{"id":2090,"date":"2019-08-01T14:49:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T12:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/?p=2090"},"modified":"2025-03-26T23:14:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T21:14:27","slug":"my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/","title":{"rendered":"My Life in Italy, Part 5: \u201cIf feathers are floating, It\u2019s chicken for dinner\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 9<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"366\" data-attachment-id=\"2107\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/attachment\/my-life-in-italy-part-5\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5.png\" data-orig-size=\"1400,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"My Life in Italy, Part 5\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-1024x366.png\" class=\"wp-image-2107\" src=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-1024x366.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-1024x366.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-300x107.png 300w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-768x274.png 768w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-1240x443.png 1240w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-860x307.png 860w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-680x243.png 680w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-500x179.png 500w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-400x143.png 400w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-250x89.png 250w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-200x71.png 200w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-100x36.png 100w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-76x27.png 76w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5-50x18.png 50w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5.png 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I left off on in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-4-death-comes-to-those-that-swim-after-lunch\/\">Part 4 <\/a>on my second full day in Italy. If I keep going at this rate, there will be roughly 5,000 parts to this series, so in Part 5, I will focus on some of the events of the next 8 days, then I will move on to the rest of the trip in Part 6. If you are just jumping in here, please <a href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-1\/\">start from the beginning with Part 1<\/a>. It will make all the difference in the world!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/#The_Daily_Grind\" >The Daily Grind<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/#About_the_UHT_Milk\" >About the UHT Milk<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/#La_Flora\" >La Flora<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/#The_Circle\" >The Circle<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/#If_feathers_are_floating_Its_chicken_for_dinner\" >If feathers are floating, It\u2019s chicken for dinner<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/#The_Wedding_Invitation\" >The Wedding Invitation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/#The_Malocchio\" >The Malocchio<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/#The_Verdict\" >The Verdict<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/#The_Takeaway_All_Good_Things_Must_Come_to_an_End\" >(The Takeaway) All Good Things Must Come to an End<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/#Until_then_please_leave_your_comments_observations_criticisms_and_thoughts_in_the_comments_section_below\" >Until then, please leave your comments, observations, criticisms, and thoughts in the comments section below.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Daily_Grind\"><\/span>The Daily Grind<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What I have written so far is pretty much the daily grind during my trip in Gioiosa Ionica. Wake up in the morning, grab my bucket, fill it, go to the bathroom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\r\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1827\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-2-where-are-the-walls-and-how-do-i-flush\/attachment\/goat\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1600,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"goat\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-1827\" src=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"153\" height=\"115\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-1240x930.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-860x645.jpg 860w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-680x510.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-250x188.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-100x75.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-76x57.jpg 76w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat-50x38.jpg 50w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/goat.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 153px) 100vw, 153px\" \/><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Proceed to have coffee, trying to avoid that disgusting UHT milk, move Mr. Goat out of my way, a tip of the hat to Mrs. Chicken, get my bucket for my shower, hit the beach, build deeper friendships, have a ridiculously huge lunch prepared by Nonna, make her cry yet again, rest, hit the beach, fear for my life when dinner time came, more Nonna tears&#8230; rinse and repeat. <strong>But then there were all sorts of in-between moments that have burned into my memory my entire life.<\/strong> I&#8217;ll try to fit them into this post!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"About_the_UHT_Milk\"><\/span>About the UHT Milk<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remember when I described how awful it was? I mean, it was utterly dog vomit bad, ok? There should be laws against murdering coffee with that crap! But I was in Italy, and <em>I really, really wanted a real Cappuccino<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" data-attachment-id=\"2100\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/attachment\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-mbw6tj2-1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-1024x512.