Crémant and Krugman in Luxembourg

I spent one week in Luxembourg in a workshop on income distribution. Even if it might sound ironic, Luxembourg hosts a vast data bank of income statistics (LIS) that provide a great setting for studying income inequalities across the world. This year, a 2-day conference on middle classes was integrated into the workshop programme. I was especially excited about a keynote lecture by professor Paul Krugman. I'm not so interested in his macro-economic models on international trade for which he won a Nobel Prize but rather I know him from his New York Times columns in which he fiercely used to criticise the Bush government or talks about economics in popular (but always insightful and sometimes even funny) terms. If you check his blog The Conscience of a Liberal, you will find under the topic "Inequality and Crises" (27 June) the powerpoint show he used for his presentation to us. In a later entry from 30 June "The Icelandic Post-Crisis Miracle", he gets inspired by a presentation of an Icelandic scholar in our conference.

He didn't say anything fantastically new (and he is by no means a specialist of income distribution) but his thesis about the connection between inequality and economic depression was interesting and he also provided data to back up his theory as historical data shows that increase in inequality (measured as the share of total income owned by the top 1% of income distribution) has (always) been followed by depression (however, this has happened twice in the recorded history so making sound analyses is somewhat hard). Basically, there are three ways how to explain their relation. First, the connection is a pure hazard. Second, inequality and economic depression may have a common cause, for example neo-liberal ideology. Or third, inequality actually causes macro-economic instability. Krugman focused on the second possibility and tried to provide evidence that the neo-liberal or republican policies have simultaneously led us towards a more unequal society and more vulnerable economic system.


Krugman's lecture took place in Arcelor-Mittal's (the huge steel company) headquarters in an old palace where the audience included some royal members of Luxembourgian duchy and some elite members of the country. The workshop participants were remarkably underdressed, but at the reception after the lecture, waiters poured us crémant (the bubbling wine of Luxembourg) with no discrimination.


Of course we were all childishly excited about Krugman (first observation: oh, he's short). Some of us bought his book to later get a signature in it (I regret that I didn't) and we all got in a group photo with him (very exciting). On our way to a conference dinner, I had the opportunity of making him laugh – not directly speaking to him but telling a joke loud enough so he could hear it as well. A young American researcher got to sit next to him during the dinner and afterwards, her eyes were shining as if she had just met the boy of her dreams. But I guess that seeing Matt Damon jogging in the Central Park still goes ahead of this intellectual event...

Countryside Escape

As I complained about the clichés in Kirsi Piha's book "Medicien naapurissa" about her countryside house in Le Marche (Peter Mayle and Frances Mayes in a less romantic Finnish way), I was mentioned that I have also fallen for some clichés in my blog entries. I have to admit that it is hard to write about Italy without some clichés or stereotypes (and, though it might be hard to believe, I'm not a professional writer). I don't consider myself as very biased when it comes to Italy, rather I'm very critical about the country's politics, gender equality and Florentines' manners towards foreigners. I think I understand (at least most of the time) when I can't be overly positive about the Italians even though I often try to find reasons for their bad behaviour or excessive testosterone. Indeed, yesterday, during the Slovakia-Italy football match, I changed sides in the middle of the game after the Italian player kicked the Slovakian goal keeper in the groins with no reason. No matter how gorgeous Cannavaro looked (and he did!) or how cute Buffon was on the side of the pitch, I could no longer support their disgraceful behaviour and I can only hope that the elimination of their team from the World Cup will change their style of playing.

Montepulciano behind lavender bushes.

It is not that I haven't noticed the smell of piss on the Florentine streets during hot days or I've never faced nasty service here, but I rather deplore the ecological problems than use my time on complaining about the Italians (though I could write a word or two about their driving culture with a slightly irritated and negative tone). And even if it's a cliché, the countryside here must be one of the most beautiful places in the world, the wine is excellent and food... I just can't help talking about the good food...

After a tour in Val d'Orcia, you can't say a bad thing about Italy at least for a few weeks. During our three-day visit in the Southern Tuscany, we saw such breathtaking views and had such a great service (still off-season, locals were not yet totally exhausted by the tourists) that you owe not to complain for a while. So, in order to prove my objectivity, here's some evidence of the countryside beauty there:

Village of Montepulciano is a perfect Renaissance hill town where we of course indulged in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, one of the nicest wines of Tuscany.

Town of Pienza, 20 km West of Montepulciano is another picturesque town founded by Pope Pius II and now UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Driving around in Val d'Orcia region through the small roads is a pleasure, at least if your driver isn't getting annoyed by the repeated "Stop!" shouts for photoshooting. Also, your rented Fiat Panda might have difficulties in making its way up the hills.

Brunello di Montalcino is acknowledged as one of the best wines in Italy. In the town of Montalcino you don't need to pay excessively to taste some.

Sant'Antimo's beautiful abbey.

Even more in the South, lies the town of Pitigliano on a dramatic site on top of a hill. It's worth going for the night view and its white wine Bianco di Pitigliano.

Eco-gastronomy at Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio

After reading “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” (that I have already discussed here and promoted repeatedly to all my friends), the idea of eating locally really struck me. In Boston, this was a more challenging thing to do in the early spring but in Italy it doesn’t really cause any extra caution especially during summer. Local food production is generous and diverse and if you extend the concept of local to the whole of Italy, there’s not much you can’t find. Connected to the idea of Slow Food movement, local food traditions are very important in Italy; it is not just a hippie thing but rather an extremely conservative way of thinking (for once, I adhere to a slight conservatism here). However, the main philosophy of the movement is to counteract fast food and preserve biodiversity by sustainable local production with good quality. “Eco-gastronomy” is the main mission of Slow Food. The 0 km project (I’m not sure if it’s even a semi-official project or just restaurants’ own initiative) is also very popular in Italy; some restaurants mark their food with “0 km” sign, meaning that the ingredients come, for example, from producers in a range of 50 km. This means that food hasn’t been travelling for days in trucks but comes often from a small local farmer strengthening the life of the local community and focusing on seasonal local products (expect to eat some zucchini at the moment).

