14 Oct. 2006 The 41st Marmomacc "International Exhibition of Marble and Stone Technology"

This is possibly the largest show of marble and stone machines in Itlay. It is attended by vendors and buyers from every corner of the world. While we walked around we saw many machines with "Sold" (venduto) signs meaning someone had just spent a small fortune. Viewing these enormous machines made me think back to our tour of Pietrasanta with Doug and Esther and wathcing them make their stone art by hand, quite a difference. I prefer art made by hand.
See Esther's art at: http://www.estherbruijn.com/ie/index.htm
Working the Cutting Machine


Sink Router


Etching Picaso's Guernica


This is how money is made at Marmomacc


People of Marmomacc

13 October 2006 Verona

History class at the Castlevecchio. Not a bad way to learn the art and history of your country.


Roman Wall outside the Arena in Piazza Bra'

13 October 2006 Photos from my wandering around Verona

Tourist are a never ending source of entertainment.


Dragon Pattern on a Verona balcony


"Pala San Zeno" A masterpiece of religious art by Andrea Mantegna. There are three shows of his works and the works of his peers to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his death. One show is in Verona, one in Padova, and one in Mantova.


Detail on Porta San Zeno

13 October 2006 Photos around Verona

The historic center of Verona is still surrounded by a defensive wall and moat. This is taken from in the moat looking across its length.


This is a not so effective section of the defensive wall. Not that there is much need for it these days.


Many of the building around Piazza Erbe hare covered withfrescos. This is my favorite.


This is an architectural detail inside a courtyard in the historic center of Verona


Piazza Bra' and the Roman Wall of the Arena

Malcésine, on Lago di Garda 10.5.06

Malcésine is one of the lovely cities on the eastern shores of Lago di Garda along the narrowest part of the lake. Towering above it is the majestic Monte Baldo. Yesterday we drove there and took the "funivia," the cableway that lifts you up to the top. It takes about 15 minutes and the scenery is breathtaking. The large cable cars hold about 30 people and rotate as you climb giving you a 360 degree view as you rise higher and higher. The deep blue sky was dramatically filled with clouds that ranged from purest white to dark and foreboding yesterday as rain threatened but did not fall, only enhancing the already incredible panorama.

The temperatures at the lake were more than comfortable, Fall is taking its sweet time arriving here, to our complete approval. Although we think it is truly around the corner as we have noticed the trees beginning to turn and even some of the leaves on the grape vines turning a deep red. We were glad we had warmer outerwear with us, however as it was much colder at the top than it had been at the bottom. The wind whipped around as we walked along the ridge, completely blown away by the spectacular views of the lake below and the Dolomites above.

We had lunch in one of the restaurants at the top and were lucky to get a table by the window and couldn't resist snapping a few photos through the glass as we waited for our meals to arrive. We listened to a smattering of languages, mostly German, some Italians and a few Americans and Brits. We were surprised by how many tourists are still here as every cablecar was filled to capacity but we know that the shoulder season extends all the way to November now when it used to be mostly September. Some of these hardy travelers took the funivia to the top (5,725 ft/1,745 meters) and then followed the trails all the way back down to the bottom. We opted for the round trip ticket and enjoyed the ride that at times seemed practically perpendicular!

Here are some of the views we enjoyed:

Lago di Garda (with blue tint: Bob had fun experiementing with tri-tones)


Row Boat with red buoy (in blue tones)


White Rocks on the top of Monte Baldo (in blue tones)


These next two images are the same photo. One is in full color, one is a Tri-tone in shades of blue.
VOTE! Which one do you like best? Let us know!

1. Full color:


2. Tri-tones in blue tint

Images from the top of Monte Baldo, Malcénise

Pulley that make the cable car go up and down.


