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EastaFlav

Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 in Blog | No Comments

This just in from JuliaCesare…
pictures coming soon from Ben Venuto…

For Easter, SistaFlav invited the Alpha Team (minus Josie and McSmalls who are in California) to her house in Cerveteri near the coast. So at about 10 o’clock on Easter morning, Mystophur, BenVenuto, and I piled into the Kangoo in the pouring rain, armed with a plant and some wine, to head over there and meet the family.

Now, this was no run of the mill go meet mom and dad big ol’ American family Easter with egg hiding and rowdy good times..(ok maybe my idea of holidays is becoming a little rose colored from the distance) A little background: SistaFlav’s dad is a diplomat and her family is definitely a bit aristocratic and very international. They were also a bit wary of crazy American artists employing their wonderful and scholarly daughter and living in a monastery, which right now isn’t even a monastery but the Casa del Popolo. Of course, we all looove SistaFlav and her work, so we wanted to make a great impression, have them fall in love with us, and fully support SistaFlav in her work here. In fact, Mystophur and BenVenuto were pretty nervous. I was totally fine until we got in the car and they started talking at which point I got completely jittery too. This apparently resulted in me creepily smiling a lot at dinner, too frightened to talk in my usual frenetic manner, in an attempt to seem simpatica and composed and not make a fool of myself (a special thank you to Mystophur for the feedback about the creepy smiling).

Anyway, we got there fine, met JohnDog, a giant black thing whose wagging tail could maim a small child, and started chatting with PapaFlav over an aperitivo, while SistaFlav was helping out in the kitchen. He and Mystophur had a lovely conversation about music and art, and it looked like things were going well. In fact, they were. PapaFlav has a really cool collection of art and is also a painter as a hobby. Actually he makes these really beautiful Baroque portraits that do not look like hobby art. He has a very interesting mix of Asian and Indian wood paneling and doors, along with European things…nota bene..this combination would also totally work in the monastery. We looked at the Maddalena Penitente and a couple other things and then…a tavola!

MamaFlav and SistaFlav outdid themselves with some homemade ravioli. Then we ate a freshly killed chicken (!) which MamaFlav had made with an amazing fruit and chestnut stuffing, some veal, and the salad. We were all getting pretty full, so that meant it was time for the TWO beautiful tortes that Sandy, SistaFlav’s Sista, had made. She is a damn good pastry chef it turns out; the colombo (traditional easter cake in the shape of a dove, except this wasn’t dove shaped) was absolutely divine. We all found room somehow.

Following this incredible feast, Mystophur, BenVenuto, SistaFlav, and I ran off to do a bit of walking and digesting. Since it was still raining, we actually drove to some castle or fort, here my memory gets a bit hazy (all that digesting you know) and walked around. The best part of this, for me, was a tiny zoo with an eel in a tank. No, really. Have you ever looked closely at an eel before? They are WEIRD. I kept hoping it was gonna eat the shrimp that was in there too, but no luck.

Well, after these adventures we returned to CasaFlav, where she gave us a tour and let us see even more really cool art and antiques. We also got to see pictures of BabyFlav, which was really cute. And the best part was really that by the time we returned and as we were leaving, it had become obvious that her family liked us, they REALLY REALLY liked us! We took a big ol’ group picture and were off with good wishes all around, and even invitations to return.

Getting to know SistaFlav’s clan (two sisters, a brother, mom and dad, and an aunt, not to mention JohnDog) was a really good way to spend a holiday.

Epilogue
We had decided to take SistaFlav back to Calvi with us, so first we swung by her place to get some clothes and her kitty, Wombat. He is beautiful, all black, really nice. Except he doesn’t really like cars. So, he poops. Lucky that the window in the Kangoo was broken and stuck wide open, so we had plenty of fresh air.

In the meantime, the four of us also had a really great evaluating and closing conversation about our work in the last two months. It is really great to be part of this team-I not only admire each person on their merits as a cool human being but genuinely respect their work and trust them. They say they think the same about me– which means I am a damn lucky girl. And now all we have to do is raise a ton of money in the United States.

