Markets

Tags

life, Rome, Italy, Food Market

I recently purchased a new computer and I am going through a bunch of photos some 11K to be exact.

Many I no longer want and sometimes cannot remember what I am looking at. However this photo jumped at me.

Mercato Via Alessandria, Roma

This was our market in Rome about 3 blocks from our house. It was and is open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 1pm. It sells, all manners of vegetables and fruits in Season, no imports here. Italian cheeses, farm eggs, meat, olives, olive oil, the best is sold in December/January, flowers, freshly made pasta, freshly baked breads, local Roman wine, which is good for the table or cooking. No frozen foods here. This photo was taken in March, I know because you can see artichokes on sale and they only appear in March. All of what you see on sale comes from the farms in the Lazio region around Rome. The exception is bananas and oranges which are not grown in Italy.

When you shop, it is better to go early, that is what the old ladies do, to get the best selection. It is a pleasure to shop in this environment, everything is beautifully displayed with great care by the vendors. No big corporations here, the Italian Government has been very careful to encourage/protect local instead of big box. It’s very local for locals and all in Italian of course. I learned the terms use for measurement of how much you wish to buy, you can say one kilo, but let’s say you wish to buy less, like 100 or 200 grams the word is Un Etto or Due Etti, it’s informal Italian.

The protocol of shopping here is that you touch nothing and do not serve yourself. You say hello to the vendor, first, then ask for what you want, the vendor will take care of choosing for you and bagging it all. Very civilized.

As for fish, you have to go to the fish merchant, which is located nearby, but go early, before 10am, they usually close by 11:30am. What you will see on display is what was available today, it changes constantly. So you have to be flexible on what type of fish or seafood you want, because we are in Italy, you will find local fish, nothing imported. There is a good variety. You can also buy fish in some grocery chain store but again the selection is based on daily catch.

Italians are fussy about food and what they buy, freshness and good quality is everything. I have seen arguments between some lady and the vendors, it’s all polite but has the tone of a police interrogation. Vendors have to be able to tell where their supplies come from and when it arrived. When it come to fish or seafood, the old lady will want to see the books for arrival dates. Don’t try to fool them, you do so at your peril. That women buying from you is cooking for her family, it is a question of honour.

I only wish that here in Canada, we would be so fussy, I cannot imagine someone not knowing how to cook or not knowing what type of cheese, vegetable or meat to buy, everyone would think you are poorly educated. Same for wines, I forget how many labels there are in Italy, I believe it is above 27000. You have to know your stuff and if you don’t at least ask for suggestions without showing you ignorance.

All these markets in Rome, there is one per neighbourhood, most of them were built between 1926-1935 by Mussolini’s government.

A painting

Tags

art., Canada., Government, Governor General, Ottawa, painting, Prime Minister, Riopelle

Rideau Hall is the Official Residence of the Governor General Of Canada. This residence was built in 1838 by Thomas MacKay a businessman on 80 acres of land near the Rideau river and waterfall and facing the Ottawa river. It is a neighbourhood of Official residences for ambassadors of various countries, the Prime Minister Residence is across the street, though for the last 5 years it has been unoccupied pending a final decision on its demolition or renovation. Rideau Hall today is much larger than the original building, many expansions over the years since 1867 have been made, every Governor General has lived at Rideau Hall. The house has 175 rooms in total, with many used for official functions. It also has beautiful green houses providing flowers year round for the house.

When a new Cabinet is sworn in or when the Prime Minister shuffles his ministers, they all come to Rideau Hall to be sworn in by the Governor General. This happened this week, Prime Minister Trudeau and the ministers of his Cabinet were sworn in by Governor General Mary May Simon in the Ballroom.

