Shoes, oil and a fly swatter

So it's another end to a beautiful relationship...

No, husband hasn't left me for one of these beautiful Italian women who have an ability to ride a scooter with six inch stilleto's with wind-defying hair.

No, it's possibly my last time that I will smile and flirt with ....the gorgeous signs in town that read SALDI. Florence is famous for the start-of-year sales and it did not disappoint me again this year.

This has been my best purchase so far:
Reduced from 100 euro's to 20 euro's people!


You put high heels on and you change. -Manolo Blahnik


Hey I didn't say it was a practical purchase. Or one that is good for my back. Or one that will function on cobblestone Italian roads...ok ok so it was a completly impractical impulse buy...but they are carina (cute) don't you think?

On the other hand husband, who prides himself on never impulse shopping and only buying necessary items, bought this for the same price. What is it you ask?

It's a fly swatter gun....in the shape of a hand with a bulls-eye target drawn on it.



As predicted by me, it still has not been used once because we are yet to see a fly in Italy. But if an unfortunate fly happens to appear, Mr. Miyagi will be ready.

The other thing we bought was this cute bottle stopper for our Olive Oil. I remember back in Australia we ate butter or margarine every day. On toast, on bread or on a muffin. Here in Florence, I can't remember the last time I even bought butter. We now have bread drizzled with this olive oil. It is DELICIOUS and so much better for you.




Whenever we go to a new town we try their local olive oils and red wines. We bought this olive oil in Montalcino and so far we can not find anything that even remotely matches the amazing taste this has. Montalcino in Tuscany, is famous for being the region where the Brunello red wine is made. We also bought a bottle of that and were so excited to drink it the other day. Guess what! It was corked and smelled like vinegar. And it cost more than my shoes....so the motto of the story is. Buy the shoes. Or if you don't like shoes, you can always go for the fly swatter instead.

An Italian agriturismo

I have been wanting to go to an authentic Italian agriturismo for dinner since we got to Italy. And on Friday night I finally had my chance. My Italian friend Viviana from my local coffee shop organised a group of us to visit her friend's property, Villa Cristina, for dinner 60 km's north of Florence. I can't seem to find a direct translation of agriturismo into English, but basically it's like a homestay property and usually in an old style Italian villa.

As soon as we got there and I saw the table, I knew I should not have worn my jeans and opted for tracksuit pants instead. Or a loose skirt. I suddenly had the urge to un-do my jeans button in preparation of what was to come.

We started off with antipasto of crostini with porcini mushroom, fresh proscuitto, fried bread dough, pate crostini and blue cheese tart. If I know I am dying and have to have one more meal before I die I will request Cristina's porcini mushroom crostini. And until I tasted her secret recipe, my last meal was always going to be a Polish meal. Yes, that's how much I love food. I have already planned my last meal, although with some good luck and health my last meal will hopefully be when I'm 90 and will have to be puree'd pumpkin soup.





I was too busy stuffing my face with the primi (first course) to take a photo of it. It was a wild boar pasta that again was delizioso. Then followed the main dish which after much debate and translation was determined to be wild deer. Again it was amazing and was a perfect combination to the red wine.



Over dinner we all compared stories of our lives which is my most favourite thing to do when meeting new people. Here are some of the ladies in our group...I have no idea why my husband looks so happy in this photo?



We were from all parts of the world including Italy, Australia, Poland, Austria, Albania, Romania, Germany and India. All of us were invited by the staff that work at the Golden View Bar - the coffee shop I go to every morning for my breakfast. All of us have been going to the Golden View Bar for coffee every day for some time and without doubt, we have been there at the same time. So now, we will have an excuse to share our coffee and breakfasts together and remember what a great night we had on Friday.

Who would have thought that going to the same coffee shop every morning would end up in me tasting my most delicous meal in Italy to date. Not to mention that it also ended up in us making some wonderful new friends.

