Shitalia



Amongst all the Christmas joy that’s being sprinkled far and wide at this time of year I have had a few challenges lately. I would hate to give you the impression that life is totally blissful. It’s not - so get real, shit happens here too.  

Thursday provided a great example. It began gloriously with long chats to both my sons and their partners. Often they are too busy with their own lives to chat for long so I appreciated a chance to talk at length. They both laughed when I showed them my Christmas tree effort.

It's a branch from the forest and most of the decorations are chocolates. I thought it was a great creative effort and wouldn't get in the way in this tiny appartment. Then I showed them what Giorgio dug out of a cupboard after I mentioned to the grinch  that a few Christmas decorations might be nice:

Yep, that's it. Plastic greenery and an old red candle.

Now back to the first Shitalia story (Thanks Kaye for that great name). Mid afternoon I made myself more presentable ready for a new adventure. Giorgio was at work and I was to catch the bus approx 15kms to the city, meet him, and we would go together to our first Internations meeting.

The weather was not pleasant, but the showers had reduced to an occasional wind driven spit. I donned my rain coat and scarf to walk 4kms to the main road to await the bus. The strong wind would have destroyed an umbrella in no time. I enjoyed the walk, the scenery is lovely and it’s all downhill. It smelt earthy and fresh after the rain. The road sides look so different now, I can see right into the forest with the leaves gone.  The forest floor is very clear of other plants, a real contrast to Tasmanian bush with a thick under story in most areas.

Day light is in short supply at this time of year and by the time I reached the bus stop the light was fading. Wind driven clouds zoomed across the sky and stars were beginning to appear, disappear, then reappear like faulty flashing Christmas lights.  

 I reached the main road quite early so expected to wait a while for the blue bus. I waited.  I waited.  I waited. No bus. No bus. No bus. I got cold. And colder. And colder. Numb toes. Numb bum. There were a few showers of rain. The wind kept blowing.  As I stood on the grass on the side of the narrow road on a sweeping bend at the bus stop cars passed by dazzling me with their head lights. I felt like a startled rabbit.  I wondered ‘will I  recognize the blue bus when it comes in time to wave it to stop?’  Several cars slowed a little and I began to feel uneasy. The nearest house is a few hundred metres away and I had no phone service down in the gully. I was feeling increasingly cold and vulnerable on the side of the road. Usually I am quite confident and brave but the longer I stood there the more vulnerable and close to tears I felt. After waiting 45 minute I began to tearfully retrace my steps up the mountain and home again.

About half way back up I had phone service so rang Giorgio to tell him I would not be meeting him in the city.  Concerned about my distress he left work early and arrived home soon after me. By then I was half way through a cup of tea and had calmed down.  The phone rang a short time later and it was his work colleague to say “sorry I forgot to tell you the bus drivers were on strike today.”

I felt like staying home and sulking but Giorgio talked me into going back to the city to the meeting and I did enjoy meeting people from a range of countries including Thailand, Portugal, Brazil, Germany and USA.

Money makes the world go round … but go around the world and money goes nowhere.

The Banks are another challenge to test my stamina.  Phew!  These days banks have such great security protecting my accounts that I can’t use them myself!!!  None of their free call assistance numbers work from afar … I suppose because international calls are expensive and they know how slow they are at their call centres.

Next strategy: email them.  If you would like a game of hide and seek go to Commonwealth Banks website and try to send them an email. It continuously diverted me back to  search our website yourself and find your own answer, eventually I escaped the cycle and actually managed to email them. Was that an intelligence test? Or a persistence and patience test?  I think I have passed them all and now I await answers.

One of the problems is their clever idea of sms-ing a security code for your internet purchase to be processed.  They do this mid transaction and it appears a new code is required for each transaction. It won’t work for me because:

1. They have my Oz mobile number on their records … a country code must be used in front of that number.

2. At the house I have internet service but no mobile phone service

3. I am now using an Italian sim card and mobile number.

My replacement bank card cannot be activated for the same reasons. (Okay, I confess, I accidentally threw away my old card when I was packing up my house.)

Part two of their patience test is unfolding, something that will help is on its way via snail mail. I am pleased to report the email was answered promptly.

And while I am on a roll I will ‘up your date’ about several other recent challenges.

The fire.  Friday’s efforts are a great example. There was a mean storm raging outside on the mountain. Rain, strong winds, cold… brrrrrrrrrr... The apartment is heated by hot water which runs through heaters attached to the walls. In turn the water is heated by gas. If you sit close to them you can warm your bum. A thermostat controls the system.  The place is so tiny usually it warms it up satisfactorily. When its extra cold or we want to create more ‘atmosphere’ there is a small open fire place.

