Sunrise from our hotel room.
Monday, June 27, 2005
View from the sea
We took this photo from the water, looking back at the beach where we laid our towels. This is the beach called Portonovo.
Arriving in Sirolo – Riviera del Cònero
By the time we reached the coast, exploring the little seaside towns and trying to find our way around various one-way streets and roads that didn’t end up where we thought they would, we were pretty tired. The hotels didn’t have (or want to rent) rooms for just 2 nights (a mistake we made in not staying through Saturday night) or were more expensive than we could afford. We had some help from the tourist office and finally found a little hotel “The Hotel Stella” (of course Bob couldn’t help but yell “STEL-LA!” like Marlon Brando in “Streetcar Named Desire” but that’s to be expected!) with one tiny room available. A large closet is really closer to the truth but it had a clean, double bed and a private bathroom and was right in the center of Sirolo, the charming little beach town we wanted to stay in. The view out our window was of the bell tower and a little square below. Tired (and more than a bit cranky at this point) we took it and tried to make the best of it. Of course, I wanted to stay in the fancy place down the street which was not in the budget of us “retirees” living on a pension, trying to “live cheap and make art!” It turned out to be just fine, centrally located and with the best breakfasts we have found so far. A huge spread in a bright and airy dining room with pink geraniums spilling out of the windows on either side of the room. All included was a wonderful spread of yogurt, fresh fruit, cereal, an array of fresh-baked cakes and rolls, juice and cappuccino or café as you prefer. Rick Steves would certainly approve of this place. They provided for parking but it was a trek to get to and from the car, so that wasn’t the most convenient. But at least there was a place for it and we didn’t have to pay extra. Now that we know where the beaches are and what we liked, if we go back there we will make reservations beforehand so we don’t have to waste any of our precious beach time looking for a room.
Some of these incredible sandy & rocky beaches are not easily reached, as are the beaches of California or Florida, for instance where you just drive up to them, park, and walk down to the shore. The hardest part might be just finding a parking spot. This is bit more challenging. Some of the more beautiful, like Le Due Sorelle (two sisters) is reached by climbing down a very steep path or by boat or bus. We did attempt to climb down but found it too strenuous for us old geezers and had to content ourselves with a very beautiful view from above. We wanted to take the boat that goes out to these rock formations but misunderstood the time schedule and missed it. Something for next time!
We spent the afternoon driving around, checking out the various beaches until we decided on the one to plant our towels. They provide umbrellas and chairs for a small fee (around 15 euros) for the day, but since the day was already half gone, we decided to just lay on the beach and mostly wanted to be IN the water anyway so that’s what we did. The beaches of Grotto Urbani are a combination of smallish rocks – not a sandy stretch. The advantage to this is that you don’t have sand in your bathing suit or in your hair, which I found pretty comfortable after a day at the beach. The disadvantage is that you really must have some sort of beach shoe to get you to and from the shore. Once you are in the water, it’s incredible and you float in the most turquoise blue, clear, clean water and you could care less what is on the shore. I must admit I do prefer a soft, sandy beach for walking on but between the water and the views of Monte Cònero and the curving shoreline around it, I was quite content!
To reach most of the beaches of the Riviera del Cònero if you don’t have a car you can take a bus down to a point and then walk the rest of the way. On Thursday we actually walked from our hotel, around a 20-minute walk. We have found that the Italians always seem to underestimate the amount of time it will take to get somewhere. So when the hotel manager said it would be a ten-minute walk we happily headed in that direction. Down to the shore was easy, going back up a bit more difficult, just because the path is a bit steep, not rugged. And again, we were reminded that everything is a trade off. The beaches are so glorious, but it is not that easy to get to them, which probably keeps a lot of the lazy folks away and makes it quite a wonderful, natural experience.
On Thursday evening we ate dinner in one of the outdoor restaurants. We are not always the best at choosing a good restaurant when we are traveling and this one was not as great as we had hoped. The location was though and we enjoyed being right in the center of the town with the backdrop of the sea and a great people-watching spot. There was music in the square – a karaoke sing along party, which was very fun to watch and listen to. All the little kids were sitting on the ground in front of a little stage with grownups pushing strollers and carrying babies, milling around and attempting to sing along. This area is very much a family place and we met the most delightful family there, a young couple and their three children, with another one on the way. We had talked with them on the beach in the afternoon and then kept running into them all weekend. Gianni and his wife Francesca were so sweet and friendly and it was a good chance for me to practice my Italian with people who did not speak English. It’s harder if they do because as soon as they figure out that you don’t speak Italian (which doesn’t take long!) they launch into English and you don’t have to push yourself. The most fun was listening to their four-year old son who described to us how they went fishing and he caught a fish and then ate it. We understood all of what he said, amazingly, as he talked very fast, but clearly and with so much expression, it was easy for me to interject an “è Vero!” (is that right!) at the appropriate pauses. Very, very fun.
After the obligatory cup of gelato, we wandered back to our room, exhausted, drifting off to sleep listening to the sounds of the city partying on, from our open window.
Buona sera,
Rosemary & Robert
(to be continued: see “A day at the beach”)
Some of these incredible sandy & rocky beaches are not easily reached, as are the beaches of California or Florida, for instance where you just drive up to them, park, and walk down to the shore. The hardest part might be just finding a parking spot. This is bit more challenging. Some of the more beautiful, like Le Due Sorelle (two sisters) is reached by climbing down a very steep path or by boat or bus. We did attempt to climb down but found it too strenuous for us old geezers and had to content ourselves with a very beautiful view from above. We wanted to take the boat that goes out to these rock formations but misunderstood the time schedule and missed it. Something for next time!
We spent the afternoon driving around, checking out the various beaches until we decided on the one to plant our towels. They provide umbrellas and chairs for a small fee (around 15 euros) for the day, but since the day was already half gone, we decided to just lay on the beach and mostly wanted to be IN the water anyway so that’s what we did. The beaches of Grotto Urbani are a combination of smallish rocks – not a sandy stretch. The advantage to this is that you don’t have sand in your bathing suit or in your hair, which I found pretty comfortable after a day at the beach. The disadvantage is that you really must have some sort of beach shoe to get you to and from the shore. Once you are in the water, it’s incredible and you float in the most turquoise blue, clear, clean water and you could care less what is on the shore. I must admit I do prefer a soft, sandy beach for walking on but between the water and the views of Monte Cònero and the curving shoreline around it, I was quite content!
To reach most of the beaches of the Riviera del Cònero if you don’t have a car you can take a bus down to a point and then walk the rest of the way. On Thursday we actually walked from our hotel, around a 20-minute walk. We have found that the Italians always seem to underestimate the amount of time it will take to get somewhere. So when the hotel manager said it would be a ten-minute walk we happily headed in that direction. Down to the shore was easy, going back up a bit more difficult, just because the path is a bit steep, not rugged. And again, we were reminded that everything is a trade off. The beaches are so glorious, but it is not that easy to get to them, which probably keeps a lot of the lazy folks away and makes it quite a wonderful, natural experience.
On Thursday evening we ate dinner in one of the outdoor restaurants. We are not always the best at choosing a good restaurant when we are traveling and this one was not as great as we had hoped. The location was though and we enjoyed being right in the center of the town with the backdrop of the sea and a great people-watching spot. There was music in the square – a karaoke sing along party, which was very fun to watch and listen to. All the little kids were sitting on the ground in front of a little stage with grownups pushing strollers and carrying babies, milling around and attempting to sing along. This area is very much a family place and we met the most delightful family there, a young couple and their three children, with another one on the way. We had talked with them on the beach in the afternoon and then kept running into them all weekend. Gianni and his wife Francesca were so sweet and friendly and it was a good chance for me to practice my Italian with people who did not speak English. It’s harder if they do because as soon as they figure out that you don’t speak Italian (which doesn’t take long!) they launch into English and you don’t have to push yourself. The most fun was listening to their four-year old son who described to us how they went fishing and he caught a fish and then ate it. We understood all of what he said, amazingly, as he talked very fast, but clearly and with so much expression, it was easy for me to interject an “è Vero!” (is that right!) at the appropriate pauses. Very, very fun.
After the obligatory cup of gelato, we wandered back to our room, exhausted, drifting off to sleep listening to the sounds of the city partying on, from our open window.
Buona sera,
Rosemary & Robert
(to be continued: see “A day at the beach”)
Sunflowers
We saw many fields of sunflowers growing in the valleys and up the hills in Umbria as we headed for Le Marche and the coast.
Due Sorelle with kayak
Notice the red kayak making its way through the water near the rock formations called Le Due Sorelle (the two sisters).
Heading for the Adriatic Coast – Riviera del Cònero, Marche
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Along the Adriatic coast of Italy, just below the port city of Ancona, northeast of Perugia, in the shadow of Monte Cònero, lies a beautiful and relatively undiscovered area known as the Riviera del Cònero. We made a spontaneous decision middle of last week to rent a car and spend a few days “al mare” (at the sea). On Wednesday afternoon we talked with our neighbor Catherine who lived in the Marche region for 3 years and therefore is quite versed on what to see and where to go for a great beach experience. She recommended a local car rental place with better rates than we had found on the Internet. We made no reservations, planning on finding a place when we got there, since it is still a bit early in the season. We were told that things don’t get crowded until July and August at the seaside.
We had a last dinner planned with our young European friends from school for Sunday evening so we planning to be back on Saturday night. Eva and Helena are going home at the end of this week, so we wanted to take them to dinner as a sort of farewell. We thought that if we arrived mid-day Thursday, we would have enough time to enjoy the sea and have a taste of this area we had heard so much about.
The challenge of not owning a car and using public transportation is that in order to rent a car, one must first find the rental place – by bus. It ended up being further outside centro than we thought and we got off the bus too soon. After wandering around a while we went into a bar (remember, in Italy, this is a place that serves coffee, pastries and sandwiches), ordered a cappuccino and a brioche and asked the young woman working there if she knew where it was. Not only did she know, Gianluca who owns the place – called Rent for Less – is a friend of hers! She gave us good directions, including how to get another bus to take us the rest of the way. This time we missed our stop and had to walk back a few blocks! No harm done, except for getting kind of sweaty. Summer has definitely arrived in Italy. We understand the temperatures are high now all over Europe and we were happy to be leaving and heading for the beach, and in air-conditioned comfort.
We had a fun conversation with Gianluca about America and scuba diving and the Adriatic Coast where he was born. By 10am we were on our way. He insisted on giving us a motorcycle escort to the freeway entrance, saying that it was too complicated to explain and easier for him to just show us.
For the next few hours we enjoyed all the beautiful scenery between Perugia and the sea. I feel like a broken record to keep using the work “breathtaking” to describe Italy’s countryside but that is exactly what it is. The sunflowers are blooming now and we passed brilliant rolling hills, as far as the eye could see, covered with “girasoli” (the Italian word for sunflowers), rising up and over hillsides, down in valleys, separated by crops of leafy greens, corn and wheat fields. At one place, next to a field of red poppies, mixed with little white flowers was a wheat field. Bob was busy photographing the poppies when I excitedly called to him, in very poor English “This is a whole wheat field!” (meaning all wheat, and excitedly because, as a kid growing up in Brooklyn I had never seen a field of wheat in person!) He looked at me and sarcastically said, “Is that a pun?” We laughed a lot and I realized what I had said and also that it WAS the whole wheat! This is the first time we have understood the expression “amber waves of grain” as breezes rustled through the golden hills.
Buona Giornata,
Rosemary & Bob
(to be continued: see “Arriving in Sirolo – Riviera del Cònero”)
Along the Adriatic coast of Italy, just below the port city of Ancona, northeast of Perugia, in the shadow of Monte Cònero, lies a beautiful and relatively undiscovered area known as the Riviera del Cònero. We made a spontaneous decision middle of last week to rent a car and spend a few days “al mare” (at the sea). On Wednesday afternoon we talked with our neighbor Catherine who lived in the Marche region for 3 years and therefore is quite versed on what to see and where to go for a great beach experience. She recommended a local car rental place with better rates than we had found on the Internet. We made no reservations, planning on finding a place when we got there, since it is still a bit early in the season. We were told that things don’t get crowded until July and August at the seaside.
We had a last dinner planned with our young European friends from school for Sunday evening so we planning to be back on Saturday night. Eva and Helena are going home at the end of this week, so we wanted to take them to dinner as a sort of farewell. We thought that if we arrived mid-day Thursday, we would have enough time to enjoy the sea and have a taste of this area we had heard so much about.
The challenge of not owning a car and using public transportation is that in order to rent a car, one must first find the rental place – by bus. It ended up being further outside centro than we thought and we got off the bus too soon. After wandering around a while we went into a bar (remember, in Italy, this is a place that serves coffee, pastries and sandwiches), ordered a cappuccino and a brioche and asked the young woman working there if she knew where it was. Not only did she know, Gianluca who owns the place – called Rent for Less – is a friend of hers! She gave us good directions, including how to get another bus to take us the rest of the way. This time we missed our stop and had to walk back a few blocks! No harm done, except for getting kind of sweaty. Summer has definitely arrived in Italy. We understand the temperatures are high now all over Europe and we were happy to be leaving and heading for the beach, and in air-conditioned comfort.
We had a fun conversation with Gianluca about America and scuba diving and the Adriatic Coast where he was born. By 10am we were on our way. He insisted on giving us a motorcycle escort to the freeway entrance, saying that it was too complicated to explain and easier for him to just show us.
