Don't be a Fashion Faux Pas in Italy

TRY TO FIT IN...

http://www.themoderngladiator.com/2014/06/05/fashion-faux-pas-what-not-to-wear-on-vacation/










 http://theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=9759&browse-by=Culture-Customs&level=Style-Fashion

MORE EUROPEAN - GOOD CHOICES...

Adjustment to a new Country and Culture

Some quick tips on adjusting, from my favorite free English language Italy publication, The Florentine.

It is available on FaceBook, too...

http://theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=9868


You can get a free subscription here:   http://theflorentine.net/index.asp

Good for your family to read while you are traveling - especially the highlights of what is happening in Florence.



Lost of great archived articles for students:

 http://theflorentine.net/articles/articles.asp?browse-by=Florence-forstudents

PACKING MUST KNOW TIPS

Packing tips that rock...

ROLL, ROLL, ROLL...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/h2/fbdf/marriottrewards/tricks-only-real-deal-travelers-know#.ca53xmgaP

50 LB. MAX. LEAVE ROOM FOR PURCHASES... 

toss old clothes before you travel home again.

PLEASE LOOK AT OTHER POSTINGS ON PACKING AND LUGGAGE...

Fontina Cheese

WAIT until you taste the local Fontina cheese... 


MAGNIFICO!

 Fontina is a specialty of the Aosta Valley... ...a soft, smooth cheese with a mild flavor.

 It is best used in fondue, but is delicious fresh, as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJgrMQhfa5A

Some Videos made by Aosta Students

Our friend, Elena has sent me videos made by her students, 

so we can learn about the region before our travels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSWZ5TYDwEI

And here are some other reasons to love Italy, in videos created by Elena's classes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VD4LG4mQO8

and information (In Italian) about the school itself. There are pictures, though!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F3sWdzivaI

Elena and her students recently has a 2 week study abroad program to England. 

They look quite happy!

We look forward to meeting them and visiting the school! 

A PRESTO!

Our High School Friends in Aosta

Long story short... Last fall I got an email from a teacher in Aosta, who had seen an article in her local paper about Ray's and my visit to the town. We began writing and now we are planning to meet in May.

We will visit her classroom of high school students and then take a field trip to a near by castle (Sarre') with the students.

http://www.lovevda.it/it/banca-dati/8/castelli-e-torri/sarre/castello-reale-di-sarre/1131

from the above website

 I am so excited to have built this long-distance partnership. It is wonderful how things come to happen so serendipitously.

Here is Elena's group of students. I will post the videos she has sent and in May, we will post many more new photos of our students all together.

What fun!

INSTITUT AGRICOLE REGIONAL. In Valle d'Aosta

2. Address: 1 Localita' Bachod, Saint-pierre, AO 11010, Italy

   Phone:+39 0165 903412
3. Write a review

LUCKY Friday the 13th

Scholarship recipients were notified of their award on Friday, March 13th. So, in true Italian fashion, this was a LUCKY day for them! Names will be announced at the April 23rd. Honor's Night for the Dewar College of Education and Human services at Valdosta State University!

CONGRATULATIONS!

This is the announcement I made on Piktograpgics

1000 Year Old Festival in Aosta

Check out this weekend's events in our Sister City of Aosta in the Valley (Valle D'Aosta).

http://www.italymagazine.com/news/fiera-di-santorso-1000-year-old-fair-aosta

Cheesy ABOUT CHEESE????

Parmesan Cheese... a long history of perfection...See previous postings in Cuisine tags on 1/29/15 about making parmesan cheese.

Here is the question... which do YOU use, but the bigger question is what will you use after you have tasted the REAL deal in Italy????

We will try to get the group to a cheese factory.

http://www.panoramitalia.com/en/blog/food-wine/parmesan-makers-cheesed-copies/2900/

Are you feeling LUCKY??? Friday the 13th in Italy

13 is a LUCKY Number... 

Yes, there are MANY superstitions in Italy... special numbers, potions for finding husbands, symbols to keep away and to give the evil eye...


You will see these symbols EVERYwhere... especially on key chains and hanging from chains around people's necks (both women and men).

 Read up on why 13 is a LUCKY number in Italy. 

http://felicievents.com/the-luck-of-the-italians/

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/good-luck-friday-13th

http://girlinflorence.com/2014/06/13/its-friday-the-13th-lets-talk-italian-supersticions/

What do YOU do your good luck?

Etruscan Beer???

Beve!     Drink!

Dr. Jane Whitehead will give a presentation about the Etruscans - the original people of Italy, at the monthly meeting of the Valdosta Italian American Club.

Check out this article on ancient brews...  https://www.academia.edu/3384205/Carsulae_The_first_excavation_campaign_near_the_Arch_of_San_Damiano_pp._16-17

This ancient Etruscan site is now a winery in Montepulciano...

Michelangelo's Birthday!

Buon Compleanno to one of the world's masters...

Here is a mini-tribute to one of my heroes. I am always overcome by emotion when I view the works of this master artist, sculptor, and genius. 

On March 6th 1475, Michelangelo Buonarroti was born near Florence. His influence is world renowned, and his statement, "Ancora imparo' - I am still learning" is reputed to be something he said in his late 80's. That philosophy is my email signature... humbled that he should think he was still learning after a lifetime of masterpieces.

This web site is fabulous as it gives an overview of his life and accomplishments, struggles, and successes.   

http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html


The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone is a huge volume of his life... (also available in a not so great movie from 1965). The book brought me to Renaissance Florence, and I could imagine the entire location when I ready it.


I was literally in tears last June, as I photographed the Rondanini Pieta, (shown here), at the Sforza Castle in Milan.

This is the piece Michelangelo was working on when he died. I had seen this when I was 16, but what a different appreciation I had this time. We were able to walk around it, inches away, for over an hour.




What a feeling to be able to see Michelangelo's name carved into the base, and the chisel strokes, and one polished leg, all in one statue, only inches away from my eyes.





I am so blessed to have seen many pieces created by this genius - the Sistine Chapel, both before and after its restoration, David (who I did spend an hour photographing in 1988 - no photos are allowed now), and much more...

I cannot wait to share some of these with the Study Abroad Students in the Valdosta to Valle'D'Aosta and Beyond Program...