Art and Barb Live in Italy! (House for Sale in Umbria!)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
CIAO FROM LOOAVUL!
We're enjoying our visit to the states! After a nice visit to Tampa to see the grandgirls, we're now in Louisville. The past week has been busy with assorted doctor visits in the mornings and movies in the afternoons. Where did all the good movies go????
Today Art starts work at Churchill Downs. Derby week is always a lot of fun, and he'll have a great time catching up with friends. Of course when it's time to leave the states he'll also be more than ready to retire again!
The poppies are begining to bloom. We see two here, three there. It will be another week or so before there are fields of red, and I hope we don't miss them while we're in the states. Today, driving back from the flower show in Marsciano I spotted these on the side of the road and thought I'd better snap a few pics just in case!
There are more pictures on my Flickr page...click HERE or on the link in the right hand column.
Our plan for going to Florence was simple: We’d drive the car to the Orvieto train station where we’d park the car in the free lot. We had two choices: take the 7:30 train and arrive in Florence just before 10 o’clock, or take the 8:30 train and arrive just before 11.
We already had our tickets, but the drive from San Venanzo to Orvieto takes about 40 minutes, so if we wanted to catch the earlier train we’d have to get up quite early and leave San Venanzo by 6:45. We discussed our options with Jami and Beth, and their attitude was the same as ours when we’re on vacation: we can rest when we get home!!! Andiamo!
Beth’s small roller board suitcase had a broken zipper, and this, combined with the serious shopping necessitated another suitcase. We lent them our largest roller board, since we don’t use it now that weight limits have been reduced to fifty pounds. There’s no way I could fill this suitcase and have it weigh less than fifty pounds, so we just take smaller suitcases.
For our trip to Florence and then on to Rome, I packed my internal frame backpack, knowing that it would be a comfortable way to transport everything. We also took Beth’s smaller rollerboard, even though the zipper was broken. We figured because it had wheels it wouldn’t be hard to transport, and that we’d just pitch it once we got back to San Venanzo….the zipper wasn’t the only thing that was showing signs of wear!
We love taking the train…not having to worry about traffic or parking, and because the driver (Art) can enjoy the journey too. The worst part of taking the train is heaving all the luggage onto the train, then trying to get it down the aisle if you have to go from car to car searching for a seat! Luckily for us, the first two compartments were empty. This journey was nice because we didn’t have to change trains, so we piled all the luggage into one of the six person compartments, then tried to fit all four of us in there too!
This didn’t work out very well, so we ended up in two compartments, which wasn’t a problem since this early train wasn’t very crowded. I suspect later trains might be more crowded. The ride to Florence gave us all a chance to relax, catch up on notes, or watch the passing scenery.
Once we arrived in Florence we took a taxi to our hotel, the Medici. We’d specifically picked this hotel for it’s central location and for it’s terrace with a view of the Duomo. As the taxi pulled up to the hotel, we saw that the building was covered with scaffolding. Once we stepped out of the taxi we could see that the interior of the building was under a MAJOR renovation.
A man was standing near the door, and as I approached he asked “Skinners?” “Si, siamo i Skinners!” “Just a moment”, he said in English, “I’ll get someone for you.” Good! What the heck was going on, and where would we be staying????
A few minutes later (it took longer because the elevator had been removed, meaning the man had to go up five flights of stairs!) another man greeted us. He told us that we’d be put in rooms that were even better than the ones we’d reserved, and gave us a map showing the location of these rooms.
For our breakfast we were given vouchers which could be presented at the bar located on the corner….meaning of course that we’d have to come back here every morning for breakfast. Hmmmmm…was I over-reacting by getting irritated?
Okay, I tried to stay calm, but I had to tell this guy that I wasn’t happy! Why hadn’t the hotel emailed us to tell us about the changes??? I’m sure as an Italian this man didn’t consider it any big deal, especially since we were getting (supposedly) better rooms. But….we’re not Italian…we’re American…and I’m an American who likes to be informed!