For the next few hours we enjoyed all the beautiful scenery between Perugia and the sea. I feel like a broken record to keep using the work “breathtaking” to describe Italy’s countryside but that is exactly what it is. The sunflowers are blooming now and we passed brilliant rolling hills, as far as the eye could see, covered with “girasoli” (the Italian word for sunflowers), rising up and over hillsides, down in valleys, separated by crops of leafy greens, corn and wheat fields. At one place, next to a field of red poppies, mixed with little white flowers was a wheat field. Bob was busy photographing the poppies when I excitedly called to him, in very poor English “This is a whole wheat field!” (meaning all wheat, and excitedly because, as a kid growing up in Brooklyn I had never seen a field of wheat in person!) He looked at me and sarcastically said, “Is that a pun?” We laughed a lot and I realized what I had said and also that it WAS the whole wheat! This is the first time we have understood the expression “amber waves of grain” as breezes rustled through the golden hills.
Buona Giornata,
Rosemary & Bob
(to be continued: see “Arriving in Sirolo – Riviera del Cònero”)
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Off to the Seaside
Ciao all,
Just wanted to let you all know we are going to take a little trip (just 2 or 3 days) to the Adriatic coast, just south of Ancona. It's only about 1-1/2 hours drive from Perugia and we are going to rent a car. That is the plan. We need to find the rental place first! Should not be difficult, we hope. We want to explore this area of Le Marche which, according to our neighbor is one of Italy's best kept secrets! (uh-oh I may be giving away a secret here!!). We are hoping we agree and that it lives up to expectations. We think once July hits it will be more crowded at these beaches so we decided to spontaneously take a trip.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Ciao,
Rosemary
Just wanted to let you all know we are going to take a little trip (just 2 or 3 days) to the Adriatic coast, just south of Ancona. It's only about 1-1/2 hours drive from Perugia and we are going to rent a car. That is the plan. We need to find the rental place first! Should not be difficult, we hope. We want to explore this area of Le Marche which, according to our neighbor is one of Italy's best kept secrets! (uh-oh I may be giving away a secret here!!). We are hoping we agree and that it lives up to expectations. We think once July hits it will be more crowded at these beaches so we decided to spontaneously take a trip.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Ciao,
Rosemary
Monday, June 20, 2005
Choral Group from Bari
The Coro from Puglia singing in the Sala dei Notari, music from the Renaissance.
The Swingle Kings
The Swingle Kings played Saturday night and sang songs like "Oh Marie" and "Volare." It was so much fun!
Music in Perugia
Monday, June 20, 2005
It is early Monday morning, around 8 and I am sitting out in our yard. The birds are singing and a gentle breeze is blowing. I hear the sound of neighbors coming and going, opening shutters and chatting among themselves. I am surrounded by greenery and directly in front of me small red roses climb on a lattice. The lavender by the walk is about to burst into purple bloom. The oleander by the wall is blooming white and the pink rose bush stands as tall as a small tree. The scent of honeysuckle tickles my nose and it sparkles along the outer edge of the garden, helping to obscure it from the view of the stairs on the other side of our wall. In the far corner of our yard there is a metal gazebo and marble-topped table with four chairs. I decided to bring the laptop outside and sit here and write, instead of staying inside. It's a bit overcast but comfortable with a light jacket. Our apartment is located at the highest point of the city and it is usually cooler here than in the lower part of centro, just a short walk from here. This is a fact I lamented when we first arrived, since it was pretty cold here some days! But now, with summer, we are glad of this fact and it is extremely comfortable.
We had another amazing few days here. We went to the movies to see Kingdom of Heaven starring Orlando Bloom (if Samantha is reading, I bet she liked this movie!) with our friend Miles (our new Australian friend who is married to Guiseppina who was born in Sicily but grew up in Australia) and it is a not-so-flattering story (not sure how it could be) of the Crusades and crusaders who slaughtered many in the name of "God" (right!). It was in a theater here that shows English language movies once a week and we have seen a few. It's a nice change from having to translate everything!
Perugia is a city filled with music events all summer long. We are looking forward to the Umbria Jazz festival in the early part of July where there will be stages set up all over the city with free concerts everywhere and some venues where you will need to purchase tickets. We will go see Al Jarreau and George Benson and then just enjoy the freebies around town. We experienced this the last time we were here in 2003 and it was really a blast.
On Saturday night we attended a free choral event in the Sala de Notari, an accapella choir "Harmonia, Coro e Orchestra dell'Ateneo Barese," from Bari, in Puglia, the region that occupies Italy's heel. (If you are reading Clara, I thought of you as they were singing) They performed a program of music from the Renaissance and a Requiem by Saverio Mercadante, an early 19th century Italian composer. In this beautiful medieval space the sound of these harmonious voices was extraordinary and we sat spellbound. The conductor had this amazing deep baritone voice as he sang solo the various parts of the Requiem and it reminded me of the High Masses of my childhood when the priest had an especially good singing voice that reverberated in the walls of the church and sent chills down your spine.
From there we went down the Corso Vannucci to Teatro Pavone for a swing concert! I recognized the woman sitting next to me as part of the choir from Bari and we sat and chatted in Italian, which she interjected with a few words in English and we enjoyed ourselves very much. The concert was amazing and surreal in a way.
They began with a rendition of a song called "Arcobaleno" which didn't take long to recognize as "Somewhere over the Rainbow (arcobaleno means rainbow, in Italian)! A band called "The Swingle Kings" along with a chorus from the University, did songs like "Summertime" and "Hello Dolly" (in English) and Stormy Weather (where they sang in Italian except for the words "Stormy Weather.")
This event was dedicated to the memories of the city (the 20th of June is a day of importance in Italy's history) and at the intermission of the concert an elderly gentleman was introduced and he came out and told stories. We admittedly did not understand too much of what he said but he is a very famous sculpture here, Artemio Giovagnoni who is also known for writing comedies for the stage in the Peruginian dialect. He told a funny story (translated by my friend from Bari) about meeting a woman who recognized him as the famous writer who didn't know he had a "hobby" of making sculptures! Everyone laughed at this, he talked too long - even the musicians on stage were fidgeting - and eventually finished talking and the concert resumed. Then the chorus concluded, went off stage and the Swingle Kings took over. It was like a walk through the songs of my childhood! Or like listening to all the songs on the "Mob Hits" album! They did songs like "That's amore, (when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...), Oh Marie, Angelina (in his best Louie Prima impersonation!), Volare, Buonasera Signorina and one of my favorites - Mambo Italiano and at least a dozen more!" It was so much fun, even the singers from Bari were dancing in the little balconies of this former opera house and everyone was clapping and tapping and singing along! It was more fun than I can tell you.
Afterwards we strolled back up the Corso stopping for a glass of wine at an outdoor café and did some people watching for a while before tumbling off to bed, the sounds of "Tu vo' fa l'americano" rattling around in my head.
Buona sera,
Rosemary & Bob
It is early Monday morning, around 8 and I am sitting out in our yard. The birds are singing and a gentle breeze is blowing. I hear the sound of neighbors coming and going, opening shutters and chatting among themselves. I am surrounded by greenery and directly in front of me small red roses climb on a lattice. The lavender by the walk is about to burst into purple bloom. The oleander by the wall is blooming white and the pink rose bush stands as tall as a small tree. The scent of honeysuckle tickles my nose and it sparkles along the outer edge of the garden, helping to obscure it from the view of the stairs on the other side of our wall. In the far corner of our yard there is a metal gazebo and marble-topped table with four chairs. I decided to bring the laptop outside and sit here and write, instead of staying inside. It's a bit overcast but comfortable with a light jacket. Our apartment is located at the highest point of the city and it is usually cooler here than in the lower part of centro, just a short walk from here. This is a fact I lamented when we first arrived, since it was pretty cold here some days! But now, with summer, we are glad of this fact and it is extremely comfortable.
We had another amazing few days here. We went to the movies to see Kingdom of Heaven starring Orlando Bloom (if Samantha is reading, I bet she liked this movie!) with our friend Miles (our new Australian friend who is married to Guiseppina who was born in Sicily but grew up in Australia) and it is a not-so-flattering story (not sure how it could be) of the Crusades and crusaders who slaughtered many in the name of "God" (right!). It was in a theater here that shows English language movies once a week and we have seen a few. It's a nice change from having to translate everything!
Perugia is a city filled with music events all summer long. We are looking forward to the Umbria Jazz festival in the early part of July where there will be stages set up all over the city with free concerts everywhere and some venues where you will need to purchase tickets. We will go see Al Jarreau and George Benson and then just enjoy the freebies around town. We experienced this the last time we were here in 2003 and it was really a blast.
On Saturday night we attended a free choral event in the Sala de Notari, an accapella choir "Harmonia, Coro e Orchestra dell'Ateneo Barese," from Bari, in Puglia, the region that occupies Italy's heel. (If you are reading Clara, I thought of you as they were singing) They performed a program of music from the Renaissance and a Requiem by Saverio Mercadante, an early 19th century Italian composer. In this beautiful medieval space the sound of these harmonious voices was extraordinary and we sat spellbound. The conductor had this amazing deep baritone voice as he sang solo the various parts of the Requiem and it reminded me of the High Masses of my childhood when the priest had an especially good singing voice that reverberated in the walls of the church and sent chills down your spine.
From there we went down the Corso Vannucci to Teatro Pavone for a swing concert! I recognized the woman sitting next to me as part of the choir from Bari and we sat and chatted in Italian, which she interjected with a few words in English and we enjoyed ourselves very much. The concert was amazing and surreal in a way.
They began with a rendition of a song called "Arcobaleno" which didn't take long to recognize as "Somewhere over the Rainbow (arcobaleno means rainbow, in Italian)! A band called "The Swingle Kings" along with a chorus from the University, did songs like "Summertime" and "Hello Dolly" (in English) and Stormy Weather (where they sang in Italian except for the words "Stormy Weather.")
This event was dedicated to the memories of the city (the 20th of June is a day of importance in Italy's history) and at the intermission of the concert an elderly gentleman was introduced and he came out and told stories. We admittedly did not understand too much of what he said but he is a very famous sculpture here, Artemio Giovagnoni who is also known for writing comedies for the stage in the Peruginian dialect. He told a funny story (translated by my friend from Bari) about meeting a woman who recognized him as the famous writer who didn't know he had a "hobby" of making sculptures! Everyone laughed at this, he talked too long - even the musicians on stage were fidgeting - and eventually finished talking and the concert resumed. Then the chorus concluded, went off stage and the Swingle Kings took over. It was like a walk through the songs of my childhood! Or like listening to all the songs on the "Mob Hits" album! They did songs like "That's amore, (when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...), Oh Marie, Angelina (in his best Louie Prima impersonation!), Volare, Buonasera Signorina and one of my favorites - Mambo Italiano and at least a dozen more!" It was so much fun, even the singers from Bari were dancing in the little balconies of this former opera house and everyone was clapping and tapping and singing along! It was more fun than I can tell you.
Afterwards we strolled back up the Corso stopping for a glass of wine at an outdoor café and did some people watching for a while before tumbling off to bed, the sounds of "Tu vo' fa l'americano" rattling around in my head.
Buona sera,
Rosemary & Bob
Via Bagliona in Rocca Paolina
I sat on the stone floor just inside Porta Marzia in the Rocca trying to capture the feeling there.
A shop window in Perugia
Some of the latest fashions - quite a contrast to the medieval buildings around it.
San Pietro scaffolding comes off
The top of the Basilica di San Pietro was encircled in scaffolding when we arrived in Perugia and the other day we watched them take it down! There is still work to be done inside, but this was a momentous occasion.
Via Matteotti
This is one of our favorite streets. It is where all the little shops are and the building in the foreground on the left is the Post Office.
Rambling and the Rocca
Saturday, June 18, 2005
It has been a few days since I wrote here in my blog. It seems longer than that. It has been a very full week. Just staying in Perugia and exploring places we have been before and finding some new ones. The weather earlier in the week turned stormy. I am constantly reminded that cities that are green have their share of rainy days. I do not mind. Earlier in the week we had lightening and thunder and it was wonderful to just stay home safe and sound in our little cocoon here while the rain beat down and thunder clapped around us.
The view from our "pointe" of the coming storm was incredible. I had been out there checking things out, discovering that the santolina had opened completely and noticing the roses in new shades of purples and oranges, the fluffy pink poppies and the white calla lilies. The pink geraniums along the wall are fully blooming now and everything is green and lush. There is even a cherry tree, figs and chestnuts and some other fruit I have yet to determine. It is truly a paradise and I never tire of going there. I have tried to paint it but so far only had minimal success. It so overwhelms me I have a hard time being able to focus on any one area and the whole of it is so vast, I cannot possible capture it. So on Tuesday I was out there lamenting onmy lack of ability and feeling sorry for myself when I just had to stop, sit back and enjoy the beauty with my eyes, with my ears and with my sense of smell. To just let it all wash over me and soak it all in, and stop pressuring myself and just take it as it may or may not come! I happily create little sketches in watercolor in my journal along with little notes about where I was, what I saw, but then when I put a single blank sheet of paper in front of me, I cannot seem to "produce." So, I have decided to just keep doing what makes me happy and feels good and not to worry about progressing to some as yet unattained level of artistic superiority and just do what I do and trust that things will happen as they are meant to and that is all there is to that.
Bob has been having problems with a stiff neck this week and so on Tuesday he laid low and just stayed home. It was the day we woke up to rain, after the stormy evening the night before. I had been wanting to explore the Rocca Paolina more thoroughly after finding a pretty good guide book in the Book Store down there. So I left him lying on the sofa with plans of watching TV, reading and taking a nap and walked over to the Rocca, just on the other side of Corso Vannucci. The Rocca, as I have written before, is an incredible presence in the city. The city of Perugia has a long history of wars with the various popes. I think this is true all over Italy as the popes of history were not only interested in the glory of God but in their own power grab and being in control of the various city states.
