Hot August nights (and days)

Genelle & Marg arrived by train last Monday from Lake Como via Milan. They fell for the spell of Eremo Paradiso immediately. It was good to hear about their adventures over pasta and a glass or two of vino before we all had an early night. They spent most of the next day getting reacquainted with wonderful Assisi (they have both been here before) until we picked them up and took them to the supermercato to experience Italian grocery shopping.

Laura explains the painting
technique

The weather has been heating up so it was just as well Marg took our guests early to the cool, peaceful Hermitage on Mount Subasio. It was hard to leave the tranquillity, but the arrival of tourists and pilgrims mid morning sent them home to collect Jan and head for the ceramic town Deruta.  Arriving at lunchtime, we headed first for the cool vaulted-ceilinged restaurant Taverna del Gusto (our favourite). The ladies were thankful that we only took them to our two favourite shops in the old town, as they were totally overwhelmed by the variety of beautiful, colourful ceramics.

Jan puts the finishing touches
on her masterpiece

We had arranged with Laura to show us around the factory of her uncle Senor Tomassini in the industrial area of Deruta. It was so good to catch up with her again and yes, for those of you who have met her, she is as beautiful as ever! Genelle, Marg D and Jan all had a go at painting a plate under patient instructions and encouragement from expert painter Laura. She was kind enough to put an outline first onto the plates so we had a starting point. There was much laughter that afternoon. Marg D and Genelle caught on quickly and did well whilst Jan… well… one day you may see her masterpiece when it’s displayed at home (probably in the twink)!

For a change Jan did the ‘Francis crawl’, taking our friends to San Damiano and the church at Rivotorto. The church proved to be the highlight as we were introduced to Franciscan friar from the Sydney suburb of Merrylands. Brother Jack had been in Rome for four years studying theology. He was visiting Assisi to assist at the church during the summer holidays.
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With Brother Jack from Merrylands in
Rivotorto church

What was so delightful was his enthusiastic desire to minister to the down and outs back in Sydney. Last year he and another brother spent four days around Kings Cross, taking only a sleeping bag. They begged for their food and were touched by the many people who readily helped them. He will finish his studies next year and will return to his Franciscan base at Kellyville.

Last stop of the morning was Santa Maria degli Angeli where we popped into the basilica to visit the tiny chapel enclosed in its cavernous interior which St Francis restored and where he loved to worship.

Italians sunbathing in a paddock
 on Mt Subasio

Returned home to pick up Marg who had prepared a delicious picnic lunch. We headed up Mount Subasio but found our favourite picnic spots overflowing with people. This forced us up higher to an open plain next to a small forest and set up our picnic under the shade of the pines. Mt Subasio is a popular summer destination for Italians. Genelle was gobsmacked by the hordes of Italians of all shapes and ages who had stripped down to their swimmers and were baking themselves on their sunbeds in the middle of the paddock!!!

A funicular with
a difference!

Gubbio was on Marg D’s ‘bucket list’ – since seeing our Italian holiday DVD, she really wanted a ride in the birdcage-style funicular. We arrived mid morning on Friday to a packed town and full carparks. Marg eventually found somewhere to park ten minutes walk out of town. We’ve noticed there have been crowds in Assisi as well all week, presumably Italians on holiday (August is when most Italians take a break and schools are out at the moment as well).  The weather was again very hot and there wasn’t even any relief up the mountain. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the ride and the typical Umbrian lunch at a restaurant at the top.

Gubbio is an impressive, interesting
and well preserved medieval town

Back in the town we visited a museum which houses the Eugubian Tablets. These seven bronze tablets bear inscriptions in three languages - Umbrian, Etruscan and Latin - and are dated between 250-150BC. They are extremely valuable, the only record of the ancient Umbrian language. Climbing to the roof we had a spectacular view over the city of Gubbio and surrounding plains and hills.  Bellissimo.


