Having grown up in the relative anonymity of a city, there are so many times that I delight in the small town life here! Just a few recent examples:
1. Eleanor's driver's license examiner today told her that he'd tested Florence, and remembered all about it. (And, yes, Eleanor passed her test).
2. I contacted the head of the Todi Fiat 500 club on Facebook, whom I've never met. He responded immediately, "Oh, yes, you're the one with the GORGEOUS blue Fiat 500!"(Immediate friend, I think!)
3. Our grocery store owner was able to answer, "did Jeremy remember to buy bread when he came in earlier today?"
Love,
Alexandra
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014
School Concert
This morning, Jeremy had his school concert in one of the halls of the Comune. Funny story, actually: I found out about it at the last minute...it was to start at 11:00 and I had already committed to sing at the 11:30 Mass, which was a First Communion Mass...including my friend Elisa's son Paolo. Sounds impossible, right? The good news: the hall was across the Piazza, so I could go to the 10:30 rehearsal, zip off to the hall at 11:00, and walk back across at 11:30! Missed a few of Jeremy's pieces, but I did at least get to attend and get a good taste of the concert.
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| The Todi eagle |
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| Not a bad place for a school concert, eh? |
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| Jeremy in Waiting |
Love,
Alexandra
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Out of Print?
Spurred on by jealousy of the boys (who had gone on school field trips to the library), I took Jim on a tour while he was here. It was incredible:
After perusing these books for a while, we were taken to the manuscript shelves, where we could see row after row after row of handlettered books. The librarian showed us a special bookshelf where the first 10 years' worth of printed books were kept (they have a special name which I've already forgotten), and then the later printed books that are, you know, recent: from the 17th century onwards..
We then went to the archives, where we were shown legal books that were in use from the 12th century up until unification, only 150 years ago. One was bound in wood, had a heavy chain to keep it attached to a desk in the Comune...where it was kept for reference by any citizen. The fun part? It had little cartoons in the margins to help the illiterate figure out what the section was about!
The archives just went on and on and on in the basement under the library. There were miscellaneous letters casually wrapped in cardboard and labeled 1567-1571. There were birth and death records. Land deeds. Tax records. What a wealth of information and historical interest! Much of the work was handlettered, and it was with a sense of unreality that we only started to see typing in sections from the 1950s!
Love,
Alexandra
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| Jim with books...from the 14th century |
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| A wee bit of woodworm |
We then went to the archives, where we were shown legal books that were in use from the 12th century up until unification, only 150 years ago. One was bound in wood, had a heavy chain to keep it attached to a desk in the Comune...where it was kept for reference by any citizen. The fun part? It had little cartoons in the margins to help the illiterate figure out what the section was about!
The archives just went on and on and on in the basement under the library. There were miscellaneous letters casually wrapped in cardboard and labeled 1567-1571. There were birth and death records. Land deeds. Tax records. What a wealth of information and historical interest! Much of the work was handlettered, and it was with a sense of unreality that we only started to see typing in sections from the 1950s!
Love,
Alexandra
Flowers and Todi
It's time for Todi Infiorita, which is our annual flower show. All weekend there were tents and displays throughout town, including the giardinetti, the Piazza in front of San Fortunato, the Piazza del Popolo, and Piazza Garibaldi. It was such fun to see all the different vendors hawking huge roses, gnome homes in terra cotta, orange trees, cacti, and more! Just a few photos to give you a flavor:
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| A list of heritage grape varieties |
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| A list of heritage cherries |
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| Planters for wheelchairs! |
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| An olive tree, of course! |
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| Roberta knitting on the Duomo steps |
Cappuccino, move over!
It's summer, which means time for a new kind of coffee: noccioline!
Picture this: hot coffee, drizzled over hazelnut gelato (homemade, of course), then topped with whipped cream (it's Sunday, which makes the cream okay, according to Paolo, my barista) and cocoa.
Oh, yes. Summertime, and the living is easy!
Love,
Alexandra
Picture this: hot coffee, drizzled over hazelnut gelato (homemade, of course), then topped with whipped cream (it's Sunday, which makes the cream okay, according to Paolo, my barista) and cocoa.
Oh, yes. Summertime, and the living is easy!
Love,
Alexandra
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Gift Giving, Texas Style!
Jim and Rebecca arrived from Texas this morning, and we are so very happy to see them! Before they left, Rebecca asked if there were any silly things the kids missed, like certain foods. I suggested a few items, and quickly said they should only get one or two of those, because of suitcase limits and so on.
Rebecca heard the first part, but not the second. When they arrived, they quickly declared that one of their four suitcases needed to go into the room with them, and the other THREE suitcases needed to go to our place.
???
Well, here's the answer. Jim and Rebecca brought not one item, but ALL the items. In multiplicate!
Love,
Alexandra
Rebecca heard the first part, but not the second. When they arrived, they quickly declared that one of their four suitcases needed to go into the room with them, and the other THREE suitcases needed to go to our place.
???
Well, here's the answer. Jim and Rebecca brought not one item, but ALL the items. In multiplicate!
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| A gift from the M&M/Mars plant |
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| I only MENTIONED in another part of our conversation that jalapenos aren't available. |
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| Italians don't know about redhots |
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| America...in three suitcases! |
Alexandra
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