In Perugia, they were especially cruel I think. There was something called The Salt War in which the people of Perugia rebelled against a tax the pope put on salt (remember the bread story?). Well, to make a very long and complex history extremely short, the people of Perugia lost and the pope won. This was in the 1500s. To punish the people, and the Baglioni family (Perugia's nobility and ring-leaders of the rebellion), the pope built this enormous fortress, destroying a huge part of the city, including of course, the palaces, towers and churches of the Baglioni family, and other city buildings and incorporated the rest underneath and within this giant fortress, complete with a huge ditch around it. To add insult to injury, he used the bricks and stones that were taken from these buildings and made the people themselves build the damn thing without any compensation! (My affection for the papacy grows ever stronger the more I learn about these things!).
It appears today like a subterranean city, as you descend into it by means of the escalators I told you about earlier. In 1860, Vittore Emmanuelle was victorious, along with Garibaldi and a bunch of other Italian patriots, over the popes armies, defeating them once and for all and were successful in uniting all of Italy under one flag, creating a Republic from what were independent city states. From what I can see, the people of Italy still relate very strongly to their individual neighborhoods, cities, and regions and it is said that the only place Italians are truly united is when their soccer team is playing in the international finals!
But I digress! The Rocca, when it was built, was like a giant fortress looming above the city, impenetrable and imposing. And when the dust of the fight with the pope settled, they began to tear it down. I can only imagine the anger of these people and the fervor with which they approached the dismantling of it. The entire top of it came down, along with the huge corridor that spread down into the lower part of the city like the finger of the pope and connected to bastions near what is now the bus terminal. They threw the debris inside and built on top of it the beautiful Palazzo della Republica, Piazza Italia with its green space and fountains, bordered by other palazzi, hotels and gardens and of course a giant statue of Vittore Emmanuelle, astride his giant steed, dressed in all his battle gear, riding triumphant into the city! And, from what I gather, tried to forget all about the Rocca.
As the years went by, interest in this medieval fortress began to grow. The people considered it of major historical significance but it is only in the last part of the 20th century that it has become a point of pride and one the citizens are greatly interested in preserving and restoring, which is evident in the work that continues inside of it. In fact, from what we have learned, once the escalators went in, within the Rocca, it became open and available to the citizens as they traveled within its cavernous spaces from the lower part of the city to the upper. Tourists of course are fascinated with it. The city of Perugia makes good use of it with various exhibitions like the Dite Cheese, the wine and cheese tasting festival that utilized many of the rooms to display the cheeses and wines of Umbria and where one can wander through these medieval spaces and imagine what life must have been like at one time. We have attended concerts down there and gone to various art exhibitions as well and it serves as a wonderful backdrop for festivals, both antique and modern.
With its extra thick walls, below ground level as it is now, it is also a great place to spend a stormy day. It's incredibly cool down there in the heat of the summer as well and just a fascinating piece of the history of this city we are growing to love more and more every day.
Rosemary
It has been a few days since I wrote here in my blog. It seems longer than that. It has been a very full week. Just staying in Perugia and exploring places we have been before and finding some new ones. The weather earlier in the week turned stormy. I am constantly reminded that cities that are green have their share of rainy days. I do not mind. Earlier in the week we had lightening and thunder and it was wonderful to just stay home safe and sound in our little cocoon here while the rain beat down and thunder clapped around us.
The view from our "pointe" of the coming storm was incredible. I had been out there checking things out, discovering that the santolina had opened completely and noticing the roses in new shades of purples and oranges, the fluffy pink poppies and the white calla lilies. The pink geraniums along the wall are fully blooming now and everything is green and lush. There is even a cherry tree, figs and chestnuts and some other fruit I have yet to determine. It is truly a paradise and I never tire of going there. I have tried to paint it but so far only had minimal success. It so overwhelms me I have a hard time being able to focus on any one area and the whole of it is so vast, I cannot possible capture it. So on Tuesday I was out there lamenting onmy lack of ability and feeling sorry for myself when I just had to stop, sit back and enjoy the beauty with my eyes, with my ears and with my sense of smell. To just let it all wash over me and soak it all in, and stop pressuring myself and just take it as it may or may not come! I happily create little sketches in watercolor in my journal along with little notes about where I was, what I saw, but then when I put a single blank sheet of paper in front of me, I cannot seem to "produce." So, I have decided to just keep doing what makes me happy and feels good and not to worry about progressing to some as yet unattained level of artistic superiority and just do what I do and trust that things will happen as they are meant to and that is all there is to that.
Bob has been having problems with a stiff neck this week and so on Tuesday he laid low and just stayed home. It was the day we woke up to rain, after the stormy evening the night before. I had been wanting to explore the Rocca Paolina more thoroughly after finding a pretty good guide book in the Book Store down there. So I left him lying on the sofa with plans of watching TV, reading and taking a nap and walked over to the Rocca, just on the other side of Corso Vannucci. The Rocca, as I have written before, is an incredible presence in the city. The city of Perugia has a long history of wars with the various popes. I think this is true all over Italy as the popes of history were not only interested in the glory of God but in their own power grab and being in control of the various city states.
In Perugia, they were especially cruel I think. There was something called The Salt War in which the people of Perugia rebelled against a tax the pope put on salt (remember the bread story?). Well, to make a very long and complex history extremely short, the people of Perugia lost and the pope won. This was in the 1500s. To punish the people, and the Baglioni family (Perugia's nobility and ring-leaders of the rebellion), the pope built this enormous fortress, destroying a huge part of the city, including of course, the palaces, towers and churches of the Baglioni family, and other city buildings and incorporated the rest underneath and within this giant fortress, complete with a huge ditch around it. To add insult to injury, he used the bricks and stones that were taken from these buildings and made the people themselves build the damn thing without any compensation! (My affection for the papacy grows ever stronger the more I learn about these things!).
It appears today like a subterranean city, as you descend into it by means of the escalators I told you about earlier. In 1860, Vittore Emmanuelle was victorious, along with Garibaldi and a bunch of other Italian patriots, over the popes armies, defeating them once and for all and were successful in uniting all of Italy under one flag, creating a Republic from what were independent city states. From what I can see, the people of Italy still relate very strongly to their individual neighborhoods, cities, and regions and it is said that the only place Italians are truly united is when their soccer team is playing in the international finals!
But I digress! The Rocca, when it was built, was like a giant fortress looming above the city, impenetrable and imposing. And when the dust of the fight with the pope settled, they began to tear it down. I can only imagine the anger of these people and the fervor with which they approached the dismantling of it. The entire top of it came down, along with the huge corridor that spread down into the lower part of the city like the finger of the pope and connected to bastions near what is now the bus terminal. They threw the debris inside and built on top of it the beautiful Palazzo della Republica, Piazza Italia with its green space and fountains, bordered by other palazzi, hotels and gardens and of course a giant statue of Vittore Emmanuelle, astride his giant steed, dressed in all his battle gear, riding triumphant into the city! And, from what I gather, tried to forget all about the Rocca.
As the years went by, interest in this medieval fortress began to grow. The people considered it of major historical significance but it is only in the last part of the 20th century that it has become a point of pride and one the citizens are greatly interested in preserving and restoring, which is evident in the work that continues inside of it. In fact, from what we have learned, once the escalators went in, within the Rocca, it became open and available to the citizens as they traveled within its cavernous spaces from the lower part of the city to the upper. Tourists of course are fascinated with it. The city of Perugia makes good use of it with various exhibitions like the Dite Cheese, the wine and cheese tasting festival that utilized many of the rooms to display the cheeses and wines of Umbria and where one can wander through these medieval spaces and imagine what life must have been like at one time. We have attended concerts down there and gone to various art exhibitions as well and it serves as a wonderful backdrop for festivals, both antique and modern.
With its extra thick walls, below ground level as it is now, it is also a great place to spend a stormy day. It's incredibly cool down there in the heat of the summer as well and just a fascinating piece of the history of this city we are growing to love more and more every day.
Rosemary
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Cascata delle Marmore
This is the Roman waterfall that cascades down the lush mountainside at full force. There was a rainbow also but it did not show up in the photo.
Velvet carpet in the Sibillini Mtns
A view across the valley that in a few weeks will be covered with fields of flowers. See the wildflowers on the lower left of the photo and the top of the mountain that is in the clouds!
In the Sibillini Mountains with Rita and Sergio
Monday, June 13, 2005
Yesterday we spent the most amazing day here in Umbria. It was a day we had planned at least a month ago with our landlords, Sergio and Rita and our next-door neighbor, Catherine. Sergio and Rita own these two apartments in this palazzo we live in. This is a four-story apartment building and there are at least 8 other apartments but they own only these two. They are lovely, lovely people and we feel so fortunate to have found this apartment here. I have talked about the grounds and the gardens and I think about the fact that they live in the entire top floor of a larger palazzo next to this one that has been in Sergio's family for years. They also own a country house that they rent out, just outside the city walls and another country house that is their weekend retreat near Spoleto, a short drive from Perugia.
We left here around 8:30 in the morning expecting to drive to Spoleto, see their country house and perhaps have lunch and return to Perugia. What we didn't expect was a grand tour of an area called the Valnerina here in Umbria that is in the Sibillini Mountains, an incredibly diverse mountain region that is part of the Apennines, a range of limestone hills that extends from Genoa down into Sicily. There is nothing so incredible as being shown around an area by people who were born in it and know all the little places that are off the beaten path. First stop was the Cascata delle Marmore - an artificial waterfall created by the Ancient Romans in three successive drops down sheer walls of marble (marmore), disappearing at the bottom of a wooded ravine. At certain times of the day they release the water, which begins as a gentle trickle and becomes a raging torrent of water rushing over ledges and around a lush wooded backdrop. It was absolutely breathtaking to witness.
Back in the car, on to the next, climbing higher and higher into the mountains as Sergio expertly maneuvered this two lane country road that wound around and around, passing some of the most incredible scenery in Umbria. Driving through dense forests, we suddenly encountered an ancient abbey tucked away like a jewel amid the greenery. L'Abbazia di San Pietro in Valle was built in the 4th and 5th centuries and is now also a luxurious resort. On the site is the ancient church with its roman sarcophagi, frescoes and art works to admire.
Climbing still further, looking down on farms nestled in valleys like a quilt thrown down for a picnic, we discovered the Santuario di Macerato, a 16th century complex with a circular church. After the man with the enormous keys opened the doors of the church at 4:30, Rita told us the story of the little chapel within the church. Apparently there was a group of men traveling from Naples by horseback and when they reached the spot where this church stands now, the horses laid down and refused to go any further. They considered this a miracle and a church was built on the spot. Inside the chapel we noticed many of these "exvoto" (I'm sure my spelling must not be correct - if you know, please tell me). The Mexican word that I know for these little charms is "Milagros" - usually in the shapes of body parts - arms, legs, eyes, etc. The charm is placed there, in my understanding, when a miracle is being prayed for, to cure some malady or illness.
One of the highlights of the day was when we reached the highest point, above Norcia, in the tiny town of Castelluccio di Norcia famous for its flower fields and the growing of lentils. The countryside surrounding this tiny village is just on the verge of fully blooming and we hope to return in a few weeks to see it in all its glory. The area is broken up into plots of yellows, reds, blues and we saw the colors just beginning to come forth. The green areas are so soft; they appear in the valley like a carpet of lush green velvet. The hillsides are beginning to turn a multitude of colors as the wildflowers start to bloom, surrounded by these towering mountains with their heads in the clouds. We sat at an outdoor restaurant and ate a simple lunch that was a sampling of the typical Umbrian cuisine - salami, cheese, lentil soup, artichokes, prosciutto, fried mozzarella and zucchini flowers, accompanied by a ceramic pitcher filled with local red wine.
The country home of Sergio and Rita is in the hills above Spoleto, another of Umbria's lovely hilltop cities. The area has been owned by Rita's family for generations and is broken up now into several home sites that they use as weekend and summer getaways. Her parents have an "Alpine" log cabin much like you would find in Flagstaff in northern Arizona, with a big wrap around porch and nestled in greenery but this one has comes complete with a small vineyard for their homemade wine - both white and red. A little path connects these homes and I walked arm in arm with Rita's mother, when she went back to set out the simple supper she had prepared for us. She spoke no English so I had to do my best communicating and it does become difficult to have more complex conversations than just the getting to know you stuff. Signora Zapelli attended the Academia delle Belle Arti and studied painting and music. She is in her 80s and still occasionally walks 6 km into town to do her shopping. Then her husband drives down and picks her up for the ride back. She stopped painting when her children were growing up because the demands of being a wife and mother took precedence over her desire to be an artist. Her paintings are all over Rita's house. Lovely still lifes of fruit and flowers, that she proudly showed me, knowing that I too loved to paint flowers. As you can imagine, I really wanted to talk with this woman! Rita and Sergio manage a little English when it's evident we can't understand what they are saying. Rita's English being better than Sergio's, although he can get a point across when he needs to. He told us that he is better at speaking than understanding and I can completely understand what he means.
Their country house was simpler than I expected but I can honestly say that if I had a country house, this would be exactly what I would want. It is an old stone building with dark stained doors and shutters and lace curtains. A rose bush climbs up the wall going over and around the window. The floors are ancient stone, a large wooden table sits on one side, surrounded by around a dozen chairs, a giant fireplace on the other with a bench that allows a part of it to fold down to create a sort of ledge in the middle so that if the weather is cold she and Sergio can sit and eat in front of the fire. The house is not heated so they don't go there in the winter. I can only imagine how cold it must get in the mountains when there is snow. Up a simple flight of stairs with no railings are the bedrooms. Large open rooms, plenty of light, simple antique furnishings. Absolutely lovely, cosy, warm and inviting. A beautiful reflection of these delightful people.
