I calmed myself down before dinner by writing my first post, and then going out and watering the vegetable garden. It takes a while, so when I came back in, I was smiling and acting happy
( Read more... )
Are you sure he didn't say, "My hobby is being an asshole?" I think the correct term for this man is "flatlander." It's an unavoidable evil of living in a beautiful place.
You may not agree with his morals or enjoy his tact, but he is giving you the opportunity to make wild nettle omelets and try to live on a local food diet, which is pretty special. And having tasted the wild nettle omelet and seen the view from your mountain, I can only hope that in the end, the aggravations of this man are dwarfed by your overall experience at the agritorismo. And if you ever open your own, you can make damn sure that no one tries to pass off factory vegetables for the homegrown kind. Yuck. Just think, now those people think that homegrown vegetables taste the same as the store-bought kind. How sad.
btw - remind me to send you my copy of "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver when you get back on this continent. It's on the verge of completely changing my world (and my diet).
The problem is that both he and his sister (starting Monday) will be here until I leave, so my last week up on the mountain will be overshadowed by idiocy
( ... )
I haven't been on here for months and just thought I'd see where people are, so I was thrilled to see that you posted! Sorry you're having a hard time with this dick of a guy though. HOwever, I'm excited to hear that you're in ITALY!!!! I've recently been thinking a lot about doing agriturismo when I finish the PhD in two years (in an attempt to avoid the inevitable job search and in hopes of improving my Italian), so I"ll have to talk with you more about this all later. Are there any vegetarian ones??? It seems unlikely...
I haven't been on LJ since April, actually. I've been updating on Facebook because it takes a lot less time to connet with everyone and I'm lazy and busy. But Chad and I are still living in London, only in a new flat that's much nicer and somehow also closer to the city centre. At present, I'm writing you from Montreal though, where I"m on a 5-week fellowship at McGil University.
I'm sorry to hear that the guy's still being an ass...it really does stink that you're stuck working with/for someone like him. Still, from what little time I spent there I know it's a beautiful place. So I have to echo the sentiment of trying to focus on that aspect of things and ignore the owner as much as possible. I'm hanging out in Florence right now, which is quite lovely. I saw the duomo, baptistry, and attached museum today and watched the sun set over the river. There was a museum you recommended, but I can't remember the name? I'll probably spend several days here to try and take in all the art and see everything interesting. (And I'm changing rooms at the hostel tomorrow morning, which will improve my stay greatly. My current roommate is a 55-year-old Italian woman who seems to have some form of plague. And when she's not coughing up a lung she's telling me in great detail about her love life, notwithstanding the fact that I only understand about a third of what she says...) Anyways, enjoy the rest of your time in Italy.
The museum(s?) I recommended were the Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure (stone inlay work), http://www.opificio.arti.beniculturali.it/eng/index.htm and the Museo della Storia della Scienza http://www.imss.firenze.it/index.html where you can see Galileo's finger (probably with about the same level of veracity as the left big toe of John the Baptist and the wrist bones of Saint Grunhilde of the Holy Telephone Pole). The Opificio is... on the cross street just past the Accademia, if I remember correctly, and the Museo della Scienza is to the right of the Uffizi if you're standing on the sidewalk next to the Arno facing the Uffizi with your back to the river.
The other thing I recommend is going to San Miniato al Monte, the church high up on the hill on the other side of the Arno that you see lit up at night, at around 4:30 pm, and hanging around to listen to the monks chanting.
Comments 7
You may not agree with his morals or enjoy his tact, but he is giving you the opportunity to make wild nettle omelets and try to live on a local food diet, which is pretty special. And having tasted the wild nettle omelet and seen the view from your mountain, I can only hope that in the end, the aggravations of this man are dwarfed by your overall experience at the agritorismo. And if you ever open your own, you can make damn sure that no one tries to pass off factory vegetables for the homegrown kind. Yuck. Just think, now those people think that homegrown vegetables taste the same as the store-bought kind. How sad.
btw - remind me to send you my copy of "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver when you get back on this continent. It's on the verge of completely changing my world (and my diet).
Reply
Reply
I haven't been on LJ since April, actually. I've been updating on Facebook because it takes a lot less time to connet with everyone and I'm lazy and busy. But Chad and I are still living in London, only in a new flat that's much nicer and somehow also closer to the city centre. At present, I'm writing you from Montreal though, where I"m on a 5-week fellowship at McGil University.
Talk sometime later???
Reply
I'd be happy to tell you what little I know about agriturismo, but it's precious little, since this one is so unconnected to the general trend.
I'm glad to hear from you, and I hope you're having a great time in Canadia. :)
Reply
stuck working with/for someone like him. Still, from what little time I spent there I know it's a beautiful place. So I have to echo the sentiment of trying to focus on that aspect of things and ignore the owner as much as possible.
I'm hanging out in Florence right now, which is quite lovely. I saw the duomo, baptistry, and attached museum today and watched the sun set over the river. There was a museum you recommended, but I can't remember the name? I'll probably spend several days here to try and take in all the art and see everything interesting. (And I'm changing rooms at the hostel tomorrow morning, which will improve my stay greatly. My current roommate is a 55-year-old Italian woman who seems to have some form of plague. And when she's not coughing up a lung she's telling me in great detail about her love life, notwithstanding the fact that I only understand about a third of what she says...)
Anyways, enjoy the rest of your time in Italy.
Reply
The other thing I recommend is going to San Miniato al Monte, the church high up on the hill on the other side of the Arno that you see lit up at night, at around 4:30 pm, and hanging around to listen to the monks chanting.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment