Italia Lickety-Split

Well ... actually I'm, back in Mangakino. Just as exotic from some perspectives, not nearly as many Byzantine mosaic monuments.

I had a terrific time in Ravenna. I won't even try & describe the various churches and so forth - ask Aunty Google or any reliable guidebook, which will give you no idea whatsoever until or unless you go and see them yourself. Suffice it to say that I spent quite a lot of time walking round with a slack jaw and stunned expression. It was wonderful; it was a dream come true.

Of course, body and soul must be cared for and kept together amidst whatever kind of Stendahlian raptures. I was incredibly lucky with my choice of accommodation at http://www.albergoalgiaciglio.com/indexENG.htm - the dinners were spectacularly good, and the accommodations and facilities were excellent for the price. I'd go back.

There was a Christmas market starting the weekend I left, with various interesting things - mostly imported textiles (bags, gloves, scarves, etc) and jewellery. I enjoyed wandering round, and bought the next ten years' worth of shawls. There's a reasonable covered market with fruit and vege stalls and loads of deli, butchery, cheese and fish places. I didn't buy anything, but enjoyed the nativity scene, and check out the enormous sausage!

When I arrived in Italy I spoke almost no Italian. This might work okay in bigger places, but Ravenna is a fairly small city really - a hundred and thirty odd thousand people - and I encountered quite a few people who didn't speak English (I didn't try French or German, though the former certainly helped me understand stuff!) By the end of the week, I could fluently apologise for not understanding, not speaking Italian, and generally being foreign.

But by the time I was leaving, I was glad to go. I did get pretty homesick. I was apprehensive about the trip to Tonga, but it turned out beautifully, with lovely weather and reasonably serene internal weather. We got out just ahead of the cyclone, stayed a night in Auckland with my parents and then came down home.

I'm sure I'll think of more that I wanted to say about all this, along about the moment I hit 'publish post'...

Pisa and San Miniato

Pisa, though it does not smell very good, was interesting to wander round at night. I stayed about 2 blocks from the Piazza dei Miracoli, and saw the tower by dusk, by night and in the morning. Not in any sense tempted to climb it though.

I only had one night there, then took the train to San Miniato on Tuesday morning, to taste white truffles.

The train was straightforward, and the seats are both large and comfortable. I hopped off at San Miniato Basso, which is where the train station is. It's at the bottom of the hill; San Miniato is a medieval hill town, and it and its fort are at the top of the hill. The hill is, according to Aunty Google, 192m up. I felt every metre, as I walked up backpack and all. It was worth it though - I actually quite enjoyed the walk, though was both hungry and thirsty by the top. But I did see a feijoa tree on the way, fruit all over the ground. The views from the road were lovely, insert description here of Tuscany in autumn.

Then lunch, which was, after all, the point of this diversion. With eager anticipation I entered the little osteria, from which good smells were issuing. I ordered a starter of antipasto, the highlight of which was a stunning hot pate on hot hot hot toast. The pate was seasoned with anchovy and caper, and was really excellent. Then the main course, the piece de resistance, right?

Uh yeah, right. I had a risotto with saffron and white truffle, a classic presentation of white truffles. Should I have ordered a risotto in this region of Italy? Not sure. It was okay; I've made better. The truffles are pretty good - there was a generous grating of truffle over the risotto, which was what I expected - they taste a lot like puffball fried in butter, if that's a useful point of reference for anyone, and I realise it may not be. Actually the white truffle turned out to be somewhat haunting, that is to say repetitive, in a digestive sense. Altogether, choirs of angels did not sing ... but I would always have been sorry if I hadn't tried them.

Then I went and hung out on a balcony overlooking the valley, with an espresso and my journal.

Risotto with mushrooms:
butter
an onion
Some arborio rice - a cup or so
A generous three cups of good strong homemade unsalted stock, beef or chicken as you please, at a simmer on a back burner
dried mushrooms of various kinds, broken up fine
salt as needed
more butter
fresh mushrooms - oyster or phoenix tail are nice, but button are fine if that's what there is
herbs and seasoning for fresh mushrooms, e.g. thyme, origano, pepper
grated parmigiana to serve if liked

Boil a good 1.5 litres of water in the kettle and let it stand hot. Slice the onion as finely as possible and saute in the butter till cooked and starting to brown. Stir in the rice and let it take a little colour and start to smell nutty, then add a ladle of stock, the dried mushrooms, and stir. When most of the liquid is absorbed, add some more. When all the stock is gone, start using water instead, until the rice is creamy. You need to stir it most of the time, especially when it's at its drier points, but in between, slice the fresh mushrooms, saute in butter and season. When the risotto is almost done, check for salt - go easy if you are using cheese as well, parmigiana is salty. Stir in the mushrooms. Turn the heat off, cover and stand five minutes. Serve.