The Governor General H.E. Mary Mae Simon sitting in the front row with the PM to her right. The ministers all appear in rank of importance on this photo. Next to the PM is the Deputy PM and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Chrystia Freeland, then the Foreign Minister, the Hon. Melanie Joly, etc… In his Cabinet or Ministry to use the official name, are 4 women occupying the most senior positions. Anita Anand as Minister of Defence and Mona Fortier as Minister of the Treasury Board. It is said also that this is the Queerest ministry in the history of Canada for the number of gay men and women.

The painting behind the group attracted my eye, usually the painting over the decades has changed depending on who is Governor General. The current painting is by Canadian painter Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923-2002) he was the most important signatory to the Refus Global Manifesto (1947). He participated in various artistic movement like les Automatistes, Lyrical abstraction and Tachisme. His paintings are amongst the most sought after in Canada and are found either in private collections or great museum around the World.

Point de Rencontre by Jean-Paul Riopelle. C.1963, oil on canvas, 4.28 x 5.64 metres (5 panels). Currently in the Ballroom of Rideau Hall. It is based on Riopelle’s interest in Canadian Indigenous Culture. Mary Mae Simon is herself an Innu.iop This impressive artwork is on loan from the Centre national des arts plastiques de Paris until 2024. It was most recently showcased at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts as part of the Riopelle exhibition.

This is the largest painting ever produced by Jean Paul Riopelle. It was commissioned by the Government of Canada and inaugurated in February 1964 at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. In 1989, it was presented as a gift to France on the occasion of the bicentenary of the French Revolution and was on display at Paris’s Opéra Bastille.

This and that

Tags

dachshunds, life, Nora, PEI

So I went with Nick to the vet for his eyes and I am returning with him next week for a follow up.

Going through old photos tonight on my computer I have one of Nick on 23 March 2021, his eyes are fine, no problems with cataracts, by June he had a problem and it has been progressing quickly since.

We got our Flu Shot yesterday, no after effects. Now with the weather getting colder and the first North-Eastern wind storm tomorrow at 50Km per hour, this tells me it is time now to phone the garage to have the tires changed to winter and get a tune up.

Evenings are strangely quiet, no cars and no one on the streets. We went out dining last night with friends at one of the few open restaurants in town, it was full and we had reservations. People love to dine in groups of 6 or more which I find unpleasant. Four people for dinner is plenty in a restaurant. I noticed also that the menus have been simplified if you can it that, soup, salad, sandwiches, pasta, fish and chips, sirloin steak. It reads like a lunch menu. The dessert lists is very simple, always a date toffee pudding, a chocolate cake, a cheese cake. It was good but nothing more.

Our Nora who comes from a long line of European champion tracking wire hair Dachshunds, is always on the hunt and is our guard dog. For a 12 lbs dog she has a very loud bark. She is in the habit of trying to eat just about anything on her walks, two morning in a row, she has been sick because she ate dead leafs or bark or whatever she thinks looks good. So this morning she got a good bath and her blankets where washed. She does not like the bath but this time around she was easy about it. She is very funny and this is why we find her so endearing.

She is quite jealous of Nicky and does not want him to get too much attention, she gives out dirty looks if she gets jealous. At night Nick goes to bed at 10pm it’s his habit and he does it without being prompted. Nora loves to bundle on the sofa and she would much prefer to just sleep there if she could have her way. So now at night we have this game, she will go to her kennel to sleep and get her cookie or her home made baked liver treat. Close the lights and she starts to whimper, we come and have a look, she runs to the sofa in the living room, all the while giving us the sad pleading look. We bring her back to the kennel and give her another treat. She starts again this whimpering, she has a one track mind and is good at manipulation to get her way. Nicky is sleeping ignoring all this nonsense. Eventually, she goes to sleep, but not before making her point. It is a great game.

Nora

At the vet with Nick

We had an appointment today at the Vet with Nicky, he is such a good boy, sit quietly in the car and when we got there, he does not like the place but remains quiet nonetheless. We went because I wanted his eyes tested, he has cataracts and I wanted to know how bad it was. Nick is 12.5 yrs old now which makes him a senior wire hair dachshund. The exam went well, his eyes are fine at the moment, though he needs drops for his right eye. I am to go back to the vet a week from today to see if his eye is better. When we got out of the vet, Nick had a big pee on the lawn, stress release and happy to get in the car to go home. Now when we go to the vet with Nora, we get quite the drama, so funny how different both of them are in temperament.

