Oh my God! Our new neighbour is the Duchess of Westminster I think!

For the past year there have been some dramatic changes up on this tiny hill. For starters, the large property next to ours was cleared after more than 30 years of neglect. My husband said the new owners “cleaned it up”. Who are these new owners and why did they cave into pressure from the Commune to clean it up when the last owner obviously managed to ignore their warnings for thirty years?

You see, although Portofino mountain is a natural and protected park, and the wild boar seem to rule the land at times, Italians have laws about keeping your yard tidy. It stems mostly from the threat of fire and that if a property is unkept it will be a fire hazard to all that surrounds it.

Our neighbours are also building a fence which is great because their property butts up against ours and so we will save some costs on fencing the entire property ourselves. We finished the bottom half which took a total of three days and three and a half men (my husband helped occasionally).

So, back to the Duchess…I was told that the people who bought the land next to us also bought a house on the other side of the hill. At first my husband just said it was some British woman who bought it and that she was rich and somehow connected to the Royal family. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to have an English speaking neighbour and envisioned road-side meetings and sharing afternoon tea. Maybe we could even have tennis dates! But when he mentioned the Royal family, my imagination turned to some pink haired stuffy who liked wearing big hats, *le sigh.

My husband is like every man on the planet…not very forthcoming with information. I prodded him for more as he seemed to have some inside scoop with the locals here who were doing work on her property. Turns out this Duchess is also Prince William’s Godmother! Oh my! Now I had to know who she was…

So Google’s best guess is the Duchess of Westminster. I am of course not 100% certain, but if it’s true, then she isn’t some old, pink haired dame after all. She is only seven years older than me and in her photo she looks like a normal, nice person. Cool! Although, I doubt I will be getting any invitations for tea any time soon. My social circle barely includes the tennis instructor dude who I will occasionally wave hello to.

On the other hand, I wonder if it’s good form to bring over a basket of home grown olive oil and honey as a “welcome to the neighborhood” gift? Heehee. For now, Coco will continue to be my trusty tea partner, although at the moment she is pretty ticked off at me because I ran out of wet food and don’t feel like driving into town to buy more. I have been getting the vocal complaints and whiney meows all day, sheesh!

Sunday proved to be a beautiful Spring day and everyone was happy!
My husband is building a new fence and one day soon we should be able to wake up and not see piles of dirt everywhere from where the wild boar have been during the night. But I know also that when the job is complete my husband will be one content sailor. Maybe we can even think about replanting our orta again too. A few years back the boar destroyed my prized zucchini plants and I have not had the desire to plant a new veggie garden since.

Whenever I come up here the task of loading up the car with supplies and Coco, I think to myself gosh this is so much work but once I arrive, well, I never want to leave!

We had some friends up for a nice outdoor lunch and I think Coco and I were sound asleep by 10:00 p.m.

Even the clouds had a pink glow at the end of the day

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be writing about eating anchovies or recipes but here goes…

This dish is called “stoccafisso Genovese” or something like that anyway, I’m probably missing an important preposition in there somewhere and I’m too lazy too Google a correction so deal with it.

I would say this recipe is like a stew with salted, dried cod. Sounds gross perhaps but it is in fact quite tasty. What’s in it besides cod? Well, anchovies, pine nuts, parsley, potatoes, olives, capers, white wine, olive oil and garlic. It’s simple to make but it will also stink up your house so best to make it when you can open a window or three.

Tip: buy the cod that is soaking in water already to save time. If you can’t find any then buy the dry stuff and soak it for several hours.

Here’s how:
Clean off the skin and cut the cod into pieces. Take a bunch of parsley and garlic and cut, cut, cut. Put a small amount of olive oil on medium/high heat and sauté the herbs. Then add finely chopped anchovies. Stir some more. Then add the cod, chopped potatoes, some white wine, some olives, capers and pine nuts and let simmer for an hour…add more wine (or water) until the cod starts to loosen up enough to remove the bones. Let simmer long enough to reduce the sauce to a thick gravy consistency. Best served the next day reheated with fresh Italian bread.
Buon appetito!

