Patricia
I love being Italian. Both of my parents were born in Italy and made a point of raising me to appreciate my heritage, in addition to valuing the freedom and opportunity that America provides. My mother and I would visit the Campania region (where she grew up and her family lived) often. My most cherished memories involve eating for hours around a big table with all my loved ones, enjoying delicious food. I loved walking everywhere with my cousins, arm in arm, taking in the simple, rustic charm that graced each cobblestone path. We would visit the neighborhood store every day and enjoy the high quality products found therein. We knew the shopkeeper and she knew us. We knew the fellow shoppers and they knew us. We never rushed. We always laughed. We shared our cooking plans. It was a beautiful process and a lovely atmosphere…one that I dreamed about creating here, in my hometown of Dana Point. CASAGIOVE, an Italian market experience, is the expression of that dream and I can’t wait to share it with you!
Alex
Since I had the first taste of the Italian language in the fifth grade (which is just as tasty as Italian food, I promise), I’ve had the desire to travel the world and meet people to whom words like “piacere” and “bellissima” are commonplace and ordinary. I don’t think it dawned on me in such literal terms, but the idea was always there that if they knew a whole set of words I had never heard before, there might be a few other things they could show me as well. It turned out to be true— I love the Italian language and culture and in particular the emphasis on family, art and the simple pleasures in life. I travel to Italy whenever I get the chance, and am so pleased to bring some of the best parts of Italy to California through CASAGIOVE. More than a market, I'd love to create a real community and I invite you to comment and share your stories, or even just say "Ciao!"
{I also teach Italian! Check out my site: VIA OPTIMAE}