25 Random things about me

Last week I finally started Italian language school. It has been so long since I've actually written pages of notes with that old fashioned gadget - the pen - that my hand was in silent protest.
We've got such a great bunch in our class with students from Brazil, Iraq, India, Japan and the US. Oh and there is an amazing, wonderful, gorgeous and humble student from Australia....Joking!

I've made some new friends at the school so instead of coming home and studying (or blogging, or cleaning or ironing) I go out for lunch or coffee. This is all too familiar territory when I think back to my days of studying at university.

I also realised how different it is studying as an adult. As an 18 year old uni student my most important thought of the day was 'what parties are on tonight on campus?' whereas now I look forward to the class and am truly sad when our two hours is up.

When I got home from class today, I logged into facebook and saw that a friend had tagged me in this exercise: 25 Random things about me. So here it is:

1. I thank God every day for my life and especially my husband.
2. I love dogs and miss our golden retriever every day.
3. I was in a car accident where everyone died but me, so I believe in never taking a single day for granted.
4. I love singing (just ask the neighbours)
5. I have the cutest nephew in the world.
6. I love writing and reading.
7. I have a great family. I know it's rare but I also love my in-laws.
8. I thought this list was going to be easier to write than this.
9. I speak Polish & English (duh), am learning Italian and used to speak fluent Japanese.
10. I rarely drink but I love Baileys on ice.
11. I have only a couple of friends that I share my secrets with but I cherish their friendship so much (you know who you are!).
12. I am terrible at maths and science. Luckily I married someone that is brilliant at it.
13. I was born in Poland and came to Australia when I was five. Now I live in Italy.
14. I feel very privileged to be a godmother to two beautiful children.
15. I met my husband in a nightclub, we didn't exchange numbers and kept running into each other for the next week.
16. I have a love/hate relationship with aerobics and exercise.
17. I love watching re-runs of daggy shows like 'Will & Grace' & 'The Nanny'. In my pyjamas.
18. I don't believe in holding a grudge.
19. We never fall asleep angry at each other. Ever.
20. I believe that everyone should sponsor at least one child overseas or contribute to someone else less fortunate (if you can).
21. I had a snake under my desk at work in Karratha.
22. I miss my friends and family back at home and can't imagine life without email or dare I say it, facebook.
23. I hope to be a mother one day.
24. I eat chocolate every single day. Without fail. I would die for it. It is the reason for point number 16.
25. I love cooking and baking. My first thought of the day is usually 'what am I cooking for dinner tonight?'

A White Christmas in Austria.

We just got back from a five night trip to Salzburg in Austria. It was by far, the best holiday we've ever had. EVER.

As soon as we drove into the Austrian alps, we gasped in awe of the beauty we could see (and I know that sounds corny but we really were speechless).



The highlight of our trip was taking a 2km cable car up to Untersberg Mountain for Jason's 29th birthday. It was -20 degrees celcius and I gave up after half an hour outside and retreated into the pub for a hot chocolate. Two hours later, he returned from hiking with a blue face and blue lips. He was as excited as a little kid on Christmas day but couldn't smile properly as his lips were so numb.
He didn't care though as this is what he saw up there:



And this. I love this photo he took and almost wished I had gone with him...but the hot chocolates were REALLY good.




We also took a side day trip to Munich and went for lunch at the original home of the Oktoberfest - the Hofrabrahaus. Before we even had a chance to say 'supersize me' the waiter ran over with our one litre beer.



But back to Salzburg. I mentioned one of the trip highlights was climbing the mountain (well some of us climbed, some people climbed, some people who remain nameless stayed inside and kept warm). But of course my personal highlight is always to do with food. We found Demel's chocolatiers on the first night. They had the most gorgeous selection of cakes I've ever seen. In 6 days, we visited there 7 times. It was so cold that you could only stay out for an hour or so and then had to retreat in for hot coffee. And we all know what goes well with coffee:



Growing up in Australia, Christmas Day meant 40 degree temperatures, wearing singlets and shorts around the pool and going to the beach. My father used to always say 'it doesn't feel like Christmas without snow and feeling cold'. I didn't know what he meant until now. When we walked out of our hotel on Christmas Day and headed out (probably to Demel's) snow flakes started falling on us. Real Christmas trees (not the plastic Australian K-mart ones) were all around us. Street side sellers were selling roasted chestnuts. An ice-skating rink was set up in the middle of the square with kids squealing in excitement as daggy 80's music played. And in the background were the Austrian alps glistening with gorgeous snow. Everything that I had seen in picture books when I was a child and then on the travel channel growing up.