The mezzaluna is the best tool for chopping, I love mine!

Want to make your life simpler, just buy anchovy paste. These were salted and I had to remove the tails and bones…gross!

I have a way with chickens. I know, you must be thinking I’ve hit the Prosecco a bit hard today but honest to God, chickens dig me. All I have to do is go near a chicken coop and say “here chicky chicky” and they flock to me to have a conversation. I’m pretty sure that in a past life I must have either been a farmer or Snow White (although 7 dwarfs have yet to follow me I’m working on it).

Anyway, my sister-in-law has many interests that pretty much change with the wind and this year she has an obsession with bees…or should I say beehives. My father-in-law had bee houses on the property many years ago but he had to stop because he became allergic to their sting.

While I am not exactly afraid of bees, I can still recall like it was yesterday, my very first bee sting. Perhaps because I was stung on the bum, but I remember I was only about 5 years old and the bee was sitting on my tricycle seat, so clearly I sat on him and he got a bit pissed off. I screamed all the way home and then my mom pulled down my shorts and put mud on the sting. I guess after that all was right with the world but I’m not sure how fond I was of my tricycle after that.

So now we have three beehives in our yard. This means free, organic honey! I don’t plan on sitting on any of them this time and I admit I am fascinated to see how this bee farming adventure works. At the moment they are a bit agitated because they have been moved and they are still trying to figure out where the fridge and bathroom are I guess. They are at the far end of the field so presumably they will mind their own business while I hang out the laundry and in return I will avoid sitting on any of them! Sounds like a fair deal don’t you think?

The actual bee houses look more like a storage box at an office, but here is a photo of them as well as some chickens a rabbit, a couple curious cats on a window sill, and a sheep that I made friends with in Cantalupo (the name sounds like Cantalope the fruit but actually it means the singing wolf, one of the villages we explored last weekend).

Ever have one of those weeks when you feel like you have fallen into an enormous rabbit hole? I attached this photo because I feel like those poor flower pots all askew in the corners…
All the towels in the bathroom are turned upside down or are hanging crooked, I’ve found myself putting on mismatched socks and not bothering to correct them, my hair looks like it hasn’t seen a comb for weeks and the fridge is always empty. If you guessed that my husband is finally home then you win the game and a free bottle of Prosecco (but you will have to be fast collecting because I may need to open it soon).

In the past two weeks I’ve decorated an entire house, had a clothes swap with the girls, had friends over for lunch, went out for special dinners three times, took Coco to get her nails clipped, bought an entirely new outfit that cost as much as my monthly rent (but I’m still waiting for the Louboutin Shoe Fairy to visit), bought a kick-ass wedding gift, went to an out-of-town wedding and I made stockfish stew not once but twice! It’s no wonder my socks don’t match, I’m exhausted!

The Panda is so dirty that I don’t remember what colour it is. But that won’t matter because Mama had it this weekend and guess what? She took out a headlight. Last year she smashed the hatchback, so I guess she decided to focus on the front end this time. My husband just went over to her house to pick up the car, he didn’t sound too impressed…better her than me! I took a tail light out once so the poor Panda has seen quite a bit of abuse between the two of us, haha.

We just got back from the wedding weekend where I stuffed myself silly with a twelve course meal. It’s a good thing I didn’t buy the belt to go with my new outfit because I don’t think there would have been enough holes in it following that marathon lunch!

The wedding was beautiful and at some point I will add more posts of our exploration of another region in Liguria as well as my recipe for Stockfish Stew. It’s called Stoccafisso Genovese, and is really easy to make and it stinks up your house but it’s very yummy, but not many people like it. I’m not a big fish eater and yet I really like this stew…perhaps because you make it with white wine

Anyway…with my husband at Mama’s maybe I will finally get a chance to finish the last twenty pages of my novel and also get past level 56 on Candy Crush finally!
Buona Domenica tutti xoxox

Genoa, Italy has probably got the most difficult code to crack when getting to know her inside and out. Allow me to me explain…

The main street in downtown Genoa is called Via XX Settembre but the locals simply call it Via Venti which is the roman numeral 20. Once, I caught myself giving some tourists directions and I defaulted to saying Via Venti and only after I saw their expression did I realize that I had to explain myself further.