Tomorrow is FLU shot day for both of us, the shot is free at the pharmacy. We did not have any reaction to it last year so I presume it will be the same this year. We know the pharmacist he is in our circle of friends.

It is cold tonight only 8 C. but then again when you get close to Halloween the weather is cold and some years we get wet snow or very cold rain.

Nicky watching from a comfortable angle.

Fall Weather upon us

Tags

Charlottetown, life, PEI, Port

Up until today the weather was quite pleasant but today Sunday it has turned grey and rainy and slowly becoming colder.

We had a great Premium Scotch tasting at the Club, we tasted Glenfarcas 15yrs, Dewars 21yrs, Glenlivet French Oak reserve 15 yrs, and my least favourite Bowmore 12 yrs old.

Today I had to go grocery shopping, the stores in PEI on Sunday open after 12 Noon by Law. I rarely go to the stores on Sunday, I was very surprised to see so many people and little to no staff to help out. It was like Xmas shopping, just weird. All stores are advertising jobs and are looking for staff for every position. It is a problem but given the very small salary offered and no benefits, no one wants those jobs. PEI is known for low salaries and poor working conditions, nothing to be proud of. Coupled with a difficult housing situation and very high rents in the $2000 dollar range +, no parking if you work downtown. No wonder we have this situation, employers are looking at Government to solve the problem, in other words mission impossible.

It has been announced that as of May 2022, some 75 cruise ships will be coming to Charlottetown. Given the lack of staff in restaurants and bars, I wonder how this is going to work out.

Some of our friends are booking travel to Europe for the coming months, we are still not ready. I am trying to schedule a trip to Halifax some 3 hours away hopefully before December, but still hesitant. I would probably go by the Ferry at Souris, the crossing takes about 30 minutes. Halifax is a city of half a million people, it has a lot of good restaurants and bars. Good shopping and good sights, a beautiful Art Gallery, with interesting artists.

Met with friends this morning for coffee and cake in a friends home, had a very nice time. The rest of the day was quiet. Tomorrow I am taking Nicky to the vet to have him look at his eyes and the cataracts, I know they cannot do much about it but I just want to know more about the progression of this disease in his eyes, it is in part old age. He does not seem bothered by it, but animals are good at hiding ailments.

This morning I went to the Port Authority building for a tour of what is left of what was once a big industrial port. There has been a port in Charlottetown since 1750. From a simply wharf to a ship building site to a train terminus for loading harvests of potatoes to today which serves both the cruise ships and the petroleum product ships and other lakers bringing aggregate to our sandbar island.

The area of the Port nowadays is completely surrounded by a residential neighbourhood, the only part left is a loading area for trucks to take on loads of aggregate. The petroleum ships from IRVING have their own pipeline on the dock and it is pump directly into the line. The Port receives 90% of all oil used on the island. We use to have multiple tank farms on the shoreline until 1980 when it all disappeared, only one is left.

The goal of the visit was to speak about the loading and unloading of trucks in the area after 11pm. The major problem has been that governments have been slow in investing or they have invested small amounts which does not help infrastructure in the long run. Some other ports like Georgetown and Summerside are now receiving more shipment of aggregate and Port Charlottetown as a not for profit corporation is seeing its revenue diminish.

My Member of the Legislature came along for the briefing. She is in the Opposition at the moment, but her focus is on the environment as a member of the Green Party.

We also walk on the new dock for cruise ships, an area not open to the public, it was cold this morning, given that the dock is about 100 feet from shore, the view however was very nice.

1960 Port with Thank Farms in the downtown core. Now all parkland

The Port around 2000 when it was still under the Federal Government control.

