A good party

Last night it was real good fun.
The party: Vanderlande Xmas Party
The location: Orangerie, Den Bosch (The Netherlands)
Mistery guest: Leeeeee Towers

Restaurant "A mangiare" in Reggio Emilia, Italy

Few lines to celebrate a surprising restaurant.
On one of the business trips driving from Bologna to Milano we stopped in Reggio Emilia to have a bite. We ended up at the restaurant "A mangiare" in Viale Monte Grappa 3A.
The cuisine was purely based on regional products. Next to the usual waters (flat and sparkling "Lauretana" but this time into a Pininfarina designed bottled!!) we had a lovely red wine "Moro del Moro" from the local Rinaldini winehouse (14,5 %).
As it was quite late we just went for a starter and a main course. The starter was made of a nice Parmigiano Reggiano mousse partnered by a just perfect pear jam. The main course: hand made tagliatelle with 16 month riped Culatello di Zibello (the king of Italian hams).
The city itself is crap but if you are on the road and hungry give it a try.

November, 6th 2006

The day I drove the Alfa Romeo 159 (JTDm 1.9)
What an outstanding car. The design I knew from the road but the driving experience matched the visual emotions.

A different Sunday

So, yesterday I spent the whole day helping my friend Manlio at the Palace Hotel (www.palacehotel.nl) in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.

The occasion was a wine tasting event organized by the Dutch wine magazine Perswijn (www.perswijn.nl) and Manlio was standing there representing his company "Vino e Olio" (www.vinoeolio.nl).

We have presented some beautiful wines: 4 Brunello di Montalcino, 1 Rosso di Montalcino and 3 Supertuscans. Additionally, and not secondly, three beatiful white wines of the Casa d'Ambra (the "Kime" was just WOW).

It was a very interesting experience which ended up Italian style at the "La Toscana" restaurant on the Noorwijk sea promenade. Oh, I almost forgot. It was brilliant to have a glimpse of the sea again.

Auschwitz 21-09-2006

How does it feel? That's the question they ask me. How does it feel?
I can say many words, write maybe more but I cannot explain.
"Feel" the word says it all, so personal that cannot be explained. You are there where onemillionfivehundredthousand people lost their innocent lives, shooting pictures on a warm September day.
Two things hit me the most. The beds in the barracks and the crossroad.
The crossroad. That bloody crossroad. Here the SS doctors (what should I call them) divided the healthy (read >> capable of work) from the others. The ones doomed to suffer a long dreadful detention, the others (children, old people, pregnant women, sick persons) found immediate death.

Today 60 years after this human shame, we can talk about Korea, Vietnam, the Soviets..............Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq.........................and the ones to come.

My flight with Valentino Rossi

Yes. On September 5th I flew from Bologna to Amsterdam in the same plane as Valentino Rossi.
The motor racing champion sat of course on the 1st row, I was sitting on the 4th. I have also managed to get an autograph, as I said to him, for my son.............

For more info about Valentino see:
http://www.fanclubvalentinorossi.com/

Valentino is ranked at number 64 of 2006 Top 100 Forbes celebrieties just behind Russian tennis starlet Maria Sharapova and in front of Oscar winner Halle Berry:
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/53/QN4Y.html

Starbury vs. Nike

Stephen Marbury, NBA star of the NY Knicks, decided to launch his own brand of sport clothing and shoes. "Thinking of my youth I recall all the guys not able to afford very expensive Nike shoes". To contrast Nike, Stephen went to China to buy the shoes and put them on the market at $ 16 vs. the $ 180 of Nike (also made in China). WELL DONE Stephen.

David Smith - Centennial (Voltri) - Guggenheim Museum

In 1962, the Italian government invited Smith to make two sculptures for the fourth Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. Italsider, the national Italian steel company, gave him access to five abandoned welding factories near Genoa, and he chose one in the small town of Voltri for his studio. Although he had intended to work in stainless steel, Smith quickly changed his mind upon discovering the wealth of extant materials in the old factory, and in an extraordinary burst of creativity he welded 27 sculptures in just 30 days.
Smith assembled his Voltri sculptures largely from found tools and scraps of steel, and despite a range of construction styles he maintained a remarkable coherence in the series. Inspired by the ancient Roman surroundings, he did not paint or burnish his steel, as he had in Bolton Landing, but retained its rusty natural color, giving the Voltris an impression of considerable age. In many pieces Smith ostentatiously preserved the identity of found objects such as tongs, work tables, and industrial carts, while in others he welded together more abstract metal fragments that had been cast off during factory operations. Many of these elements were left behind when shapes were cut from steel sheets; due to their irregular curves and abrupt angles, the artist called them “chopped clouds.” During his frenzied month of production in Italy, Smith assembled these and similar components with a grace and elegance that made the Voltris some of his most compelling pieces to date.
When his sojourn in Voltri ended, Smith shipped several tons of unused, found factory objects to Bolton Landing, so that he could continue working with them. In winter 1962–63 he created a series of works titled alternately Voltron, Voltri-Bolton, or V.B. that expanded upon many of the formal themes of his Voltris. No longer compelled to work quickly, Smith introduced more intricate compositions into these sculptures, and, back in the familiar setting of his studio, he also imbued them with aspects of his pieces made prior to his time in Italy. Most notably, the Voltri-Boltons adopted the vertical orientation and round elements of his Tanktotem series, and joining those works and others in the fields around his house, they too came to be seen as personages.

