Scribble Shiva

I was ecstatic!, the day started, as usual, toast as breakfast, leftover as lunch, and vending machine coffee; in a couple of days we were going to return to India and so it was time for us to shop souvenirs and chocolates. But what excited me most was the restaurants, and for the noblest reason - food. Gli Orsi is the mall of Biella; there are spots in town like Via Italia, and the complex housing Esselunga, then there is also a Saturday market - where we can go and buy many different things in one place, but malls always offer a different experience. Gli Ori has exclusive outlets for chocolates, shoes, electronics, bags, and more, but we usually buy chocolates from Coop, a supermarket similar to Esselunga but offers more discounts. My first dining experience in Italy was at a place that doesn't serve Italian food but western food. I'm from India, Italy is my west 😄but to Italians - America is west, I understood this as soon as we spotted the restaurant. The place was decorat...

There is a tradition in Itay that I found out trying to meet a girl, ok, don't get any ideas. She is pretty I don't deny, but she friendzoned our entire group as soon as we met, no we didn't hit on her, that's how she introduced herself. "Enough of girl" I hear you say, but she introduced me to this awesome thing and how can I not write about the background? We shared the same workplace and that was the reason she came forward and spoke to us on our journey towards Florence, our chatty train journey stopped at Milan and we went our separate ways.  About three months pass and I go to Biella again (possibly for last time, thanks COVID). I have no reason to contact her, but if you are working for the same employer in a small town, chances are you cross paths, and we did so during the last week of my stay. She was unhappy that I didn't let her know I am in town, anyway invited me to a party scheduled for Friday night. But my flight was already scheduled to lea...

Lunch is considered the biggest/proper meal of the day in Italy, as I have already mentioned , a cup of coffee and a bun is all you get as breakfast in Italy (However, this is stereotypical and mythical as I have mentioned in the same write-up, I'm going to still use the myth to boost my biggest meal theory). Most of my Italian colleagues preferred to eat outside, this makes me believe that Italians has a strong culture of eating lunch outside. So many restaurants in such a small town of Biella adds substance to my theory.  We have a small canteen and also on/off lunch only food truck inside our office, in-spite of this there are 6 restaurants within walking distance from our entrance, serving Japanese sushi, Mexican empanadas, Substandard grab and go pizza. And my favourite La Locanda (fondly known to us as Thatha Kadai )- the pasta land that I love  😋  and the old man's warm welcome will be with me for life. These are mostly for people who walk or use pu...

Breakfast is the first meal of the day and it will help you power through the day, don't skip it. Or at least that is what is widely told and believed, and now I realize this is a very strange way to open, yet I did and I'm going to carry on with it. If I have not made myself clear yet, I have been to Italy and I tried to learn their lifestyle and this is my documentation. Spread across three years, I spent a total of 3 months there, enough time to know enough but not all, and it is worth mentioning that I spent all my time in North Italy, after all, I didn't go there for vacation; since my office is headquartered in Piedmont region I stayed there and spent above 95% time there. Oh, I forgot about breakfast! During my first time my manager took me out for breakfast and it was a cup of coffee and brioche. What is brioche you ask, it is a croissant, sometimes bigger, sometimes flavoured, sometimes stuffed; but yeah that is what all you get in the morning, not once I saw ...

To say, "Espresso runs through the veins of Italians" is an understatement. Regarding hot drink espresso is the first choice; it is part of breakfast and afternoon break. Espresso  Let's start with the basic, the espresso. Caffe espresso is the most regular drink, it is synonym to Caffe; when in Italy, it is enough to say Caffe to order an espresso - I guess it is called espresso because it can be finished swiftly like an express.  It is undiluted decoction that comes out when hot water is forced through coffee power, voila! add sugar as much as you prefer and sip it once and relish; don't go for the second sip, it won't be there ;) such small cup and low content. If you want a long hard punch, go for Caffe Lungo - espresso but more content. Cappuccino  My friend cappuccino, 1/3 espresso 1/3 milk 1/3 foam. That is the standard definition of Cappuccino, and it was my go-to drink in Italy. It is very usual to find people having espresso and brioche as t...

Dear Reader, I have been longing to do this for a long time now, I haven't been to many countries. Let's be straight I haven't been to any country except Italy, maybe Dubai if you are willing to consider DXB waiting area as one. Being an Indian from the middle of the middle class it is in my DNA to not fly unless some other person pays for the ticket. It is my office, they paid for tickets to Italy; since our head office is in Biella (100 Km from Milan). I have not written anything for a long time, I have not written anything light for a very long time. I think it is time to chill, to remember good times and joy. Life can be brutal, but light moments keep us going; I don't want to brag about my Italy time, but I just want to share it with anyone interested to listen. This post is sort of teaser, I will have all post related to this series linked and this will be the start of the chain. I went there for work, but when I have spare time and spare money I travelled t...