Had we known about the change of location, we could have taken the taxi to the new location where everyone could have waited with the luggage while I walked to the Medici to check-in and get the keys. I also told him that we’d specifically booked this hotel for our guests so that they could have the view of the Duomo. As a gesture of goodwill he offered to walk us to the new location and even grabbed one of the heavier suitcases to boot.
Our rooms were actually one room apartments, located just off the main street in a quiet building. Although the kitchen wasn’t accessible for us, the rooms were quite large. We were on the top floor of the building, across the hall from one another. The only light was from two large skylights, but these were more than adequate. They were equipped with screens and with a shade.
The rooms had just been cleaned when we arrived, and our room had an unpleasant odor….like a sour mop. We pointed this out to the cleaning crew who claimed the smell was only the disinfectant. We told them no, it was more than that, and they promised to re-clean. We left the skylights open for ventilation and hoped for the best.
Our first stop was the Bargello. Built as the city hall, and later used as a prison and home to the chief of police, this medieval fortress has a wonderful display of sculpture and other art. It’s a museum that not overwhelming in size or scope, and we thought it would be nice for Jami and Beth to see Donatello’s version of David before seeing Michelangelo’s.
Just before we entered the museum a jewelry shop caught our eyes. Art needed a watch battery, and as luck would have it, we all found things that interested us. The shopping had begun!
For me the Bargello itself is as impressive as the art it houses. I love it’s medieval feel, and if I could have one house in one city in Italy, I would chose to live in the Bargello in Florence.
After lunch we walked to Café Verrazzano, a small restaurant known for it’s antipasti plates, perfect for sampling. We arrived just before one o’clock and only had to wait a minute for a table to be cleared. Within the next fifteen minutes the restaurant got busier and the wait for a table much longer.
Although the various dishes we shared were all delicious, the service was rushed and rather brusque. I think they’ve developed an American mentality and want to turn the tables several times a day. Normally in Italy the table is yours for as long as you want it…no one will make you feel rushed, or even bring you the bill until you ask for it. Because Florence is such a touristy town these same rules might not apply…we had a similar experience several years ago at Acqua al Due. After lunch we headed to the San Lorenzo Mercato. We didn’t know if anything would be open on Sunday, and had been told that the market was closed on Mondays, so we wanted to make the most of our time on Saturday. We all had lots of people to shop for, and the market was one big shopping opportunity!
We took a stroll through the Mercato Centrale, the covered food market first. Downstairs there are loads of shops selling specialty goods, meats, cheeses, fish, one place more interesting than the next. Whole chickens, heads and feet still attached. Internal organs….stomachs, livers, god knows what else. Cheeses I’ve never heard of, more varieties of sausage than I could ever imagine. It’s a fun place!
Upstairs are the fresh fruits and vegetables. Even here there are things I’m not familiar with, and we all enjoyed strolling through the aisles, wishing we could take everything home and start cooking…..well at least I did!
Back outside we begin looking for bargains. I bought gloves and beautiful paper, and a few Tshirts for my grandson. Beth and Jami found scarves which were not only beautiful and affordable, but also lightweight and easy to pack. Writing this now makes it sound so cut and dried, but no, that’s not the way it happened. We wandered and looked, stopped, asked prices, selected colors and styles. I’m usually not a big shopper, but this was fun, just a relaxed afternoon, strolling, talking and shopping.
We went back to our rooms to drop off out loot and to take a short rest….we’d started very early and had accomplished a lot so far. The good news is that our room no longer had a bad smell!
After recharging our batteries we set off again, this time towards the Piazza Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi. Florence is one big open air museum, and every where you look there’s something to see, sometimes it’s an ancient building, sometimes a beautiful piece of sculpture, and sometimes it’s something not so old but just as beautiful and interesting! We wandered through the courtyard of the Uffizi, towards the Arno. In the summer this courtyard will be packed with tourists, vendors, and artists, but today it wasn’t too crowded.
We walked onto the Ponte Vecchio, stopping to admire the jewelry and the views. It was cloudy, but so far wasn’t raining. We decided to walk to the Pitti Palace even though we didn’t plan to go in. Although the building is huge, and the interiors are beautifully baroque, the outside isn’t quite what I visualize when I hear the word ‘palace’.
