get any info that would help me.  I knew I couldn't walk up there.  It was just too far and if I did walk I'd have to walk down and I didn't know if I could do that.  So I took a taxi up there.  Good thing.  It was a really long trip.  When I got up on top  I was even with the top of the clouds.  It was so much higher that it looked from down below.  The statue is of Christ and it's about 60 feet high.  It was built in 1960 among the ruins that were so old there wasn't much left to them.
So then I had to take a taxi down to the center of Maratea.  Most of the center is shops with stone walkways where no cars are allowed.  So I walked around and then went in to a store and when I came out there was not one person outside and all the shops were closed.  It was 2 p.m.  It happened so fast. (siesta) I couldn't imagine where all the people went.  So I started walking down. Back to the train station.  It was a lovely walk-hardly any cars.  I got to walk among the houses on the very windy, narrow road.  It took me an hour and a half.  It was 6km or 4 miles.  I thought maybe I could catch a train that stopped in a beach town on the way back to Sapri called Aquafredda.  But no train was stopping there. So I went back to Sapri a little early and decided to look for my calico.  Maybe I could feed her again.  But she wasn't where I'd seen her before.
I had a wonderful day on top of that mountain overlooking the sea.

DORA'S meatball soup

                                    DORA'S MEATBALL SOUP                                


First make the vegetable broth with

zucchini
onion
potato
any other veggies you have that are fresh but NO garlic

Fill the pot up with water and cook till all the veggies are barely recognizable

Then:  freshly ground beef, white bread (no crust) soaked in milk, squeezed dry, egg, parm. 
            chopped parsley

            form these by hand into small meatballs
            take out all veggies and put them into blender
            add perfectly formed meatballs into simmering broth
            after a few minutes, add pureed veggies to soup

Sprinkle freshly grated parm onto each bowl

FINI

quiet Sunday and Catia

                              SUNDAY AUGUST 26TH

This place is so quiet right now.  It's 3 p.m. and I just came upstairs from my room and I
don't know who is here.  I smell sauce (suco) cooking in Dora's kitchen.  Christain's car is
gone so I think they all went out.  The grandmother left to fly home with her son (Miriam's dad) but could Miriam, her mom, sister, 2 kids and Roberto all fit in the one car?  Josie, his wife (Ida), their 2 kids Gulia(Julia) who's 8 and Luca who is 6 left to go back home today too.  They live in Rome.  Ida works for the Italian Senate.  Josie, not sure.  Ida said something funny the other day.  It sounded funny to me.  She said she and the 2 kids stayed here last week while Josie had to go back to Rome to work.  And said that it was better here for her kids because "there's nothing to do in Rome"!  For me , a tourist, I loved being in Rome but I know if you live there it's no big deal.  Josie is the son of the son of the Baron (deceased).  He and his family usually only spend one week a year here in his apartment.  This year they spent 2.
I realized the other day when I got locked out of the castle and had to ring a door bell that there is a door bell for each of the apartments here.  I also got the correct spelling of all the names.  Here it goes:
MARIA
CARLA
GIUSEPPE
PROSPERINA
MARIO
GIOSUE (Josie)

And of course Roberto has his own.  I don't know why.  His 2 sisters don't have one.

So Mario has an apartment here in the castle and one across the street that no one lives in.  That's where I stayed for 2 nights during while the wedding guests were all here.

I think I'll have to ask Mario to show me his home on the mountainside outside Tortorella.
Roberto had to photograph it for some magazine because it was so beautiful.

                                                                  CATIA

This morning I went to church down the hill.  After church Catia caught me and said she wanted me to come back to her apartment in town.  She speaks no English.  She is 50, lives with her mom in an apartment on the hill on the way down from the castle.  But we've kind of learned to communicate a little.  She wanted me to give her some recipes.  So after going back home to the castle to tell Miriam Catia wanted me, I returned.  What an experience it was being with this 90 lb. very exuberant, way too much energy, in your face Italian woman!  She knows I don't understand when she goes on and on about something.  I can only understand what she's saying if she goes slow and uses a lot of hand gestures.  And then her mother comes over, in my face too and goes on and on in Italian and I'm just about in tears.  It took some time but I was able to give her the recipe to the lemon curd that I'd made for the wedding that people still talk to me about and the sponge cake that I made as the wedding cake too.  The conversion from cups to grams was the easiest part.  It was the instructions that took a lot of patience.  But we got through it.  Then I had to stay for lunch.  Her mom cooked.  First I had gnocchi with sauce, then eggplant 2 ways and then potatoes cooked in olive oil and some kind of beef that was so tender and delicious I wanted to ask what it was but by this time I was exhausted with the translation problem.  Before we ate, Catia and I made Nutella muffins together.  She gave me 3 to take back home.  To drink with dinner, Catia put about 10 drops of white wine in her glass then filled it with water.  Her mom put about a quarter of a glass of red wine and the rest filled with water.  I had a full glass of white wine.  When they were dishing out the gnocchi they were in each others' face about exactly how much to give me and how much each of them were going to have.  Very funny.  Her mom took bread to wipe her plate clean at the end.  And then we had to have fruit.  Out comes the bowl of fresh fruit-grapes, figs, banana, pear and plums.  I had 1 fig.  I was stuffed.  Had to go home to lay down I was so full.
Their apartment is exactly what I would have imagined.  Many, many figurines and little statues everywhere.  The kitchen was kept very dark.  It was hard for me to see in there while her mom cooked.  The dining table and chair set had many types of wood inlayed-very beautiful and it did not have one single scratch in it.  Looked like it had never been used even though we were all sitting at it.  The hutch that matched (it was huge) was jammed packed full of little nicknacks and figurines. Everything in their apartment is covered with tile.  Not stone like the castle.
Before Catia sat down to eat, she went and kissed her fathers' picture.