Point to remember: when a fire place is smaller than normal it is extra prone to ‘smoking’ into the room. One way Giorgio manages this it to burn he wood standing on its end rather than lying across the fire place in the usual manner. This works well most of the time. BUT when it’s windy outside sometimes the chimney refuses to draw properly and the tiny apartment fills with smoke.

Friday this was so bad in no time at all we could hardly see each other across the room, the double glass doors were thrown open, the wind hurtled through the wooden shutters without really clearing the smoke, so we opened the door to the hall, which promptly blew shut. So my walking boots propped it open until the smoke cleared.  Mean while the temperature dropped dramatically and I continued preparing dinner wrapped in a blanket!

Giorgio gave up on the fire and carried the logs outside and hoped the wind wouldn’t blow coals away and start a forest fire.  I reckon it was too wet out there for coals to survive long.

Next windy cold night I am going to snuggle under the doona, bugger the fire.   Yet again I will be wearing “perfume wood smoke”  doused clothes as the wet washing was on the airer by the heater.  Wet clothes absorb smoke very effectively. I am learning such a diverse range of things! 

The Accident.

Last week we had a slight bingle that has rearranged the rear end of Giorgio’s cute little Fiat Panda.

We had stopped at a red light in the city and a young man rear ended us. Oops. He was driving his mother’s car. Our necks were a little sore for a few days but have recovered now. The car will need the plastics on the back replacing.

Giorgio’s reaction to the incident really impressed me. He treated the young man who admitted he was at fault very calmly and with respect. After they swapped details he shook his hand and wished him well. Italians have a reputation for hot tempers and melodramatic reactions, I am grateful he doesn’t have that trait. But before you categorise him as a saint I have learned a number of Italian swear words from him when he is driving! No wonder when people, parked vehicles and market stalls ooze onto the roads obstructing traffic.

Fiesole Market on the side of a very busy road.

In the midst of all this 'shitalia' perhaps you are wondering how am I really?  Absolutely okay and most days taking it all in my stride and embracing it as part of this adventure.

I am feeling more content than I was a few weeks ago when astute correspondents noticed I was caught up in home sickness and some inevitable grieving after creating these massive life changes.  Creativity and playing in clay always is a good tonic for me and I am loving my pottery classes.

I decided I need to seek out more English speaking contacts such as the 'Australians living in Florence group'. I met with them for the first time this week and loved it. It was incredible to dine with 12 fair dinkum Aussies and have no language issues. Victor had that legendary Aussie drawl, I had to stiffle a chuckle every time he spoke. I was the only Tasmanian - but HOORAY that was  no cultural barrier despite what some people say!

My Italian is improving gradually but it's still not possible to have gutsy conversations and I miss being able to really connect with people. I am the quietest person at a party now,  I know that is hard believe.

For Christmas we will go to Giorgio’s very catholic mother’s house along with his brother and family. It will be like being a teenager again as we will have to sleep in separate rooms because we are not married.   :o(   It is likely his 8yo nephew will share his room so I can’t even behave like a teenager and sneak in to snuggle up for some extra Christmas joy.  

However I am so so so excited that we are flying to Morocco Dec 28 for 10 days!!!!!! It sounds like such an interesting place to explore. Giorgio has worked there in the past so he will be a great guide.  He is a bit sad not to be taking his motor bike as he usually has in the past; I will endeavor to make up for that sacrifice.  I have a few ideas….

And finally …. I think I have fixed the settings so you can make comments on this post. Let me know via email if it still doesn’t work. And I am trying to remember to only take photos with a landscape orientation so you get less neck exercises.

Seasons Greetings to you and your loved ones and thankyou for all of the encouagement and the love that wafts it's way across the world. 

Buon Natale cara amici

And this little piggy went to market

Last Saturday I went to Siena with my Italian/English friend Julia. It was nice to have girls day out.  I miss all of my beautiful friends in Tasmania that only needed a phone call or email to arrange  lunch, dinner or  breakfast  – often accompanied by a wine… and sometimes one with a ‘h’ as well. (Whine)

I always love to visit Siena and its wondrous piazza Il Campo. I still marvel at the unique character of this 'city square,' it's history, stories and important continuing role for locals and I am not surprised that it attracts hordes of tourists each year.

Siena is in incredibly parochial place. It is even more parochial than Tasmania. Twice each year this comes to a head with a  spectacular traditional competition between the 17 regions around the city. That  bathroom sink shaped piazza becomes a race track for  horses.  I would love to join the throngs  and witness all of the excitement and  traditional pomp and ceremony that accompanies these historical horse races. In the mean time I can only imagine what an amazing spectacle  it would be. 

