Those that know me, know that I love to surprise my wife. Those that can recall my 40th birthday some 15 months ago, know that Anna got me good with 50 or so of my family and closest friends in Westlake. As soon as the party ended, I began thinking about how I could create a special birthday week for her in Florence when she turned 40. I decided to line up a week of surprises for her to make her feel like the special 40 year old that she would become.
Surprise Number One (Felicia) – I simply can’t count how many times Anna’s has said to me “Gosh, my sister Felicia would love this about Florence” or “Oh I wish my sister could experience that.” During each of these occasions a smile would cross my face in quiet anticipation of the day that she would arrive and surprise Anna for her 40th birthday.
The day came on the 16th of March in the late afternoon. I needed an accomplice to pull off the task of shocking her. I know very few people in my life who are better at keeping a secret than my son Trey. He has always been great about keeping things quiet ever since he was a little boy, so I let him in on the surprise and asked him for some ideas on how to pull it off. There is a place in Florence that is an institution for the locals called “Hemmingway”. Hemmingway is a desert house and bar in a hip and cozy setting. During the winter, gelato takes a back seat in Florence to the thickest hot chocolate that you have ever seen. We’re talking melted candy bar in a cup, hot chocolate, no joke!
Hemmingway is known for its hot chocolate (Among many other devilish deserts) and the kids absolutely love going there. Trey’s idea was to beg me to go to Hemmingway and for us to somehow get “Auntie Felicia” there in advance so when we arrived she would be waiting to shock Anna!
The stage was set, early that morning, Trey asked us if we could go to Hemmingway and of course I lobbied in support! That afternoon, we had Trey and Olivia’s bus driver Giovanni pick up Felicia from the airport and upon arrival, shuttle her to Hemmingway.
When we arrived at the cozy hangout, she was no where to be seen. Trey immediately walked around to the back corner table which is not visible when you walk in. I saw him make eye contact with someone and new that it was her. I told Anna to take a walk to the back to see the gelato flavors and when she did, she locked eyes with her sister! To hear Anna describe it would serve much better than any third party account…
Q1: Anna, what were you thinking when you saw Felicia for the first time?
AA: “I wasn’t! My eyes saw her, but my brain wasn’t registering what I was seeing! It was a delayed reaction because she was not supposed to be at Hemmingway in Italy!” “After I realized what was happening, the tears came streaming down both of our faces and I was overtaken with joy!”
Q2: Your sister has never been to Italy and there are so many things that we have experienced that you new she would love. How was it to have her with you for those four days?
AA: “It was excellent. I wish that she could have stayed longer. I was very happy that I had the ability to show her the things that I thought she would enjoy. There have been so many times in the past seven months where we were in a beautiful candy shop, at a great restaurant or on an adventure where I thought of her and wished that she could experience it. I’m so happy she got to experience a fraction of it!”
Q3: What was your favorite moment during the time you spent with Felicia?
AA: “I didn’t really have a favorite moment. Every moment of the four days here in Italy were wonderful. I wish that it didn’t have to end as there is so much more that I wish that she could have experienced.”
Over the next four days we burned the candle pretty hard with Felicia, taking her to some of our favorite restaurants for both lunch and dinner. It was wonderful to show her Florence and the castle for the first time. She visited San Lorenzo Market with us, rode on the motorino with me and toured the city with Alex for an afternoon. She even arrived in time to have Schiaciatta Alla Fiorentina (See past blog), which won her over just like us! It was interesting to witness her observations of the castle unfold as well.
The castle seems to have the same affect on everyone. At first glance its sheer size, history and amazing panoramic views captivate you beyond words. But it’s the little things about the castle that really make it special and take time to unfold. Walking through the gardens or through the streets around its walls at different times of the day, offer different surprises each time as the shadows cast their own visual dimension. The views from the various rooms that point you in all four directions offer their own gifts at different times of the day (The view from the kitchen window in the morning, which faces east offers the peaceful entrance to a new day, while the view of the forest to the South in the late afternoon casts shadows of the over 150 trees on the property that make you feel like you are looking through a forest straight out of Robinhood).
I caught Felicia several times in a tranquil stare as she admired the surrounding landscape. It is always so wonderful for us to have someone experience why we love where we live so much. On numerous occasions, Felicia asked us “How are you going to leave this place?’ It will be one of the more difficult goodbyes of our lives indeed.
Surprise Number 2 (Our Extended Family) – We have made many friends in the time that we have been here, but there is a small list of people that are like family to us. I wanted Anna to experience an Italian birthday dinner with our close friends, so I arranged to have a surprise dinner party at our favorite local restaurant La Vecchia Bettola, where we are treated like family every time we visit.
We walked in to the restaurant to a warm welcome from seven of our closest Italian friends as well as our good friend from California Tracy Tyron and a couple of her recently arrived house guests from Westlake Village.
The evening could not have been more fun. We celebrated Anna’s birthday like any good Italian would, over a long three and a half hour dinner, complete with lots of great wine (Including a sparkling wine made of strawberries, Vin Santo desert wine and grappa). It was great to have Felicia meet our extended family in Italy, which consists of Stella (Our house keeper and occasional babysitter to the kids), Marcella (Our friend and my cooking teacher) and the Meucci Family (Simone, his girlfriend Veronica, brother Andrea and parents Paula and Massimo). Everyone had a blast.
The highlight of the evening was when the lights in the restaurant went dark and the entire place sang Happy Birthday to Anna. When they turned the lights back on she was whipping back the tears. Suffice to say that she won’t forget that night for a long time.
Surprise Number 3 (The Watch) – Five years ago when we were in Milan, we walked into the Cartier Store and saw it for the first time. It was the new Cartier Tortue watch and it was one of the most beautiful watches that I have ever seen. Anna was speechless and marveled at its beautiful simplicity.
I new at that moment that it would be her birthday present when she turned 40.
On her birthday (Our second night in Malta), I asked Olivia for a favor. “Go up to Mommy as she is getting ready for dinner and say: Mommy, you left your watch on the bed!” The look on Anna’s face was priceless as she looked at Olivia’s little hand holding the Tortue that she dreamed of having five years prior.
