Friday, April 22, 2016

A long week

A few days ago, I came back from almost a week in Germany. Well, sort of a week. We spent two days traveling each direction, so it was closer to three days in Germany. 

On the way up to Melsungen (our sister city), you will never guess who/what I saw: Ötzi! For those of you who can’t recall off of the top of your head, he’s the iceman who was found in the Alps, and the oldest preserved body. I loved seeing the museum; it was really well organized. I got to see the first floor really well. It had all of the artifacts and I was very pleased that I could instantly recognize beyond any doubt the bow and arrows that were found on his body. I actually find it strange that the attacker didn’t take all of his materials off of his body... On the other two floors, they had all sorts of explanations on how they had  come to the conclusions that they had. I unfortunately felt rather rushed on those floors. I would have really liked to spend more time in the museum, but I was the first one in and one of the last three out. 

We spent the night in Austria. The next day on the road, we visited a couple cities, whose names I can’t remember; we never spent more than an hour in one city. We arrived in Melsungen in the evening, just in time to eat and go to bed. The next morning, we went to school with our host brother or sister. Then we met the mayor, had a brief talk about the sights we could look for, and then we were turned loose on the city. We were left free all afternoon. In the evening, we had to get back up to the school for dinner (wayyyyy yummy) and a concert, put on partly by their band, and partly by our students. And I got to impress some of my classmates by being able to backtrack! So that was good.

The second day, we went to school for part of the morning and then we visited Weimar and Erfurt. One of the things that struck me was how little there was in Weimar. There were just a lot of houses that Goethe and Schiller stayed in. I understand that they were two very important people, but I think it would have been more interesting if we had actually gone in the houses. 

The third day, we went to school for the first couple of hours and then we we went to Kastel. There we were left entirely free for the afternoon. I was with some of my classmates who are very nice, but I don’t know all that well because we don’t hang out a lot. I must say it was rather flattering when they asked me to obtain information about shops (mostly because I was the only one who was not afraid to make a fool of myself).

The next morning, we left early. On the road, we stopped by Augusta, which my teacher called the “Christmas city” and we went into THE Christmas shop. The entire time that we were in there, I was busy thinking “It’s not Christmas unless there is a Christmas puzzle!” We also wisited Augsburg, and in particular the Fugherei and the cathedral. In the cathedral, I met a lovely nun, who was kind enough to show me around, causing me to be the last one out. All in all, a quiet day on the road. 

The last day of the trip, we visited Trento. I saw the castle there, or some of it. We were in the city for all of an hour and a half, of which I spent an hour and a quarter in the castle, and fifteen minutes waiting for our teacher to get there (we had to be accompanied through the gates). I saw half of what I wanted to see a quarter as well as I would have liked. So to sum it up, I’m going back to Trento. I don’t know when, but I am! Thus I came home rather contented, although I would like to have seen a few more museums.

So that was that. My weekend was topped off when I went to a swim meet and did wonderfully, despite the fact that I had been out of the water for a week. I managed to accomplish my longtime goal of winning first place against a rival of mine (the closest I have ever come was a tie) in fly. Then I managed to wipe the competition out of the water in the IM. After that, my team won first place for our relay (we were the only ones in our category). That’s all of my news!

Ciao,

Florence
Weimar 

Trento castle

The Christmas town

Trento castle

Trento

Die Fugherei 
PS Sorry that the pictures have no particular order, and sorry that there aren't more.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

British Invasion

Going shopping
First night, giardinetti
Cute cousins next to cute car!
La dolce vita
Loving the alleyways
Last week, my cousin Paula arrived with her three children: Archie (11), Felix (9) and Daisy (5, nearly 6). We had so much fun! I'd intended to blog about what we did every day, but we were so exhausted by the end of the day that it was about impossible! Suffice it to say that there was a LOT of playing with the cousins, water fights, a trip to the chocolate factory (including an amazing demonstration), a visit to a pasta shop (getting to see how everything was made), a Fiat 500 rally, and more! The children had dinner together one night while the adults had a more tranquil evening elsewhere, and there was a lot of cafe time in the piazzas! Michael had the luck to observe the following scene: Daisy in the park with a gaggle of 9-year-old girls who had decided that she was her mascot, communicating via their rudimentary English and looking up phrases in Google. Adorable! Daisy essentially asked why he was there...upon his responding that he was checking on her, she imperiously replied, "Well, I am with my friends and we are fine," (with the "shove off now" implied rather than stated, but clear nonetheless!).
Felix and pasta
Snack in the piazza







Daisy and pastries


In the baby car!

The boys visiting King Arturo

In the tower of San Fortunato

Archie is now sporting a fancy bruise, thanks to this!

Daisy having fun at the park

Lots of time spent here!

Daisy amidst the daisies



Gelato!

Yes, we taught her how to eat her pizza properly!

Daisy likes baby cinos

Daisy at the wine shop

Waiting for the chocolate to come off the cooling line

Covering the filled chocs!

At the chocolate factory!

Walking the bunny

No, the bunny doesn't provide much exercise to the owners.

Shoot!

So.much.fun!

Daisy and Florence at the shooting range

Robin Hood!


Thank you, Matteo!

Daisy on Florence's motorino

In the cisterns

A little down time with Tom and Jerry...complete with popcorn!

Rally!


