The night before Christmas...Dinner for 30

Every year the family meets the night before Christmas to play "catch up".
I have been to many family dinners here in Italy and thought then there was a lot of food prepared so I therefore of expected the same for the Christmas Eve dinner, how wrong was I? My BF repeated to me throughout the day that there would be a lot of food but I didn't believe there would be anymore than our usual family dinners. The menu included (what I could remember); piselli, patate al forno, verdura cotta, zuppa di funghi, pasta con ragù di lepre, polenta, anatra, costicine di maiale, pollo, zuppa inglese, panettone, pandoro, parampampoli (caffè con grappa, vino e spezie). From start to finish the dinner took about 5 hours and boy was I happy it was over. My poor belly after was about to explode but they say here once you drink parampampoli the digestion process is simpler.

Felice Anno Nuovo as I am off to Corvara to skii....here a few pics, enjoy!

Before the storm....lol

My first taste of parampampoli

The taste was really BAD....eeewwwww!!!!

Summertime Gospel Choir

The first time I heard this choir sing here in Padova I had goosebumps the entire time, you know that feeling when the music moves you? Well, these set of people do it each time. They are Italian and sing in English some of the most known gospel songs. I searched high and low for a link to post but I wasn't able to find anything. Check out their website www.summertimegospel.com .

Buon Natale!

Watch your step

You know those people who allow their dog to shit on the sidewalk? Well, that's what I am talking about. Here in Padova I see dog shit everywhere. I had to learn the hard way to watch my step after I stepped in some. What would it take for the owner to pick up after their dog? I see many dog walkers walking around without a plastic bag. Once I actually saw a dog owner neglect to pick up after her dog. I stood there in disgust and so badly wanted to say something but couldn't find the righ words. Anyway, just a little vent!

Smooch

HAIR today....HAIR tomorrow!

The first big question I had for my BF when we decided that I would move to Italy was "who is going to do my hair?". Back home I got my hair did every week at the hair salon. I was totally dependent on Cristos and the team at (http://www.urbantextures.com/) to make my hair look fabulous each week. So when I decided to move that was one thing that caused a lot of anxiety. Many suggestions came to my mind; go bald, go natural, wear a weave, wear braids, you name it I thought about it. I decided with the help of many consultations from my peeps to just go as is and deal with upon my arrival. So, that's what I did.
Four weeks into my arrival I was due for a "touch-up" and desperately needed to find someone to do that for me. With the help of my boss (god bless her soul) she helped me find a hair salon in the city that carried a product similar to what I was used to in Toronto. The days leading up to my hair appointment I was very nervous and was thinking only bad things. I thought for sure that my hair would fall off if not immediately shortly after.
One thing to remember that in Italy there is a hair salon or two on every street, there are no shortage of hair salons here. Woman in Italy love to pass time at the hair salon talking "ish" about their neighbours....lol. The problem I knew I would have is finding a hair salon that was capable of doing a black woman’s hair. Our hair is VERY different than white woman's hair, the care and the maintenance calls for different measures. So the fear, nervousness and anxiety leading up to the appointment day was all called for.
On the day of the appointment the BF accompanied me to the salon as the stylist spoke NO English and me very little Italian. I decided to go the salon with my hair air dried so that the stylist could see the natural texture of my hair. After 2hrs in the hair salon, I was SATISFIED with the end result. He was able to give me a good blow dry but when it came to using the flat iron he was not sure how to use it.
Since the visit two months ago I have not gone back and probably will not go back. I have been doing my hair myself and when it comes time for a "touch up" I will just let my hair grow out until I arrive back in Toronto.
Here are the before and after pics....enjoy!

Hair today, hair tomorrow
Ciao