Month: June 2011

Ferraris and Carabinieris. Like pb&j they just go together.

PANICALE–Umbria, Italy. Our friends the Lambarts of Colorado have been in Panicale many times and now they are there celebrating their daughter becoming a Di Maria. You can’t beat that for an Italian last name. They are having such a good time and have been so great to share their good times with us. Here they are in their own words and pictures. Their garden pictures stopped me in my tracks. Dear Plant Diary: June = Jasmine, Jasmine = June. Must remember that. Oh, if only the white bloomed jasmine shown here were Scratch and Sniff.

Here is a June peek into Panicale.

See you in Italy,

Stew and Midge Vreeland
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Stew and Midge-

Must have been fun to put your mind on rewind and be at another N.U. graduation again! (our daughter Grayson graduating from Northwestern, outside Chicago, many years after we both did) … We expect full report on graduation, festivities and Colbert, when we see you at BC/NU game.
So, trying to keep up with Vreeland standards, and having fun as fast as we can….Arrived Friday night, and had wonderful dinner at Simone’s osteria, then Saturday morning cappucini at Aldos, who has asked Jeff about playing him in Briscola, then Ceremony to open the retired Caribinieri club in Panicale (Aldo says shifts around each year, this year for one year in Panicale)…Multi multi Caribinieri!

Then, last night had dinner at Logetta in Paciano, meeting new owner from Roma and his wife the cook, and then this morning walked to Paciano for express at little bar in center, ran into Margaret, then the Ferrari tour through Panicale, before finding GMB for awesome lunch (and dolci). Oh, ran into Andrea, (Masolino’s) who says Ferraris are “Italian Art, and Adriano, who Jeff used to play Briscola with, getting ready for rematch.

”Whew!….resting under your pergola again this afternoon, practicing our Briscola before having pizza from new Sicilian bakery/take-away shop outside Porta Perugina. Also , met Fernando (older gentleman who now lives here), and he is tutoring Jeff in Italian each day.
Attaching some photos of our adventures with Panicaleese

And some pics of garden, in mid-June. Still can’t get used to all the people who stop above on street to look over garden and ohh and ahh.
ciao-Harry

A lot like being in Italy . . .

PORTLAND, Maine – If you were at the Italian Life Expo this weekend this recap is a walk down Recent Memory Lane.

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PORTLAND, Maine – If you were at the Italian Life Expo this weekend, this recap is a walk down Recent Memory Lane. If you missed it, well this is a way to see how it went and to see if you want to make plans for it next time. Three days of big fun, Italian in the air and in your wineglass. The video, below, shows most of us had our mouths full most of the time. Full of wine or bread or prosciutto or prosciutto on bread or olive oil on bread or gelato or more wine! The crowd was great the first night and got bigger every night! Gorgeous location.
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Thanks to everyone for their support, enthusiasm and for coming to volunteer or participate in any way. Buona Festa it was indeed.

See you in Italy

But first we need to go to Chicago on Thursday to see our daughter Grayson graduate. Steven Colbert is speaking so that should be fun. and then Fathers’s Day not coincidentally, we are going to see my father. In Iowa. He just turned 92 last week. And then we come back and Italian neighbors are coming for the Fourth of July. OK they are from California and Cuba, but they are our neighbors in Panicale. Let’s roll some bocce balls!

Ciao, ciao,

Stew Vreeland

CIAO, MAINE! Apes hit the streets of Portland. Can the Italian Life Expo be far behind?

PORTLAND, Maine – Somehow we knew it would come to this. And now, in fact, apes have taken over the streets of Portland, Maine. And they are drumming. Beating the drum for the Expo. We are clearly about to get this party started. The Italian Life Expo comes to the Ocean Gateway this Thurs, Friday and Saturday (June 9-11) with a gala opening Thursday night. Right on the harbor. In fact that is the Ocean Gateway behind the Ape in this photo. Yes, the loudspeakers work and will be playing Italian music in the parking lot. And yes, we know we’re parked on the sidewalk.
Can your truck do that?
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We did an Apes’ Tour of Portland and that ape’s eye view of Portland is on this full sized slide show. (If you put your cursor on the upper right and hit “show info” it will show you the photo captions) We started on the loading docks at Noyes Movers where the ship container came in direct from Italy full of wine, olive oil, ceramics and copper ware. After that it was visiting sponsors, handing out cards with all the info on them, hanging posters, enjoying the weather, just being out and about on the fun streets of Portland. Paul Turina of Turina Italian Wines and I would go a few blocks and get an Italian sausage from a cart. Or, and then, a cappuccino. And then a gelato. It was progress. Someone had to do it. And since we were the ones with the truck bed full of publicity we thought we might as be us.

mini version of slide show:

Paul was just at the Boston Consulate Thursday evening chatting with MaryAnn Esposito, Ciao, Italia chef for years on PBS. There was a film crew from RAI in Italy covering that Boston event celebrating Italy’s 150th. We heard they will be following the Consulate General up to Portland to film the opening for Italian television Thursday.

Our friend Kathy McCabe has been following our progress here closely and we’ve included a link to her Dream of Italy blog if you’d like to see their coverage of the Expo. She is quite the expert on all things Italian and is an enthused Expo sponsor.

More news as it becomes available. Stay tuned to this channel.

See you in Italy or see you in Maine when Italy comes to Portland.
Tickets available at Italian Life Expo.

Stew Vreeland