Cactus plants are so cool...you see them in so many shapes,sizes and colors, and when they bloom they can be amazing. A few days ago while walking in San Venanzo I spied this strange looking cactus...with leaves sprouting!
Okay, not ALL Italian telvision is crap! (Just 99% of it) We've been watching this cute commercial since Christmastime, and now it's been brought back for Easter. I guess Parmesan makes a good gift...I know we sure enjoyed it when Art received a small wheel for his birthday!
You'll be singing along in no time....ParParPar, ParParmigiano! ReReRe, ReReRegiano!
Another up-and-at-‘em morning! We’ve got places to go, stuff to see, people to meet and things to buy!
We drove towards Cortona, taking the more scenic route along the SS317, letting Jami and Beth just enjoy the countryside, pointing out Assisi in the distance, and enjoying the morning….still a little cool, but beautiful.
We drove past Lake Trasimeno then up into Cortona, around the city walls and onto LeCelle, the monastery where St Francis once stayed. It’s till an active monastery, so the atmosphere is peaceful and contemplative.
Le Celle is built into the hillside, seeming to just hang there, magically, or maybe miraculously is a better word. It’s possible to visit the tiny chapel where Francis once worshipped, and to see the tiny, tiny room that was once his home.
After wandering the grounds of Le Celle, we drove back to the large parking lot just outside the Cortona city walls and walked up into this charming city. I can’t tell you what Cortona was like before Frances Mayes’ book put it on the tourist circuit, but it’s a charming town. Although it’s definitely a hilltown, it’s still manageable. There are several museums worth a visit, as well as many, many interesting shops.
We browsed through several of these shops, and Beth found these beautiful belts, made by the shop owner’s daughter. At another interesting shop, il Girasole, we stopped in to meet up with our friend Alessandra, who was going to join us for lunch. We first met Alessandra through the Slow Travel message board. She has a beautiful shop selling reproduction Etruscan jewelry, beautiful linens, and other unique gifts.
We walked across the main piazza to The Grotto restaurant. Our lunch would prove to be delicious if a bit over-abundant. Apparently there was some confusion when we ordered the Bistecca, and we ended up with two orders instead of one! There was no way we could eat all this meat, so we sent the rest home for Alessandra’s dinner! We enjoyed out lunch with Ale so much, and were happy that Jami and Beth were getting to know some of our friends.
After a leisurely lunch we had to let Ale get back to work, so we said goodbye and headed back to Umbria. We’d planned to stop at the Peruginafactory, but weren’t sure if we’d see Corinna or not. She’s been so overwhelmed with school and tour groups for the last several weeks, and today promised to be the same.
Luckily we were able to catch Corinna for a quick hello, but I have to say, she looked very tired. We don’t get to see as much of Corinna socially now that she’s no longer living in Marsciano, and we miss her. She did take a minute to set up the video that would explain about chocolate and what’s made in the Perugina factory. After the film we did some serious chocolate shopping, and left with lots of goodies to be enjoyed now, and back in the states.
Once back home we had time to relax and unwind from another busy day. We were going to take Jami and Beth up towards Ospedaletto to Angelino and Peppa’s for dinner. Wendy and Corrado would be joining us, and Belinda and Giacomo were able to come as well, so we’d have quite a party.
As usual, once you’re seated at Angelino’s, the food just starts coming! Since we’d made reservations our antipasto was already on the table, but we waited for the others, difficult as that was! Just a few minutes later Belinda and Giacomo arrived, then Wendy called to say they were in Marsciano and would be arriving shortly.
The normal antipasto is torta al testo, a flatbread served hot off the grill. To accompany the bread we also had prosciutto, and Jami couldn’t get enough of it!
Of course the food just kept on coming, accompanied by wine, laughter and conversation. Antipasti were followed by pasta, then another pasta, then meats, then dessert, then coffee. We may or may not have had limoncello after that….it’s all just one delicious blur!
I was worried about being able to sleep with such a full stomach, but knew I’d need to get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow we would get up even earlier (what kind of vacation IS this????), drive to Orvieto and catch the train to Florence.