We missed being back at home this year for the holiday season, but we could have not hoped for more of a perfect time than we had this week in Austria. A belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Bah Humbug

For some reason I haven't had any urge to blog lately. Or to cook. Very unlike me. Or to clean the house due to living in the dustiest city in the world (yes even compared to living in Karratha desert with red dirt surrounding us). I haven't even had the urge to shop (ok that's not entirely true, some things never change). Or to even get out of my pyjama's before noon which unfortunately the Italia Post man can attest to whilst delivering a package to our house.

Usually this time of year back at home, I get so excited about Christmas and husband's birthday which is on Boxing Day.

There's usually Christmas parties at my work, then at husband's work and usually by now I've put up our Christmas tree and made and frozen the traditional Polish dumplings we eat for Christmas Eve. I'm usually catching up with all my friends for Christmas lunches and drinks and this year of course, this hasn't happened as we are so far away from each other. Watching CNN every day and watching hundreds of people lose their jobs just before Christmas has also put me into a really down mood and I feel almost guilty at being able to go out and buy presents and not have to worry where our mortgage payment is going to come from.

So this year it has taken me a little while to get into Christmas spirit. I'm not all 'bah humbug' as I still love Christmas but for some reason I am feeling a little homesick this year. And I'm missing our dog who I remember was alive last Christmas. She is probably happy to be in doggy heaven as this year she won't have to adorn tinsel necklaces and flashing dog tags that read 'doggy Christmas'.

One thing I am looking forward to this year is my Christmas gift from husband. Every year for the last nine Christmases we have spent together I have told him exactly what I want. Boring I know, but that's me.

But this year because we don't have family presents to open I told husband I want him to pick something. By the way, the reason we don't have family presents is not due to an uncaring family, it's due to me requesting no presents due to our lovely issues with Italia Post in the past.

So as you can imagine, this whole present buying has stressed him out considerably. He left the house for three whole hours and came back with a few shopping bags which I have been so tempted to look at (which defeats my whole asking him to surprise me I know!). What probably happened is he bought something in the first half hour and the other two and a half hours were spent looking in windows at camera's - his latest hobby.

It's hard to believe that just over a year has passed since we left Australia. And it's even harder to believe that in just a few days time it will be Christmas and we'll be going to Salzburg in Austria for a White Christmas - something I've always dreamed of experiencing. I know I know - what have I got to be all bah humbug about? But it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to! I know all the ex-pats that read this blog know exactly what I'm talking about.

I promise I'll be more cheery for my next blog and I'll even post some photos of around Florence which has turned into a beautiful city of lights and Christmas trees.

Australian visitors

Last week I collapsed from exhaustion. On the couch. And I refused to get off it for one hour. Well that was until I saw the laundry basket. So my collapse was short lived all because I can't learn to relax when something needs to be done.

I was trying to work out why I was so exhausted since I haven't done an honest day's work for a year now. Then I remembered. My in-laws and I had visited 12 different cities in the last three weeks.

This was their first visit to Italy and I was so excited to show them around my new home town and show them the beauty of Tuscany. We did day trips driving to Verona, Montelpuciano, Montalcino, Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, Lucca, Perugia, Assisi, Cinque Terre, Lake Garda and Lake Trasimeno. And of course lots of touring around Florence. Please don't ask me to name my favourite place as they are all so beautiful.

It was wonderful having our in-laws visit us and we'll miss seeing the excitement on their faces whenever they saw a tower or a church or the Tuscan countryside with trees bursting with olives that were ready to be picked.