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-2100\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-860x430.jpg 860w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-680x340.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-500x250.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-400x200.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-250x125.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-200x100.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-100x50.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-76x38.jpg 76w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/barista-making-classic-cappuccino-MBW6TJ2-1-50x25.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/>\r\n<figcaption>All I wanted was a cappuccino \ud83d\ude41<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So Rocco and I would stop off at coffee bars when we would go into town, and each time, I would order a cappuccino. But every time I did, I got the UHT crap. Everywhere we went, there it was. Don&#8217;t they have cows here? I even tried to go to the grocery stores to get some real milk to bring home. <strong>Heaven forbid!<\/strong> Racks full of UHT Milk in a box, but no <em>actual<\/em> milk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I may never know why this was the case at the time, but I promise when I write &#8220;The Takeaway&#8221; in this post, there will be no alternate perspective that makes the UHT look good in a different light. Simply put, the stuff just sucked. Maybe they had some powerful UHT Lobbyists in the area, or a Milk Mafia, but&#8230; argh!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\r\n<p>&#8220;Hey Mike, you know, I&#8217;ve been noticing you&#8217;ve been having a lot of problems lately, you know?<br \/>Rocco, just get me a Cappuccino, please? All I want&#8217;s a Cappuccino&#8221;<br \/>And he wouldn&#8217;t give it to me<br \/>All I wanted was a Cappuccino<br \/>Just one Cappuccino<br \/>And he wouldn&#8217;t give it to me<br \/>Just a Cappuccino!<\/p>\r\n<cite>Lyrics tothe tune of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LoF_a0-7xVQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Institutionalized<\/a>&#8221; by Suicidal Tendencies adapted in my head at the time<\/cite><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\r\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2101\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/attachment\/suicidal\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"770,513\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"suicidal\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-2101\" src=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"213\" height=\"142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal.jpg 770w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal-680x453.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal-400x266.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal-100x67.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal-76x51.jpg 76w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/suicidal-50x33.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 213px) 100vw, 213px\" \/><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are going Huh? Don&#8217;t worry. I used to be into Hardcore Punk. If you get it, well&#8230; you can totally hear that playing in my head! If not, nevermind and read on. Just know I <strong>really<\/strong> wanted a cappuccino!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"La_Flora\"><\/span>La Flora<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Up to now, it seems like we are doing the same old thing every day. But Gioiosa Ionica was a beach town, and it was full of Italian tourists. So it was very common that after dinner, we would all go out for the night to various places. One of these was called &#8220;La Flora.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" data-attachment-id=\"2102\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/attachment\/flora\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2048,1365\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"flora\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-2102\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-1680x1120.jpg 1680w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-1240x826.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-860x573.jpg 860w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-680x453.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-100x67.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-76x51.jpg 76w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flora-50x33.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was one of several &#8220;Discoteche.&#8221; Yes, even in 1983, I am thinking &#8220;Disco?&#8221; But this was just the coolest place! I don&#8217;t think I have ever been to another club before or since that was this amazing. Fully outdoors, right on the beach, and a very <em>in<\/em> scene.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The music. Well, Italian club music wasn&#8217;t quite what we were used to in L.A. A few songs completely stuck in my head, and I am not going to allow you to continue reading this post without suffering along with me:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\r\n<div>\r\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sTsVJ1PsnMs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption>Vamos a la playa by Righeira<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">and<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-auAc308G88?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption>Camel by Camel by Sandy Marton<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You may have heard Vamos a la Playa, but Sandy Marton, well&#8230; he was from Croatia, and his career never made it outside of Italy. Nonetheless, I can&#8217;t think of La Flora without Camel by Camel playing in my head! And now I have infected you, as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Can I give you one more? No? Tough, you are getting it anyway. Because this stuck so much in my head that I had Rocco take me to a store so I could buy a tape of it. Yes, a <em>cassette<\/em> tape. I learned all of the words, although I had no idea what he was singing (except for the parts in which he is trying to form sentences in English). I strongly urge you to watch the video below. It&#8217;s a blast, especially when he tries to form lyrics in English!