Image from Slow Food web page.

Planning my own menus, I don’t need to live with potatoes and root vegetables only (that could very likely be the case in Finland), but I can usually get pretty much everything that I want from the mercato di Sant’ Ambrogio. The market is one of my favourite things in Florence and just a few blocs away from where I live. Each time I return home with my shopping bags, I feel like updating my Facebook status to “loves Sant’Amborgio”. Most cities have their own markets but somehow they haven’t made me happy the way Sant’Ambrogio does. In Tampere, I love buying strawberries or ice cream in Tammelan tori where a live band is every now and then playing Finnish tango evergreens and people are dancing in their tracking suits or hideous flower dresses (yes, it’s pretty much like in Kaurismäki films). However, only in Florence I have got the habit of doing my grocery shopping at the market.

Not only can I practise my Italian but the sellers are so friendly that they make me want to speak it better (some might be inspired by Mastroianni or Sophia Loren, I am by the friendly farmers). The veggies, cheese and pasta are not only cheap but they are of extremely good quality (oh, the pomodori di pachino from Sicily must be the best tomatoes I’ve ever tasted), and apart from some exotic fruits (and out-of-season porcini from Romania) it’s all Italian.

A few days ago I needed to buy sage, salvia, for a pasta sauce. After a little stroll, I finally found it on a old woman’s stall. She was selling mostly herbs and some beans and she was wearing a white apron and looked like she had just come out of her kitchen. I was embarrassed to buy only two brunches of sage. “Solo questi, é niente…” She needed to add some more items into my basket so that she could ask any money from me. I was looking at the red and white fagolini, some kind of beans that look tasty but that I have never tried. I asked the old lady how they should be cooked. She explained and added a few handfuls in the paper bag with one tomato (I refused to take any garlic but I had to accept the other produces – well, she didn't really ask me). Finally she had a price for the bag of veggies: one euro. She was very happy of my (or her, actually) shopping even though I got so much and paid so little. Another day, planning to do a soup, we got our vegetables from a nice man. We told we are doing a fish soup and without much indication he knew what we should get. Still at home, we discovered parsley that we had actually forgotten, luckily our market man was a step ahead of us, selling us ingredients we didn’t even ask for but urgently needed.

I haven’t created any loyalties in the market (expect now for this nice man who has also the excellent tomatoes), I go to the stall with nicest vegetables and the things I need. However, there is one shop, Bottega dell’Augusto, inside the market hall selling pasta, cheese and prosciutto, that is an obligatory stop in my market itinerary. The people working at the shop are the friendliest Italians I have met, they greet me with “ciao cara” and I have already forgotten the earthly worries. I usually plan the next days’ meals around the pasta I buy. They sell fresh handmade tortellini filled with ricotta, porcini mushrooms, pumpkin, lemon or other seasonal products. What ever I choose is good, but the best product is probably gnocchi, the potato flour balls that you cook only for one minute. I always feel like buying more than I need and normally end up leaving with a bag full of food. Oh, I miss the market already!

Via Karjalanpiirakka to Pecorino (Back to the Roots 2.)

Writing about a visit to a neighbourhood where I stayed during my first days in Boston, I unnecessarily titled my last entry as “Back to the Roots”. As a consequence, with my limited imagination, I am now troubling to describe with a different title my return back to Finland and eventually to Italy. Though I increasingly enjoyed Boston at the end of my stay, I was extremely happy to be onboard in the British Airways flight just the day before their strike begun and despite all the potential ash clouds hindering the air traffic over Europe. Returning back to the real roots...

While the weather forecasts for Florence were full of dark clouds, in mid-May I arrived to Finland that happened to be the warmest place in Europe at the moment. I had a Tampere-euphoria for three days that I spent in my beautiful hometown. The riverbanks offered picnic places for people enjoying the sun and I felt cosy when seeing drunken people in the early afternoon. Ah, Finland, so unpretentious, and the people, oh, so weird hair colours.

I stayed in Finland only for one week, just a perfect time for leaving in a state of premature homesickness and still having strong faith in our Eurovision song (I still think it’s great even though we didn’t make it to the final. However, I am a bit worried: what is happening to the world if you can’t make it to the Eurovision final even with a song by two beautiful blonds!).

My luggage full of summery silk dresses that had been useless in Berlin, I arrived to Florence airport where the casual conversation with an Italian co-passenger already led to an invitation for drinks (Italians, pfff...). How nice to return to a city where you know your way around, while the tourists around you are wondering how “grazie” should be pronounced or stay seated in the bus after arriving to the last stop. Just out of excitement and wonder if my rusty Italian was completely lost, I started short discussions with Italians who mostly responded in English (obviously quite lost that rusty Italian). I finished the academic year with 2/3 of my thesis but most importantly I took my time contemplating the Duomo with never-ending amaze, doing a passegiata around the city verifying that David was still in Piazza della Signoria, suffering a disappointment when a nice alternative café had been transformed into a boring place with no character and a shock when discovering a Ben & Jerry’s shop in the centre of Florence (ironically I noticed the place when eating ice cream in a gelato festival), and finally, feeling pure happiness in San Ambrogio market. How difficult to talk about Harvard and Boston without comparing the life there with our Florentine life that fills all the senses and gives satisfaction in so many levels. I found it hard to describe my life in Harvard not sounding completely unhappy with my stay there. Because that isn’t the case, I'm just so very happy with my life in Florence.