“My heart can’t take any more surprises, please tell me that this is it”, she said! Mission accomplished. Happy 40th Anna…
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The Scare
It started with a soreness in the center part of my neck (Trachea). It was subtle for the first day, not even enough to mention to Anna. By the second day (Sunday the 30th of March) it had moved down a bit further in my throat and covered a larger area. It hurt quite a bit when I swallowed and even more when I touched it. The crazy thing about the pain was that it was not in the normal area of a sore throat which tends to be on the sides and higher up near the jaw bone. This pain felt like a deep bruise and was right in the center of my throat near the Adams Apple. When I lifted my head it really hurt. My neck was a bit swollen and my voice was weaker. I was beginning to get concerned…
To understand my concern, you would need to know one additional fact. I have been chewing tobacco off and on for twenty years. Of course admitting this to all of you is not exactly something that I am proud of. I know that it’s a nasty habit. It started in my early twenties and after brief stints of not chewing, I have settled into a fairly steady routine over the past ten years which consists of every time I pick up a golf club and has evolved into an after meal relaxant. I have always falsely justified my intake with the excuse that I chew far less than most guys that I know that have the same habit (Only chewing about one can every three weeks)
The origins of my habit are a bit more innocent. I have had a chronic stomach condition for nearly twenty five years now that comes and goes about six to eight times a year. I have been to dozens of doctors and no one can figure it out. The one thing that we know is that chewing tobacco helps a lot when I have an attack. The problem is that its evolved into a habit beyond that of stomach remedy.
Our local doctor (Doctor Porro) made a house call to the castle on Sunday night. After feeling around the neck area, he made a call to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor who was willing to see me the next evening. It was a long 24 hours…
Many thoughts went through my head as you can likely imagine, with feelings of selfishness being at the top of the list. “If it’s a tumor would I have it removed here and endure radiation while in Italy, or would it be better to go home immediately to treat the problem?” “What about the kids school?” “Poor Anna, is having such an amazing time and my bad habit is going to cut this wonderful year short.” How am I going to tell the kids, especially when Olivia looks at me every time I put a chew in and wonders why I need to use it.”
Needless to say I didn’t sleep much that night. The next evening, Anna and I walked to the city center along the Arno River to the doctor’s office. It was a magically beautiful evening, with kayakers rowing down the river as the sun set over this fairy tail of a city. Was this one of the last times that I was going to see this place I thought?
After a one hour wait in the doctor’s office, we were invited in at 8:00 in the evening (Even doctors appointments are late here!) I didn’t think that there was any chance that I would get an answer at this time of the night, but sure enough as soon as I walked in, the doctor informed me that he wanted to stick a camera up my nose and down my throat to check things out! This is not exactly a pleasant experience for a guy with a deviated septum (Small opening in the nasal cavity).
I chose to not watch the monitor as he examined the insides of my nose and throat, but Anna watched every minute.
“Completely clear” said the doctor. “No tumors, nothing. I can assure you that you have nothing serious in my area of examination.”
The one catch, and it appears to be a small one, is that an ENT Doctor only examines to the point of the top of the trachea. Trachea cancer is virtually no existent, so doing an invasive procedure to see if anything is down that far is not something that he recommends. There is a chance that I could have a problem in the esophagus, and that would require yet another examination that would also be much more invasive. For now his suggestion was to do nothing and see what happens with the pain, as cancer of the esophagus is a condition that typically generates a myriad of other symptoms, non of which I have at this time.
When I got home, I called Doctor Porro to ask him what he wanted me to do. His feeling was that it was highly likely to be nothing serious and that he would like me to take Ibuprofen for three or four days to see what the result was with the pain and the swelling in my neck. If the pain and swelling goes away, then we know that its not anything serious since a tumor would not react to this treatment. I’m relieved to say that within two days, I was 90 percent better! What was the cause? Not sure really…could be a virus, something stuck in my neck, don’t really know at this point.
What I do know is this. I don’t need two wake up calls. Skoal has lost a long time customer…
To understand my concern, you would need to know one additional fact. I have been chewing tobacco off and on for twenty years. Of course admitting this to all of you is not exactly something that I am proud of. I know that it’s a nasty habit. It started in my early twenties and after brief stints of not chewing, I have settled into a fairly steady routine over the past ten years which consists of every time I pick up a golf club and has evolved into an after meal relaxant. I have always falsely justified my intake with the excuse that I chew far less than most guys that I know that have the same habit (Only chewing about one can every three weeks)
The origins of my habit are a bit more innocent. I have had a chronic stomach condition for nearly twenty five years now that comes and goes about six to eight times a year. I have been to dozens of doctors and no one can figure it out. The one thing that we know is that chewing tobacco helps a lot when I have an attack. The problem is that its evolved into a habit beyond that of stomach remedy.
Our local doctor (Doctor Porro) made a house call to the castle on Sunday night. After feeling around the neck area, he made a call to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor who was willing to see me the next evening. It was a long 24 hours…
Many thoughts went through my head as you can likely imagine, with feelings of selfishness being at the top of the list. “If it’s a tumor would I have it removed here and endure radiation while in Italy, or would it be better to go home immediately to treat the problem?” “What about the kids school?” “Poor Anna, is having such an amazing time and my bad habit is going to cut this wonderful year short.” How am I going to tell the kids, especially when Olivia looks at me every time I put a chew in and wonders why I need to use it.”
Needless to say I didn’t sleep much that night. The next evening, Anna and I walked to the city center along the Arno River to the doctor’s office. It was a magically beautiful evening, with kayakers rowing down the river as the sun set over this fairy tail of a city. Was this one of the last times that I was going to see this place I thought?
After a one hour wait in the doctor’s office, we were invited in at 8:00 in the evening (Even doctors appointments are late here!) I didn’t think that there was any chance that I would get an answer at this time of the night, but sure enough as soon as I walked in, the doctor informed me that he wanted to stick a camera up my nose and down my throat to check things out! This is not exactly a pleasant experience for a guy with a deviated septum (Small opening in the nasal cavity).
I chose to not watch the monitor as he examined the insides of my nose and throat, but Anna watched every minute.
“Completely clear” said the doctor. “No tumors, nothing. I can assure you that you have nothing serious in my area of examination.”
The one catch, and it appears to be a small one, is that an ENT Doctor only examines to the point of the top of the trachea. Trachea cancer is virtually no existent, so doing an invasive procedure to see if anything is down that far is not something that he recommends. There is a chance that I could have a problem in the esophagus, and that would require yet another examination that would also be much more invasive. For now his suggestion was to do nothing and see what happens with the pain, as cancer of the esophagus is a condition that typically generates a myriad of other symptoms, non of which I have at this time.
When I got home, I called Doctor Porro to ask him what he wanted me to do. His feeling was that it was highly likely to be nothing serious and that he would like me to take Ibuprofen for three or four days to see what the result was with the pain and the swelling in my neck. If the pain and swelling goes away, then we know that its not anything serious since a tumor would not react to this treatment. I’m relieved to say that within two days, I was 90 percent better! What was the cause? Not sure really…could be a virus, something stuck in my neck, don’t really know at this point.