We arrived back home around 8:30 with kisses all around as farewell and a huge Grazie to Rita and Sergio from us and from Catherine as we wandered off to bed like children after Christmas when all the presents had been opened and played with to their heart's content.
Buona sera,
Rosemary & Robert
Yesterday we spent the most amazing day here in Umbria. It was a day we had planned at least a month ago with our landlords, Sergio and Rita and our next-door neighbor, Catherine. Sergio and Rita own these two apartments in this palazzo we live in. This is a four-story apartment building and there are at least 8 other apartments but they own only these two. They are lovely, lovely people and we feel so fortunate to have found this apartment here. I have talked about the grounds and the gardens and I think about the fact that they live in the entire top floor of a larger palazzo next to this one that has been in Sergio's family for years. They also own a country house that they rent out, just outside the city walls and another country house that is their weekend retreat near Spoleto, a short drive from Perugia.
We left here around 8:30 in the morning expecting to drive to Spoleto, see their country house and perhaps have lunch and return to Perugia. What we didn't expect was a grand tour of an area called the Valnerina here in Umbria that is in the Sibillini Mountains, an incredibly diverse mountain region that is part of the Apennines, a range of limestone hills that extends from Genoa down into Sicily. There is nothing so incredible as being shown around an area by people who were born in it and know all the little places that are off the beaten path. First stop was the Cascata delle Marmore - an artificial waterfall created by the Ancient Romans in three successive drops down sheer walls of marble (marmore), disappearing at the bottom of a wooded ravine. At certain times of the day they release the water, which begins as a gentle trickle and becomes a raging torrent of water rushing over ledges and around a lush wooded backdrop. It was absolutely breathtaking to witness.
Back in the car, on to the next, climbing higher and higher into the mountains as Sergio expertly maneuvered this two lane country road that wound around and around, passing some of the most incredible scenery in Umbria. Driving through dense forests, we suddenly encountered an ancient abbey tucked away like a jewel amid the greenery. L'Abbazia di San Pietro in Valle was built in the 4th and 5th centuries and is now also a luxurious resort. On the site is the ancient church with its roman sarcophagi, frescoes and art works to admire.
Climbing still further, looking down on farms nestled in valleys like a quilt thrown down for a picnic, we discovered the Santuario di Macerato, a 16th century complex with a circular church. After the man with the enormous keys opened the doors of the church at 4:30, Rita told us the story of the little chapel within the church. Apparently there was a group of men traveling from Naples by horseback and when they reached the spot where this church stands now, the horses laid down and refused to go any further. They considered this a miracle and a church was built on the spot. Inside the chapel we noticed many of these "exvoto" (I'm sure my spelling must not be correct - if you know, please tell me). The Mexican word that I know for these little charms is "Milagros" - usually in the shapes of body parts - arms, legs, eyes, etc. The charm is placed there, in my understanding, when a miracle is being prayed for, to cure some malady or illness.
One of the highlights of the day was when we reached the highest point, above Norcia, in the tiny town of Castelluccio di Norcia famous for its flower fields and the growing of lentils. The countryside surrounding this tiny village is just on the verge of fully blooming and we hope to return in a few weeks to see it in all its glory. The area is broken up into plots of yellows, reds, blues and we saw the colors just beginning to come forth. The green areas are so soft; they appear in the valley like a carpet of lush green velvet. The hillsides are beginning to turn a multitude of colors as the wildflowers start to bloom, surrounded by these towering mountains with their heads in the clouds. We sat at an outdoor restaurant and ate a simple lunch that was a sampling of the typical Umbrian cuisine - salami, cheese, lentil soup, artichokes, prosciutto, fried mozzarella and zucchini flowers, accompanied by a ceramic pitcher filled with local red wine.
The country home of Sergio and Rita is in the hills above Spoleto, another of Umbria's lovely hilltop cities. The area has been owned by Rita's family for generations and is broken up now into several home sites that they use as weekend and summer getaways. Her parents have an "Alpine" log cabin much like you would find in Flagstaff in northern Arizona, with a big wrap around porch and nestled in greenery but this one has comes complete with a small vineyard for their homemade wine - both white and red. A little path connects these homes and I walked arm in arm with Rita's mother, when she went back to set out the simple supper she had prepared for us. She spoke no English so I had to do my best communicating and it does become difficult to have more complex conversations than just the getting to know you stuff. Signora Zapelli attended the Academia delle Belle Arti and studied painting and music. She is in her 80s and still occasionally walks 6 km into town to do her shopping. Then her husband drives down and picks her up for the ride back. She stopped painting when her children were growing up because the demands of being a wife and mother took precedence over her desire to be an artist. Her paintings are all over Rita's house. Lovely still lifes of fruit and flowers, that she proudly showed me, knowing that I too loved to paint flowers. As you can imagine, I really wanted to talk with this woman! Rita and Sergio manage a little English when it's evident we can't understand what they are saying. Rita's English being better than Sergio's, although he can get a point across when he needs to. He told us that he is better at speaking than understanding and I can completely understand what he means.
Their country house was simpler than I expected but I can honestly say that if I had a country house, this would be exactly what I would want. It is an old stone building with dark stained doors and shutters and lace curtains. A rose bush climbs up the wall going over and around the window. The floors are ancient stone, a large wooden table sits on one side, surrounded by around a dozen chairs, a giant fireplace on the other with a bench that allows a part of it to fold down to create a sort of ledge in the middle so that if the weather is cold she and Sergio can sit and eat in front of the fire. The house is not heated so they don't go there in the winter. I can only imagine how cold it must get in the mountains when there is snow. Up a simple flight of stairs with no railings are the bedrooms. Large open rooms, plenty of light, simple antique furnishings. Absolutely lovely, cosy, warm and inviting. A beautiful reflection of these delightful people.
We arrived back home around 8:30 with kisses all around as farewell and a huge Grazie to Rita and Sergio from us and from Catherine as we wandered off to bed like children after Christmas when all the presents had been opened and played with to their heart's content.
Buona sera,
Rosemary & Robert
Piazza Duomo
The piazza in front of the Duomo is broad and surrounded by lovely little shops and cafes and the clock tower with movable sculpture on top that chimes the hour.
Il Duomo in Orvieto
This is the view of the Duomo from the side with its layers of black and white marble.
Duomo front
The beautiful facade of the Duomo in Orvieto is covered with mosaicc, marble and stone detailing and reliefs.
Watercolor scene
One of my watercolors of the view from Orvieto of the surrounding countryside with vineyards and farms.
Watercolor cliff
Orvieto is built into a volcanic cliff. This is one of the views from the city looking out.
Carta d'identità ((I.D. card)
It's a rainy Tuesday afternoon and we have just returned from the Comune di Perugia Anagrafe (The Bureau of Vital Statistics for the City of Perugia) to apply for our Identity Card that identifies us as residents of Italy. With this card and our codice fiscale we can buy a car or a house (not that we think we will do this really) and travel throughout other EU countries without our passports (we'll probably carry them anyway just to be on the safe side). It just proves that we live in this country.
As with the codice fiscale I have written about, this was a pretty painless and positive experience. Yesterday Bob found out where the building was by wandering around and asking people. He thought he knew where to go, but with help from several people - one man worked in the building and actually walked with him to show him where it was. He wanted to find out what we had to bring with us in order to apply but when he got there it was closed! We decided to go back this morning and left our apartment around 9am. It's located down below the bus station, about a ten-minute walk from centro.
The office was located on the meno piano 2 (actually two floors below ground) and there was no one in line when we peeked in the door. There was a counter and two or three women behind it sitting at computers. One of them waved us in with "Avanti!" and we stood in front of her with our papers in an envelope and told her we wanted a "Certificato di Residenza" which we thought was the correct term for it. This woman seemed to be about my age with longish curly reddish hair and glasses. At first she acted very curt with us but the more we talked with her, trying to speak Italian and showing her our papers she really warmed up and even joked with us.
At first we thought she said we needed a different paper from our landlords to prove that we had a permanent residence here and she looked over everything we had and at some point decided we had what we needed and began filling in our information on her computer and we knew she was doing what we needed. She joked that it wasn't important for ME to apply, since Bob was the man and he was applying for both of us. "È cosi " she said "That's the way it is" and she rolled her eyes. I understood this. The feminist in me is irked by this situation but the truth is, he's the one with the pension. I'm along for the ride! At any rate, she filled in all his info: date of birth, place, parents' names etc and then did mine. She noticed of course, that my parents names were Italian and asked me where they were from and seemed surprised that the Bivettos were not from the north of Italy but I didn't really understand why she thought that even though I tried hard.
She saw Bob's date of birth and commented that he probably got cheated on gifts because of it being so close to Christmas and we all laughed that this seemed to be a universal situation. She told us that she and I were the same age, except that her birthday was in February. And all of this was completely in Italian! So, I think we are learning more than we realize, even though much of what she said went right over our heads!
The cool thing too was that we had our original Codice Fiscales with us and she stamped on them and initialed it. It all seemed very official and final!
We then decided to stop at a little café for a cappuccino and a brioche to celebrate having accomplished yet another official function successfully. We ordered our coffees and selected our pastries, told the guy behind the counter (in Italian) that we would have it "in fuori" which means outside and in perfect English he said "OK, I'll just bring it out to you." It turned out his parents were born in Italy and he and his wife own an apartment in Perugia. He told us that they were from the San Francisco area and have owned this apartment for years without living in it until recently. They have a young daughter who just started middle school here and they own this little café where they work in the early part of the day and then can take the rest of the day off. Of course we told him about our cousins in Los Gatos and how Nikkii works for the San Francisco Giants. We chatted a bit about what we are doing and decided we might have to go back there again for a little conversation.
Yesterday was a gorgeous warm sunny day and today it is cooler with rain. Very changeable climate here in Perugia I am still adjusting to. We didn't have umbrellas with us and so got wet in the rain. But it is a nice gentle rain and we sort of enjoyed walking in it.
Bob is having a bit of a stiff neck today and so is sitting here putting heat on it. I am about to go off to the Internet café to post a few things and to check my email. I hope to hear from all of you who are reading and hope you continue to find this interesting.
Buona giornata,
Rosemary
As with the codice fiscale I have written about, this was a pretty painless and positive experience. Yesterday Bob found out where the building was by wandering around and asking people. He thought he knew where to go, but with help from several people - one man worked in the building and actually walked with him to show him where it was. He wanted to find out what we had to bring with us in order to apply but when he got there it was closed! We decided to go back this morning and left our apartment around 9am. It's located down below the bus station, about a ten-minute walk from centro.
The office was located on the meno piano 2 (actually two floors below ground) and there was no one in line when we peeked in the door. There was a counter and two or three women behind it sitting at computers. One of them waved us in with "Avanti!" and we stood in front of her with our papers in an envelope and told her we wanted a "Certificato di Residenza" which we thought was the correct term for it. This woman seemed to be about my age with longish curly reddish hair and glasses. At first she acted very curt with us but the more we talked with her, trying to speak Italian and showing her our papers she really warmed up and even joked with us.
At first we thought she said we needed a different paper from our landlords to prove that we had a permanent residence here and she looked over everything we had and at some point decided we had what we needed and began filling in our information on her computer and we knew she was doing what we needed. She joked that it wasn't important for ME to apply, since Bob was the man and he was applying for both of us. "È cosi " she said "That's the way it is" and she rolled her eyes. I understood this. The feminist in me is irked by this situation but the truth is, he's the one with the pension. I'm along for the ride! At any rate, she filled in all his info: date of birth, place, parents' names etc and then did mine. She noticed of course, that my parents names were Italian and asked me where they were from and seemed surprised that the Bivettos were not from the north of Italy but I didn't really understand why she thought that even though I tried hard.
She saw Bob's date of birth and commented that he probably got cheated on gifts because of it being so close to Christmas and we all laughed that this seemed to be a universal situation. She told us that she and I were the same age, except that her birthday was in February. And all of this was completely in Italian! So, I think we are learning more than we realize, even though much of what she said went right over our heads!
The cool thing too was that we had our original Codice Fiscales with us and she stamped on them and initialed it. It all seemed very official and final!
We then decided to stop at a little café for a cappuccino and a brioche to celebrate having accomplished yet another official function successfully. We ordered our coffees and selected our pastries, told the guy behind the counter (in Italian) that we would have it "in fuori" which means outside and in perfect English he said "OK, I'll just bring it out to you." It turned out his parents were born in Italy and he and his wife own an apartment in Perugia. He told us that they were from the San Francisco area and have owned this apartment for years without living in it until recently. They have a young daughter who just started middle school here and they own this little café where they work in the early part of the day and then can take the rest of the day off. Of course we told him about our cousins in Los Gatos and how Nikkii works for the San Francisco Giants. We chatted a bit about what we are doing and decided we might have to go back there again for a little conversation.
Yesterday was a gorgeous warm sunny day and today it is cooler with rain. Very changeable climate here in Perugia I am still adjusting to. We didn't have umbrellas with us and so got wet in the rain. But it is a nice gentle rain and we sort of enjoyed walking in it.
Bob is having a bit of a stiff neck today and so is sitting here putting heat on it. I am about to go off to the Internet café to post a few things and to check my email. I hope to hear from all of you who are reading and hope you continue to find this interesting.
Buona giornata,
Rosemary
Orvieto. Thursday, June 9, 2005
The train ride to Orvieto is not really direct from here. At around 8 we left Perugia station and had to change in Chiusi and again in Terantola-Cortona. Not really a big deal except that it takes a bit longer to get there. We are well aware that having a car would make our traveling around easier but having a car here in Perugia would mean experiencing all the inconveniences of owning a car in a big city, like parking and so forth, so we choose not to at this point.
