Shopping, cleaning, walking, eating...

View of Lucca and Pisan Hills.


I am once more falling behind on posting…

On Friday I picked up Joy at 9:30 am and we went to Lucca for a girls’ day out. Mary joined us later in the morning and the three of us had a great lunch together. It was loads of fun to go off without the guys. Not that we don’t love them but every once in a while a woman just needs to spend time with her girlfriends. Since I had the car poor Dom was stuck at the house all day.

Joy and I both had specific ideas of items we needed to purchase before heading back to the U.S. Presents of all sorts were high on the list. We started out at one end of Lucca, worked our way to the other and then retraced our steps. A lengthy period of time was spent in a wonderful kitchen store. Leather goods, jewelry and ceramics also rated close inspection. Even shops that held nothing we needed required a certain amount of attention since without the men we could actually spend time looking at things that would bore them silly. Thus, we carefully went through the Swarovki crystal shop and discussed all the lovely little objets d’art. Joy was pretty restrained but I made quite a contribution to the local economy. So much so that my arms were aching by the time we got back to the car.

It was interesting being in Lucca so late in the fall. There were very few tourists, even fewer tour groups and many stores have shortened hours. There were also a number of places that were closed for vacation. In Italy it is common for stores and restaurants to simply shut down for a few weeks. Usually we find out about this by arriving at the establishment and finding a notice on the door. Sometimes the proprietors post a warning message a few weeks beforehand. No one seems terribly put out and November seems to be a popular time for this. No doubt it is because things have slowed down after summer and early fall but the holiday rush is still a few weeks away.

On Saturday Dom spent several hours hauling wood up from the “lower forty.” Several years ago we had some trees felled and since then we have been using some of it for firewood. The acacia is not terrific for this purpose but the price is right. The wood was left in rather long lengths and piled higgledy piggledy. A few weeks ago he cut some of it into useable lengths but left it below. It was necessary to cart it up to the barn wheelbarrowful by wheelbarrowful. Then some of it needed to be split. Maybe the price isn’t so great.

Meanwhile, I cleaned the house and did laundry. The sun finally came out and there was a brisk breeze. It was perfect for drying clothes outside so I managed to finish two loads. I spruced up the interior and even got the ground floor mopped. The latter was something I had put off for quite a while so I felt really good about getting it done.

In the evening we went out for pizza. The food was good but the server spilled a pint of beer next to us so I sat through the meal with my lower pant legs soaked. A really tasty dose of gelato on the way home improved my mood considerably.

Sunday dawned clear and crisp—perfect autumn weather. Another marcia podistica had us driving almost 45 minutes up the Serchio valley to a small town near San Romano in Garfagnana. This is well into the foothills of the Appenini mountains and the rising sun gradually illuminated the rust and gold hillsides, craggy peaks, stone and terracotta villages and the bright green pastures. A sliver of new snow capped the very highest mountain tops which seemed in keeping with a sign we passed indicating the temperature was only 4° Centigrade or about 40° Farenheit!

Three of our Italian neighbors went with us since the husband of one, their usual driver, went hunting. Dom and I decided to do the 6 kilometer route while our friends did the 2 kilometer walk. Our route went down hill from the partenza (start) at the local campo sportivo (sports field) before heading uphill into the woods. The path we followed was freshly mown but underneath the grass, leaves and mud it was possible to make out the stony surface of an old donkey road. We crossed a fairly large stream using a temporary bridge made of several 2x8 planks. To our left we could see the water cascading down the mountainside in a series of waterfalls. The torrent continued down into the valley to our right over a series of man-made falls.

Our route continued down into the valley to the point where we thought we might actually reach the Serchio River. Eventually, we made a loop through the narrow pathways of an ancient fortified village and began our ascent back to the arrivo (finish). By the time we returned to our starting point we were hot and sweaty (I finally took off the coat I wore over a fleece and several other layers) and we felt we had had a great workout. After a quick snack and hot tea we collected our premi (prizes—specialty pasta, bottled water and mini tissue packets) and headed home.

We were expecting guests for lunch so I hurriedly showered and made few preparations for lunch before heading off to Sunday Mass. That gave Dom the opportunity to make a fire and get himself cleaned up without me stressing about entertaining.

Our neighbors, Dr. Giovanni Landucci and his wife Paola, joined us at 1 pm and I served spaghetti with a tomato/zucchini sauce followed by turkey and mixed salad with poached pears and a little whipped cream on top for dessert. Our guests brought us an excellent Italian champagne-style wine and a huge box of chocolates, both of which were enjoyed before they left.

Giovanni and Paola have been extremely nice to us and have entertained us several times at their house. We wanted to do something to reciprocate their hospitality but I have been reluctant to invite any of our Italian neighbors for a meal. The language difficulties are daunting enough (although Giovanni speaks excellent English) but I also worry about serving the wrong food and getting the local etiquette totally wrong. Luckily, everything seemed to go well yesterday so I am looking forward to further entertaining in Partigliano.

Another event that took place yesterday was some sort of tractor procession. While out getting wood from the barn, Dom noticed a parade of machines heading up the hill above us. Being the tractor aficionado he is, Dom got really excited. I think he really wished he had his Kubota here in Italy so he could join the spectacle. He asked Giovanni about it and learned that the tractors gathered in Valdottavo (the village below ours) and then worked their way up the hill. Our neighbor explained that it took them half an hour to arrive at the top. Whatever else he told us was lost in translation (or lack thereof). Later, when Dom and I were talking about it I surmised there might be a blessing of the tractors followed by lunch at Guzzanello. It is a pretty common formula here and, sure enough, we saw notices today in Valdottavo for a Festa di Ringraziamento (Thanksgiving Festival) that involved bringing produce to be blessed followed by lunch.

Today was spent rather lazily. I actually finished a novel! We ate lunch on the patio (shivering slightly) and tried to stay there and read afterwards. However, when the weak sun went behind the clouds it was far too cool to remain outside. So we moved indoors, turned on the heat, built a fire and whiled away the rest of the afternoon.