I finally found the best food in all of Italy...

It was quite a long, difficult search to find the best food in Italy. I have had to sample so many things in so many different places. If anyone knows me at all, they know that I took this job very seriously. I've been eating tons and tons of pizza, pasta, gelato...every Italian food you can imagine. My quest was simply to find the best. Well, today I found it. It is at the DeRobertis' home in Pistoia!

Nino and Betty, and their daughter Annalisa, are the most gracious people in all of the world. And, the best cooks as well! After church in Prato, we went over to their house in Pistoia for dinner.

Nino is the Branch President in the Pistoia Branch. I guess President & Karen go to that branch quite often and decided to go to Prato this time. Nino was very upset by this, he wanted them at his branch. He kept saying that it wasn't safe there! It was very, very funny.

Jeff had met Nino on his mission 30 years ago. The Acersons visited them in Italy a few years ago. Nino and Betty also visited Utah once. He is an artist and had drawn a beautiful picture of Joseph Smith. It had taken him years to complete. Michael Ballam was once looking for a place to stay in Italy, so Karen & Jeff gave him DeRobertis' names. They helped the Ballam family find a place to stay and got to be great friends with them. He saw the un-finished picture and told Nino that if he finished it, they would find a way to have him give it to President Hinckley.

So, Nino finished it and he came to Utah and stayed with the Acersons. He went up to Salt Lake and had an appointment with President Hinckley and President Monson, where he presented the original drawing to the prophet. You can tell that it was one of the highlights of Nino's life.

In the living room he has pictures of all the important people in their family's lives. Included are pictures of Nino and Betty with President Hinckley and President Monson. He has a copy of the picture of Joseph Smith. There are pictures of Michael Ballam and his gorgeous daughter, Vanessa, who was Miss Utah a few years ago. And, there are a few others. This is the funny part though... Along with all of those pictures, are pictures with the Acersons.

Unlike the other more formal pictures of everyone else, their pictures are blown up snapshots of their trip to Lake Powell. Karen is mortified that she is in a swimming suit without her hair done and make-up on, while President has some facial growth, wearing swim trunks and a faded t-shirt. Keep in mind that this is the room they eat in and they have missionaries over for dinner every week! Karen doesn't think it is very funny at all, but we all thought it was hilarious! (Look closely at the picture above. It is not my fault Karen...I was just simply taking a cute picture of you and your sister missionaries. I didn't notice the background...I promise!)

The missionaries who have served in Pistoia all talk about the DeRobertis family and the great memories. There is always reminising about the amazing food. When the elders & sisters in Rome found out that we would be eating Sunday dinner there, they smiled and were so excited for us, but they also offered some advice. "Never, ever, sit next to Nino; or even close enough that he can reach your plate. Also, never let your plate be completely empty, always make sure there is a little bit on left." I followed their advice and I did pretty well. Nino did catch me a couple of times and would say, "Mangi, mangi!" Which means, "Eat, eat!" and he would put more food on my plate. I had to learn the words, "Molto buon," which means "Very good!" I was more full, after this meal, than I can ever remember being .

I'm actually quite sad that I didn't take very many pictures of the meal, I was too busy eating everything in sight. There were a lot of courses. The first course was an assortment of breads and crackers with prosciutto (a type of cured ham) and lots of cheese (check out that hunk of parmesan on the table). The second was salad, which is usually a later course, but I think they were trying to please their American guests. Third was pasta...my favorite. Nino had made a Bolognese sauce (red sauce with meat) the day before to go on the pasta.

Betty and Annalisa made this incredible cheese tortellini with a butter sage sauce. I was in the kitchen when they were making this, so luckily I learned how. All they did was melt butter and simmer some fresh sage in it for a while, while the pasta was cooking. Then they just pour it onto the tortellini and add some fresh parmesan on top...it was fabulous! I have fresh sage in my herb garden and so I have made it a few times since coming home.

Fourth course was amazing, but I forgot to take a picture of it. She had roasted veal (which I normally don't eat, but I had some) with some rosemary, it was probably the tastiest meat I've ever had. Then she served that with these amazing roasted potatoes. She first sautéed them in butter and olive oil until they were translucent, then roasted them in the oven until crisp. Wow. Oh, there was the yummiest mushroom risotto (like rice) somewhere in there...I don't remember what course that one was.

Then, there was fruit & pastries and then the final course was gelato.

This is Nino serving it up (look closely behind him, that is the picture of him with President Hinckley). He kept making you have more and more and more of everything, but especially the gelato! I think he made President have like 4 servings! Although, I don’t believe President wasn't complaining.

Acersons gave the DeRobertis family a sign that hangs in their living room, along with all the pictures. (Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it.) It says, "Si mangia bene alla casa DeRobertis sia temporale che spiritoso." Which means, in English, "You eat well at the house DeRobertis, be it temporal or spiritual." How appropriate.

What an amazing day with their family. We were so happy to have met them and really happy to have eaten in their home. When we were pulling out of the parking lot, we saw them waving to us from the balcony. They waved the entire time we were driving away. It reminded me of when my parents come out of the house when we leave Moab and they wave the entire time we drive down the road. Isn’t that just so sweet?

Fast Sunday in Prato...

We went to church in the Prato branch. It is a small town right outside of Florence. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I witnessed while in Italy.

We first went to Relief Society and one of the sister missionaries translated for us. We noticed an African-American girl there and quickly realized she spoke English. She was from England and we made sure she could hear the translation and then we talked to her a little bit afterwards. She was visiting someone there in the ward, staying with them for a week while doing some sort of school project.

We then went into Sunday School, and Sacrament was last. It was Fast and Testimony meeting, and I think the best one that I have ever attended. Everyone (except for maybe one slightly crazy one at the beginning) bore the most beautiful testimonies. An elder translated the meeting for us. The testimonies were pure testimonies, very sweet ones. You could feel the spirit so strongly. The chapel was packed with members and investigators.