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/M7V578LR4KE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption>Cuccuruccucc\u00f9 by Franco Battiato<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Once upon a time, you dressed so fine. Mary. Like <strong>just<\/strong> a woman. Like a rolling stock!<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The song Cuccuruccucc\u00f9 became something of an anthem of the trip when I finally got back home to the States. Not only did I play it over and over and over, but all of my L.A. friends learned to sing it, too! And just this year I got to sing it during a Karaoke party on one of our <a href=\"\/vacation\/northern-italy-cooking-vacation-bologna-venice\">cooking tours in Bologna<\/a>. <strong>Why did nobody take a video of THAT???<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Update: On May 18, 2021, Franco Battiato passed away in Sicily following a neurodegenerative disease. I didn&#8217;t know back in the 80&#8217;s, but he was called &#8220;The Master,&#8221; as one of the most iconic and innovative musicians in Italy.\u00a0 I would consider him like Italy&#8217;s David Bowie.\u00a0 I listened to his music for years, and news of his death greatly saddened me!\u00a0 If you would like to hear more of his music, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/4lianjyuR1tqf6oUX8kjrZ?si=7HTuZYS6RruCCYABhZuDFg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">check him out on Spotify here<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Circle\"><\/span><strong>The Circle<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We really spent a lot of time at the beach, and that bar where I had my first granita became our stomping grounds. But it was really the place to be. If we were at the beach and wanted a drink, we ran over there. We wanted a break, that was the place. The same went for much of Rocco&#8217;s family and friends. This was a &#8220;friendly&#8221; establishment. A place in which my folded-up protection letter was not needed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there was this one day. Rocco and I head to the bar from the beach. Dripping wet and tired, we walk over to get a granita. The bar has a very large outdoor terrace area, and we see Big Rocco.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There he is, wearing shorts and his pre-requisite wife-beater. He is sitting in a chair that formed part of a circle. Most of the people in the circle were very well-dressed. People I hadn&#8217;t seen or met. And Big Rocco was essentially at the center of this group. Big Rocco and Little Rocco exchanged some words in Italian, and we went over to get our granita.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let me be clear. These people surrounding Big Rocco were all well-dressed and appeared quite distinguished. It was an odd scene, given Big Rocco&#8217;s dirty wife-beater and shorts&#8230; and him being at the center&#8230;<strong> head of the table style<\/strong>. And if Big Rocco wanted a drink, he kinda snapped his fingers, and one of these people ran and got it for him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Huh. I&#8217;ll not forget this scene, and I&#8217;m not going to ask any questions. Better not to know some things, Michael. Best to just move on. Yeah, Michael&#8230; move on. After all, that is the guy that wrote my protection letter, <em>right?<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"If_feathers_are_floating_Its_chicken_for_dinner\"><\/span>If feathers are floating, It\u2019s chicken for dinner<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here we are. The moment of truth. One evening we had gone back to Nonna&#8217;s for dinner. I get to the gate and start walking to the building, and suddenly everything started in slow motion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Michael: &#8220;Hello Mr. Goat&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>A feather floats into my face, and I look around.<br \/>There are lots of feathers. Some floating in the air.<br \/><strong>Michael: &#8220;Hey Rock, what&#8217;s for dinner?&#8221;<\/strong><br \/><strong>Rocco: &#8220;Chicken.&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>I look around the garden.<strong> &#8220;Mrs. Chicken?&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>I know what is going on, but I couldn&#8217;t help look for Mrs. Chicken.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oh. My. God. Mrs. Chicken is dinner! But the chicken we eat comes from the supermarket in a neatly wrapped package that is cleverly designed to assure we are not reminded that chicken is an actual <strong>chicken<\/strong>. How am I to eat a chicken that I know. That I <em>knew<\/em>. How will I fight my gag reflex as I take a bite out of Mrs. Chicken? And if I fail, I have the threat of Nonna&#8217;s tears.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>I am in an impossible position. One from which there is no escape.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\r\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2103\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/attachment\/rip\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/rip.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"320,400\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rip\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/rip.jpeg\" class=\"wp-image-2103\" src=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/rip.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"82\" height=\"103\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/rip.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/rip-240x300.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/rip-250x313.jpeg 250w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/rip-200x250.