Easy and tasty dinner for two - Jamie Oliver's recipe

Fellows I tried this myself. It is fool proof and effective.

**************************************
300 grams of St. Peter's Fish.
Extra vergine olive oil
Olives
Salt
One clove of garlic
Butter
Leek
Cherry tomatoes
One glass of dry white wine
Squash (personal touch)
Carrot (personal touch)
**************************************
Put the oil into a hot pan, add the garlic chopped in slices and the leek. Leave on the fire for a few minutes squeeze the tomatoes into the pan, add the olives and the salt (watch out as you use olives and fish, not too much salt).
Pour the wine and let boil for some minutes.
In the meantime turn on the oven at 210 degrees. When the oven is at temperature, pour the content of the pan into some aluminium foil, add the sliced carrots and squash, place the fish on top and close carefully the foil so that the content will steam up in the oven.

Put the aluminium package in the oven and let cook for 15 minutes.
Unpack, pour some oil on top and serve.

Enjoy your meal.

Dinner at Groen - Uden

Last night a good dinner at Groen in Uden with my lovely wife. The Soul Food idea is brilliant (tapas alike) however could be chosen for more sophisticated stuff. The food was good and the place just perfect. Nice architecture and design.

Sardinia

What an amazing island!!!
Last time there was in 1990 but it seems like nothing has changed. Arriving at the harbour you still smell the myrtle, a scent that will follow you throughout your holiday. Actually I do not recall a place on earth you can recognize blindly like Sardinia.
Arrived at Olbia we moved further to Capo Ceraso Resort. On that very day the final of the World Cup was played, Italy became WORLD CHAMPION !!!! What a start of the holiday.





Days were followed by amazing weather, great fun with the kids and the in-laws.

We also enjoyed myrtle in another form (see picture). This 32% spirit stored in your freezer is just perfect.......

Last but not least we drove to Oristano were I saw my old friend Bruno.

Eating in Genova....the New York Times way

See this article about the "cuisine" in Genova.
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/travel/23choice.html

Italy, Sardinia, Bellagio, Robbie Williams, World Cup Champion, Genova, San Siro, Porto Cervo

We have done all of this in 3 weeks.
More to come.....................................

Rebel without a cause (a Honda story)

Here it is then. All the way from the Rimini Riviera to Holland. This bike turns Rigo from a "Patacca" to a "Patacca" on a bike.
It is just like a Fellini's movie.

The Aqua Man (painting from KC)

What do you see?
What do you think?
What do you feel?

WWF: Breaking News

Unbelievable. When everybody thought that the Jasonicus Franciscus Welshicus was endangered or even disappeared, it has been seen at the World Cup in Germany following the England-Paraguay game. Now our hope is that he will start procreating. Conditions needed for this event to happen are:
1) a girl aged between 20 and 25
2) an extremely pimped up ride
We have been informed that both conditions are fulfilled.
So let's cross our fingers and scream: "Get some, J"

Killers

The youngest 3, all the way up to 86.
I see families, I see foreigners.

I close my eyes I hear them telling stories, children laugh, women think of their husbands, brothers, sisters.

An EXPLOSION.
Silence

Green Mars

Aliens, just names, not carved in stone but made of stones.
Art, just simple, two colours. GREEN and GREY, so similar.
A path, the bends, crossing water, modelling ground.
3.000 meters, southbound.

Picture sharing

Oh yeah. From now on you can see my pictures at the following link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabiobaiardini/

Back from Mallorca

So, we are back in The Netherlands after a nice week in Mallorca.
Nice island.
Top sea and beautiful, in little bays casted, sandy beaches.
The nights are still not very warm but during the day the temperature is just fine with the wind tempering the heat. The kids had lot of fun, Jamie spent most of the time in the pool or in sea. Isabella had busy mornings and sleepy afternoons.
Brenda and I enjoyed it.
In the picture a view of Mallorca nearby S'Amarador

Bologna (Italy, Italia, Italië)

Side (Turkey, Turchia, Turkije)

Innocence

She speaks a bit of Dutch and a bit of Italian, he speaks BLAHBLAH BLAHBLAH.
The pureness of the act, the gentle touch. This is a moment when words are useless.
I wish we all were children.

Back on track

Wow, it has been a while. I was busy busy busy, bloody work.
After two weeks off to Genoa I feel reborn, in Holland springtime has arrived and the feeling is GOOD.

The Party Company

Just a quick note to let you know that we had quite a funny evening with my colleagues at the Curiosahuys. See www.partycompany.nl

Friends & Pizza

After a relaxing Xmas week in Liguria, last night went out in freezing cold 's-Hertogenbosch with MeneGo and RiGo. Had a pizza at Brigantino's that was ok while the mixed antipasto was actually quite good. The pizza I make in my Siemens oven is actually better, based on Jamie Oliver's book with some additional tricks learned along the way.
We had the usual talk about being Italian abroad and work and, well,...........you know.
Football was not discussed as RiGo is not into it. Cars briefly as MeneGo will get a bloody Presidential A8 with flags in front, ambassador style, Rigo mentioned being a proud owner of a 106 with scratch on the door: I recall that scratch being there for ages. At the end of the mail during the Averna sipping moments, the owner of the place a short bold Calabrian fellow joined briefly the table, funny guy he seemed.
It was a nice evening.