The Magic of European Holidays

Now that the holidays are officially over in Italy (this happened yesterday, January 6th, with the very important & celebrated La Befana/Epiphany) I can finally breathe & reflect on this magical experience.

We kicked off the season with an early December visit from Oma/Ursula/Stephen’s Mom & his younger brother, Andrew. They stayed with us for a few days & we explored Bologna, San Gimignano, the Chianti Classico region, Firenze & our quaint, local town. We stopped by the “big COOP”, as we affectionately call it, to get some groceries & it was then that we decided to grab our store-bought Christmas tree. This, I must note, was almost sacrilegious as, for the prior 13 years, we’d always hand-chosen & hand-cut a tree from our own acreage in Truckee. But, as with a million other things, we adjusted & made it work in our new setting.

The tree was wrapped up in netting, leaning alongside 20 or so other bundled, potted trees in the floral section of the supermarket. This was a bit befuddling as we wondered how to know if it’s any good, full & fluffy, but shoppers didn’t seem to care much as one after the other yanked a tree into their cart, so we did the same. A total crapshoot, I thought & oddly, not shocking, as we long ago established that Italians are more of a shoot-from-the-hip type of folk.

We surprised Caiden with our tannenbaum when we picked him up from school that afternoon & in the evening we decorated it with the 9 small, silver balls I’d picked up at IKEA, but it was still hopelessly bare. Thankfully, crafty Oma came to the rescue; she & Caiden made tin foil ornaments & paper chains! At first I wasn't totally on board with the homespun style, but soon I saw how pretty & special the tree looked & chalked it up to another ‘letting go’ of prior traditions & expectations moment. Besides, we had candles flickering, holiday music playing & we were telling story after story of our favorite Christmas memories, which far usurped visions of a Pottery Barn-perfect tree.

Later that week, after our guests had departed, we did our Friday tradition of taking Caiden into Florence & ambling through the streets, enjoying a beautiful meal & evening in the City. We were awestruck by the lights—all the holiday lights glistening & gleaning, twinkling on every major strada, in every grand piazza, at every monument & mercato (Via de Tornabuoni, Piazza Michelangelo & Mercato Centrale were exceptionally swoon-worthy). Stars, ornaments, jellyfish-like decorations &, of course, the famous Florentine Lily were strung artfully between buildings. I’d never seen Christmas lights so spectacular &, for me, they ushered in that cozy, warm, happy feeling that is uniquely harvested every December.

Caiden’s school did a winter musical performance at a local church that was spectacular. It wistfully reminded me of Christmas performances from my own childhood—a tradition that, sadly, has never occurred at home.

We had a lovely dinner & gift exchange with our very special Italian friends on December 23rd, complete with a primi piatti (Spaghetti ala Carbonara) & secondi piatti of vegis, meats, breads & cheeses. The meal was finished with a Pandoro, torta with fresh panna & apertivos. I had mistakenly thought a Pandoro was just a Panettone without dried fruit pieces inside. Instead, it’s this light, top hat tall, sweet cake, shaped like an eight-pointed star & dusted with icing sugar; such a delight—simple & fresh, as is the Italian way.

Late the next morning/Christmas Eve, after gift-opening at home, we departed for our road trip—first stop the Dolomites, Cortina d’Ampezzo. We chose this quaint town based on the recommendations of other families at Caiden’s school & we were not disappointed. With a picturesque, easily-walkable Alpine Village & shockingly accessible ski mountain (think: no traffic, park your car - for free - & walk 5 minutes to the gondola) plus good snow & great eats, we delighted in this crisp, snowy reminder of home. Prices were remarkably low with an all-day lift ticket being about $56 & full ski equipment rental about $100 for 2 days.

We also found the “Rifugios” particularly enjoyable – the Tyrolean wood huts on-mountain that served cocktails, wine, coffees, pastas, paninis & gourmet entrees, if you wish, at astonishingly reasonable prices (café macchiato = $1.50; panini con salsiccia = $8.00; house red = $2.00; basket of patate fritte/fries = $5.00). They also accept dinner reservations, something we tried on December 26th. While the food was average, the ride up was one we won’t soon forget as we clawed & clung to our crazy, Italian snowmobile drivers. They raced up the mountain at speeds that left me with no option but to close my eyes in prayer for the safe transport of myself & my family.

Christmas night we dined at an Agriturismo, something I’d wanted to do for quite sometime. Off the beaten path & outside of urban areas, Agriturismos are essentially Italian farms & the owners offer overnight accommodations or a restaurant, or both; the produce, eggs, meat & olive oil are truly fresh off the farm. We chose El Brite de Larieto & our dinner, the service & the setting were just exquisite. We were even able to indulge one of our traditions from home as every Christmas Eve we normally prepare an elaborate fondue dinner & El Brite crafted a magnificent cheese fondue every bit as good as the Swiss make!

We then traveled up to Lugano & Oberterzen to visit Stephen’s family. A big goal of ours with this move abroad was to spend more time with our Swiss relatives, seeing them more than a few days every few years & thusfar we’re succeeding. We’ve visited 3 times & I’m always struck by how time kind of stands still, or perhaps rewinds, when we’re with them. We play a lot of games (I already ordered Triominoes, a new family favorite) & take walks & savor unhurried breakfasts, dinners & conversations. Stephen’s Aunts are wildly good cooks & I typically leave with tighter trousers & a stack of recipes to try.

New Year’s Eve we had a lavish, traditional broth fondue; we indulged in a rich cheese fondue the night prior. We lit fireworks in front of the house (completely foreign for these Californians!) & at the stroke of midnight all the neighbors came out, Prosecco in hand, & wished one another well. Language barrier aside, it was a most perfect way to close one year & usher in a new one—with smiling faces, warmth & genuine kindness that transcended cultures.

We journeyed home a few days before Caiden’s break was over in order to clean up, organize & settle in a bit before real life came screeching back to us. Our special Italian friends (yes, that’s now their official name) invited us to go ice skating in central Firenze & this

was quite an unexpected treat. There, steps from the Santa Maria Novella train station, was a frozen, outdoor loop that we glided on while American Christmas tunes played. I was grateful to cling to the quickly dissipating holiday moments, & music, even for only one day more.

The 9 silver balls are put away, the tinfoil ornaments tossed, I chuckle now at hanging stockings on the armoire in our Cortina hotel room. I know it’ll ache the next time we bramble down Florentine cobblestone streets without a canopy of string lights overhead, but I’m grateful for this extraordinary experience &, as always, sitting wide-eyed in anticipation of 2020’s adventures yet to come.