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Geniale

November 25, 2007 // Posted in Travels  |  No Comments


Oggi mi sono dedicato un po’ allo shopping (gli Stati Uniti sono pur sempre la terra del consumismo…). Ho cosi’ comprato un paio di jeans; nulla di eccezionale, se non fosse che nel camerino, mentre li provavo, ho notato un pulsante (foto). In Italia non mi era mai capitato. Ma se la taglia o il colore non mi fossero andati bene, sarebbe stato sufficiente premere il bottone e, presumo, qualche dipendente sarebbe venuto in soccorso.


Today I did some shopping. I went to Stanford Shopping Center (it is very nice), and I bought a pair of jeans. The funny things about this is that, while I was in the fitting room, I noted an interesting button (see picture). In Italy I never have seen anything of similar; but if the customer would desire another size or color, it is enough to push the button to call some employees to help you.

La saga dei panettoni

November 25, 2007 // Posted in Travels  |  No Comments


Pensavo fossero una rarita’, invece si trovano praticamente in ogni supermercato.
Ecco l’offerta di Trader’s Joe; considerando il super-euro, conviene forse comprarli qui? Qualcuno in valigia riesco a metterlo, ma dovete pazientare fino al 3 gennaio.


I was thinking that to find “panettoni” in USA was hard. But this is already the third post, in this blog, about the same topic. Almost every supermarket sells them. Here is the offer of Trader’s Joe. It is quite cheap, and considering the super-euro, it could be convenient to buy “panettoni” here. If someone from Italy desires a “panettone”, please ask; I think I will have room in my luggage. But you have to wait till january the 3rd.

Bagel time

November 24, 2007 // Posted in food  |  2 Comments


Da quando è in California, nei week-end, Enrico si fa vedere via webcam mentre fa colazione con un bagel. Io adoro i bagels, ma qui a Pavia non si trovano!!!
Oggi non ne potevo proprio più così me li sono preparata da sola. Non saranno belli come quelli americani, ma sono buoni. A casa Sacchibelli almeno le distanze gastronomiche non esistono!


During his Californian week-ends Enrico shows himself through the webcam while he’s having his breakfast. Usually he eats a bagel and he perfectly knows that I love bagels but I cannot find them here in Pavia. Today I could not stand it anymore so I’ve decided to bake them for me. The result is not really beautiful, but it’s tasty. At least gastronomic distances don’t exist at Sacchibelli’s!

Golden Gate

November 24, 2007 // Posted in bike, friends, Travels  |  1 Comment

Oggi, approfittando della vacanza, sono andato a fare un giro in bici da San Francisco a Sausalito, col mio amico e collega (e quasi coinquilino) Luns. Il trasferimento da Santa Clara a San Francisco e’ stato facile, grazie al mitico Caltrain.

Dopo una sosta a Fisherman’s Wharf per un improbabile pranzo (crab sandwich…), il pezzo forte della giornata e’ stato l’attraversamento del Golden Gate. Complice una giornata straordinariamente nitida e luminosa, il ponte appariva in tutto il suo splendore.

Ecco infine due foto che testimoniano il fatto che l’abbiamo attraversato in bici. Dapprima il sottoscritto:

e quindi Luns, in questa suggestiva inquadratura:


Today, being holiday, I rode my bike from San Francisco to Sausalito, with my friend, colleague and “almost” roomate Luns.
To reach San Francisco from Santa Clara was easy enough, thanks to the Caltrain.
After a stop at Fisherman’s Wharf for a strange lunch (crab sandwich), the most exciting moment was to ride over the Golden Gate bridge. Today it was a beautiful sunny day, and, as you can see, the Golden Gate appeared in glory.
The two pictures, the one with me, and the other one with Luns, demonstrate that we effectively rode over the bridge 🙂

Il pinguino di Natale

November 23, 2007 // Posted in celebrations, Travels  |  No Comments


Io capisco che manchi poco piu’ di un mese a Natale, e capisco pure che il gusto “americano” per le decorazioni non sia proprio dei piu’ fini, ma qualcuno mi spiega cosa c’entra il pinguino (peraltro apprezzato, essendo il simbolo di Linux) tra babbo Natale e il pupazzo di neve?


I know that Christmas is not that far, and “americans” are a little bit “kitch” with Christmas decorations, but why there is also a penguin between Santa Claus and the snowman? I understand that the penguin is cute, also because it represents Linux, but why as Christmas decoration?