Living daily life in Florence means you sometimes takes things for granted. It's not everyday you get to walk past the Duomo and hear the bells ringing or see the Statue of David. It's great to see the excitement that visitors have when seeing this country and it reminded us of how fortunate we are to live in one of the world's most beautiful cities.

From Florence to Australia

I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself. Maya Angelou 1928.

One thing I've noticed about Italians is that they tend to become friendlier once they get to know you. The first time I entered my favourite local bar for breakfast, the staff were very polite, but of course not overly friendly. I ordered a latte and received hot milk with no coffee in it as the word latte means plain milk and not a not a weak coffee like we say in Australia. I may as well have worn a TOURIST sticker on my forehead.

After visiting my local cafe, Golden View, almost daily for my caffe latte and chocolate pastry, they have become more like friends. Sometimes when I haven't come in at my usual time and there is only one chocolate pastry left, I notice they try to 'hide' it so no one else buys it as they know I love them. If husband and I don't come in for a couple of days they ask us 'Where have you been? ' with concerned expressions.

Any hopes of me practising my Italian on the staff have been dashed as they all want to speak English with me. One of the girls is particularly keen to practise her English so we have started engaging in a language tandem. We get together and speak half in Italian and half in English.

The staff are always so interested to hear about our home town in Australia. So, recently I took in some pictures of the place we have lived in for the last four years before coming to Europe for Jason's work assignment.

I had to explain that the animals in the photos were not in parks, they are actually wild. I'm not sure they believed me.

So today, I thought I would post a few pictures from the last town we lived in, Karratha in Northwest Western Australia. A place that is literally in the middle of nowhere with the nearest town about 250 kilometres away and our home for four years due to husband's work assignment. A place I hated at first, but grew to love.

When you look at these photos, bear in mind that we lived in the real outback of Australia. Don't expect these kind of sights if you go to Sydney or Melbourne. This here is like Crocodile Dundee/Steve Irwin territory. Think flying cockroaches, snakes, goanna's and dead kangaroo's lining the roads (killed by passing vehicles). I don't know many people who can say they had a poisonous snake under their desk at work , but unfortunately I can. And it took me a long time to put my feet down from my chair after that day!

It's hard to believe that it's been twelve months since we left Australia. And it's even harder to believe that in just seven months we'll be back there and Florence will be but a memory. A sweet memory. I wonder how many caffe latte's and chocolate pastries I can fit into the next seven months? My thighs shudder at the thought.

Here is husband with his number one love...um... not me his humble wife. His number one love is fishing and a romantic date with me is just never going to be as good as a day out fishing with his dad or his friends. I've accepted that and we move on. One of the reasons I have accepted it is that he always comes home with these beautiful red emperor. These are probably the most delicious fish you can catch and to buy them in a city is very expensive. Karratha is famous for it's fishing so we are lucky enough to have a freezer full of these delicacies.

Here is a relaxed kangaroo quite happy for me to pose with her. You can't see it very well in this photo but she actually had a joey in her pouch. There is a programme in Karratha where you can take on injured joey's into your home to nurse them back to health.

I haven't seen one of these signs in Italy! This was taken in Broome which is 800 km's from Karratha and one of Australia's premium tourist spots. To Europeans, 800 km's is a long way but in fact, I used to travel to Broome for work. I would drive on a Monday, do a presentation on Tuesday and drive back on a Wednesday.



Broome is famous for it's beautiful beach, Cable Beach. Unfortunately there are dangerous salt water crocodiles in it. It doesn't stop people swimming in there but I refuse to go in it. I can't imagine many worse ways to go!

Husband stops the car to say hi to a friendly local. This is probably a bit closer than you should get to an emu. But what can I say? We like to live dangerously.

Aaah crabbing season in Karratha. These beauties were made into a delicious Nigella Lawson Crab Pasta recipe. But they are most delicious simply boiled and served with a cocktail sauce. Not a good food for a first date since you end up being covered in shell and meat. But we are boring, old and married so we are allowed.



The one thing husband and I will always fight about is his love of diving. See when you are pulling up fish like this, it means one thing and one thing only: Jaws is out there. Please don't tempt him with your tasty body.