Thursday, 21 February, 2019
As has become my morning ritual, I headed to the local Bar Semaforo for my daily cappuccino and brioche while perusing La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper to get all of my Italian calcio (soccer) updates.
One of the traditionally tough teams in Italy's Series A calcio circuit, Torino's Juventus club, is having a memorable runaway season with the addition of Portuguese megastar Ronaldo to the lineup for the first time.
After last week's games, Juventus is solidly in first place in Serie A with an astonishing record of 21 wins, 3 ties and 0 losses, good for 66 team points in the standings. A win equals three team points, a tie earns each club one point and, obviously, no team points are awarded for a loss.
Napoli's club is currently in a far distant second place in the Serie A table with a record of 16-5-3 which earns them 53 team points.
I must note that the 20th and last place team in Serie A at this time is a club called Chievo. They are currently 1-9-14 with only nine team points.
Wait, that does not add up.
Chievo's lone win is good for three team points and their 9 ties should give them nine more for a total of 12 team points.
Next to the name Chievo in the standings is (-3).
I asked Pietro Caprioli, the Skorpions resident expert on all things Serie A, what this all meant and he said that Chievo was penalized three team points for cheating earlier this season due to a shady, attempted roster move. Thus, nine team points instead of 12.
Chievo really needs to up their game when it comes to cheating in terms of risk-reward.
Meanwhile, the long standing knock on Juventus is that while they are always in the thick of things in the Italian league, they continue to have trouble in International tournaments.
On Wednesday night, Juventus took their undefeated record to Madrid to play host Atletico in a Champions League contest. The annual Champions League tournament brings together all of the top teams in Europe.
It was Juventus' turn to shine in the Spanish capital where their star player, Ronaldo, had spent the last few seasons leading the Real Madrid club to more greatness.
Or not . . .
A picture is worth a thousand words
That's Ronaldo in the photo at the bottom of La Gazzetta dello Sport's page one.
Final Score: Atletico 2 - Juventus 0
It could have been worse as Atletico's apparent first goal of the night was disallowed ". . . after further review."
This ruling drew the ire of Atletico's, shall we say fiery, Head Coach Diego Pablo Simeone, a.k.a. El Cholo, who hails from Argentina.
Just a few minutes later, Atletico scored another goal that this time counted to make it officially 1-0 Atletico drawing this interesting reaction from El Cholo . . .
. . . and you thought that only the
Italians were adept at using body
language to communicate their feelings
This moment will be a topic of much discussion in La Gazzetta dello Sport for days to come I'm sure.
I started a new book today that opened with a murder, no surprise there, but what I did find of interest was the final paragraph on page five that discusses where our murderer opted to go after his latest felony.
Yes, one of our favorite places to
eat with great vistas of the
Santa Barbara marina . . .
Brophy Bros.!
I needed to go into Varese to find a new barber for the 2019 season as my beard was getting unruly and the seven hairs still active atop my head were starting to scream for a combover.
NO!
A barber shop hunt it was but as I entered Varese's historic core, I noted some unusual activity on the Piazza Monte Grappa.
It was the setting up of an outdoor market run by French citizens selling French made products exclusively.
They were not set to open for another hour yet but I thought I'd take a quick peek before resuming my barber shop search.
They looked DELICIOUS!
I love the scents of Marseille soaps
Chocolate . . .
ANY TIME, ANY PLACE!
SACRE BLEU!
I wanted to start cooking
They really need to be open for sales!
Famed French Fromage
The French do cheese like no others
Pesto based cheese!
Colorful Spices
Lavender is a favorite scent
of mine
SO many temptations!
I needed to move on but I was sure to return once they officially opened after my imminent haircut and beard trim.
I walked by this Gelateria which was
founded the same year that I was
EUREKA!
I found a good, centrally located spot and, under the professional care of my barber Mimmo, I walked out the door a new looking man who felt quite debonair.
Both Giorgio Nardi and Enzo Petrillo have told me of an outstanding panini restaurant located near my new barber shop as it turns out.
I was hungry and it was lunch time after all.
The Golden Egg is the place
I was looking for today
The panini menu was extensive
and the prices were moderate
Look at that loaf of bread that will
soon become part of my OUTSTANDING
Cipolatta Panini
Giorgio and Enzo were correct as usual, it was a great panini, at a great price.
"I'll be back!"
Now, I felt like I looked good and was sated but still wanted to take an in depth look at that French Market now that it was open.
I did say that the market had
a French flavor, didn't I?
Low-Fat I'm sure
DANGER! DANGER!
Pain au chocolat on the left,
croissants on the right
I ordered one, yes, only one, pain au chocolat seen on the left.
Rich, buttery flakes with equally rich, dark chocolate brought back a flood of memories of the the two fold research I did in 2012-13 in Lyon, France in search of the perfect croissant and the perfect pain au chocolat.
That research still continues to this very today.
So many French wines to
pick from can give a shopper
a headache it seems
Dijon mustard is AWESOME!
If you don't think so, just ask one of the two FitzGerald brothers, Tom and Brian, for their expert opinions on the subject.
Back at the spice rack
I love the rich colors of these
wondrous spices
Red and green pesto cheeses
The green pesto cheese always makes me think that it comes straight from the moon.
These would all make cooking
much more flavorful
It was sunny and actually getting warm, so I headed to a local park to find a sunlit bench. I wanted to soak up the sun light while I read a bit more of my murder mystery.
The perfect spot,
the Giardini Estensi
A solid half hour of reading fit the bill and I was then back on my stroll of discovery.
You just don't see quill pens on
sale in the USA any more
I never noticed this particular
St. George Slaying the Dragon
before today
It was quiet on Varese's main
pedestrian thoroughfare at this
time of day
OK, I'll enter and take a
look at the businesses inside
this courtyard
WHOA, 22°C!
That's about 72°F which is unheard of in these parts in February.
I thought that it was warm today.
A beautiful fountain in an
old courtyard
Who is this guy's dentist?
In the evening, it was time for another four+ hours of American football practices.
The first two hours were spent working with our Women's flag team, the U16 tackle group and the U13 flag squad.
Women in action
Sofia Petrillo at QB and
Tanya Grande at Center
Rule #1 of Women's flag football:
ALWAYS attack a bearded CB!
U16 tackle team warm-up
U16 tackle team scrimmage
U13 QB/Center exchange
U13 about to . . .
. . . got into action!
The final two hours of the evening were devoted to our Prima Squadra as we prepared for this Sunday's third and final scrimmage against the Milano Seamen this time at home.
We open our 2019 Italian DII season the following Sunday on the road against the Busto Arsizio Blue Storms.
Offense ready to . . .
. . . ATTACK!
Offense won the early rounds tonight but the Defense was in control at the end.
Finally, Laurie sent me this picture of our son, Mike at . . .
. . . his recent American Civil War
re-enactment at the Calico Ghost Town
in California
I'm loving his coat, such panache!
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