We arrived in Orvieto around 10 (by car it would be less than an hour) with the whole beautiful blue sky day in front of us. We stopped for a cappuccino and a brioche at a little outdoor café first since we hadn’t taken time for breakfast at home and just enjoyed watching the people pass. Orvieto is smaller than Perugia and doesn’t have all the big buildings and sprawl. It is definitely a tourist destination, as it boasts one of the most stunning duomos in Umbria. The last time we were here the façade was completely covered in scaffolding and we didn’t have the opportunity to see the incredible mosaics, marble and intricate stone patterns that we greatly admired this time. The piazza in front of the duomo is really lovely as well with all these pretty shops, flowers and cafes. The cathedral itself was begun in the late 1200s and completed in 1600. Typical of these ancient cities. The interior is built of alternating courses of black and white stone and there are semicircular arches, a timbered ceiling, frescoes by Luca Signorelli and stunning stained glass windows that radiate against the dark stone walls. Religious music softly played in the background, which has the effect of reminding you that you are in a sacred place, not a museum but also enhancing the experience in a most gentle and lovely way.
One of the wonderful things about this life of ours is that we don’t feel rushed to see everything there is to see in one day because we know we can always come back and plan to. Our goal in coming to Orvieto was to see the exhibit of Miro’s prints that was to close on June 12. We enjoyed seeing these playful works of Joan Miro, soaking in his use of line and color and inventive compositions.
An unexpected treat was seeing the work of the Italian artist Giulio Aristide Sartorio (Roman, born in 1860 and died in 1932), who painted these incredible oils and pastels. The landscapes are amazing and I was told, what he is remembered for. But I really loved the huge allegorical paintings that are at the same time ancient and modern, his use of the medium is rich and textured, realism and fantasty combined and the effect is stunning. Some of these paintings were studies (and at the same time, they are completely finished paintings!) for an enormous frieze that adorns the Italian Parliament building in Rome, which we vow to see when we go there some time this summer.
We ate lunch in a little local place – Bob enjoyed a nice pasta; I had the veal parmegiano with a glass of local wine. We’re getting the hang of this closing midday also. We learned that the Duomo closes but the Miro exhibition did not. So we explored the Duomo first and then went to the Museum. That allowed us time to see both, unlike the American tourist who asked us around 2:00 how to get into the church. He was frustrated to learn it would not open again until around 4. When you are traveling on a limited time budget, these are important things to know. It can be frustrating for the traveler who only arrives in a city around 1 to find many buildings closed and without the language to read the signs, they must go away disappointed and annoyed thinking the Italians just close these monuments on a whim.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day. We peaked into workshops doing woodwork, found some wonderfully whimsical ceramic whistles, a toyshop with antique toys and bought another little gift for Kyla, which we will send to Chris for her.
I even managed to find a few hours to do some painting of the surrounding countryside and the volcanic rock the city sits on while Bob went off with his cameras. Orvieto is famous for its wines and you can see all the vineyards below from the city above and also from the train as you ride past all the large and small plots of land covered with olive trees and vineyards. All in all it was a delightful day.
Ciao,
Rosemary & Bob
We arrived in Orvieto around 10 (by car it would be less than an hour) with the whole beautiful blue sky day in front of us. We stopped for a cappuccino and a brioche at a little outdoor café first since we hadn’t taken time for breakfast at home and just enjoyed watching the people pass. Orvieto is smaller than Perugia and doesn’t have all the big buildings and sprawl. It is definitely a tourist destination, as it boasts one of the most stunning duomos in Umbria. The last time we were here the façade was completely covered in scaffolding and we didn’t have the opportunity to see the incredible mosaics, marble and intricate stone patterns that we greatly admired this time. The piazza in front of the duomo is really lovely as well with all these pretty shops, flowers and cafes. The cathedral itself was begun in the late 1200s and completed in 1600. Typical of these ancient cities. The interior is built of alternating courses of black and white stone and there are semicircular arches, a timbered ceiling, frescoes by Luca Signorelli and stunning stained glass windows that radiate against the dark stone walls. Religious music softly played in the background, which has the effect of reminding you that you are in a sacred place, not a museum but also enhancing the experience in a most gentle and lovely way.
One of the wonderful things about this life of ours is that we don’t feel rushed to see everything there is to see in one day because we know we can always come back and plan to. Our goal in coming to Orvieto was to see the exhibit of Miro’s prints that was to close on June 12. We enjoyed seeing these playful works of Joan Miro, soaking in his use of line and color and inventive compositions.
An unexpected treat was seeing the work of the Italian artist Giulio Aristide Sartorio (Roman, born in 1860 and died in 1932), who painted these incredible oils and pastels. The landscapes are amazing and I was told, what he is remembered for. But I really loved the huge allegorical paintings that are at the same time ancient and modern, his use of the medium is rich and textured, realism and fantasty combined and the effect is stunning. Some of these paintings were studies (and at the same time, they are completely finished paintings!) for an enormous frieze that adorns the Italian Parliament building in Rome, which we vow to see when we go there some time this summer.
We ate lunch in a little local place – Bob enjoyed a nice pasta; I had the veal parmegiano with a glass of local wine. We’re getting the hang of this closing midday also. We learned that the Duomo closes but the Miro exhibition did not. So we explored the Duomo first and then went to the Museum. That allowed us time to see both, unlike the American tourist who asked us around 2:00 how to get into the church. He was frustrated to learn it would not open again until around 4. When you are traveling on a limited time budget, these are important things to know. It can be frustrating for the traveler who only arrives in a city around 1 to find many buildings closed and without the language to read the signs, they must go away disappointed and annoyed thinking the Italians just close these monuments on a whim.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day. We peaked into workshops doing woodwork, found some wonderfully whimsical ceramic whistles, a toyshop with antique toys and bought another little gift for Kyla, which we will send to Chris for her.
I even managed to find a few hours to do some painting of the surrounding countryside and the volcanic rock the city sits on while Bob went off with his cameras. Orvieto is famous for its wines and you can see all the vineyards below from the city above and also from the train as you ride past all the large and small plots of land covered with olive trees and vineyards. All in all it was a delightful day.
Ciao,
Rosemary & Bob
Things I Miss (but enjoying the differences)
Bob’s cousin Ginnie who has been a faithful emailer and blog-commenter asked the other day if there were things I missed here in Italy besides the obvious of the people like my kids, my sister, my neighbors, friends and family. And those truly are the only things I miss. And so, first off, I miss being able to pick up the phone whenever I want, time difference notwithstanding between Phoenix and New York and all parts in between. Three hours now seems a drop compared to 6 and 9. So I have to wait until the weekend when everyone is home because by the time say, Chris gets home from work in the evening, it’s past midnight here and way too late for me to be up and coherent enough to have a phone conversation.
I miss my house. I knew I would. I miss talking with all my neighbors as they passed by my house when I was outside working in the garden. But honestly, I don’t miss all the hard work and hours spent weeding, pruning, trimming and cleaning up out there. I miss impromptu conversations with George and Bitsy as they passed with Nina and Rusty. Chats with Mike and Michelle, with Shawn and Steven, Matt. And watching Kellen, Rachel and Nina play together. Talking with those little ones, watching them grow. Seeing Dennis and Peggy, Mary and Dick, Roberta. Our lovely street on West Granada. A warm and wonderful bunch of people
But that is the obvious, isn’t it? The people. I miss the people. Lunch with Ann. Getting together with Art and Chris, with Jeff and Janet, Sally and John. Talking with Liz and Margaret, the friends at work. Running into folks around town like Susan and Scott, Richard, Roberta and Byron, John and Gayle, and on and on. But this is the obvious, the people.
I miss being able to log on to the Internet, and check email in the privacy of my own home without having to go out somewhere to do it. But this has also kept us from spending too much time on the computer, which I think is a good thing. It could easily eat up hours doing it and really I don’t want to spend my time here in Italy sitting in front of a computer every day, so I think that’s really a good thing. And I like chatting with Giovanna at the Internet Café.
People who clean up after their dogs. This is probably my biggest complaint in Perugia. Having to look out for the dog droppings. The street cleaning crew picks up after the dogs every day, but still there are messes to watch out for and I am amazed that the city doesn’t crack down on this. I think there is a law that says you have to, but people mostly don’t and no one seems to do anything about it.
Bread. I know that sounds crazy. You think Italy and you imagine wonderful bread. But Umbrian bread is not what I think of as Italian bread, growing up in New York, the incredible loaves of crusty, delicious bread. It took years in Phoenix for some good bread to arrive. But the breads I know of as Italian bread really originate further south, in Naples and Sicily, not Umbria. Here, the breads are heavier, drier, super crusty. You must request one with salt – this goes back to a feud with the pope when he taxed salt and they stopped using it in their breads and never went back. We’re still experimenting and trying different things. We’ve discovered the torta for sandwiches, which I really like. It’s a large flat bread, somewhere between a focaccia and a tortilla and I’ve discovered if I drizzle it with olive oil, add salt and some basil and heat it in a pan on the stove, or in the oven, sliced in half and filled with meat and cheese, it’s really wonderful. But I love the way breads are sold. In the pasticceria, on open shelves, you see all the different shapes of the breads and you don’t have to purchase a whole loaf. You can just buy a piece – the big crusty loaves can be quite large. These are best served sliced, toasted in the oven and drizzled with olive oil and salt or made into bruschetta topped with tomatoes or pesto or Tartufata (yumm).
I don’t miss TV. Although we do watch it. But it’s totally in Italian. It’s hilarious to see Will and Grace or Friends in Italian. I’ve always wanted to try living without television altogether so I think I would not miss it if I didn’t have it. I do miss being able to tune into the news and understand the whole story. We do feel isolated from what is going on at home, although we could easily check online for the latest news and do occasionally. But I can’t really say I miss the frustration of our current political situation at home and cringe when I see George Bush’s smirking face on the front page of the paper so I think it has helped our blood pressure not to be constantly bombarded with the entire goings on of his administration. Our kids keep us posted on the important stuff. I don’t miss hearing about all the shootings or car crashes or trivial stuff that hardly seemed like news most of the time. We pick up an English language paper from time to time. It does get tiring when you don’t understand what is being said, even though we understand quite a lot, we watch the local news and read the Italian language newspaper with a dictionary close at hand.
Counter space. Not that I had a huge amount in my house in Phoenix but more than here in this tiny kitchen. But I manage all right. The kitchen table has served quite adequately as my prep space. My good knives! A really big cutting board. I remind myself that I wanted to live a simpler life, to see how much one really needs.
Zip-lock bags. I have not found these, but have found bags with twist ties so that’s been fine. Packaging in general has surprised me. I expected all things Italian to be so well designed but have found, and I hate to admit this, that the packaging in the U.S. is really superior to much of what I have found so far. But it’s fun to use what they use and see how they do it. Milk for instance comes in these little boxes you have to cut open with a scissor. I then pour it into a little glass pitcher which I love doing, or into a glass jar.
Sometimes I think about Oreos and chocolate chip cookies. Hostess cupcakes. But then I find a scrumptious pastry or Italian cookie. And gelato. There is always gelato.
I have totally gotten into the cappuccino for breakfast and don’t miss the huge mugs of coffee I had every morning. It feels more like a ritual, make the little pot of coffee, put a spoonful of sugar in the cup first, heat the milk, froth it, top the cup with it, sip slowly, savor it. We have also fallen into the Italian custom of a simple breakfast, bread, coffee, some fruit, yogurt. Sometimes we have oatmeal or eggs. But mostly we keep it simple. Our goal. A simple life. The recurring theme.
Not that it is when you can’t really speak the language. I do pretty well though and I’m amazed at how much I can understand and thrilled when I can actually have a conversation in Italian. But for every one of those there are two where I don’t understand a word they are trying to tell me and that’s frustrating for both of us. Fortunately for us, the people we have met and become friendly with speak at least some English so we are not so isolated as we could be in a town where that would not be the case and so we hope to be better at it by the time we leave Perugia and go elsewhere.
I had to think for a while as to what I was missing because really, the point for me has been to experience this different life and try not to pine away for the old and familiar. But I do think it would be dishonest of me to say that everything was perfect and that there weren’t at least a few things I missed. But also, with many things I miss, the opposite of what I had seems new and fresh and interesting. And I wanted to see what this was like, this Italian life. Even though I know we are outside of it as retirees. The people who work, who go to work every day have a different life than ours, which is really like one big vacation and I am torn between wanting to do nothing and sit and admire the view every day and wanting to get out there and visit every city, see everything there is to see and fill every day going somewhere. This is my big challenge, to balance this new life, much as I tried to balance the old one.
Yesterday I had this sensation of a giant ball of twine unraveling in my hands and I cannot get a hold of it. Time is slipping through my fingers and I want to make the most of it. To not waste a single moment. To do all the things I want to do –– and to do nothing. To see everything –– but to sit and stare. And will I spend the next two years and make it mean something. Make it worth the trade of the old life for this new one. Appreciate the gift I have of this time together here in this foreign place. To be open to the changes whatever they may be. To learn, to experience – to soak it in. Time seems even more precious now, knowing there is a limit, self-imposed as it is. Having sailed away from my safe harbor, I want to dream, to explore, to discover.
Rosemary
I miss my house. I knew I would. I miss talking with all my neighbors as they passed by my house when I was outside working in the garden. But honestly, I don’t miss all the hard work and hours spent weeding, pruning, trimming and cleaning up out there. I miss impromptu conversations with George and Bitsy as they passed with Nina and Rusty. Chats with Mike and Michelle, with Shawn and Steven, Matt. And watching Kellen, Rachel and Nina play together. Talking with those little ones, watching them grow. Seeing Dennis and Peggy, Mary and Dick, Roberta. Our lovely street on West Granada. A warm and wonderful bunch of people
But that is the obvious, isn’t it? The people. I miss the people. Lunch with Ann. Getting together with Art and Chris, with Jeff and Janet, Sally and John. Talking with Liz and Margaret, the friends at work. Running into folks around town like Susan and Scott, Richard, Roberta and Byron, John and Gayle, and on and on. But this is the obvious, the people.
