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  • 11/13/09
    Latte, gelato, panini or al Fresco?


    If you’re walking in Italy and you ask where’s the local bar, chances are, you will end up in a coffee shop. With the wonderful Italian ambiance, you probably won't want to leave,

    S    o you order a latte and maybe a cornetto. Sitting at the comfort of your table, enjoying  the sunshine, Don’t be surprised if you see the waiter bringing you a glass of milk and a croissant!

    Not quite what you were expecting!  I imagine you were hoping for a cappuccino and an ice-cream!  Sending everything back  you ask for a  panini.  You are not very hungry, so a simple sandwich should suffice, but you may be alarmed to see the waiter bringing you a basket full of breads? 

    Surprised and frustrated you decide to head for a restaurant for lunch, confident that the waiters will understand you. After all, surely a bowl of pasta is just a bowl of pasta, whatever language you speak...Walking into the restaurant, the first thing you ask for is to eat al fresco.

    However, don’t be surprised when you are shown to  a nice little spot inside, close to an open window, or nearby an air-conditioner. In Italy, sitting outside in the summer months, only brings to mind mad dogs and English men.

    Undeterred you order, confident that this time you will be understood. You start off asking for a bruschetta. You are certain about this word, it is right there on the menu, so why is the waiter looking somewhat dumbfounded? Is he deaf? Not blind for sure... You point at the word on the menu, ‘aah! Brusketta!’ he grunts brusquely. 

    Okay a mispronunciation, no big deal. With an increasing appetite, you decide to order a main course. Bloody menu where 's the main courses, do they come with vegetables or what?

    Menus in Italy have first courses (pasta , rice, soup), second courses (meat,  fish, eggs), and side dishes (vegetables or potatoes). No mix and match. One thing after the other, just like in  a religious abeyance. You order one thing, then the other , then one more. Would you dare to order pasta and veggie and eat them on the same dish? Or have salad first and pasta next? Would you break this sacred rule in the Pope's homeland?  It’s your choice, but don’t be alarmed when you are looked at with disdain.With time, you will learn that, spaghetti doesn’t come with a spoon.


    However, after a glass or two of vino to boost your Italian, you will be able to ask for a gelato for dessert and pronounce pistacchio with confidence. Happy with your progress  you will boldly bid the waiter a big grazia *! However, after your delicious Italian gastronomy, you won’t even notice his look of  bewilderment! 

     

    * grazia= grace; grazie: thank you. 

     

    Roberta Sabbatini

    Director

    All in Italian Language School

  • 10/13/09
    Amalfi trip : the last adventure of All in Italian students

    Naples and the Amalfi Coast Oct 2009  

    We’d just landed in Naples. ‘Uno, due, tre........ diciotto, diciannove ......... who is missing, there should be twenty of us?’ The latest ‘All in Italian’ adventure had just started and already we’d lost one ‘studenti’.  A few frantic phone calls established that she’d missed the flight, but would join up with us later.

    A whirlwind tour of Naples followed, led by our enthusiastic guide Andrea. ‘Remove jewellery and keep your money close to you’ was his advice before we launched ourselves into the narrow streets of this enormous sprawling city. ‘And watch out for the traffic’ he called. A timely warning, as we were assailed on all sides by scooters ridden at break neck speed.

    We were in the heart of old Naples a melee of people, hanging laundry, stalls selling plaster saints, cars and scooters.We entered Spaccanapoli, the long street which divides the city. It is full of medieval churches with their amazing frescoes and sculptures.  Then on to the Duomo, the grand Cathedral, where the relics of San Gennaro the city’s patron saint are housed. It’s claimed that twice a year, his blood, kept in phials, turns to liquid. If the miracle does not occur then disaster follows. Fortunately it happened this year!

    Then it was back to the coach, a quick head count ....’diciotto, diciannove, bene!’...... all present and eager to reach the hotel in Salerno.The next day came the highlight of our trip, a visit to the ancient city of Pompeii, buried by the ash of an erupting Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.

    Everyone’s first reaction was an enormous ‘Wow’, as we took in the sheer size and scale of this incredible place. Even the rain didn’t dampen our enthusiasm. The remains of houses and shops and public buildings still line the streets. The deep furrows made by the chariots and carts can clearly be seen and the stepping stones that allowed citizens to cross roads without wading through sewage! The pavements bore signs directing seafarers and others to the ladies of the night, the same symbols of male fertility that we saw placed above once newly opened premises to bring good luck. And last but not least there was the very moving sight of the preserved bodies of people trying to escape. You could almost feel the pulse of this once thriving city. 

    Midday hailed the welcome sight of the sun.........diciotto, diciannove, VENTI! ....the missing member of the group had caught up with us. We were now ready for the Amalfi Coast with its narrow winding roads climbing ever higher, allowing us magnificent, sometimes heart stopping views of the Bay of Salerno. 

    We visited Amalfi and Positano, precariously clinging to the side of the mountain, both beautiful and expensive. We drank shots of espresso coffee to keep us going and indulged ourselves with great scoops of gelato made from every delicious flavour under the sun.  

    The morning of our final day Andrea took us on a guided tour of Salerno, the afternoon was free to suit ourselves. Salerno was home to the oldest and finest medical school in medieval Europe. To our surprise we also discovered that its 11th century cathedral, San Matteo, with its magnificent bronze doors, claims to have in its crypt the relics of St Matthew the evangelist. According to legend his body was brought to Salerno in the 10th century. Andrea assured us that this was supported by the correct documentation.

    So we came to the end of another All in Italian adventure, as always returning to England steeped in Italy’s history and perhaps a little more fluent in its language. Wait a minute, the group is smaller ……uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque, sei!  

    Trish Williams

    October 2009

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