The Germans

              THE INVASION OF THE GERMANS                      

Since Miriam is from Germany, she invited her whole German family to Sara's Baptism.  And everybody came.  Just when I was getting the hang of understanding a little of a conversation in Italian, now I have to listen to and try to understand German!!

First there's Grandma (Sophia) who is 88, speaks NO English, knows I do not speak or understand any German but will continually try talking to me in German.  She's sweet, always smiling.  She is little Sophia's namesake.

Then there's Miriams' mom.  She too cannot speak or understand English.  She's very, very nice and always happy no matter what's going on.  She really loves being with her two granddaughters.  She's 63.  She will be staying until the middle of October and going back to Munich with Miriam, Roberto and the girls.  She's a huge help with the children when Miriam wants to get to the garden.  She can speak German to Sophia.  I cannot.

Christain-Miriam's brother.  Up until yesterday I thought her did not understand or speak any English.  But he was fooling everyone.  As soon as he laughed really hard at something I said (I called Roberto Mr. Clean),  I shouted "You do speak English".  So now since he knows of some extra things I want to do on the computer and he is a computer wiz, he's helping me and the language barrier is down.

Sylvia is Miriam's sister-looks almost identical to her.  She came all the way from Vancover for 2 weeks.  She is a horse trainer there so we had some things we could talk about and understand.  She speaks fluent English and of course German.

Miriam's dad and wife (stepmom) are here in Italy too but staying in Maratea.  I met them at the Baptism but just for a few minutes.

So the Germans are here until Tuesday.  Then they will get back in Christian's Audi and drive back to Munich.  16 hours later they'll be home again.

All very, very nice people

DAY AFTER MY DAY OFF

FRIDAY AUGUST 24TH

Yesterday was a much needed day off so I got on the 7:20 a.m. bus to Sapri.  I decided to stay there rather than take a train or another bus to another town.  I had brought a duffle bag of stuff so I could claim my spot on the beach with more than just my purse and this bag was too much to carry along on a walking day.  If I went to Maratea, I would have to walk a lot to get to the water.  I like Sapri because now I know my way around.  The restaurant I had eaten at before was the one on the beach and was planning to go to again.  Then I found out the owner of that restaurant was originally from Connecticut.  Watertown to be exact.  She spoke better English than anyone I've met so far in Italy.
Someone said in Sapri that yesterday was probably one of the hottest so far this summer.  I think converted from Celsius it was 104 Fahrenheit.  So I went swimming to cool off.  But even after a few minutes in the water, I was too hot and had to get out of the sun.

Like every other trip (all 3 of them) I've made to Sapri I get my favorite pizza to go from Pizza Up.  I get a cheese pizza with arugula, cherry tomatoes and anchovies.  As I'm carrying this pizza to get the bus, I see a calico kitty pawing at something.  She wasn't afraid when I got close but what I saw was so sad.  She was eating a cigarette butt.  She was starving.  So I sat down on the sidewalk and shared my pizza with her.  She ate so much and while she was eating she was kneading the sidewalk-so happy.  If I could have brought her back somehow I would have.  But there are so many homeless, starving cats and dogs here that you don't know where to begin.  I know I'll be back at least one more time to Sapri and I will take along a bag of cat food at look for her.  But I don't think I'll find her.  But I know I'll have no trouble finding another grateful recipient.  
Today is kind of a slow day with all of Miriams' family here so I decided to roast some cherry tomatoes.  We have so many.  Two people have told Miriam that these cherry tomatoes in particular are Winter Tomatoes.  You are supposed to hang them up to dry.  Never heard of that.  Will have to GOOGLE it.

Fw: August 22 Wednesday Sara's after Baptism party

These Italians!  The noise level at any of these many parties they have is out of control!  Kids everywhere screaming, crying

running around and their parents just as calm as could be letting them do anything they want.  Until someone gets hurt

which always happens.

Sara was an angel during the Baptism ceremony. At the completion of the ceremony, the priest told everyone to clap which they did.  Then Sara clapped.  So cute.  And while the parents held the candle, Sara held on to it also.
 Then they all descended on the palazzo.  Graziella who cleans here

when guests come and go came to help out in the kitchen.  I was supposed to be a guest at this party but Roberto inevitably 

calls me into the kitchen to help with something.  I guess he does respect my opinion.  But he is the one who Miriam goes to

when she needs advice on the proper protocol in serving 'the Italian way'.  He is an good cook but tries very hard to

change every little bit of anything he can.  Details  from my perspective do not matter as long as the dishes are served looking good.  But he

tries to put his 2 cents into every detail, right down to how to assemble the appetizer plates. 

The kitchen is a little too small for more than 2 people at one time trying to get a meal out.

And then with all the stuff going on, trying to put out 26 appetizer plates and moving stuff around in and out of the oven, you got

KIDS running in and out and through the kitchen, slamming the doors and screaming as loud as you can imagine.

What a zoo.  And I was supposed to be a guest.

Tomorrow I'm getting on that bus at 7:15 a.m. and I'm going to the coast to the beach.  Even with all the people there,

it'll be quieter than here.  Now I got kids in here while I'm trying to type and I got Sophia trying to push buttons on

the computer.  And I got some coming up to me talking to me very loudly in Italian.  Oh my ears are ringing with

Italian.  I'm going to bed soon.  But I never get to bed before 11 p.m.

 Next I'll be writing about the invasion of the GERMANS!!!

