Tag Archives: Italian

You never know what you’re going to see next around our place

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Sunday was a glorious morning. Mist surrounded our place early in the morning and as it cleared we became aware of the sounds of the local hunt doing their thing across the valley.  It felt like we had been transported to England.

Post hunt relaxation

Fox hunting was, in fact, introduced into Italy around 1850 by the english and is popular in both Lazio and Tuscany.  These days they chase a scent rather than a fox but that certainly didn’t, from what we could see, dampen the enthusiasm of the participants.

I wonder what “tally ho” is in Italian?

I Mondiali di Rugby

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As with many things before, we thought we had a plan for the RWC opening. We had located a Heineken RWC bar in Siena. Through the usual mix of English, Italian and sign language we gleened that it had Sky TV and would be playing the matches.

Given the time difference, the opening ceremony was due to start at 9:30am local time with the first match at 10:30am. That meant heading to Siena at 9am – and being up around 7:30am.

Now this, in itself, was a major challenge as our place doesn’t really stir until around 10am on any given day. (Correction, I don’t stir until around 10am. Jean is up and active much, much earlier.)

We arrived at the bar promptly at 9:30am (wearing our RWC/NZ t-shirts) to find it shut, closed, the exact opposite of open. This was, to say the least, a disappointment. Our plan was in tatters.

We retired to one of the bars that ring the Campo in Siena to regroup and replan. We noticed as we sat down outside the bar – on a beautiful Siena morning – that they had a TV playing behind the counter. It was tuned to an Italian news channel – but it was a Sky TV channel. Could they change it to the right sport channel? Would they?

As with many situations in Italy, our simple request was taken very seriously. A newspaper was obtained and the TV listings checked to find the right channel – 204. The very helpful waitress then disappeared for a few minutes. We waited. The TV channel didn’t change. We waited.

When she returned, she explained that they had opened the other half of the bar and tuned the TV’s in there to the right channel. She showed us to a table, made sure everything was ok and checked if we wanted anything to drink.

She was thinking Cappuccino and was a little surpised when we ordered beer and wine (nothing like that first Heineken at 9:35 in the morning).

It was quite surreal to see New Zealand and the opening ceremony on TV when the view out through the door of the bar was Siena’s Campo. The Sienese opinion of the opening ceremony – very cool.

The game? Not a bad start, but there’s still work to do. Go the ABs!

A post for all lovers of vintage Italian speedboats

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It’s not often we delve into specialist areas in this blog but this post is about Riva’s Aquarama – the classic Italian speedboats of the 60s and 70s.

They defined style and cool from their launch in the early sixties and were often referred to as the Ferrari of speedboats.  In all only 768 were built between 1962 and 1996 when production stopped.

The originals now sell for hundreds of thousands of Euros, however we spotted these models in a shop window in Positano.  At €600 each they seem a real bargain.  Any takers?

An afternoon in Pienza

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We haven’t had the chance to get out and about much lately, but yesterday the whole team made the short trip to the village of Pienza about 50kms from our cottage.

We had visited Pienza around 8 years ago and remember it for it’s fantastic Pecorino cheese and great views across the valley.  In respect to both of these, nothing had changed.

We were in for an unexpected treat as the annual Pienza “Fiera del Cacio” or “Cheese Fair” was in full swing while we were there.

The highlight of the 10 day festival is later in the week when they have cheese rolling in the square.  Effectively lawn bowls on a cobbled square using cheese rounds where the various contrada of Pienza compete for glory.

When we arrived, the main Piazza in Pienza, Piazza Poi II was full of flag wavers and drummers performing.  Following that, and slightly less spectacular, was the presentation of a painting of the Palio by a local arist and the branding of the cheeses used for the cheese rolling later in the festival.

The drive to Pienza is through some of the loveliest scenery in Tuscany.  Everywhere you look is another photo opportunity. One spot in particular looked familiar.  It is a grove of Cypress trees standing in the middle of a paddock which has been photographed a thousand times and makes regular appearances in books about Tuscany.

On the way back with the sun setting it got it’s one thousand and first photographic outing.

About Daisy – Part 3

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Our girl has shown a steady recovery over the last week. She’s gone from not being able to walk without falling over to something close to her usual waddle. She is still wobbly and when she tries to shake herself ends up flat on her stomach with legs splayed.

Her revised heart medicine has also kicked in and, touchwood, she hasn’t had a seizure in over a week. Mind you with Jean and I running around after her every need there hasn’t been a lot of stress on her heart anyway.

One thing that has fully returned is Daisy’s attitude. She’s almost back to her cantakerous old self, and seems ready to take on the world, or more likely, other dogs, children, anyone who dares to come near the cottage, anyone who looks at the cottage, anyone who comes near the car, you get the idea.