I took the bus down the hill to the station and caught the next train to Florence.

Why not edit a post four years later? Photo:

The Eye

Of London, or possibly Big Bro as one had a small encounter with security regarding one's pocketknife. Between slight residual nerves from said encounter (am basically a law-abiding type) and an empty tummy, felt a bit queasy but it was worth it for the view. (The family went into the city on Saturday while staying at the Palace.)

Afterwards had an excellent Irish stew at the Westminster Arms, Dad's old local when he was at his London office, then went for a walk along St James's Park and past Buckminster Palace to Sloane St, where a shop called L'Artisan du Chocolat http://www.artisanduchocolat.com/ArtisanduChocolatSite/pages/cm/cm.asp?sCCPage=OurStore&cookie%5Ftest=1was (most deservedly) on my list.

Next was the extremely cultural experience (basically a euphemism for rubbing up against the armpits of foreigners, I believe) of Christmas lights and Christmas shoppers on Oxford and Regent Sts. (In some ways my trip is like getting lost on a giant Monopoly board.) Then bus, walk and train back to the Palace and something simple with pasta for dinner. Mind you, entrée was pheasant terrine with foie gras, thank you Harrods.

It's been absolutely wonderful to be on holiday with my parents and sister, the first time for nearly twenty years that the four of us have done this. I realise I haven't spent much time with Deb (my sister) for years and years, and I have enjoyed catching up and in many respects getting to know her now that we're both pretty much grown up.

Hampton Court

If anyone doubted that I am a twue pwincess, here is the pwoof sorry proof ... although I was sleeping in the chambermaid's room.

Hampton Court Palace would be a pretty cool place to visit anyway, but when the nice guard asks you for a ticket and you whip out a card with the queen's coat of arms and he says 'Oh yes of course madam, thank you', well then you know you're not in Kansas any more.

From the moment I arrived at the gate on Friday night and the guard there, who I'd been told would be expecting me, said 'yes, we're always expecting young ladies like you' (it was dark, people) and I walked up the drive under a clear starry sky and a full moon ... it was magic. I got lost in the maze (for about five minutes. I seemed to have an intuitive sense of the thing, alas.) I oohed and aahed over the frescoed ceiling and splendid tapestries of William III's state apartments. I bought a postcard.

Our apartment was in Fish Court, over the old Office of the Pastry, part of Henry VIII's new kitchens built in the 1520s. It had a generous 3 bedrooms. It looks out over a courtyard on one side, and a lane on the other, both part of the service area for the palace itself. The Embroiderers' Guild is housed diagonally across the courtyard, visible from our kitchen window. I am tossing up whether to cancel my appointment there on my last morning in London (Tues 4th), might be logistically too stressful.

We had friends of Mum and Dad's come to stay on the Sunday night, and I cooked us a dinner of roast chicken with bacon, apricot and barberry stuffing, gravy, slow-cooked flat mushrooms with blue cheese and cream, jardinière vegetables and roast potatoes, followed by pears poached in spiced red wine syrup with Aztec-spiced chocolate sauce. As we say in my family, in our very politically correct way - I wonder what the poor people are doing?

I am now in Ravenna, and the early mist has burned off but all I've seen of the town is the railway station, my hotel room and this internet cafe, so more tomorrow.

