Italian penicillin and a spicy lemon ginger tea to help you fight the common cold.

Plus, some thoughts on silver linings.

The Hardest Parts

Moving to a new country is challenging in a way no one can prepare you for. You're pushed to the edge of your comfort zone as you have to relearn your way of doing everyday, simple tasks you haven't had to put much mental energy into for years, like how to pump gas, what the street signs mean, what to buy when you go to the market, or how to pay a phone bill. There are so many mundane, repetitious motions we go through daily that are ingrained in our minds and actions. When you move to a new country, especially if you don't speak the language yet, the most minor tasks can be daunting to understand and become comfortable with.

So, when we awoke on Sunday morning to a shattered car window in our new rental car, we knew it would be a long, exhausting process to figure out how to deal with it, especially since the vehicle is registered in France and we're in Italy. These types of things are already stressful enough when they happen in a place you're familiar with, but the stress skyrockets when you have to figure out what to do in a foreign country. Hours of trying to communicate with the rental car company located in France, to only find out that there was nowhere to take the car because it was Sunday. All the repair shops were closed, and we learned that we first had to go to the police station to give an account of what happened and get a police report for the rental insurance company to cover the window repair cost. Then, maybe a tow truck would come, or maybe not. Then, they were going to get us a rental, but I had to go to the airport to pick it up, etcetera, etcetera. So. Many. Things. And all of them in Italian! The following day, I went with a friend to the police station who offered to translate for me, only to be told a translator would not be allowed into the room. And so they took my account, not fully understanding what I was saying. But eventually we got there, and though the report seemed very simplified, they got the important part that the car was broken into. Then, on Monday, we took the car to a self-cleaning car wash to vacuum all the glass out so that we could take the kids to school before finally getting it repaired at a shop in Torino on Tuesday.

Serendipitously, as often is the case in Italy, there was a silver lining to our whirlwind car break-in episode. Upon arriving at the Carglass shop in a part of the city we're unfamiliar with, we were told it would probably take a couple of hours to repair the window, so we decided to grab a coffee in the neighborhood. The repair guy said there was a not-so-great coffee shop next door, but if we wanted something good, there was a nice coffee and pastry shop a bit further down the street. And so naturally, we walked further to find the pasticceria called Gocce di Cioccolato.

It was an impeccably clean and pleasant shop with beautiful pastries, a small corner with multiple filled Mahlkonig coffee grinders, and a double group espresso machine. The guy behind the counter was ready to make espresso and pour-overs. We started a conversation and learned he was not only the owner of the coffee part of the shop for the past 21 years but also produced his own roasts with his coffee bean company, Dropstery, and had multiple single-origin coffees available for espresso drinks and pour-over. Finding this style of coffee has been very challenging for us in Italy. Go to any good coffee shop in most cities in the US, and you'll be able to find a host of 3rd wave-style beans, but that is different in Italy. Legacy companies like Lavazza and Illy have a real hold on the market, and Italian bars and people typically like a dark roast combo of arabica and robusta beans. As we chatted with Maurizio, he was so happy to meet us and saw my passion for quality coffee that we did an espresso tasting of all his offerings. We talked specifics about different ways to prepare our coffee, sampled some delicious pastries, and purchased a few bags of beans he freshly ground for our moka pot to take home.

It's a random silver lining and something that happens often here in Italy. It's totally crazy. Truly. When you feel like something is about to break you, you're simultaneously met with something that -somehow- turns it all around. One challenge or absurd thing leads to some discovery that makes it all worth it. It was meant to be, and we would never have stumbled upon this shop and our new coffee friend Maurizio had our car not been broken into.

- Andre

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Italian Penicillin

The colds are here now that the kids have been in school for a bit. A horrible head cold and stomach bug have been slowly circulating throughout our house for the past few weeks, so I've been turning to soups to help nourish our bodies. This creamy, comforting pastina soup, also known as Italian Penicillin, is one of the easiest, most satisfying dishes you can make when feeling sick or rundown. And, if you happen to be pregnant and having morning sickness like I had with all three kids, definitely try this out. With just a few ingredients and very little time, it's the perfect simple dish to settle your stomach and make you feel better.