DELI IN THE HEART OF PORTOANTICO

In January/February the old harbour area, Portoantico, looks quiet but there are still good reasons to explore this area. My current favourite spot is Eataly, the delishop  dedicated to regional, mostly organic food produced by small farmers from all over Italy according to the principles of the Slow Food movement.

   The world has many reasons to be grateful to the Slow Food movement, founded in Turin in 1989 by Carlo Petrini: they were the first to make a fuss about the fast food chains and question the nutritional value of industrially produced food. Initially labelled as hopeless romantics, who wanted to take the world backwards rather than forward, it made millions of people to question where did their food come from and who produced it. Above all, the main issues were and still are, taste and quality.

 

A panoramic lift from the streetlevel takes you to the shop on  the second floor of this building, close to the Bigo. By the way, there is an excellent Italian book shop next to Eataly.
They have a small selection of books in English, if you are desparate.

   Eataly was born out of these concerns but gradually it has become a food empire with shops all over Italy. It is now a brand which has managed to get a foothold in the USA and Japan, too. It is not owned by the people behind the Slow Food movement, but it adhers to the same principles in terms of supporting small, local producers. Specialities, such as the famous, fiery chilli salami paste from Calabria called nduja, are stocked here.

   Eataly is not only a food shop. They have successfully combined the idea of a gourmet shop with an eating experience: tables cannot be booked in advance (come early for lunch), all food is freshly prepared there and then, it is easy and casual, yet tastes unbelievably good. Here you can get an impressive variety of artisan cheese, organically produced meat, deliciously fruity olive oil or unusual looking pasta produced with ancient methods. There is an outstanding selection of wine too.

   If I am quite ready to spend 6 -7 euro for a loaf of bread when I can go to my local bakery and get equally good, great tasting Tuscan style loaf with less money, is another question. The 610 euro bottle of some very special red wine would also be quite wasted on me. Eataly is not your everyday grocery store and cheap is ain't.  But as an occasional treat and for special occassion, yes please.

 

 



GENOA CITY ON A SNOW ALERT

Yesterday was a glorious, bright and sunny day, quite warm too. So warm in fact, that you could comfortably sit in a cafe at the passegiata in Nervi, read newspapers, chat with friends and enjoy watching  the sea sparkling in the sun.

However, this morning it is a different story altogether.




This was the view from the window at 8 am.

The temperature has dropped to +2 C, but with strong winds coming from the sea, it feels much colder than that. Today has been declared a day to stay inside: the city of Genoa announced yesterday that all schools will be closed because a big snowstorm is expected to hit Liguria today and therefore, everyone is on a "snow alert". During the night the mountains got covered in snow and no doubt it has snowed little bit in Genoa city too.



At noon it started snowing a bit more...

Usually, the snow quickly melts away and there is not even enough to make a snowman! This will probably be the case this time as well, even though people may have to dig out their cars from snow and there is probably some traffic chaos too.



By 5 PM the mountains had become quite a pretty sight.

When I was a child I often wished that school would be cancelled because of a snow storm, but that never happened even though the Finnish winters can be pretty harsh with temperatures well below -20 C in January/February. But on the other hand, we had central heating, snow ploughs and winter coats... no excuses whatsoever to take a day off and stay at home!  



A DIFFERENT BEAT ALTOGETHER

"Dad, have you already told Mum about the lady who shouted at you in the shop?" Daughter asked.

That prompted another story about a clash of cultures, while I had been away.

One day John had gone to a local supermarket to get some fish. It was around noon.  On arrival to the shop John noticed that it was quite empty and that there was nobody to serve him at the fish counter. Instead, a shop assistant was clearly having a cigarette and a well earned break nearby on the doorway. John waited a while and finally, the shop assistant came to tell him in Italian that it is closed.

  So, John thought that this applied to the fish counter only and carried on shopping. The shop assistant waited at the till for five minutes. When John did not approach the till, she lost her temper and started shouting at him. The message could be translated to something like: "Get out of the shop, you moron!"

  At this point the manager arrived to see what the problem was. He spoke English and explained that THE WHOLE SHOP was closed and would John mind coming back later, please. The shop assistant's goodbye was an icy stare and clearly, she did not wish to see John back any time soon.

  John knew that most shops close around noon for lunch and open again at 3.30 PM until 8 PM. However, there are exceptions and the larger supermarket chains, for example, stay open all day long. Since this was a supermarket type of a shop, John was not too concerned about the time and assumed that they would be open the whole day.