Qui non piove ma…

November 23, 2007 // Posted in Uncategorized  |  No Comments


qualcuno usa l’ombrello per proteggersi dal sole…


Here it is not raining like in Pavia, however someone uses the umbrella because of the sun…

Strane auto

November 23, 2007 // Posted in cars, Travels  |  No Comments


Qui il costo della benzina e’ salito parecchio ultimamente (pur restando circa la meta’ di quello italiano), e si cominciano a vedere auto ibride come la famosa Toyota Prius. Tuttavia si vedono anche auto abbastanza strane, che di sicuro non sono famose per consumare poco…


Here the gasoline cost is always increasing, although it still is half-price compared to Italy. So hybrid cars like Toyota Prius are being popular. Nevertheless it is always possible to see strange cars that, for sure, drink a lot of gas.

Chicago style pizza

November 21, 2007 // Posted in food, friends, Travels  |  No Comments


Ieri sera ho cenato con Alessandro ed Emiko, che ormai mi hanno adottato.
Approfittando di un coupon omaggio (buy 1, get 1 free) siamo andati a mangiare una Chicago style pizza at “Pizz’a Chicago” (4115 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, toward Mountain View).
La pizza, ancorche’ diversa da quella tradizionale italiana, era molto buona, e, sembra incredibile, in 3 non siamo riusciti a finire 2 pizze “medie”. La prossima volta pero’ tocchera’ alla originale pizza italiana (quella sottile, e con ingredienti umani), che qui si puo’ trovare in pochi posti.
Due di questi sono:
“La Pizzeria”
a Campbell, e la “Pizzeria Delfina” a San Francisco.

Dopo la pizza, siamo andati a casa di Ale ed Emiko, dove ci aspettava, oltre all’immancabile tazza di ottimo te, un quadruplo dolce, costituito da torta di ricotta (fatta da Emiko, ottima), fragole (fragole fresche in questa stagione!!!!), gelato e cioccolato.
Grazie ancora della vostra ospitalita’.


Yesterday I went to “Pizz’a Chicago” (4115 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, toward Mountain View) with Ale and Emiko (it is true, at the end it seems that they adopted me). Here is served the famous “Chicago style” pizza, very thick and with a lot of toppings (someone strange enough). It seems incredible, but we were not able to finish 2 medium pizzas (being in three), although it was very good. Next time, however, wee have to try the “italian style” pizza (much thinner, and with a moderate quantity of toppings). It is not easy to find it here around; however two good places seems to be
“La Pizzeria”
a Campbell, e la “Pizzeria Delfina” a San Francisco.
After the pizza we went to Ale’s and Emiko’s place. We drunk a cup of good tea (as usual) and we had a combination of 4 desserts, with the extraordinary “Ricotta cake” from Magnamotto (see their blog for details), fresh californian strawberry (yes, it is late november!!!!!), ice cream and chocolate.
I am very lucky because I found so nice friends that adopted me 🙂

Stranezze

November 21, 2007 // Posted in Travels  |  No Comments


Qui, specie nei week-end, e’ possibile vedere, agli incroci piu’ importanti, persone che, in modo folcloriscono, reggono cartelli con indicazioni pubblicitarie relative a qualche vendita o simili.
La cosa e’ abbastanza bizzarra (per quale ragione occorre che una persona regga il cartello?), e comunque fa un po’ tristezza che, per campare, uno debba passare ore e ore con questi cartelli, in mezzo al traffico.


Here, mainly during the week-ends, you can see, at the main cross-roads, funny people with strange cartels that try to capture your attention; it is a kind of advertising. This seems a little bit strange to me; moreover, it is also sad that someone, to earn few dollars, has to spend many hours doing this strange activity

Parchi

November 21, 2007 // Posted in Travels  |  No Comments


A furia di fare confronti tra Italia e Stati Uniti, si rischia di banalizzare. Eppure anche nella non certo bellissima Santa Clara e’ possibile apprezzare come siano presenti tanti servizi per i cittadini. Un esempio sono i parchi: ce n’e’ per tutti i gusti, e tutti tenuti in maniera splendida. In quale parco in Italia uno si arrischierebbe a camminare a piedi nudi? Notare infine la finezza del parco per chi fa skate-board.


Maybe it is not good to continuously make comparison with Italy. However, although Santa Clara is not the best place of the world, it is nice to see how many services the administration is providing to citizens. Let’s give a look to the urban park, for example. Here there are a lot of nice parks, and they are always clean and well managed. Is there any park, in Italy, when you would risk to walk barefeet? Here there are. And please, pay attention to the skate-borders park.