Il Viaggio a Capri

We left for Capri last Monday morning (10/12/09) in time to catch a 7:15 am train at Diecimo. Our journey proved to be quite long. The first leg to Lucca then a two hour train ride to Florence. From there we took the Eurostar to Naples. It took only three and a half hours which was about as long as the combined legs from Diecimo to Florence. From Naples we took the Circumvesuviano commuter train to Sorrento where we caught the boat to Capri.

At the port in Sorrento we found more gatti (cats).


There were quite a few of them milling around and lazing on the warm concrete. Food seemed to be their primary focus. No interest at all in being petted.


The weather improved as we headed south but it was still overcast in Naples. Vesuvius had a heavy cap of clouds obscuring the top. You can see one of the two cruise ships anchored off Sorrento in this picture.



The port at Sorrento is mostly used by small yachts, fish boats, the ferries and the lighters ferrying people on and off the cruise ships. It is a small place with 99% of the town located on the plateau at the top of the cliffs.



While we were waiting for our ferry a pretty fierce squall blew through. We ducked under the concrete awning where the cruise ships had their stations to wait it out. It was interesting to watch the procedure for people boarding the lighters. Both boats required picture I.D. that obviously was made when the guests arrived on the ships. We saw a lot of people arrive soaked to the skin.



The squall passed before we boarded our ferry. During the crossing the sun started to come out. In the distance we could see the island of Capri, although the view out the windows was partly obscured by a lot of crusted salt on the windows.



This is a view of Marina Grande on Capri but not a very good one. The island is characterized by steep cliffs with not a lot of buildable area or arable land. Until it became a tourist area (longer ago than you would think!) life must have been difficult.



When we arrived on the island we just missed the bus to Anacapri and had to wait for half an hour. We were not the only ones. The islanders have turned moving tourists around the island into a fine art. Here you can see the covered people channelers for the busses. Italians are not much on queues but on Capri they force you to be in one to get on the bus.

Dom looks happy to be on Capri.

It looks like a church but is actually a fancy villa. Monte Solara, the highest point on the island, is in the background.

We used the busses to get around the island. They are quite small (but then so are the roads) and you can pay as you get on. Each driver has a cash box and a little machine that spits out the tickets. The locals have passes. Most of the time riding the bus was really interesting, possibly one of the most fun things we did on the island. If you have a window seat you can peak past the walls into gardens and storage yards, into the bus barn and grocey store.

The roads are incrediby narrow. Often one vehicle had to back up to a wider spot to allow the bus to pass. Here is a shot of a Caprese taxi going by us. There was never more than a couple of inches between the side of the bus and other vehicles or walls. All of the busses had scraped up sides although we were never in one that hit anything.

Everyone seemed to ride the bus--commuters, shoppers, children, teens, tourists and workers. Here is a street cleaner with his bucket and equipment heading back from Marina Piccola to the town of Capri.

The only part of riding the busses I did not like was a short stretch on the road between Capri and Anacapri. It is difficult to tell from this picture but the drop on the other side of the railing. Dom estimates it was about 400 ft. straight down. In fact the road was cantilevered out from the cliff. It was straight up on the other side. It lasted about 60 seconds. Dom timed it a couple of times while I closed my eyes. This photo (and a few others) was taken by blindly aiming the camera!

It took ALL day to get to Capri but it was an interesting journey. More in the next post.

Off to Capri

We did another marcia podistica this morning. The sun was just rising when we started off and there was this beautiful, misty field along our route. In contrast to yesterday, it was clear and became quite warm later in the day.

This blog will be post-less until next weekend. Tomorrow morning we are going to the island of Capri for a few days. The computer is staying home but the camera will be heavily used. We will catch you up when we return.

Sabato a Firenze

Yesterday morning it looked like this when we got up. The rain was coming down, not hard but insistantly. After some discussion we decided to go to IKEA to check out some things. As usual, when we got there, we found a few things to buy. Afterwards, we continued into Florence, parked at the train station and found a pizzeria near the mercato centrale (central market) to have lunch. Dom ordered a pizza that had tomato sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula and grated truffles on it. It was REALLY unusual but VERY tasty.



