April Revisited

I'm not even going to make excuses. I was away but now I'm back since the weather is once more encouraging more activities of the indoor variety.

Let's see, I believe we left off right around discussing the progress of our apartment and the upcoming vacations we were excited about. Yes, we finally got that bed that we had so anticipated. We were practically owing IKEA rent by the time May ended since we went almost every weekend to pick up something we missed or couldn't carry home with us the last time. Next thing you know, our apartment was finally 'finished' in June when we bought our last light fixture to add to the living room and had some of our photography made into large format canvases. I'll include pictures with the next posting as this one already has enough photos as it is.

Spring in Hannover couldn't have put people into a better mood, what with all the flowers doing their annual Vegas-showgirl thing and every store display decorated to the nines with either chocolate rabbits or flowers. The girls in town naturally felt compelled to get into the act by putting on their best spring outfits and parading about town like they just climbed out of an Easter-egg dye kit. To fit in, I eschewed purchasing pastel colored clothes and instead bought myself a paradox-combo of a rain jacket and a cheap 200 Euro two-wheeler -- now called my i-Bike after I ripped off the original non-brand stickers and slapped some Apple product stickers onto it -- that could get me around town in the warmer weather.  At any rate, this native L.A. girl who never thought she would bike any further than her nearest Trader Joe's store, let alone through an inner-city forest for twenty minutes to get to school, is now biking daily and actually enjoying it--when the weather isn't wet and doesn't dip below 50º F that is.

At this time I was busy with my language class four days a week while Mario worked his five days in Braunschweig. But in the middle of April, Mario and I finally detoured out of our weekly grind to fly to Nice, France, to visit our good friend Christina. Christina is that blond girl you saw in my December blog right around Christmas, she had that kick-ass job teaching English in France?
Yeah, that one. We visited her as her teaching contract ended and her lease with her apartment was just about up so that she'd have more time to spend with us.

Our ten days disappeared faster than Parisians at a wine-less party. During our time in Nice we discovered the greatest transplants from Greece and Algeria as well as enjoyed all the local attractions and great atmosphere. The people in Nice are as warm as the weather and the city embodied its location--a French seaside maiden leaning so close to her once ruling Italian partner that you can feel his earthy breath in every bit of architecture and landscape.
A seductive combination to say the least.

The last three days of our trip was spent in the fashion capital of Milan, Italy, visiting Miss Paola Pandolfi. We had an amazing time getting to know Paola's parents as we first arrived that Friday in the afternoon since Paola was still working. Although they speak little English, Signor and Signora Pandolfi lavished us with the world renowned Italian hospitality that you can only dream about after watching one too many Italian movies. To give you an idea, Mario and I, upon our arrival to Casa di Pandolfi, were each promptly given a home-made espresso followed by a thorough tour of the premises. "This is where our Paola likes to sun herself!" We were ushered to sit in two of the home's most comfortable chairs with a strategically-placed ambient-lit view of a New York skyline painting hanging in the living room while Paola's mom handed us a home-made jar of her own sweet-spicy hot sauce since Paola's dad explained that he "like to eat-a piccante!" We were then whisked away to get a tour of the Galleria and Duomo in Milan's city center and meet Paola on her way home from work. That evening, Paola's mom cooked us a super dinner of spaghetti, roasted veal, and an egg and spinach pie. We topped off the meal by devouring one of the biggest Pannetone breads I've ever seen. The next morning, before we did our whirlwind day in the city, Paola's mom brought out an Italian pastry/pie for breakfast in celebration of Mario's birthday. Certainly our getting the royal treatment at Paola's home was definitely the favorite part of our Milan chapter. Paola, it was also nice to see you. ;)

Mario and I can't wait to share some more of our warm weather adventures in the next installment. For this entry there are accompanying videos of a Hannover basketball game we saw with a charming homage to American cheerleading, our Nice Easter Egg hunt with our new Algerian friends who got the idea a little too quickly, excerpts of how we spent the evenings with the people in Nice, and even a cat that plays fetch all on my YouTube page.

Different types of Magnolia trees on the street and at the Seelhorst cemetary in bloom, the Hannover fleamarket, the Teestube with it's cozy vintage atmosphere and amazing tea selections, and Aegidientorplatz--the area we live in--in spring.

A hot chocolate 'mit Schuss,' meaning a shot of alcohol, as part of our delectable breakfast at the Hollandischer Kakaostube.

The first place I saw scrambled eggs and ham on the menu in Hannover.

Normally though, the Hollandisher Kakaostube specializes in lavish desserts, pastries, and chocolates. This and the Teestube are my Extraordinary Desserts away from home.

They take their Easter offerings seriously here in Germany! Stores battle each other with lavish munitions of chocolate.

Chocolate bunnies standing at the Easter warfront...

chocolate egg bombs...

and an assembly of beautifully hand-decorated chocolate eggs ready to be put into action!

The nice weather induced a lot of grilling.