The vital role horses played historically In Italy is extra apparent here as you can see in these photos. How many horses have been tethered to these rings that line the piazza to create such wear in the walls?

At the top of the piazza constructed in the 15th century is Fonte Gaia – the Happy Fountain. Every town needs one of these to spread good vibes.

The view over the piazza below is taken from beside the fountain. It is difficult to appreciate it's unique shape from this photograph. All the other piazza’s I have seen are flat, which would have to be more practical for traditional markets, parades, etc.

Our motivation to visit Siena today is the pre-Christmas market. A showery start to the day does not seem to have dampened peoples enthusiasm and when we arrived it was a sea of umbrellas.

Many of the stalls overflow with produce of the region. Most Italians I have met prefer to eat  food that is in season and produced locally. This also gives them cause to celebrate each food as it comes into season with mini festivals. Autumn has festivals for mushrooms, truffles (fungi), chestnuts, olive picking and pressing. Freshly pressed olive oil is considered a real delicacy.

The opening of the new seasons wine  is also a cause for celebration. I've often seen it drank  in preference  to a more aged red wine.  Friends brought some to share when we invited them up for roasted chestnuts  a few weeks ago.

So far I have not seen any warm, spicy mulled wine in this area. On a cold night that's a perfect way to warm up from the inside out. I will have to make do with a hot chestnut in each pocket as hand warmers.

Mr Smiley obviously noticed my camera was pointing in his direction and wanted to look his best. Mid table is bread drizzled with new olive oil for tasting.

Each area also makes it's own pasta varieties. I took home  some ravioli and pici which is similar to spaghetti. I made a meat sauce for the pici which I  contaminated with too many vegetables according to Giorgio. He did concede that it tasted better than it looked. He is very particular about what sauce must be served with each kind of pasta and for the rest of the pici he made a sauce that translates as 'angry' sauce. The main ingredients are tomato with chilli.

The market offered  a colorful array of seasonal vegetables to get my mouth watering.

I am not sure what the celery like stalks are but think they may be related to thistles.  Italians eat many greens that taste bitter and are unidentifiable to me. I often see them digging up their greens (aka weeds?) along the sides of roads.

That fungi is the most wonderful shape. I have not seen it at other markets and would love to taste some. But it would have to taste special to beat the scrumptious but ugly fungi porcini that looks like something a horse left behind.

The pile of plaited garlic waiting to be tripped over had me thinking of Merian's recent blog post about harvesting her garlic crop. I wonder how hers measures up next to this. You can be inspired by Merian's gardening stories   here: http://singingbirdwillcome.blogspot.com/

One thing that will be on my wish list when I get back to Tassie is good butternut pumpkin. All the pumpkin I have had here is mushy and tasteless, more like a marrow. I was disappointed  by some butternut look a likes. 

In the land of pasta and pane (bread) I was pleased to see a selection of gluten free products available.

Another vital part of the Italian diet is cheese. A slab is cut the size you want, and just as well as they make some massive cheese wheels.

This producer made cheese from goat, sheep and cows milk, one variety had combined all three.   Suspended from the tent poles is a soft cheese in a nest of straw. I brought some pecorino here for Giorgio as cheese is his favorite food and this also has straw stuck all around it ... instead of cutting rind off we cut straw off!

 The most popular meat is pork turned into assorted varieties of ham, sausage and salami using traditional methods. I would dearly love something similar to bacon for a change so I added it to Giorgio's shopping list as 'cinghale morte con sale', which literally translates to 'wild pig, dead, with salt'. My creative Italian amused him but he didn't bring bacon home. 

It seems there are no food safety regulations here, or like many other laws they are ignored.  Meat would never be handled like this in Australia,  'pre-loved' and cuddled as it's cut. I wonder if it ended up arm pit flavoured?

Sweets from Sicily seem to be popular through out Italy. They have been available at every market or festival I have visited and usually ooze marzipan and ricotta so don't tempt me.

Other more familiar sweet treats such as nougat and chocolate are presented with Christmas inspired flair. One shop window had a detailed nativity scene constructed from chocolate.

Julia had expected the market to offer more Christmas gifts and decorations, art and crafts. To my disappointment a lot sold commercial crap but there were a number with interesting creations worth sharing with you.

I love finding some more creative ceramics to inspire me as so much of what is on offer is traditional Italian majolica. This artist made very cute tree decorations.

This colorful wooden chair had my imagination in over drive as I tried to understand why it has a hole. Does that make it   windy hole or a hole for wind?  Quirky!

 

I was enchanted by this menagerie of cute critters created with recycled timber. Perhaps this will inspire some of my crafty friends that like to tinker in the shed.

