Benvenuta Primavera!!

Spring may have officially started over a week ago, but here in Florence, it wasn’t until this past weekend that we actually felt it. It's time to head to the hills and enjoy spring's first fruits and say goodbye to the last traces of winter. Heading east of Florence, there is an area locally known as Casentino. With its two medium-sized mountain ranges, Casentino is home to the headwaters of the Arno river. It is also home to one of Tuscany's largest national parks. Casentino's western most ridgeline, and the one closest to Florence, is capped by the peak Pratomagno ("great meadow").

Birch forest in the Vallombrosa



These hills are a naturalist's paradise, and it's a great place to see the season's first wildflower blooms. Leaving Florence, my wife and I take the long way out to Pratomagno, climbing through the Vallombrosa (“shady valley”). Throughout most of the year, this valley lives up to its name. It's often dark, and much colder than the surrounding area. In the summer, Vallombrosa becomes somewhat of a retreat for Florentines trying to escape the city's heat. The upper part of the valley is covered in a dense birch forest, also shaded much of the year. Now the birch, still without their leaves, stand motionless as the spring light dances between them. Spiritual, and it leaves no wonder why Vallombrosa's Benedictine monks built their impressive monastery here, nearly 1000 years ago. The monastery is impressive and you can still visit it today, but my wife and I have other objectives. 
  

Bucaneve at the base of Pratomagno



As we near Pratomagno, the flora and fauna change significantly. Near the peak in the higher elevations, the bucaneve flower (or literally “the one that puts holes in the snow”) bloom in sunny patches where the snow has receded. The air up here is much lighter and cleaner than down in the Valdarno ("Arno Valley"). Not only is the air cleaner, the water here is pure, potable and some of the lightest and best tasting I have ever had. There are several springs that flow as Artesian wells, tapped directly from the mountainside by the locals. Many often come from the valleys below, always with empty jugs. 

  

Viola Mammola



As we continue to descend the eastern ridgeline, the forest changes. Pine, oak, and chestnut now dominate. Dotting the understory are patches of small violet flowers (viola mammola). The flowers themselves were often used in local medicines, mostly to calm nerves as a sedative. Be warned, they also have purging and laxative effects. Dosage is everything!!

Tuscans exclaim how these little flowers puzzano (“stink”)! They do stink. They stink like a horse's stall. However, smelling them also reminds me instantly of some of the strong floral scents in some sangiovese wines. Don’t misinterpret my meaning. I love the local sangiovese based wines and their aromas. Anyone who knows me, would never argue my conviction to and love of this grape. But, it's important to understand aromas in wines "remind us" of other compounds in nature. Sometimes these compounds may not be something we associate with pleasing aromas, but the wine itself is pleasing nonetheless (with or without its stink!). So, much like the Sauvignon Blanc/cat pee association, the aroma of a horse’s stall coming from your sangiovese wine may not be a bad thing!

Descending the mountain further, we spot the long wispy plants, which subconsciously may be the grail of our hike. With its woody vine, and spiky, almost pine needle-like leaf, the wild asparagus plant is hard to mistake. The mixed forests at these lower elevations abound with it this time of year. The wild version is much thinner and generally more tender than its think, domesticated cousin; however, the flavor of the wild asparagus tend to be incredibly more intense. At this point, hiking is secondary. My wife and I spend the next hour or so foraging.

Ciuchino on the farm

Heading back to Florence, we make one last pit-stop. We visit a local farmer we know, and grab some fresh eggs, home made ricotta, and fresh baked bread. The eggs seem the size of tennis balls and their yolk is more orange than the sun. What this mountain air does to these hens is beyond explanation, but I'm happy it happens (even if I can't explain it). The fresh ricotta we pick up is from local sheep, and produced with a technique most haven't seen for 40 years. Frittata with fresh wild asparagus is on the menu tonight! Mmmm ... spring is finally here!

Happy Birthday Italy!!

In over 9 years of living in Italy, I think I have seen Italians pull out and wave the “Tri-colore” only twice. The first was in 2006 when Italy beat France in the World Cup, and, the second, in these last couple of days to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of Italy’s unification. You must first understand, Italians are not a particularly nationalistic people. Due to a long history of city-state control on the peninsula, they are generally more loyal to their local town than the nation as a whole (a concept know here as Campanilismo or loyalty only to one’s own bell tower or small town). So flag waving doesn't run in Italians’ veins like the Stars and Stripes might in America or the Union Jack in England.

A positive effect of Campanilismo is all of the wonderful faces of Italian diversity we see in culture, architecture, cuisine, linguistics and the phenotype of the people as one travels north to south or east to west within Italy. A negative effect of Campanilismo is a sense of me-ne-freghismo (or the “I don’t give a damn” attitude), which too often infiltrates the Italians’ dealings with one another. Some of Italy’s current problems including the Mafia, tax evasion, nepotism, lack of trust, and vandalism can stem, at least in part, from the too often inability to think of the greater good. A small dose of nationalism might be just what the ideological doctor ordered. A small dose people! We all know what happens when Europe gets too nationalistic.

