Wrapping and repairing

One of the things I love about Italy is the special place food holds in the Italian life. Even small things like the wrappers are special. This morning we went to the panificio (bakery)  to get some of our favourite onion focaccia and a little something sweet. Just look at the way it is packaged, and even better is the way little cakes are presented to the buyer. They can be on a cardboard plate and wrapped or in a box and tied up with a bow. Little cakes are a welcome gift if you are invited to Sunday lunch.

Next stop was the macelleria (butcher) where we bought some slices of porchetta. Porchetta is a whole pig stuffed with herbs and roasted, often served in a bread roll at the markets. Again the wrapper is personal and special.

Returning from our shopping we commenced our Italian lessons on the upper terrazzo (it is the cooler spot in the mornings) until lunch time. Shortly after lunch we had another massive thunder storm and some quite heavy rain. We remembered to rescue the washing and the cushions on the outdoor chairs but .... disaster, we forgot our textbook Ci Siamo. 

It was absolutely sodden when we thought about it, all 180 pages of it. Can you imagine how long it took to iron every page between two pieces of paper towel and then use the hair dryer to work on the binding? The book looks a mess but hopefully we will be able to continue using it without too many pages falling out. Not happy!

We are amazed at how many random phrases we have learnt at CIS and used already.

Catia in the forno: Buona domenica.

Me : Grazie, altrettanto.

Buona domenica a tutti!

A walk in the dark, a morning walk and a thunderstorm

These photos were taken last night as we were walking home along via Virgilio Ceppari. I love all the angles and shapes, the textures, shadows and colour.

This morning's walk took us along via Gramsci towards Missiano. The oleanders are in full bloom and are standing up to the dry better than most other plants. I remember being very impressed with the oleanders in Rome back in 1983. Last year we saw a quite bright yellow and a cream variety but they don't seem to be avaiable in Australia. A shame as they would look very nice in our contemporary Italian garden in Benalla. 
Forget that they are poisonous, I think that the oleander is a champion Mediterranean climate shrub.

Another view of Panicale from this morning's walk

Tuscany and Umbria are noted for their huge thunderstorms; the thunder banging and crashing up the valleys to great effect. We had a storm late yesterday afternoon but no rain. Today we had more cracking thunder and some rain. It won't amount to much but I am sure the plants will be grateful.

It's 'giovedì sera' again

It's Thursday evening again and that means music in the piazza. Like last week we reserved a table at Il Gallo nel Pozzo and not only had a lovely meal but also good seats for the music. A jazz group with six instrumentalists and a female singer with a fantastic voice were tonight's Mosaico Sonoro.

La Querciolana Wines

Many of you will be amazed that it has taken Kelly a whole week to visit the winery on the edge of town. La Querciolana is a vineyard of 18 hectares and also a very successful agriturismo. It was once a 12th century Benedictine Monastery and  still has a small chapel with frescoes. We visited last year and enjoyed their wine so today we returned to stock up. 

La Querciolana is a family business; Alessio is the winemaker and his mother Maria Luisa operates the restaurant attached to the agriturismo.

After generous tastings of their Chardonnay, Gammay and Rosso di Boldrino, during which we were shown through the cellar and bottling room, we purchased a mixed dozen of five varieties. Alessio's mum had had a fall and had trouble pulling the corks so Kel had to show his expertise at this task.

We came home via Bar Gallo for our daily gelati then called in at both alimentari for other liquid refreshments. As I sit here admiring the amazing view, the church bells are slowly tolling. Usually a slow, sad toll indicates a funeral but as it is 7.15 pm that may not be so today.

Panicale - one of the most beautiful villages in Italy

If you followed my blog last year you will have seen some of these photos before. This post is mainly directed at our CIS friends who might like to see our village.

Panicale is a fortified hilltop village and the very clever street design inside the walls kept the village safe against marauders - concentric circles have created a picturesque plan. This map shows the oldest part of the village.

This view of the village was taken from one of our favourite walking paths.

This is one of the two gates through the wall - Porta Fiorentina. This is where our car stays when we are not using it as parking space is at a premium.

Porta Perugina is at the opposite end of the wall. The arched gateway at the extreme left is where we stayed last year.

Immediately inside Porta Perugina is Piazza Umberto I, the centre of all that happens in Panicale. 

The view from Aldo's Bar Gallo, just the spot for an evening Aperol or prosecco!

The fountain is a much used centrepiece for the village. It can be a seat, a display area, a stage, play area or decorative focus in the Piazza.

Looking from the second Piazza, San Michele towards Piazza Umberto I.

One of the little streets that lead to the main Piazza

The third Piazza Masolino is at the highest point of the village and the Podestà is the dominant landmark here.

The view from the Belvedere towards Lago Trasimeno

A good spot for capturing sunset shots across the lake

This year our villa is a short distance from the wall. This is the view from our terrazzo, if we look left.

At present we are experiencing a thunderstorm with some lightning, wind and a few drops of rain. It has dropped the temperature to 29 degrees so it's not all bad.

We have spent several hours today studying our language text and doing i compiti. We are intrigued that we have learnt so much in such a short time. We seem to be analysing the grammar in many things we read and especially in things people say to us. Now we know the difference between grazie, grazie a Lei and grazie a te. 

Most interesting to us is the sign Vendesi. Commonly found on old wrecks for sale, for the last 17 years we have joked that when we win tattslotto we will buy one of those Vendesi. Now it looks to us like a reflexive and that means we know how to pronounce it correctly as well. 

Isola Maggiore on Lago Trasimeno - a water element in our day

I love a water element in my travel days; sometimes a fountain will do but I much prefer a boat ride. Today we took a ferry ride out to Isola Maggiore on Lago Trasimeno. It is seventeen years since our last visit but nothing changes in these lovely traditional places. Maggiore is one of three islands in the lake and the only one with a permanent population - about 35 people. We departed from Castiglione del Lago, our big town only a few kilometres away from Panicale.

Saint Francis visited the island in 1211 and a Franciscan Monastery was formed there in 1328. There are several old churches dating from the 12th century with frescoes painted on the walls and ceilings.

There are olive trees that are many hundreds of years old and pathways wander around the island through the groves. We saw a group of pheasants scratching under the trees. They, like the vegetation, were suffering from the heat and the prolonged dry period.

We sat under the shade of large trees and had a traditional lunch of torta di testa, Kel accompanying his with a huge beer with the coldest glass. It was declared perfect as the temperature soared to 40 degrees as we climbed up to the church of San Michele Arcangelo.

The island now depends on tourism and one feature is lace making. The local ladies make hand made lace and sell it from their door steps. On our last visit we saw several ladies at work and also purchased some of their lace. We didn't see any today but maybe we were there at the wrong time or it was just too hot for lace making.

Before returning on the 3.20 pm ferry we had a very refreshing mint granita. It was a new taste sensation for us!

From this photo you can imagine we were not the only people feeling the heat by the end of the day.