A Memorable Christmas

Happy New Year   (Buon  Anno)

The lead up to Christmas was been quite delightful with wining and dining and of course an expanding midriff to deal with now it's post festive season.  I have been welcomed by Giorgio’s friends to multiple Christmas and birthday celebrations and enjoyed some massive meals that go on and on and on in that typical Italian way.

One of the interesting things I have noticed is the wide variety of Christmas trees  here, many are far from traditional and not only the colors.  One shop window tree was  bright red tinsel with only silver spring clothes pegs decorating it. A  friend recycled last year’s real pine tree which was dead and yellowed, gave it a spray paint and tied scraps of pink and blue organza all over it.  Her house is full of interesting art and ceramics, and has a stunning view over Florence. I love to visit her savouring it all. I attempted to impress guests at her Christmas party with an upside down pear cake.

As Christmas neared each community created a unique nativity scene. Here are a couple of the extra special ones I discovered:

This was high up on a wall above a narrow street, with a part of the scene in each arch. It is at Urbino.

This next is at Piobbico, a little village we explored on boxing day as we journey home. There must have been some early morning comraderie around this fire and it still had enough warmth to take the chill off my cold extremities. My bum is perpetually cold! (Is a bum an extremity? Maybe that depends on the size of it? )

Don't you just love those mountains in the background!  Have a closer look.

Friday 23^rd we travelled north over the mountains to Faenza, this is where I spent a few weeks in a ceramic studio 2 years ago. The girls in the studio gave me a wonderful warm welcome which was especially delightful in a country where I know so few people.  

Three bella ceramic artists:

Aperitivo and prosecco, a champagne like wine, at the bar with 10 others was followed by a birthday/Christmas dinner at the home of  Anna-Rosa. Most of the other 15 guests I had met previously and being remembered and welcomed back by some was a comfortable feeling I don’t get to enjoy often here.   

Saturday morning we drove across to Urbino, 30kms from the east coast. Our destination was Fermignano, the village where Giorgio grew up, and his 84yo mother still lives.  This area had good snow falls a few days earlier and was still quite pretty.

I was hoping for more snow overnight so I could have a proper white Christmas, but instead there was rain followed by a frosty morning. The mountain tops were still very pretty as they gave the air an icey chill.

Hee hee! This snow has been having some fun!

Christmas at Giorgio’s mother’s house was "interesting" and not much fun overall.   I now understand why Giorgio hates Christmas so much and disappears to the desert in North Africa many years avoiding spending it at his mother's.

Phew... in that house fun is rationed into very tiny doses. She talks of little other than catholic religion all the day. Thankfully I understand little Italian, and when I do understand her preaching sometimes I pretend not to!!!

The only Christmas decoration is a nativity scene which is began Christmas eve and miraculously all the other characters appear along with the baby Jesus  over night.  She insisted that I helped by making those marvelous green towel mountains … be prepared to be impressed!

The food was bloody awful, so, so, so tasteless and  bland.  The homemade pasta was sort of okay, served in a very plain clear broth. 

The meat (beef, turkey and chook) that made the broth was then served cold and bereft of much flavor having been boiled a day or 2 earlier. Soggy boiled potato and green beans, 'fresh' from a deep freezer were served with it.  A tube of mayonnaise and jar of tartare sauce were all that accompanied this cold food.  Plus some room temp white wine.

Sweets were all commercial except for my homemade anzac biscuits. Panforte a yummy traditional heavy fruit and nut cake from Sienna along with  panettone, a yeasty  flavoured fruit cake with a sprinkle of sultanas which is the traditional xmas cake in Italy. And then dinner in the evening was those cold veg and meat recyled!!

Panettone

Christmas eve food at Mama’s was fish and more fish as is the Catholic tradition here. The seared tuna that followed a prawn/tomato pasta cooked by Giorgio’s brother was fabulous, especially after  lunch had been  a version of fish fingers.  Yep,  like those from our childhood served with commercial  potato croquets. In retrospect  it may have been better than risking Mama actually cooking!

One bright spot was that the 8yo nephew was sick so we swapped beds and I got to share Giorgio’s room after all. A little snuggle (only) in a squeaky tiny single bed was pleasant and reduced my home sickness pangs a little.

Dario loved the car racing game on Giorgio's tablet computer. It is a cool game!!

The bit of time we spent with extended family was fun.  Brother Alessandro is a nice guy that spoke some english to Giorgio's surprise and my delight.  We rugged up for several walks in the village and  it was nice to see Giorgio greeted so fondly by friends from his youth. Aperitivo in the cafe/bar Christmas morning is popular to my surprise as most places close Xmas day at home.

I hope your day with the family was lots more fun than mine... and it was sure to be warmer for most of you. The lovely warm coat Giorgio gave me as a Christmas gift is keeping me snug in the wintery weather.  However any toe warming tips  will be appreciated.   He was amused by the superman  undies and T-shirt I found for him (plus Morocco flights) … but I haven’t managed to convince him to model them for a photo yet.  Private viewings only sorry.

Socks  and aftershave (for a bearded man?) from Mama... it's the same every year. He pretends surprise so well!

We left prior to lunch on Boxing Day (phew) and meandered home over the mountains of Marche stopping to explore several small villages.  And at a very unlikely looking café ate the most magnificent  late lunch cooked by someone’s wonderful Italian Mama, washed down with vino rosso. 

Giorgio's lovely work colleague gave me this
colorful scarf for Christmas

Wishes for a happy, healthy, fun filled 2012 to my precious friends near and far.