where to start???

at the beginning will just have to do!

quick note to say sorry for the lack of posts...we were delightfully preoccupied and internet access wasn't as easy to come by as we thought. by the end of my attempt to try to make up for it I'm sure you'll be tired of hearing about our travels. a part of me wishes I could tell you that we've been swept away...busy flat hunting as greg has taken on a job as a mediterranean food critic and me as a student of fashion in milan. rather, we are happy to be home in portland sorting through photographs and so many wonderful memories of our trip. oh, and doing laundry of course!

first stop - piemonte to visit family and see where my great grandparents rosie and lorenzo called home for the first 20 or so years of their life.

the last time I saw my cousins I was awkwardly thirteen, maybe fourteen. they were just as wonderful then as they are now and we couldn't have orchestrated a more perfect introduction to italy. so, with that, I'm going to try to hit as many splendid moments of our first few days as I can... alessandria with rita and elena to run some errands and have an afternoon caffe,having lunch and visiting with roby before she and bepe left for holiday in sardegna,touring the garden with ele,

seeing giuseppe and his brother enjoy their daily afternoon visit,

seeing the houses that my great grandparents grew up in,

morning breakfasts consisting of home baked pastries, fresh brewed espresso, handpicked fruit and all the warm loving hospitality in the world,

taking the train with ele to visit the girls' flat in torino and tour the city,

the best garden grown lunches and dinners at the loveliest little eat in kitchen with countless courses consisting of prosciutto and melon, salami, bread sticks, fresh baked bread, numerous varieties of cheese with honey and marmalades, cherry peppers stuffed with capers in olive oil, rice mixed with giardiniera mix, ravioli tossed in olive oil rosemary and fried sage, pasta with fresh pesto, mushroom risotto, eggplant parmigiana casserole, zucchini cake, rosemary potatoes, turkey cutlets with rosemary, fish steamed with fresh herbs, tomatoes, figs, peaches, apricots, hazelnut torrone, sparkling water, wine, caffe and yes, even a little homemade limoncello, a visit down to alba with ele and tea before catching the train to the next stop on our trip.

see some more pics of our visit with the family here!