Autumn is in the air

Italians are very in tune with the seasons.
It dictates how they dress, what they eat, and basically the cycle of the year.
You may be saying, "yea, yea we know seasons."
But, I'm telling you--you don't.

Take for example the weather right now.
In Florence, maybe its getting to the high 50's these days.
It is unusually hot for this time of year, but since it's autumn and we are in November, that means you must wear a puffy coat down to your knees and a scarf at all times.
Katie wore short sleeves the other day and I thought she was going to get beat up.
You just don't wear your summer clothes in the fall.
Don't try it.
Forget your American thoughts.
If you are hot, suck it up.
This is scarf season.


So, needless to say, we need some cultural coaching.
One of the women on staff here is in charge of teaching us about culture.
She and her family have been here for five years and she seems more Italian than American.
And she inherited the Italian passion for seasons.
Meet Shandra:



So to catch us up to speed, we had a "taste of autumn" party on Saturday.

Autumn is very important because it is when the new oil and the new wine come out.
Olive oil and wine are like bread and milk in the States.
THE staples of life.

Its a big celebration when the new stuff arrives.
So our party focused on sampling two new oils and two new wines.



But before we could feast on the fall foods, we learned how to make them.
Shandra gave us cooking lessons.
I learned how to make Ribollita, which is a very Tuscan soup, only served in the fall.



And we made bread called stracciata or something.
Yea, that's right, we made bread.
Yeast and everything.
I was totally in awe.

So, for dinner we had: yummy soup, bread with new oil, fresh pecorino cheese, grilled sausage,
and to top it all off for dessert...

chestnuts roasted on an open fire.
no lie.
this phenomena exists.



At this point, I was just beside myself.
That Christmas song is no longer a mystery to me.


(that's what they look like)

I walked away stuffed, educated, and feeling more Italian.
One successful night.

Here in Italy we work hard (no joke), but we have also learned from this country how to take time to play hard.
Italians enjoy life.
Definitely my favorite cultural lesson so far.

So, don that puffy monstrosity in the 60 degree weather,
eat your salad after the other courses,
set a national date for when heaters can be turned on,
and enjoy!
Life is good.



We love autumn!