What have we become.

Fall, dead leaves, change of season. Moods change too, and today my mood is really "fall" like.

I just heard on the news about the Walmart employee that has been killed by hundreds of "shoppers"running over him to get "first" to the discounted stuff... What have we become ? For a discount on a Tv or an Ipod we trample over a human being, for Christmas ? I can imagine the scene, on Christmas days: Merry Christmas, my son, I hope you like the Wii game console, I run over a man's head to get to it first.

Not to mention the 2 people shot to death at "Toys R us". Not to mention the terrorists attack in India.
Stop the "Season", I want to get off. We have learned nothing. There is no meaning left in what we keep calling "Cristhmas"

The one thing that would really be nice, right now, would be being in Trieste, with a friend, a birretta or a glass of Terano, un panin de cotto da Siora Rosa, going to sit at the end of Molo Audace, and shut everything else out just for a few hours, that would be good. Here, somehow I cannot do that.
Rob, have a good "Spaten" for me, please.
I am going to bed, hug my kids and hope for a better day tomorrow morning, maybe una fresca bavisela ....

VDP

Don't make any noise ....

There is absolutely nothing on earth as sweet and as innocent as a kid asleep. Total abandon, total trust, no fears. Sleep and rest at its best. Sometime I wish I, at the age of 45something, could have just one night, just one, of sleeping like this. No surprise we say "sleeping like a baby".. Today is Thanksgiving day here in the US, and I truly am thankful for my kids and for the fact they have a life that allows them to sleep like this. Don't make any noise ... she is dreaming...

Ciao.

Let's go to Ischia !

My oh my, how have they changed ... These cute kids are my now
15 year old daughter Francesca and the son of some friends of ours from Naples, Italy.

We were visiting our friends in Naples, and decided to take the ferry and go to see Ischia ( gorgeouse place, BTW ) Francesca wanted to sit by Lorenzo, I grabbed my camera, saw the opportunity come up and .. click.

Lorenzo and Francesca are now both 15 years of age, and, overall things have not changed much ....

Are they cute or what ?

VDP.

Camping Surprises

So, I am off, somewhere in West Central Texas, hundreds of miles west of San Antonio, almost in the middle of nowhere, camping with some friends.

We arrived in the evening, it was late and dark, I setup my small tent, my friends setup his trailer, and we all went to bed. The next morning, I was awaken by a noise that for an Italian, is unmistakable. No possibility of error, and there was the smell too ...

I could not believe what I was hearing and smelling, it was like ... no way, there was no possible way ...

I looked out, and there it was in all its magnificent glory, the rescuer of my mornings, the one small item that makes an ordinary morning into a wonderful camping experience.
How it got there, it was a mystery, but my friend's smile and his "surprise" was enough !

Moka e Illy.
Sorry Starbucks, you have no game here.

VDP

Piazza Unita'

Piazza Unita' has been for over a century the "salotto buono" , the formal living room of Trieste.

It's a gorgeous piazza, square, that overlooks the Golfo di Trieste. Century old historical buildings frame three sides of the square and are house to Trieste City Hall, the local Prefettura and other government and business headquarters.

What Piazza Unita' really is, however, is a fantastic meeting place for all of Trieste, almost 24/7.

Here, a diverse crowd, is just hanging around, with kids, having ice cream, and just enjoying the fact of being in one of the most fantastic piazza in Italy. Kids, people, fun, Piazza Unita' is happy.

Mamma, sono stata promossa !

My Isabella, on her way home from school, last June. It was the last day of school and she was happy, for she had passed the school year with full grades. That was no easy task for an "American born child" that spoke relatively little Italian, and was dropped in third grade elementary school in Trieste at the beginning of the school year. As a father, I must say, I am very proud of her.

Experimenting with ligth.

My daughter, experimenting with *my* camera ( a cheap Canon G3, "point and shoot" , and with "writing in the air with fire" , playing with long exposure and stuff like that...

I got to say, not bad... She is the *real* photographer in the family.

Got to go...

Drop - Goccia

It's just a drop ... on a small clothesline stretched on a balcony, 4th floor, somewhere in Trieste.
How often happens in life, inside small things, there are big surprises.. look carefully, or click on the picture, and you shall see .. the building next door, upside down.
Picture taken by my oldest daughter, Francesca, 15 with a Canon G3.

Ciao.

Advertisment - Pubblicita'

The usual bus stop, Via Locchi, for a while there was this big advertisement-poster for a local Bank. My bus was late ( or I was early ) so, I had time to really look at this picture, and I noticed it was a unique case of "big mistake" in advertisement history.

Look at it: the lady is stirring a pot on the stove, gas flame going full blast. Next to the pot, a pot holder, just inches from the flame. Immediately below, a little child, smiling and looking up at mom, unaware she is about to start a fire and dump a hot pot on him... In the meanwhile the other kid is sitting on a small shelf connecting to cabinets, and he is looking at the laptop mom is using always while stirring the pot on the fire ( off course she never looks at the stove).

So, on a matter of seconds, the pot could fall on the child below, the pot holder catch on fire, the laptop falls down, the kid on the shelf falls with the shelf on top of the dog .. all in a day's work... ;-)
Who on earth signed off on this advertisement ?

