Avocados

It is so true when they say you only realise how much you like something until you don't have (or in this case:  can't buy) it anymore. Now, I'm not a big fruit&vegetable person. On the occasion I eat a fruit or two but they are not a significant or frequent part of my 5 a day. However, the other day I suddenly realised I was craving avocado. It seems Italians don't much care for avocados. I couldn't remember seeing avocados in either of my local supermarkets so I asked my flatmate where to buy them but he didn't even know what an avocado is! Unbelievable. Naturally I felt the need to educate him on the matter immediately, but I doubt he really understood my raving.

Avocados are great! First of all they are good for you; they have a lot of the "healthy" fat, potassium, fiber and vitamin B but most of all they taste delicious. You can make guacamole, a nice chicken and avocado panino, or add some in a salad or eat one on its own. In my opinion the best way to eat an avocado is by putting big chunks on some honest 100% rye bread with a little bit of salt on top. I can't count the times my mum has called me to the kitchen to share an avocado on some rye bread: "let's eat the avocado before the boys notice".    

The point is that avocados are yummy, but they are very hard to come by in Italy. A colleague suggested this would be because Italians don't import all their fruit as we do in the north and avocados are probably currently out of season. I googled where to find avocados in Italy, and I found a post by a guy - an American I think: "[...] for instance avocados. These are scarce at times, but I have asked and they reach around behind some boxes and come up with an avocado." It sounds as if avocados were contraband sold under the counter! I really do think Italians should explore the culinary possibilities of the avocado more.

You can imagine how pleased I was when two days after the avocado-episode I walked into a Lidl near where I go to work a couple of times a week and there right in front of my face were avocados! On 30% sale!! "Yes please, I'll take two!" So this weekend I had two huge avocados to munch on, and a renewed hope that I might yet at some point be able to arrange a Mexican food night complete with guacamole.

Baby steps

This morning I woke up to a gray sky promising rain should I dare to go outside. None the less I and a couple of my friends went ahead with our plan of a mini-road trip to the little town of Sirmione on Lago di Garda, a couple of hours drive away from where we live. I'm glad we ended up going. I think we all needed the day off doing something completely different and a good excuse to get out of our apartments. Sirmione is a beautiful little holiday town and I can just imagine how busy it is during the sunny months. Despite the drizzle we had a nice ice cream (without ever removing our gloves) and a walk to some ancient Roman ruins. Photos to follow. Possibly. It depends on if any of them came out alright. It really was very gray today. (edit: no decent photos, everything looks really gray and dull).

After lunch, which we ate picnic style in the car, we headed to Verona for a coffee, or a hot chocolate for those of us who do not like coffee.. You should know that hot chocolate in Italy is not like hot chocolate in anywhere else. This hot chocolate I'm talking about is thick like chocolate pudding topped with a huge dollop of whipped cream. Needless to say its absolutely delicious! I feel quite proud of myself for having had both gelato AND hot chocolate in the same day as Italians generally enjoy these at opposite times of the year ie. when the sun comes out and the season for ice cream starts, cafes stop serving hot chocolate, and vise versa when the weather gets cold again. It always makes me feel quite exhilarated when I manage to break an Italian "food rule".

While we were driving I was thinking about my life and how grateful I am for how things are now. The past couple of years have been hard, and I feel like much of that time I have spent waiting for someone else to be ready for me or alternatively waiting for someone else to make me happy. My decision to move to Italy, while being somewhat impulsive, was finally a decision I made for myself. To find a way for myself to be content, which after days like today I can say I am. That is not to say that life is perfect by any means. There are many things that could be better - money, work, social life to mention just a few - but I am no longer waiting for someone else to make my life better, I am doing the things that I enjoy doing and making plans and decisions for myself. My great realisation today was that I don't need to always make my life fit around someone else's. If that someone cares enough, they will make the effort of fitting their life around mine on the occasion too. Now if I could only hold on to that thought... I think I am one little step closer to being a balanced happy woman.

This photo is from the entrance to Giulietta's house in Verona.

The walls are covered in years worth of love messages! It is pretty cool.

My first time.

I have never written a blog before. I don't consider myself a great writer and I don't expect this to be one of those over night sensations that will lead me to fame and fortunes, nor am I looking for a way to share my infinite wisdom with you. For the past three years a person who I respect enormously - for the person he is in his personal as well as in his professional life - has been insisting I should start writing. Apparently it is not important what I write as long as I just do it. I respect his opinion as a friend and as someone who makes his living by writing and this blog is my little gift for him. So here you are, I am writing! I know you would be proud of me now.

I feel a brief introduction is in order.

I am 26 years old. I currently live in a smallish town in northern Italy. This is the third country I live in within the past three years. Before this I have lived in the UK and in Finland. I teach English for a living, however I also have a degree in archaeology and I really like all kinds of old stuff. I am less than fluent in Italian and I am not improving as fast as I would like to, due to only having to speak English at work and at home. I strive to be a good person, a good woman and I hope one day I will be a good wife and a mother.

Oh, and I seriously like ice cream.