Ta-ta, Tango!

Tonight was the last night of tangoing in the piazza, sadly. We have really enjoyed going out every night to watch the artists.

Last night were the finals, and tonight was dancing just for fun.

Obviously, it's not easy to photograph a tango, but I filmed a portion of one of the contestants doing a "stage" piece. It turns out that there are two types of competition tango (at least, here): "stage" and "floor" ("piste"). "Stage" is a choreographed number to a specific piece (generally incorporating more acrobatics), and "floor" is an improvisation.

This is a shot of one of the rounds of the "piste" competition...it looked like a crowded ballroom of lovely dancers, so the photo doesn't really do it justice.

These are some shots of a "stage" routine, and I also have a video fragment.

At the end, everyone crowded onto the smaller stage (the larger stage was being used to hold chairs for spectators to the final rounds):

Live music!

Awards! The winners will be sent to Buenos Aires for the international tango championships!

And things will be back to normal in the Piazza for the time being...

Love,

Alexandra

International Dinner

On Saturday afternoon, Caritas (our local charity) hosted a session on the plight of Christians in Syria, followed by an international potluck. In a sense, it was a "progressive" event, because the Syria roundtable was held in the Bishop's throne room (an amazingly beautiful hall in the Bishop's palace, all frescoed and gorgeous) and the dinner was at the Caritas office down in "Borgo" (aka "Borgo Nuovo"..."new hamlet"...a suburb of Todi that is nonetheless well inside the walls and not even halfway down the hill). 

The roundtable was, sadly, wasted on me: between the microphone and the acoustics and the Italian, I understood, oh, "Christians" and "Syria" every so often, and that was it. Sigh. Just when I was starting to feel competent. Nothing daunted, I texted Michael to meet me when the talk was over, and we ambled down to the Caritas office for dinner.

I was extremely impressed: all the tables had placards waiting with the names of the foods and the countries of origin. You just had to find yours (one previously told the host what one was planning to take) and then plonk it down. It was really great to see the variety. Yes, of course, an entire table of Italian food. But we also had Capo Verde, Ukraine, Poland, US, Brazil, Eritrea, Bangladesh, and more represented. Quite a variety for a provincial town!

The courtyard, where we had music later

After dinner, a number of participants started jamming. Michael and I, talked out, headed up to the piazza to watch the tango finals.

Love,

Alexandra

Nighttime visitor

Living with open windows and doors as we do, we get the occasional nocturnal visitor. Last night, it was a baby swift.

 Michael managed to get it to perch on his finger and took it out to the planter on the balcony. The swift was much happier there:

Love,

Alexandra

Lamborghinis and Lambrettas

Florence and I went visiting her friend's grandparents the other day, and I was vastly amused to see the nonno driving his Lamborghini:

And then today, there was another raduno...this time a local one...that also included motorcycles and motorbikes (generally Vespas).  This is an early picture; after a while, the entire parking lot was full.

Coming in from another club!

Loved this one!

After Mass, we had a blessing...yes, Jeremy is the altar server!

Our very newly ordained former seminarian;
he celebrated his first Mass with us this morning!

Our priests with Matteo, the local club's leader

 

And here's the Lambretta!!!

Complete with spare tire.

Leaving the aperitivi, we double-filed on the single-lane road

A good time was had by all!

Love,

Alexandra

Official Advice

From the Regional Health Agency

(left on car windshields)

Summer Safety: How to Beat the Heat!

If the heat makes you feel bad, you should call the municipal police, your doctor, or 118 (the medical emergency number) [plus a few other options depending on the time of day and day of week].

What to Do

Diet

Drink a lot even if you aren't thirsty (remember that older people are warned less by thirst).  You can drink water (at least 2 liters a day), uncarbonated drinks, and fruit juice (if you are not diabetic).

Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, and food little seasoned and low in fats.  Eat small amounts and more frequently, with snacks in mid afternoon and mid morning, remembering that a gelato can substitute for a meal (if you are not diabetic).

Clothing

Wear clothing comfortable, light, and light-colored.

Use dark glasses and cover your head when you go out.

Daily Life

Go out at cooler times (the first hours of the morning or later afternoon).

During the day repeatedly wet the parts of your body most exposed.  Rest during the hottest hours.  Take only medicines prescribed by your doctor.

Living Environment

Open the windows only during the cooler hours.

If possible, use a fan.

If you have air conditioning set a temperature that is not more than 4 degrees [7 degrees for those of you who think in Fahrenheit] lower than that outside.

Other Useful Tricks

If you live alone or are restricted to your house, try to keep contact every day with someone: a relative, a neighbor, or some friend.

What Not to Do

Diet

Eat food that is heavy, fatty, too seasoned, eat big meals that are hard to digest, or drink alcohol.

Clothing

Put on clothes that are heavy, tight, or dark-colored [Recent example in media].

Daily Life

Go out during the hottest hours of the day.

Do activities tiring or physically stressful during the hottest hours.

