Line Work

While enjoying our morning coffee at Pianegiani, Michael and I were fortunate enough to see an Enel "truck" drive up and park. Enel is the local electric utility. Before I knew that something cute was going on, the workers had already put on their cute hardhats (that resemble caving hats) and safety harnesses, and had tilted the hydraulic lift that holds the ladder onto the van. Sorry I was slow!

Tilting up the wooden extension ladders

Selecting the desired ladder

Putting the unwanted ladder back

Up it goes!

 After they had the ladder, they trundled up the street carrying it and not much else. I followed them eagerly to the alleyway just up Pianegiani, and found them again just in time to see them levelling their ladder on the steps...it obviously has feet that can be extended separately.

Level!

Extending...

A little more...

There we go!

Climbing up

And...harnessed safely to the unsecured ladder, ready to work!

At that point, I sat back down to my coffee, now cooled down.

Love,

Alexandra

I Wanna New Drug...

In keeping with my focus on local shops, I turn my attention to the pharmacy. Located in the Piazza del Popolo, it actually has a sign so that people know what they sell. Novelty!

Inside, it is staffed with a lovely group of extremely knowledgeable pharmacists. They have saved us a trip to the doctor several times, and they know all the kids, the medications, and more. We are so lucky to have them!

It is also a location chock full of charm. Located in the old Guild hall (which is now the seat of the Comune), it has lovely glass-fronted cabinets and old apothecary jars.

Enjoy!

Love,

Alexandra

The Five and Dime

The stores here are always a delight (as long as you don't get frustrated) because you never know what they sell until you ask. Sure, they have merchandise on display. However, there is always plenty of other types of stock squirrelled away in nooks and crannies.

I thought you might enjoy our local tabaccoio. This is a "tobacconist's" shop, but it's really like a five and dime mixed with a country gas station. But if you were able to see through the scratched glass on the floor, you'd see that they are also situated directly over the Roman cisterns (which were discovered when they needed to do some floor work in this shop sometime in the 1990s).

Unassuming from the outside...no name, even!

Stone floor, and you can see the glass panels...

Lottery tickets

Stationery and cigarettes

Looking into the piazza, you have magnets and toys

There's even a loft above!

Calendars, sweets, cigarette lighters

 
Apart from the displayed merchandise, they have wrapping paper, stamps, the possibility of recharging your prepaid phone and paying bills through what amounts to a postal order, and all kinds of other things that I haven't realized because I haven't yet needed them.

Love,

Alexandra

A Race to the Table

I finally convinced Michael to go for his first Fiat 500 rally. Honestly, I probably didn't choose all that wisely, because there are two groups with distinct personalities: one likes to drive and show off the cars, the other likes to eat. This rally was run by the group that likes to eat.

So, showing up at the initial point (where a smaller contingent planned to drive together to the real check-in point), it was time for coffee and breakfast. Then a ton of standing around waiting for our leader to show up.

Our leader goes two speeds: stopping to eat and driving QUICKLY. Once he'd had his coffee, he hopped back in his vehicle and flew out of the parking lot on two wheels, while the rest of us scrambled to get in and start our more-or-less temperamental cars.

Check in! That means time to have the "real" breakfast: a spread that ran to three large tables. Of course coffee as well.

The fun thing was that we DID get to attend Mass at a church that hasn't been open for a very long time following earthquake restoration -- so that was nifty.

Off we went to the first stop: oil tasting! After driving for a while through gorgeous countryside, we stopped at an olive press. Having parked in the orchard, we walked down the driveway to find a dismal attempt to let all 160 of us try the olive oil: tiny platters of 8 pieces of bruschetta were brought out one at a time through a narrow doorway (remember the doorway; it figures in later), and whomp the starving hordes descended. And, no, once having had one piece, the lucky stiffs next to the table did NOT move away, but rather stayed put...

