Take a short break and enjoy life. It can be done.

[Gioc]

better if you pop over here to Italy, the food is genuine , the wine is good and the weather is also promising.

Greetings from Italy.

[reedboat2]

Not sure when we can get away, but would love to. What’s your nearest airport? Roma? Milano? Thanks so much - JG

[Gioc in reply to reedboat2]

Eating at the airport restaurant doesn't seem like a good idea to me. 🤫No

I live near Lake Como, MPX airport.

Come to me, there is an Egyptian here who makes a Neapolitan pizza that is out of this world.😂 true!

Pizza

[Zella23]

Looks amazing Gio! Very tempting! Never been to Lake Como but know it’s a beautiful area. Maybe one day we ll make it!

[Gioc in reply to Zella23]

I'll wait for you Zella "...in this life or another" Cit.😋

Pizza

[Bluebell2022]

would love to see LakeComo too 😊 On my bucket list!

[Gioc]

Hi Bluebell2022

come in spring it is the best season to visit the ancient villas on the lake.

This is very famous because they filmed the film Star Wars

fondoambiente.it/villa-del-...

Pizza

[Gymsack]

I traveled the world on business but I can not go travelling any more . You will have to send more pictures. I must wait for the snow to melt and then I will take some and show you spring. Meanwhile I am stuck in a frozen land .

Today is Family Day here in Canada and my son and his family are coming so I have a pork roast that has been marinating all night in a beer / soy sauce / dry mustard / thyme / basil potion and it is now in the slow cooker set for 7 hours. Garlic bread toast with cheese, rice cooked in apple juice with a bit of cinnamon and ginger and vegetables in a butter sauce. A little beer and some Italian wine and good company.

I dont know what to do about desert. I made 3 loaves of bread dough two days ago that I turned into sweet rolls with cinnamon and brown sugar, but they ate it all.

So you see even in a frozen land there can be peace and happyness .

Be happy GIOC

I am

more pictures on the lake please

PS : It is 8:30 am , snowed overnight but now the sky is clear and blue, minus 10 deg C or 10 deg F its going to be a nice day

[staceysack]

Ciao! Italy is my favorite place to visit. I always say I would move there if my family would come with me. My father's family is originally from the Calabria area but no one is left there now. I've been to Italy twice. I took my husband and 2 kids there for 10 days in 2022. It was their first time and all they still talk about is the food. I've traveled quite a bit and you just can't get better food anywhere else in my opinion. We are hoping to get back there again in 2025. Fingers crossed

[Gioc in reply to staceysack]

We are waiting for you, I'm sure you will come back.

Greetings from Italy

Gio

Today segrino lake

[PalmSprings]

Looks absolutely delicious!

[Gioc in reply to PalmSprings]

Yes it was 😋

[PDFree]

I would love to take a break and come to Italy again! A train ride to Lake Como was beautiful, and we found a Sicilian market there that day. Your frutti di mare looks so delicious!!

[Gioc in reply to PDFree]

Hi PDFree, for the record, it was not cooked by me but by a professional chef from a well-known restaurant here , as you can see from the presentation where the top quality mussels are separated from the pasta for a better tasting.. In my opinion this is not about eating a plate of spaghetti, but about savoring a work of culinary art.

[Tribselyov]

Sidelined from my surgical career 11 years ago by Parkinson’s, I took your advice and visited Italy several times. On one trip, I encountered Lorenzo de Medici, Galileo and Saint Francis of Assisi. The encounters are recorded in an Amazon kindle writing that can be downloaded for free between February 20-24. The title is Midnight in Florence.

Florence picture

[LAJ12345]

are we all invited? Hope you have a kitchen to cook for thousands🤣

[Gymsack in reply to LAJ12345]

Have you ever attended an Italian wedding ?

[LAJ12345 in reply to Gymsack]

No🤩

[Gioc in reply to Gymsack]

LOL

[Gioc in reply to LAJ12345]

Up to around 100 could be done, but I could organize myself to do more😅. This is Italy, Mediterranean, everyone's home, with the associated values such as hospitality, family, work, and the mother who says "Eat!".

Do you know what they say about the peoples of the Mediterranean?

“If you give them stones they will always build houses. “

🌍

[LAJ12345 in reply to Gioc]

Sounds fun.

[Esperanto]

Shall we schedule a date? 😋

[Gioc in reply to Esperanto]

yes, but could you define what exactly you mean by “we” 😁

[Esperanto]

No idea, but the enthusiasm was great among the members😀

In any case, I'll be around in the spring 🥾⛰️

[Gioc]

okay 🌍 nel caso Esperanto ti mando le coordinate.

Pizza today

[Gymsack]

After the war many Italian families came to Canada with many kids the same age as me and the baby boom. It was a bit rocky at the beginning , some of the men had technically fought against our fathers in the conflict but it did not take long for us to figure out that these new people had some things we could learn. Plus we realized that it had not been the people of Italy that we had been fighting. They had suffered and had come to this country for the same reasons our ancestors had. We noticed how they included and respected their old parents who lived with them , their cooking of food we had not tasted the like of before , and a complete loyalty to the community and generosity resulting in many many life long friendships. There is nothing like sitting down at their table and have and old women dressed in black say " here try this, this is good food ,eat, your not eating" A census ten years ago showed that there was approximately 900,000 in Ontario including 469,000 in Toronto in a little Italy. I suspect it is close to double that now. I do not know if it is true but I heard that there are more Italians in Toronto and also in New York City than any city in Italy. We win.

[Gioc in reply to Gymsack]

Thanks GymBag,

The Italians were not unskilled immigrants, but often carpenters, blacksmiths, cooks, stonemasons, bricklayers, good farmers, tailors, etc. with one characteristic, the ability to do their job well almost as if it were a work of art.

If you want a job done well, have it done by a real Italian.

Why?

Because we aren’t robots,

we mostly recognize that job it's OUR job and so we do it.

P:S.

This is also a suggestion for a young person facing work, a good motivation that goes beyond money and which will transform work almost into a fun game.

Florence

[Gymsack]

looking back

yep you are 100% correct, A Tailor who later opened a small mens high quality clothing store that I bought most of my clothing from, Bricklayer who eventually built houses including the one I own , a Barber who knew horses and later owned horses and made money raceing that he gave away to people who needed it and also cut my hair . A short order cook who opened his own fine dining restaurant, A mechanic who opened a new VW car dealership and sold me my first new car. Many more. All had a trade or knowledge, or a relative with a trade who hired them and taught them well. A retired priest that taught us how to box and let us use his boxing ring. A vegetable store owner that purchased used baskets from me that I had collected in the neighbourhood and transported in my wagon and later we also sold her vegetables to fill them from the old Italian guy who lived next door, he enjoyed a bit of extra money and was proud of the giant vegetables and high quality. As soon as she found out his name and met him with me she raised the price we were getting. Odd that.

[Gioc in reply to Gymsack]

How many beautiful life stories!

But, Italians aside, have you ever thought of writing them in a book. I find it very nice to tell you about you and people you meet in your life.

You have a humanistic approach, that is, a friend of the human being, which makes your telling, even if in short, a very 'spiritual' and pleasant thing to read. You have a great talent at this.

Como lake