NORMA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Angela and I took a ride to the mountain village of Norma. Norma is known for its chocolate factory and museum. The chocolate produced in the factory is rated in the top 10 of all chocolates produced in Europe (http://blog.hotelclub.com/7-delicious-chocolate-destinations-in-europe/ & http://www.ifood.tv/blog/the-top-10-chocolate-destinations-of-the-world). The tour of the museum is free. You first begin your tour with a free sample of warm liquid chocolate. The museum provides an interesting history of chocolate and its introduction from the new world to Europe by Columbus. You will also see many old artifacts used in the preparation of chocolate. At the end of the museum is a small store where you may purchase various types, sizes, and shapes of chocolate.

Norma does not offer much else in the way of entertainment. It is interesting to walk the narrow streets and view the houses built on a mountainside. The road up to Norma is narrow and winding. The views are breathtaking.

BACK ON MY FEET

I have been out of commission for the past few weeks due to surgery and recovery. I am back on my feet and ready to see the sights of Italy again. I thank my loving and nurturing wife, Angela, for nursing me back to health and Caden and Mishaela for doing the heavy lifting for me. Angela thought it was cute to get a picture of her cat in bed with me during my recovery.

AN ITALIAN FAMILY OWNED OLIVE OIL PRESS

We visited a local small, family owned, olive oil pressing plant. This is one of the most interesting things we have done here in Italy. The local farmers bring in the harvest of olives to the plant for pressing. Some sell the olives to the plant owners who will process the olives and sell the oil. Other farmers just bring in the olives for processing to use the oil for personal use. You will see various varieties of black and green olives sitting idle in large crates waiting to be pressed. This is a warm water pressing plant. The olives go from the crates to a conveyer belt and into the bins to be crushed, pulverized, and turned into oil. The final step allows the mixture of oil, water, and pulverized olives to be separated. The water and olive bits sink to the bottom and are drained while the oil floats to the top. The finished product is the first press. This is the greenest, most fragrant, and most aromatic olive oil I have ever seen.

SITES OF ROME

It would take days to see all the sites that Rome has to offer. Here are a few photos of the sites of Rome during an afternoon visit. We were fortunate to see an ancient Roman re-enactment.

HALLOWEEN IN ITALY

The Italians do not really celebrate Halloween like we do in the states. Children do not go out to trick-or-treat. In the past three years the night clubs have started having Halloween celbrations for the adults. We attended a Halloween party hosted by the Canadians. The British attended as well.

Shay was a cat and Caden was "Jim" from the Office.

MEDIEVAL TOWN OF SERMONETA

A small medieval village, not far from Rome and 30 minutes from Latina, built on the top of a rock to defend the Agro Pontino area. The Caetani family bought this castle and the surrounding estate in 1297.

Italy is surely full of cities that are rich from the architectural and historical points of view. What is not always so easy to find here are places that are still genuine and out of any touristic flows with all that goes with it. In Sermoneta one can walk on roads that have been paved during XIV century, visit the majestic Princes Caetani's castle feeling like an XIX centoury traveller.

Nettuno Beach

Three weeks ago we visited Nettuno (Neptune) Beach. It is about a 25 minutes car ride from us in Latina. The beach is very clean and the water is also very clear. Beautiful views all around as well. Just off the beach is a large Catholic Church. The attendants at the beach rent umbrellas and chairs for 5 Euro each. We had a nice lunch on the beach of pasta with clams, shrimp, and fried squid.

Mountain Top Villages

As we make our 2 hour trek to Naples (Napoli) we travel through the Lepini Mountains (Monti Lepini). These mountains are comparable to the Appalachian Mountain range in the eastern U.S. It is an intriguing sight. As we drive through the valley We see various villages that are built on the mountain tops. They have an entire valley floor that could have been used for this purpose, however; they chose the mountain tops. I slightly exaggerate because you will see a village in the valley, but I am somewhat perplexed as to the reason for the extra effort required to build a village at these heights. These villages tend to be your more ancient villages. My educational guess is that the ancient Italians built these villages on the mountain tops for protection against enemy invaders. I will try to validate my hunch by asking the locals and by doing some research.

Birthday Celebration in Italy

We recently celebrated Angela and Mishaela's birthdays. The birthday dinner was at a ristorante called D'LIAs. The steak here is awesome. We each ordered a spedoni of steak and a side of some of the best tasting potatoes you will ever eat. We followed the main course with dessert. The cannoli and tiramisu was unbelievable. It was a very enjoyable evening. The next day the birthday girls opened presents and we had the birthday cake. Happy Birthday Angela and Mishaela!

