Sleepless in Treviso

It’s 2:48 AM and it’s official. I have completely given up on trying to sleep. Too tired to read or study, too wired to melt into my pillow, I’m on the couch and...I’m blogging. Rather sad that blogging is something you can do even without your mind. Sadder still if you can read it. You might say the whole day has gone that sort of way. Wait a minute, I just unintentionally created a rhyme. Let me try that again:

You might say

The whole day

Has gone that sort of way

Anyway, I like it. Now, please allow me to recap the many radicchio-lous (yes, that’s intentional, just go with it) events of daily life in Treviso today...

Got up rather early, and beat, after an unnecessarily glutenous Sunday afternoon of grazing with friends on leftovers from our...ehem...second Thanksgiving Day feast. 

Left the house about 8:15 to go teach a 3.5 hour class in what amounted to be an auditorium-sized freezer. Kept my jacket on the entire time and still froze. Could have really used my gloves but who would have thought I’d need them...indoors? Oh well, turning the pages of my notes would have been a hassle with oversized leather fingers.

Came home to defrost while eating lunch. Rested for a little and then made really strong coffee by mistake and poured myself too much (Italian espresso in a drip-pot machine). Hating waste, I felt obligated to drink it all. This made my heart race, which also raised my blood pressure, which then reduced my patience to about .001%.

Fortunately, this was counteracted by the joy of taking the family shoe shopping. Kids grow quickly, and their feet grow even quicker! That exciting event, once we got to the store, was fairly quick and painless, until I gave the cashier my credit card and reality set in. Why is it that kids shoes require about 30% of the material needed to produce adult shoes yet cost 30% more?

Treviso television has  been warning us that as of tomorrow, November 30, all programming will be broadcast in digital. That translates into our 9-year-old Daewoo needing another tin box with a remote control, and another swipe of my credit card. Fortunately, Euronics (not a music group) the electronic store was just a quick stroll from the shoes. Got it, and headed for home.

Upon our return we encountered exactly what we had expected. One R-E-A-L-L-Y long line of cars backed up from road construction being done in two key exit points... at...rush-hour! Way to go Treviso road crew. But we were smart enough to be preemptive. Got off at the earliest possible exit (Treviso hospital for those who know) and completely avoided it all by volunteering for a different line of cars that actually moved even slower. So much slower that my wife said, “I’ll see you at home, I’m going to start dinner.” She then got out of the car (we weren’t moving anyway) and walked home, beating me and the kids by about...10 minutes or more. 

I entered the house and checked email. Why? I don’t know, but I know now that I shouldn't have. Waiting to mug me in my inbox were two oversized emails dressed in black. The perfect bearers of bad news.

Ate dinner, set up the new tin box which doesn’t get the channels the lady said it would, put the kids to bed, and wrote another post on The Language Station. Went to bed myself but couldn’t sleep until about 12:30 AM, then woke up at 1:45 AM, fought it all I could and now...here I am. Soon, it’ll be time for some more of that coffee. Need to be sharp for my 9:00 AM English lesson. Two new students coming you know.... 

What do you know...it's Raining in Treviso!

Click to enlarge. Shot at our window over our neighbor's terrace

Thanksgiving has already been and gone. As we celebrated yesterday (like all good Americans living abroad) I was thankful for the abundance of such savory food and the good company of our loving friends.

I was NOT thankful for overeating. No one to blame but myself for that. But what can one do when it all tastes so good, and there's so much to go around? And then there's the prodding of generous hosts to keep you eating. I was just trying to be a compliant guest. Compliant enough that today I don't think I'll be using any of my jaw muscles for anything other than yawning. See the spread in the picture below. Believer it or not, tomorrow we get to do it all over again with another group of families.

Beautiful...and delicious!

And today, I woke up thankful that I don't live in a tent. That's because it's raining...hard...again. Actually, a mixture of rain AND snow. It seems like it's always raining in Treviso this time of year. In fact, rain is so common the locals have a saying,

"Whenever it rains in Treviso, the government is taking our money."

No explanation needed there. All I can say is the government must be having a lucrative month. I'm about ready to trade my car for a boat. Any takers?

Tomorrow's forecast was for snow, but we'll see. It's a true rarity in Treviso if it actually sticks. I wonder what that means the government is up to?

This Italian Love for Kids!

Among the many things I have come to love about living in Treviso is the love adults have for children. The Trevisani make every child, and parent, feel special.

When my kids were just little babies, strangers would abruptly stop us on the street to talk into our baby stroller. "Che spettacolo che sei!" they would say (meaning 'What a show you are!'). Honestly, the first time it happened I thought a nutcase was going to harm my child. But I grew to like it.

Funny thing is, we've become so accustomed to the love for kids here that we expect the same child-friendly treatment elsewhere. During a trip through Switzerland two years ago, we realized we weren't home in Treviso when we entered a restaurant for some famous Swiss fondue. Instead, we got the evil eye because we had two potential noise-makers with us.

But we are discovering that the kids love kids here too. When dropping off my three-year-old daughter at the local asilo nido (preschool) yesterday, my wife had to save her from Matilde, her bigger classmate. Matilde and all the others are convinced our little girl is a toy doll that can be carried around the room. Even fought over for who gets to play with her. Just weeks ago her elbow was dislocated when a classmate was pulling on her.

And the boys...well, it's just way too early for me to have to tell them to stay away. But I think I'm going to have a talk with little Marco and Giacomo who keep trying to kiss her every day because, "E' bella come una bambola!" Maybe this Italian love for kids should worry me after all.

It's true, "Se la vedi, t'innamori!"

One of the many charming views in the Centro Storico.

"If you see her, you'll fall in love!"

That's the slogan for this city of art and water. Treviso is the kind of place that, if you've never seen it, you really need to. Only 25 minutes by train from Venice, her big sister, Treviso is quickly becoming known as the "Little Venice."

Treviso became a Roman Colony during the empire, and was then called Tarvisium. You can still find this title around certain parts of the city. In the medieval ages her walls were built to completely enclose the city, with the added protection of a moat. Four main gates still serve as entrances to the Centro Storico, the oldest and most admired part of Treviso.

The same rivers that fill the moat feed the many waterways running throughout the inner city, joined in strategic places. Swans, ducks, fish and other wildlife roam freely in a mini nature reserve that stands between the PUT and the outer wall, still as beautiful as when its bricks first were laid about six hundred years ago.

There's even a protected sight from a home that was accidentally excavated beneath a walkway in the old center. It's from the fourth century and its gorgeous floor mural can be viewed any time of year except winter, when it's covered with sand and tarp to preserve it against the harsh weather.

In daylight, moonlight, or no light, Treviso will charm you. And the name of this blog, Tasting Treviso, is about just that. I look forward to bringing you more of her variety through pictures and articles, to share life's moments bitter and sweet from the home of Radicchio and Tiramisu. It's true, if you see her, (and taste her) you'll fall in love.