What I do know is this. I don’t need two wake up calls. Skoal has lost a long time customer…
The Terrible Day
I ask that you respect this request to NOT to ask our family about this incident for a while as it is too fresh and too difficult on us. The reason that I have chosen to post this, is because this blog has become so real, such a personal account of what has been a true family adventure. This post is one of the sad parts of the adventure.
On the evening of April the 5th our little kitty Lilly died of causes that we prefer to not discuss at this time. She was only six months old and very much a part of our family. She meant many things to all of us, especially the kids. When I think of the castle, I always think of her looking out the window at the birds, wishing she could catch one of them.
I will never forget the day we gave her to the kids. It was after their first day of school. Olivia was in her brand new cast and they were so excited. I’m not sure I have ever seen them happier. They must have thanked us twenty times.
When times were tough in the early days she was the highlight of Trey and Olivia’s day. They would race up the driveway to see her after school. She was the reason that they looked forward to returning from Christmas Break to Italy. There was something very unique and special about this little kitty that we named after the symbol of Florence (The Lilly) and the castle is dark and empty without her around in many ways.
For Anna, it is lonely. Lilly would sleep with her most every night and would greet her everyday when we would arrive home from the gym. I have never seen my wife this sad.
This was our children’s first real experience with death and in many ways was the toughest day of our lives as parents. The day we told the kids was a very difficult day indeed and one where we learned a lot about each other as a family. Anna has asked me to not include any further details as it is too fresh and too personal. It has been very hard on the children and their emotions are still very high at this point.
We will miss her as she will always be our Florentine kitty.
On the evening of April the 5th our little kitty Lilly died of causes that we prefer to not discuss at this time. She was only six months old and very much a part of our family. She meant many things to all of us, especially the kids. When I think of the castle, I always think of her looking out the window at the birds, wishing she could catch one of them.
I will never forget the day we gave her to the kids. It was after their first day of school. Olivia was in her brand new cast and they were so excited. I’m not sure I have ever seen them happier. They must have thanked us twenty times.
When times were tough in the early days she was the highlight of Trey and Olivia’s day. They would race up the driveway to see her after school. She was the reason that they looked forward to returning from Christmas Break to Italy. There was something very unique and special about this little kitty that we named after the symbol of Florence (The Lilly) and the castle is dark and empty without her around in many ways.
For Anna, it is lonely. Lilly would sleep with her most every night and would greet her everyday when we would arrive home from the gym. I have never seen my wife this sad.
This was our children’s first real experience with death and in many ways was the toughest day of our lives as parents. The day we told the kids was a very difficult day indeed and one where we learned a lot about each other as a family. Anna has asked me to not include any further details as it is too fresh and too personal. It has been very hard on the children and their emotions are still very high at this point.
We will miss her as she will always be our Florentine kitty.
Running (Lo Sport)
One of the many goals that I had set for myself when we decided upon this family adventure, was to dedicate a portion of my free time to getting into the best shape that I have been in since my late teens. As you know both Anna and I joined a gym immediately upon arrival and we have been religious (Some would say fanatical) about working out on a daily basis.
Ever day begins for me with a weight routine for one hour and is followed by thirty to forty five minutes of cardio. At first, I only rode the life cycle, but in early September began running on the treadmill a couple of times a week. Additionally, I have taken up swimming and log between 2 and 3 miles a week in the pool.
In my youth I was always a pretty strong runner (In High School I ran cross country and even ran a mile one day in 4:52) but never really enjoyed it all that much. “Hate” would not be too strong of a word to describe my feelings about running. Twice in high school as a part of my training for the team, I ran a half marathon (13 miles). Over the past twenty some odd years, I have pretty much avoided any real distance running (Occasionally I will run a couple of miles in my neighborhood). When I arrived in Italy my goal was to run three miles in under 20 minutes (Something that seemed like a long shot in August when my best was 24:22. Finally, after a lot of dedication, in February, I ran three miles on the treadmill in 19:48. For my old bones this was quite an accomplishment. In the process of shooting for this goal, something strange happened as I have become a fan of running again.
Many of you may remember the blog from last fall where we went to the Florence Marathon to watch our friends cross the finish line. On that day I put out a challenge to Trey that we run in a marathon together in ten years when I am 50 and he is 19. A few weeks back, Anna and I had dinner with a couple of our friends and following our meal went back to their house for a drink. Lilly, a 53 year old soon to be grandma had run in this past marathon and showed me a photo of her crossing the finish line with the façade of the Church of Santa Croce in the background. Those that remember the piece of Santa Croce will recall that this is the church where Michaelangelo and Galileo are both buried. It is my favorite church in Florence and the photo mesmerized me. I was unable to take my eyes off the vision of her accomplishment in such a special place. I decided that I would return to Florence in November of 2009 to run in the Florence Marathon!
On the morning of the 17th of August I woke to a wicked hang over (We were out real late the night before with some friends). I looked out the window of the castle as I do every morning to admire the view. On this morning the street was checkered with runners who were taking part in some sort of race. I took this as a sign and put on my clothes to go for a light jog. As I ran down the hill from the castle I passed dozens of runners making the steep trek up our streets. Suddenly I came upon two very familiar faces, our friends Antonio and Giovanni from our favorite local restaurant La Vecchia Betola (Two of the guys we went to watch in the Florence Marathon). They immediately waved to me to join them and suddenly I was running in a 12k race (Although I joined them 4 kilometers into it). I crossed the finish line some five miles later and was even given a shirt for finishing!
Now here’s the catch. Giovanni immediately entered me into the next race which was a half marathon on the 6th of April (21 kilometers/13 miles). At first I was fired up, but then realized that I was in no shape to be taking on such a run. It’s a whole different story to run five miles at a leisurely pace and something very different to run in a competitive race for nearly three times the distance! I had only three weeks to train and the second thoughts raced through my head.
On the 6th of April, I woke to very little sleep (Because of the death of Lilly). I rode the motorino down to the race. This thing was big time, with runners from all over the World competing. The starting line and finish line were outside the church of Santa Croce and there were about one thousand runners in the race. The course itself was terrific for me as it meandered through the streets of Florence passing numerous historical monuments along the way, including crossing the Ponte Vecchio twice.
I was warned to not start too fast (Something that’s pretty tough to do anyway with that many people running down tight cobblestone streets). At the half way point, I was greatly ahead of my goal to run the race in one hour forty minutes. In fact, I was tracking on just under one hour thirty minutes at the fifteen kilometer mark (9.5 miles). Then I started to fade! By the end I labored my way across the finish line, with the spirit of Livy, Trey and Anna helping lift me for the last few hundred yards as they yelled “Bravo Papa, Bravo”!