First Grandchild

Well, our oldest daughter, Annelise, recently had her first baby and our first grandchild. Her name is Olivia. A big baby, over 8 lbs and 21 inches long. They both seem to be doing well. This is a new experience for Annelise and she is making every effort to do the right things and be a nurturing and loving mom. Angela and I are very proud of her. We look forward to seeing them both in a few months when they fly here to Italy to visit us for a couple of months.

A Day in Nettuna and Anzio

Saturday was a good day. Angela, Mishaela, and I met up with a co-worker who introduced us to a couple from Spain. I will be working with the husband as well. We started the day at the American WW II Memorial Cemetery right outside of Nettuna. Over 7,000 American Soldiers who lost their lives fighting in Italy are buried here. The name of each Soldier is inscribed on the walls inside of the memorial building. The grounds are immaculate and very well maintained. It was very touching and the murals in the memorial building were breathtaking.The visit was well worth the time and you should consider stopping by if you are ever in this part of Italy.

We left the cemetery and went to to an old piazza in Nettuna where we had lunch at a ristorante recommended by a native. It was a beautiful day, so we ate al fresco. We treated ourselves to a three course meal. First, we had Antipasti dishes of bruschetta, octopus, squid, anchovies, couscous, thinly sliced and marinated swordfish, and eggplant lasagna. Bread was also served along with a nice white house wine. Next, we had the Primera course of spaghetti with mussels, fresh garlic and olive oil. I made the cardinal sin of asking for parmesan cheese with a seafood dish. Won't do that again anytime soon. You are also frowned upon if you don't finish what is on your plate. Believe me, with the amount of food served, it was no easy feat to complete it all. Finally, we were served the Segunda course of fried squid, fried pan fish, and fried whole shrimp. The meal was exquisite, though pricey.

After the meal we drove to the town of Anzio, also on the sea. We ate some awesome Gelato for desert and then walked around town. We thoroughly enjoyed the company and getting to know the couple from Spain. They just moved here as well. Angela was able to put her Spanish skills to practice and communicated pretty well.

Town and Sea Port of Gaeta

We drove to the town of Gaeta yesterday to meet with the housing representative, Franco, and complete all required paperwork for our rental home in Latina. Franco is a very nice and helpful Italian man that speaks good English. Gaeta is a small sea port on the Mediterranean coast. The scenery here is gorgeous. Gaeta is how I pictured the Italian coast to be. The landscape and scenary is awesome and the sea is a beautiful blue green and clear. Unfortunately, our day here was all business so not any time to really do much site seeing. We did stop at a local cafe' and bought a pastry (paste'). Very tasty! We will definitely be back to visit.

Visiting Caden in Rome

We took our first family trip to Rome on Sunday to Visit our son, Caden, at St Stephens International School. He is a boarder there. This is his 5th day there. You would have thought it was his 3rd year there. Mr social butterfly is settling right in and making friends. Very nice to see. He has already gone on a couple of excursions into Rome with a few of the kids from school. This is a great opportunity and should be a great learning experience for Caden. Teenagers from all over the globe attend this school in Rome. Forty of them board at the school and the rest are day students that live in Rome and return home after class.

Caden was our tour guide and he took us to the Campo de' Fiori area of Rome. This is an area with many shops and restaurants (ristorantes). Every morning here is a fish and produce market. At night it is a social gathering hub for Italian and international youths. We ate lunch in this area and had our first experience eating authentic Italian pizza. Very tastey! A crispy crust and all fresh ingredients, like, tomatoes, herbs, mushrooms, sausage, cheese. They put little to no sauce on.

Arrived in Italy

Well, I finally arrived and joined my family in Italy on Friday 2, September. I flew into Rome about 8:15 am. Once I cleared customs and got my baggage I called my wife Angela and told her I had arrived and was in the baggage area. She was at the airport as well. After a miscommunication and waiting for each other for 45 minutes we finally reunited. What a joy and blessing.

I have been here for five days (Angela and the kids for 15 days) and living temporarily in a small two room apartment. Beds and pillows are uncomfortably firm and no air conditioning. Oh, and it is very warm here during the day. I have not seen the temperature but it feels like 90's. The evenings do cool down nicely outside. Not sleeping very well due to the firm beds, heat, and my body still adjusting to the 6 hour time change (it is currently 3:14 am here). But, a little discomfort is worth it. Each day gets better.

Jet Lag and Culture Shock

Angela and the kids flew in to Rome this morning and have settled in to the Hotel apartment in Latina. Can you say jet lag and culture shock? The fantasy of Italy has clashed with reality in Latina.

BENVENUTO! (welcome)

Welcome to our family blog about our life, adventures, and experiences of living in Italy. Enjoy!