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/rip-100x125.jpeg 100w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/rip-76x95.jpeg 76w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/rip-50x63.jpeg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 82px) 100vw, 82px\" \/><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it turns out that fresh chicken is <strong>really<\/strong> good! That&#8217;s right, I ate Mrs. Chicken. And I&#8217;d do it again! <em>Can<\/em> I do it again? Please? On the downside, supermarket chicken never tasted the same.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;ll be honest, in the days that followed, I missed Mrs. Chicken&#8217;s little clucking sounds and her pecking around here and there. She was good company. But the flavor was enough to satisfy me that I rationalized that she had met an honorable death.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\r\n<p>Can we all have a moment of silence to honor Mrs. Chicken?<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Wedding_Invitation\"><\/span>The Wedding Invitation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On yet another day, Big Rocco comes home and tells us we are going to a wedding. We?.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Michael: <\/strong>&#8220;Who is getting married?&#8221; <br \/><strong>Big Rocco: <\/strong>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know&#8230; what a shit?&#8221;<br \/><strong>Michael: <\/strong>&#8220;So someone you don&#8217;t know has invited you <em>and me<\/em> to their wedding?:<br \/><strong>Big Rocco:<\/strong> &#8220;Yeah, that&#8217;s how it is. Someone&#8217;s gettin married, everyone goes. What a shit!&#8221;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I wish I could tell a wonderful story about the wedding. But my wardrobe was more about the beach, and I had no way of suiting up. Neither did Little Rocco. And if you are 17, and you are presented with an option to hang out at the beach with friends, or go to a wedding with 300+ people, well&#8230; you cannot help but make the wrong choice. So Little Rocco convinced his Big Rocco that we shouldn&#8217;t go. Big Rocco&#8217;s reaction was surely something to the effect of &#8220;What a shit?&#8221; Nonetheless, I am certain that I missed out on what would have been another of the most amazing experiences of my life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Malocchio\"><\/span>The Malocchio<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Part 3, I talked about the witch, and how I needed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-3-scratch-your-balls-13-times-and-never-make-eye-contact-with-the-witch\/\">scratch my balls 13 times and never make eye contact with her<\/a>. If I didn&#8217;t follow these rules, she would give me the Malocchio (Evil Eye). Sadly, at some point during my trip, it was presumed by Nonna I may have fallen victim to the Malocchio.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One day after lunch, she suddenly suspected that I had it cast on me. I have no idea why she believed this, but thank heavens, there is both a test and a cure for Malocchio, and she had the procedure handed down to her for generations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1040\" height=\"576\" data-attachment-id=\"2105\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-5-if-feathers-are-floating-its-chicken-for-dinner\/attachment\/malocchio\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1040,576\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"malocchio\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-1024x567.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-2105\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio.jpg?fit=1024%2C567&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio.jpg 1040w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-768x425.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-1024x567.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-860x476.jpg 860w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-680x377.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-500x277.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-400x222.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-250x138.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-200x111.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-100x55.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-76x42.jpg 76w, https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/malocchio-50x28.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1040px) 100vw, 1040px\" \/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As I sat in her kitchen she got out a bowl. She is going to get proof positive of my Malocchio status. She pours a little water in the bowl. Then some herbs around the side, and finally pours just a tad of oil in it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trust me, I am thinking what you are thinking. But I have to just roll with this, right?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Michael:<\/strong> &#8220;Rocco, can you fill me in here?&#8221;<br \/><strong>Rocco: <\/strong>&#8220;Well Mikey, if the oil forms a circle, you have the Malocchio, and she needs to cure you. If it breaks apart, you have been spared, and all is good.&#8221;<br \/><strong>Michael:<\/strong> &#8221; &#8216;K &#8220;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Verdict\"><\/span>The Verdict<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The oil formed a circle. At some point, I had received the Evil Eye! We need to deal with this, so Nonna proceeded to dip her thumb into the oil in the bowl while incanting a prayer in Calabrese dialect (so I was told), and then did the sign of the cross on my forehead with the oily thumb. <strong>I was cured.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But how did I get the Malocchio? I mean, I have been scratching those balls raw! But apparently, that was not enough. It was explained to me that anyone may have given it to me, and I may have even had it for years. It was presumed that since my brother, father, and several aunts and uncles had died within a very short period over the past couple years, it might just be that someone in L.A. gave it to me! Furthermore, the Malocchio was most commonly cast on people out of envy or jealousy. In L.A. I was a rich kid with a Porsche. In Calabria, I was American, and therefore rich by association. <em>I was bound to get the Malocchio, after all.