Bumpers and Blessings

Last Sunday, Jeremy and I went on a rally in Orvieto. As usual, a complete food fest. We wouldn't want to starve or anything.

We met at the bar we've used before as a meeting point. First breakfast (pay for your own). The 10 or so of us then proceeded to Orvieto together, with the "parking lot" being the piazza next to the Duomo. The organizers did an exceptional job of waving us in and making sure that we were crammed as closely together as possible...for a very good reason: There were over 160 participants coming from all over the place!

We were mostly Fiat 500s (my favorite kind of rally...none of that mixing of other makes/models), all different colors and trim levels, and all cute. The registration was surprisingly well organized. The cost for one participant was 10 euros; two went for 15 euros. Registration included breakfast (coffee and pastry) and "gadget" (their sweet misappropriation of an English word to mean "goodie bag"), as well as a winery tour and wine tasting (not to mention security for the event and so on).

The "gadget" was quite generous and really pretty nifty (as are many of the goodie bags for races and so on...although Ashley came back from a race recently with a third-place prize consisting of a bag containing dish soap, pasta, pasta sauce, tuna, coffee, water, and juice boxes): it contained wine, sausage, water, coffee, cookies, pasta, and probably another couple of items I've forgotten.

The non-500s were generally segregated

After admiring each other's cars for a while, a priest came out in alb and sneakers. Using his bound breviary, he blessed the cars using a specific formulary for vehicles and conveyances! Jeremy and I had a snicker over the fact that such a prayer existed. Very nifty.

Procession...sorry, not a good shot

Much milling around continued. Herding cats is nothing. But then the signal to set off came: it started to rain. Italians are constitutionally anti-rain and fall apart at the slightest drizzle. Everyone hopped into their cars and clearly the thing to do was to set off. But wait! First we have to have the Medieval parade! They came through with tambours, banners, and piercing woodwinds. Within 15 minutes, the piazza had cleared, and we set off to the winery.

You can see the tanks through the windows

About 20 feet tall, I guess, maybe more.

Moving to the bottling area

Filling section

Vineyard behind the winery

The colors on the way home were amazing:
green lake, dark blue-gray sky

This particular cantina was interesting because of the size: they have 550-something employees, a myriad of huge tanks, and a bottling system that will do 6000 bottles per hour. Amazing. Following a 20-minute tour, we had wine tasting (white and prosecco) and snacks. After all, they would only be going directly to lunch after that, and one wouldn't want the participants to go hungry.

Jeremy and I followed our friends to the restaurant (we didn't want to hang out for the 4-hour lunch) and then had a little toodle (with occasional rain) through the countryside. Then home!

The good news? I might get to go to another in just a few weeks, this time to a lavender oil producer!


Love,

Alexandra

Bumpin' up and down in my little blue Fiat...

For those who know the song, "Bumpin' up and down in my little red wagon" I bring you the alternative version, which comes on the radio in my car on a fairly regular basis.

The sad news is that the line "one wheel's off and the axle's broken" has come nearly to pass: the other night on the way home from the archery dinner, I heard a strange grinding, the car slithered across the street (yes, luckily a back road and no traffic whatsoever), and was making a rubbing sound.

Yikes.

After a quick prayer of thanksgiving that we were all fine, we tried to limp the car a little further along, calling Leo for a rescue run.

We finally abandoned the car when it really said that it had had enough. Upon getting out, we noted that the front passenger wheel was at a decidedly odd angle. After having walked a few hundred meters, Michael (bless him) remembered the hazard triangle that you are required by law to put in the road in front of an abandoned or broken-down car. He and James went back to triangulate, and Eleanor and I continued up the hill.

Leo eventually picked us up about halfway home, and told me that he had FLOWN back from another service to help us out, bless him.

Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all that night. The next morning, I called the mechanics starting at 7:50 until they picked up the phone at 8:05. They were going to come pick up the key from me, and then let me know what the problem was.