I crossed the finish line in one hour, thirty three minutes and twelve seconds, good enough to place me at 253rd out of just under 3000 runners (Not too bad). This was five minutes better than the race I ran some 24 years ago and seven minutes better than my goal. Best off, I never stopped running.
Now back to being a retired runner. Five miles on the treadmill is so much easier!
Ever day begins for me with a weight routine for one hour and is followed by thirty to forty five minutes of cardio. At first, I only rode the life cycle, but in early September began running on the treadmill a couple of times a week. Additionally, I have taken up swimming and log between 2 and 3 miles a week in the pool.
In my youth I was always a pretty strong runner (In High School I ran cross country and even ran a mile one day in 4:52) but never really enjoyed it all that much. “Hate” would not be too strong of a word to describe my feelings about running. Twice in high school as a part of my training for the team, I ran a half marathon (13 miles). Over the past twenty some odd years, I have pretty much avoided any real distance running (Occasionally I will run a couple of miles in my neighborhood). When I arrived in Italy my goal was to run three miles in under 20 minutes (Something that seemed like a long shot in August when my best was 24:22. Finally, after a lot of dedication, in February, I ran three miles on the treadmill in 19:48. For my old bones this was quite an accomplishment. In the process of shooting for this goal, something strange happened as I have become a fan of running again.
Many of you may remember the blog from last fall where we went to the Florence Marathon to watch our friends cross the finish line. On that day I put out a challenge to Trey that we run in a marathon together in ten years when I am 50 and he is 19. A few weeks back, Anna and I had dinner with a couple of our friends and following our meal went back to their house for a drink. Lilly, a 53 year old soon to be grandma had run in this past marathon and showed me a photo of her crossing the finish line with the façade of the Church of Santa Croce in the background. Those that remember the piece of Santa Croce will recall that this is the church where Michaelangelo and Galileo are both buried. It is my favorite church in Florence and the photo mesmerized me. I was unable to take my eyes off the vision of her accomplishment in such a special place. I decided that I would return to Florence in November of 2009 to run in the Florence Marathon!
On the morning of the 17th of August I woke to a wicked hang over (We were out real late the night before with some friends). I looked out the window of the castle as I do every morning to admire the view. On this morning the street was checkered with runners who were taking part in some sort of race. I took this as a sign and put on my clothes to go for a light jog. As I ran down the hill from the castle I passed dozens of runners making the steep trek up our streets. Suddenly I came upon two very familiar faces, our friends Antonio and Giovanni from our favorite local restaurant La Vecchia Betola (Two of the guys we went to watch in the Florence Marathon). They immediately waved to me to join them and suddenly I was running in a 12k race (Although I joined them 4 kilometers into it). I crossed the finish line some five miles later and was even given a shirt for finishing!
Now here’s the catch. Giovanni immediately entered me into the next race which was a half marathon on the 6th of April (21 kilometers/13 miles). At first I was fired up, but then realized that I was in no shape to be taking on such a run. It’s a whole different story to run five miles at a leisurely pace and something very different to run in a competitive race for nearly three times the distance! I had only three weeks to train and the second thoughts raced through my head.
On the 6th of April, I woke to very little sleep (Because of the death of Lilly). I rode the motorino down to the race. This thing was big time, with runners from all over the World competing. The starting line and finish line were outside the church of Santa Croce and there were about one thousand runners in the race. The course itself was terrific for me as it meandered through the streets of Florence passing numerous historical monuments along the way, including crossing the Ponte Vecchio twice.
I was warned to not start too fast (Something that’s pretty tough to do anyway with that many people running down tight cobblestone streets). At the half way point, I was greatly ahead of my goal to run the race in one hour forty minutes. In fact, I was tracking on just under one hour thirty minutes at the fifteen kilometer mark (9.5 miles). Then I started to fade! By the end I labored my way across the finish line, with the spirit of Livy, Trey and Anna helping lift me for the last few hundred yards as they yelled “Bravo Papa, Bravo”!
I crossed the finish line in one hour, thirty three minutes and twelve seconds, good enough to place me at 253rd out of just under 3000 runners (Not too bad). This was five minutes better than the race I ran some 24 years ago and seven minutes better than my goal. Best off, I never stopped running.
Now back to being a retired runner. Five miles on the treadmill is so much easier!
American Football (Lo Sport)
If you’re an avid reader of Florentine Braheem, you likely remember the story regarding the American Football player who I met one morning at the palestra and later witnessed sitting on the curb smoking a cigarette right after his workout! His name is Alessandro and he is a “Prince” of a guy. Alessandro is the center and captain of Giulfi (Florence’s team in the Italian football league). For weeks Alessandro had been inviting me to go to one of his practices, but the cold weather and fact that they start at 9:00 on weeknights, just didn’t make the invite all that appealing. The team is comprised of a bunch of Italian guys in their 20’s and 30’s who for reasons that I have not quite figured out, want to play American Football, even though they don’t get paid for their time. In fact, it costs them a decent chunk of change as they need to buy all of their own equipment and often pay for their own travel expenses for road games!
March 15th was opening day and as it turned out the weather was quite nice with only a few clouds in the sky, so I decided to jump on the motorino and ride across the city to the stadium and check things out. I arrived mid way through the 1st quarter at the medium sized stadium that holds about 20,000 people and was astonished by both the fact that I didn’t need to pay to enter the stadium, but also that I was able to sit down in the second row on the 40 yard line! My estimate is that there were about 200 people in attendance, not including the seven or eight dogs who were viewing the action with their owners! When was the last time you went to a sporting event and people brought their pets? As you might expect by now, at least half of the die hard fans were keeping with the Italian sport fan tradition of smoking cigarettes during the action!
The first half was riddled with turnovers (I counted four fumbles alone in from the time I arrived and half time. Its been a while since I have been to a high school football game in the United States, but I’m pretty damn sure that there are some teams in Texas that could have had their way with both these teams! In any case, it was really fun to watch these dedicated and passionate men lay it out on the field for the love of the game.
As the second quarter winded down, I noticed a lady leaning against the fence at mid field with a camera around her neck. This gave me an idea! In this land of rules that were made to be broken, why not try to get onto the field for some good camera shots? I decided to go stand next to her on the fence and follow her lead. This prompted her to rapid fire questions at me in Italian that I couldn’t follow. As I tried to respond, she recognized that I spoke English and asked me if I would like to speak in my language. The question that she wanted to have answered was whether or not it was OK for her to go onto the field and take photos! I told her that we would soon find out and opened the gate as the two of us walked right up along the sideline and proceeded to watch the second half up close and personal. She turned out to be a very nice lady from Naples who was living for a few months in Florence on work.