It was late when we returned home but we still had one more treat left; dinner at Birgitta and Piero’s. Again we were greeted with warmth and were treated to another Birgitta feast of prawns and bread, pasta with truffles, an assortment of cold meats and cheese, watermelon and then a dessert that Birgitta’s German mother had made for us. We returned home tired and very full.

It was not surprising that the next day we stayed at home and slept, read, ate, slept, read and ate again. Oh, it’s such a hard life!

Spello has many lovely
corners

Sunday morning and it was already hot when Marg A, Marg D and Genelle arose early to attend an English Mass at the Basilica San Francesco. Sitting in this magnificent church surrounded by frescoes to the glory of God and honouring Francis was very special. The charming nearby town of Spello was the next stop. This week had been their celebration of their Roman history and there were some ‘sets’ of ancient Roman scenes in the back streets and a couple of toga-attired locals.  Genelle and Marg D bought supplies for dinner, we managed a short rest, then we all trooped into town to see the musical Chiara di Dio (6^th time for Marg, 3^rd for Jan, and we enjoyed it still).  Our guests spread out an antipasti feast of cold meats, cheese, roasted vegetables, crusty bread and wine under the ripening grapes on the terrace. A perfect summer night and a perfect way to end their holiday in Umbria. 

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Dinner under the grapevine

Before taking them to the train this morning we squeezed in a drive up to Rocca Maggiore.  From the ruins of the old fort that towers above Assisi is a panoramic view of the valley and of this beautiful pink and white town.  The drive back through narrow lanes was exciting – they held their breath as Jan expertly negotiated the streets designed for carts not cars.  The two of us spent the rest of the hot day reading in front of the new fan M & G thoughtfully purchased for the house.

We then treated ourselves to dinner in Assisi. We sat on the terrace of the restaurant where we could watch the sun set and see the twinkling lights of Santa Maria and the many towns scattered across the wide valley and distant hills. The owner of the restuarant lives further up our track at Paradiso (we met him last year) and gave us free espresso to finish a delicious meal. It was still 30 degrees at 11pm when we arrived home.  Locals are over the heat too!

Beautiful one day, perfect the next

Basilica San Francesco at dusk (view from the restaurant)

The performance of Chiara de Dio was again a wonderful experience and everyone was delighted and moved by the beautiful story of St Clare’s life of faith in dance and song. Afterwards we had dinner in a restaurant overlooking the Basilica of St Francis. It was a clear balmy evening and we had a spectacular view of the sun setting behind the ancient bell tower. When we came home all but Norm played ‘Queens’ card game. (Jan won, but she’s not bragging - much!!!)

Monday morning saw Annette & Norm and Fay & Karl up bright & early for their three day trip to the Cinque Terra on the north west coast of Italy. We loaned them the car so we had to stay put – such a hardship to spend a relaxing day reading, eating, drinking, playing Scrabble eating, napping, reading…..

Typical street in these charming hilltop towns

Birgitta rang around 9am next day and invited us to join her and her guests for the day. Piero picked us up and we enjoyed a second breakfast with them along with Birgitte’s mum, her sister and family and another German couple and their daughter. It resembled the day of Pentecost with most speaking German, a couple Italian and us English. Fortunately Birgitta had the gift of interpretation, but it must have been exhausting for her! We sat at the table for a long time and then lunch appeared around 3.45. We were even invited for dinner but I hate to think what time that was going to be. We came home tired but enriched by the company and Birgitta and Piero’s generous hospitality.

Lunch with the German crowd at B&P's

As you can tell, we are having a wonderful time. Weather continues to be magnificent, rarely a cloud in the sky and around 30 degrees every day.  Our guests returned about 4.30pm the next day having enjoyed their sojourn by the seaside. Jan cooked a delicious and almost Aussie roast pork dinner that night.

