ITALIAN mums out there - franca etc

[eastend]

DS is sick, what would a good Italian mum cook for him? First time he is properly sick, I need to cook him something, even if he might not eat it...

I think paracetamol is pretty safe in pg. sorry you are feeling unwell. meno male che domani vedi il gp

Si, e' vero e' pretty safe...comunque ora mi sento meglio e vado a dormire. Buona notte.

med, how are you today?

Hey Franca, I see you are going to be near Bolgheri - I spent my summers au pairing in San Vicenzo, just further down the coast. The family I was working for were friends of the family who live in the castle there - and my god what appalling people!

Do you know the area?

where they "aristocrats"?? . No, I don't know the area very well, we usually go to salina, off the northern coast of sicily. But this time we are going with some friends who'll have a 6 months old baby, therefore salina is a bit too "spartan" for them

sorry, were they aristocrats?

Sorry, was called away. Yes they were, and very odd. No au pair/nanny lasted long. Worst story was when they went to a party 20 mins away, leaving twins aged about 3 alone in the house strapped into bed (I think they used to strap the blankets so they wouldn't fall down, but so tightly that the kids could choose when they went to bed whether to sleep on their backs or fronts (WTF??)).

The girl I knew arrived from England, speaking no Italian, and the next day the parents went away for a 2 week holiday leaving her with 3 kids (aged 3, and baby of 6 months) and housekeeper none of whom spoke any English.

Mad.

! I'm really tempted to ask what their surname was... do you know where were they from?

Indeed. Med, how are you??

This was years ago - kids are late teens now so they did survive, but even at aged 18 they still have christmas cards showing them all in twee matching outfits...

Crap at names (see earlier query about Battisti!), but they were all contessas. tink the main home was near Turin or Milan. My friend made a joke about the royal family once and they were horrified saying how nice they all were and the last time they had Prince Charles to lunch etc etc! This is making me laugh - the more I remember. Remember being there for lunch and they insisted on all talking French during lunch for the children's benefit - but the children didn't understand a word so the showing off failed dismally...not being allowed to walk down the main road to the village in case a peasant tried to actually pat the kids on the head...

I thought this kind of people existed only in the pages of "Chi" magazine! I wonder what they make of Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, who was arrested last year, only a year after being allowed to return to Italy after more that 50 yrs in exile!

med, I'm concerned now!

Hello, here I am! Had an early miscarriage on Sunday night!!!! So that's why the sticks were negative! Glad I finally got an answer. Don't feel too down about it for the moment, glad it happened fairly on anyway and before we started painting the nursery . It must be horrible when it happens to women who don't have children yet. We are off to Paris at the weekend without ds, secretly pleased I can drink.

Aww... mi dispiace, med, but it does explain the weird tests I suppose. Glad you're having some nice time away with your dh (or dp), anyway. Sending you ((((un abbraccio))))

Ciao Med mi dispiace tanto Grande abbracci da qui e Buon divertimento a Parigi....

Oh Med! Mi dispiace cosi' tanto! Lots of virtual hugs from me too.
How exciting a weekend in Paris! You deserve a romantic dinner, with lots of champagne . Ah Parigi!

I'm sorry to hear your news Med.

Have a lovely time in Paris

The weather is pretty cold in Paris as well, so we will only be able to sit in restaurants, bars, museums, more bars, other restaurants, maybe a cinema....I will try to have fun....
To be honest I feel terribly relieved to get a conclusion to this saga, and don;t feel as upset as I thought I would. Not knowing what was happening was getting a bit stressfull.
Quando torna il caldo? Qui c'e' un vento quasi siberiano.

Vento ..tell me about it the colombi were surfing on the waves down the grand canal today. Foul weather and the temps are due to stay low until the end of the week I think its pretty much all of Europe. Well good excuse to have the odd hot chocolate laced with Brandy in Paris.

I know what you mean med, the incertezza is actually quite bad... and paris being so romantic etc, you never know . I love Paris cinemas, especially the d'essai...

I heard through the grapevine that somebody is going to San Francisco con il dh senza bambini! Disgraziata! How can you call yourself an Italian mother and leave your pargoletti behind!! Vergogna!

(have to say that I feel moderately guilty... and have to fight with my anxiety).
so, tell me, what are you planning to do in Paris? If it's a sunny day make sure to go for a stroll to jardens de luxembourg (not sure about the spelling), it's beautiful... you can sit down and read the papers!
have you already been to the centre du monde arabe? It's an impressive building, you can go on the roof... oh I love paris!

yes, i have been to the centre du monde arabe, pre-ds of course. Lots of strolling really. Ho vissuto a Parigi per un anno molti molti anni fa - mi sono sempre pentita di essere tornata a Londra.
Non sentirti in colpa, anche le mamme devono divertirsi.