Toy car #2

Toy car

See my "Fiat 500" series here!

Street scene with strawberries and a Vespa!

Sunny morning, a few days ago. I have just left the Church of Santa Maria in Organo and my head is still spinning for all the beauty I tried to take in (please see my posts of the church!!!) and photograph (ceilings included...).

I am on Via Carducci here, a busy place, with many shops and people walking by, like this girl with a big tray full of strawberries...mmmhh, I'd fancy a nice cup of strawberries and cream, fragole e panna!

You will forgive me for (again) breaking the rules and posting another photo...I spotted this lovely pale blue Vespa coming right into the street and I just wanted to show it to you, as it is, with no doubts, an italian icon!

Pizzeria, Fiat 500 and bella ragazza...

Italian icons...

Street scene and a 500

By now you will have understood that I am really fond of old means of transport, first of all the iconic Fiat 500s...!  

I want to say THANK YOU for having left such nice words on my yesterday's post... 

YOU have inspired me with your blogs, your creativity and your comments.

Wishing you all the best for your summer holidays/work/life...

A pink Vespa with a view

I realize I have often posted about means of transport and today I couldn't miss this one, the loveliest pink Vespa!

"On 23 April 1946, at 12 o'clock in the central office for inventions, models and makes of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Florence, Piaggio e C. S.p.A. took out a patent for a "motorcycle of a rational complexity of organs and elements combined with a frame with mudguards and a casing covering the whole mechanical part"

"The first prototype was given the initials MP5 and baptized "Paperino," the Italian name for Donald Duck, a nick-name given to it by the workers because of the strange shape it had"

Wikipedia

It's so romantic... how can any other scooters compare with Vespa?

Documents, please!

 

Waiting for the bride

I already had in mind what I was going to post today, but, I met this Fiat 500 yesterday and I couldn't resist to publish it. I am also breaking the rule of one photo... I hope I'll be forgiven!

Italian icons - Fiat 500

A flower kiosk, a red bag and a turquoise Fiat 500 can make a nice shot, don't you think?

Pizza and Nutella

Two people, or one very hungry person must have chosen this spot to have a quick lunch...

Pinocchio again!

..."Once upon a time, there was a piece of wood...."

As we all know, Pinocchio is one of the most famous italian characters, worldwide. I have already posted about Pinocchio twice, see here.

I couldn't miss it, though. This huge Pinocchio stands on the doorstep of a very nice shop of children clothing and seems to be saying 'hello' everytime I pass. In fact, I walk under this portico quite often, it's just attached to the Porta Borsari. 

I am very fond of Pinocchio, I still have my own little one my mummy bought me on a schooltrip to Collodi, almost thirty years ago. My daughter's been playing with it a lot and one wooden arm is gone...

Moka Bialetti

Every italian home has at least one moka. This is the iconic Moka Bialetti for the best coffee at home. It's brand new, I bought it just a few days ago because the old one, for mysterious reasons, didn't work well any more.

You know that I love coffee, and coffee making is a little daily rite. I keep the ground coffee in an Illy tin box on the shelf. I put tap water (no higher than the valve - you can see that bolt on the left of the moka base) and a few teaspoons of coffee powder in the filter, until it's topped and then close the machine very tightly. Fire should not be too strong and the flame should never be bigger than the base of the moka. The photo shows the coffee coming out: just a few seconds before I turn off the fire and the foam comes up. 

Do you have a moka at home?

 

Icons

The FIAT 500 is certainly one of the most popular italian icons, I guess, along with pizza and the Colosseum. Launched in 1957, its production ended in 1975. This one dates back 1966. Nowadays it is considered a little family jewel and it is very popular among the vintage cars amateurs. 

Across the road you can see another popular italian name, Agip, the biggest petrol company. But you can also spot one american icon, the big yellow M...

Pinocchio!

I think Pinocchio is world wide known, isn't he?

Vintage toys shop

This is one of my favourite shops in town. It's a tiny place that sells little antique items, mostly objects. They always have a special selection of toys and they often dedicate their tiny window to this collection. This time I particularly liked it because they displayed in a casual way many different toys of the '900. I am very fond the long nosed wooden marionette Pinocchio, one of the most popular italian kid's stories, written by Carlo Collodi. You can see another italian typical character, the big eared mouse in the middle, he is called Topo Gigio and he became famous in the seventies in a tv programme. Both of them two of my fav toys as a child!

Ham and Mozzarella

I come to this shop almost everyday. It's a tiny "alimentari" that sells fresh products and the average stuff like pasta, biscuits, canned tomatoes, wine...
Although I buy weekly at the supermarket, there is always something I need like fresh milk or some nice prosciutto crudo di Parma (special ham) or other delicious salumi, all shown in the photo. They also have a selection of cheeses from the south of Italy: my favourites are the Mozzarella di Bufala and the Scamorza (sometimes smoked).
I walk in with one item to buy and I tend to get more than that: some bread? Yes, and maybe some fresh salad? Oh yes, there is a little selection of fruits and vegetables so I often pick up some loooovely basilico (basil) for my tomato sauce... And..yes...bananas, they have the best ones! Oooh, and those black olives! Mmmhh... after all, the shop is called "La bottega delle cose buone"!

Pizza!

We often have a pizza in one of the restaurants in Piazza Bra. We like this one because the waiters are so nice and friendly and - of no less importance - the food is actually good.
The square patterned table cloth of the outside tables is quite a cliché of the typical italian trattoria, isn't it. This is our average choice: me, Pizza Bufala with fresh basil and cherry tomatoes; Elena, Pizza Margherita; Filippo, Calzone. Simple and yummy.

How do you like pizza?