At half time as the teams trotted to the locker room she invited me to come sit with her and her two friends in the stands (One who happened to be an Italian porn star!) As the second half started, it became apparent to me that a significant number of the spectators (Including my three new friends) understood little nothing of what they were watching! They had managed to show enthusiasm in their cheers even though they we clueless of not only the rules of American Football, but also the goals of the game! The rest of the afternoon was spent with me “Holding Court” in the stands, explaining to a group of 10 Italians why there were orange sticks on the sidelines, why the referee just moved his hands and arms in a circular motion and what the yellow flag was that they kept throwing on the field. What a blast it was to be teaching the rules of American Football to Italian people, I felt like an ambassador for the NFL in Europe. In the end, Florence won 33-26 and as I rode the motorino back home through the city streets of Florence, I thought to myself “Now this was one hell of a great day!”
March 15th was opening day and as it turned out the weather was quite nice with only a few clouds in the sky, so I decided to jump on the motorino and ride across the city to the stadium and check things out. I arrived mid way through the 1st quarter at the medium sized stadium that holds about 20,000 people and was astonished by both the fact that I didn’t need to pay to enter the stadium, but also that I was able to sit down in the second row on the 40 yard line! My estimate is that there were about 200 people in attendance, not including the seven or eight dogs who were viewing the action with their owners! When was the last time you went to a sporting event and people brought their pets? As you might expect by now, at least half of the die hard fans were keeping with the Italian sport fan tradition of smoking cigarettes during the action!
The first half was riddled with turnovers (I counted four fumbles alone in from the time I arrived and half time. Its been a while since I have been to a high school football game in the United States, but I’m pretty damn sure that there are some teams in Texas that could have had their way with both these teams! In any case, it was really fun to watch these dedicated and passionate men lay it out on the field for the love of the game.
As the second quarter winded down, I noticed a lady leaning against the fence at mid field with a camera around her neck. This gave me an idea! In this land of rules that were made to be broken, why not try to get onto the field for some good camera shots? I decided to go stand next to her on the fence and follow her lead. This prompted her to rapid fire questions at me in Italian that I couldn’t follow. As I tried to respond, she recognized that I spoke English and asked me if I would like to speak in my language. The question that she wanted to have answered was whether or not it was OK for her to go onto the field and take photos! I told her that we would soon find out and opened the gate as the two of us walked right up along the sideline and proceeded to watch the second half up close and personal. She turned out to be a very nice lady from Naples who was living for a few months in Florence on work.
At half time as the teams trotted to the locker room she invited me to come sit with her and her two friends in the stands (One who happened to be an Italian porn star!) As the second half started, it became apparent to me that a significant number of the spectators (Including my three new friends) understood little nothing of what they were watching! They had managed to show enthusiasm in their cheers even though they we clueless of not only the rules of American Football, but also the goals of the game! The rest of the afternoon was spent with me “Holding Court” in the stands, explaining to a group of 10 Italians why there were orange sticks on the sidelines, why the referee just moved his hands and arms in a circular motion and what the yellow flag was that they kept throwing on the field. What a blast it was to be teaching the rules of American Football to Italian people, I felt like an ambassador for the NFL in Europe. In the end, Florence won 33-26 and as I rode the motorino back home through the city streets of Florence, I thought to myself “Now this was one hell of a great day!”
Not Wanting to Go Home
Several months have gone by and the feelings really haven’t changed much for each of us. Trey and Olivia miss home, with friends and family being the ultimate allure. I, on the other hand, have wavered back and forth for months, not really having a grip on my emotions. One side of me misses a great many things about home (Family, friends and sports being the main things) while the other side is so in love with Italian life that I can’t imagine going back to my old lifestyle of inactivity, bad food and fast pace. I have maintained for many months now that we MUST go back to Los Angeles for many reasons, one of which is to better understand how we will adjust to being in America again and whether we will truly miss Italy as much as we think that we will. One of the challenges that I think we need to explore is how to create an Italian lifestyle in America, something that will be most difficult as the two cultures are opposite in so many ways and the area that we live in is quite sterile and cultureless (Boring would be a more direct word). I certainly find there to be many efficiencies at home that I miss, but am not sure that I value them more than the relaxed way of life here in Italy. In fact, after a while you realize that efficiency is not all that important in the grand scheme and can even create an impatience that’s unhealthy! I guess in the end, I’m 50/50 on the subject but for reasons that extend past my personal desires (Which would be to stay for another year). The additional reasons have to do with commitments that we have made.
Anna is a very different story. The first time we had the conversation was in the fall. She was quite simply in love with everything that is Italy. When I say everything, I truly mean everything, including all of its quirks and inefficiencies which she finds to be nothing short of charming. Love is not too strong of a word either as her thoughts and emotions are truly that of a love affair that she has with this place. She is so happy here. I have never seen her smile so much. She is head over heels.
As time has gone by, the feelings for her have not changed, but rather deepened, resulting in several teary eyed moments when having to give consideration to our departure. This is certainly not to say that Anna doesn’t miss her family and friends, it’s just that she really doesn’t miss anything else and the ledger is so titled for her in favor of staying that it become a very difficult discussion for us.
Additionally, time has proven to create some pretty strong friendships. On the night of Anna’s birthday, I was walking in the light rain at about midnight, having just said goodbye to everyone and needing to retrieve the car to pick up Anna and the kids. My eyes started to well up as I began to think about saying goodbye to the people that have helped make this the best year of our lives.
To better understand how we feel, think about one of those REALLY good days in your life (Perhaps it was a day with your family or a day on vacation). You said to yourself or even your spouse or friend “Today was just a perfect day”. The feelings you had were of effortless relaxation and enjoyment. Everything seemed just right.
We seem to have about six of those days a week here. This is what makes it so tough. There are many days when we feel that life can not be better. It’s a feeling of contentment that you don’t often find in life.
We have examined the possibility of living here six months out of the year (Something that all four of us agreed would be a terrific happy medium) but it simply won’t work with the kid’s school situation. Another topic that Anna and I have discussed with Trey and Olivia is that of living here during the school year and coming home to California for the summer and holiday breaks, something that Trey was not willing to concede on! It’s not that either of them dislikes Italy, in fact Anna and I are certain that they will miss Italy very much when they get home. What they miss about home is the ability to jump on their bike and ride to their friend’s house. They miss their swimming pool in the back yard. They miss their animals. In the end, they have never let go or forgotten about California because the agreement was always that it was just for one year. There has never been any permanence about being here.
The kids have never done better in school and Trey especially, is flourishing in the more nurturing educational environment of ISF. Additionally the slow pace of life here is much more conducive to raising a family. There are so many pros and cons for all of us.
