Mount Hotham in Summer

As time gets nearer to our return to Panicale in Umbria, I realise that I have neglected my Blog, and especially the Australian part of our travel life. This year we have been on many trips around Victoria and also to Tasmania with our Travellers group. Let me update a little!

In early February we spent five days on Mount Hotham. Mount Hotham is a ski resort but it is absolutely wonderful in the summer, as all the Australian snow fields are.

This area was severely burnt out by bush fires in 2013 and sadly the damage is still evident, however re-generation is happening. Luckily the resort and chalets were saved but the forest scars will remain for ever.

When you have a group of people together you need food. We self catered, having one evening meal to prepare per group of five. My group did a pasta night with crostata for dessert.

They were a little puzzled by the announcement 'Al tavolo e buon appetito.'... but by now they are used to our attempts at speaking the Italian language.

Livello uno completo

It is now eleven weeks since we started our Italian lessons at the Centre of Italian Studies in Carlton and we have completed level one. We now have two weeks before we commence level two.

I have had moments of pleasure as I've uttered the correct responses but many more moments of great fear when I have felt like the rabbit in the headlights! Nerves are such a frustrating thing because I really want to be able to speak but often I can't even utter a word in English. Poor Maria, she must be one frustrated teacher!

At the end of lesson ten we were presented with certificates and then we went to 'Brunetti' in Lygon Street where we had to order our lunch in Italian. Amazingly, I can do that! Food will drive me to do almost anything.
                                  

                                      

How I wish this was a class for reading and writing Italian, I would do extremely well then.

Ma purtroppo io sono in questa classe per imparare a parlare italiano. Buona fortuna Eleonora nel livello due!

Coincidence is a Wonderful Thing

We are now five weeks into the Italian lessons and feeling more comfortable and we are beginning to string together a few reasonable sentences instead of talking in three word phrases. We have increased our vocabulary with some great words like Boh! and quindi and aiuto!

In 2001 we spent two weeks on a property in Urbania in Le Marche.
   
                             

The owners also ran a language school which was well frequented by English speaking opera singers keen to improve their Italian pronunciation. We had the pleasure of attending a concert at the school where the opera students showed off their new found language skills.

What a surprise to discover that the text book written for and used in the Centre for Italian Studies in Carlton is set in the language school in Urbania. The language school family feature in the story lines but the book was published in 1997 so the children are younger than when we knew them. Of course, now they are thirteen years older than when we knew them.

Coincidence is a wonderful thing!

These two schools have a partnership arrangement and it is possible for Australian students to attend the Centro Studi Italiani in Urbania for a more intense learning experience.

Learning to speak Italian

Back in February 1997 I decided to learn Italian and I purchased a great text entitled Teach Yourself Beginners Italian by Vittoria Bowles. Over the years this was followed by Teach Yourself Italian, a travellers' guide & tapes, an interactive computer programme, lots of language guides and a set of CDs. Always I came back to the first book which had all you really need to get some grasp of the language.

On and off over the last 18 years we have dabbled in the language and visited Italy multiple times.

As the years went by it became easier to survive without speaking any Italian at all. Train tickets can be purchased from a machine which 'speaks' English and accepts credit cards, the village market is being overtaken by supermarkets (even self check out!), and more Italian people are learning English and are keen to show off their language skills.

But that is no excuse! Last year's five week stay in Panicale showed us how generous the people are and how they try harder to communicate with us than we were trying to communicate with them. A lovely old gentleman who sits at the corner responded to our simple question with a barrage of language way beyond us. To our 'Non capisco!', he just smiled and continued on with great enthusiasm. In the end we did work out what villages were on top of the distant hills ... but that was pretty poor on our part.

So we have signed up for lessons to learn how to speak Italian. Once a week we are travelling to Melbourne for our lesson at the Centre of Italian Studies in Carlton. This involves three hours travel each way by car, train, bus & tram ... but we are determined.

Our teacher, Maria, did not speak a word of English for at least the first 20 minutes. What a good way to start. The lessons are very interactive with the other 10 class members and there was nowhere to hide so I had to forget the nerves (well, sort of)  and get on with it!

Each level goes for 10 weeks - we shall see how we progress in that time but we hope to fit in the second level before we depart for Panicale this year, and hopefully show some improvement in our oral skills in the Italian language.

Buon divertimento!

Panicale 1998

We first visited Panicale in Umbria in 1998. That was prior to digital cameras so the photo record is meagre, but here they are.

Even then you stepped through the Porta Perugina and gasped in awe ... then you took the photo. Nothing has changed. Now we sit at Aldo's Bar and watch visitor after visitor do just that.

We did a mini tour of the town through the Pro Loco and this was when we were introduced to the artist Il Perugino and San Sebastiano. This fresco of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian dates from 1505.
From that introduction we did the Il Perugino Trail and became fans of the wistful style of Pietro Vannucci, known as Il Perugino. He was a master of the Renaissance and he set his subjects in a local Umbrian landscape of delicate greens and blues.
We also became fans of Saint Sebastian and he can be seem in art works throughout Italy, with arrows ranging from one in the knee to a veritable pincushion of them.

We had an excellent tour guide that day and it seems most likely that it was our, now, friend Katia Mughetti. Note the cost of the tour was 3000 lira.

No visit to Panicale is complete without gazing at the spectacular view towards Lake Trasimeno. This was in June 1998.

Nostra Epifania Cena

Some photos from our Epiphany dinner. 

Genoa is the home of pesto so when I saw a pesto lasagne on the menu in Genoa last July I had to have it. It was absolutely delicious, and I am happy to say that my attempt at making it was equally successful.

 Lasagne noodles, a bechamel sauce, pesto and a little mozzarella cheese.

Traditional Italian biscuits in the making

   Biscuits ready to enjoy

A bowl of chocolates, nougat and amaretti biscuits

Epiphany might mark the end of the Christmas season but it also ushers in Carnevale which is a time of festivities before Ash Wednesday and Lent.
There won't be any Carnevale celebrations here; it will be a time for getting back into shape before our return to Panicale in the Australian winter.

The Twelfth Day of Christmas or Epifania

The 6th January is the 12th Day of Christmas, also known as Epiphany. 
In Europe, and especially Italy, Epifania is a special day because that is when La Befana arrives to leave gifts for the children. If they have been good they get sweets but if they have not then they get a lump of coal in their stocking!
I was reading that these days the coal is sweet and can be eaten.

Epiphany commemorates the arrival of the Wise Men or Magi to visit the infant Jesus in Bethlehem, and the revelation of the Son of God to the people.

It marks the end of the Christmas season so we pack up the Christmas tree and decorations (and hope all the excess food has gone so we can eat sensibly again!)

Each year I mark the front door lintel with a blessing which commemorates the hospitality offered to the Magi on their journey to the Christ Child. It is a blessing for the home and for hospitality to all who come through the door.

In keeping with our Italian themed Christmas we are having an Epifania meal - antipasto, a stunning lasagne which I tasted in Genoa but have not made before, and special sweet biscuits. Traditionally sweets and chocolates are part of the celebration but it is too hot here to think of eating chocolate at this time of year.

Buona Festa!