Sips : Neko's Revenge

I'm going to be honest for a second:  I like the word "flatmate."  It's easier to say than "apartmentmate," which sounds awkward and isn't even a real word, and makes more sense than "roommate," which is inaccurate.  But to many of my compatriots it probably sounds pretentious.  I'm just giving you fair warning that in the name of efficiency and accuracy, I'm going to be pretentious.

My flatmate and I have been gradually settling into our new apartment over the last few weeks.  We spent Memorial Day getting inspired at Ikea, then came home and finally hung lots of artwork on the walls.  As you can imagine, all that attention to detail was pretty darn taxing ("Is it straight?  Did you hit your thumb?  Where did I put the level?") and by the time we were done it was clearly time for a refreshing cocktail.

When it comes to mixed drinks, my needs are simple.  Give me a gin & tonic or vodka & tonic, and I'm a completely satisfied girl.  But I'm highly intrigued by the weird, wonderful world of mixology, and thankfully my flatmate is equally excited about getting creative with cocktails.  If we had been all intentional and written a Roommate Agreement, the first item would have been something like, "I pledge allegiance to the Cocktail of the Month Club..."

I had been wanting to use coconut rum in something since trying it while at the beach last week.  I also loved the thought of mojitos, but we had no mint in the house - just basil.  And some blackberries.  So, as the sounds of Neko Case echoed through the apartment, I whipped up a drink we've christened "Neko's Revenge."  The coconut is a perfect creamy undertone countering the bittersweet berries.  The larger bits of blackberry sink to the bottom, so you get a few sweet bites at the bottom of each glass.  I'll probably try this with mint at some point but it's quite nice with basil.  Cheers!

Neko's Revenge - 1 serving

6 basil leaves, roughly torn or chopped
4 blackberries
1 teaspoon sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup tonic water or club soda
1/4 cup coconut rum
Ice cubes

Muddle basil, blackberries, lime juice, and sugar in a glass until the berries are mostly crushed.  Add tonic water, rum, and ice.  Stir, and garnish with basil if desired.  Enjoy with your flatmate while admiring your picture-hanging accomplishments.

Bits and Pieces

I haven't been writing much lately because I've been busy doing the following:

- Moving into a new apartment
- Preparing for my new job
- Sitting in traffic
- Reading "Persuasion"
- Sitting in traffic
- Spending a blissful week in the Outer Banks with no cell phone reception or internet connection (but plenty of Food Network)
- Making up cocktails with my awesome roommate (more on that in a future post)
- Did I mention the traffic?

The mosaic shop, Ravenna, Italy

I've also been a little short on inspiration.  No - Actually, my life is ripe with inspiration at the moment; the fact is rather that it's all a bit too overwhelming to sort through.  Much of the past six months is still fresh in my mind, and I am frequently revisiting and reliving many moments, emotions, sights, and lessons.  Pardon me for falling back on a tired analogy, but they're like the pieces of tile and glass that make up mosaics like the ones that Carrie and I saw in Ravenna.  Some pieces are decidedly ugly and rough in isolation; others glisten with peerless beauty through and through.  They all eventually fall into place and make one coherent, beautiful visual story; but right now I feel like I'm at the beginning, sifting through a pile of broken and beautiful shards that have been dumped onto a table in front of me.  I don't know the master plan, but I'm trying to figure out where some of the pieces fit, and maybe the purpose of others -- even the really ugly ones -- will become clearer in the process.

More Adventures with 5, 7, and 9

7:  That's Sister Nancy, our principal.  She always says to me, "That's my man," because she thinks I am an adult, because I act like one.
Me:  You do?
7:  Yeah.  Yeah, I'm one of them.  I'm going to take her job when she retires.
(Sidenote: This is the same child who told me that he plans to get kicked out of school by age 14...But I guess he's decided that being in charge of school would be an acceptable life path.)
5:  There's Aidan!
7:  My friend Aidan is three, but he's turning four when Black Ops 2 comes out!

Adventures with 5, 7, and 9

We interrupt our normally scheduled Italy recaps with a brief detour into the alternate dimension that is a little boy's mind.  Lately I've been helping a woman I know by picking up her 3 boys, ages 5, 7, and 9, from school every day and driving them home.  It's been a while since there have been little children in my life, so I'm enjoying these daily doses of totally uninhibited curiosity.  When I was seven, I think my chief concerns in life were how to save up enough money to buy another American Girl doll, how to become an archaeologist/astronaut/dancer/teacher, and how to avoid eating shrimp at all costs.  5, 7, and 9 are more concerned with where to store their ray guns in case we're ever attacked by Zombie Nazis (what are they teaching them in these schools?), preventing the outbreak of a war in Sweden (I'm fairly confident that we can relax on this point), and the problem of Lady Gaga. 

7: "Is Jesus famous?"
9: "Yeah, duh!  He's, like, the king of everything."
7: "Well, if he's RICH and famous then he could be friends with Lady Gaga."

[Confused silence]

7: "I wish a volcano would explode all over Lady Gaga.  I hate her."
Me: "Whoaaaa whoa whoa -- Now, do you think that's what Jesus wants for Lady Gaga?"
7: "..........No..........."

