Floods in Liguria

Vernazza flooding (Photo credit Laspezia.menticale.it)

The floods in Liguria, and more specifically, the Cinque Terre, are not getting the press that Turkey's earthquake or Bangkok's floods are receiving, but they have devastated the region.  The towns worst hit are the lovely Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare.  To help the people rebuild in Vernazza and Monterosso, here is a bank account set up for relief donations. 

And, here is a link to give via credit card through the Italian Red Cross.  You can choose "Tuscany and Liguria Emergency."

Italophilia O.C.D. things to do after returning from your Italian holiday

1. Force your children to listen only to Strega Nona books at bedtime
2. Change your Travelocity Farewatcher to monitor airfares only to Italy
3. Wear lots of leather and scarves
4. Attempt to smuggle in non FDA-approved cured meats
5. Call your cul-de-sac a piazza
6. Harass the wine guy at Trader Joe’s with obscure requests
7. Try to talk Nutella into hiring you as the West Coast sales rep
8. Turn your mid century modern ranch into a Tuscan villa
9. Buy a Fiat 500 for your family of 6
10. Start saying rocket instead of arugula

Plnnr

Just tried the trip planning itinerary-maker at plnnr.com.   It's free and you can choose from about 20 destinations, mostly European.  Florence, Milan, Naples, and Rome are currently available.  You pick your date, number of days in the locale, the type of trip (with kids, outdoors, best of, culture) and then choose your intensity level - from light to extreme.  Lastly, you choose the number of stars you want for your hotel.  The itinerary pops up with a daily route with color photos, trip advisor reviews, and wikipedia info for each of your activities as well as a hotel recommendation near your activities.  After customizing the itinerary as much as you want to, you can save and print it.

I chose the moderate intensity level and found it was extreme for me.  It'd be cool if you could input the ages of the children you'd be traveling with for more appropriate activities. You can adjust the weight of each item, for instance, make "garden" have the most weight or "museum."  All in all, it's easy and fun, especially if you don't like flipping back and forth through guidebooks.

Ventura Mushrooms

If you want the freshest cheapest mushrooms around, head to what most locals refer to as the California Mushroom Farms (now Modern Mushrooms) in Ventura, on Olivos Adobe Road.  The hours are odd and it's hard to find, but you can get wonderful white, portabella, and more exotic varieties.  The quality and prices are far superior to the grocery stores.  A whole bag of giant portabella caps is a few bucks.   They don't have every type every day, but whatever they have will be good.

Throw together Italian night

Tessa Kiros' Twelve cookbook has been my go to for simple meals.  Her Spaghettini aglio, olio e peperoncino (spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, and chili) seems to go with everything you might have on hand in the house.  The sauce recipe calls for 1/2 cup olive oil, 3 cloves of diced garlic, a handful of chopped parsley (fresh is called for, although dried seems fine to me), and 3 small crumbled red chilis (I use a couple of shakes of the dried chilis from the shaker).  That's it.  You can add some peas or halved cherry tomatoes to the sauce at the very end.   Then toss it with whatever pasta you have in the cupboard.  My husband always loves it and it is super easy! 

Private Tours - Palazzo Vecchio

Florence is expensive.  Even the churches have admission fees.  One good deal we found was the free guided tour of the Palazzo Vecchio (included in the price of admission).  They are in English or Italian and all focus on various aspects of the Medici family’s reign of power.  The palace has secret passages and eavesdropping rooms behind hidden doors.  It's pretty cool.

We took the tour that included the map room's secret passageway to Bianca’s eavesdropping chamber. Bianca was the mistress, and later the wife, of Grand Duke Francesco de’ Medici.  He respected her opinion so much that he built her an eavesdropping chamber over the Salone dei Cinquecento, where important government matters were discussed.  The peep hole is disguised as an air vent and gives you a great bird's eye view of the salon.  

There are other tours of the patrol path (the crenulated area around the top) and also a "secret passages" tour.  They also have workshops for kids and actors in period costumes.  Check it out here.
 

Finding Nemo sequel to be set in Florence?

One of the most loved family flicks from Pixar, Finding Nemo, may have its next sequel set in Florence according to The Florentine.  I doubt the Arno can be as intriguing as the Pacific Ocean.  Cars 2 recently went European, maybe Italophilia has captured the creative team at Pixar.  Who can blame them?