I yearn to speak Italian fluently when I meet people like this. But instead I silently watched as he  animatedly demonstrated how his beautifully crafted wooden tops worked. His face and hands have so much character and he exuded such energy, passion and pride in his work.  

Creative Chistmas Recycling



One of the department stores in Florence has a window display to rival Myers ... okay I am exaggerating just a little, but if you enjoy art with a difference check this out.  These spectacular window displays are all made of recycled materials. The first few are constructed with parts of plastic  bottles. Maybe I can inspire some of my arty friends to start collecting and get creating.

Can you guess the number of plastic bottles that were cut to create this masterpiece? I wonder if they ended up with tendinitis from all of that scissor work.



The accompanying text explained how a community saved the bottles for this and that it represents the importance of people and communities  linking and supporting each other.



Just a few red pens have been sacrificed for this star.



The plastic rings at the top of bottles provided these vivid colors

This was inspired by an ice cave with stalagmites and stalactites and all of those icy shades are paper from old books. (I hope those neck exercises are not getting too tedious. I will have to ask my computer guru for a further solution as his previous tip doesn't work. Computer gremlins rein supreme!)

A Christmas tree  covered in snow?

And a snow flake of recycled book paper. Wouldn't that be great on the front of Christmas cards?

The "Did I REALLY see that?" city tour.

You have had a peek into the magnificent forest I spend much of my time wandering in so now I want to show you how a day in the city looks. There is always something in Florence to amaze, entertain and puzzle me.

Come exploring with me.

No one can visit Florence and not marvel over the amazing duomo (cathedral). It's huge marble facade dominates the skyline. Last visit to Italy I climbed to the top of that dome and watched the sunset. Awesome.

Below is another view of it taken in one of the narrow streets that open onto Piazza Duomo. I love  how some on the detail reflects light in the sunshine.

This 'old fashioned' option might appeal if  you want to give your weary legs a spell and still continue sight seeing. The horses must be used to the crazy traffic as not many streets are free of  cars and motor bike  here.  Other towns keep all but service and residents vehicles out of their centre.

Or the young at heart might enjoy a nostalgic horse ride on the colorful carousel. The horses have fabulous feather plumes.

This square is my favorite part of the city particularly towards evening when the buskers and hawkers come out.  As the carousel and Christmas lights come on the streets become crowded as locals and tourists venture out to take their daily stroll. This early evening stroll is a part of the culture every where I have visited in Italy. The streets and shops become so crowded there is hardly room to move some days, then just as quickly they all disappear about 8pm as they make their way to dinner.

 This group regularly play in that piazza. I love the sound of their  wooden pan flutes and I am amused by their American Indian constumes!!  People are always trying to sell you a scarf, novelty toy, etc in this area as well. They are not as persistent as the hawkers I have seen in some places (such as Bali)  and they accept a polite refusal and continue on their way. The hawkers are  usually black African refugees  trying to make enough money to survive so some days I give them a euro or two even though I don't want their wares.

The traffic continues to intrigue,  overwhelm and scare me at times. Below is the front and back of a black car parked in the city centre. I hope they were not wanting to drive off as even with the super power steering modern cars have here it would have been a mighty challenge. (I turned and saved these photos but when I attach them here they turn themselves back.... Grrrrr)

Shop window displays can be a real treat to behold, too. Check these out:

I love these elephants ! And check out the cute dogs (that won't turn around not matter how many times I try to save it rotated.)  Check out the colorful eyes and hair on those mannequins too.

Our view of what is political correct is not always shared here... can you guess what this shop sells? 

Translated that says "The green elephant" and it sells women's clothes in larger sizes.

So many of the buildings have beautiful architectural details, often of a religious nature even if they are not churches as Italy continuously oozes Catholicism. I love wandering around with time to notice and appreciate them and feel in awe of the age of many of them. It's also a pleasure to explore these areas with Giorgio as he can tell me more about the history of the building and often relates interesting architectural facts or shows me details I would have  missed. He studied architecture here.

And from time to find I have a friend or two visiting to savour Florence with. My friend Kaye, on the right,  now lives in Orvieto. Erica from WA was visiting  her and the two of them immersed themseves in some serious Christmas shopping in Florence.  I was impressed at how they never even raised their eyebrows let alone gasped at the prices in the designer shops whilst I felt very out of my comfort zone in my chain store jeans.

 

The shops that attract more of my attention display marvels like these. I had to go in to drool and came out with a book with multiple photos of this ceramic artist's work to keep inspiring me.

And finally, for those of you that don't have face book, an example of why I find  learning Italian confusing at times. As you can see these are called tampons here but their use is certainly different!