Mountain top (Bob was experimenting with PhotoShop colors)


Funivia (cable car) coming up to the top as we were descending the mountain (with blue tint)


Monte Baldo reflection in the windows of the Funivia station


Lado di Garda in shades of blue

Rosemary's Watercolors of Verona

The view from the Ponte Pietra, the old stone bridge


An old house in a courtyard in Verona


(Urban Sketches)

A Trip back Home 10.7.06

Bob and I have accumulated a few things over the course of the last year and a half and wanted to ship home some of the things we haven’t used much, like his 4x5 camera and all the paraphernalia that goes along with that. Since he got his nifty new digital camera, he hasn’t used it at all, as he thought he would. I bought a French easel before we left Phoenix and only used it a number of times. What I thought would be a fun thing to unfold out in the field really turned out to be too heavy to lug around and clunky so I haven’t used it much. Plus, our apartments really haven’t been big enough to keep an easel set up and it has mostly remained folded up in a corner of a room. And then some of the souvenirs and books we have collected that we wanted to send on ahead and not transport to our next place here in Italy. Our car is small and can only fit so much stuff! So we’ve been looking into shipping some of this stuff home and the costs have been astronomical. Not to mention the complicated forms and information for customs. These things are mostly used but you can end up paying huge tariffs on some other items and we weren’t anxious to do that.

When the shipping costs came in around 1200 Euros we laughingly said “it would be cheaper to just fly home and take the stuff with us!” We looked at each other and said “why not?” The more we thought about it the more we could rationalize that it would be easier to just pack a couple of suitcases with the stuff and fly home to the states AND (and this was the clincher!) if I went to Richmond, and if our son had room to store this stuff for us, I could get to see our granddaughter who we haven’t seen since the end of March last year. I will only stay a week, long enough to spend a little time with her and our son Chris and to see these things safely delivered back to the states. It will also allow me to carry on some of my paintings and journals that I would otherwise have probably sent via FedEx or some other secure means of transport, worrying the whole time. This way I can keep them with me and Chris can store them for me until we get home in April.

So impetuously, we purchased airline tickets for me. Bob will remain here in Verona and have some time to himself and I will fly home for a quick in and out visit. Unfortunately our daughter Jessica is busy working on a show in Milwaukee and can’t join us. My sister and her girls are too far away in Colorado for a quick visit with them and everyone else is just too far away and spread out. But they will not have changed that much by the time we get back in April, while our little Kyla is at this stage where every month makes a big difference. I have contented myself with the fact that I will get to see her often when we return and are living in Delaware. This little visit was something unplanned but I really am getting excited at the opportunity to see her now. She’s talking so much now and has grown so much since we saw her last and she was only a year old. She’s now almost two and half. Chris sends photos all the time but it will be wonderful to actually get to play and read stories and sing songs and maybe really feel like a grandma. Jessica asked me if I thought it would be hard to leave after being with her. I’m sure it will be. But I’m also thrilled to be able to do this now and I can’t wait!

And then I have the Amalfi Coast to look forward to and exploring the Campania region and Naples, Salerno, Pompeii…

Con anticipo,
Rosemary & Robert

Bad News: Still Apartment Hunting 10.7.06

We got a call last evening that the owner of the apartment in Vietri had decided not to rent it after all. Shocked and disappointed, we are now back to square one searching for a place to live along the Amalfi Coast, still hoping for Vietri. Nigel, who has been helping us in this search, assures us he is hot on the trail of other possible places and we have to just trust that this will all work out for the best. But it does make us very nervous that at this late date we still don’t know where we are going at the end of the month!

We were really excited about Vietri, since it is looks out onto the Bay of Salerno and is at the beginning of the Amalfi Coast and near to the roads that lead from it to the interior and to Salerno and Naples and the rest of Campania. We have to just keep our fingers crossed that the third one will be the charm and trust that it will work out alright.

We’ll keep you posted!
Bob and Rosemary

Soavé: a visit to the town & castle 10.3.06

Last week we took the short drive to Soave, a fortified town famous for the Soave Bolla wines produced in this area. We had stopped here earlier in the summer but the castle was closed and we promised ourselves we would come back to tour it. You can see this castle on the hill above the town as you drive east from Verona towards Venice with its 14th century crenellated walls spilling down the hillside and enclosing the small historic center.