Anna and I have discussed the issue of having a second home here and coming back a couple of times a year. It’s not the same thing as living here and being immersed in this different way of life. It would be a major undertaking traveling back and forth so frequently and getting adjusted to the time difference.
In the end the biggest key to our decision to return home is our promise to our children and parents. We made a commitment to them that we would live here for one year. Anna and I simply don’t want the kids to lack value in our word. If the feelings were unanimous the decision would be a bit easier. But they are not. Many adults have asked us (Including some of our closest friends and relatives in the United States) why we would allow our children’s opinions at such a young age to influence ours. “They are young, only you know what is best for them” we’ve been told. To us, the answer is simple. We made a promise to them and don’t want to break it.
The argument has also been made by others that the first step to happy children is happy parents and if staying is what will make Anna and I happy, then this should precede all other considerations.
I guess for me, I’m not so convinced that I have all the information. The fact is that I don’t have to work here. What would life be like in Italy if I did? What will life be like in California if I continue to take time off and spend it with the family? Will we love it as much as we do here? Will we love it more? Does the honeymoon in Italia come to an end at some point and would we regret staying past the peak of our enjoyment here?
These are of course difficult questions to answer and some answers we will never have. There are certainly many other examples of families feeling this way. We’ve heard many stories of Americans who come here for a year or two and never return for the same reasons. The Tyron’s are even starting to go through their “Italy Withdrawals” being faced with less than 90 days remaining on their adventure. They have even looked into possibly staying through the summer if not another semester of school.
Its funny, Anna and I are finding that we are having to rely upon the advice that we gave to Trey and Olivia eight months ago when they were so resistant to leaving for Italy. Trey viewed our one year adventure as a “No Win” proposition. “We will either hate it there or like it there. If we like it there then we will hate leaving” was his rationale. “So what’s the point in going in the first place to only be disappointed either way?” Sometimes kids are pretty damn smart :>)
We explained to him that life is about the adventure and creating moments, and that even if we loved it and were sad to return, that the memories and friendships were something that we would never want to trade for anything in the world. So the question begs as we begin to consider that fateful day when we have to say goodbye to this fairytale, “Would it have been better to not have experienced it at all? Is the pain worth it?”
You bet it is and I would never trade it for anything in the world. It’s too easy to live in the shell that is the life that you know and never experience the beauty of the world’s variety. We had very high expectations for our year long adventure and they have been exceeded in every way.
Anna keeps telling me, that she knows in her heart that we have unfinished business here and that one way or another we will be back. Maybe it will be after the kids leave home and maybe it will be sooner.
Only time will tell…
Anna is a very different story. The first time we had the conversation was in the fall. She was quite simply in love with everything that is Italy. When I say everything, I truly mean everything, including all of its quirks and inefficiencies which she finds to be nothing short of charming. Love is not too strong of a word either as her thoughts and emotions are truly that of a love affair that she has with this place. She is so happy here. I have never seen her smile so much. She is head over heels.
As time has gone by, the feelings for her have not changed, but rather deepened, resulting in several teary eyed moments when having to give consideration to our departure. This is certainly not to say that Anna doesn’t miss her family and friends, it’s just that she really doesn’t miss anything else and the ledger is so titled for her in favor of staying that it become a very difficult discussion for us.
Additionally, time has proven to create some pretty strong friendships. On the night of Anna’s birthday, I was walking in the light rain at about midnight, having just said goodbye to everyone and needing to retrieve the car to pick up Anna and the kids. My eyes started to well up as I began to think about saying goodbye to the people that have helped make this the best year of our lives.
To better understand how we feel, think about one of those REALLY good days in your life (Perhaps it was a day with your family or a day on vacation). You said to yourself or even your spouse or friend “Today was just a perfect day”. The feelings you had were of effortless relaxation and enjoyment. Everything seemed just right.
We seem to have about six of those days a week here. This is what makes it so tough. There are many days when we feel that life can not be better. It’s a feeling of contentment that you don’t often find in life.
We have examined the possibility of living here six months out of the year (Something that all four of us agreed would be a terrific happy medium) but it simply won’t work with the kid’s school situation. Another topic that Anna and I have discussed with Trey and Olivia is that of living here during the school year and coming home to California for the summer and holiday breaks, something that Trey was not willing to concede on! It’s not that either of them dislikes Italy, in fact Anna and I are certain that they will miss Italy very much when they get home. What they miss about home is the ability to jump on their bike and ride to their friend’s house. They miss their swimming pool in the back yard. They miss their animals. In the end, they have never let go or forgotten about California because the agreement was always that it was just for one year. There has never been any permanence about being here.
The kids have never done better in school and Trey especially, is flourishing in the more nurturing educational environment of ISF. Additionally the slow pace of life here is much more conducive to raising a family. There are so many pros and cons for all of us.
Anna and I have discussed the issue of having a second home here and coming back a couple of times a year. It’s not the same thing as living here and being immersed in this different way of life. It would be a major undertaking traveling back and forth so frequently and getting adjusted to the time difference.
In the end the biggest key to our decision to return home is our promise to our children and parents. We made a commitment to them that we would live here for one year. Anna and I simply don’t want the kids to lack value in our word. If the feelings were unanimous the decision would be a bit easier. But they are not. Many adults have asked us (Including some of our closest friends and relatives in the United States) why we would allow our children’s opinions at such a young age to influence ours. “They are young, only you know what is best for them” we’ve been told. To us, the answer is simple. We made a promise to them and don’t want to break it.
The argument has also been made by others that the first step to happy children is happy parents and if staying is what will make Anna and I happy, then this should precede all other considerations.
I guess for me, I’m not so convinced that I have all the information. The fact is that I don’t have to work here. What would life be like in Italy if I did? What will life be like in California if I continue to take time off and spend it with the family? Will we love it as much as we do here? Will we love it more? Does the honeymoon in Italia come to an end at some point and would we regret staying past the peak of our enjoyment here?
These are of course difficult questions to answer and some answers we will never have. There are certainly many other examples of families feeling this way. We’ve heard many stories of Americans who come here for a year or two and never return for the same reasons. The Tyron’s are even starting to go through their “Italy Withdrawals” being faced with less than 90 days remaining on their adventure. They have even looked into possibly staying through the summer if not another semester of school.
Its funny, Anna and I are finding that we are having to rely upon the advice that we gave to Trey and Olivia eight months ago when they were so resistant to leaving for Italy. Trey viewed our one year adventure as a “No Win” proposition. “We will either hate it there or like it there. If we like it there then we will hate leaving” was his rationale. “So what’s the point in going in the first place to only be disappointed either way?” Sometimes kids are pretty damn smart :>)
We explained to him that life is about the adventure and creating moments, and that even if we loved it and were sad to return, that the memories and friendships were something that we would never want to trade for anything in the world. So the question begs as we begin to consider that fateful day when we have to say goodbye to this fairytale, “Would it have been better to not have experienced it at all? Is the pain worth it?”