Fw: August 22 Wednesday SARA

                               SARA

Sara is Miriam's younger daughter.  She is now 10 months old.  She is very easy going and usually only

cries when she is either tired or hungry.  Usually hungry.  During the 5 weeks I've been here I've had the

privilege of watching her get up into a crawl position for just a second and then back down.  Now she is

crawling all over the place.  Tonight she will be Baptized.  And a party will follow.  She's a pleasure to be

around-always easy to make smile.  Sophia her 3 yr. old sister on the other hand is a screamer I won't miss.

Fw: August 20th Monday Tomato sauce

                                                 TOMATO SAUCE-suco

Today was the making of the tomato sauce.  Mario who lives on the side of a mountain near Tortorello

grows the most amazing tomatoes.  He says it's because his terraced gardens face the sea and get the sea

breezes.  I think it's what he sprays on them when they're flowering.  Anyway, he brought SOOO many

tomatoes for Dora to clean, cut up and cook and bottle that you could smell the aroma of sauce cooking

everywhere here.  Huge pots cooking on a wood burning stove.  Remember the Baroness doesn't allow Dora

to cook using anything but wood.  Save money.  These pots were so big and so full of sauce. Well I just don't

know how to measure the size of those pots.  Then there was this guy, a friend since childhood of Mario's who

came through the kitchen with a wheelbarrow full of really dry wood.  Can you picture it?  He made a fire under

the old pig pot in the oldest kitchen and put a bunch of used beer bottles in the pot with some water over this

fire to disinfect them.  He put newspapers across the top of the pot.  Don't know why.  Will ask Mario

tomorrow.  This old kitchen is right through the door of my kitchen so the smell of the fire burning was very

strong all day.  Then in the other old kitchen next to this one where all the copper pots are hanging on the wall

there was this machine that after stuffing the cooked tomato sauce with a plunger down into it, out would come out

sauce from one place and the skin and seeds out another.  Then when you get a bunch of this  stuff made-up

of just skin and seeds, you put that through the shoot again and what comes out and into the sauce is like

tomato paste.  We're talking big tubs of this stuff.  Then you put a whole basil leaf into each of these already boiled

beer bottles and they're ready to fill.  I think tomorrow is the 'fill' day.  They have a bottle cap press that puts

the cap on the bottle once filled.  Then I guess also tomorrow after the bottles are filled they cook them in the

pig pot and this will secure them lasting in the bottle safely for 2 years.  And there is salt added.

Mario wants to get together with me and talk food/sauce.  He speaks and understands English very well.  I

guess he was an architect at one time.  Retired now.  He's one of Carla's brothers.

So that's how sauce is made.  A two day process.  I'll find out how many of these bottles they ended up with.

I wonder who drank all this beer?

Fw: August 19th Animals

                                   Animals

First there's MiMi the wild cat who sometimes is waiting at the door to the door of my kitchen in the

morning when I come down.  She is wild.  Let's NO ONE pet her except while she's eating and it can only

be me or Miriam.  She likes to just hang around us when we're outside-always at least 5-10 feet away.  Then

there's the times when she'll come and get me.  She'll come to the door of the kitchen, look at me, cry and

call me to go up the stairs to the next level where her dishes are.  Sometimes she'll have food in the dish

but she wants to get petted.  So I follow her.  She looks back every few feet to make sure I'm coming.  And

if she needs food I'll give some to her from the can next to her dish.  But sometimes she just wants me to sit

and pet her while she eats.  Then she purrs and kneads the stone under her feet.

Then there's the rooster.  He lost his best friend-the hen.  We don't know what happened to her but wild

dogs could be the enemy.  Now he has reluctantly bonded with the 2nd hen.  She resisted at first-always

in the woods away from him.  But now they're ok.  He's very beautiful and crows ALOT!!  He comes when

I call him expecting some cracked corn which I will reward him with for coming to me.  The hen hasn't laid

an egg in her little house for a while.  I think it's just too hot.  Miriam wants to get more chickens but because

of the heat, no one will transport them because IT'S TOO HOT.  Some people in Casaletto have chickens

but do not want to sell some to us because they are too attached.  They said we could 'borrow' a few but

in time would have to return them.  We say said no.

Then there's the sheep.  We have 2 adult females and 1 baby female.  By the looks of one of the adults, I

say she's pregnant.  They all stick together no matter what.  They also come when I call-also expecting

food.  It's all about the food.  GiGi said he'd leave Carla if she wasn't such a good cook.  Again, it's all about the food.

One of the sheep stands up on its' hind legs to get at the squash/pumpkin plants hanging over the

first terrace.  Miriam doesn't care.  We both say she's just too cute doing that.  All the sheep like

to invade the small chicken coop because at one time we were putting come corn there and they learned that

real fast.  It's all about the food!

Fw: August 18th Saturday Family stuff

This place is just so amazing.  It's a shame the family are at such odds with each other about it.  You have some

children and grandchildren of the Baroness who just want out.  They want to somehow sell what ever part of this

place they think they own and get the money.  Then there's others like Carla who want to make it a prosperous

business and restore all there is to restore back to its' glory days

Today Miriam, Roberto and the girls were planning to go to Carla's at the beach.  I said I would like to take a bike

ride so asked Miriam to leave me the key to the garage where the bike is.  The garage is kind of on the first floor of the

castle.  Miriam said sure.  They left and then came right back.  Roberto did not want to have anyone in the family who

might be visiting in the Baroness' to see me with the key.  What would they think?  So they came back to tell me not to

use the key to get into the garage

Apparently everyone has their own electrical circuits so there are several electric bills depending on what part of the

castle you live.  During the wedding we borrowed an electric oven, put it in the old kitchen which is on the Baroness'

electric circuit/bill.  I was told that "someone" (Mario) watches to see who uses which electricity because he doesn't

want someone else's bill getting paid by the "family" money.