Norm elected to stay home on Thursday while the rest of us did the ‘Francis crawl’, as Marg calls it. Firstly the Basilica of St Francis, then San Damiano where Francis heard Jesus call him into ministry, and then Rivotorto where Francis and his first friars lived in humble huts.  Annette couldn’t get over the Rivotorto church having a couple of replica stone huts inside it, showing how Francis and his Brothers lived.

After some (more) shopping, we set up the new BBQ at home and while the ladies made the salad the guys cooked the meat - just like back in Oz!. We played cards again and Jan DIDN’T win (she doesn’t want to talk about it!)

Karl and Norm do the Aussie bloke bit for dinner

On Friday Karl chose to stay home while the rest of choofed off to Montepulciano in Tuscany, the home of wine, leather and lots of other beautiful things.  Shopping heaven! It took us about an hour to get past the first few shops. And what would you buy here? Well there’s leather bags and leather bags, and did I mention leather bags? Not surprising, we all bought some leather.  

On Saturday morning it was back into Assisi - Marg & Jan restocked the pantry with fruit and vegetables from the market while the other four went off to do their own thing.

Jan waits patiently to be served

Late afternoon we returned to the small town of Corciano for their medieval market and events. All the townfolk dressed in medieval gear and there were demonstrations of a range of crafts like book making and toys, and scenes from ancient days (two young boys were being taught to shoot arrows). We had a delightful dinner in an open courtyard under the stars in an old convent on a warm summer night.  A perfect evening. We finally headed home about 10.30pm.

A budding boar killer learns how archery from a veteran

We bid a sad farewell to Annette and Norm as they boarded a train on Sunday headed for Rome and home. Birgitta and Piero had the remaining four of us for dinner tonight, another Italian feast of agnello (leg of lamb) roasted over a fire with herbs and lemon – absolutely delicious! -  and home grown produce.

The lamb was cooked by Piero on a small
spit - smoky, tender, delicious

The mild evening was perfect for sitting outside under their huge pergola overlooking a panoramic view of the valleys and hills around their home. Karl couldn’t get over it. Birgitta’s guests have gone so only her mother remained. Of course we had to have spaghetti before we had the lamb! These two are so hospitable, just the right people to run a B&B. Marg & I are helping Birgitta translate her brochure into English so we can promote them back in Australia.

View from Birgitta and Piero's house

There will be no grape picking for us this year - the grapes are just fattening now and it will be another month or more before they will be ripe. Maybe that’s just as well after tasting what we picked last year!

We put Fay & Karl on the train this morning. On the way home we made a little detour to Costa di Trex, a quaint little village across the valley from us, with a gorgeous tiny church from which the bells ring out four times a day.  We were back at the station this afternoon to greet our next guests, a couple of Marg’s old audiologist friends, Marg Dewberry and Genelle Cook. We're looking forward to introducing them to our favourite places and friends over the week they will be here. 

Online at last

Apologies for the late blog entry!  We arrived at the house to find the phone line out of order and have only been back online for a couple of days.

You have to hand it to the Koreans, they are efficient. We boarded the Korean Airlines plane 15 minutes before take off and still we left on time!!! (Try that Qantas.) With plenty of legroom and on-demand entertainment, the 9 hour flight to Seoul was pleasant. The flight included an overnight stay, and we were delighted to discover also dinner, breakfast and light lunch.

Once we walked the entire length of the very long airport to locate the shuttle bus, everything went like clockwork as we were taken to the Airport Hyatt. Dinner was OK except it cost US$44 for four glasses of wine but breakfast was sensational. The staff buzzed around us like bees, bowing at every opportunity and whipping away our plates before we had finished the last mouthful. Yep, we’d recommend Korean Airways.

What a contrast Rome Airport was! Norm & Annette’s flight arrived within minutes of ours so together we tried to find the Airport Hilton. The chap on the information desk was (typically) disinterested in providing helpful information – paused his phone conversation to tell Marg to go upstairs and follow the ‘indicators’. Marg found a magic machine that put her in touch with a real person on screen who was more helpful.