The door; did I mention the door? That was, in fact, the same entrance that all 160 of us needed to go through in order to get our free bottle of olive oil. I was the engineering genius who figured out how to open the other door to the left of the main entry door, by the way. Of course, we needed our little paper ticket (provided at registration) in order to get said bottle. And the box holding these bottles? You guessed it: all the way at the back of the press (in other words, through yet another doorway).

I wanted to buy some oil, but got tired of the scrum, so Michael and I decided to enjoy the warm sunshine instead. We hung out with a few people and chatted while the others participated in the wine tasting (there were no more cups by the time we arrived, and we couldn't be bothered to find out, since the next stop was supposed to be at a winery for tasting.

But no! Bait and switch! Because our group ran late, we skipped the winery and went straight back to the original spot for our lunch. Our 3 1/2-hour lunch. Our 3 1/2-hour 12-course lunch. Have I mentioned that we had lunch yet?

Yes, it was delicious. No complaints there.

And on the way home? Michael and I decided to stop at a winery I'd seen several times, called "Purgatorio". Yes, it means "Purgatory". To get there, you get to go on a steep white road that is pitted and pot-holed. I started singing, "Bumping up and down in my little blue fiat" (to the tune of "Bumping up and down in my little red wagon"), but Michael told me to stop when I got to the part "One wheel's off and the axle's broken"...it made him nervous.

We had started to despair of the winery's being open when we saw a little fellow running around in a ratty sweater. We asked his advice and he told us to continue down the road, and yes, the store WAS open. What he meant to say was that the store would be open once he had arrived to open it for us.

He was precious. He would absolutely NOT sell us anything that we hadn't tasted. They mostly do wine and olive oil sales, but they also do weddings.

I wonder what it would be like to have a marriage made in Purgatory?

Love,

Alexandra

Bonus picture: I got my car around this corner the other day.

Parking in the olive grove

mmmmm

That little table to the right is where they put tiny trays of bruschetta

The doorway on the right was the only access until I opened the one to the left.

Heavenly view from Purgatory

The tasting table

The tasting room

Our wine came from these vines

Kids Help a TON!

Well, I did it! I finally had the chimney cleaned so that we can really enjoy the Italian experience this winter: cooking on our own fire!

Next stop: hardware store to purchase the "attrezzatura" (meaning "stuff") required: grate, cooking grate, and brush. The little tools came with the apartment, and are very likely to prove inadequate, but I'm giving them a chance.

I asked around about getting wood delivered. Seeing little trucks schlepping wood in centro is a daily occurrence, so I didn't think it would be difficult. In fact, I'd already talked to one fellow and put his number on a little scrap of paper...but, well, it went the way of all scraps of paper. Asking in Pianegiani, I saw a friend of Orietta's, and she warmly recommended one particular fellow.

Called said fellow, and he delivered yesterday! 10 quintaglie. Each quintaglia is 100 kilos...so they ended up unloading a metric ton of wood into the portone, ready for the kids to carry upstairs. Isn't it great to have free labor?

Now the kids are all ready to have a fire. Too bad it's about 80 degrees right now....

Love,

Alexandra

p.s. I found out later that he wasn't able to deliver the entire ton...so the kids only brought up 850 kilos, the slackers.

This fellow had a BIG truck!

Florence in Florence and Other Coincidences

Last weekend, Florence needed to take the PSAT. A standard test in the US, the nearest testing place to us was the American School in Florence. 

Florence and I hopped on the train and had a nice relaxing trip to that lovely city. During the day, I had emailed Leonardo and mentioned that she and I would be in Florence. "Funny! I was there yesterday, and I'll be there again tomorrow!"

My ears pricked up. "Really? Do you have passengers on the way back to Todi?"

"Nope. Are you coming back then? Do you want a ride?"

"What time are you leaving?"

"About 11:30"

"Drat. I think that'll be too early for us. I think Florence will be ready about 1."

"No problem, I can wait...just let me know when you know."

We showed up at the school the next morning at 8, and asked the coordinator what time Florence would be finished. "Uh, about 11:30, I expect."

Score!

So we had a great time riding home with Leo, chewing the fat. I learned about a local cheesemaker who is positively overrun with goats...a promising field trip!