Turns out to be a leaf spring. Thank goodness for my sense of guilt, it's something that also happens not uncommonly with even modern cars here because of the crummy condition of the roads...in other words, the breakdown was NOT the result of my choice to drive the world's cutest (but old) car.

On the other hand, I DID just pay for a new starter...and before that whatever it was...and before that... Older cars do require some upkeep, understandably, but there does come a point at which you have to consider whether or not to cut your losses. Truthfully, I'm not at that point emotionally at all. I LOVE my car. Every time I get in it, I chortle, "This is the CUTEST CAR EVER!!! I LOVE MY CAR!" So the thought of just getting rid of it was really, really sad.

This morning, I had the idea of perhaps buying a 1967 model like mine that doesn't run in order to scavenge parts if and when necessary. A quick web search showed up NO models that don't run, but a bunch of models that do...but are for sale for TWICE what I paid three years ago! All of a sudden, the additional maintenance cost doesn't seem completely out of line. So that is the  good news.

In the meantime, we're looking for a leaf spring ("balestra" in Italian). And I have a rental car which I loathe. No one can tell we're coming down the road (I love seeing tourists scatter, clucking like hens, when they hear my engine), no sunroof, a built-in radio rather than a DIY soundtrack, and it's super-high and feels wiggly on the road. However, it's a stopgap.

Love,

Alexandra

Marvelous Milan

Deep-fried Nutella...served in a Chinese restaurant

Eleanor, Jeremy, and I had a few days in Milan last week in order to attend the national math championships. It was a great mix of sightseeing, shopping, and Expo!

Our first real stop (after the apartment, of course!) was the Duomo.

It is such a beautiful structure, and all three of us enjoyed our trip to the roof (fewer steps than we expected, to be honest...phew!) for the delicacy of the carved ornaments and for the view of the piazza.

After some gelato and lunch (in that order), we went to the Castello. This was a castle erected in the 1400s on the foundations of fortifications that had been constructed a century before. The Castello has been converted into a really nice museum, where they displayed armaments, paintings, furniture, and more.

Somewhat footsore, we meandered over to the Peace Arch. Originally started by Napoleon, it was finished and dedicated after he'd been tossed out...possibly a bit of a nose-thumbing action.

Ducklings! Turtlings!

The kids went into another room for awards.
The parents and other friends/relatives watched on a large screen
in the pavilion

Photo of uncooperative Jeremy next to
Math Games sculpture

The next day was rather consumed by the math national championships (Jeremy finished in the top 30 in the country, despite having moved up an age bracket!). On our way home, we stopped at a Japanese restaurant for sushi. Being early (about 7), the restaurant was empty and the waitstaff were just charming. They invited us to sit down while the chef prepared our order (Jeremy enjoyed watching the sushi's creation), and even offered us a glass of prosecco! So very sweet. And it was scrumptious, I must say.

Sunday, we went to Expo. I didn't know what to expect, except that it was about food. Sounded good to us! Besides which, we'd managed to score tickets to the Cirque du Soleil's performance (and you needed an Expo ticket to get to the theater)! We had an outstanding time. The introductory pavilion (pavilion 0) was incredible: you went into a sheet metal building to be confronted with a HUGE wall that resembled an old-fashioned library, with wooden arches, drawers that extended to the tall ceiling, etc.). The displays in subsequent rooms included the most beautiful walls made of glass cells that had been filled with rice, lentils, spices; life-sized models of farm animals; models of plowed fields; models of agriculture over the centuries; and more! Truly a breathtaking display.

Entering the main expo center brought us to the countries' pavilions. I hadn't really thought of it as a world fair, but that is what it amounts to. Each country that participated has put together their own structure and concept. While many incorporated the food theme, not all did. The best ones (in our opinion!) were those that had a mix of food and an idea of some of the goods or culture of the country.