The movie started out as some footage to show the team at our Italian vet clinic her improvement over the last week but it got a bit out of hand. We have nothing else much to do, really.

A special place in Greve

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When Mike and Charmaine and wee James were here we visited the small village of Greve in Chanti.  Greve is built around a triangular piazza which has the usual assortment of shops and cafes dotted around it.

It also has one shop which we think is special.  The sign outside says Norcineria – or butchery – but the experience inside is something else.

Looking out towards the piazza in Greve. Love the sign

Describing Antica Macelleria Falorni as a butchery is like calling St Peters in Rome just a church.  Entering the shop, you are hit by complete sensory overload.  Everywhere you look there are cured hams, cheeses, salamis, and more cured hams hanging, stacked, packed and displayed.  The smell is overwhelming (I’m told as I have no sense of smell) and it strikes you like a hammer the moment you walk through the door.

The shop also sells wines to go with the wide range of cheeses available as well as the ususal Tuscan butchery mix of meats, game, and poultry.

In the usual Italian way, things can be tasted before buying – just to provide even greater sensory overload.

Inside Antica Macelleria Falorni in Greve

The shop stretches through 3 street frontages so as you move away from the front door you move from one small area to another, and in each the ceiling is hung with curing legs of ham giving the whole shop the feeling of a cave.  For food-lovers, almost certainly an Aladdins cave.

If you visit Tuscany, you really should stop in Greve and marvel at this most unlikely tourist attraction.

Not another photo?

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As a keen amateur photographer trying to capture the relaxed Tuscan lifestyle I can become a bit demanding on my available talent – which consists of one long suffering wife and two small white fluffy dogs.

When the demands become too great the dogs simply get up and walk off. Jean isn’t so lucky.

The pool busters

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The complex has ben really busy over the last few weeks. Guests are coming and going and we have had a great mix of nationalities – Dutch, Italian, the ocassional Brit and, of course, the Germans.

One day recently Jean and I headed to the pool for an afternoon of swimming and relaxing to find that, when we got there, every lounger was either being used or was empty but with a towel drapped over it – clearly the European sign for “reserved”.

It reminded me of a UK TV commercial that aired in the early 1990’s about this very subject. Enjoy.

Fun in the sun

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You can never have enough pool toys

Daisy has taken up a fair bit of our time lately, but prior to that we managed a bit of pool time. It was the only way to keep cool in the 35 to 40 degree heat.

Clearly in Europe everyone turns up at the pool with some form of inflatable toy to amuse themselves. Often there are so many toys in the pool it’s difficult to find a spot to swim.

Not to be outdone Jean splashed out (excuse the pun) on a lilo. All of 5 Euro at the local inflatable pool toy store.

Jean and Nacho Libre

The man who sits by the pool has made a wee movie showing Jean in action.

Please note, the ocassional swat at the water is simply Jean avoiding wasps, bees, bugs, etc, that have made their way into the pool.

 

 

 

 

 

Really hot

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Watching the sun go down

The last week has been unseasonably hot.

Temperatures have hovered in the late 30 degrees during the day which is great for pool life but not good for cottage life or for the dogs.

Relief comes in the evening when it becomes bearable to sit outside and enjoy the sunset.

About Daisy – Part 2

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It’s Friday evening and Daisy has had her ECG and there’s more wrong with her heart than right.  Having said that, the cardiologist has altered her medicine to best suit her condition so there’s a bit of life in the old dog yet.

Pictures of Daisy's big heart at work

When we arrived back at our vet, Julia had talked to the cardiologist and apparently he agreed that Daisy was a medical miracle.

Her inability to walk without falling over has been diagnosed as Idiopathic Vestibular Syndrome and not anything to do with her heart.  It means a loss of balance and co-ordination – a lot like a big night out on the town by the sound of it.

Best Google it for details but it’s something that just needs to work it’s way through her system with some assistance from medication.  Some drugs that they usually prescribe for this syndrome would be bad for her heart so they’re off the list.  That means there’s no quick fix and she will gradually improve over the next month or so.

Until she recovers she will need to be carried everywhere – and I mean everywhere.  For up to a month?

More photographs

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Gentle readers, I have just updated our photo album with all the latest shots used on the blog and a bunch more.  Click here to see them.

Summer continues in Tuscany

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All around us the rhythm of the Tuscan countryside continues.

Fields of crops that were green and growing when we arrived have been harvested and plowed ready, waiting for next season.

The last week or so has seen hot settled weather. Temperatures have been in the low to mid 30s day after day prompting even the hardened locals to comment “troppo caldo” and roll their eyes skyward.

The countryside is dry and baked – under our Tuscan sun.