Sinterklaas

I have learned of a new holiday, courtesy of Friede.

Sinterklaas is an elderly man from Turkey who travels every year from Spain to the Netherlands by steam boat. He has many helpers who are referred to as Zwarte Piet (Black Pete).

This year I hope to be amongst the crowd to great Sinterklaas upon his entrance to the city. The welcoming city usually has several activities to welcome him. He rides through the city on a great white horse for a parade.

During the period of Sinterklaas' visit, children place shoes in front of the fireplace or central heating units; often including a carrot, hay or some other treat from the horse. If he visits that night, in return, candy and a small present is left. He knows the behavior of all children, so those who behave badly are placed in one of Piet's bags and taken back to Spain. At the close of the season each household is left with a large bag of gifts.

Friede visited her home recently and brought me back a Sinterklaas chocolate; the season is already in the stores. She also brought some other treats, two kinds of cookies, very very tasty. Traditionally goodies are Pepernoten, Kruidnoten, letter-shaped pastries filled with almond paste, a chocolate letter, Speculaas, chocolate coins and Marzipan figures. I hope to try all of these items if I get to visit the town during his arrival on November 12 in Dordrecht.

Ravenna - Beaches and Basilicas

This past Tuesday, I visited Ravenna with Friede, my friend from the Netherlands. The trip began with a semi-early train ride to Ravenna, which took about an hour and a half.

The first step in our agenda...find coffee. We visited Happy Bar to wake up a bit, it was a rather sleepy morning.

After caffeine our day began with a walk to the visitor's center where we found out about a pass to visit five of the main basilicas. These basilicas/museums were amazing, mosaics everywhere with intricate details and beautiful colors.

We visited the local market for snacks/lunch, fresh fruits, meat and bread - delicious until the bees became interested in the food! We took the lunch to the beach, thinking it would be a great spot to relax and enjoy the day. The beach was beautiful, rather empty, the sun was shining and not a cloud was in the sky; it was a great setting until the bees came out. We finally outsmarted them by placing the food back in my backpack, however, that meant waiting until later to enjoy our food. Friede was the only brave one to enter the water with the fish.

Overall the day was great and the beach is a location I will probably return to often when the warm weather returns. There are a few other beaches around that I may visit as well, see which one is best.

Il week end di San Petronio

This weekend, continuing into Tuesday, is the weekend of San Petronio, which is basically a tribute to Bolognese cooking and a time of community activities and events.

My weekend began with a trip to the villas in the region surrounding Bologna, a tour called Le Ville di Pianura. The route followed the plains of Bologna, visiting historical residences of nobles who focused on agriculture.

The first stop was to a villa known as villa of the fish, because it used to be land that was under water. Over the years the water began drying up, so the farmers of the region decided to bring in ground and make mounds to build on, developing the area and cultivating the land. Here there is also a museum where they have exhibits showing the evolution of their tools and modes of transportation.

There was also an underground building that acted as the refrigerator/freezer for the manor. During the winter when the lake would freeze, instead of using it to go ice skating, they would gather the ice and place it in this underground building where they stored food for preservation. Additionally, they would collect some extra ice so they could have iced beverages the following summer for their extravagant parties.

The second villa displayed photographs over a ten year span, showing the revitalization of smaller towns in the region. The work the groups have done is amazing. I met the photographer, Rhodri Jones from Wales. He does work all over the world, freelancing for different projects, and is planning to have an exhibit at the end of the month in Bologna. At this location we also enjoyed a lunch of meat, cheese, bread and wine from local farms and to wrap up the meal, traditional rice cake.

The final villa was a brandy distillery. The main house had glass chandeliers in the hallways and rooms, beautiful pieces of art.

Sunday morning continued the celebration with a pasta competition featuring chefs from all over the world. The winner was from Bologna. I was surprised with how thick and stiff the pasta is after the chefs were done making it and rolling it out on the tables. There was an electronic exhibition to show you the steps of making pasta, similar to a wi game; I failed miserably at my attempts at the game, but enjoyed seeing the different steps to make the tortellini. Next goal, try making the real stuff!

The celebration continues with sports today and flag waving tomorrow. It ends Tuesday night with an assortment of foods and fireworks; very exciting.