The original castle dates back to the 10th Century and was added to many times throughout its history and had fallen into disrepair when the Camuzzoni family bought it in the late 1800s and meticulously restored it to its former glory. It is still in the hands of this family who maintain it. A fresco was being worked on as we passed through the rooms in the well-preserved medieval Lord’s house, above what were barracks and a guardhouse, complete with furnishings, armor and portraits of 14th century nobility. Climbing the stairs to the keep, the highest tower, affords spectacular 360-degree views of the town below and the vineyards that undulate up and down the hillsides.

I will let the photos speak for themselves, so here’s a little tour of the town of Soave and its Castle.


At the Rocca Scaligera, in the courtyard of the castle, we found this "guard dog"


The Palazzo Giustizia in the historic town center, built in 1375


The Tower of the Castle, called the Rocca Scaligera


Keys to the medieval house on the castle grounds


The town of Soavé seen from the Castle

More views of Soave

A View of the Castle from above


View of the Castle from the Vineyards above it


The Castle exterior, complete with Drawbridge


The Vineyards of Soave, from the Castle Keep


The Castle "Keep"

A Word about "Anonymous" Comments

Someone commented recently from Farmville, VA "so much for being 'anonymous'." and I thought I would just respond that, you are! Just because you have to give some information to Google doesn't mean they pass it on to us. We have no idea who you are unless you want us to know. It is a security feature that keeps spammers from leaving their own sales pitches on the blog. And, I might add it has eliminated all of it.

We do appreciate your leaving comments and be assured that you do it anonymously if you so choose.

Grazie mille!
Rosemary and Bob

An apartment on the Amalfi Coast! 10.1.06

We were starting to get a bit nervous as the end of September approached and we still had not found a place to live for the last five months of our two-year sojourn in Italy. We showed you photos of a place in the countryside outside Cava di Tirreni we looked at on our way north at the beginning of June but had trepidations about whether the construction on the property would be finished by the time we were ready to arrive in November and the owners could not assure us it would be. Not wanting to live in the middle of a construction zone, and coupled with the fact that we would be living out in the country, too far from the city center, was enough to change our minds.

After much searching in the area we have settled on an apartment in a little town called Vietri sul Mare. It is near Salerno, on the Amalfi Coast and before we left Sicily, our friend Elio had said it was a beautiful city. Vietri is famous for its ceramics although through the winter months that we will be there we do expect many of the tourist shops to be closed. That suits us just fine, since that will mean that most of the tourists will be gone as well.

We are really looking forward to exploring the Amalfi Coast area. We were there on vacation several years ago and the few days we spent were just not enough. We want to spend time getting to know Naples and plan to take public transportation to get there rather than driving our car into what we expect to be a crazy traffic area. We want to go back to Pompeii and to Paestum. To study the beautiful Duomo in Amalfi and see where the paper is made. To walk along the coast and look out over the Bays of Napoli and Salerno and make many more photos and paintings before we return home at the beginning of April. We think it’s going to be hard to leave.

Buona giornata,
Rosemary e Roberto

p.s. This is a photo of Vietri sul Mare we copied from a website www.terragalleria.com. The photographer’s name is QT Luong and he took a gorgeous shot of the city. We’ll follow up with some of our own when we get settled in!

Tocatì, International Games in Verona

(Where we thought we knew what these games were called, we have included the name. If you know better, let us know! Some of these are from Spain, some are Italian games both modern & antique.)

"Lucha de Palos," a friendly battle with sticks – with the object being to hit the stick, not your friend


"Fionda," a game played with a hard rubber wheel with a string wrapped around it. The players threw the string out releasing the wheel. Sort of like a yo-yo that doesn't come back to you.


"Bolo Huertano," kind of like bowling but with different diameter sticks, from Spain

Tocati Festival, Verona

In Italian this is called "Pizzicantò" and in Spanish, it is "Castells" and consists of a group of people making a human tower, climbing on each other's shoulders like cheerleaders making a pyramid.


Serious – and not so serious – games of checkers, played in the streets


This distinguished looking elderly gentleman was saying his rosary near the Duomo. Not sure why he didn't go inside the church, but there he was!