Belgium highlighted a hydroponic fish tank: this consisted of a circular fish tank (which, of course, could be any shape, really) which fed treated water to a ferris-wheel-like structure that rotated above the tank. This water supplied nitrogen-rich water to the plants that were growing on the inside of the ferris wheel, supported by a plant-growing light in the center. Their point was that this is actually fairly compact and easily scalable from home operations to industrial production. I don't know how it works out with energy (you have the lights, the pumps, the motors), but I would imagine it's pretty efficient when you compare it to tractors, etc. Would it require a sheltered location? Probably, but don't know about that.

Another outstanding pavilion (my favorite, actually) was the Netherland's offering: they took a "fun fair" theme, including booths for different foods (poffertjes! bitterballen!), a tent explaining current technological challenges relating to world food supply, a little ferris wheel you could ride in, and a mirrored house (also with explanatory displays on the mirror). It was really sweet and quite effective. The blend of technological explanation and food sampling was very compelling.

England's display was really beautiful, too. Their concept was people working together like bees in a hive. Entering a maze based on hexagons (to simulate a hive-feel) and using rusty metal (evoking reclaimed industrial structures), you were surrounded by wildflowers. So beautiful! Up above was a HUGE metal structure that looked roughly like a hive. On your way in, you passed a bar with British foods, and then got to enjoy going into the hive...which was streaming the realtime sound of a hive located somewhere in England.

Jeremy's version of shopping

Last day there, and Eleanor wanted to SHOP! So we went to the area around the Duomo (depending on the shop, the prices were remarkably modest).

And then back in the train for home!

Love,

Alexandra

Agricultural School

Last week some friends and I toured the agricultural high school for fun. Think about it: how often would a school tour be entertaining? Well, this one was. Founded in 1864, the school is sited in a former monastery dating back to the 1200s. Apart from a brief respite during WWII (when the building was used as a hospital...during which time, sadly, many of the records were lost), it has been operating ever since.

Crummy view

Plaque commemorating 140th anniversary

Entry into main courtyard

At the Agraria, freshmen are taught how to create topological maps using all appropriate instruments...both by hand and using CAD (computer-aided design). In fact, by the end of their tenure, they are EU-certified for CAD work. They also learn computer coding and other skills for their work later on in the course.

Today's CAD room

Equipment used in previous years

They also start propagating plants (specializing in heirloom varieties)...from pollinating the flowers to creating seeds, to agar-medium growth, etc. (of course, they have greenhouses). I am sure they also graft and use cuttings, but some of the terms were above my Italian skills. I nodded and looked impressed, and that seemed to satisfy them.

Plant propagation lab, complete
with gorgeous view

The chemistry lab has a slew of equipment for evaluating pollution levels (soil and water, mainly) and general soil chemistry (for evaluating which crops are likely to be successful in a particular field based on its composition and nutrient levels). The professors use this very practical aspect of chemistry to teach many of the underlying concepts of standard and organic chemistry...and it comes in useful later in the coursework when making products (more on that in a minute).

Specimens, some of which date to the founding

The proctor's lair

The third years and later get to start doing ever more complicated (and interesting) work. They use drones to fly over fields and evaluate need for water, fertilizers, and presence of disease or pests on a plant-by-plant basis. They also get to start wine-making and cheese-making! The Agraria wines have recently won an award (as Michael posted separately). Having bought some while there, I can concur that it's delicious!

A drone! The box is about 3 feet across.

Wine cellar

Preparing new barrels

 

Equipment dating to 1500s

Additional space. Sadly, funding for the new tanks was cut
 and they are waiting on a renewal.

Modern architecture...

Staff room...used to be a church

Staff room

Courtyard area

Farmyard. No more animals...but wine! 

Animal stalls, currently unused

Greenhouses!

Oh, and it also happens to be a boarding school for those who live far away. The fees include room and board and tutoring as necessary. Quite amazing! Of course, there is a cafeteria and a bar. Other amenities include a band room, small theatre with stage, outdoor classrooms, and gorgeous grounds.

Female dormitory

Theatre!

Love,

Alexandra

Classroom building