Another tricky one is our meeting place. Piazza de Ferrari is in the centre of the city but there is also the Piazza Ducale and so most locals defer to meeting in front of P. Ducale which is literally the steps facing the grand fountain of Piazza de Ferrari…which is also referred to as De. Fe! Are you confused yet? There’s more!

Genoa has red and black numbers on their street numbering system! The ‘rosso’ or red numbers are only used for commercial address’ such as a shoe shop and the ‘nero’ or black numbers are for offices and apartments. If you see an address such as 21R it simply means it is a shop. This is not an Italian thing…even the people from Milan get lost and confused here!

Every day I learn a new gem about this city. I find myself in awe of how the secret society works here. A perfect example was this past week while I was searching for shops to buy silver and crystal for a wedding gift. I thought to myself, this is Italy, this stuff should be on every street corner! But in fact, not in Genoa.

I decided to take a closer look at the silver tray we received as our own wedding gift five years ago and wouldn’t you know it, there was a sticker on the bottom with the name and address of the shop. I’m downtown almost everyday, why haven’t I seen this shop before? Well, because it is tucked around a corner and has no sign or storefront whatsoever. In fact, without the address I would have not believed that this place even existed.

Up on the third floor, after being “buzzed in twice”, I entered a studio filled from top to bottom with this stuff. Who knows about this place? Would you believe that they have been in business since 1810? When I mentioned it to my male students they laughed and said that only a woman would manage to find a large shop filled with silver and crystal, without a map. They admitted they had never heard of the place either, which makes me wonder how the heck do these shops stay in business? I even asked the woman who “buzzed me in” if the shop was in fact open to the public or if it was some sort of secret society of the over 70′s granny elite club and that I would have to wait another 20 years for the privilege.

Needless to say, I was in fact in heaven. This place was filled with beautiful items and I pity the person who has to polish all that silver! It’s a family run business which was also nice, I felt like I was buying local and helping them put their grandchildren through University instead of adding a third vacation home to some high powered executive’s portfolio.

They even have an impressive website. If you find yourself in Genoa, I suggest taking a look around at this hidden treasure in a city full of secrets.
P. Pisano e f. Via Fieschi 2/12 http://pietropisano.it/

~namaste~
=^.^=

I finally got my buckets of Prosecco! Yesterday, we had a few friends over for lunch. Of course Fava beans are in season and so everyone must jump on the bandwagon and feast on Fava and Salami. It’s like a Ligurian tradition or something.

I love having company but I am not a very good cook. Hopefully the great view from our hill was distraction enough to keep everyone happy. I also got the house in some sort of order and even bought some fresh flowers as a treat to myself for risking scorpion bites and for washing all the floors and windows!

Usually I just walk out into our garden and collect enough flowers to make a pretty display but now that we are in the new house all the flowers I planted above no longer belong to us. But yesterday, I decided the Aunt would never notice (she rarely comes here) and I went upstairs and cut a few Iris’. Wouldn’t you know it, the old battle axe decided to make an appearance! So, I had to buy the rest at the market. They didn’t stay the night but as my husband was driving down the hill today he saw them coming up again for the day. He called me to forewarn me not to steal any more flowers, hahaha. He knows me too well!

The star of the day was Mia, my friend’s adorable puppy. And it turns out I’m not the only one who steals flowers! Mia loves them and she eats them as well as she seems to love Fava beans, haha.