I heard that Dora has been told by the Baroness NOT to use any means of cooking other than wood even in the heat

of this Summer in order to save money.

Dora, the Baroness' caregiver (24/7) gets about 1,000 euro/month to take care of her.  In Ct. it would be about

that per week.  And apparently the family money now and only has ever come from the land.  They sell the wood

for heating.  Hard to believe.

Many years ago some king (name unknown) was helped by this guy he dubbed "Baron" for helping him out

during some war (name and year unknown) and gave him these 90 hectares (approx. 200+ acres) and built him

this castle.  There is so much information not written down and not passed on for the living relatives to tell.  It's

such a pity that so much history is being lost.  And I think mainly because of all the animosity and "no one wants

to talk about it" attitude.

And at night or if Robby and family go out, what a ritual takes place in locking everything.  All the doors and definitely

the main gate to the courtyard.  But every door has many ways to lock it.  So many dead bolts and latches on each door.  There is no way anyone could ever get into this place when the doors are locked.  But it is also very easy for me to get locked into an area of this castle because too many doors got locked.  Last night I had to ring Dora's doorbell several times and shout up to her to open the main, really, really bug door to let me in.  There is a huge latch on that big door on the inside with a chain attached to it that goes through a hole it the ceiling to the upstairs kitchen where Dora is and she can pull that chain and lift the latch from upstairs so she doesn't have to come down to open the door.  This is also the way she lets the german shepherd out every morning without coming down stairs.  The whole town, all 80 of them is

made up of old people who just hang around and talk. I don't think anyone would try to come here who doesn't belong. Remember a previous letter I wrote that Italians NEVER stop

talking?

I think now I'll go and take pictures of all the interesting doors here.  Of which there are many

Fw: Aug. 17th friday Amadeus

                                             Goat Cheese

Well, as beautiful and majestic as this Palazzo Gallotti is, I just visited another awesome place much

different than this place.  It is in Vibonati located between Tortorella and Torracca.  It is 1 hectare

of land (approx. 2 1/2 acres) on the side of a mountain overlooking the town of Vibonati and the sea.

It consisted of a very broken down, dilapidated structure which was bought by a Napolitan named

Amedeus.  He's quite young in years and has a PHD in some kind of writing.  But being unimportant

in Naples, as many people are, he worked for free at the University of Naples for 8 years.  Then 7 

years ago bought this place, built in into a gorgeous stone home and bought 5 goats;1 billy

and 4 girls (2 mothers and 2 female babies) from which he gets milk to make goat cheese.  He also has

2 sheep, 1 donkey who pushed me in the back very hard (playfully), 2 dogs, several ducks and chickens

and 1 goose.  He has a vegetable garden anyone would be proud of and lives off of what?

  Not sure.  His girlfriend cannot find a job anywhere near so must work as a substitute teacher in a

high school in Naples.  She lives here during the Summer only.  The rest of the time Amadeus lives alone

with his animals.  He's been here for 3 years.  I will return just to take pictures.  It is that beautiful!

I've been told that on a clear day you can see Mt Etna on Sicily.  I went there yesterday to see his animals

and see how he makes his goat cheese.  It would be a lovely bike ride there; approx 10km or 7 miles

all of which is either very up hill or very down hill on a road that needs work.  But the farms around here

are so primitive and interesting; all different from each other.  This place belongs in a magazine.

Fw: August 15th holiday

                                                       ROBERTO

Ok here I go about Robby.  He really needs to get  a job or just leave this place every morning and let Miriam

and myself do everything.  After all we do everything anyway.  Only now with him here watching and commenting

on everything we do, it has caused some problems between Miriam and him.  She is tired of always being totally

responsible for both kids while he sleeps late and can just get on his motorbike and take off anywhere without

telling her and not taking his cell phone.  She also says that because he cheated on his first wife with her resulting

in Sophia, he could just as easy cheat on her.  All this stuff happens in the best of families in the best of situations.

And he is a clean freak.  I call him Mr. Clean.  He constantly is cleaning out the frig. and throwing really good

food away after just one day.  Miriam is like me.  Don't throw anything away!!  And then he rearranges things

in the kitchen so I can't find them.

On the night in Tortorella when we all went out for pizza and it was very late, he was sitting across the plaza

holding Sara while she was making cute sounds and moving her arms and legs all around, he wouldn't stop

staring at this pretty girl in a short bright red dress with high heels walking across the plaza.  It was pathetic.

Miriam is so insecure about him looking at other women and here he is......Miriam has the body of an 18

year old.  No evidence of having 2 kids.  Looks fantastic in a bikini which she wears a lot.  What is his problem?

So that's the deal with Robby.  At the wedding he was dancing and flirting with all the beautiful

women of which there were many. With Miriam running around tending to all the issues that came up of

which there were also many and with 2 kids hanging on her whining and fussing.

Miriam has confided all this in me.  I did not embellish on any of these issues.

He doesn't want me staying in his apartment-says this is the only thing that is really all his

He doesn't want me to use his mountain bike

He says I don't clean enough  

He doesn't want Miriam to take some classes she wants to take in Munich when they go back for 2 months

She says she's always mad at him-I stay out of it.  Relationship issues-none of my business

                                                    THAT'S ROBERTO

Fw: August 14th Tuesday P.M.

Tomorrow (August 15th) is a huge holiday in Italy.  Not clear exactly what it is all about.  No one seems to know but

all businesses are closed and everyone has a party.  So tonight I went to Tortorella for a festival.  They had the same

live band there as was at the wedding; playing all sorts of music including of course American music with English words.