I miss being able to log on to the Internet, and check email in the privacy of my own home without having to go out somewhere to do it. But this has also kept us from spending too much time on the computer, which I think is a good thing. It could easily eat up hours doing it and really I don’t want to spend my time here in Italy sitting in front of a computer every day, so I think that’s really a good thing. And I like chatting with Giovanna at the Internet Café.
People who clean up after their dogs. This is probably my biggest complaint in Perugia. Having to look out for the dog droppings. The street cleaning crew picks up after the dogs every day, but still there are messes to watch out for and I am amazed that the city doesn’t crack down on this. I think there is a law that says you have to, but people mostly don’t and no one seems to do anything about it.
Bread. I know that sounds crazy. You think Italy and you imagine wonderful bread. But Umbrian bread is not what I think of as Italian bread, growing up in New York, the incredible loaves of crusty, delicious bread. It took years in Phoenix for some good bread to arrive. But the breads I know of as Italian bread really originate further south, in Naples and Sicily, not Umbria. Here, the breads are heavier, drier, super crusty. You must request one with salt – this goes back to a feud with the pope when he taxed salt and they stopped using it in their breads and never went back. We’re still experimenting and trying different things. We’ve discovered the torta for sandwiches, which I really like. It’s a large flat bread, somewhere between a focaccia and a tortilla and I’ve discovered if I drizzle it with olive oil, add salt and some basil and heat it in a pan on the stove, or in the oven, sliced in half and filled with meat and cheese, it’s really wonderful. But I love the way breads are sold. In the pasticceria, on open shelves, you see all the different shapes of the breads and you don’t have to purchase a whole loaf. You can just buy a piece – the big crusty loaves can be quite large. These are best served sliced, toasted in the oven and drizzled with olive oil and salt or made into bruschetta topped with tomatoes or pesto or Tartufata (yumm).
I don’t miss TV. Although we do watch it. But it’s totally in Italian. It’s hilarious to see Will and Grace or Friends in Italian. I’ve always wanted to try living without television altogether so I think I would not miss it if I didn’t have it. I do miss being able to tune into the news and understand the whole story. We do feel isolated from what is going on at home, although we could easily check online for the latest news and do occasionally. But I can’t really say I miss the frustration of our current political situation at home and cringe when I see George Bush’s smirking face on the front page of the paper so I think it has helped our blood pressure not to be constantly bombarded with the entire goings on of his administration. Our kids keep us posted on the important stuff. I don’t miss hearing about all the shootings or car crashes or trivial stuff that hardly seemed like news most of the time. We pick up an English language paper from time to time. It does get tiring when you don’t understand what is being said, even though we understand quite a lot, we watch the local news and read the Italian language newspaper with a dictionary close at hand.
Counter space. Not that I had a huge amount in my house in Phoenix but more than here in this tiny kitchen. But I manage all right. The kitchen table has served quite adequately as my prep space. My good knives! A really big cutting board. I remind myself that I wanted to live a simpler life, to see how much one really needs.
Zip-lock bags. I have not found these, but have found bags with twist ties so that’s been fine. Packaging in general has surprised me. I expected all things Italian to be so well designed but have found, and I hate to admit this, that the packaging in the U.S. is really superior to much of what I have found so far. But it’s fun to use what they use and see how they do it. Milk for instance comes in these little boxes you have to cut open with a scissor. I then pour it into a little glass pitcher which I love doing, or into a glass jar.
Sometimes I think about Oreos and chocolate chip cookies. Hostess cupcakes. But then I find a scrumptious pastry or Italian cookie. And gelato. There is always gelato.
I have totally gotten into the cappuccino for breakfast and don’t miss the huge mugs of coffee I had every morning. It feels more like a ritual, make the little pot of coffee, put a spoonful of sugar in the cup first, heat the milk, froth it, top the cup with it, sip slowly, savor it. We have also fallen into the Italian custom of a simple breakfast, bread, coffee, some fruit, yogurt. Sometimes we have oatmeal or eggs. But mostly we keep it simple. Our goal. A simple life. The recurring theme.
Not that it is when you can’t really speak the language. I do pretty well though and I’m amazed at how much I can understand and thrilled when I can actually have a conversation in Italian. But for every one of those there are two where I don’t understand a word they are trying to tell me and that’s frustrating for both of us. Fortunately for us, the people we have met and become friendly with speak at least some English so we are not so isolated as we could be in a town where that would not be the case and so we hope to be better at it by the time we leave Perugia and go elsewhere.
I had to think for a while as to what I was missing because really, the point for me has been to experience this different life and try not to pine away for the old and familiar. But I do think it would be dishonest of me to say that everything was perfect and that there weren’t at least a few things I missed. But also, with many things I miss, the opposite of what I had seems new and fresh and interesting. And I wanted to see what this was like, this Italian life. Even though I know we are outside of it as retirees. The people who work, who go to work every day have a different life than ours, which is really like one big vacation and I am torn between wanting to do nothing and sit and admire the view every day and wanting to get out there and visit every city, see everything there is to see and fill every day going somewhere. This is my big challenge, to balance this new life, much as I tried to balance the old one.
Yesterday I had this sensation of a giant ball of twine unraveling in my hands and I cannot get a hold of it. Time is slipping through my fingers and I want to make the most of it. To not waste a single moment. To do all the things I want to do –– and to do nothing. To see everything –– but to sit and stare. And will I spend the next two years and make it mean something. Make it worth the trade of the old life for this new one. Appreciate the gift I have of this time together here in this foreign place. To be open to the changes whatever they may be. To learn, to experience – to soak it in. Time seems even more precious now, knowing there is a limit, self-imposed as it is. Having sailed away from my safe harbor, I want to dream, to explore, to discover.
Rosemary
Monday, June 06, 2005
Busy Socializing and Having Guests!
6 Guigno 2005
We are now into our 3rd month in Perugia! Hard to believe, the time has gone by so quickly. And yet it seems like such a long time ago since we waved goodbye to John and Sally as we drove away from their home in Encanto, in Phoenix, leaving our life in Arizona behind and heading across country.
Last week we finished our classes at the University and have spent this past week doing a whole lot of nothing! On Saturday we got on the bus to try to find a Strawberry festival, only to get to the town of Marsciano to find that it wasn’t actually in Marsciano, but in a town within the area. We stopped in a rosticceria and realized it was the same town that Art and Barb brought us to several weeks ago, which is not far from their little village of San Venanzo. So we gave them a call and they decided to come and meet us there and the four of us spent the afternoon wandering around, stopping in Todi to see a little festival there. We tasted wines and cheeses and watching an artist create wine labels using his etchings and a small press, staining the edges of the paper with red wine, printing on his handmade papers. We were so enthralled we watched the entire process. He was very friendly and delighted that we were interested, he gave us a gift of a small etching of Venice. He lives somewhere here in Perugia so we are hoping we can find him. It was a very cool experience.
Art and Barb invited us back to their house where Barb threw together on the spot the most incredible dinner. She is an amazing cook and the meal she prepared for us was so delicious! They are gracious and generous hosts. It has been a pleasure to meet them and have them share their knowledge of Italy with us. We were supposed to get together on Sunday here in Perugia so they could attend the Sister Cities (Gemelli – which means twin in Italian) that has been going on in Piazza Italia for the past week and ended yesterday). This was a fun festival that consisted of the sister cities of Perugia – cities in France, Slovakia, Germany, the U.S. - showing off their special arts, crafts, and foods with information about their cities, accompanied by jazz music from Seattle and a folk band from Slovakia. The German pretzels were the biggest hit! And Bob found his favorite beer called “Zlaty Bazant”, a beer he has been searching for since he returned from his Fullbright in Slovakia and there it was in Perugia centro.
We were also anxiously awaiting the arrival of John McMahon, a firefighter who worked with Bob on the Tempe Fire Department for years and became a very dear friend, traveling with his son Johnny, his friend Matt and John’s girlfriend Valerie. They are backpacking (traveling between campgrounds by car) throughout France, Italy and northern Europe. During the day Saturday we had a call from John that he was in Perugia and we invited him and his entourage to stay with us Saturday night hoping to be able to show them around the city and just spend time with them. We had to take a rain check from Art and Barb for Sunday and appreciate their understanding our wanting to visit with our friend who was just passing through.
It was wonderful to see John. He hasn’t changed a bit in all the years we know him. He’s still a big, strong and handsome, boyish man with a lock of blond hair and a winning smile. His son John looks exactly as he must have when he was a boy and it was really wonderful to get to know these two young guys – ragazzi – they are both19 years old – who have a dream of traveling around Europe with only their good looks and a guitar. It’s an exciting time for them. Although, as a parent, I’m not sure John shares their excitement but we wish all of them well as they continue on their adventure. We had a lot of fun, walked them all over and cooked a lot of food in our kitchen. It was great to be able to show off our garden here to a very appreciative audience. In fact, John and Valerie opted to sleep out in the garden under the stars with the boys inside on the sofa bed.
This morning they did their laundry, Valerie checked email, they picked up a loaf of bread and off they went, headed for Venice. They told us about their favorite city so far and we found it on the map. We’ll have to try to go there, they liked it so much. There is so much to do and see it’s hard not to keep going every minute! After we said goodbye to them, we walked back to our apartment and took a nap. Now we are off to post this and try to make a haircut appointment and buy some groceries. It’s a cooler day than it has been. Yesterday seemed the warmest so far and then around 5 it started to rain; a beautiful light rain for a few hours as we cooked and chatted and just hung out together.
Ciao amici. Buon Viaggio. Buona Fortuna. Keep in touch!
Rosemary and Bob
p.s. check for photos to come
We are now into our 3rd month in Perugia! Hard to believe, the time has gone by so quickly. And yet it seems like such a long time ago since we waved goodbye to John and Sally as we drove away from their home in Encanto, in Phoenix, leaving our life in Arizona behind and heading across country.
Last week we finished our classes at the University and have spent this past week doing a whole lot of nothing! On Saturday we got on the bus to try to find a Strawberry festival, only to get to the town of Marsciano to find that it wasn’t actually in Marsciano, but in a town within the area. We stopped in a rosticceria and realized it was the same town that Art and Barb brought us to several weeks ago, which is not far from their little village of San Venanzo. So we gave them a call and they decided to come and meet us there and the four of us spent the afternoon wandering around, stopping in Todi to see a little festival there. We tasted wines and cheeses and watching an artist create wine labels using his etchings and a small press, staining the edges of the paper with red wine, printing on his handmade papers. We were so enthralled we watched the entire process. He was very friendly and delighted that we were interested, he gave us a gift of a small etching of Venice. He lives somewhere here in Perugia so we are hoping we can find him. It was a very cool experience.
Art and Barb invited us back to their house where Barb threw together on the spot the most incredible dinner. She is an amazing cook and the meal she prepared for us was so delicious! They are gracious and generous hosts. It has been a pleasure to meet them and have them share their knowledge of Italy with us. We were supposed to get together on Sunday here in Perugia so they could attend the Sister Cities (Gemelli – which means twin in Italian) that has been going on in Piazza Italia for the past week and ended yesterday). This was a fun festival that consisted of the sister cities of Perugia – cities in France, Slovakia, Germany, the U.S. - showing off their special arts, crafts, and foods with information about their cities, accompanied by jazz music from Seattle and a folk band from Slovakia. The German pretzels were the biggest hit! And Bob found his favorite beer called “Zlaty Bazant”, a beer he has been searching for since he returned from his Fullbright in Slovakia and there it was in Perugia centro.
We were also anxiously awaiting the arrival of John McMahon, a firefighter who worked with Bob on the Tempe Fire Department for years and became a very dear friend, traveling with his son Johnny, his friend Matt and John’s girlfriend Valerie. They are backpacking (traveling between campgrounds by car) throughout France, Italy and northern Europe. During the day Saturday we had a call from John that he was in Perugia and we invited him and his entourage to stay with us Saturday night hoping to be able to show them around the city and just spend time with them. We had to take a rain check from Art and Barb for Sunday and appreciate their understanding our wanting to visit with our friend who was just passing through.
It was wonderful to see John. He hasn’t changed a bit in all the years we know him. He’s still a big, strong and handsome, boyish man with a lock of blond hair and a winning smile. His son John looks exactly as he must have when he was a boy and it was really wonderful to get to know these two young guys – ragazzi – they are both19 years old – who have a dream of traveling around Europe with only their good looks and a guitar. It’s an exciting time for them. Although, as a parent, I’m not sure John shares their excitement but we wish all of them well as they continue on their adventure. We had a lot of fun, walked them all over and cooked a lot of food in our kitchen. It was great to be able to show off our garden here to a very appreciative audience. In fact, John and Valerie opted to sleep out in the garden under the stars with the boys inside on the sofa bed.
This morning they did their laundry, Valerie checked email, they picked up a loaf of bread and off they went, headed for Venice. They told us about their favorite city so far and we found it on the map. We’ll have to try to go there, they liked it so much. There is so much to do and see it’s hard not to keep going every minute! After we said goodbye to them, we walked back to our apartment and took a nap. Now we are off to post this and try to make a haircut appointment and buy some groceries. It’s a cooler day than it has been. Yesterday seemed the warmest so far and then around 5 it started to rain; a beautiful light rain for a few hours as we cooked and chatted and just hung out together.
Ciao amici. Buon Viaggio. Buona Fortuna. Keep in touch!