Last night, Florentines celebrated the anniversary throughout its Piazzas in the historic center. Museums were kept open much later, and various activities and festivities took place throughout the city. It was great to see and experience. Even joining in the national spirit, Piaggio, the makers of Vespa created a special “Tricolore” edition of the classic scooter, with matching helmet. I have to admit, although this small bit of nationalism is rare, it’s nice to see, and I for one hope this trend continues!!

Learning the Italian Language in Florence

I am new to blogging and in my first post I decided to write about learning the Italian language. It seemed fitting because upon my arrival here over 9 years ago, it was my first priority.  Now Florence has become home to me. I have started a business here (http://www.tuscantrails.com/), I have great friends here and of course, with and through my wife I have wonderful family here. Fortunately, learning the language came quickly, and not because I am particularly gifted with languages. I wanted to pass off to other expats in the area, or anywhere really, who are hoping to learn a foreign language exactly how I learned the language quickly. These couple bits of advice, take them or leave them, may help those who desire to go beyond traveler or tourist and wish to “go native.”

I would like to reiterate that languages don’t come natural to me. I studied Spanish for years, traveling often and even working a little in Latin America, but I never really mastered Spanish. I could hold rudimentary conversations, about the weather or people’s personal histories, but never beyond this. Italian was different. I learned more Italian in two months than  studying nearly 8 years of college and grad school Spanish. Learning Italian went fast, and looking back was not too difficult. I literally could hold somewhat complex conversations within 6 weeks of being here, and I felt very confident after 8 months. Although I am still learning (yes I still feel this way with my native English…), today I consider myself bilingual. I’d say two things really helped me learn Italian. The first was my living situation, and the second was the mind set I tried to maintain when learning.

When I came to Florence 9 years ago, I was coming from San Francisco, with my then girlfriend, now wife, who is originally from Florence. We were living together in San Francisco when we decided on this adventure (at the time I’d never been to Italy). Upon arrival, we moved in with her family in Florence and stayed with them for nearly a year before we were certain we would be staying on a more “semi-permanent” basis. My immediate goal was to learn the language, and so for the first 2 months, I spent 4 hours a day, 5 days a week in an intense immersion program at a local language school. The passes you make in this environment are leaps and bounds compared to the rather passive environment of a 50 minute college class. Returning from class I fortunately continued to hear and use Italian with my wife's family. My wife’s grandmother (Nonna Ines), lives on second floor of the Palazzo we lived (we were on the fourth). Quite possibly one of the sweetest, and most talkative ladies I’ve ever met. She talked to me in a barrage of discussions, knowing full well, I didn’t speak a word of Italian in the early days. Little by little her discussions began to sink in. During the first couple of months, I even avoided passing time with other English speakers. When you pass company with co-nationals you don’t use or learn a foreign language. At times, progress was slow, and frustration ran high. You are constantly tired and I often had a headache from shear mental exhaustion. But it is important to point out (although somewhat obvious), the key ingredient here is full immersion. And this is the first recommendation I can make to any expat wanting to learn a foreign language. Get involved, spend as much time with locals as possible, and put your fellow Anglophones on hold for a while.

The other key to leaning a second language is your state of mind. If you really want to learn a language you need to think like a child again; mind wide open, with none of the social inhibitions and barriers we created from adolescence on. These filter what you say and block  the natural process of experimentation that occurs when learning a language. Watch children learn their own language, any language. They make tons of mistakes, apply rules in areas they don't apply, and say ridiculous things... We think it's cute, but adults don't want to make those same mistakes. Unfortunately we have to... To learn a language you need to use a language. Not having the foundation you’re sure to make mistakes. It’s natural and quite simple. Mistakes mean a few laughs at our expense, but also endears you to those around you and helps you continue to learn. I can offer a few anecdotes which looking back still make me smile. Of course,  two of my more ridiculous linguistic blunders seemed to happen at the table in front of my wife and my in-laws. The first was when talking to my father in law, I asked him about the different quality and quantity of “condoms” in Italian food as opposed to American food (mistaking preservativi—condoms, for conservanti—preservatives). I’m not certain I made the best impression about our culinary practices in the United States. Another early blunder was when I asked someone to pass me the “doggy-style” (simple mistake of changing the "o" at the end of pecorino cheese to an "a" and your cheese becomes a sexual position).  Even with my Italian friends today, I sometimes embarrass myself. A short time back, I was playing poker with some Florentine friends one night. I started the night strong and had a nice pile of chips in front of me. After a series of bad hands, my pile of chips—“MAZZO” was shrinking, of course when I commented on it, I mistakenly used the feminine—“MAZZA,” which means bat or club, but has an easily assumed slang meaning as well. We are still friends, and no matter how hard I try to explain to them, they are convinced that I take my poker games way too intimately!

I learned you need to have fun with the language, it is beautiful and it will open a lot of doors for you while you are here... try to immerse yourself, and try to rediscover it’s fun to be a child again. Good luck and in bocca lupo!!