This is really strange to me to be here where almost no one speaks any English and yet they listen to and dance to

American music with English words.

It was a lot of fun.  We had to buy tickets for whatever food we wanted.  They had about 4 different kinds of panini and

homemade fresh cavatelle with fresh tomato sauce.  Very nice.  I saw them bring in the pasta in big wooden trays and

little Italian ladies putting it into very large pots over a wood fire and scooping it out and into a large bowl with sauce

in it.  I don't think I'd see this anywhere but in Italy.

I need to clarify this Gallotti family tree.  I was mistaken about the Baron and Baroness.  The Baroness was married

to Giusui (Josey or Joshua in America).  His son is Giuseppe (presently the real Baron on paper) whose the brother

of Carla and Mario and Prospelina.  I went to the festival tonight with the Baron's (Giuseppe) son whose name is also

Giusui (Josey) and his wife and son, Luca (6) and daughter, Julia(8).  At the festival I met Josey's mom and her 2

sisters who all have villas at the same beach as Carla.  They live permanently in Naples.  This Gallotti family just

keeps getting bigger and bigger.  And then or course you have the Simoni family (Carla's husband GiGi) which

means Robby's last name is Simoni.  Josey and his family live in Rome and only come down here to visit their

grandmother, the baroness once a year.  Josey has his own apartment within the castle.  Yikes! 

Fw: August 14th Tuesday

We are full here at the B+B so I am moving my stuff to Robby's apartment here at the Palazzo.  I have not seen the

apartment yet but I'm sure it will be quite comfortable since Carla stayed there at the time of the wedding and her

standards are so high, I can't imagine it to be nothing but immaculate and comfortable.

Yesterday I took Robby's mountain bike out and rode to Tortorella, all up hill but with the 27 speed bike, I found

the ride to be very easy and very pleasurable in the cool air of the late afternoon.  I wish I had brought my bicycle

shorts I'd be able to go for a real long ride and not feel uncomfortable from the seat.  But I think I'll take a ride to

Fortino, another mountain village I have not visited yet.  Lagonegro from there would be an easy ride.  And that

is another town not yet visited.  Lagonegro looks to be much bigger on the map so would be interesting to go to.

OK scratch that.  Miriam just said that Lagonegro is as negative as the name sounds so I will change direction and

go to Caselle in Pittari by way of Casaletto. I just have to figure out what day I can leave.  I don't usually go to bed

until at least 10 p.m. after all the cleanup of the kitchen is done.  So I figure I am busy every day for about 16 hours.

It goes by fast and I don't mind doing all that I do but I do like having a day off to go somewhere new.  And now I

know I can take the bicycle, I can plan a few new trips.  

I just brought my stuff down to Robby's apartment-nery small but very cute  All stone and tile.  And to get to it I

have to go down the stone spiral staircase past the big fountain in the center of the inside of the Palazzo.  Very

beautiful.  So my last 3 weeks here will be a bit away from all the people and I'm all for that.

Sophia has finally said I'm ok by her.  On my last trip to Safri I bought her a pair of plastic sandals that she absolutely

loves.  Fluorescent green with a butterfly on each.  Best 2 euro I could ever spend. 

  

Fw: August 10th Friday Diane's wedding

Today we have 2 new guests from Germany.  Olf and Leah.  Robbys' sister Mariaella has been staying

for the past 3 days now also.  She speaks very little English but in a pinch, she'll get the message.  She is

divorced with a son who is around 23.  His name is Luca and is going to law school.  Apparently when

Mariaella got divorced, Carla her mother stepped in and took young Luca to raise without Mariaella.

Now Mariaella and Carla don't speak.

Also today we have other company.  The Barons' grandson (who on paper is really the next Baron).  His

name is Guiseppe, the same as his dad, the Barons' son.  The Barons name was Luige.  Not sure why the

first Guiseppe is not the Baron.  The barons' grandson is.  The grandsons' son is named Luca also.

I made a new plum cake recipe from Mollie Katzen today not knowing we'd have visiting company.

They liked it.  I mixed the plums with the apples that continue to fall around here.

I cup up a huge bowl of zucchini for Miriams' zucchini salad.  Still didn't hardly put a dent in the amount

of zucchini we have so I made linguini for lunch and I spaghetti-cut a few zucchini and yellow

squash and mixed it in to the linguini-huge hit.  Fed the insides of both squashes to the sheep.

Miriam is trying to get Sophia to give up the pacifier.  Huge war.  Lots of screaming and crying.

Miriam asked if I would like tomorrow off as a free day.  Sure!  I'll take the bus to Sapri and from

there figure out where to go.  There's a new town I haven't been to yet: Scario on the coast.  The

bus from Sapri will take me there.  I just have to make sure to get back to Sapri for the 6:45 bus

back to Battaglia.  Or I may just stay in Sapri.  On the beach they have dozens of lounge chairs

you can use all day.  After I leave this place in 3 weeks, the next is nowhere near the coast so I'd like to get

as much time on the water as I can.  On Oct. 20th I'll be going to Puglia until Dec. 13th and that

is very near the East coast.  I've heard very good things about Puglia (Apulia).

So this has been a normal day here.  I collect plums and apples.

  I make all the food for any one who shows up. I clean up and everyone's very happy.

  It's very quiet now.  I think they all went for a nap.

Ciao

Fw: August 8th morning

Last nights' children's party was a success with a lot of food left over. So today we are all going to Sapri

where Robby's parents stay in their house on the beach for the whole Summer.

  We'll bring food there.  I will get dropped off in Villemmare, the beach town just a short walk from

 Carla's and Luigi's (Robby's parents) home and when I want will walk on the beach from Villemmare 

to their house to get a ride back here.  Villemmare is supposed to be quite beautiful and in order for me 

to get there on my own, I'd have to take the bus for an hour to Sapri and then another to Villemmare.