Rosemary and Bob
p.s. check for photos to come
Spello Balconies & flowers
In addition to the floral carpets, there was also a competition to create the most beautiful balconies and window decorations using flowers. The neighbors on each street worked together to create a beautiful scene. This was one of our favorite streets.
Tree carpet
Putting finishing touches on this carpet in the early morning, before the procession began.
Procession on carpets
The procession passing by our window, carrying the host and walking on the beautiful carpets.
Carpet detail after procession
This had been part of a beautiful floral carpet made of seeds and pods and flower petals.
Aftermath, Monday morning
We watched them cleaning up the streets, stripping up the templates that had been beautiful carpets the day before!
L'Infiorata, Sunday, 29 maggio
At 6 we got up, threw on our clothes and raced out into the streets, which were still abuzz with the artisans - "infioratori" - frantically finishing up their carpets. They all looked exhausted, some slept (especially children) the rest still working hard, tweaking here and there, putting finishing touches on.
By 9 in the morning, most were finished and the streets began to fill to capacity as tourists worked their way along the route of the Infiorata and admired the handiwork, sometimes squeezing single file past carpets and infioratori to admire their work. They held Mass in the church around 10 and at 11 began the big procession around the city. The bishop and all the attendants came out of the church under an elaborate gold embroidered canopy, carrying the host and walking on the carpets, accompanied by music and singing, with the citizens and the tourists following along behind. We were so fortunate to have a bird's eye view of the procession from our room above the square! After about 2 hours, the procession ended and most of the carpets had been trampled so that what remained were only masses of crushed flower petals and the original paper templates showing through. It was a fleeting moment of beauty, the important part of which to our eyes, was the process, the joining together of many hands to joyfully create something lovely, proof that nothing lasts, once again, that life is short but wonderful and that one must enjoy each moment as it spreads itself before you.
By early afternoon the crowds had thinned, tourists moved on to next city, the next festival, the next hotel. We walked around taking photos of what remained and just enjoying being able to stay another night and enjoy the pretty city of Spello, snitching a small sample of one of the templates as a souvenir. As luck would have it, we ran into our friend Anna who teaches at the Universita per Stranieri, who was so helpful to us on our arrival, along with her friends Giuseppina and her husband, who invited us to wander along with them. (I must tell you sometime about our dinner with Anna and her friends, but that is another post!) Anna has lived here her entire life and knew little things about the city we did not know and so it was a great gift to see it through her eyes and learn things not found in the guidebooks. Throughout Umbria we have noticed much restoration work being done (we have kidded about the cranes and the scaffolding). What we did not really appreciate was the damage that was done to many of these cities in the earthquake a few years back. Everyone has heard of the damage that the cathedral in Assisi suffered but many of the cities in the area, like Spello, experienced some damage as well and are still working on restoring the beautiful churches and monuments that are in need of repair.
We are at home today, sleeping in, relaxing, no big plans - Bob is even sitting outside, reading a book! Our neighbor Catherine just came home from her classes. We just met the ladies who are in the apartment upstairs and hope to get to know them a bit over a glass of wine or a caffè. Life goes on.
Buona giornata,
Rosemary & Bob
By 9 in the morning, most were finished and the streets began to fill to capacity as tourists worked their way along the route of the Infiorata and admired the handiwork, sometimes squeezing single file past carpets and infioratori to admire their work. They held Mass in the church around 10 and at 11 began the big procession around the city. The bishop and all the attendants came out of the church under an elaborate gold embroidered canopy, carrying the host and walking on the carpets, accompanied by music and singing, with the citizens and the tourists following along behind. We were so fortunate to have a bird's eye view of the procession from our room above the square! After about 2 hours, the procession ended and most of the carpets had been trampled so that what remained were only masses of crushed flower petals and the original paper templates showing through. It was a fleeting moment of beauty, the important part of which to our eyes, was the process, the joining together of many hands to joyfully create something lovely, proof that nothing lasts, once again, that life is short but wonderful and that one must enjoy each moment as it spreads itself before you.
By early afternoon the crowds had thinned, tourists moved on to next city, the next festival, the next hotel. We walked around taking photos of what remained and just enjoying being able to stay another night and enjoy the pretty city of Spello, snitching a small sample of one of the templates as a souvenir. As luck would have it, we ran into our friend Anna who teaches at the Universita per Stranieri, who was so helpful to us on our arrival, along with her friends Giuseppina and her husband, who invited us to wander along with them. (I must tell you sometime about our dinner with Anna and her friends, but that is another post!) Anna has lived here her entire life and knew little things about the city we did not know and so it was a great gift to see it through her eyes and learn things not found in the guidebooks. Throughout Umbria we have noticed much restoration work being done (we have kidded about the cranes and the scaffolding). What we did not really appreciate was the damage that was done to many of these cities in the earthquake a few years back. Everyone has heard of the damage that the cathedral in Assisi suffered but many of the cities in the area, like Spello, experienced some damage as well and are still working on restoring the beautiful churches and monuments that are in need of repair.
We are at home today, sleeping in, relaxing, no big plans - Bob is even sitting outside, reading a book! Our neighbor Catherine just came home from her classes. We just met the ladies who are in the apartment upstairs and hope to get to know them a bit over a glass of wine or a caffè. Life goes on.
Buona giornata,
Rosemary & Bob
Friday, June 03, 2005
Preparations for L’Infiorate, Spello
Saturday, 28 maggio 2005
After getting settled in our room, we wandered around the city, stopping to ask questions about the proceedings for the following days, watching the video and looking at photos of previous years. We found groups of neighbors, entire extended families busily preparing for the street paintings. Prior to this day, and throughout the previous year I imagine, they had decided on a design for their "carpet" and prepared the artwork. Some of the larger designs were plotted on a computer as a template, output to paper, stripped together and laid onto moistened streets, (sort of like you would moisten a wall for wallpaper) to be filled in with flowers in colors based on their original paintings or drawings (some considerably more complex than others). Some were simply hand-drawn with chalk on the streets that curved around the city.
Preparations included growing and gathering enormous quantities of flowers in every color of the rainbow and then snipping off the flower from the stem, pulling off all the petals and then also grinding the petals into small pieces for even more precise rendering. They had boxes of flower petals, separated by colors, in brilliant shades of reds, yellows, purples, blues, and oranges, used various herbs and vegetables for all the shades of greens they needed. Throughout the day they worked, creating their palette of colors, like pots of paint. At the same time, groups of men and boys were assembling shade structures over their "canvases" which would allow them to hang electric lights for working all night, as well as protection from wind or rain. These would be removed in the morning prior to the procession.
And so, all night long they worked, pouring petals into the templates, much the way Native American sand painters create their designs; it reminded us very much of that process. And all night long, people wandered the city, watching these carpets come to life, watching this creative process take shape, seeing the simple line drawings become elaborate depictions of man and his relation to his God and to his world. Religious themes were dominant, since after all, this is the religious celebration of Corpus Domini, but also a celebration of spring with flowers and fruit and man and his world in abstract patterns and shapes as well.
By midnight we wandered off to our room, exhausted and anticipating not getting much sleep for all the activity going on in the streets below, but not really caring!
(to be continued)
After getting settled in our room, we wandered around the city, stopping to ask questions about the proceedings for the following days, watching the video and looking at photos of previous years. We found groups of neighbors, entire extended families busily preparing for the street paintings. Prior to this day, and throughout the previous year I imagine, they had decided on a design for their "carpet" and prepared the artwork. Some of the larger designs were plotted on a computer as a template, output to paper, stripped together and laid onto moistened streets, (sort of like you would moisten a wall for wallpaper) to be filled in with flowers in colors based on their original paintings or drawings (some considerably more complex than others). Some were simply hand-drawn with chalk on the streets that curved around the city.
Preparations included growing and gathering enormous quantities of flowers in every color of the rainbow and then snipping off the flower from the stem, pulling off all the petals and then also grinding the petals into small pieces for even more precise rendering. They had boxes of flower petals, separated by colors, in brilliant shades of reds, yellows, purples, blues, and oranges, used various herbs and vegetables for all the shades of greens they needed. Throughout the day they worked, creating their palette of colors, like pots of paint. At the same time, groups of men and boys were assembling shade structures over their "canvases" which would allow them to hang electric lights for working all night, as well as protection from wind or rain. These would be removed in the morning prior to the procession.
And so, all night long they worked, pouring petals into the templates, much the way Native American sand painters create their designs; it reminded us very much of that process. And all night long, people wandered the city, watching these carpets come to life, watching this creative process take shape, seeing the simple line drawings become elaborate depictions of man and his relation to his God and to his world. Religious themes were dominant, since after all, this is the religious celebration of Corpus Domini, but also a celebration of spring with flowers and fruit and man and his world in abstract patterns and shapes as well.
By midnight we wandered off to our room, exhausted and anticipating not getting much sleep for all the activity going on in the streets below, but not really caring!
(to be continued)
Creating their carpets
Note all the pots of different colored flower petals used to fill in the carpet designs.
Neighborhoods working together
Whole neighborhoods, from children to grandmothers worked all day and into the night to strip petals off the flowers to be used in the carpets.
Removing petals
Everyone was busy removing the petals from the flowers for the carpets they were creating.
Finding a Room at the Inn
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Sitting in our apartment, writing this morning, trying to catch up with what has happened these past few days. When last I wrote about it, we were hoping to be able to stay in Spello for the festival and I am thrilled to tell you that we did find a place!
We arrived in the early morning and went straight to the Tourist Office. In most cities they will help you find accommodation if you just show up and need a room. But this is not always possible, especially when there is a festival. Miraculously, the young women there knew of a place - we would have accepted just a bed with access to a bathroom; we so wanted to be able to stay! She told us that there was a room at the Monastery/Convent but said it was essential for us to speak even a little Italian - I said confidently that I could - and gave us directions to get there (just about around the corner from the Tourist office).
We found the building, went into a dark courtyard and rang the bell. A small round window with a dark screen on it opened and I could make out the silhouette of a sister who asked "Si? (yes?). I explained "Siamo americani turisti e la signora all'ufficio turistichi ci ha mandato qui per la camera per stasera." Hoping I had said, in Italian "We are American tourists and the lady at the Tourist Office sent us here for a room for tonight." The nun was so surprised by this question, she simply said "Qui??? Non qui!" (meaning "here?? You must be joking!") But she asked us to wait a minute ("un momento") since we seemed so certain this was true. We waited in the courtyard, trying to think of all the words to use and hoping to get it right, feeling a bit like Joseph and Mary searching for a room at the inn.
In just a few moments, another sister appeared and I repeated "Siamo americani turisti e la signora all'ufficio turistichi ci ha mandato qui per la camera per stasera." And again, the response "Qui?? Non, qui! "Si, (I said), qui." But, then she pulled forth a bit of English she had learned years ago, apologizing for not speaking it well, but we were able to determine that we were actually at a cloistered convent (big "duh" on our part) and needed to go next door, around the corner. I asked her to "Scrivi il nome (write the name) of the person I was to ask for. She opened another door where there was a revolving sort of lazysusan whereby you could pass things through without having to actually touch or meet face to face. I slipped paper and pencil in, she retrieved it, wrote down the name, and spun it back around to me. I thanked her "Grazie mille" very much and off we went.
It was indeed right around the corner and sure enough La Signora Aurora's name was on the mail box and the owner of the name, a charming woman who reminded me very much of Bob's Aunt Gloria, she had such a sweet disposition, opened the door. She led us into an interior courtyard, through glass doors and up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs there was a landing, with pink carnations on the railings and a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside! There were a few tables and chairs with umbrellas and flowers and we went through another door and up another flight of stairs to our room on the top floor (the 3rd floor up I guess). We were so delighted to find this beautiful room. Not fancy, but spotless and serene, a beautiful iron bed, with an armoire and desk in warm wooden tones, stained the same color as the shutters on the windows which overlooked the main path of the procession that would be held the next morning! The bathroom also had a large window, and all the necessary things. And best of all, we could experience the entire event, from start to finish and have a room to escape to for a nap or a shower when we felt the need. The most amazing part is that the room only cost 30 euros a night. We decided to stay on through Sunday and take the morning train back to Perugia on Monday morning!
Sitting in our apartment, writing this morning, trying to catch up with what has happened these past few days. When last I wrote about it, we were hoping to be able to stay in Spello for the festival and I am thrilled to tell you that we did find a place!
We arrived in the early morning and went straight to the Tourist Office. In most cities they will help you find accommodation if you just show up and need a room. But this is not always possible, especially when there is a festival. Miraculously, the young women there knew of a place - we would have accepted just a bed with access to a bathroom; we so wanted to be able to stay! She told us that there was a room at the Monastery/Convent but said it was essential for us to speak even a little Italian - I said confidently that I could - and gave us directions to get there (just about around the corner from the Tourist office).
We found the building, went into a dark courtyard and rang the bell. A small round window with a dark screen on it opened and I could make out the silhouette of a sister who asked "Si? (yes?). I explained "Siamo americani turisti e la signora all'ufficio turistichi ci ha mandato qui per la camera per stasera." Hoping I had said, in Italian "We are American tourists and the lady at the Tourist Office sent us here for a room for tonight." The nun was so surprised by this question, she simply said "Qui??? Non qui!" (meaning "here?? You must be joking!") But she asked us to wait a minute ("un momento") since we seemed so certain this was true. We waited in the courtyard, trying to think of all the words to use and hoping to get it right, feeling a bit like Joseph and Mary searching for a room at the inn.