You bet it is and I would never trade it for anything in the world. It’s too easy to live in the shell that is the life that you know and never experience the beauty of the world’s variety. We had very high expectations for our year long adventure and they have been exceeded in every way.
Anna keeps telling me, that she knows in her heart that we have unfinished business here and that one way or another we will be back. Maybe it will be after the kids leave home and maybe it will be sooner.
Only time will tell…
The Arrival of Johanna
I have an eighteen year old niece, who is my sister’s daughter, named Johanna. She is a first year student at the University of California at Santa Barbara. “Hanni” as we call her is the one cousin who has been with Olivia and Trey since their birth. There is a special relationship between the three of them and the kids were excited to have their cousin arrive for a four day visit while traveling for the first time in Italy with her best friend Ramana.
Johanna has been taking classes at UCSB in Italian and she is in the process of “Double Majoring” in the language. Additionally, she is a huge fan of fashion and is considering focusing on the subject as a part of her primary major in journalism. She came to the right place when she and Ramana decided to visit Italy for the first time (An admirable decision for two 18 year old girls on their own!)
The two of them accomplished an awful lot in their time here, touring the city with Alex, visiting both “The David” at the Galleria Academia and the Uffizi Gallery as well as making a run out to the Prada Outlet to shop with us. Moreover, the two of them spent a lot of time at the castle, admiring the beautiful weather that we had for their last two days in Florence, and Olivia and Trey just loved it! Each night Olivia coaxed her way into sleeping with the two of them in the same room, forming a slumber party of sorts in the small guest room at the castle. Each morning Olivia woke up with a big smile on her face having been able to sleep with the “Big Girls”. For Anna and I it was so nice to see Livy so happy and the week that Hanni was here was likely her favorite week since arriving in Italy.
The final night providing for tearful goodbyes for the kids and Hanni was visibly moved when her first cousin Trey told her that he loved her and would miss her. As usual, better to get it straight from the source. Following is the interview with Hanni:
Johanna has been taking classes at UCSB in Italian and she is in the process of “Double Majoring” in the language. Additionally, she is a huge fan of fashion and is considering focusing on the subject as a part of her primary major in journalism. She came to the right place when she and Ramana decided to visit Italy for the first time (An admirable decision for two 18 year old girls on their own!)
The two of them accomplished an awful lot in their time here, touring the city with Alex, visiting both “The David” at the Galleria Academia and the Uffizi Gallery as well as making a run out to the Prada Outlet to shop with us. Moreover, the two of them spent a lot of time at the castle, admiring the beautiful weather that we had for their last two days in Florence, and Olivia and Trey just loved it! Each night Olivia coaxed her way into sleeping with the two of them in the same room, forming a slumber party of sorts in the small guest room at the castle. Each morning Olivia woke up with a big smile on her face having been able to sleep with the “Big Girls”. For Anna and I it was so nice to see Livy so happy and the week that Hanni was here was likely her favorite week since arriving in Italy.
The final night providing for tearful goodbyes for the kids and Hanni was visibly moved when her first cousin Trey told her that he loved her and would miss her. As usual, better to get it straight from the source. Following is the interview with Hanni:
An Interview with Hanni
Q1: Hanni, this is the first time that you have visited Italy. How did you like it and what were some of the highlights for you?
HA: “I really liked walking around the streets and taking in the local culture. We tried to be like Italians. The food and the shopping were amazing. Its kind of sad to some extent, because I ended up feeling more comfortable here than I did in my own country in many ways. I’ve always been kind of ridiculed in the US for dressing up so much. People here take time to dress up here and I really like that. It was nice to see that people didn’t just wake up in the morning and throw on sweat pants. Also that people are more welcoming here than at home.”
Q2: How was it to see your cousins for the first time since Christmas? Have they changed at all?
HA: “Olivia is still insane and Trey is kind of scary sometimes. I was so happy to see them. I had been counting down the days. I missed them so much!”
Q3: Hanni, tell us your impressions regarding the castle. How was it to be able to stay in such a historical place?
HA: “Oh my God, the entire experience is indescribable. The views were so majestic that I didn’t feel like I deserved in many ways to see something that beautiful. I felt like it wasn’t real like I was in a movie. I cant imagine that I would have such an opportunity to stay in such a wonderful place. The views were simply amazing from every room. To be able to stay in a castle that the Pope stayed in was unbelievable.”
Q4: This was your first time traveling alone in a foreign country. Was it scary for you and Ramana at only the age of 18?
HA: “Yes and no. I have had to fend for myself and adjust in Santa Barbara going to school. I was most scared about the language barrier. I was worried about not being able to communicate if there was a problem. However the fact that I was able to practice having taken Italian in school was a big help. The people were so nice when they saw that I was trying to speak their language. It was really great.”
HA: “I really liked walking around the streets and taking in the local culture. We tried to be like Italians. The food and the shopping were amazing. Its kind of sad to some extent, because I ended up feeling more comfortable here than I did in my own country in many ways. I’ve always been kind of ridiculed in the US for dressing up so much. People here take time to dress up here and I really like that. It was nice to see that people didn’t just wake up in the morning and throw on sweat pants. Also that people are more welcoming here than at home.”
Q2: How was it to see your cousins for the first time since Christmas? Have they changed at all?
HA: “Olivia is still insane and Trey is kind of scary sometimes. I was so happy to see them. I had been counting down the days. I missed them so much!”
Q3: Hanni, tell us your impressions regarding the castle. How was it to be able to stay in such a historical place?
HA: “Oh my God, the entire experience is indescribable. The views were so majestic that I didn’t feel like I deserved in many ways to see something that beautiful. I felt like it wasn’t real like I was in a movie. I cant imagine that I would have such an opportunity to stay in such a wonderful place. The views were simply amazing from every room. To be able to stay in a castle that the Pope stayed in was unbelievable.”
Q4: This was your first time traveling alone in a foreign country. Was it scary for you and Ramana at only the age of 18?
HA: “Yes and no. I have had to fend for myself and adjust in Santa Barbara going to school. I was most scared about the language barrier. I was worried about not being able to communicate if there was a problem. However the fact that I was able to practice having taken Italian in school was a big help. The people were so nice when they saw that I was trying to speak their language. It was really great.”