Like Rome Airport, the Hilton is getting a bit shabby but quite adequate and after pizza and wine with Norm & Annette we went to bed.





Annette, Norm & Marg enjoy the first of many gelati!



Tuesday dawned sunny and clear, the car pick up was uneventful and we were on the road to Assisi by 11am. Driving up to the house felt like we were coming home.  Luna the neighbour’s dog was here to greet us.  It didn’t take her long to remember that she was allowed in and on the lounge and bed!

Once we unpacked, we called Birgitta and made plans for dinner at her house. We saw the sun slink down behind the hills as we consumed a typical Birgitta feast under their new pergola – prosciutto and melon, buffalo mozzarella surrounded by delicious home grown tomatoes, pasta with cream, sausage and speck, then gelati (three flavours), coffee and liqueur to finish it all off.  She is such a splendid cook!  It is so lovely to see Birgitta, Piero and Sam (their dog) again. We tried ‘our’ wine, the result of the day of grape picking with them last October.  Hmm, not very good. But as Birgitta said, “It’s fresh!”  They have over 300 litres of it.  Oh dear.  It grows on you though…

Next day, a couple of hours in Assisi, a rest and then we picked up Karl and Fay at the station at 8pm. 

Thursday we shopped for supplies in the morning, had a siesta and then headed for nearby Spello for a late afternoon stroll and gelati.

Another gelati moment: L to R - Fay, Marg, Annette, Norm and Karl

We came home over Monte Subasio, the mountain above Assisi, over 6000 feet high, offering spectacular views across the Spoleto valley and nearby mountains.  Dinner was sword fish purchased that morning sliced fresh from the whole fish, baked with tomato, fennel and olives. 

The ancient fort Rocca Maggiore towers over Assisi










Tranquility at Eremo delle Carceri

Friday we rose early and all but Jan wound our way up Monte Subasio to Eremo delle Carceri (the hermitage) where St Francis and his friars loved to pray.  It’s hard to describe the peace of this special place. As my friend Mary from England said, it truly is a ‘thin place’ where God seems closer and able to reach into your soul.

After lunch we headed for Deruta.  It was delightful to see some of our ‘ceramica’ friends again, and we were poor at resisting temptation, each purchasing a number of beautiful hand painted pieces.  Oh, and we talked Annette into buying a pair of gold jeans on saldi (sale).  Now she is an Italian!


Exhausted from buying all those ceramics!



Feasting at Mr Grumpy's

We had dinner at Mr Grumpy’s down the road with Piero and Birgitta – simple, delicious, country fare enjoyed on the warm evening under a vine covered pergola.



Yesterday (Saturday) we headed for Corciano, a small hilltop town near Perugia, the capital of Umbria and about 45km from here.  A week of medieval pomp and ceremony was supposed to commence but we discovered we were too early – nothing was happening until late afternoon.  It was still a lovely town anyway.  Back to Assisi for lunch (pizza and beer) and then home for a relaxing afternoon.  Annette did a wonderful job of lasagne and salad, then affogato - icecream with strong coffee and a splash of coffee liqueur purchased in town.  We spent a couple of delightful hours looking at the Lemans’ photos from their cruise to Scandinavia and Russia, and the Hills’ from their week in China. 

We sent off our four guests to Assisi this morning for more shopping and sightseeing and driving practice for Norm who will be their driver for the next 3 days for their Cinque Terra trip. We stayed home to finally upload this blog and check emails.  We’re all going to Chiara di Dio musical this afternoon in Assisi, a beautiful musical interpretation of St Clare’s life and faith.

The weather has been superb!  30-34 every day, hardly a cloud in the sky, and dropping to a cool 12-15 at night, perfect for sleeping.  The long range forecast shows more of the same.  We feel for all of you back home in the grip of winter still, though Sandie tells us Sydney has had a warm spell.

Ciao for now.