The three cousins crammed in the back of the Fiat 500 while one or other of my larger kids was in the front during the rally. They all had a delightful time with the honking through the towns and waving, although when it had been five minutes without that requirement, Daisy said, "It's a bit boring now." The boys had verbal competitions over which one was planning to have more Fiat 500s when grown. Archie was very interested in how the double-clutch works, and both boys helped me the prior day when it came to filling up with gas.

You should have seen the registrar's face
when I said there were eight people associated with one vehicle!
Archie enjoyed some of Jeremy's strategy games, and we also enjoyed a few others with a larger group. We climbed the tower of San Fortunato, and enjoyed the views from there. What else? It's become a bit of a blur, to be honest.

We were all very sad to say goodbye; Daisy had a morning in which she had a "goodbye ride in the baby car," went up to the park to say goodbye to the swingset, the "big car" (the Panda, which is not large by any stretch of the imagination), and the fountain. The boys talked about staying and making "Daddy and the dogs" come over here instead; the situation wasn't helped by reports of below-freezing temperatures and rain in England, while we were looking at sunny skies in our short-sleeved shirts!

Buon viaggio, Paula and the littles!

Alexandra

Coffee Culture

I just came across this little nursery rhyme that I had to share. It's so evocative of the coffee culture here!

Filastrocca del caffè
uno a me, uno a te!
Uno lungo, l’altro macchiato,
uno corretto, l’altro schiumato;
Cappuccino o marocchino
doppio, d’orzo o salentino
Con la panna, moka, espresso
io ne bevo molto spesso
perché è buono e profumato
è un momento dedicato
a me stessa e ai miei pensieri
e lo bevo volentieri.
Poi riparto caricata
e affronto la giornata!
testo Jolanda Restano
My attempt at a rough translation, not as a rhyme but to illustrate the varieties:

"Nursery rhyme for coffee...
One for you and one for me
One long, one with a drop of milk foam,
One with grappa, one with lots of foam
Cappuccino or with frothy milk and cocoa,
Double, made with barley, or cold with almond milk
With cream, made in a moka pot, or as espresso
I drink it very often
Because it is delicious and fragrant
And it's a moment dedicated
To myself and my thoughts
And I drink it happily
Then I leave recharged
and seize the day!"

Love,

Alexandra

Monday, April 4, 2016

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

Michael's consolation cake
So pretty!
Today, Jeremy turned 16! He made his own flourless chocolate torte, which Florence helped decorate with fondant. Yum!

Side view
Getting ready
Jeremy wanted to have a rather dressy party, so he sported his tailcoat and bowtie. So handsome and grown up, the rest of us had to do likewise so we wouldn't feel ashamed of ourselves!

A few friends came, and all played a strategy game called Imperial while listening to classical music on vinyl.

James looking snazzy
Jeremy: debonair man about town
And later? The cousins came from England! But that's for a separate post.

Love,

Alexandra

p.s. Ashley won, and then there was a three-way tie plus last place!
The main event








Sunday, April 3, 2016

Saying Goodbye

Yesterday was Michele's funeral, and it was a huge tribute to his importance in the city. The entire Duomo was not just standing room only: it was crammed full of people. I felt rather like a sardine in my little corner in the back...and we arrived at five minutes before it started! (Yes, Italians are late to funerals as well, at times).


After the funeral Mass, we all left the church and stood on the landing at the entrance...it was crammed...and the steps...similarly...and the piazza (full of cars for funeral parking, but people filled any empty spaces). As the coffin emerged, there was a huge applause...as a tribute. Very moving. All the bars and the shops were closed. Each storefront had printed a piece of paper with a black ribbon and "Ciao Michele" written on it.

Interestingly, afterwards someone relatively new to the Facebook group that is a closed "Todi" group posted. Said he/she was blown away by the affection shown, etc. But he/she made the terrible mistake of photographing the coffin through the hearse window and posting it. Wow. That post was really blasted for its poor taste.

I attach the online write-up as well.


Love,

Alexandra


TODI

Parrucchiere morto, l'abbraccio di un'intera città

Parrucchiere morto, grande cordoglio in città
Tanta gente, forse più di mille persone, hanno gremito la cattedrale di Todi fino al limite della capienza per dare l'ultimo saluto a Michele Biscarini, deceduto martedì 29 marzo in un incidente stradale non lontano da Ponterio. Raramente si era visto un simile coinvolgimento da parte della comunità tuderte che ha voluto così far sentire ai familiari distrutti dal dolore, vicinanza ed affetto. Negozi e pubblici esercizi sono rimasti chiusi per tutta la durata delle esequie e su ogni vetrina campeggiava un manifesto in cui era scritto "Ciao Michele". L'uscita del feretro dalla cattedrale è stata accompagnata da un interminabile applauso e sul carro funebre, sopra alla bara, sono stati posti i caschi da motociclista di Michele e della moglie. A testimoniare questa grande passione, rivelatasi purtroppo fatale. Presenti esponenti di quasi tutte le associazioni cittadine, sportive e non, e numerosi esponenti politici, fra i quali anche il presidente della Regione Catiuscia Marini. L’amministrazione comunale ha voluto manifestare in una nota la sua vicinanza: “Il sindaco e l'amministrazione comunale lo ricordano a nome di tutta la comunità. Professionista di grande vivacità e creatività, è stato con la propria attività in centro storico punto di riferimento per la città".