Christopher Columbus Was...

and evil man... according to Hugo Chavez it seems, and well, he is taking down Mr. Columbus's statues one by one.  

It also seems to be the view  of a very  popular American History textbook, "The People's History of the United States". But, let's not go there tonight.

Ah... how times have changed.... When I was in school we learned this rhyme....

IN 1492

In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.

He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.

A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.

Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.

Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.

Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.

October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!

"Indians!  Indians!"  Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.

But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.

The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.

Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.

He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.

The first American?  No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.

Now it seems the Italians, especially the Genoese brood, are not so impressed with Mr. Chavez'.

'Invader' Columbus statue goes - Scotsman.com News

Published Date: 28 March 2009

VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez has praised a decision by a city mayor to take down a statue of explorer Christopher Columbus in Caracas.

Chavez said that when Columbus reached the Americas more than five centuries ago he led an invasion that produced a genocide for the indigenous people.

The Day the Music Died

Raising children is sure not easy.

Anna experienced the harsher side of life yesterday. Yes, she was robbed - of her beloved ipod touch.

So attached was Anna to her digital gizmo, she took it everywhere she went. Everywhere. Even when we told her to leave it at home, she just wouldn't, really what kid could? Yesterday she went to her theater group where, she left her coat, ipod inside a pocket, in the changing room. Upon returning home, she discovered, it was gone. The few euros she had were still inside her pockets and her phone too, but no ipod.

To say I was livid would be to put things mildly. More money down the drain spent on kids that don't value it. Story of my life.

As I am screaming at her, why did you even take it with you when you weren't even going to use it? Why do you show it to your friends? They don't have one, it only makes them jealous... don't you know kids steal!!!!! On and on...

Well, my hysterical drama fell on deaf teenage ears. Anna tore her room apart... bed apart... but, nothing. Her ipod was gone. Someone, obviously a kid from the theater group, which is made up from her classmates, wanted the ipod as badly as Anna did, and when she wasn't looking, helped themselves to it. 

This morning at breakfast, after a fitful night of sleep, for the both of us, I really don't like yelling at the kids, Anna was so sad. Truly disillusioned.  Lost with out her little gadget, but even worse, full of the knowledge that someone she believed was a friend, well, really wasn't. And she will never know who. That was the thought swimming in her head as she headed off to school this morning.

I know Anna didn't leave her ipod with the intention of having it stolen. She actually has taken good care of it. In her mind, I know, she felt she left her coat in a place she could trust. It was hung with the belongings of people she thinks are her friends. But, desire, greed and envy... no matter how good you are and how you know you would never steal from a friend. There is always someone lurking, coveting what you have and if given the opportunity, will take it. What a harsh lesson to learn at 13.

All that said.... 

If you look at the bright side... there has to be.... 

At least I don't need to worry about her damaging her hearing for the moment. 

Roam if you want to...

Roam around the world.... 

Lyrics to a B-52's song and a not such a bad philosophy to live by. If I sit and think about it, the idea that the best things in life are ones that happen, with out a plan, without expectations. Like when you wake up in the morning without any idea what to do and as you move through the day, something truly wonderful just happens. Is this it because of the low expectations or just karma?  I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know that I have spent most of my life living by these rules. Some of you that know me well might be shaking your heads, but it is true, I might seem to "plan" other people's lives, but my own... I just wing it. Every single day! How else would I ever cope living in this chaotic country - or growing teenagers?

Sunday Sam and I dropped off Anna with her friends and teachers, they were going on bus for some school trip to god knows where, and we found ourselves suddenly alone - no kids! We crossed the street from where we dropped off Anna to the train station and hopped on the first passing train. Luckily for us, it was going in the direction of  le Cinque Terre and not Genoa! Upon arriving in Riomaggiore, it seemed that 1,000 people getting were getting off the train with the same intention to hike, so we thought it best to go in the opposite direction to wherever the crowd was heading. After a quick inquiry at the information office and a look at a trail map, we decided to head off to Telegrafo - 514 + meters above sea level. Why not? Neither of us had ever hiked up. We where warned by the ladies at the info office that the trail was "ripida", in other words, quite steep. Perfect. No one would be on it.