We're off to Italia bella again!

Only 3 more sleeps and we'll be sitting on a plane heading back to our beloved Assisi.  Getting very excited now!  We had a Skype conversation with Birgitta and Piero yesterday (Sam the dog made an appearance at the end) - can't wait to see them again.  We're not sad to leave the Sydney winter. Bring on some warmer weather!

Time to go

Marg and Jan showing off the necklaces Birgitte
made for us

Birgitte (the artist) adds some finishing touches to her masterpiece
while Andy, Tem and Pauline paint their simple designs
at Senor Tomassini's factory in Deruta

Saying goodbye to Andy and Tem (next to Jan) at Assisi
stations

It's 10.30pm and I should have packed my bag and be in bed, as we leave at 7.30am in the morning for Roma and the Aeroporto to take us home, but instead I'm saving all our precious photos and videos onto discs.  What have we been up to in the last week?  I'm going to fill in that blank when we get back home.  It's been full of fun and events - and sad goodbyes to our new friends Birgitte and Piero today (we've had 6 meals with them over the last 7 weeks, not including the scummy lunch among the grapevines), our neighbour who has generously donated his dog Luna to meet our need for canine company, and our ceramic friends in Deruta. 

Off to bed now...

Ciao, and I promise we'll write a final post soon for those of you who are kind enough to be interested.

Piero and Birgitte with Jan in the 'cantina' where OUR
wine is coming along nicely

Did we mention we love Italy?

Even though we are right in the middle of Italy, Win wanted to dip her feet in the Aegean Sea so we set off for Pesaro about 130kms to the north east in Marche. We drove across mountain ranges and past spectacular rock formations before entering the world of the seriously mad Pesaro-nians. For starters, where’s the sea? We meandered down several promising roads only to discover they simply led back to the same place. Finally we saw a sign to ‘il mare’ and finally found - to Win’s great delight - the sea. The day was grey and cool but she still took off her shoes and socks and paddled in the Aegean.

We then all enjoyed a meal of fresh fish and wine in a seaside ristorante, watching wild waves crashing on the rocks. On the way back we dropped in to see our new friends Piero and Birgitte where we shared a cup of coffee while planning our big day of grape picking on Saturday.

The next day we went to the Bastia markets, picking up some cheap gloves to protect our hands from the wasps which would be feasting on the grapes. We tried a new Assisi restaurant for Win’s farewell dinner. The food was go

od and the waitress lovely so we wondered why we were the only diners on a Friday night. We made enough noise to make up for it though.

The big day came. It rained!!! Grape picking was off but we joined Birgitte and Piero for dinner instead.  Carolyn impressed Birgitte hugely by making the pasta.  We laughed about Aussies supplying homemade pasta for Italians!

Sadly we said goodbye to Win on Sunday and to ease the pain took Carolyn and Eric to Spello and Mt Subasio. In the afternoon we met with Sister Jenny, a lady we had met on our last trip. We enjoyed hearing about her spiritual journey over - you guessed it - coffee and pastry.

Jan and I spent Monday preparing for our next guests while C&E took the car to check our the Eurochocolate festival in nearby Perugia. We met UK friends Andy and Mary Jones and 10 year old daughter Emily at the station at 10pm (way past our bedtime!!).

Up early everyone, we’re off to Orvieto!  Three bleary eyed Joneses staggered to the car and off we went. Poor Emily felt car sick (note: no more long car trips). The day was still fun and Marg finally found some cafe curtains for her sister Joan that we’d been looking for all over Umbria and Tuscany.

Back to the stazione to send Carolyn and Eric off to Venice the next day before heading off to Deruta. Emily and Mary were thrilled to get the opportunity to paint something at the ceramic factory (Marg and Carolyn had done this the week before) and Senor Tomassini enjoyed us spending some more money.

We met Marg Pont’s friend Carla for lunch at a restaurant we had not tried before. The food was wonderful.  Carla taught Emily how to eat spaghetti, and we invited the waitress to stay with us if she comes to Australia.