In just a few moments, another sister appeared and I repeated "Siamo americani turisti e la signora all'ufficio turistichi ci ha mandato qui per la camera per stasera." And again, the response "Qui?? Non, qui! "Si, (I said), qui." But, then she pulled forth a bit of English she had learned years ago, apologizing for not speaking it well, but we were able to determine that we were actually at a cloistered convent (big "duh" on our part) and needed to go next door, around the corner. I asked her to "Scrivi il nome (write the name) of the person I was to ask for. She opened another door where there was a revolving sort of lazysusan whereby you could pass things through without having to actually touch or meet face to face. I slipped paper and pencil in, she retrieved it, wrote down the name, and spun it back around to me. I thanked her "Grazie mille" very much and off we went.
It was indeed right around the corner and sure enough La Signora Aurora's name was on the mail box and the owner of the name, a charming woman who reminded me very much of Bob's Aunt Gloria, she had such a sweet disposition, opened the door. She led us into an interior courtyard, through glass doors and up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs there was a landing, with pink carnations on the railings and a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside! There were a few tables and chairs with umbrellas and flowers and we went through another door and up another flight of stairs to our room on the top floor (the 3rd floor up I guess). We were so delighted to find this beautiful room. Not fancy, but spotless and serene, a beautiful iron bed, with an armoire and desk in warm wooden tones, stained the same color as the shutters on the windows which overlooked the main path of the procession that would be held the next morning! The bathroom also had a large window, and all the necessary things. And best of all, we could experience the entire event, from start to finish and have a room to escape to for a nap or a shower when we felt the need. The most amazing part is that the room only cost 30 euros a night. We decided to stay on through Sunday and take the morning train back to Perugia on Monday morning!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Arrivederci Amici! 31 May 2005
Today, sadly is our last day of school. We said our tearful goodbyes last night to some of our friends who will not be there today. They are ready to move on, to take their planes, trains and automobiles to other cities, to other countries, and it worked best in their schedules to leave this morning and get an early start. Other places call to them, other sites to see, churches to visit, photos to take, as they continue on their journeys around the world or just throughout Europe. We wish them all "Buon Viaggio" and happy days, joyful futures. We feel as if we have made some wonderful friends and our lives have been enriched by the experience. We look forward now to future visits to their countries and hope they will come to ours. We will miss their daily presence in our life here. We still have Helena, our lovely, lovely young friend from Switzerland, and Eva and Anne (Holland and Germany) who will continue their studies here for a few months so we hope to have more time with them.
But now, we are off to our last day of school. We had our exam on Thursday last week and did pretty well. We aren't continuing with the classes because it is such a huge time commitment (even though the lessons are wonderful and truly needed!). We just want our time to ourselves to explore and travel about or simply sit and enjoy the garden, to spend more time painting and sketching and for Bob, taking photos. There is so much to see and do, we could be on the go every minute and hope to resist the urge to do that! Our lovely garden here is blooming with roses - red and pink and white; the grapes vines are full of leaves with tiny little clusters of grapes visible, the iris are incredible, geraniums and more and more. I want time to sit and enjoy this, to breathe in this place, this lovely, lovely place.
Rosemary
But now, we are off to our last day of school. We had our exam on Thursday last week and did pretty well. We aren't continuing with the classes because it is such a huge time commitment (even though the lessons are wonderful and truly needed!). We just want our time to ourselves to explore and travel about or simply sit and enjoy the garden, to spend more time painting and sketching and for Bob, taking photos. There is so much to see and do, we could be on the go every minute and hope to resist the urge to do that! Our lovely garden here is blooming with roses - red and pink and white; the grapes vines are full of leaves with tiny little clusters of grapes visible, the iris are incredible, geraniums and more and more. I want time to sit and enjoy this, to breathe in this place, this lovely, lovely place.
Rosemary
May 28, 2005
Heading for Spello, with fingers crossed
This morning we are going to the train station headed for Spello. They have a festival there called "L'Infiorata." It's the religious festival of Corpus Domini but the big show is the paintings on the streets using crushed flower petals to create these amazing floral carpets throughout the town. We've read about it and seen some photos and have been trying to find a room for weeks with no success. The tourist office we used to get us a room in Gubbio a few weeks ago thought maybe there was the possibility of a room in a brand new bed and breakfast about to open so we held out hope until a few days ago when they said no, it would not be open in time for this weekend. But, undaunted, we have decided to pack a few things in our backpack (change of underwear, clean shirt, toothbrush - just the basics) and take our chances. We really want to stay overnight because we have heard that they work all night on these paintings and that the best time to see them is early in the morning before the rest of the tourists arrive in droves, apparently. So, wish us luck! Spello isn't very far away by train, so if we can't find a room we will go back again tomorrow on the earliest possible train and see as much as we can. We'll let you know how it goes!
Ciao!
Rosemary & Bob
This morning we are going to the train station headed for Spello. They have a festival there called "L'Infiorata." It's the religious festival of Corpus Domini but the big show is the paintings on the streets using crushed flower petals to create these amazing floral carpets throughout the town. We've read about it and seen some photos and have been trying to find a room for weeks with no success. The tourist office we used to get us a room in Gubbio a few weeks ago thought maybe there was the possibility of a room in a brand new bed and breakfast about to open so we held out hope until a few days ago when they said no, it would not be open in time for this weekend. But, undaunted, we have decided to pack a few things in our backpack (change of underwear, clean shirt, toothbrush - just the basics) and take our chances. We really want to stay overnight because we have heard that they work all night on these paintings and that the best time to see them is early in the morning before the rest of the tourists arrive in droves, apparently. So, wish us luck! Spello isn't very far away by train, so if we can't find a room we will go back again tomorrow on the earliest possible train and see as much as we can. We'll let you know how it goes!
Ciao!
Rosemary & Bob
27 maggio 2005
I am feeling quite euphoric this morning. Or perhaps it is partly hung over! Last evening we had our first "festa" (party) - at "la casa nostra" (our house). Our Italian language class is in its final days now. Yesterday afternoon we had to take a test to see how much we had learned in the previous four weeks. Part of which consisted of listening to Chiara (our wonderful afternoon instructor who treats us as if she is the loving mother and we the eager children, and I mean that in the best possible way) and then answering questions to test our comprehension. She encourages us and helps us to find the right words, patiently waiting for us to find them, and correcting us gently when we don't. And even though there are no consequences to doing poorly on the test (most of us aren't going on to the next level - in fact most are not even continuing in Italy for more than a week or so) but all of us simply wanting to prove to ourselves that we had learned something, made progress in our attempt to learn this beautiful language. Now there is today, with our phonetic lesson and Monday (Chiara has promised to bring some Umbrian recipes and talk with us about cooking and the cucina (kitchen, in Italian) and just wrap things up by Tuesday, which is the last day of the class. I can't believe an entire month has passed!
Last week we decided it would be fun to have a small gathering of classmates at our apartment. We had been talking about our place here, the beautiful gardens and how lovely it all was and really wanted to share it with these wonderful people. So I sat down at the computer and created a very simply little invitation (actually fun to be using my graphic design skills for something personal like this) along with a map and directions to our place - and writing it all in Italian! (except for a tiny bit of translation at the bottom so the directions would be clear). Everyone was to bring either a bottle of wine or some cheese and to arrive at 5pm.
On Sunday we cleaned house and on Wednesday stopped at some of our favorite little markets for fruit and cheese and a bit of the "porchetta" that we like so much. The wine flowed freely! There was a terrific assortment and a good balance of red and white. The cheeses were delicious and Helena our sweet young Swiss friend made delicious platters of caprese salad with the fresh tomatoes and mozzarella she had also picked up at the market. We were even treated to a glass of limoncello that our Australian friends, Mary and Michael, had bought in Venice!
But the best part of the evening was just spending time with these incredible people. This was the smaller group that we've met with in the afternoons, with Chiara, the class where we do exercises and try to have little conversations with each other and because of that, have come to know each other a bit more. Early conversation in Italian has consisted of questions like "where are you from" "what things did you do on the weekend" "what are your plans for the future (the first three tenses: present, past and future) and we have asked what kinds of books we all read and all the getting to know you types of questions you ask when you first meet someone, groping along in our limited Italian and filling in with English here and there!
The night was magical. We gathered here in the apartment, and then brought everyone out to "The View" and down through "The Park" to "The Garden" then out to "The Pointe" - all names I have given to the various parts of this piece of heaven we have landed in. It was so wonderful to be able to share it with our new friends, most of whom have apartments in and around centro but not including such wonderful gardens that we have here. Our invitation said 5pm to 8pm, but it was hard to tear ourselves away from each other and most stayed until around 10. The weather was perfect, friends gathered inside and out and talked and laughed and drank wine as the night progressed. We found out how to say "I love you" in Taiwanese, German, Dutch and Swiss, shared home addresses, phone numbers and every bit of personal information that will keep us connected once we leave this cocoon of our class together.
It's an amazing thing that happens when we come together, serendipitously with a group of people (in this case, from all over the world, in various ages and genders) and we have a common goal, some hard work we do together and it bonds us to each other. It so broke my heart leaving all my dear friends in Phoenix and here we see that there are so many friends out there in our world, waiting to be found and discovered and treasured. That once again, proof that life is short and we must take experiences where we can. Enjoy the people we are with. Let them know how we feel, open ourselves up to them and let them into our lives.
We have been so enriched by this experience; I cannot begin to tell you. We talked about planning a trip to Holland next spring to see the tulips and Eva said she will ask her parents where and when we should go; about connecting with Philip and Silva's family outside of Naples who might suggest places for us to go there; Irma invited us all to come to Oaxaca and stay with her in her big house there; definitely wanting to make our way to Australia to visit Mary and Michael, Penny and Vanessa, and Phillip and his family (who discovered they didn't live far from each other down under!). We want to go to Switzerland and to Berlin to meet the families of Helena and Anne. And in five years time to gather again, all of us in Georgia (not the U.S. one)! We promised to get together with Helena, Anne and Eva again in the month of June, since they will be continuing with their studies (we feel quite parental towards these lovely young women and hope to have them over for dinner or something) and to set a date with Irma (from Georgia) and her Italian husband who live in Assisi (romantically, they met in Paris and have only been married a few months).
Once again we feel so fortunate to be here in this beautiful place, further enriched now by the people we have met, "stranieri" (the Italian word for foreigners) who we now call "amici"
Ciao,
Rosemary & "Robert"
Last week we decided it would be fun to have a small gathering of classmates at our apartment. We had been talking about our place here, the beautiful gardens and how lovely it all was and really wanted to share it with these wonderful people. So I sat down at the computer and created a very simply little invitation (actually fun to be using my graphic design skills for something personal like this) along with a map and directions to our place - and writing it all in Italian! (except for a tiny bit of translation at the bottom so the directions would be clear). Everyone was to bring either a bottle of wine or some cheese and to arrive at 5pm.
On Sunday we cleaned house and on Wednesday stopped at some of our favorite little markets for fruit and cheese and a bit of the "porchetta" that we like so much. The wine flowed freely! There was a terrific assortment and a good balance of red and white. The cheeses were delicious and Helena our sweet young Swiss friend made delicious platters of caprese salad with the fresh tomatoes and mozzarella she had also picked up at the market. We were even treated to a glass of limoncello that our Australian friends, Mary and Michael, had bought in Venice!
But the best part of the evening was just spending time with these incredible people. This was the smaller group that we've met with in the afternoons, with Chiara, the class where we do exercises and try to have little conversations with each other and because of that, have come to know each other a bit more. Early conversation in Italian has consisted of questions like "where are you from" "what things did you do on the weekend" "what are your plans for the future (the first three tenses: present, past and future) and we have asked what kinds of books we all read and all the getting to know you types of questions you ask when you first meet someone, groping along in our limited Italian and filling in with English here and there!
The night was magical. We gathered here in the apartment, and then brought everyone out to "The View" and down through "The Park" to "The Garden" then out to "The Pointe" - all names I have given to the various parts of this piece of heaven we have landed in. It was so wonderful to be able to share it with our new friends, most of whom have apartments in and around centro but not including such wonderful gardens that we have here. Our invitation said 5pm to 8pm, but it was hard to tear ourselves away from each other and most stayed until around 10. The weather was perfect, friends gathered inside and out and talked and laughed and drank wine as the night progressed. We found out how to say "I love you" in Taiwanese, German, Dutch and Swiss, shared home addresses, phone numbers and every bit of personal information that will keep us connected once we leave this cocoon of our class together.
It's an amazing thing that happens when we come together, serendipitously with a group of people (in this case, from all over the world, in various ages and genders) and we have a common goal, some hard work we do together and it bonds us to each other. It so broke my heart leaving all my dear friends in Phoenix and here we see that there are so many friends out there in our world, waiting to be found and discovered and treasured. That once again, proof that life is short and we must take experiences where we can. Enjoy the people we are with. Let them know how we feel, open ourselves up to them and let them into our lives.
We have been so enriched by this experience; I cannot begin to tell you. We talked about planning a trip to Holland next spring to see the tulips and Eva said she will ask her parents where and when we should go; about connecting with Philip and Silva's family outside of Naples who might suggest places for us to go there; Irma invited us all to come to Oaxaca and stay with her in her big house there; definitely wanting to make our way to Australia to visit Mary and Michael, Penny and Vanessa, and Phillip and his family (who discovered they didn't live far from each other down under!). We want to go to Switzerland and to Berlin to meet the families of Helena and Anne. And in five years time to gather again, all of us in Georgia (not the U.S. one)! We promised to get together with Helena, Anne and Eva again in the month of June, since they will be continuing with their studies (we feel quite parental towards these lovely young women and hope to have them over for dinner or something) and to set a date with Irma (from Georgia) and her Italian husband who live in Assisi (romantically, they met in Paris and have only been married a few months).
Once again we feel so fortunate to be here in this beautiful place, further enriched now by the people we have met, "stranieri" (the Italian word for foreigners) who we now call "amici"
Ciao,
Rosemary & "Robert"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
