“Born in the U.S.A.”…

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, the other day, and I had been in my apartment for most of it.  I was working on some music and decided to do some memorizing while I walked and explored my neighborhood in detail.

I set out passing my local grocery store (you remember…good produce, bad carts) and continued on the streets that I usually pass while on the bus.  As I continued along my path, I came upon a park with a fountain, a little walkway and plenty of trees, grassy areas and benches to sit upon and relax.  Not unlike so many wonderful places in the U.S., most notably Central Park where I recently made my inaugural visit.

Now, in addition, there was an open cafe (keep in mind this is Sunday in Italy!) where people were either enjoying a coffee, gelato or some other libation.  So, I decided that this would be an ideal local to sit down (afterall I’d been walking for roughly 12 minutes, c’mon, I’m American!) and enjoy my beverage of choice, a caffè macchiato…nothing like the macchiato served at your friendly neighborhood Starbucks!

Anyway…it was lovely!  The sound of the fountain, a light breeze, music in the background, a language I didn’t understand and a cup of coffee…those of you who know me well, know that a coffee and an outdoor cafè are pretty much where it’s at for me, so this was nearly perfect…nearly!

Now one might assume that while in Italy one would be surrounded by music on a regular basis.  Perhaps a busker playing a lilting melody on their accordian, a guitarist in the park or maybe it’s just the tolling church bells filling the air with the distant past…or, maybe not!  On this particular afternoon, as I sat down to relax and sip my coffee, the accompaniment du jour was that of none other than Joan Jet and the Blackhearts urging me to “Put another dime in the Jukebox, baby!”  This was followed by a string of other popular American hits from the 80’s!

Well, so be it!  As the sounds of Joan Jet, Simple Minds, Tina Turner, Madonna and those guys who sang “Ahhhhh, freak out!” continued to serenade the park, I sat there and enjoyed my coffee, the scenery, the language, and the sounds that brought me back to my not too distant past and a little closer to home!

The seal has been broken…

…yes people, it exists even here and I took the plunge…boxed wine is alive and well in Italy!  One night last week as I sat down to dinner and heard the crackling sound of the plastic seal of my liter box of vino da tavolo rosso, I couldn’t help but think…ah yes…this, is Tuscany!  I couldn’t help buying it, it was only €1,25 which amounts to roughly $1.95 (give or take) and believe me, it was way better than Franzia.. Who knows what grape it is, but who cares!!!  It was a buck ninety-five!

While on the subject of cuisine, I should mention that for the first two nights I was in Florence, the land of pasta and sauce, I chose, rather, to eat 1/2 a rotisserie chicken and some delicious little potatoes from the prepared section at the grocery store.  It was excellent and who knew italians had such an affinity for rotisserie?  Seriously, they’re everywhere.  Had I known, I would have bought the rights to Kenny Rogers Roasters and franchised the hell out of it…the Gambler would be back in business!

While on the subject of gastronomic endeavours, I have been to my grocery store several times now and I should like to point out a few things.  First, the produce.  Those of you from Chicago would appreciate this, because in my experience some of the poorest produce I’ve seen was there…Tuscany, however, is a different place.  It’s by far some of the best and they take care of it!  Imagine if you will, your local Jewel or Dominick’s employee actually inspecting tomatoes and taking away those that look perfectly acceptable…makes me chuckle too.  But they do it here…it was like a freak-show at the circus, I had to stop and just watch.

Next, italian grocery carts…what some would assume to be a good idea others (Americans) recognize as not.  Who thought it would be a good idea to put 4 “smart wheels” on a shopping cart?  (As a point of reference, a “smart wheel” is like that on the front of American shopping carts, they can pivot and go in any direction)  All of a sudden little old italian ladies are turnin’ corners like their in the General Lee being chased by Roscoe P. Contrain and Boss Hog! The back wheels slide out and there’s panacotta and ravioli everywhere…”clean up, aisle cinque!”

Alright, that’s all I got for today!