Other recent highlights included being told that 7 would like to be homeschooled because "when you're homeschooled you don't have to learn anything."  The 3 o'clock pickup is fast becoming the highlight of my day...

Around Tuscany : Cortona

Raise your hand if you've ever wanted to pull a Frances: quit your job, buy a fixer-upper villa in Tuscany, write a novel about your incredibly hilarious and romantic experiences, have said novel turned into every single girl's favorite guilty pleasure movie, and retire early upon the laurels of fame and fortune.

Yeah, I see all those hands.

Well, Tuscany is beautiful and romantic, but it's also a place where real people live and time refuses to stand completely still -- as we discovered upon arrival in Cortona, where visitors are shuttled up into the "rustic" hill town via shiny new escalators.

Welcome to rustic Tuscany!

Once inside the city walls, though, I enjoyed Cortona very much.  It is small and manages to not be too commercialized.  There are independent art galleries and family-run ceramics shops, and cozy restaurants serving up things like blueberry pasta.  And the view...Well, it's entirely pacifying. 

Old space, new purpose

Blueberry pasta with beef ragu and pine nuts

Tuscany

In the Hallway, Unfinished

It is Good Friday and we are waiting in a long line of people who have come from every corner of the earth to see one thing out of the many things housed in Florence's Accademia:  Michelangelo's "David."  I turn up my nose at tourists I overhear admitting that they're just there to check it off the bucket list - but I must be honest with myself and admit that I'm not really sure why else I'm there, either.  Sculpture has never intrigued me as much as other media, but I know I should see the David after traveling all the way here.  I am unkind and hypocritical in my heart as I wait in line.  My thoughts are rarely turned toward Calvary.

We go through the metal detectors and ticket checks.  I tell Carrie I'll go through the painting galleries and eventually find the David, and meet up with her later.  But I turn the first corner and there he is.  He stands firmly at the end of a long hallway lined with unfinished sculptures also by Michelangelo, half-formed bodies writhing, struggling, trying to break free from the solid marble and attain life.  My friend Kristin later tells that they remind her of each one of us bearing the weight of our sin on our backs, longing to break free into perfection.  Incomplete statues usher us into the rotunda where David stands, looking so alive.

Sudden awe disarms me, and I can't explain my all-consuming need to sit down and study it for a long time.  It demands so much more than the 30 seconds (maximum) that we usually spend in front of a single work of art.  Cameras aren't allowed, so I set out to sketch it.  I work so slowly.  Groups of tourists come in and out, blocking my view, looking over my shoulder.  I'm not able to finish before it's time to go, but the time I spend is valuable; in trying to replicate the lines and shapes in front of me I am discovering, respecting the skill this statue attests.  It's hard - impossible - for me to replicate it well in two dimensions on paper, so how difficult must it have been to carve from solid marble? 

While I sketch I glean information from passing tour guides.  David was created from a block of rejected marble; Leonardo da Vinci had refused the commission to sculpt it.  A rejected stone...  When Michelangelo completed his statue, all who saw it proclaimed it a miracle.  Perfect, powerful, ready to spring to life at any moment.  A rejected stone, now a fully-formed, beautiful thing perfect in its maker's eyes.

On Sunday we attend an English-language Easter service, and the priest reads to us of the stone the builders rejected, now the cornerstone.  I remember the David, and the statues preceding him waiting to be free.  Right now I am likewise burdened, half-formed, reaching for the realization of who I am meant to be.  I'm waiting in the hallway.  But I am not rejected; with every year my Maker chips away more of what ought not to be, inching me closer to freedom and perfection.

From the City to the Sea : Portovenere

A Room With a View

After Rome, our next stop was the coast.  Portovenere, on the "Gulf of Poets," was recommended as an alternative to flood-damaged Cinque Terre.  After a harrowing bus ride over steep, snaking roads we arrived at Hotel Paradiso and had a fun 24 hours exploring this little town full of capital-R Romance.  Dramatic cliffs, abandoned churches, a castle, connections with brooding English poets...Portovenere has it all.

Refreshing white wine and farinata at Il Timone

Lovely Il Timone

One of my favorite restaurants of the whole trip was Il Timone, near the town's main square.  It is totally charming...the kind of restaurant I'd like to have if I ever live that dream!  It's owned by a beautiful, shy and serene woman named Antonella.  She has lived in Portovenere for 40 years and serves classic Ligurian food.  The simple starter of farinata was one of my favorite things I ate on the trip.  It's a simple flatbread made with chickpea flour and served warm, usually enjoyed with olive oil.  The inside was soft while the outside was just slightly crispy...So delicious! 

The Artist in His Studio

Down a nearby side street we discovered a small ceramics studio.  The owner was perhaps 60 and has only been making ceramics for about 5 years.  He makes objects about the sea; fish, lighthouses, rowboats.  His trademark piece is an adorable rowboat painted with stripes.  Different boat sizes, different colors.  Small ones served as the sugar-packet dish at Il Timone, with the restaurant's name painted on the sides.  I loved that little example of supportive relationships between local artisans.

 

Although not a long stop, our visit to Portovenere was the perfect break from cities and busy sightseeing.  We paused, we strolled, we breathed deeply of the clean sea air and welcomed the sunshine on our skin, as if storing them up for the weeks to come.  Next stop: Florence.