Pots.....Pizza......and hopefully a great meal

When I'm not ordering the wrong pizzas I can be found doing this...... cooking in my apron and eating something that I know all the ingredients.....thank you Rachel Ray (Park City Cashew Chicken).  I've made this a couple of times at home and neither Leah or Son had eaten it before so I thought it would be good to fix on a night that he'd be working and could take a couple of containers to work....12 hr. shifts can be really long when you don't have something tasty to eat. Here are more pictures,  this location hosted Elton John a few months back and he played in the rain.... Son was sitting up front close to the stage and the venue has incredible sound - this location is about 2500 years old....so cool....amazing history....sure would be fun to turn back time to see who else walked this location and sat in those seats and listened to who knows what type of events.

The balconies were so beautiful, Man In Black has a new appreciation for geraniums now after seeing all the full colorful pots spilling over.....geraniums and petunias were always on the "no" list if I went to the nursery and wanted to fill the shopping cart. He never thought they looked good but seeing all of these has changed his mind.....while walking I passed directly in front of an Italian man that was wearing what Son referred to as "a really bad leisure suit".....I was so startled by what the outfit looked like from the front I couldn't get the camera ready to take the shoot....I didn't know it was possible for men to wear a pair of pants THAT TIGHT.....shiny and SUPER tight.....I did get the "behind" shot and you'll have to use your imagination as to the front...I do wish I had been quicker on the point n shoot because it was a complete ensemble with the short scarf....shirt....pants.....hairstyle.....every detail. Nothing left to  the imagination. Speaking of scarfs.....I've noticed they wear them daily....both men and women. The men also like to turn up the back of the collars, wear purple,,,,,and really like jogging suits. Here's another observation.....there are no door knobs on the outside of the house doors here. NONE....only door knobs that open from the inside....same with all the shutters....no handles to open them from outside. They carry a pocket full of keys and these homes are all surrounded by locked gates, no chance of a girl scout or trick or treat coming to ring your door bell. The yards are beautiful, full of flowers, olive trees, terraced vineyards and protected by LARGE dogs. German Shepards seem to be a popular breed of dog here and today a new neighbor walked by with his older pit bull. He seemed to know there are 2 pit bulls here and asked if they were male or female......It seems this breed of dog has the same scary reputation here as at home....that's okay, there are reasons these people have large gates and locked homes with no door knobs on the outside of their residences. I like sleeping knowing Klaus n Margo scare people and may make them think twice of visiting in the dark of night. They don't have to know they are sweethearts trapped in a pit bull body. Man In Black calls this neighborhood a fortress and I feel very safe here, all the people I've seen during the afternoon walks seem very friendly and I think this is just how it is in this country. In the United States we are allowed to keep weapons in our homes, we keep small arms with ammunition but from what I've heard it's not the case here. So, these people protect their property the only way they are allowed - locks n keys and dogs. I've been told Americans have a reputation here of being armed....interesting. Not sure if that's true or not but interesting if that's what they assume. Tomorrow we're going to a beautiful hotel for a dinner out with some friends and coworkers here - please, please, please wish me luck I make a better selection than the last time we were out. I'll have new pictures from a beautiful mountain town tomorrow and plan to return for more cheese and salami from a local deli - maybe another purse??? This town had some great looking shops that were closed as we drove through up the mountain so tomorrow I'll get another chance to see if something's open. We haven't talked about the hours of operation here by the shop keepers...well, it's a bit open in the morning, closed about 1 to 4 in the afternoon (sometimes they never come back to open), restaurants open about 8:30 - 9:00 p.m. They seem to eat a light pastry in the morning with coffee (no bacon or eggs here - Denny's would be out of business) and the main meal late each evening. Not sure what time people wake up and go to work, or get off work for that matter. It's all a bit different and I'm enjoying seeing life from a different angle. Something else, I asked someone for directions the other day and asked if he spoke English....he was painting away on a small canvas in the center of a large fountain courtyard....he said, "no Italian, I speak Spanish".....I laughed because I thought, okay, I can talk to you.  I came over on two planes to an entire different country and talked to someone just like my "amigos" from work. Hope you're enjoying the pictures....someone has shared with me how much she would like to be here, said she was jealous....Don't Be. That's the wonderful thing about Italy - she'll wait here until one day you'll be here, you're young and have lots of time, and half the fun is the waiting and dreaming of when it will come true..... Just remember not to order the Rustico pizza.

Special message - Mom, keep your fingers crossed about tomorrow's dinner out - otherwise, Man In Black will be sharing his meal with me. Either that or I'll just keep ordering down the menu until they bring something good out of the kitchen....this place we're going to, it's a complete dinner prepared by a chef at the hotel (Son says the hotels have the best food)....four courses and dessert and wine.....I'm taking my Italian dictionary with me tomorrow night so there will be no surprises on my plate....have a good day....see every one soon.