Around 2016, the area is completely transformed for tourism.

A sad visit

Tags

history, life, Prince Michael of Kent, Romanov, Russia

On the website of the Alexander Palace in Tsarkoye Selo which promotes and explains the complete renovations of the family home of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Empress Alexandra and their 5 children, I saw today photos of the visit to the Palace of Prince Michael of Kent, who is a direct relative of the Romanov Family and the cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Philip some years ago had provided DNA sampling to identify the remains of Nicholas and Alexandra and the children as he was related by blood to the Royal families of Greece, Russia and Denmark. The palace re-opened to the public two months ago after years of massive renovations. The palace was closed after the Imperial family where sent into exile and to their grisly death, however more than 6000 personal effects were carefully preserved in vaults for posterity. Now they have been put back in the palace rooms recreating what it was like in 1918. It is spooky to see all these very personal mementos on display, many of which were gifts long ago between the Royal Family in England to their cousins in Russia. One wonders what Prince Michael of Kent thought when he saw it all, exactly as it was then. The expression on his face says a lot. I wonder what the other Princes and Grand Dukes of the Romanov family members will think when they eventually come to visit the Palace. They attended the State Funeral for the Tsar and his family in the 1990’s in St-Petersburg.

Prince Michael of Kent and the curator of the Palace in the Mauve boudoir of Empress Alexandra. Everything you see in this room belonged to the Empress and her children.

The Maple Room of the Alexander Palace, another family room for Nicholas and Alexandra. Everything in that room was carefully preserved by the Bolcheviks. The walls and woodwork was recreated from the personal photograph taken by the family between 1905-1918, even piece of fabrics and original paint colours were preserved in the Soviet Archives. Prince Michael of Kent was visiting with a British delegations. Since the tragic events took place just over 100 years ago, the sad memories is still alive. Prince Michael of Kent is 79 years old.

More Fall activities

Tags

Charlottetown, Fall, latte, PEI, pumpkin

It seems that life is slowly returning to normal, with the VAXPASS that you have to show to enter any public place, people feel more secure and the last dregs of those who had not are now getting vaccinated. The government in PEI and in other provinces have clamped down on all government workers and health workers not vaccinated yet. Those who refuse will loose their jobs and will not be able to claim benefits.

On other fronts, I have re-started working at Government House for the Lieutenant Governor, it has been 6 years now and Her Honour always has lots to talk to me about. She is getting more visitors and the restrictions have been lifted. Again PEI is very different from the rest of Canada when it comes to Covid 19. None of the mismanagement we have seen elsewhere. Alberta is still a basket case, just plain horrible and Northern British Columbia is not much better, high rates of mortality and infections.

This weekend is Marathon weekend in PEI. The weather is still nice, today was suppose to be rainy, we got sunshine instead. Love living on an Island the winds change the weather constantly. No I am not running, are you kidding? One does not run.

Also the medical society has published the following about Pumpkin Spice. So if you are a doctor please beg your patients to drop it.

Octobre – Oktober – Ottobre

Tags

Alitalia, dinner, ITA, life, Rome, Tirana

Well we are in mid-October already, how time flies. Thanksgiving was nice and quiet and the weather

though gradually getting cooler and the days shorter, is still very mild and pleasant. Beautiful Indian Summer on the island

and very pleasant all around, difficult to think that we will be changing time in early November and then Winter will slowly set

in.

A lovely dinner, I love dinner parties, they are the best.

And another dinner party in the last few days. Again the food was excellent.

Weeks go by quickly and each week brings new activities, I have to keep a calendar agenda. No time for boredom here.

This Thursday in the news, it was announced that Alitalia the Italian transport company was ceasing operations after 75 years. It was created in 1946 as the New Italian Republic was created with the abolition of the Italian Monarchy and the end of the Second World War. I remember back in 2009 when we lived in Rome, Alitalia was already then in deep financial trouble and bankrupt. However the Prime Minister then Sylvio Berlusconi refused to allow the airline to disappear or be bought by another carrier. So he bailed it out of trouble with grand plans to reorganize and start anew. Nothing came of it and today finally it was buried. Changes in transportation in Italy itself with high speed trains connecting all the major towns and regions made flights within Italy obsolete.

International flights with the pandemic took a serious hit and Alitalia really had no future with its bloated staff and far too many unprofitable routes. However the Italian Government has decided to create as of tomorrow a new company called ITA or Italia Transporto Aereo with far fewer routes and only a quarter of the staff the old Alitalia had.

Back in the period 2007 to 2011 when I was posted to Rome, I had to travel to Albania often, in fact I went to Tirana 38 times during that period, a record really. I always flew with Alitalia direct from Rome for the one hour flight, the plane would fly from Rome to Bari and then cross the Adriatic to Tirana. However with the constant threat of bankruptcy on one particular trip I really thought Alitalia was going under and I would be stuck in Tirana. The crew stayed at the same hotel I stayed at, there were only 2 choices in Tirana, one was the Sheraton and the other was an hotel operated by an Austrian chain with a good restaurant. The Sheraton did not have restaurants, it was attached to a shopping mall which had gone bankrupt and the only restaurant or stand served awful burgers and hotdogs. The Austrian Hotel was much nicer with a beautiful garden and pool and far better service and amenities and was an easier walk to the Canadian Consulate. Thing is, in Tirana like in all Balkan countries, roaming big feral dogs are a feature, it is quite a problem and you should avoid them. It is much worse in other Capital like Belgrade or Bucarest or Sofia.

I suppose if Alitalia did go under, the plan was to drive to the port of Durres and there catch the ferry across to Bari. Another plan was to catch a flight with the Italian Air Force which flew to Albania, the country was an Italian colony between 1939-1943 and King Zog was forced into exile to London, living at the Ritz Hotel. The King of Italy became the ruler of Albania. A strange little country to this day, very much what you would expect from the Balkan. Anyway it did not happen and Alitalia survived.

Alitalia was a nice airline, the service was good as was the food. But it could also be unpredictable in a very Italian way, a flight would be cancelled or changed without notice. It had style and panache which is very Italian. I am sure that ITA will continue in the same tradition, certain things never change.

Appreciation

Tags

life, thanksgiving, World

By far Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday of the year. It comes at harvest time when all manner of flowers and produce is available everywhere, there is colourful abundance. The weather is also fairly good, a bit brisk and cool but enjoyable. When I was living abroad for so many years, I always made sure the management committee at the Embassy would put Thanksgiving amongst the holiday we would observe. We were allowed only so many Stat Holiday per year and we would do a mix of Local and Canadian Holidays. Our American colleagues were allowed to do all local and US Holidays, so it could easily amount to 28 days per year, lucky buggers.

My first Thanksgiving abroad was in Mexico City in 1986. We then had Thanksgivings in Cairo, Chicago, Warsaw, Amman, Beijing. Though the ones that stands out was in Mexico City and in Cairo for funny reasons. In Mexico City, I was the first to ask about where we could get a turkey, since such a big bird was not readily available in markets. Also Mexican Cuisine did not involve dishes with a whole roast bird. It appears that no one had domesticated white feathered bird, the wild kind was common but not on farms. Through contacts and speaking with our Mexican Staff at the Embassy, we got our turkeys delivered curb side in a cardboard box. In Mexico City cooking is always more complicated because altitude does affect cooking time, almost doubling the time. Our dinner was ready at Midnight instead of 7pm, we still had a grand old time.

In Cairo it was different, Egyptian cuisine culture does not have such a bird on the menu. It was our Ambassador who invited us all to dinner at the residence, which was an old Palace which had belonged to the Queen of Egypt, Farida Zulfikar, wife of King Farouk. The dining room had the distinction of having seen Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbles hosted by the German Archeological Institute in 1939.