Canal photos

Here are James's canal photos - got a mean hand with a camera, eh?!

http://www.nzgoldings.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=85

The Museum, The Boat

busy busy week. The museum blew my mind - spent 7 1/2 hours there my first day, 5 1/2 the next. saw ... oh, everything.

then five days on a canal boat in Wales and Shropshire for a complete change of pace, steered the boat across the Pontcysyllte Canal (pix coming, must email the rest of the team and find out where they've been posted.)

my sister was totally shocked and astonished. i pretended to be hitchhiking, which of course noone ever does on a canal! lots of good times. here's mum, dad and deb at pre-dinner drinks on Tues night in ellesmere, on the boat.

where the big jet engines roar

when i figure out how to get photos off my camera while i am away and without the cable, i will put up the pictures of planes from nearby and below. fairly good flights, now i am quite tired after 36 hours in transit. but here i am in london. british museum tomorrow, i'll be alert for signs of stendhalismo (google it)

my favourite short walk from LAX:

it is a brisk 20 - 25 minutes each way from LAX 2 (the Air NZ terminal) to the Westchester shops. Go out of the terminal and turn left. Walk past terminal 1, keep going all the way past the carpak. When you get to the big multi-lane road, turn left again and walk on towards and then past the medical clinic, under the highway and under all the planes (!! this is the best part, and worth the walk all by itself. it's probably the closest i'll ever get to a spaceport. did I mention that I love it?) If you get tired of the planes, keep going past the parking spot on your left (this is a good place to grab a free shuttle back) and through the lights. there are a bunch of shops including a starbucks, drugstore and grocery store on the left, and a little further on on the right is a great little cal-mex hole in the wall restaurant. have a margarita for me.

Tonga 1

I always love coming here. The plane drops down til you can see wave crests, kid yourself you see reef (the shadow of clouds, actually) on the wine-dark sea, then over coconut palms like rows of stars on sticks.

But lately I get here and realise I'd rather be elsewhere - almost anywhere else! It is lovely to see my boys - T (12) is as tall as I am! and sooo cool - G (8) fell into my arms in tears, he was so angry/glad/relieved to see me. But I'd like to be here on holiday, not on a custody (ugly word, ugly concept) visit. Talk about your problems of privilege, maybe.

So far, apart from the boys, the nicest bit of the day (and also apart from The Boy ringing me just before I got on the plane) was walking into the air-conditioned cafe. Sad. True. The flight was fine. Longer in the plane than usual, due to a tedious delay for medical reasons (not mine), but shorter in the air. The pilot obviously burned gas freely to try and make up time, and it was 2 h 35 min from up til down. It is as beautiful here as ever, and quite a bit hotter. Bought a new t-shirt to replace one that's wearing out (the tin of corned beef with the palm coming out of it) and made chicken curry for tea. Caught up with the woman whose guest house I am staying in for the third or fourth time, also caught up with her kids. It's all good, but bring on the two long haul flights tomorrow night.

Mangakino 1

Magic weekend. We moved furniture down last weekend, and that was heavy and hard work and basically not much fun - including a run-in with the friendly (hmmm) South Waikato police. Mind you, that *was* on the way to pick up a lovely two-person canoe.

That's the trademe shot - the people who were selling it run a fantastic five-star lodge on the shores of Lake Rotorua, and were kind enough to invite us in for a cuppa. The day was nothing like the background! Drizzled more or less constantly from when we put the boat up on the roof-rack til that night. But they were lovely people, and rainy weather was perfect for putting in vege plants.

Yesterday, though, was very much like the background, and we took the canoe out for a decent ride down the lake towards the dam, stopping for a picnic tea in a little inlet on the way back.

Pork and Black Rice Rice Paper Rolls:

• 700g pork belly in four or five slices
• 1/3 cup black glutinous rice
• chipotle chilli powder, 1 tsp
• yuzu or lemon juice, 1 tsp
• peanut butter, 2 T
• fish sauce or squid sauce, 2 tsp
• fresh ginger, cut into 2 mm dice, 2 T
• fresh lettuce leaves
• rice paper, 15 cm diameter, about 15 pieces
• chutney or jam (I used tamarind jam - a fairly sour jam or a sweet chutney would work)

Cook the rice in 2/3 cup of water: bring it to the boil then simmer on low heat til water is absorbed. Meanwhile, grill the pork until browned and cooked. Season (I used a blended salt-based seasoning which includes fennel and orange, but a little salt and pepper is fine). When the rice is almost cooked, add the other ingredients down to and including ginger. Stir until combined. Finish cooking, cool in basin of water. Cut the crisped rind off the pork to serve separately. Chop the pork into pieces about 1 cm x 1 cm x 3 - 5 cm. Cool.

Soak rice paper in water until pliable. Lay it flat on a board and put a few pieces of pork, then a tablespoon of rice. Roll in the usual way. You should get twelve or fifteen.