So there I was, playing around on the computer, and I clicked on my email to see if I had any new messages. Yes! One from my daughter! I knew she was still in Chicago for a long weekend, but figured she was catching up on her email at her friend’s house. NO.
The email had been sent from her cell phone, and in it she told me she was in the emergency room in a Chicago hospital! I knew she’d been having severe abdominal pains from time to time, and that so far none of the doctors had been able to figure out what was causing it.
Her email said she was going to have surgery for a blockage in her small intestine, probably some sort of kink or telescoping, and that they might have to cut out a section of her small intestine to solve the problem. I can’t think of anything worse than when the good news and the bad news are the same thing! I was relieved that someone had finally figured out what was wrong, but knowing how terrified she is of surgery, it breaks my heart not to be able to be there for her!
If I were in Louisville I’d still feel helpless and worried, but being here in Italy just compounds those feelings. We leave for the states in nine days, and believe me, I can’t wait!
UPDATE
I just spoke with my daughter. She's at Loyola University Hospital in Chicago. ...whose website does NOT work! They performed surgery and removed her appendix, part of her large intestine and part of her small intestine. The doctor told her it could have been appendicitis....or not. It could have been lesions....or not.
As a lay person I realize everything isn't as cut and dried as it appears on television, but really....why is it so difficult to get answers???
Adding to my daughter's anxiety is the fact that tissue samples were sent to pathology. I tried to reassure here that this was just standard procedure, but apparently the doctor told her things looked "very unusual", so of course now she's scared and worried.
At this point, and based on my limited knowledge, I'd have to say that I'm NOT impressed with this doctor. Perhaps it isn't easy to tell what the problem really was, but there was NO reason for her to scare my daughter like that! Let's hope time changes my opinion.
After a quick stop (“no shopping” was Art’s order!) at the IperCoop in Collestrada to pick up more wine, we headed to Assisi. For a change we parked at the lot at the base of the Basilica, knowing that this visit would be shorter, and that we wouldn’t have time to walk the entire length of the city.
The Basilica now offers a free headset, requesting only a donation for their use. This, combined with the new headsets used by most of the tourist groups, made the inside of the church so much quieter…very peaceful.
We viewed Giotto’s frescoes on the first level of the church, then made our way downstairs to the lower Basilica, my favorite part of the church. Its darkness and intensely colored blue-starred ceiling is just magical. Finally we descended to the tomb of St Francis, very small and simple, and a fitting resting place for St. Francis.
After turning in our headsets we walked up the hill, stopping at this shop and that, helping Jami and Beth find cute souvenirs as well as a book telling the story of the town and it’s saint. We stopped at the new olive-wood shop….what great souvenirs something made of olive-wood would make! Lightweight, practically unbreakable, and USEFUL! We also visited the shoe shop where Art had bought shoes on our first visit to Italy. We left Assisi poorer but happy!
By now it was nearing lunchtime, and we’d planned to eat lunch in Montefalco. After spending hours on our feet in Assisi the time in the car was just enough to rest our feet and recharge our batteries.
As we walked up the main shopping street in Montefalco, we were relieved to see that the restaurant we’d planned on was indeed open. I should know the name of this place, but can’t think of it! It’s before you get to the restaurant with all the wine displayed outside, and is decorated with musical instruments on the interior walls.
The meal we had was fabulous….as usual we shared an antipasti platter, accompanied by a bottle of…what else?Sagrantino! This is the wine Montefalco is famous for, and it’s a treat to be able to share it with friends. After lunch our server brought us each a shot of limoncello. We hadn’t ordered it, but it was their gift to us. When I complimented our server and asked if he had made the limoncello he said, “No, but it is very good! Here, why don’t you take this bottle home to enjoy later?”, and handed me a nice frosty bottle of limoncello! Don’t you just love Italy?