Full of beans we headed to the coffee bar near the train station, it was mobbed, so we wandered into Riomaggiore to find a less crowded one. Would you believe in a country where you trip over coffee bars, there wasn't one in sight! Sam and I stumbled upon the trail head and started our ascent. As we were climbing we were bombarded with runners coming down the narrow trail.... ah.... that was what all the marks in the pavement were for, there was a foot race going on. The "Marcia di 5 Terre".  So much for an isolated trail. As we neared the first summit, 300 or so meters above sea,  I mentioned to Sam that Sarah's former violin teacher participates in these mini marathons, and, just as I said that, I heard a familiar voice! There was Gabriela - the violin teacher - and her husband jogging towards us! How is that for a small world? We reached the first summit at the Santuario di Montenero, we stopped at the bar - complete with a singing barrista, as you do (doesn't every hiking trail have a coffee bar with a tenor) and finally had our long anticipated, albeit late, morning cappuccino. We soaked in the sun, lingered over the view and marvelled at the runners barrelling on by. Sam and I started to feel a bit hungry and with the faith that the sign on the trail map indicated a restaurant at the summit in Telegrafo, we marched on. 

As we climbed up the trail it divided and as anyone would do, we took the more scenic sea route completely ignorant of the fact that it was the more difficult of the two, but hey, at least we no longer had to move out of the way of the runners - they were on the other trail. As we continued to climb the views were even more incredible and that magical feeling that happens when you hike though the Liguria took over.  Around here the mountains seem to fall of into the sea, and the micro-climates you encounter as you climb up are not to be found anywhere else in Europe. In the 5 Terre, you find alpine wild flowers growing and terraced vineyards that fall off into the sea - and as we rose above 300 meters above sea level, we were now in a thick pine forest and the air was cool and fresh. If you looked to your left or east across the valley there were the snow capped Apennines, turn right or west and there was the endless sea. 

At this point we were almost completely free from other hikers - amazing - the 5 terre are normally on a sunny Sunday - overrun. Sam and I slogged on up the steep mountain and at about 12:30 we finally made it to the top! And yes, the restaurant was open and of course - FULLY BOOKED - yes you can drive there too proven by all the cars parked along the road! I gave the owner my best puppy dog eyes and he said to come back in an hour or so! Score! The aroma from kitchen was divine and the menu alluring so we set of to explore Telegrafo. Guess what... there was not much to see. Seems Telegrafo is just the halfway point between Portovenere and Riomaggiore, no village per say, but boasts a full on bar/cafe with picnic tables in one spot and the restaurant in an other. We walked on in the direction of Portovenere as far as time would allow and then headed back. We took our seats at our table, the worst one in the room, but who was going to complain? In the end, we had a fabulous meal of
tagliatelle with vongole alla zafferana followed up with fitto misto di mare all washed down with the famous white wine from the Cinque Terre.

      

For entertainment we had a large tour group of Australians who sat next to us. Watching them reaffirmed my reasoning to why I always avoid organized tours. For one, I really rather be by myself, quite difficult when you are with a large group, and, I want to choose what I eat. This group's meal was prearranged and everyone had the same to eat -  Spaghetti con pesto and fish alle ligure. Sounds good for sure, but compared to what we had and the other plates served to nearby tables, not anywhere near the best the place had to offer. And to serve 14 plates of the same food at the same time from a small kitchen... well it didn't happen. Anyway, I digress. Food is a religion for me, so I would have hated to sit there, looking at all the good things go by only to then be presented with the exact same thing as the person sitting next to me. Torture.

With full bellies and tired eyes Sam and I reluctantly pushed away from the table. For the walk down we chose the easier route, and along the way, we found a quiet spot to sit and rest - we even took a nap - a bottle of wine with lunch does make you weary. It was a struggle to pull ourselves up and hike back to the sactuario with the bar and the singing barrista - Sam had an expresso and I hit the toilet - and we were ready to march on.  

We made it back down to Riomaggiore just as the train that would take us back to Chiavari was pulling in. How was that for an end to a perfect day made without a plan and no reading of train schedules? An excellent example of how to just roll out your door and roam round the world!

  

Happy Birthday Ian!

Saturday Mr. Lewis turned... well he had a birthday, lets leave age out of it, so our weekend started off as an homage to Ian.