Malta
Many people have a puzzled look on their face when I mention to them that Anna is half Maltese. The look usually comes from a lack of awareness as to where Malta is located on the map. In fact, I would bet that many of you could not pick out Malta if given a globe, both due to its size and location.
Malta is located 59 miles South of Sicily and only 175 miles North of Africa in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Malta is comprised of seven small and densely populated islands, which have exchanged hands many times over its history due to its strategic location. Sicilians, Phoenecians, Romans, Byzantines and the British have all occupied Malta for great lengths of time during her history, giving its people a deep mix of culture.
Anna’s mom, Rita Portelli (Her maiden name) was born in Silema Malta and still has family there today. Her brother Tony and his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren all live on the island. Anna’s father Edward spent many years working in various parts of the world as a geophysicist in the oil industry. One of this stints had him working and residing in Libya some forty five years ago. During a break from work he and some friends went to Malta for a little sun and fun and the result was him finding his bride Rita!
Anna and her sisters had not been to Malta in nearly 30 years, so when we decided to spend a year in Italy, a trip down South to visit her mothers birthplace and for myself and the kids to better understand their heritage was in order. I suggested to Anna that we go for her 40th birthday and her mom and dad met us there to celebrate. It turned out that Anna’s birthday this year was on Good Friday, so spending the time in Malta over the Easter weekend made for a wonderful family experience.
The Maltese people are predominantly Catholic as a result of it being ruled for many years by the “Knights of St. John” and the biblically historical shipwrecking of St Paul on the island. This of course made for a festive Easter weekend. For the family, the highlight of the five days in Malta was spending Easter Sunday with Rita’s family at her brother’s house. In total there were 26 of us at Easter dinner, which was prepared by Uncle Tony who is in his early 70’s! The day was spent eating and socializing and for me in particular examining the Portelli family makeup.
I have always been intrigued to know more about the Maltese people since it comprises one quarter of my children’s lineage and since the only Maltese person that I know is Rita. Having an opportunity to get to know her family better was nice for me. Fairly quickly, I was able to discern strong similarities in customs and culture to a faction of my side of the family (The Syrian Arabic side). This makes sense of course when you consider that both Phoenicians and Byzantines ruled the island at times in Malta’s history. The revelation that Malta had strong Arabic influence (You can detect this in the way the people look, the sound of their language and the food) quickly made me realize that my children likely have more Middle Eastern blood in them than any other heritage (My father is half Arabic)! In today’s society, this could be perceived by Americans as a negative, but having been around Arabic people my whole life, I was quite proud of this fact.
One of the highlights of the day was taking a walk down Malta’s narrow streets with Trey and sharing with him a bit of the history of Malta so he could better understand his grandmothers nationality and subsequently his own. As the kids get older it is becoming more fun for me to have these types of conversations with them.
The kids had a great time especially on Easter when Anna showed them a secret place that she used to play as a little girl (The rooftop of Uncle Tony’s house). There is a long story that Anna loves to tell about her Uncle Tony’s roof and the rabbit they ate for dinner that night that you will have to ask her about one day (Too long of a story for this blog)
We of course celebrated Anna’s birthday with her family by going out to dinner at a local Maltese Restaurant. The food was quite good. This was the first time that the kids and I had a chance to meet Anna’s family.
The only bummer about the trip was that we didn’t have particularly good weather given the time of year, with high winds and temperatures in the high fifties during the day. We made the most of it however, by enjoying time with Anna’s mom and dad and the extended family. For Anna, the end of her birthday week was full of many childhood memories.
Malta is located 59 miles South of Sicily and only 175 miles North of Africa in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Malta is comprised of seven small and densely populated islands, which have exchanged hands many times over its history due to its strategic location. Sicilians, Phoenecians, Romans, Byzantines and the British have all occupied Malta for great lengths of time during her history, giving its people a deep mix of culture.
Anna’s mom, Rita Portelli (Her maiden name) was born in Silema Malta and still has family there today. Her brother Tony and his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren all live on the island. Anna’s father Edward spent many years working in various parts of the world as a geophysicist in the oil industry. One of this stints had him working and residing in Libya some forty five years ago. During a break from work he and some friends went to Malta for a little sun and fun and the result was him finding his bride Rita!
Anna and her sisters had not been to Malta in nearly 30 years, so when we decided to spend a year in Italy, a trip down South to visit her mothers birthplace and for myself and the kids to better understand their heritage was in order. I suggested to Anna that we go for her 40th birthday and her mom and dad met us there to celebrate. It turned out that Anna’s birthday this year was on Good Friday, so spending the time in Malta over the Easter weekend made for a wonderful family experience.
The Maltese people are predominantly Catholic as a result of it being ruled for many years by the “Knights of St. John” and the biblically historical shipwrecking of St Paul on the island. This of course made for a festive Easter weekend. For the family, the highlight of the five days in Malta was spending Easter Sunday with Rita’s family at her brother’s house. In total there were 26 of us at Easter dinner, which was prepared by Uncle Tony who is in his early 70’s! The day was spent eating and socializing and for me in particular examining the Portelli family makeup.
I have always been intrigued to know more about the Maltese people since it comprises one quarter of my children’s lineage and since the only Maltese person that I know is Rita. Having an opportunity to get to know her family better was nice for me. Fairly quickly, I was able to discern strong similarities in customs and culture to a faction of my side of the family (The Syrian Arabic side). This makes sense of course when you consider that both Phoenicians and Byzantines ruled the island at times in Malta’s history. The revelation that Malta had strong Arabic influence (You can detect this in the way the people look, the sound of their language and the food) quickly made me realize that my children likely have more Middle Eastern blood in them than any other heritage (My father is half Arabic)! In today’s society, this could be perceived by Americans as a negative, but having been around Arabic people my whole life, I was quite proud of this fact.
One of the highlights of the day was taking a walk down Malta’s narrow streets with Trey and sharing with him a bit of the history of Malta so he could better understand his grandmothers nationality and subsequently his own. As the kids get older it is becoming more fun for me to have these types of conversations with them.
The kids had a great time especially on Easter when Anna showed them a secret place that she used to play as a little girl (The rooftop of Uncle Tony’s house). There is a long story that Anna loves to tell about her Uncle Tony’s roof and the rabbit they ate for dinner that night that you will have to ask her about one day (Too long of a story for this blog)
We of course celebrated Anna’s birthday with her family by going out to dinner at a local Maltese Restaurant. The food was quite good. This was the first time that the kids and I had a chance to meet Anna’s family.
The only bummer about the trip was that we didn’t have particularly good weather given the time of year, with high winds and temperatures in the high fifties during the day. We made the most of it however, by enjoying time with Anna’s mom and dad and the extended family. For Anna, the end of her birthday week was full of many childhood memories.
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