After lunch we wandered through the town, down towards the panoramic overlook with views of the valley below and Assisi off in the distance. Strolling back up to the town square, we found a tiny little enoteca open and ready to sell us both wine AND one liter tins of olive oil. Beth and Jami thought that several one liter tins would be easier to pack than a three or five liter tin, and I agree. Okay, another must-buy now checked off the list!
After Montefalco we drove towards San Venanzo, with a stop at the Scacciadiavoli winery, one of our favorites. This and the nearby Terre de la Custodiaare both friendly places in beautiful settings. These and many other wineries are located on the Strada del Sagrantino, a beautiful drive anytime.
As usual we had a wonderful time learning and tasting, but were disappointed to find out that their Sagrantino had been sold out since December! Their good luck was our bad luck, but we still managed to console ourselves with a few bottles of Montefalco Rosso and their newest wine, an asti spumante type white wine, perfect for an apperitivo! We’d open a bottle for our dinner at home that evening.
We’d invited Belinda and Giacomo for dinner that night, and once we were back home all I had to do was to pop the pans of lasagna and cannelloni that I’d made weeks before and frozen, into the oven. I’d made a rich, flourless chocolate cake on Tuesday evening, having read that anything made with dark chocolate should be made in advance in order to enjoy the intensity of the chocolate.
We topped little slices of crusty bread with pesto for our starter, and along with our new wine we toasted Jami and Beth’s arrival in Umbria! Tomorrow we’d travel to Tuscany to visit a beautiful monastery and the Etruscan city of Cortona. At the end of the day a visit to the Perugina chocolate would give us a guaranteed lift.
Our Canadian friends are having some work done to their house before they return in the summer. Before they left last summe rthey asked Mauro, the geometra, if an archway could be created. Mauro wasn't sure, and didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep. Luckily it all worked out.
When we saw the archway it was of course an amazing transformation...see for yourself. Before.....
Okay, time for me to get on my high horse again. I was just thinking the other day that it’s been a long time since I ranted about anything. I wondered if I was mellowing in my old age, but knew that couldn’t be the answer. I still get irritated about the same things I’ve written about in the past: I still think Bush is a fucking idiot, still think Camilla and Charles should rot in hell….starting yesterday, still think Italian drivers are damned scary, and still have ZERO tolerance or sympathy for anyone who drinks and drives. So why so quiet lately? I don’t know, I guess no one has pushed the right buttons, until today, that is, when out of curiosity I decided to check out the Kentucky Derby Festival website. I knew better, really I did, but I looked anyway.
I was born in Louisville, Art works at Churchill Downs. We do have a sense of civic pride, really. We love to promote Louisville, especially at Derby time, but damn! They make it hard to do with posters as ugly as this:
Who selected this poster, students from the school for the blind? The ringmaster of the Barnum and Bailey Circus? Someone who just didn’t give a damn? You know, there WAS a time when the KY Derby Festival poster was really beautiful, really interesting. A competition is held every year, and you’d think it would draw talented artists, but apparently if it did, their ideas were rejected in favor of this god-awful thing. Is THIS what we want to show the world? Is THIS what we want to be known for?
Personally I think the management at the KY Derby Festival must be on the decline. I’m not exactly sure when this decline began, but I can remember when not only were the posters beautiful and in demand, but the design was also featured on sweatshirts and t-shirts made available for sale each year at Derby time.
These shirts were a great way to support the KY Derby Festival, to show your civic pride, and to have an attractive piece of clothing to boot. Sweatshirts haven’t been offered for sale for a number of years, and I have no idea why. It’s not unheard of to have SNOW on Derby day, so they’d certainly be a seasonally appropriate item, and of course wearing the sweatshirt long after the Derby is over just continues to promote the Derby and Louisville in general. Who decided to stop selling sweatshirts??? Of course when the design is as ugly as it is this year, who’d want to wear one anyway?
INTRODUCING FOTOITALIANA - SPECIAL PHOTOS TAKEN BY SPECIAL FRIENDS
If you’ve followed our blog then you’ve already ‘met’ our friends Jill and Larry from Seattle. They lived in Italy for a year (April 2004 to April 2005), and contacted us after reading our blog. What started out as helping strangers move to Italy ended up as a great friendship.
