Raduno with Roberta!

I alluded to needing to get up early on Sunday morning, and the reason was simple: another Fiat 500 rally! This time we were heading further afield: to Tuscania, a town in Lazio (towards Rome); we expected the trip to take a couple of hours or even a bit more. And it did. 

But, boy, was it worth it!!!

First of all, the views of the Lake of Bolsena from an overlook at Montefiascone (and, yes, the colors are quite accurate to my eye):

Then, we arrived, and the organizers took great care of us. As usual, after enrollment, breakfast!

During which, of course, we have to inspect the "gadget" (their term for "goodie bag"): a bottle of wine, a large sachet of lavender, a bundle of lavender flowers, and phial of lavender oil, and some homemade chocolate and hazelnut biscotti. Bear in mind that the entire registration fee was 10 euros.

After breakfast, it was definitely time to look at some cute cars. We were in a lot just outside the city's walls, but the city beyond looked adorable. We were sorry we couldn't see more of it (then).

Yes, mine is the second from left

A Topolino

Cute, huh? There were TWO of these side by side.

View of the outside fountain in the background

One of the traffic islands

We left for the priory late because there was a group coming in from Siena, I think? Anyway, there was a group expected who got lost.  Leaving was predictably hectic...for some reason, one of the cars peeled off, so we all followed, then got confused, then waved our hands at each other, then eventually got back together. No problem!

Such a cute little line!!!

Arriving at the priory was uneventful. We even had a police escort! We were greeted with this:

This is a priory whose oldest parts date back to the 900s. No, I did not drop a millennium by mistake. The parking started off in a very organized way. The fellow directing us wanted us in a fan shape to make a really cute photo. No problem, until...

a few drivers noticed they could park in the shade instead. So they created a new little clutch of cars under the trees. So much for a nicely laid-out photo! It was mayhem. But a very amusing mayhem, I must say.

Going towards the priory's entrance, we saw more lavender!

Our guide (in the left of the photo) stood in the courtyard and explained the history of the place. Apparently when they moved in, it had been abandoned for over 100 years. As a result, this courtyard was several meters deep in silt and accumulations.

They had just hosted a wedding in their church that dates to the 1100s (the new part, that is).

The fountain in the courtyard is fed by a natural spring further up on the property.

They even have pretty donkeys!

The one, MAJOR disappointment was that they weren't able to show us their lavender oil production as originally planned. So sad! Having had such a cool spring means that all the flowers are behind. They are planning to start production...Tuesday. Yes, tomorrow. Sigh. However, we DID get to see the fields that are in full bloom. So pretty!

After Roberta and I had nibbled off the huge spread they laid out for us (also included in the registration fee, by the way), it was time to continue the trip! Everyone had abandoned the priory within about 7 minutes and we were on our way. Since Roberta and I weren't planning to go to lunch with the rest of the group, we decided to follow the procession and see where it led, with the potential plan of having lunch in Tuscania if it worked out that way.

It did! We had a lovely little procession that led right through the city center!!! We peeled off at the central parking lot, and got out to explore and find some lunch. I have to say, Tuscania is darling. Smaller than Todi, it has several lovely large piazzas (including this one, where we ate lunch):

After that, we spotted the most delightful bookshop which lured us in with the wiles that only good bookshops and wool shops can exert. After *ahem* I had made a purchase, we went back up to where we had parked in order to extend our payment time. There was, you see, a park that was crying out to be explored:

Yes, that is some kind of ruin or something in the background. Another look from the park:

Okay, not a ruin. A basilica on the site of the original town. Dating to the 900s, it was obviously going to need to be our next destination. In the meantime, we caught some more views from this gorgeous park:

In the center of the green, they had this modern sundial. To work it, you stand on the month, extend your arms, and (if necessary) correct for daylight savings. It was very accurate!

Check out the terracing:

Another view of the park with the basilica:

Time to set off and find that architectural marvel. This is what we found:

The floor dates to the 1100s.

We then meandered down the hill (hoping to find the ruins, whose entrance we'd missed, but no luck: we "only" found another basilica dating more or less to the same period. Equally nifty, but I didn't take photos).

Back on our way, I changed course at Marta when I saw "Via della Spiaggia" ("Beach Road"); hoping to see more of the lake on this stupendous day, we traveled past the marina, up the hill, through some woods, away from the lake, until:

Yes, that was really the view that greeted us. We were treated to a dirt road (with built-up speed bumps!) that went RIGHT at the water's edge...only a few meters of beach on which all the children and families were cavorting. The sand is a bit silty, but is black; perhaps this is what gives the water its incredible depth of color. The water is completely clear and just stunning. Roberta and I did discuss the merits of stripping down and just going in the water in our undies, but our inhibitions stopped us. Sigh.