Come closer ...

This picture was taken by my oldest daughter, at the Castello di Miramare in Trieste.

The Castello is located at the end of one of Trieste's most loved attraction: the "sea-walk", aka by triestini: Lungomare di Barcola. It's a long, beautifully paved walkway that goes from Barcola to the Castle, all along the sea.

The castle has a park, with a small lake and some ducks and swans. This beautiful swan was about to attack the camera and the photographer, however, my daughter managed to "click" it and get away safely in time.

If you are in Trieste, you can get to Barcola with the bus # 6, it will dop you off at the "capolinea" (end of the line) and from there you get to walk ( wear good walking shoes) The walk alone is worth the effort. Park, food vendors, view of the Gulf of Trieste, it's all there for you to take in. Just take it slow, this is no place to be in a hurry. More on this tomorrow.

Ciao !

What am I doing here....

Well, I realized I haven't done any "formal" introduction of me or what my purpose is here.
I am an Italian guy that has lived in Texas for the last .... oh, well let's say 17 and some years.
I am happily married and have 4 fantastic kids, and you will see them around here, on the blog.
Working with technology and IT has been my "gig" for a long time, I love books, photography (need a new camera!) and spending time with my family.

This blog wants to be a place where I rant and rave about Italy, US, life in either one or both, my kids, cooking, and all things that happen to cross my mind. I am absolutely new to the blogosphere, so be patient. You could see changes, for I do not adapt easily to routine and boredom, and like to "tweak" things that often should be left alone... In a small bar in Muggia, once I spotted a sign that could be the motto for my blog. Off course I was carrying my cheapo camera and "click", here it is:

You can loosely translate it like this: "Here nothing works, but we are all so nice"
Although, I am not sure "nice" is a fitting translation for "simpatici" ?
Help anyone ? ( Rob?)

Ciao !

Texas !

A little bit of Texas, for a change. We could have a blog on Texas alone, and it I would have to blog for a long time... ;-)



These are two completely untouched, straight "out of the camera" pictures of a gorgeous Texas sunset, taken years ago at the Georgetown Park, just a few miles North of Austin.

Texas does have some stunning sunsets and skies !

Ciao !

Why ?

In August of 2007 I took my family back to live in Trieste for a school year, so my kids could spend a little time immersed in the "other side" of their heritage, and have an Italian school year. As soon as we got there, I grabbed my camera, a few bus tickets ( more on buses in Trieste later on..) and off I went to re-discover my city...

Then, as soon as I got off the capolinea of bus line # 9, my heart stopped, in horror. I had been told the new city-built swimming pool was an .. eye opener, but I had no idea it was this bad.

How on earth has this been allowed to happen ? Rob of Trieste Daily Photo gives us every day a gorgeous photo of Trieste, and the city permits a nightmare like this ?

Italy is the country of art, style and design, Ferrari, Pininfarina, Ferragamo, Venice, and I could go on.. Who signed on the project of this building, the Joker ? I also heard that the building has been "cursed" with problems from day one .. I can see why. Happy Weekend.

Ciao !

Last July the Italian Navy Traning Ship Palinuro came to Trieste, and for my son that was something he had to see ...

Generations

Today is a bad day. I have been hit by a huge migraine, with no end in sight. Blogging is the last thing in my agenda for the day, however I don't want to leave you all empty ended.

These two pictures are separated by 45 years. That's my father, holding me (left) and my sister, on the balcony of our apartment in Pola where we lived back then.

The other picture is me, 2007, in Trieste, holding Angelina, on the balcony of another apartment ...

She is my last child, 3rd girl, and fourth kid.
As you can see, she is an absolute cutie and knows how to get her dad to melt like ice in a hot Texas day....

These pictures go hand in hand, separated by 45 years, generations, kids, travel, Istria, Italy, Texas, but the love and the pride are one and the same.

Ciao!

Come Eravamo - Memory Lane...

Yes, I am indeed in there. Trieste, school year 1974 (??) in fourth grade. No, I will not tell you which one is me. Some years ago I started to talk via email with a guy from Trieste, and he and I started to tell each other where we went to school, and so on.. The next day he sent me this picture, and I recognized .. him and me. We were together in 4th grade, and 33 years later we cross paths again in a newsgroup on the 'net...
It's a small world after all.
How were you, 33 years ago ?

Catch of the Day - Pescato..

Muggia is a small town near Trieste. It is the last "shred" of Italy on the eastern border.
Town of fisherman and towns people it has a distinct "venetian" flavor, quite different from Trieste. Last January we visited Muggia and I happened to "catch" this cat, that was sizing up the local's fishermen "catch of the day". It looked like he was not new at this, for he sure looks strong and definitely "well fed" .. ;-)

Memories

It is a gorgeous day in Texas, today. It brought back memories of our camping days last year, while overseas. This picture was taken at the site that has a special place in my heart. It's home, casa, the only place where my entire being feels like it belongs to.

A special "well done" to whoever is able to tell me where it is ... ;-)

Have a great Sunday !

VDP.