Near the end of the meeting, the girl who we had spoken to earlier came forward to bear her testimony. She did it in English, so a member of the ward quickly stood up and helped her translate into Italian. She said that she was not a member of the church, just visiting. She had never been to our church and didn't know anything about it. She said that she felt the spirit so strong during the meetings. Everyone had been so nice to her, she said that she hadn't ever been treated so kindly. Then she announced that she would be finding our church when she gets home to England and she will be joining it. Wow! What an amazing experience to be a part of. The young man who had helped her translate happened to be a return missionary from her area in England! So, he called the missionary president up, gave her information to him, and made sure that they were waiting for her when she arrived.

It was really an amazing meeting. One that I hope I will never forget. The members here are some of the most beautiful, strong members I have ever seen. The church is very strong in Italy and the members are outstanding, as are the missionaries teaching in this area. I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have had to witness such miracles here in Italy.

Falling in love with Florence...

There are a million reasons to fall in love with Florence. Here are just a few of mine...

1... Michelangelo's David. It was truly magnificent to witness. It is larger than life (17 feet tall) already, but then they put it in a museum, on a platform, under a large dome built only to highlight it. When you walk through the museum and around the corner, you see it. It sends chills down your spine. Reading Irving Stone's Agony and Ecstasy, a novel about the life of Michelangelo, made it even more significant to me.

Michelangelo carved the David out of a huge piece of Marble that had previously been carved into. It was originally taken from the mountains of Carrera. Nobody else thought that it could be salvaged, because the original cuts were too deep. Michelangelo stepped up and started the project when he was only 26 years old. It took him more than 3 years to complete. For me, seeing this work of art was unforgettable. (The picture above is of the the Carrera hills...it was taken as we drove by them. The whites on the hills are white marble, not snow as it appears. In the foreground of the photo is a Marble factory, they line the freeway.)
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2... Florence at night...all by myself!
I loved being with everyone, we had so much fun on this trip. President was so wonderful and sweet to drive everywhere, Andre & Pam were fun and we laughed a ton, and I savored every moment spent with Karen. However, when I ventured out on my own one night in Florence, it was marvelous! I originally went to see if the market was still open, which it was and I shopped. Then I grabbed some pizza and started walking with my camera. Luckily I had my little tri-pod with me.

I headed over to the Ponte Vecchio bridge, which is over the Arno river in Florence. We had walked over there the night before and I loved the view. At first, there was the sunset behind it. I started shooting pictures.

Then I walked around a little and a little sliver of a moon started showing up more and more, so I took some pictures of that.

I wanted to walk across the bridge, and I discovered a concert. A great Italian named Claudio Spadi.

I was completely out of cash at the time and couldn't buy his CD for 10 euros, so I took this picture so that I would remember him. Now I can't find his music anywhere. (I shouldn't have spent all my euros at the market…that will teach me.)

So then I wondered what the view on the other side of the bridge might look like.


It was a beautiful night in Florence, I stayed near the bridge for almost 2 hours.

Then, on the way to our hotel (I was actually a bit lost), I found this cathedral, just sitting there. Wow, I love Florence. If it weren't for being worried about President staying up and worrying about me, I would have stayed out all night. I kind of felt like a teenager again! It was fantastic.
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3... The markets. Wow, this place was amazing. I was so sad to be on a budget (self-inflicted, I might add). There were streets and streets just lined with booths selling things. They would set them up about 7 a.m. and start taking down around 8 p.m. It was crazy to watch the streets transform.

There were Italian ties, scarves, food, purses, souvenirs, and all kinds of leather! I got some ties for the men in my life and some cute little leather bracelets for the girls. I even splurged on a little red leather purse for me. I loved the markets!



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4... The Duomo. You can't even miss this when you go to Florence, I don't think it is possible. It is at the center of the city and so beautiful and grand. The interior is beautiful, but does not compare to the intricate decor on the outside.




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5... The Baptistery & The Gates of Paradise. The baptistery is directly across from the Duomo and is also magnificent. The design of the building matches the Duomo. It is famous for it's brass doors. They are so popular, in fact, that I kept trying and trying, in vain, to get a picture of the doors without anyone in front. These are actually replicas of the brass doors, as the originals are in the museum (below). It took 21 year old Ghiberti 21 years to complete these works of art. When Michelangelo saw them he said that they were "fit to be the gates of paradise," and so they have been called ever since.

On a side note, see President Acerson in this picture? We probably ran into 4 different groups of people that were from BYU, Utah, or just fellow Mormons that wanted to visit with President. It was fun to see what a small world it really is.
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6... Visiting the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo with my sister. Now, who wouldn't like to spend the day with their sister visiting a museum?

Look at how much fun she was! Actually, we had a great time. I wanted her to sleep in the hotel. She had been up really late for so many nights in a row. But, she insisted on going with me to the museum. She fell asleep the first time on the steps, against a wall.

Then, she was listening to the recording about Michelangelo's second Pieta and I thought she was just listening intently. Nope, dead asleep.

We were able to see many of the original items that had been taken from the facades of the cathedral and baptistery. They were worried about acid rain and vandalism, therefore made duplicates of many important works and moved the originals inside the museum. It is actually much nicer, as you can see them so much closer.


Here are just a few of the brass door panels from the baptistery. Click on them to enlarge and see if you can tell what stories are being told. It is a fun thing to figure out!




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7... Our Hotel, the Firenze Suites. Wow, this was the prettiest place we stayed. It is a brand new hotel that is right in the heart of Florence. All the walls were hand-painted and there was a little private courtyard outside. We were literally minutes from everything in Florence. It was so much fun!