I mean, people, Happy Easter.This just in from JuliaCesare…
pictures coming soon from Ben Venuto…

For Easter, SistaFlav invited the Alpha Team (minus Josie and McSmalls who are in California) to her house in Cerveteri near the coast. So at about 10 o’clock on Easter morning, Mystophur, BenVenuto, and I piled into the Kangoo in the pouring rain, armed with a plant and some wine, to head over there and meet the family.

Now, this was no run of the mill go meet mom and dad big ol’ American family Easter with egg hiding and rowdy good times..(ok maybe my idea of holidays is becoming a little rose colored from the distance) A little background: SistaFlav’s dad is a diplomat and her family is definitely a bit aristocratic and very international. They were also a bit wary of crazy American artists employing their wonderful and scholarly daughter and living in a monastery, which right now isn’t even a monastery but the Casa del Popolo. Of course, we all looove SistaFlav and her work, so we wanted to make a great impression, have them fall in love with us, and fully support SistaFlav in her work here. In fact, Mystophur and BenVenuto were pretty nervous. I was totally fine until we got in the car and they started talking at which point I got completely jittery too. This apparently resulted in me creepily smiling a lot at dinner, too frightened to talk in my usual frenetic manner, in an attempt to seem simpatica and composed and not make a fool of myself (a special thank you to Mystophur for the feedback about the creepy smiling).

Anyway, we got there fine, met JohnDog, a giant black thing whose wagging tail could maim a small child, and started chatting with PapaFlav over an aperitivo, while SistaFlav was helping out in the kitchen. He and Mystophur had a lovely conversation about music and art, and it looked like things were going well. In fact, they were. PapaFlav has a really cool collection of art and is also a painter as a hobby. Actually he makes these really beautiful Baroque portraits that do not look like hobby art. He has a very interesting mix of Asian and Indian wood paneling and doors, along with European things…nota bene..this combination would also totally work in the monastery. We looked at the Maddalena Penitente and a couple other things and then…a tavola!

MamaFlav and SistaFlav outdid themselves with some homemade ravioli. Then we ate a freshly killed chicken (!) which MamaFlav had made with an amazing fruit and chestnut stuffing, some veal, and the salad. We were all getting pretty full, so that meant it was time for the TWO beautiful tortes that Sandy, SistaFlav’s Sista, had made. She is a damn good pastry chef it turns out; the colombo (traditional easter cake in the shape of a dove, except this wasn’t dove shaped) was absolutely divine. We all found room somehow.

Following this incredible feast, Mystophur, BenVenuto, SistaFlav, and I ran off to do a bit of walking and digesting. Since it was still raining, we actually drove to some castle or fort, here my memory gets a bit hazy (all that digesting you know) and walked around. The best part of this, for me, was a tiny zoo with an eel in a tank. No, really. Have you ever looked closely at an eel before? They are WEIRD. I kept hoping it was gonna eat the shrimp that was in there too, but no luck.

Well, after these adventures we returned to CasaFlav, where she gave us a tour and let us see even more really cool art and antiques. We also got to see pictures of BabyFlav, which was really cute. And the best part was really that by the time we returned and as we were leaving, it had become obvious that her family liked us, they REALLY REALLY liked us! We took a big ol’ group picture and were off with good wishes all around, and even invitations to return.

Getting to know SistaFlav’s clan (two sisters, a brother, mom and dad, and an aunt, not to mention JohnDog) was a really good way to spend a holiday.

Epilogue
We had decided to take SistaFlav back to Calvi with us, so first we swung by her place to get some clothes and her kitty, Wombat. He is beautiful, all black, really nice. Except he doesn’t really like cars. So, he poops. Lucky that the window in the Kangoo was broken and stuck wide open, so we had plenty of fresh air.

In the meantime, the four of us also had a really great evaluating and closing conversation about our work in the last two months. It is really great to be part of this team-I not only admire each person on their merits as a cool human being but genuinely respect their work and trust them. They say they think the same about me– which means I am a damn lucky girl. And now all we have to do is raise a ton of money in the United States.

I mean, people, Happy Easter.

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