   There is a different beat to the day in Italy and it has taken a while to get used to it. The day starts early and morning buses to the city centre are full of people going to their place of work at 8 am. In the morning time coffee shops are busy offering shots of espressos at the counter for people. Then everything stops around noon as the lunch hour approaches. It is still quite common for school children to go home to have lunch as many Italian schools do not offer a meal for the students. The Italian mothers prefer this system, too. Most shops are closed for couple of hours. Everybody are having a lunch and a rest.  However, life returns to normal at 3 PM: shops open their doors, children return to the school for couple of hours and work continues in the offices.

  As dinner is typically not eaten before 8 PM earliest, there is a possibility to have an aperitivo between 5 PM and 7 PM. You buy a drink, which might cost a touch more than normally, but it comes with little nibbles such as pieces of bread, cold meats and cheese. Sometimes it is a whole buffet full of finger food and this might be eaten instead of a dinner.

   Any kind of an evening entertainment (concerts, plays, shows) start at 9 PM to 9.30 PM. Having a good night out means that you need to be prepared to stay up at least until midnight. Nobody arrives to a disco or a nightclub before midnight and then they dance the night away until the early hours.

   With a schedule like this, you really need your lunch time nap.

   We have learned our lesson.

  

  

  

 

 

 

BLESSED IS YOUR HOME

I took this pic on a very cold, but bright and sunny day in Nervi. Even though the weather has been quite cold in January, there has been relatively mild and sunny days in between.

 

 

I came back home from a short break yesterday and while I was away, the family stayed behind. An innocent question enquiring about everyone's health and if there were any news, was greeted with "wish you had been here" - type of hysterical laughter. And this is what happened:

One early evening, the doorbell rang and John opened the door. It was our neighbour, the very nice Italian lady, accompanied by an Italian gentleman. John thought he looked a bit official, but could not immediately say what triggered him to think that way. Cordial greetings were exchanged and the lady started to explain the reason for the visit. John's Italian has not improved much but he has had a very good reason to be grateful of the studies in Latin at school and later at the university while being in Italy. This knowledge enabled John to pick up couple of key words such as "benedizione" (a blessing).  After a lengthy attempt of a conversation, John finally understood that the gentleman in question was a priest from the local Catholic parish who was doing the rounds in our apartment block in order to bless the families and their homes. John got the impression that this was a traditional visit in the beginning of a new year, but he was not sure. Unfortunately, they had to part without any ceremonies as the language barrier turned out to be too difficult this time. So, for the time being our home has not yet been blessed, but I have a feeling this is a temporary state of affairs until we learn enough Italian to understand how to receive a blessing.

   Clearly the first weeks of January are not just about getting back to your everyday life as quickly as possible in Italy. One sign of this are the numerous exhibitions of nativity scenes which are open in many churches in Genoa and elsewhere in Italy in January. I am told that the  biggest and most beautiful "presepios" are in Napoli. Genoa also has  its own permanent and much appreciated crib, Madonnetta, which is located at the Santuario della Madonnetta church. The nativity scenes are usually carefully built by local artists who take considerable time and effort to create small statuettes  based on local people, their homes and places of work as a backdrop to the crib. A touch of humour is certainly allowed and a scene of men playing cards with one of them cheating the others is an often told example. The nativity scenes come complete with every possible miniature accessory from palm trees to shepherds.

  There is even a permanent shop in the old historical centre of Genoa called Buttegheta Magica (Via Della Maddalena 2) selling everything possible needed to build a nativity scene at home. And if you think this might be too much of a hassle, they are happy to come to your home and build it for you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE GENOVESE - RESERVED? IT'S ALL RELATIVE

The Genovese think that, by nature, they are reserved, inward looking and distant towards their fellow human beings compared to the rest of the Italians.

 "You have to live at least 3 years along the same street before people start saying hello. Then one day it will happen, totally unexpectedly," I was warned early on.
   There is some truth to this rather uncharitable view of the good citizens of Genoa. They are not rushing to be involved in your life or try to hug you to death. Family always comes first and don't think that you as a foreigner will be cosily included in that group anytime fast. That only happens in food programmes with celebrity chefs. People can also behave quite formally in some social situations and expect you to do the same.

    But the Genovese are not necessarily unfriendly. On the contrary.

   Take our local bus stop, for example. More than once, someone has started to talk to me spontaneously about the weather or the irritation of a bus being late.  If you appear to agree, the conversation could soon be wide open to other issues, such as personal memories of a particular bad day when there was a bus strike and the person in question was stuck in town for hours. Once on the bus, an Italian lady sat next to me and talked to me nonstop in Italian. The conversation opener? I had a Kindle and was reading it, when she asked if it is difficult to use. There we quite quickly developed into stories about her granddaughter, who - incidentally - also happened to have a Kindle. That was soon forgotten when she warmed up to the real theme: how difficult it is to get young people to read these days and how studying at the university might not be an option for the granddaughter and did I think that she should not go to the university but to do something practical instead, such as hairdressing? When I said that I cannot speak Italian very well, she said comfortingly that it did not matter at all and she carried on.