The biggest hit for the food I made for last night was a 3 ingredient Nutella brownie done in cupcake cups.

Just flour, Nutella and eggs.  Wonderful and perfect for kids.  I wanted to stay in the kitchen during most

of the party but the moms all said to come out.  They wanted to see me but no one could speak English

so Miriam was nice enough to translate for me.

On to Villemmare!

Ciao

Fw: August 7th

                                                            Sophia's 3rd birthday kid party

During the Summer here in Battaglia and Casaletto, there not only is live music at the courtyard

in the center of Casaletto but there seems to be a birthday party for someone (mostly children) almost 

every night.  Well tonight is Sophia's turn to have her birthday party.  Everyone from her school and

their mom is invited.  No men.  Sophia started kindergarden last year.  She had just turned 2.  They

don't call it pre-school like we do.  It's just kindergarden.  And it's ok if you're still in diapers.  This

will be Miriam's first party that she is giving for one of her own children.  She seems calm.  I don't

know how.  She has no idea how many are coming.  As many as 50 could show up.  So she made 2 pans

of lasagna and prosciutto and cheese panini.  I made, at her request, sausage and cheese muffins,

nutella cupcakes and chocolate zucchini hazelnut brownies.  Plus she made a tiramisu and one of

the moms made an elaborately decorated cake.   And I'll make a tomato, cucumber, zucchini and

pesto salad.  Still trying to find ways to use zucchini.  And I made my most successful recipe for plum

cake.  I made one yesterday for today but everyone ate it so I had to make another.

I think we'll have a good turnout because everyone seems very curious about this place where I live

and the people who own it.  It is the most elaborate and largest structure between the two towns.

Battaglia and Casaletto are almost considered one town even though they are separated by a valley.

They share the same schools and the same Mayor and I think other things like police and fire dept.

Casaletto has approx. 300 residents where Battaglia has only 80.  The last and only pizza house in

Casaletto just closed a few weeks ago.  I don't know how any business sustains itself.  I went into a

store with Miriam today that was very, very small and sold everything from paint to cupcake paper

liners.  Which is why we went in to begin with.  But we were the only ones in there and it's located on

a street above the town square that is so narrow, unless you know exactly what is up there, you'd never

even know it's a street.

Starting tomorrow night and going for 4 nights is a festival on the side of the road between here and

Casaletto right across the street from the water fountain where the water pours out of the hillside and

anyone can fill their water bottles.  It is supposed to be excellent quality water and it never stops running.

Fw: August 6th 11:30 pm

Haven't stopped all day till now.  We've had guests at the B+B so it is my job to get up at 6am

and get the coffee going.  I have to use a single cup espresso maker on the stovetop so it takes 

a while to fill a carafe with enough coffee for everyone.  The bride and groom from last weeks'

wedding has been here now for 4 days and a German couple has been here for the past 9 days.

Since they are all leaving tomorrow, we all went out to Tortorella, the mountaintop village,

to Crazy Pizza the only restaurant in the village.  The pizza was excellent and each of us had our

very own to eat without sharing.  Not usually seen in U.S..  And they don't cut the pizza here.  So

you have to take your knife and saw away.  It was very busy for a Monday night.  We sat outside

in the courtyard which was good for the kids.  They could run around until the pizza came.  But 

here we go again-eating very late.  And pizza to boot!  But it was fun.  Everyone I meet here at the

Palazzo all give me their email and phone numbers with an open invitation to call or visit if I come

to their town.  The wedding couple are from the heart of Vienna.  Ceng (Cheng) really liked my plum

cake and asked if I would make him some to take home with him.  Nice compliment.  He and Elizabeth

drove here in their Alpha Romero from Vienna-11 hr. trip.  Rode in his car tonight.  It was nice

but as Elizabeth said: it's a Monday car.  Always needs fixing so you can only drive it on Monday.

I picked so many plums today.  I made 2 plum cakes and plum marmalade.

Tomorrow we are hosting another party.  This is for Sophia's 3rd birthday.  But not for family like 

the last one.  This is for her school buddies.  We're expecting around 50.  There's always so much

prep to do for these parties.  And the dishes!!

It's almost midnight and I can hear the music from Casaletto.  As I said before, every night in August

 there is live music in the palazzo in Casaletto and I can hear it very well from across the valley.

Nice to fall asleep to.  Oh, we have gecko's.  Lots of them.  And an outdoor cat who never comes

in but is always hanging around.  I feed her.  Her name is MiMi.  Miriam named her.  She's gray.

 And she only lets me pet her whole she's eating.

Fw: August 4th

                                                                     LATE NIGHT DINING

It's almost 9pm.  Everyone has been gone all day so I had the place to myself to do what I wanted.

This is probably the third time I've had the run of the place and it's nice.  I know I can cook something 

or bake or go up to the garden and pick something or take a nap.  Today I made some breakfast

muffins for our guests from Germany who have been here all week.  I made some peach muffins too.

Then I made some choc. zucchini brownies with hazelnuts for tonight.  The bride and groom from the

wedding are coming and they want to start a wood fire in the old kitchen and grill sausages.  Everyone

just showed up with nothing made so now they are going to start to cook.  I definitely don't want to

get involved.  It's late.  I'm done in the kitchen and I have to get up at 6 to serve the B+B guests.

It was very hot today and I spent time in the garden picking the first of the roma beans.  Some I think

grew overnight.  I was just up there checking on them 2 days ago and today they were huge.  Some so

huge I had to pull the strings off them after cooking.  But they tasted really good.  I made them into a

salad with red onion and the tiniest of cherry tomatoes called pomodoroinos (Sicily).

