Kat Eye Studio

by

Wide Open Spaces

Southwestern Utah
We’ve done the drive between Oregon and Colorado many, many times, and it always reminds me is how big and sparsely populated the United States really is. We have so much open space, especially in the western states.

Eastern Oregon

 I have made a number of observations on space, after living in Italy.

You expand to fill the space available to you.  You know when you first move from a small apartment into a house or larger apartment, and you wonder how you will fill the space? Then, after a few years, if you move again you realize that you have filled the space, without even thinking about it.

This is true for homes, and for countries too. I think this is why everything is bigger in the US – cars, roads, houses… We have the space, so we fill it. You don’t have to conserve space, be efficient with it, if you have a lot of it. Cities spread out, people move to the country, the car becomes required to get anywhere. The spreading out, the using of space, gets perpetuated.

Our personal space, the “bubble” of space we want around our bodies, is much larger in the US than in Europe too. You really notice it when you need to ride an elevator in Italy.  A bit too close for American comfort.

Utah, near Colorado border

But for the proponents of denser housing and public transit, I have bad news. There is a lot of space left in the US. We are not even close to using up the space available to us. And until the space is at a premium and the prices go sky high, I don’t think behaviors are going to change.

There’s your thought to ponder for today! See you on Monday, back in Oregon, after 24 hours of driving through a lot of wide open space.

by

Learning Traditions of other Cultures

We were in Greece on Easter Sunday so we had the opportunity to learn some of the local traditions for celebrating Easter. A red egg, a symbol of renewal, is served to each person at breakfast. Isn’t that a gorgeous red? I loved the primary color combination at our breakfast table that morning. Brandon loves the yolks of hard boiled eggs, so he ate all three of them.

The other Easter tradition we learned about is the large gatherings of family and friends on Sunday afternoon, where a whole lamb is roasted over an open pit fire. It was an interesting sight, these whole lambs rotating over a bed of coals. Nothing I particularly cared to photograph though! Patrick loves lamb so he enjoyed having a platter of freshly roasted meat at both lunch and dinner. I’m not fond of lamb, so I stuck to other options like a yummy Greek Salad.

Learning about the traditions of other places is one of the fun things about traveling and living abroad. You learn that there are more ways of celebrating, believing or even day-to-day living than you could ever imagine from the point of view of your home culture. I don’t think you ever stop being surprised, but you become more open and accepting of just about anything.

I think our world would be a more accepting and friendly place, if we all just travelled more. Do you agree?

by

In Search of the Tricolore

Tricolore in Italian means three colors. It’s the nickname of the Italian flag with its green, white and red, similar to our nickname of “stars and stripes” for the US flag. Yesterday, the three colors were found everywhere for the celebration of 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. It was a special “one time” holiday, and schools, banks and businesses were closed. We hadn’t known about this in advance, so it was a bonus day off for us. We enjoyed a lazy morning at home and then went into Milan to see what was going on.

I don’t know if this is the same in all European cultures, but on public holidays Italians seem to gather in the piazzas and pedestrian zones. They get out and about. The museums and restaurants are always open and full, even if the shops are not. Surprisingly the shops were open this day, which made it even busier.

There were probably a lot of special events such as concerts going on, but we just enjoyed walking around. Our excursion became a quest to spot the Tricolore, since the colors of the Italian flag were creatively displayed in many unusual places. The colors could be found on public buildings (above) and the light posts became flagpoles in Piazza del Duomo.

Sometimes it was as simple as a flag added to a display, as in this elegant mens clothing store (note the price of those pants – 1590 Euro!)…

… or neatly stacked shirts.

They ranged from a complete window set up, like my favorite store Campo Marzio…

… to a subtle little addition in an otherwise full display.

Who knew there was so much to be found in green, white and red? You could outfit your whole desk or wardrobe! I loved these little clocks.

You can’t forget jewelry. Swarovski had a special edition crystal to commemorate the anniversary.

The street vendors were not to be left out. It was a rainy day so you never knew when you might need an umbrella.

The vendors who usually sold scarves or other trinket merchandise were in on the holiday too.

Flags could be found everywhere. On heads…

… and in hands.

The pride in country, through display of the flag, was visible everywhere. We ended our day in Milan by finding a special tram, painted in the tricolore and covered in lights.

We were nearly home when we saw an amazing light show, at the Villa Reale (Royal Villa). Just up the road from us, this “villa” was once the summer home of the king of Italy. They occasionally change the color of the lights, but we’ve never seen the tricolore before. It was a great end to our color-spotting day.

Happy Anniversary Italy! We were happy to be here to see your celebration, and the colors of your country so proudly displayed.