    Going to the post office and waiting for your turn with couple of other people, is another classic opportunity. Everyone has a number, therefore you are all in the same queue and what is there to do? Well, a good chat helps to pass the time. This is more of a slippery slope and the camaraderie of queueing takes it for granted that you will participate in that conversation as people want to hear your views about number of issues. At least to agree or disagree. As a minimum.

   The Genovese probably are more reserved compared to other Italians. But my bet is that if there would be an international competition on the matter, the Genovese would not be on top of the table.

  

   

  
   
  
  

  

THE FIRST SIGNS OF CHRISTMAS

This week Genoa seems to have come alive with all things Christmas. Streets are lit with colourful lights. The first nativity scenes have appeared in shop and office windows. Surprisingly, I have not heard much muzak at all in the shops, unlike in - let's say - in London, where people are forced to listen to carols already at the end of November. 

  Last weekend a big indoor Christmas fair, Natalidea, was opened at Fiera di Genova, the local fair centre, and I went to see what was on offer. An easy 5 minute bus trip from Brignole station brought me in the middle of the old harbour area, buzzing with people.

 

It is the flag of Finland, even though upside down, marking the indisputable home country of Santa Claus.
 

The massive hall, which looked a bit industrial to me despite the artificial snow falling from the ceiling at the entrance, was full of small and big stalls selling everything possible from crafts to jewellery, a small section of antiques, cake making equipment, leather goods, handbags, clothes, accessories, Christmas decorations - mostly cheap and cheerful stuff (apart from the antiques, of course). But judging from the number of people, this was also a welcome chance to find a bargain or two!

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APARTMENT LIVING WITH MUSIC AND NEIGHBOURS

As most people in Genoa, we live in an apartment block. In Genoa city very few people live in houses - there simply is no land where to build them. But this being Italy, we are not talking about high rising ghettos: the apartment blocks are normally 5-6 floors, very close to each other, carefully painted in calming colours such as muted yellow, mauve, light pink or light blue. The buildings look quite pretty, grouped close to each other. We live on the second floor and next to us is an elderly lady and one other family. I have not yet seen the inhabitants of the two other apartments.

  I used to live in a block of flats as a child in Finland, so I instinctively know the rules: don't  bang the door, don't shout in the corridor, and always say hello to neighbours. The biggest problem is noise. For example, you are not supposed to drag a chair on the floor - you are expected to lift it up and put it in its place with as little noise as possible. Plus you have to put soft, sticky material under the legs of any furniture to avoid leaving any marks on the parque floor and limit - yes, you guessed it - noise.

   I happen to play the flute. It is a beautiful instrument and most people like the sound of a flute. Playing couple of merry tunes every now and then would not really matter. But practicing scales and endless technical exercises could easily strain the relationship even with the most patient neighbours, if they feel that an overdose is being administered.  I asked the landlord if it would be ok to play. He did not think it would be an issue. The building is quite sound proof, he assured me.  

   I discussed this with some people who play instruments for  a living. And they are telling quite intresting stories about how to combine apartment living, neighbours and music. My flute teacher, an American lady living in Genoa, said that their neighbours first started knocking on the walls. Then they got together and approached her with orders: she can play certain times during the day and only in one particular room. Another friend told me how someone in her apartment block plays drums and was drumming quite late in the evening. The neighbours called the police. It turned out that he studied drumming in the local conservatory and therefore, the police told the neighbours that - as it is important for him professionally -  he is allowed to play up until 11 o'clock in the evening. I have some sympathy for the neighbours in this case but playing late at night is not  as unsual as one might think. Italians have a very different rhytm to the day compared to many other nations. The only time that is absolutely sacred is the midday lunch/rest: practically everything stops between 12.30-15.00 and that is the time everyone expects to have some peace and quiet.

   Armed with these stories, I have now identified a room (a small storage room originally) in our apartment. I only play between 10 am to noon, as most people are at work. Between 1600 - 18000 is quite allright as well.

  Then last weekend, Saturday night, our apartment building suddenly came to life. There was at least one lively childrens' party on our floor and a larger gathering somewhere upstairs later in the evening. Dogs were barking in the hallway. Someone was playing the piano until midnight. There was laughter, conversation and the sound of furniture being moved. Somewhere else another person was playing the guitar and singing.

    Perhaps playing the flute might not be such a problem after all.