I also hung out 3 loads of laundry and took it all in.  So I've been busy and now I really don't want

to make a huge dinner for these people and clean up the kitchen.  I'm ok with doing all this stuff  14 hrs.

a day, 7 days/week but by 8pm I want to get off my feet, not eat and just read and relax.  Sophia and

Sara usually stay up until about midnight.  The music in Casaletto should be starting soon and from

my room I can hear it very well from across the valley.  Last night they played some Led Zeplin and

other American rock.  Every night in August there is a different group who play different types of

music.  Very nice.

I cooked the chick peas I shucked and they taste like almonds.  Good snack food

I've tries to talk to the German guests but I feel they are uncomfortable because they speak only a 

little English so they get frustrated.  I wish I could go visit the Baroness but she speaks and understands

NO English.  So forget that.

Fw: August 3rd Trip to Maratea

This was officially my very 1st WHOLE day off in 18 days so I decided to go down to the

ocean.  I'd heard Maratea was very beautiful.  The only way out of here is to take the one hour

hairpin bus ride to Sapri and from there take either a bus or train somewhere else or just stay

in beautiful Sapri.  I took the 6minute train ride to Maratea.  I got out of the train to find myself

at a lonely train station with no indication of where to go to get anywhere.  So I started walking

and walking up and up and up following signs to Maratea and hen before I knew it I was seeing

signs for the next town.  Then I realized I'd walked right through the center of Maratea which was

a grocery store/sell everything else for the home store.  I'd gone in and bought a liter and 1/2 of

mineral water for .40euro.  About 55 cents.  On my way out of the store I met 3 young guys all

sweaty and standing next to their bicycles.  I asked if they spoke English.  It is so nice to find

someone who speaks English.  They were all from Denmark riding their bicycles from Rome

to Sicily.  From there 2 were flying home and the other taking a boat to Sardinia and then to

Corsica and then to Nice.  It is always a pleasure to meet someone you can talk to.  The language

barrier is probably the most difficult thing about being here.  That and not being able to talk to Hannah

on the phone.

So then off I went down the hill I'd just came up, trying to find my way to the beach.  Well there is

no beach in Maratea.  The whole coast is rocky cliffs.  Quite beautiful but nowhere to just sit and

enjoy the water.  So back up I go.  Up the mountain on a road that can barely fit two very small cars

much less someone walking.  There is NO room for a person on these roads.  At times I felt I had to

tuck my arms in close to my body or feel the car brush up against me.  That's how close they came to

hitting me.  But the funniest thing I saw was a young guy on a motorbike on these hairpin roads-

TEXTING while driving!  These people are crazy!  I had to laugh.  It was really funny.

I decided after having lunch (fresh linguini with porcini and white anchovies) to go back to Sapri

for the rest of my day off and go to the beach there.  I did that and enjoyed my first full day off!

Fw: August 1st more

                                                                        CECI

I have a new respect for the chick pea.  We grow them here and they're ready to harvest.  If you've

ever shucked peas then you'll understand the tedium in opening each pod and getting tat ONE chick pea

out.  Sometimes you'll find 2 in a pod.  One time and only one time did I find 3 in one pod!  Such

happiness in such a little thing.  Well I shucked a lot of chick peas today and didn't mind a bit.

I have to make sure that whatever I make with them will be well suited to the work  (work is a strong word)

it took to get these.  I will never open another can of chick peas that I bought for $.75 and NOT

remember today's task. And I do know that a machine mass shucks the ones in a can.  But you get the idea

behind all this.

                                                                          POTATO

After the shucking of the chick pea, I sunk a pitch fork into the ground and pulled up for the first

time ever-potatoes!  I eyes got big and I actually said "WOW".  They wee golden in color and oh

so beautiful.  I couldn't stop.  I had to keep going and going until the second garden of potatoes

was all pulled up.  Miriam and Robby did the first garden this morning.  I think there are 2 more

gardens to go for the potatoes.  As I'm digging one side of the garden, pears were falling on my

out of the tree and while I was digging the other part of the garden, figs were falling on my.  We

have so much stuff coming ripe and ready to either cook or just eat.  We still have lots of zucchini

coming every day.  A million green tomatoes will be ripening probably all at once.  Maybe by then

I'll be gone on to my next farm.  Oh the work it'll take to make all that cause and can it!

But for now we let the potatoes rest for at least 3 days before cooking any of them.  I'm sure Robby

will store them in a very suitable, safe place for use in the following several months.

Fw: August 1st

Oh those Italians!!  They NEVER stop talking!  NEVER!!  I just got off the bus from Sapri.  It was an hour of constant hairpin

turns throughout the mountains.  And as much as I hate bus rides especially on a road as curvy as this was, I could not wait to

get off and get away from that bus driver who NEVER shut up the whole hour.  At first he talked to a couple of women but when

they got off he continued with a man. All in all it was a very nice day in Sapri.  It's a town on the coast with a very large beach.  

No sand-just rock.  Small rocks.  But the water looked beautiful.  Coming down from the top of the mountain where you can

see the whole town and the beach and the sea was absolutely beautiful.

First plan was to find a bank to get some Euros.  I tried to get in to one bank but the teller shouted something to me.  I said

I didn't speak Italian so she shouted it again and again still in Italian.  But wouldn't let me in.  By the time I found out I could

use the ATM machine outside the bank, I realized they were closed for the afternoon like every business does.  I just forgot.   That was what she was shouting about.  We're closed until 5pm.  Next thing I wanted to do was find a place to get a book.  A translation book from English to Italian.  But I needed the book to look up the word for book store.  Being all the stores were closed I decided to go to the beach, find a place to sit, have a beer and lunch being it was now 1:30.  I had a nice lunch at a restaurant right on the beach and then found these big comfortable cushioned chairs up off the beach but still on the water and I sat down and took a nap in the sun.

