Pasqua

Today our Easter break wraps-up. It has been for the most part a pretty laid-back couple of days sprinkled with fun moments, celebrations and activities. We celebrated Luigi's birthday with friends, watched the big Carpi-Modena derby (they tied 2-2), and went to the movie theater. I also played in a derby with Virtus Cibeno against their fierce rivals San Marino. We dominated the game and ended up winning 1-0, which moved us into 1st place in the division.

Serenading Luigi at dinner

Luigi's birthday dinner

At the theater

Me at the stadium and a video taken by Antonella at home

After our derby victory

Easter in Italy, similar to Christmas, is celebrated in a much less commercial way than in the US. There is no decorating of eggs, Easter egg hunt, or even the Easter Bunny. Instead Easter in Italy focuses on the religious aspect and spending time with family. Cate and Luigi went to a midnight mass Saturday night, which is a pretty common thing to do, and the whole family had a big Easter lunch with Nonno Cesare and Nonna Laura. It consisted of pasta al forno (similar to baked ziti) and turkey cutlets, which was then followed by a typical dessert called Colomba and l’uova di Pasqua. Colomba is a cake filled with candied fruit, topped with sugar and almonds, and shaped into a dove (Colomba in Italian). L’uova di Pasqua on the other hand are just giant, hollow, chocolate Easter eggs that are ideally bought for every child in the family.

Colomba

Though we had a great Easter meal, the highlight of the break was our trip to Lago di Garda yesterday. We left after lunch to meet up with some friends in a beautiful lakeside town called Riva del Garda. The town is located on the Northwest corner of the lake and city center is picturesquely placed along the water. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t ideal and we had to deal with some on and off showers all day. We spent most of the afternoon walking around the town with our friends (the same friends that we visited in Rome at the end of November) and capped it off with a big pizza dinner. It was a great day trip and I hope to visit again when it’s a little bit warmer!

The main square

 

All of the kids

Taking a walk along the water

a chocolate and strawberry treat