We showed Mary and Andy some of our favourite places over the 4 short days they were here.  They particularly loved the Hermitage on Mt Subasio and a picnic in the forest afterwards (weather is cooler now but was warm enough for this outdoor activity). 

We put our UK friends on the train yesterday morning - two days to ourselves until the last group arrive on Monday.  Our Italian friends rang the night before inviting us to pick grapes on Saturday - we were hoping for a people-free day, but we said yes, of course.  It turned out to be one of the best days of our trip!  Imagine us slowly working our way along the grape vines in the mild autumn sunshine, snipping off fat bunches of grapes and trimming off ones the wasps had munched on, stopping for a picnic lunch of crusty bread, hunks of hard cheese, black olives, truffle salami and wild boar sausages, washed down with red wine, followed by strong coffee (yes, Birgitte had brought the coffee maker and a gas burner!) and 'dolce' - small custard filled pastries.  After five hours of picking the tractor was loaded high.  Back at the house, we unloaded the grapes while Piero fed them through the stalk stripper machine.  Out came 500 litres of juice, much to their surprise.  The day finished perfectly with home made lentil soup with toasted bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil, followed by sweet lamb chops and char grilled capsicum.  Is your mouth watering?  Italians know how to make simple and delicious food.  

It was such a lovely day and we've established a beautiful friendship with these two delightful people.  We went to bed smiling and slept for 10 hours!  God is showering us with so many special experiences this time.  Today was deliciously quiet - washing, reading, an afternoon nap, and time to share hopes and dreams. 

Only a week to go!  We’re looking forward to introducing Umbria to Warren, Pauline and Rob this week.

These are a few of our favourite things

The owner of this baby was
happy to show him off

Sunset from Rocca Maggiore (Fort)
at the top of Assisi

 Old and dear friends Jennifer Brownlow and then Win Morgan replaced departing guests and we embarked on another adventure together.  Both Win and Jen had spent time here before (this is Win’s third visit) so we’ve had a very relaxed week.

We thought we’d share a few of our favourite Italian things in this blog…

Morning on Mt Subasio
from our bedroom window

• waking to the different moods of Mount Subasio and the Paradiso valley
• coming down for breakfast to the sound of the 9 o’clock bells from the church across the valley

• the antics of the baby burro (donkey) at the agriturismo (farm stay) at the end of the drive
• gelato in flavours such as fig and walnut, chocolate and orange, and hazelnuts and chocolate (baci)
• coffee with a mouthwatering pastry (NOT the ones filled with nutella!)
• sunsets from Mount Subasio and the fort above Assisi
• reading or sipping vino on the terrace under the grapevine in the dappled sunshine

• getting to know some local Italians and so feeling a bit less of a tourist
• almost ALL Italian food
• picking figs, grapes and apples around the house

Janice and John were
avid fig hunters!



Can't get fresher than this

• returning hospitality to Birgitte and Piero (we enjoyed his grappa more this time, which is a worry…)



Piero and Birgitte (either side of Jan)



• buying plaited onions and garlic at the markets in town piazzas
• eating roast pork rolls at the St Francis fair
• absorbing the tranquillity of the hermitage where Francis spent many hours alone with God
• the rumble and squeak of old tractors ploughing the steep fields surrounding the house
• Luna the lunatic dog from next door
• delight when Marg’s Italian is understood
• wandering the streets of Assisi at different times of the day
• spectacular views of olive groves, vineyards and ancient farm houses among rolling hills
• discovering new towns or new corners in familiar ones
• sharing all these experiences with friends

Porchetta panini (roast pork rolls) - yum!

Win and Jennifer
wondering at the simplicity
of a 'prayer cell' of a
friar of St Francis at the hermitage

Gelati in Cortona - far right is Isobel,
a lovely English tourist
 we spent some time with