"Pastori Acrobatici" from the Canarie Islands. These shepherds – "pastori" – were amazing with their long poles, around 4 meters – climbing up and down the hills and cliffs around the Teatro Romano.


"Ponte Postumio" – placed across the Adige River in memory of the bridge that once stood there

Tocati Festival, Verona

(we have tried to include the names of these games and hope we are correct. If you know better, tell us)

"Tuta," kind of like bowling, knocking down pins with a metal disc.


A games area presented by the Fondazione Pistoletto. The kids had fun rolling different colored balls through this new twist on the infinity symbol. (Check out the website of this organization at www.cittadellarte.it) whose goal it is "to inspire and produce responsible change in society through ideas and creative projects" and "Love Difference" (http://www.lovedifference.org/eng/aboutus/manifesto_mac.htm) an "Artistic Movement... that aims to bring together...people and institutions interested in creating new prospects that reach beyond the tragic conflict between different cultures." I was fascinated and encouraged that there are organizations like this striving to find a better way to respond to the major problems of society.


Ball Throw – another game like bowling requiring skill and accuracy to knock down pins


A Bride and Groom were just walking through the city!


The game of "Calva," (we think!) like thowing discus only with a pole. Bob says this photo is for the guys.

Verona's Tocati - International Festival of Street Games 9.22-24.06

We returned home on Friday evening from our visit with friends in Cortona and remembered that there was a festival going on right here in Verona! Our landlords Laura and Giorgio had given us a brochure last week and told us about this festival where they played games - like hopscotch and horseshoes - throughout the streets of the city and how much fun it was. Friday was the start of the festival but we were much too tired to participate. But after a good night's rest and a late breakfast we were ready to join the fun. And in fact we spent all day Saturday and again on Sunday enjoying this event. The weather was gorgeous. Everyone was out having a good time. We love these festivals that engage the entire community and are completely non-commercial with no other motive than to provide the residents a great reason to come out and appreciate the city they live in and have a good time.

We found a place to park the car (it's only about a five minute drive to centro from Borgo Roma where we live, but too far to walk) and set out to find the action. It didn't take much as they had all these game areas set up throughout the city and you could just walk around and see what was going on. There was also a "Ponte Postumio" - a sort of bridge made of a series of white kite-shaped flags stretched across the River Adige in memory of a bridge that had once stood on this spot that was destroyed by one of the world wars that wreaked havoc on the beautiful city. There were large inflatable rafts ferrying people down the river and places to taste local products and wines. Families were out in force from the nonnas to the tiny babies, participating in antique and modern games played in the streets. It was so much fun. The country of Spain was their guest of honor this year and we stopped to listen to a group of musicians play traditional music from the Aragona region of Spain and I was even pulled in from the sidelines to join in the dance, which I loved. After seeing some of the brochures with gorgeous photos of Spain, we think a visit to that country has to be in our future.

We talked with a family from a nearby city as we waited in line for our lunch. This is one of the best parts of being able to speak the language. It's just so much fun to speak to the Italians in their own language and learn about their lives and culture firsthand.

We will let the photos speak for themselves and tell you what we saw as we walked around our beautiful city of Verona, which has indeed worked its way into our hearts and become another favorite place.

Thanks for reading!
Rosemary and Bob

A Photo of Us!

We wondered if anybody noticed that we finally added our photo to the profile section of the blog! We have been in Italy, publishing this blog for about 18 months now and at first couldn't figure out how to do it and then of course which photo to put! It's so tiny, it could be anything but we think this one captures how we feel about being here and at least if you are reading and don't know us, now you can "put a face to the names." You probably can't even tell, but Bob was playing with the mustache/beard combo and has since shaved the mustache and gone back to just the goatee. He looks so distinguished!

Ciao,
Rosemary

Portulaca, Pumpkin Pie and meeting People. Borgo Roma, Verona 9.28.06

It's a beautiful blue-sky day. The kind of day that only hints at autumn, that starts out a bit cool but turns into a warm and sunny one. There are lots of people out walking around in the centro of Borgo Roma. The coffee bars are filled with conversations and you see people stopping to chat with each other in the streets. Much more than there had been when the days were hot and I suppose people mostly stayed inside or did their shopping early in the morning.