The olive fields are covered in tall grass and yellow wild flowers. Mia sank below them and ran and played like only a puppy could! After a lot of food and Prosecco we had to make our way back down the hill in the magic Panda. With a pregnant woman, a puppy, three large men and three women, we all decided to load into the Panda for the ride. These are the kinds of days I live for. Good company, good food and people who know how to take a big slice out of the good life

I had a lesson at 12 and banking and shopping to do. My list was long but all manageable. I drove to the city (45 minutes) and the traffic was light. I made it to the bank and everything went as it should have. I bought fresh bread and a newspaper, everyone had smiles on their faces because it’s finally Spring! Yes, so far, so good. With 30 minutes left to hop on a bus to get to my lesson, I was content with all I had accomplished in the morning.

Then, I noticed that I was the only one standing at the bus stop on a busy intersection. Hmmmm, this smells of rotten eggs and a bus strike. I opened the App, texted Elora and yes indeed, there was a strike. Crap, now I don’t have enough time to walk back to the house, fetch the car and get to my lesson downtown. On top of which, I would have to pay for parking and wondered if I would even find a space remotely close to the pedestrian only address I needed to be at.

I knew it! That was just the gremlin I was expecting. Leave it to Italy to lure you in with her seaside breezes, freshly baked bread and friendly shopkeepers and wham! She hits you between the baby blues with yet another bus strike. I cancelled my lesson. I could have been eating a warm bowl of soup with my husband right now instead of hanging out in my apartment alone and eating tuna and crackers because the fridge is empty. *le sigh. To top it off, I got back to the house and decided to register my new credit card with Paypal and then pay a few items. Oh no, can’t do that either because the new card needs to be authorized and it could take a few days for this to happen. Another *le sigh. Did I also mention that I’m out of Prosecco too?

At least yesterday I had a very productive day emptying more boxes. I was able to complete another room with just the right amount of keepsakes and furniture and Coco and I are quite happy with the end result. We now have a cosy reading (obviously Coco will skip the reading and jump straight to the napping portion) room for two! I just have to get my husband to hang a few paintings, hmmm I wonder how long that will take?

While I was moving boxes around in the damp cellar, I came across a small, brown scorpion. It was about then that I decided to leave the rest for another day and take a cat nap! I’m a firm believer in quitting while you’re ahead so, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to the supermarket to stock up on some more Prosecco, I’ve got a feeling I’m gonna need it!

The bottom half was neglected for the better part of fifteen years and there was a lot of work to be done. Slowly, we cleared out the cobwebs and critters and the house is reshaping into something beautiful. There are still some major issues to deal with but at least the atmosphere is developing into a cozy little home again.

The real challenge is that while the top half of the house has a vaulted ceiling where crystal chandeliers once hung we now find our new space more like a beach cottage and the chandeliers are hanging precariously in the barn for storage. The antique furniture is big and chunky and now we don’t have the space to put it all in the house.(the bottom half was divided into two apartments years ago).

Another new challenge is that my sister-in-law removed the dusty old couch and replaced it with a very large turquoise one. While I love this colour, it is a bit of a challenge when you have a pink marble coffee table, forest green wood stove and beige golden yellow floor tiles. Eeep! This is going to be fun!

I already tackled the brown bathroom but have yet to explain to my husband that the new fluffy towels in the basket are primarily for decoration and guests, haha. I can see my next few pay cheques being burned online as I scour for decorating ideas and spend all my money on Etsy and Ebay! Elora was here yesterday and together we managed to find a cool clock for the enormous white wall and I spent €55 on my Paypal account it’s going to feel a lot like Christmas this month, heehee.

On Saturday, the men cut down this bush on the front terrace and now we can see the sea from the living room window! Wow! Why hadn’t someone done that before? I mean honestly, why would anyone purposely grow a hedge at the end of a terrace and block such a spectacular view of nature? For privacy? I say screw privacy, bring on the beach waves and sailboats and of course the Prosecco I think it’s going to be an awesome summer and after I torture myself with two full weeks of teaching summer camp in June I’m gonna need the break!

~Happy trails everyone~