Larry is an outgoing, never-met-a-stranger type of guy who’s always looking for his next project. Currently he’s working at Starbucks, hosting numerous auctions, helping Jill raise their 17 month old, made-in-Italy daughter, (the ultimate souvenir!), setting up a table at the local outdoor market every weekend in Redmond to sell their photographs, and now they’re ready to launch their photography website as well!
Jill is a sweetheart. Anyone who can put up with Larry’s corny jokes with such good grace HAS to be a sweetheart. After working at Microsoft for many years, she’s now involved with Paul Newman’s Hole In the Wall Gang camps. She and Larry have a passion for Italy that they share with others in a variety of ways, including photography. Of course her full-time job is raising Daniela to be healthy, happy, and hopefully bilingual.
The new website,FOTOITALIANA is beautiful. So many of their photographs capture those moments in Italy when the sun is just right and the scene is picture perfect. I’m adding a link to their website and I hope you’ll take a look. Of course you can order online, but if you’re ever in the Redmond area on a sunny weekend, stop by their table to see their photographs in person and to say hello. It just might be the start of a wonderful new friendship.
We had a difficult time trying to figure out how we’d meet and greet Jami and Beth. USAir must change their schedule during the off season. Instead of the usual 8:45 a.m. arrival, Jami and Beth would arrive at 7:30 a.m., and we just couldn’t get the train schedule to work for us. We’d have to leave home during the wee hours of the morning, and then wait around for hours after they arrived. Reluctantly we decided that we’d have to brave the Rome morning rush hour!
Like most large cities, Rome continues to enlarge and reconfigure it’s roadways, especially those leading to and from the airport. Although the bottlenecks change locations, they’re always guaranteed. At one point we probably went 3 miles in thirty minutes, but before and after that section we had no problems.
Art stayed with the car while I went into the terminal to find Jami and Beth. The traffic had delayed us slightly more than we’d expected, and I found them waiting just where we’d agreed to meet. As I’d suggested, they’d used their time wisely and had already withdrawn some cash from the bancomat (ATM).
As planned, we drove up the A1 towards Orvieto, arriving about 10:30 instead of at noon if we’d taken the train. We weren’t sure what time the Duomo would close and wanted to be sure that our guests would have time to window shop on our way there and still have time to see the Duomo itself.
Art walked over to the Tourist Information office to buy tickets for the Chapel of St. Brizio, containing the frescoes of Signorelli. These frescoes depict in graphic detail the end of the world....one side showing what happens to those who were bad, the other side of the chapel showing the reward for those who were good. Jami and Beth were lucky enough to be in the small chapel at the same time as a tour group, and were able to overhear some of the details and information.
We left the Duomo, again strolling and window shopping on our way to a nice little place for lunch. After a light lunch we headed back to the car and drove to San Venanzo. We let Beth and Jami settle in and take a short nap. Jami had slept on the plane but Beth had not, and changing time zones is always a challenge. Generally it’s best to keep moving and wait until evening to sleep, but a nap…if it’s a short one, can help.
We wanted to show Jami and Beth around San Venanzo, but the spring-like weather we’d been having had disappeared and it was COLD! We drove slowly through town, pointing out the various shops along the way, and when we got to the Servoli grocery store on the edge of town we stopped in to buy some wine.
We knew this store still had several half bottles (375 ml) of 1997 Brunello, and Jami and Beth thought these would be nice to take home. Jami was also looking for some Perugina chocolate bananas, knowing that there were none at the Perugina factory.
As we were looking at the wine, Jami spied a full box of Perugina chocolate bananas, and at 35¢ each they were a bargain. She bought the entire box, just over a kilo, 99 pieces to be exact, and with our wine purchases we were off for Pizza at Nestor’s in Marsciano.
Mara and Giuseppe are every bit as nice as the Testatonda family, and we feel so welcome every time we walk in the door. Of course Jami had been hearing and reading about this pizzeria since we first arrived in Italy, and now she was finally here! We understand only too well how wonderful and overwhelming this experience can be!
