the Royal Cocktail Club begins...

It took a while before I noticed that this glamour-less life in Spoleto was getting to me. After sharing this revelation with an English friend here, I learned she felt the same way. I told her how I was introduced to the "COSMOPOLITAN" cocktail from the Sex in the City TV series show one month earlier in the USA.

Then my mind went a buzz.... I'm good at faking it till I make it so, let's do it! Make my own cocktail club! Bring the glamour to my little village even if it’s only 2 friends.

I also learned that a spunky little horse decided to throw my English friend but kept her leg in the bridle upon doing so. I think the words SNAP CRACKLE POP were remembered being overheard!

My English friend with a broken leg was then confined to her top floor apartment (which is the 3rd floor by American standards) without an elevator. Oh My!

I thought if I can't bring the SPICE GIRL to the party, I can bring the party to the SPICE GIRL! This is where are story begins.

With my new cocktail book "in hand" I was armed and ready. I loaded as many cocktail making accessories that could be stacked in my 2 wheeled grocery cart I headed off with a mission.

Our 1st meeting went well. After juicing the limes and shaking up all things, 3 hours later I made it down the 3 flights of steps quite well. Gravity was the driving force here! We agreed that the "Italian Mojitos" were pretty good and a new choice would be made for the next week.

By the time the 2ND cocktail event happened, a Roman Pistol friend of mine said, “and you didn't invite me?" Off to L'Contessa di Londra's house for a consult as to inviting an “Italian” into our midst. Could an Italian drink socially and still keep it fun? We voted YES for a trial appointment with our new honorary guest.

To our surprise, this little Roman Pistal could pour down a drink like in half a NANO second. I hadn’t even finished mixing my 1st drink and she wanted her 2nd. I knew right then and there, she could fit in just fine.

So we the L'Marchesa di New York & L'Contessa di Londra approved the membership of the Roman Pistol and dubbed her L'Emressa di Roma.

From that point on we participated in weekly or bimonthly WORLD CONFERENCES. The drinks changed each time to be coming in from around the globe.

A Brazilian cocktail, an Italian cocktail and an American cocktail and soon we are do for an English cocktail! These evenings went well with three countries making, sipping and talking world issues...

We have become a very globally sensitive club making sure we stay true to our roots discussing global warming issues like-

Do you think they grow limes here in Italy? No, they are usually ship them in from Spain. Why, it is not warm enough here or is it a cultural issue? Do you think they sell flavored vodka here? In Spoleto, probably no but maybe you can carry it back from London next trip. Or I can try the next time to suitcase it from America! Before we knew it, we were solving the dilemmas of the world, or as much as we thought we could.

I think our next year goals will include, trying to help the global warming crisis by trying to grow a lime tree indoors and maybe inviting 1 more international guest, L’Sultana di Casa Blanca. I will present it out our next United Nations meeting but one problem is holding up all this diplomacy, L'Marchesa di New York has an ongoing urinary tract infection that’s not responding to antibiotics! So we fore see it being another 2 weeks before we rejoin in session.

PROGRESS: a day to be proud to be an AMERICAN!!!!

Watch President Obama's TV address announcing the news making world history!

Thank you to all the soldiers who have been injured or gave their lives to our freedom. Thank you to their families who have suffered the greatest lost by losing their loved ones early or for caring for their disabled returning family members.

Civilized past participle, past tense of civ·i·lize (Verb)

1. Bring (a place or people) to a stage of social, cultural, and moral development considered to be more advanced: "a civilized society".

I have spoken to quite a few Italians and they all seem to be very happy about Bin Laden's death. They are unclear on some choices the USA made. Possibly their translations of the story did not deliver enough information in Italian.

A simple explanation of why the burial at sea... and why the direction the USA took with a Muslim burial. 

Bin Laden's body was ported back to the USA Navy ship to be DNA analyzed against Bin Laden's sister’s DNA. In addition, one of his four wives positively identified Bin Laden body.

"A different international country" was asked by America to take his body and "that country said, NO THANKS." To be buried on land, where ever it would be could serve as an international pilgrimage site for his current and future terrorists. 

Bin Laden was given the minimally politically correct Muslim burial, which was more than our 3000 + 911 victims received.It appears to me that President Obama was being the "bigger man" while serving a slice of humble pie to Bin Ladens' supporters.

Remember, we are still are war. Our soldiers and TV reporters get dragged through the street dead or beheaded on live video. We tried to bring a moral decency to be a more advanced “a civilized society” but not forgetting we are at war.

a Spoleto VIRGIN: "why Spoleto Francesca after NYC & Colorado, why Spoleto?"

August 2006 I left Cortona, Tuscany after 4 month summer stay there. I returned the USA with all intentions of returning to Cortona to live. My life through threw me a major curve ball so hard, it knocked me down for years.

My Italian lover (Paolo) waited for my return of Jan 2007 but instead it was delayed for 10 months. Instead what we found was a medical emergency crisis on my hands. Sept 2006 brought in bad new on my failing mitral valve with 70% regurgitation and a chamber stretching to reach a 250% capacity increase of holding all this blood pulling an illegal U turn in my heart.

My confidence in my current medical team was flailing and so specialist where located national wide. The consensus of the National specialist was I had a ticking time bomb in my chest with 30 days to 90 days for the bomb to explode.

Nov 8, 2006 was the open heart surgery repair and a year of hell that followed. By the time my anniversary of the surgery was arriving, I said I want the hell out of here! 

So in the months prior to Nov 2007, a computer internet search was started to find the right town for Nia and I. 

Here was my list of criteria:

A hospital close by

A doable route for my family to get me in needed should another medical emergency arrive

A quick pick Nia up for my Roman boyfriend, should I stroke again. Then he could deliver her to my family in Frosinone.

An old historical village with a castle, i.e.

A limited amount of tourist, at least English speaking, where I would be forced to learn Italian

A SGI Buddhist group

A city that was alive in the cold winter months

A city that could accept a big boobed aging American Barbie doll (me)

A train station, a bus system, a grocery store, a pharmacy close by

A love of arts, activities, events but not too much

A safe place to raise my then 6 year old daughter

A place with fewer cars, less stimulus, less stress

A place where I could hide quietly amongst the locals on an international level

A place where I could figure out my craziness that was happening to me

An authentic Italian functioning village

A place not saturated with too many bad people… like the Godfather…

Out came the maps, train stations were identified, centers of cultural arts were located, historical beauty was noted, seasonal activities for a thriving winter community, a family oriented place… and a soft landing where I would most likely find Buddhists.

The choice was then finalized, Spoleto it was. The tickets were bought, the day of departure was chosen, (get the hell out of the USA by Nov 1, 2007.)

I informed my Roman boyfriend Paolo and he shrugged at my choice and said, Francesca, you will become bored there, it’s so little. I said my mind is made up. I arrived in the Rome airport Oct 31, 2007 and Paolo drove me right up to the Hotel Aurora and my apartment search began.