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But now I was cured, and all would be good. Now, in hindsight, I would think we would perform the test again to make sure the cure worked, but I suppose this was an infallible cure since it was just known that the Malocchio had been removed from me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Takeaway_All_Good_Things_Must_Come_to_an_End\"><\/span>(The Takeaway) All Good Things Must Come to an End<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My time in Gioiosa was limited, but I could have stayed there all summer. I felt at home and could write stories about that trip to fill hundreds of blog posts, but I have so much more beyond Gioiosa Ionica to talk about. I mean, I m only on my first 10 days here, and I have 37 years to write about!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My mother and her boyfriend had been doing whatever they had been doing in Italy while I was there, but they finally showed up in Gioiosa for a couple of days. It was now time to leave.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I know I promised I would have something good to say about that UHT milk in the takeaway, and here we are. Sorry, I&#8217;ve got nothing. That stuff was just pure nasty!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But&#8230;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A week and a half earlier, I was visiting a friend before my trip to Italy would truly begin, and I couldn&#8217;t wait to visit all of Italy&#8217;s bucket list destinations! That has now completely changed. Now I have a family and friends right here! I have Mr. Goat, and I haven&#8217;t had enough time to mourn the loss of Mrs. Chicken. Nonna had become my Nonna. Uncle Peppe, quiet as can be, had become that warm an friendly face I had looked forward to. Big Rocco was now so much more than Little Rocco&#8217;s Dad. He was someone that had accepted me into his family. All of my new friends. Enzo&#8230; Dom&#8230; How do I leave this? I am no longer looking forward to the bucket-list sights of Italy. <strong>I wanna stay here<\/strong>, where I am Michael Jackson!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, the rest of Italy awaits, and there are two more weeks left in my trip. We are headed for the Amalfi Coast, and Little Rocco is gonna come with us. He had never been. That&#8217;ll be fun. More beach, I guess.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hugs and tears went all around as we were saying our goodbyes. My mom was especially perplexed! <strong>&#8220;This is not the Michael I know.&#8221;<\/strong> <em>Oh what little you knew, mom!<\/em> As we left Gioiosa, there was a weight on my heart. Somehow this place felt more like home to me than home did. I didn&#8217;t know what the feeling was yet, <strong>but in hindsight, I had become addicted to Italian life.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ready for Part 6?<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/personal\/my-life-in-italy-part-6-amalfi-rome-a-two-horse-town-called-soriano\/\">Head on over to &#8220;<strong>Amalfi, Rome &amp; A Two Horse Town Called Soriano<\/strong>.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Until_then_please_leave_your_comments_observations_criticisms_and_thoughts_in_the_comments_section_below\"><\/span>Until then, please leave your comments, observations, criticisms, and thoughts in the comments section below.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\r\n\n\n<div class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-auto kksr-align-left kksr-valign-bottom\"\n    data-payload='{&quot;align&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;2090&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;valign&quot;:&quot;bottom&quot;,&quot;ignore&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;reference&quot;:&quot;auto&quot;,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;count&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;legendonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;readonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;starsonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;best&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;gap&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;greet&quot;:&quot;Rate this post&quot;,&quot;legend&quot;:&quot;5\\\/5 - (8 votes)&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;My Life in Italy, Part 5: \u201cIf feathers are floating, It\u2019s chicken for dinner\u201d&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;142.5&quot;,&quot;_legend&quot;:&quot;{score}\\\/{best} - ({count} {votes})&quot;,&quot;font_factor&quot;:&quot;1.25&quot;}'>\n            \n<div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 142.5px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                \n\n<div class=\"kksr-legend\" style=\"font-size: 19.2px;\">\n            5\/5 - (8 votes)    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So I left off on in Part 4 on my second full day in Italy. If I keep going at this rate, there will be roughly 5,000 parts to this series, so in Part 5, I will focus on some of the events of the next 8 days, then I will move on to the rest of the trip in Part 6. If you are just jumping in here, please start from the beginning with Part 1. It will make all the difference in the world! The Daily Grind What I have written so far is pretty much the daily [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"My Life in Italy, Part 5: \u201cIf feathers are floating, It\u2019s chicken for dinner\u201d - The fifth part in my series of blog post chronicling a 37 year journey with one foot in Italy and the other in the USA... And how it changed my life forever.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1094],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/My-Life-in-Italy-Part-5.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2090"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2985,"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090\/revisions\/2985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.culturediscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}