Latte Art

Every Wednesday morning before school, Hannah and Cody would stop at a bar (that's what they call coffee shops here) to get a little pastry and milk (latte caldo). Our whole family quickly became known at this little bar, and as is often the case in Italy, the baristas welcomed us into their family with open arms. They loved the kids, especially with Hannah going to public school and learning Italian. Every time we walk in, we're greeted with, "Ciao! Hannah!! Ciao Bella!" It's been a really fun way for Hannah to feel like she's building bridges outside of her school.

Anyway, as the year progressed, Salvatore (the head barista, who also speaks some English) practiced making all sorts of beautiful designs on Hannah's warmed milk. It is a little game to see if she can guess what he will surprise her with. The last week of school, he did some of his finest work! Cody was so impressed, he had to take a picture (Italian doesn't have the "H" sound, so everyone pronounces Hannah's name "Anna"). Then the next week when they went, Lucia, the sweet woman who works there and who always gives Hannah a piece of candy before she leaves, made Hannah's milk with the Hello Kitty design (Hello Kitty is really big among Italians). You can only imagine how it delighted Hannah.

We have to confess that the coffee culture is one of our favorite parts about Italian life. There is such incredible community that happens at your "bar." It's a great place to practice Italian and a great place to just hang out and hear what the locals are talking about. It's definitely been a very fun treat for us to feel so welcomed at our little bar by Hannah's school. The regulars there have contributed in countless ways to Hannah's (really our whole family's) transition. They helped us early on feel like we belonged and that were people who knew us.

In displaying these works of Latte Art, we have to share that they are not the norm. We don't know of any other bar in town that adds such pizzaz to their coffee (or frothed milk in Hannah's case). In fact, not even everyone at our bar gets such latte love. So we celebrate the incredible graciousness that these sweet baristas have poured out on our family. Oh, and have we mentioned that they also make one of the meanest espressos in town?