Friday night we got together with Ian and Silvia, and went to Ristorante da Felice. We have been saying for years that we wanted to go and see what all the fuss was about, and now we know! Tucked into a small hole in the wall near the train tracks in Chiavari you can find one of, or maybe the best seafood restaurant in Liguria. We had a full assortment of what was on offer from the day's menu including; cappon magro, ravioli di pesce - highly recommended and some shark for secondi. We topped it off with dessert, which was cinnamon gelato - home made - with an assortment of heavenly "fritelle" or fried doughballs rolled is sugar. I have a fascination with fried dough it seems!

Saturday afternoon, Silvia hosted a BBQ at her home. After stuffing ourselves full - topped off with a cake by yours truly, the boys ended up kicking a soccer ball around and the ladies gossiped away!



Happy Birthday Mr. Lewis!

Donuts!

Is there any other food in the world that can make you as happy as a warm fresh donut? 

And is there any better shopping other than IKEA? 

How about both in one day? Nirvana! That is how Sam and I spent our Saturday afternoon in Genoa, shopping at Ikea and topping it off with a nice donut. All that while we waited for Sarah to finish with her now usual orchestra rehearsal. By the way, her first concert will be mid May. 

Arte Genova

Lucky Anna is home from school this week, school is closed for the Settimana Bianca, ski holiday break that Sarah had 2 weeks ago. Having the girls in different schools with completely different breaks have prevented us from taking our annual ski holiday. 

Yesterday, while much of the East Coast of the United States was under a blanket of snow, the sun was shining on the Italian Riviera. Anna and I woke up early and set off for Genoa to take in ArteGenova 2009 at the Fiera. Click on the the slideshow above. A friend of mine gave  me an invite to the show, she had a few pieces of her work on display. I must say, the show was much better than I anticipated and Anna actually enjoyed looking at modern art. Well. The poop in the toilet as living art was a bit over the top, but the rest of the show was quite good and at a high standard. Actually, I would even goes as far to say, there were many museum quality pieces up for grabs.

Otherwise, having Anna home presents the challenge of what to do all day for the rest of the week.  First things first. Smart card is out of the digital box, meaning no TV signal. At the moment, she is doing a homework project with a friend, later we are off again for Genoa and Anna's weekly drumming lesson. Tomorrow... who knows?

Ciao!

Krista

Enjoy the show!

If you click on the "slideshow" in side bar, it will open a new window and you should be able to see the photos "full screen".

Dad, if you can't let me know!

Krista

Jammin' with Ian

Dinner was divine and as predicted.... The afternoon turned into on long jam session. Sam, is actually getting pretty good at playing the bass.

Off to Genoa with Anna who is home from school this week. We are going to "Arte Genoa". Post more when we return.

Krista

Weekend update...

Spring has been tempting us the last few weeks with crisp cool weather and clear sunny skies. This morning, sitting here, awake way to early on a Sunday morning, the sky is grey and the rain is falling - a perfect day to have a Sunday roast dinner. Soon the beautiful aristo di maile affumicato/smoked roast pork loin I picked up yesterday at Fratelli Centanaro located in Genoa will be in the oven. When the girls wake up the house will be filled with the smells of roasting meat and baking apples. Silvia and Ian will arrive about 1 with Matteo and Chiara in tow. Matteo will play the piano, Ian will pick up Sam's electric bass and Sam or Anna will play the drums. The house will full of good food, good friends and music. Heaven.

As usual, this has been another hectic week in the long drama known as my life. Who knew my supporting role as wife, mother and keeper of the hearth would demand as much time as it does. How do these career moms manage it all? 

The above photos of Portofino were taken Wednesday. Joanne, Nicole and the latest arrival to Chiavari, Anneleise started a walking "club" and invited me to join. Luckily, they chose Wednesdays to trek into the hills for that is my only day free of obligations. The rest of the week I am in Genoa ferrying Sarah her violin and driving either she or Anna from point A to B. 

Somehow, my friends think I am some sort of walking guru. They leave it up to me to choose the sentiere/trail for our walks. I am not so sure that is such a good idea, last week I took them on my favorite and most frequent trek from Santa Margherita to Portofino. Well, I took a wrong turn, what else is new, and we ended up in Paraggi. 

I put the link to the blog Joanne started in the sidebar. Click over and follow our walking adventures. Nicole and Anneliese post in Dutch... Joanne and I in English. Photos speak for themselves.

Off to wake up Sam and start cooking....I took my beautiful roast our of the fridge earlier, I can smell the aroma of smoke on my hands - time to put that baby in the oven!

 

Krista