PS – I didn’t forget! Today was the drawing for the giveaway of the Florentine papers. The winner is Deb of the blog Learning As I Go. Congrats to Deb, and thank you all so much for entering.

by

Le Campane

Le campane, or bells, are an everyday part of Italian life. Every where you turn, you see the bell towers or campanile. You hear the bells tolling regularly throughout the day. Every day. I hear them on my walk in the park in the morning, I hear them as I drive to work, I hear them everywhere, as we travel around Italy. And, on special occasions like Christmas Eve Midnight Mass, you can hear them clanging joyously from every direction, all at the same time. 
It’s not really the sound of the bells that are unique in Italy, it’s what the campanile symbolize: Community, home town. Each little town, or even sections within a city, have a strong pride in their little slice of the world. This sense of community pride is called campanilismo, which has no direct translation in English. It’s a sense of belonging to this place in the world, that this place is theirs, and it is the best there is. It is stronger than any sort of regional or national identity here in Italy. I found a great little summary of what it means and where it comes from here.
I’ve personally observed it, in my time here. When we talk to Italians in our travels, you get the sense of pride and belonging. Italy is not a mobile society, like we are in the US. Most people grow up and then live their entire adult lives in the same town or region, and it’s hard for them to fathom moving as much as we do in the US, much less moving abroad. My Italian colleagues here are on the more mobile side, they are from all over Italy and some have lived abroad as well. But still, when you get to talking about places to visit, beautiful places in Italy, food, wine – the campanilismo shows up. Their town is the most beautiful place in the world. Their food is the best food that you could ever taste. The rivalries between them are joking and in fun, but underlying it is the same strong sense of community that has persisted for hundreds of years.
Yesterday morning I went out to capture the closest bell tower, in our town of Vedano al Lambro. Just before this the bells were ringing their little hearts out. It was hard to get a good pictures, since it’s tucked along a tiny street, probably originally from medieval times, and there was construction scaffolding right in front of it. At this angle though, I was struck by the contrast of the roof adornments. The simple crosses on the church as compared to the antennae on the roof next door. A commentary on how society has changed through the years. And through it all, the campanile have stood, as a symbol of place like no other. 
Today’s 9 Muses Musing prompt is BELLS. Tomorrow’s prompt is JOURNEY. I hope you will join in! 

by

Closed for Vacation

Chiuso per ferie. Closed for vacation.

Every August, the northern part of Italy closes up and goes south for the summer. For 2 to 3 weeks in August, anywhere around Milan is a ghost town. It is quite surreal to have parking readily available, empty streets and closed up shops. It’s hard to fathom, in comparison to our American always-open mentality, that business owners would close up their businesses for 2 to 3 weeks. What if someone needed something? “No matter” is the sentiment here. They have lives to live. “What, do you expect us to be open all of the time for you?” Apparently not.

I was talking to a colleague at work yesterday about this time. He said it’s not nearly as quiet and empty as it used to be. The big multi-national companies don’t close anymore, like they used to in August, so there are a lot more people working. And of course that means the support of stores and other services. Also this year, with the economy, people may be on vacation but staying home rather than going to the sea. So the empty streets we are experiencing are not even that empty.

I will never understand it, why you would want to take a vacation at the same time as every one else. And, in the heat of summer, to the hottest places. But this is Italy, this is what they do. Their culture, tradition. Even while I shake my head in disbelief, I also feel a little sad that this cultural phenomena is slowly changing to be more like the rest of the world.

With that, I’m heading out on vacation myself. Summer vacation is only so long for my son, so that means travel at the peak times for us too. I will be back in a week or so, with pics of England to share.

by

You’ve gotta have your "Guys"

Today’s post is a bit more of a cultural lesson, something suprising we’ve learned about living in Italy. Many of the neighborhood businesses around are small family-run businesses. When you shop at the same place a few times, you find that you see the same people, and they get to know you. And a remarkable thing happens when they get to know you, they treat you like an old family friend. They give you discounts, freebies, extra items because you are a regular. And they become your “guys,” the ones that you know you can go to and get a warm welcome. You go back even if they don’t have the absolutely best food or the best prices, because you are part of things now.

Case in point: Today I went to the art store I always go to in Monza, Colorificio Manzoni, for some new paints and brushes. I first went to this store about a year ago when I wanted to start painting in acrylics. I knew nothing of painting in acrylics, even less of how to ask what I needed in Italian. My English-Italian dictionary was of little help. The owner called his son in (from home nearby, presumably) because he spoke some English and could help me. They got me hooked up, and I’ve been going to them ever since. They remember me every time, and now I can talk with them in Italian a bit and even know the names for what I want. And every time they add up my purchase, they knock off a few Euros. (Today I stole the paper just to prove it!) They’re my art guys.

This is not unique to this store or these guys, that’s what is amazing about it. This is Italy. We get heaping gelatos from our gelato guy, at least one size bigger than what we order because he piles it on top. Patrick gets free meat from the butcher at the local market because he knows he’s an American and wants him to try something new. Can you imagine that at your local Safeway? I can’t. In our giant box store, inventoried and always balancing American culture that just wouldn’t fly.

It’s just one of the amazing and wonderful things about Italy. I don’t think you could ever get this experience quite this way without living here, and it consistently amazes and delights me while also making me a loyal customer. So, if you ever find yourself in Monza, stop in at Colorificio Manzoni on Via Manzoni 54 and say hi to my guys.

Upcoming Events