Take pharmaceuticals or vary therapy on your own initiative or on the advice of your relatives or acquaintances.

Living Environment

Leave the windows of the house open during the hottest hours.

Set the air conditioning at a temperature too cold respective to the outside temperature.


Got all that?

Michael

Dinner Out at a Stone's Throw

It was date night, and Alexandra and I decided to eat outside at the Vineria (wine bar) San Fortunato across the street (www.vineriasanfortunato.it).  You can see its patio umbrellas just behind and under the big pine in this picture taken from the girls' bedroom yesterday afternoon.  The door to the vineria proper is the arched doorway at the top of the road to the left.  Tough drive, huh?

We stopped by after coffee in the morning to make a reservation for dinner, so our table was waiting for us.  Yes, that says 20:30, which is 8:30 PM.  We only specified "dinner", but of course that is a perfectly reasonable time.  It is a good thing we had reserved, because all of the tables were full by 9:00.

The outside dining is on a small deck built in a little garden right up against the steps of San Fortunato.  The downside for the restaurant is that there is a wall and 6-foot drop off between the restaurant and its outdoor seating area.  For those of us with a view of the curved wall there is no downside at all.

The restaurant does put out a cute temporary addition to the wall to ease their serving challenges.  These wooden platforms provide a level surface that can be reached from both sides of the sloped wall.

The decor is simple and doesn't take away from the view or the joy of eating outside as the heat of the day gives way to a comfortable evening.

I found something on the menu that I had never seen before: tuna prosciutto.  It was delicious saltiness on a bed of endive.

Michael

Tango in Todi!

Todi is host again to the European Tango Championships which started last night. We have had lots of movement in the piazza: watching the dance floor laid over the pavers, seeing the lighting system go in, and so on. Given that the opening was last night, we rushed out after dinner so as not to miss anything.

The thing was, there was nothing to miss: the opening night consisted of a dinner at the hotel Fonte Cesia for participants. Okay, tomorrow, then, we decided.

We picked up a program, and I have to say that this is the most useless program ever. It lists all kinds of possible workshops, lessons, dancing sessions...which look fabulous! It even lists the room number! However, sadly, they don't bother to list in which building said rooms are located. There is a "competition stage tango qualifying round" mentioned (maybe in the piazza?) listed for today from 4-7:30. Was anything happening in the piazza at those times? Nope. Luckily for the participants, I might add, because it was hot as blazes, and any dancers would have been sliding off each other because of the sweat.

Nothing daunted, we stepped out after dinner. And there was music! Hurrah! we thought. Well, yes and no. They were checking sound, but nothing appeared to be happening, really. After asking a fellow who might know (the tango shoe salesman who was hanging out with his wares), we discovered that the dancing would start at around 10:30. Actually, it was closer to 11. Yes, 11 p.m. To start the activities.

Michael and I had a great time watching the dancers and critiquing their moves, outfits, and shoes. They were actually fantastic, for the most part. We found it really interesting, though, that there was no effort made for the partners to have outfits that looked good together...very few couples didn't clash with each other: Hawaiian shirt on the man with a clashing floral dress on the woman sort of thing. Maybe because it was a "free dance" so it didn't matter? In any case, we were surprised.

At midnight it was still going strong, but we started getting a bit tired so came home.

I think my feet will be twisting around each other all night.

Love,

Alexandra

The not-so-Plains

The plains of Castelluccio are in the middle of the Fioritura...the flowering...that happens annually. The plains are a high bowl in the Sibilla Mountains to the east of us (and beyond Spoleto; it takes several hours to arrive), and are the source of the colored (dried) petals that are used all over Italy to make stunning pictures during the feast of Corpus Christi.

The vegetation and mountains would on their own be stunning: the worn velveteen of the grassy cover combined with the bare, rugged rocks and occasional tree clumps make for a compelling landscape. At this time of year, though, the fields provide additional water-color effects.

Castelluccio in the sky...but by no means at the highest point!

Can you imagine doing this?

The humidity in the air really attenuated the colors, unfortunately for my photos...

View from the cemetery

Castelluccio from the cemetery

Having left Castelluccio, we needed to grab some lunch on the way home. Jeremy and I spotted this little lunch place owned by a sandwich shop across the street:

View of the sandwich shop

View from my chair

Having been to the area several times, I happened to know there was a clifftop village that I was dying to see. I asked the lady at the sandwich shop, and she told me very knowledgeably that I was looking for Cerreto di Spoleto. Okay, then. Having missed the turn, Jeremy and I went a different way to find this darling, incredibly well-kept hamlet.

Parking area outside the main piazza

View from parking area

The piazza

Defensive tower...quite dramatic from the valley!

Houses and their gardens

Someone's front patio...amazing location, huh?

Main piazza, again

And then, home to Todi, with the sunflower fields...

Love,

Alexandra

P.S. Bonus shots: my lovely father-in-law has color corrected some of the Castellucio pictures to make them look more like my eyes saw them...we have an amazing capacity to correct for haze that cameras do not... Enjoy!