Sunday, March 14, 2010

Living here. . .kind of

We have loved having an apartment here-(I tried to post video but can't get blogger to upload it)--so great to live on our own schedule! The restaurants generally don't open until 7'30 in the evening, so in Rome, we had to calculate whether we would be hungry again after our lunch--so big lunch, nibble on crackers in the evening? smallish, early lunch, go out for dinner? We were lucky to discover Il Pomodorino in Rome, where there was never any pressure to order more than we needed to.
In Ferrara, we did our grocery shopping at the ReadyMarket--in the historic center. Very convenient and the prices seemed comparable to what we would spend at home. The butcher was out of central casting (round face, cheerful) and I would gladly shop from him for the rest of my days! The other day, I ordered a cooked chicken--he asked if I wanted to 'riscaldire' (re-heat) and I replied, "Non grazie, facciamo a casa" (no, thanks, we'll do it at home)---so much fun! Then, I wanted patate al forno (oven roasted potatoes) and was prepared to say "abbastanza per due personne" (enough for 2 people) but he got out a container and filled it with enough. . .for 2 people!) Then, at the conclusion of the transaction, he says "Grazie, Signora, buon pranzo" (thanks-and have a nice lunch!)
This morning, we have been spending some time preparing for the transition to Venice. I emailed the rental agent of the apartment there and also the owner to let them know the train we're expecting to take and that I would phone from the vaporetto (the water bus). Once we're in Venice, we plan to purchase a long-term pass for the vaporetto called the IMOB--40 Euro each ($55), which entitles us to purchase a carnet of 10 tickets for 10 Euro (13.60). Otherwise, each ticket is 8.84!! It will take some doing, but IMOB is good for 3 years and is renewable.
In celebration of our last night in Ferrara, we plan to eat at the restaurant, but may change our mind and have a lunch outside if the weather is good enough-
http://www.ristorantecadfrara.it/

1 comment:

  1. What fun to interact with and speak to people at the market in Italian! Not that I am remotely qualified to judge, but it seems as though your Italian is quite good! Very fun to read about....

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