On May 8, 6:38 pm, Giusi > wrote:
> Bronwyn wrote:
> > Hi folks,
> > Just returned from four weeks in Italy travelling around with husband,
> > Franklin. The middle two weeks we rented two villas - one in Umbria
> > about 10 miles out of Assisi in the hills, and one in Tuscany between
> > Lucca and Florence.
> > It was such fun shopping for provisions for the two weeks. After
> > sightseeing all day and walking our feet off, my relaxation was to get
> > in the kitchen and cook up a storm! The second villa we had friends
> > from NZ join us. I cooked all the dinners, Mary did the breakfasts.
> > The first week we spent in Rome and were given a list of restaurants
> > to visit from an Aussie friend who lived there for 10+ years. They
> > were all wonderful, simple and honest Roman food, and 'off the beaten
> > tourist track'.
>
> I'm pleased that you enjoyed you culinary adventure with us. It's
> fairly easy to eat well here, isn't it? It doesn't sound like you hit
> even one impossible place, although they exist-- a minority, but existent.
>
> It took me a year to be able to read labels in the supermarket. I'm
> impressed that you worked it out so quickly. At the beginning it could
> take me an hour to buy food for one meal. I hadn't a clue what a lot of
> things were and what you'd do with them. It was two years before I felt
> capable of going to cookery school and understanding what they had to
> say-- and I had studied Italian at university many years ago.
>
> We had June in April and May has been April instead. 8 days of rain
> after heat and dust for a month.
>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com


Guisi, thanks for that interesting response. As a child I grew up in
Melbourne Australia which has a large Italian population, so I always
familiar with Italian meals and produce. My mother, Australian, loved
to cook, she was very adept at French and Italian cuisines. Now, in
my 50's, Italian cooking is the mainstay of my cooking, but (modestly)
I cook Indian, Thai and anything else I can get a recipe (southwestern
US cooking,creole, whatever).
This recent trip was my first to Italy - I had been saving it up for a
special trip - and I was not disappointed! As you can see from my
photographs, an interest in cooking gives a wonderful focal point for
travel. Yes, we saw lots of galleries, churches and architecture
too...but it will be the food I will remember!
You are an Italian American, right? How wonderful that you live in
Italy now, whereabouts?

I am glad you got some rain after we left -- everything was very dry
indeed.
Cheers
Bronwyn