I have a few goals while here:
- Speak Italian, get better at it
- Go to at least one cooking class
- Travel a bit in the area
Speak Italian, get better at it – this isn’t as easy as it sounds! I have been learning and practising Italian now for a while, although I haven’t got as far as I wanted because life… So while here I have been using Italian for simple things. For the more difficult, or when I ask a question pretty well but know if they answer I’ll be lost, I first ask ‘English?’ I think it’s a bit rude to assume that someone will speak my language to me. I believe it’s a courtesy to learn at least enough to get by, to respect the country you’re in and the people who live there. However, when I do speak Italian they answer in English much of the time. It happens everywhere. So I wonder, was my Italian so pathetic they needed to rescue me? Are they too applying the principle of courtesy, respect your guest? I’m not sure.
So here it is – if you have the time and patience, speak Italian back to me. I don’t even mind if you correct my pronunciation or vocabulary, etc. It would be very useful. I’m so happy that people can speak English pretty much everywhere in the world. I marvel at their ability to switch between languages and this is particularly true in restaurants where I wonder why they are serving food when they could have a decent translator job! In Geneva I once listened in on a newspaper seller who was switching from French to English to German to Italian with the buyers. It was my first experience of polyglots. I love languages and I felt deep envy right there.
Will I learn any Italian? How will I do that? Stay tuned!
Go to at least one cooking class – I love to cook. I’ll try anything unless it has bell peppers in it! My repertoire is pretty large. I can make dim sum, lasagne (North American style, although rarely), Vietnamese grilled food, coq au vin, Thai curries, Indian or West Indian curries, Californian style chili, enchiladas, sausage rolls, tourtiere…and around the globe we go! And I love cooking classes. In Toronto I was so fortunate to go to the classes held by Calphalon. They were epic. For $160 I would learn to make several dishes with help from a chef and helper, sample them and take food home that would last a few meals. I tried to go as often as a course took my interest. Then they closed. I grieved, I truly did.
When we went to Lyon some years ago I enrolled in a class there at the Plum Lyon school, run by an American in Lyon – Lucy. I learned to make a cherry charlotte, Gougeres, A beet and goat cheese carpaccio, a white fish I forget the name of and a delicious sauce. We cooked for hours. Am I exaggerating? No, I think we sat down near midnight to a delicious dinner that I enjoyed despite having travelled all day and stood all evening cooking.
This time I started looking early at classes. I found a place in Torino that has a few classes and events a month and am going there on Thursday to check it out and book something. Then I thought to contact a lady in Bologna that I’m following online. She is fully booked so that won’t happen. I think I annoyed her since her reply was ‘Serious cooks book early.’ I guess I’m not so serious then!
Travel a bit in the area – At first we talked about revisiting Venice, Rome… give them another chance but in off peak season (is there such a thing any more?) The fares were against us. In the UK train fares are at their most reasonable about six weeks ahead of travel. In Italy, it’s 120 days. We were at least 75 days too late! Next time.I booked a long weekend with Esmeralda in Bologna and am looking forward to that. We also thought about our options. We aren’t far from Milan, so will finally see that city up close instead of from the train window. As well, an old work colleague Daniele lives there and he tells me he is a great pasta chef. Then we looked at what was in the Piemonte area.
I’ve picked four places – Alba, Asti, Bra, and Ivrea. I’ve been reading a blog about Italy and the hosts have recommended two other places – Saluzzo and The Langhe. Research needs to be done.