We each ordered a different pizza, and Mara brought us a plate of antipasti to munch on while we waited. AnnaLuara, Mara and Giuseppe’s 5 year old daughter joined us, as she so often does. She asked us again when Daniela, the year old daughter of our friends Jill and Larry, would return to Italy. We reminded her that Daniela wouldn’t be here until September…six month…an eternity for a 5 year old.
A quick stop at the larger grocery in Marsciano proved fruitful, with Pocket Coffee now checked off the must buy list! We were all ready for bed that night, and planned to get an early start the next morning....Assisi and Montefalco were waiting!
Most of the books on moving to Italy seem to be written for the EU citizen, primarily the British. As anyone who’s read my blog knows, we as Americans have different questions, different concerns and a completely different perspective. At long last someone finally seems to be addressing this under-served market!
Kathy McCabe, of Dream of Italy, is working on a book for and about expats all over the world. Not surprisingly, Kathy’s area of expertise will be Italy. In order to learn “the rest of the story”, Kathy posted a request on the Expats in Italy message board, asking expats to tell her what life in Italy was really like….the good, the bad, the unexpected joys and disappointments.
Naturally I answered! I realize how much I learned from expats when we were considering the move, and wanted to share my experiences. Kathy and I have begun emailing back and forth, and she’s very generously written about our house for sale on her blog!
So now that you know what a nice person Kathy is, take a look at her website. Download the sample issue to get an idea of what she offers, and explore the site for her other services, including handmade jewelry (designed by her mom!), even help planning your next Italian vacation. You might want to add her blog to your Bloglines notifier….you are using that to keep up-to-date with all your favorite blogs, aren’t you?
And of course, if you decide to stop dreaming about living in Italy and make it a reality, we know where you can get a great deal on a house!
If you’re like me, there always seems to be ONE thing you wished you’d bought while on vacation, but didn’t. Sometimes it’s something really useful, like the two-sided, magnetic window washing system that our friends Leone and Ted spotted one year in Sicily. Sometimes you wish you'd brought back more wine, or that really cute T-shirt. Sometimes it’s something useful and fun….like the calendar we spotted in Rome last week while on our walking tour.
You know calendars are BIG business. Once calendars used to be something you received free from local businesses. Even the parish church would give out free calendars, paid for by the advertisements forming the border. Now there are calendars for every interest…dogs, cats, horses, castles, mountains, Italy, France, baseball, firefighters, cars, whatever.
Just when you thought you’d seen it all, we spied a calendar in Rome unlike any we’d ever seen before, and I dare say this one is NOT like the parish calendar we used to get!
Our friend Jami regretted not buying one of these Roman priest calendars even before she left Rome. She looked at the airport but couldn't find one there.
We called our friend Tony who'd taken us on the walking tour where we first spotted them, and he's generoulsy offered to send us one to take back to Louisville for Jami.
Here’s one LINK with a fair amont of into, and another LINK with just the calendar, in case you’re interested. This idea seems ripe for sick jokes and snide remarks, but whatever you do with the calendar is between you and your God.
It's always fun to go to the grocery, so see what new, what's different, and what's interesting. The fish area at the IperCoop is always interesing, but I'm still not going to eat octopus...
And now various mixes are showing up on the shelves.....
Of course we always check out the wine on sale....
And then there are the weird things..
I'm wondering.....how many Italians really eat these hamburgers and hot dogs?!
Our on-again, off-again spring is really driving me crazy! I was so sure that spring was back that I planted a bunch of flowers last Monday. Now there’s no danger that the flowers won’t survive this latest cold snap, but they certainly won’t be growing either.
With such strange weather, it’s scary to think what summer will bring……..
I've just added a few (!) pictures taken while our friends were visiting last week . Click the Flickr link (on the right under the "Links" section) to see them all.
Barb and Art have moved from Kentucky to Umbria. These are their adventures.
About Me
Name: Barbara
Location: Umbria, Italy
Bossy, opinionated, and impatient. Determined and stubborn. Quick tempered.
Fiscally conservative and politically liberal. A realist, not a dreamer. A detail person and a planner.
Spina Bifida