To serve, smear some jam onto a roll. Wrap in a leaf of lettuce, and eat.

So that was nice. And the whole weekend was that nice, really. Went to Tokoroa yesterday, and found (mirabile visu!) a dojo: http://www.toa-ara.com/martial_arts/. I have been out of training waaay too long. But what were the chances of finding a Japanese sword teacher in South Waikato? Also found a farmers' market, and a great craft supplies shop which may facilitate my next plan for world domination.

Drove home today, taking our current favourite road (through Te Awamutu and up west of Hamilton, rejoining SH1 at Ngaruawahia), making a very plesant trip of it with a few stops at herb garden/cafe, rock climbing centre/cafe, ice cream deli/cafe (there's a trend here somewhere.)

Other than that, trying to get ready to go to Europe, having a huge 2 hour job interview on Friday, and going to Mangakino for the weekend may have seemed like a bit (or a lot :) too much ... but I was wild to get "down home" ... I love our mad little house, the view over to the hills in the morning, the tiny old-school kitchen, our wee tomato and pea plants. It was definitely worth the bother, and Europe and all, I can't wait to get back.

Technology Thing 7

Easily my favourite piece of technology is the knife, closely followed by the bed, the boat and the bicycle. Fire's pretty good, too. I approve of wine, and of chocolate.

Digital technology? Cellphone. I love that I can talk to the Boy when he's miles out at sea on his yacht, text my mum and dad in Spain, or that I can speak to my kids in Tonga while we're in the middle of the South Waikato whizzing down SH1 at no more than the posted speed limit. The camera is handy (sometimes), and the alarm is the only one I own. We still pay way too much for calls and texts in NZ (tho the bestmates thing is a good deal) - but it's still worth it!

Flickr 3rd party

Love the colr pickr http://www.krazydad.com/colrpickr/ - so pretty! And the mappr tool might be good for some serious travel bragging. Actually, thinking about it, the photo below of San Vitale in Ravenna was found using mappr.

BA not humbug

Today I am handing in the last piece of coursework for my BA (in social anthropology. *very* career-oriented!) Tomorrow I finish up at libraries, Thursday the tenancy starts on our house at Mangakino and we're moving furniture in on the weekend. The Boy will finally be resigning from the hell job also on Wednesday. Big week.

But possibly the most exciting news of the day is that there are buses in Italy that go to the white truffle village from Florence! Yay! I am spared the ordeal of driving on the RH side!

Flickr

Hmm. It appears some other people have digital cameras these days too. I am not the only one any more. anyway, this is why I want to go to Italy: I have to say, though, the library computer system isn't loving these huge pages full of graphics. And I am having trouble so far figuring out how to actually add an image rather than just the link to it. Have resorted to saving it to desktop etc etc.

Oh, and also, where the Boy went on holiday w/o me. italy will be the best revenge tho :-D

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13535005@N05/sets/72157602020159311/

flying kiwis

Unbelievably, I am going to England next month. Also Italy. And The Boy and I are going to Mangakino for the summer. Pinch me, I'm dreaming.

Speaking of chocolate

I should have had cocoa last night. Valrhona with soy milk and no more sugar. The Boy makes the best cocoa in the known universe.

Thing 4

Well, bebo is sure a lot more visually restful than myspace. Both of them give me a giddy unsteady feeling, like the feeling I get when I think about how very many tv shows there are that I will never see or even know about. Overload! Overload! Meltdown imminent!

As for facebook ... people keep sending me invitations. Very old school Windows 3.x look. The thought of having yet another username and password to remember makes my brain hurt tho. (Also i keep doing typos, prob time for a break.) I seem to vaguely recall there's a password vault site somewhere. Perhaps that's the answer to all my woes.

Nah, it'll never replace chocolate.

hi honey, I'm home

hmm, insights. well, one of my personas is a fraction of the mighty acl elgar, so i thought i should make the effort to see what all the shooting's about. also, in one of my real lives i am currently of no fixed abode, a nasty sinister phrase. perhaps a home in cyberspace will somehow compensate for having all my worldlies in a storage locker in parnell ...

in technical terms tho, the hardest part so far is thinking of names: user names, passwords, etc. this is something i often have trouble with. impressed with the front-end ease of modern UIs, so smooth.