After a while, the road joined up with a larger road. Hazarding a guess, I turned left. We climbed and climbed and wound around and climbed and zigzagged and climbed and alternated between second and third gears (no joke in an uphill driving a double-clutch car) and you get the picture. We saw periodically this town RIGHT at the top of the hill, and were making guesses as to which it could be. I hoped that it was the town with a HUGE cupola that we had gone through on our way to the rally (in fact, the town from which I took the first photos in this post)...Montefiascone. On our way through earlier, we had agreed to go into the basilica if the road went right by it. If not, we didn't have time to stop. Maybe this would be our opportunity!

And, yes! It involved parking and walking and climbing (did you catch "monte" meaning "mount"? Dunno what "fiascone" means...maybe "sucker"). The church itself was lovely, and then it was time for a gelato, and home!

The cupola peeking out over the walls

Love,

Alexandra

Dance Recital

About 7 pm last Saturday evening, Ashley and I talked about going to a local dance school's "recital"; normally something that would sound rather painful. However, we'd heard it was really good, and was going to be in the theatre across the street from us. Since I had to get up early (and it was said to finish well past midnight, despite starting at 9), I decided at the outset that I would not stay for the whole performance. 

We stopped by the theatre to request tickets. They still had a few side boxes at the very top of the theatre, but most of the tickets had already sold. Problem? Well, despite the fact that there were TWO people behind the ticket counter, neither one could actually sell us the tickets or reserve them or otherwise be at all helpful; this is pretty much par for the course with this sort of event. The ladies behind the counter did let me know that they thought there would be a ticket seller there around 8, though.

Nothing daunted, Michael and I stopped in about 8:10 on our way to dinner. There was a gentleman behind the counter who was busily doing something. After waiting a few moments, I inquired as to whether he could sell us tickets (having previously ascertained that the box seats hadn't sold, based on the hand drawing showing availability that they place on the counter at every event). The fellow who was waiting beside me exasperatedly exclaimed in his place, "Oh, no, he can't possibly do it. The people who sell tickets are working in the theatre and won't come out to actually, say, sell the tickets." Well, okay, then!

After a pizza dinner al fresco, we went back to the theatre office a few minutes past nine. Success! There were people there who could and would sell tickets! We delightedly went up to our box to the first strains of music.

The location is always a treat. That's just a given, but I love it every single time.

And the dance recital? If I hadn't known it was a school, there were definitely near-professional grade pieces in there. We were also treated to the little ones...amazingly, there were enough of them who did a good enough job that the occasional vagaries were absolutely precious. The costumes were incredible...Michael and I shuddered to think how much the parents had had to sink into them, because each kid was in three or more numbers, each requiring a different costume. 

The performance included a pretty full-scale production of Cinderella. The weird sisters were hilarious, and included one of Eleanor's former classmates. That was really another element of the fun: as each set of dancers came on, Ashley and I (mostly Ashley) would recognize cast members. 

Apart from Cinderella, there was a precious choreography to "Singing in the Rain" where the itty-bitties pranced around in lilac raincoats and white frilly umbrellas with polka dots. WAY cute.

The performances included ballet, contemporary, jazz, and hip-hop. We were all amazed and how HUGE the school is and how many performers there were.

I left around 11 or so with Jeremy, while the rest of the gang stayed for the remainder of the performance. On my way home, I marveled at how nice it was to be able to go to the performance on a whim, and then split up if necessary.

Love,

Alexandra

Going back in time in Bevagna

Yesterday, Jeremy and I had the chance to go to Bevagna's medieval festival. The entire town is decked out, and there is a competition between the neighborhoods, or "gaite" for the best display. How that is judged remains unclear to me, however.

In any case, we were suitably impressed by all of the gaite. Apart from the costuming, which was lovely, they had courtyards with animals, blacksmiths, metalworkers (think casting bells), bookbinders, paper makers, and more.

At lunch, Jeremy got brave and tried land snails (rather than the sea snails he loves). They were not quite the thing in his book of gastronomic pleasures, but he was happy with the boar that he also ordered.

I was crushed: having seen the roads bedecked with what appeared to be hand-dyed wools, I was convinced that I would be arriving home with more than a skein. Sadly, they were not for sale. Sigh. On the other hand, I bought the most adorable silver dragon pendant (usually not my style, but I loved his face!), several "digestivi" (hard after-dinner drinks) (which of course required a tasting session to decide), local lentils, and a few more odds and ends.

We arrived home in time for gelato, then dinner, then...the dance recital at the theatre! But that's for another post.

Love,

Alexandra

Whetstone

Pulping mill

Paper making

Casting bells

Bacon-to-be

A foot-driven lathe

My dragon!