My portulaca are still blooming on the balcony and the basil is still happy. In fact I had a nice compliment from Paula, the lady who lives next door about the flowers. Most people had geraniums on their terraces this summer but I had found seed packets at a nursery in Venice on our first trip there this spring and sprinkled them in the same pot where Laura and Giorgio, our landlords, had a few small succulents, knowing they also liked the sun and the heat and I've been delighted with how well they’ve produced.

I have to admit we have not met as many people here as we had hoped and I suppose the reason must be that most people work and they are mostly gone during the day. And also, I believe due to the fact that we also have traveled so much this summer and we haven't been around much ourselves.

We have met Fausto and his wife Rosa who live upstairs. They are also retired and Fausto likes to go fishing and catches and preps the fish downstairs. Two different times he has given us some of the fish he caught and with each one, a bottle of his homemade white wine. They are very friendly and greet us when we pass in the hallway and always ask how we are. Fausto is one of those men who is always busy doing something and has an outgoing and jovial personality. He speaks in Veronese dialect however and it is mostly difficult to understand what he is saying beyond the initial "how are you" conversation, but we keep trying!

Pumpkin Pie

I was happy to actually meet Paula when I knocked on her door to ask her about the cream I had bought to whip for a dessert I was making. I had told our friend Laura about Pumpkin Pie a few weeks ago and found all the ingredients I needed finally and had decided to make one for her and Giorgio to try. The cream seemed really thick and I wasn't sure if this was Ok and Paula assured me it was fine. I told her I would bring her a piece when it was ready. I brought my measuring cups and spoons with me to Italy because I knew they used the metric system and I wouldn't be able to follow my recipes without having to do conversions all the time. Finding some of the ingredients was interesting though and I had to substitute some things, like regular whole milk for the canned evaporated milk I normally use, and having to search around for the ginger (zenzero in Italiano) that I eventually found in the giant supermarket. I have not been able to find vanilla extract, but a product that says it is (in Italian) "aroma" - a flavoring. I don't think it's the same as the extract but have used it in a few other recipes and they seem to turn out OK.

Because I am a lazy cook sometimes, I often buy readymade piecrusts. I looked for something similar and found a product that worked pretty well, in the refrigerator section of the supermercato, that I just rolled out and put into the pie pan. They are definitely into shortcuts like this here and since I don't have a huge kitchen and all the rolling pins etc for making a pie this worked out perfectly.

Bob even found cut up pumpkin at the grocery store that had already been skinned and I must admit that even with the tiny tabletop oven we have in this apartment, they turned out pretty darned good! Let me know if you want this recipe. It's really easy to make and is so much better when you use fresh pumpkin than the canned stuff and a world apart from anything you can buy in the grocery stores. At least my family thinks so and I've been making this pie since my kids were little.

I brought a slice over to Paula and she invited me in for a cup of coffee! I found out that her son lives and works in Brazil and her mother who is elderly and in very poor health lives with her. She certainly has her hands full taking care of her and I think she was happy to have someone else to talk to. She put the pie in her refrigerator to save for when her husband got home from work.

That evening, we brought the one of the pies to Laura and Giorgio along with a container of the cream I had whipped and they called the next day to say they enjoyed it. They don't do pies like we do in the states, but something flatter, called "crostata" that is more like a big cookie crust spread with jams or fruits that has a criss-cross pastry design on top like you might find on a blueberry pie in America. They're yummy too, just different.

An apartment on the Amalfi Coast!

We decided to take an apartment in a town called Vietri sul Mare, on the Amalfi Coast for the final five - our last months in Italy! I will have to tell you all about that in another post.

Bob hasn't been feeling well this week but I think he's just tired and is getting a cold. There are still some places we plan to visit before we leave here at the end of October but there is still plenty of time. A month. We had to laugh about that, on the one hand you could say "we only have a month left in Verona!" But on the other hand, how many people can actually take a one-month vacation! So we consider ourselves very fortunate that we are here enjoying this beautiful country at our leisure.

Ci vediamo,
Rosemary e Roberto