Love,

Alexandra

Crossing the Arno as we arrived

Another feast day for San Fortunato

It is hard to believe that we have been here long enough to see three celebrations for San Fortunato, but it is true. And this time I actually got to participate!
The day started at 6:00, when I got up to shower and eat and that sort of thing. At roughly 7:15, I walked out the door to help set up the targets, but I'm not sure how much help I was because all of the archers are just about convinced that I am some sort of fragile lady (it must be the skirt that keeps them fooled). Nonetheless, I helped a little bit. At about 7:30, I got changed into my costume and went down to the piazza to see if there was anything else I could do, or at least show my face and let them know that I was ready!
So I have a question for all of you. How would you like being woken up to a bunch of archers in medieval costumes standing outside your door, complete with one of them reading (from a scroll) "I salute thee, wife of ______, daughter of ______, in the name of Arcus Tuder…" and so on?
Well that is just what we did to a certain couple who had invited us to breakfast before the gara. I kid you not. Although I'm not entirely sure why we were greeting them…
Then came the gara. There were a total of 10 targets and 100 archers (exactly). I was in piazzola two, along with Jeremy and Matteo. The first target was one that looked a bit like spinning sushi ( I think that they were supposed to be logs). The second one was a lot scarier… it was an apparatus with a target on the back and an ax swinging in front of said target. It was particularly hard, as the target was rather small; it was special target, meaning that if you hit the target right off, you got 15 points. After that it decreases in value. Then there was a soldier, a fairly normal target. At this point the family came out to watch. The next was a target with a windmill in front of it.  Then I had an absolute triumph. THE APPLE TARGET! Which was essentially a T-shaped structure with apples, about the size of a fist, hanging on a string on either side; this was another special target. I hit the apple with my very first arrow!
But it was a hard act to follow. After a short coffee break, we proceeded to San Fortunato. The next target was in someone's garden (imagine that happening in the States!). Then we shot another hard one: another soldier, but this time, we were shooting at a target that had a large hole in the middle of the bullseye (there was about an inch of bullseye around the hole). Matteo got the highest possible for that target: 30. The maximum points was raised because it was so hard; normally the highest you can go is 24. Then there was a target where we were standing on a wall and shooting at some animals (they were more or less even with our shoulders). It was really fun, but I nearly tripped on the hem of my dress… oh, well. On the ninth target that we did that day, I got 21 points, the second highest score you can get. The target was a simple round target, with a bullseye and an area worth five points.
The very last target was very hard for me (I got no points on that one), in which the target moves around in circles, big circles, and you have to hit it while it is moving.
All in all, I got 90 points.
Then there was lunch in the Bishop's rooms- free for all those in medieval costumes. Which meant two hours of appetisers, lasagna, meat and dessert. Oh, and a free history of the rooms. We also gave out prizes at this point.
Then there was the corteo, meaning a sort of procession and standing around looking cute. We had horses. And archers. And courtiers.And the flag dancers (which is just about the only time boys can dress up in dresses, dance with flags and still look dignified). And drummers.
After watching the flag performances for a while, we processed up to San Fortunato in a very orderly fashion. Then we had Mass, which a large number of archers drifted out of. After Mass, those who remained processed into the piazza again, where we then broke up to go our various ways. I went upstairs to change and then back out to help take everything down, and this time I got to help at least a little. After everything was packed up on the trucks, I headed home to get started on my homework. It was about 7:30 at this point and it had been a very long day on my feet.
I'll post some photos below.
Ciao,
Florence

The scores- and none of us have any idea why my last name is now De Hook

Gathering before the gara 

Cinzia (l) and Carlo (r)

The ax target 

The last target (the one that goes in big loops)

This twirls in little circles (front worth 8, side worth 5)

I have no idea who this guy is. He and his wife wanted photos with us.

Standing guard to make sure nobody got into the line of fire 

Our banner 

The moment of "now what" after finishing the gara 

Picture time! This is everyone in the piazzola except for Jeremy