As many days I have spent in the hot sun with no sunscreen, I have not burned at all.  I think the ozone must be thicker here

and it's doing its' job at protecting people from the suns burning rays.  That's the only thing that makes any sense.  I have a

little tan but definitely no burn.

I then went to the train station to ask how I could get to Matera, a city of stone that looks amazing.  Finding someone who

could help me who spoke a little English was a little challenging but what I understood was Matera does not have a train

station.  I would have to take a bus to Sapri, a train to Salerno and another bus to Ferrandina-Pomarico-Migli.  And then

I don't know how I'd get to Matera from there.  Looks like another 15 miles.  I think I'll wait until I get to the farm I'm

scheduled to work at in October in Brindisi and go to Matera from there.  A lot closer.

Almost gave up looking for a store to buy the book when I just happened to walk in to one that had magazines outside.

The guy was very nice, spoke a little English and gave the book I wanted to me.  It was $4.90.  Then I had a gelato for $1.00

and  later an espresso (thick as mud) and something called cream that came out of a machine, light tan in color-absolutely

delicious.  Both for $.60!  All these prices are in Euro so you have to add another 1/3.  But still a good price.  Then I walked

and walked and walked.  Got a slice of pizza for the trip home and got there at 8pm.  Wonderful day in a lovely city. 

Fw: Wedding Food

Here is the food I helped make and serve for this glorious wedding between Elizabeth and Chang (he's Turkish, she's Austrian)

Antipaste: prosciutto wrapped melon, zucchini salad atop fresh bread, 2 kinds of cheese, one being mozz. and another shaved meat

two kinds of pasta: 1) with bolognese and 1) with sautéed zucchini and prosciutto

Eggplant parmigianna

Whole sausage with roasted potato w/rosemary

Fresh peaches with Sangria

Wedding cake

       My favorite thing all day was the potato.  They made a huge bowl of fresh fruit salad but never served it-too

       much food.  So I made marmalade with it today-beautiful.  We had 6 loaves of bread left over, 2 whole watermelons,

       8 cucumbers which were never cut up, 5 whole melons (the orange variety) a lot of cured meat (?) and oh darn-

       3/4 of a wheel of parm. reggianno, some kind of cheese with an olive in it, several pkgs of fresh mozz., 2 large

       containers of zucchini salad, no beer, very little wine, 1/2 case of roma tomatoes.  We have food for a long time.

       Before the cutting of the cake, the music went into the garden for some dancing  amist a smoke show. Cool.  Rennatta

       came into the kitchen (she's Roberto's sister and she's married to the HOT Giovanni) and danced with me.  That was

       fun.  A few guys asked me to marry them. And then the fireworks.  Some guys Black Lab ran away because of the

       fireworks.  They found him about 10 miles away.  Yes, 10 miles!!  They were from Switzerland. They played some American 

       music (THE WALL) and only I knew the words.  And they played Frank Sinatra.  All the music was fabulous.

       It was a lot of fun being from America at this very Italian wedding

Fw: Sunday July 29th morning after

It's the morning after the day before the wedding.  Everything last night went very well-lots of food left over.  First

we had antipaste: sliced and cooked eggplant -cold-2 slices per plate, molded fresh ricotta timbale and 1 slice each

of two different kinds of paper thin meat.  Prosciutto and something else.  Each was plated and looked very pretty. 

Then we had pasta with pesto and grated parm.  No parm in the pesto so was added to the big bowl and each plateAll

was garnished with chopped, seeded tomatoes.  Of course lots of wine.  

The Bread:  I saw the 2 men carry 2 huge bags (the size of 50 lb. potato bags) of just baked, very large loaves of bread.

The Cost: Each loaf weighed 2kg at 4euro each.  We got 10 loaves for both days.  Remember, the wedding is tonight.

So each loaf weighed over 4 lb.(450g=1 lb) and cost about $6.  Very nice bread.  We're serving slices of it this morning

to the overnight guests with Miriams' homemade marmalade.

Last night I left since I really wasn't an invited guest and went to the only establishment in town-a bar.  I sat on the terrace

and drank 3 beers and was served 3 bowls of munchies.  The beer cost 1.5euro each.  Then I went to Uncle Mario's 

apartment and sat out on his terrace-very lovely out there with a nice breeze.  Then fell asleep.

Got up at 6, came back to make lots of espresso for the guests and to look at all the leftover food!.  The kitchen help

has arrived and are cooking the potatoes.  I don't know how they will prepare them.  The sausage (some of it) was used

yesterday to make the bolognese for tonights' pasta.  Not sure how they will prepare the rest of the sausage.  They don't use 

tomato paste in their sauce.  They do use carrot, celery, onion, white wine, tomato sauce from a jar (Russo), lots of salt, 

basil leaves.  It turns out to be a very smooth sauce and with the added grated parm. it does fast good.

Carla made the eggplant parm. but I have to say it looks all dried out or over baked.  I would leave town if I cooked it.

But maybe it'll taste better than it looks.  And Robby liked my pesto better than his moms.  All in all, I think everyone is

very pleased with the cooking that I have done.

So I sit up in the storage room now to stay out of everyone's way and the internet works up here.  But there's no window

so get pretty hot.

I will be going for my first day off to Salerno on Monday or Tuesday otherwise if I stay I will always have lots to do.  For the past 2 weeks I have been 

very busy for 12-14 hours a day, every day.