The cook had prepared 2 big turkeys for us all and he wanted to present them in such a way as to display the birds. So on the table on great silver platters on a bed of greens sat the two roasted birds, however to everyone’s surprise, the cook had also roasted the head and neck and put them back in situ. So you had these two golden roasted turkeys staring at you. We had a good laugh.

Canadian Ambassador’s Residence, no.5 Kamel Mohamed street, Zamalek, Cairo.

Thanksgiving is a North American Holiday, in the USA you have a tradition around the holiday, whereas in Canada it is strictly a Harvest festival which was brought to Canada by the British. In French Culture there is no such tradition, this is why in Canada you will see more celebrating in English communities than in French ones. In fact it was explorer Martin Frobisher who celebrated the holiday in 1578, it was more religious than feasting, he was looking for the Northwest Passage in the Arctic circle. In 1608 the founder of Quebec City and Governor of New France, Samuel de Champlain had celebrations of thanksgiving simply because they manage to survive in an hostile climate. It only really became common in 1879 as a harvest festival mixing religious service with a fine meal. Turkey was not the principal meat only more recently due to convenience and availability has it become the common dish. Though many still do roast chicken instead, with the seasonal vegetables and a fancy dessert. In 1957, the Governor General Vincent Massey, decreed that Thanksgiving would be an Official Holiday; “A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the second Monday in October.”

I am thankful each year for my life and friends. All the good things I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy. For our Home and our 43 yr relationship and our 2 puppies. Thankful for the people around me, that is what matters most to me.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2021

Tags

Canada, Cavendish, life, National Parks, PEI, thanksgiving

The weather is still sunny but getting cooler with a North East Wind today. So this is the long Thanksgiving Weekend, was at the grocery store this morning to pick-up a few items, Will is making ice-cream with Irish whiskey, a recipe that never fails to please all.

There is so much to be thankful for in Canada, the economy is doing well, we live in a peaceful and stable country and our life in general is good, no complaints really.

Last night we went for the last time this Season across the street to the Water Prince restaurant and had oysters on the half shell, lobster roll and Halibut Fish and chips. They close at the end of the Lobster Season this Saturday until May 2022. It has been crazy busy all week, lots of last minute tourists. You should hear the questions about the menu. Some do not grasp the concept that we are an Island on the ocean and our seafood comes off the boats just over there. No it is not frozen or sent from a factory in Arkansas. The tourists we get are from Ontario, land of dysfunction and pandemic. Happy to see them go home. The owner Shane has passed the baton to his son Coady who is a school teacher, you cannot improvise yourself a restaurateur, not the same as teaching class to 8 yr olds. It’s too bad really.

Earlier this week we went to Cavendish National Park, it is opposite of French River and New London across the bay from our Summer Cottage. Lots of very big sand dunes and marshes all around. Beautiful and peaceful, nearly deserted at this time of the year. Only one bus with about a dozen American tourists. There was almost no wind and we walked on the wooden elevated pathway across the marsh behind the big sand dunes. In the clear water you see thousand of little Gaspereaux and Blue Back Herring swimming in schools. Lots of small birds, Northern Harrier hawks and bald Eagles, racoons, beavers, muskrats and minks, live in the pine forests growing all around and in the marsh. Parks Canada which manages the area does a wonderful job of managing the park. The buildings are unobtrusive and blend into the scenery. The map of the area shows 3 National parks inter-connected, Cavendish North Rustico, Brackley Dalvay and Greenwich. All those parks were once farmland and owned by families for generations, however with shifting sand and changing currents it progressively became very difficult to farm and the land was either given up or sold to the Federal Government who turned it all into preserved natural areas.

So the plan for Thanksgiving, we have been invited to dinner at friends in Montague, then a catered dinner with 2 other friends on Monday. I was glad this morning not to have to buy a turkey etc.

French River is on the Cliffs

McNeil’s Pond or Lake of Shining Waters, floating platform, the high sand dunes create a
barrier to the sea on the other side.