In the Lau family garden

Of course we had to have a sausage of some sort!

Our little flight to Brussels, Belgium on our way to Nice, France was practically empty.

Having our first feast of Nice seafood after we touched down and met up with Christina.

Thrilled to be there.

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Mario first took this shot because the champagne reminded him of Marylouise but then I kept this pic for the blog because of the weird ad with the Chinese Man text underneath. wtf?!

Beautiful rustic charm around every corner.

Crazy church in the heart of the downtown part of Nice.

Does anybody know the significance for this crucifixed random arm with a leather jacket sticking out of the wall?

Totally stoked about all the macaroons I'm going to eat.

Speak of the devil...!

Amazing looking bakery with a glow that looks exactly like the one they captured in the Ratatouille film.

Holy Macaroon!

The cheese selection at the local Monoprix. Priorities people!

Biggest rosé section I've ever seen.

Yay new friends!

Some of the best cheeses we selected from Monoprix. Stinky goooood!

Easter Sunday mass at the Notre-Dame de Nice, my first!

Nice's harbor.

A moment between good friends.

Nice at sunset.

Place Masséna at night.

Sushi Shop sushi

Foie gras sushi with a vanilla cookie crumble--heaven on rice! But it still doesn't beat fresh uni.

At the top of Eze, overlooking into their famous hotel's gardens.

Chapelle de la Sainte Croix, oldest building in Eze and where they once cared for plague victims.

Yet another arm with a crucifix coming out of nowhere.

View from the top of Eze.

Apple cider and calvados crepes. Good combo Sweeto!

Banana Nutella for me, please!

You can see why Walt Disney spent a lot of time in this little village.

People here drink water from the mouths of cherubs

Charm overload!

A little time at the beach before the clouds move in again.

Croque Monsieur and more apple cider while people watching on the main drag.

Monaco

A sassy little tourist Mario spotted.

Where the locals hand each other Grey Poupon from yacht to yacht.

The perfectly manicured alleyways in Monaco.

Do these alleyways make me look fat?

The oceanographic museum. The sea life facade detailing of the architecture is insane!

Inside the Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco

Grace Kelly, everybody's beloved

Cutest "Not allowed" sign I've ever seen.

Monaco's courthouse

The Casino Monte Carlo

Last night in Nice found us in a little English pub that my favorite band of all time also visited.

Ventimiglia, the quaint little layover town everybody going along the coast by train needs to stop in on the way from France to Italy. Best caprese paninis we've ever had!

Tiling in the Milan Cathedral, aka the Duomo.

The tour de force himself, Paola's dad, giving us a tour of the Duomo.

This infamous sculpture of Saint Bartolomeo in the Duomo is even more impressive in person. The details of his skin draped over his shoulder are pretty crazy.

The patron saint of tanners, Saint Bartholomew was skinned alive and beheaded. Does that mean he's also the patron saint of purses and shoes?

The poor bull in the Galleria has had his manhood stepped on repeatedly. Tourists and locals alike stop and do a spin on his balls for luck before going on their way.

Mario having a go.

Sumptuous feast prepared by Paola's mama. Veal, spinach pie, spaghetti and rolls.

For dessert, a massive panettone being sawed apart by Signor Pandolfi.

Paola's mom in her element.

Mario's birthday found us visiting the famous San Siro Stadium.

Mario fulfilling his dream of being a spectator. One day Baby!

Mario in Gattuso's chair.

Paola giving the lucky AC Milan team logo a little loving.

Crazy money from Berlusconi means each AC Milan player gets his own locker/cubby with leather racing car chair as well as television mounted above playing footage of only that particular player. Bunga bunga indeed!

Mario enjoying a traditional Naples style pizza.

Me enjoying something a little more exotic--hello, if there's lobster on the menu...

Walking off our meal on the way to the city center.

A myriad of tempting confections beckon from a store window.

Little marzipan fruits glistening like jewels, too pretty to eat.

Statue in front of the cathedral.

The Milan Cathedral from the outside.

Still walking off our lunch.

Parco Sempione. Check out the procession of bikers with balloons riding by.

Having a refresher at the Campari sponsored Triennale di Milano art museum.

The Asian space-agey decor in the gardens.

Castello Sforzesco

Finally ready for dessert, we experience the popular Grom gelateria and find out why the lines are always so long.

Although everything was phenomenal, it was the best pistachio gelato I have ever tasted. The flavor was all natural, intense and there were little bits of pistachio throughout.

The historic La Scala Theater.

Boxed seats near the front for Mario's surprise b-day gift! I wonder why the other two people who were supposed to sit in front of us in the boxed seats never showed up...

...oh that's why. Although the stage set of the opera is pretty outstanding, the opera consisted of just these two people in this set the entire time singing in depressing tones while the orchestra played noises.

Don't do it Esther! There are better ways to remedy a bad opera! For example heading out to a traditional Milanese meal of osso buco and wine to end your Milan weekend. And that's exactly what we did.