After lunch we wandered past the Duomo. Even though we visit Florence regularly and see the same things repeatedly there are always certain things that I just love. One of them is this buildng with the portico on the building. I think it was originally a private home but now it is the Museo di Bigalli. I have never been inside but the exterior is interesting enough.



When one gets closer it is possible to see the Venetian style windows, statuary and frescoes on the outside.




These statues over the portico are the Madonna in the center and probably other saints flanking her.




It is amazing how the fresco colors have endured through the centuries.

We continued on towards Piazza della Signoria. By the time we were in Florence the weather had improved and we were in shirt sleeves. There were, as usual, LOTS of tourists.

Along the way we saw a number of interesting things such as these marzipan fruit. I love marzipan but I am not sure I could eat such lovely looking delicacies.

Not sure why these billed caps have eyes but they do seem to be watching us. Dom collects billed caps but did not think these were quite his thing.

This little electric car was so cute I took a picture. Then I decided it needed "scale" and asked Dom to stand nearby. He struck a poze. The cars are for rent.

The usual cast of characters is still hanging out in Piazza della Signoria.

This Sabine woman is still being drug off by a Roman. Every time I see her I can't help thinking how tired she must be.

On our way back to the train station we passed a fabric store. This display window was quite striking. The "dresses" are only fabric draped on the mannequin.

When we arrived back in Partigliano it was still overcast and damp. Going off to Florence seems to have been the best way we could have spent the day.

A Miscellany

The "pretty" kitty came to visit our patio yesterday. We often see her near our front door but rarely at the back of the house. She was very curious but did not want to get too close to us. For a long time she sat in the middle of the field and watched us. This photo makes it look like she was "up close and personal." However, she was probably still 10-15 ft. away. Zoom close-up is a wonderful feature on the camera.



Fall is here even in Italy. Our temperatures might still be around 70 during the day but it is nice and cool at night. The leaves on the grapevines are the most colorful around. This vine sits on the slope above our patio all by itself. At one time there was probably a long row extending out away from the house. Now this is one of two still living on the edge of the terrace. The grapevines are incredibly tenacious. There are probably 15-20 spots where there has not been a standing vine for many years. However, every fall we come back and find clumps of new growth extending out from these spots. These clumps are quite large this year with vines extending 6-8 ft.




Our vines produced a lot of grapes this year. We won't be making wine because it is more work than it is worth. Actually, we have a lot of wine made from 2006 and 2007--none of it worth talking about. The grapes do make good eating in spite of lots of seeds. The tomatoes, red and yellow, come from our friend Erina's garden. They have harvested what they wanted to can so she said take what we like. I especially like the little yellow pear tomatoes that you can just see a the bottom of the bowl. I had them for lunch yesterday with fresh mozzarella cheese, our own olive oil, salt, pepper and shredded basil.





I am still trying to get the patio planters tidied up. There are lots of weeds in with the shrub roses at the top of the wall. Almost everything I planted in the spring died because of the extended hot, dry weather. There are a still a few scraggly geraniums and, in the big pot in the foreground, my strawberry plants are still producing berries. I wish I knew what the variety is as I would love to have the same thing on Whidbey Island.





I tried to cut the grass near the house with the cutter bar mower. It did not work very well so Dom is going to finish it up with the weed whacker. We spent a couple of hours yesterday cutting grass. I ran the cutter bar around on the flats while Dom worked on the banks and around the trees and vines. We still have about three quarters of the job done but Dom needs another couple days (2-3 hours each time) to get the "edging" done. Unfortunately, it has been rather wet. On nice days there is drenching dew and on bad days it rains. Rain is predicted for over the weekend so we probably will not finish up until after we get back from Capri on October 16th.

Gatti e Gattini

It did not take more than 24 hours for "our" cats (gatti) to show up and ask to be fed. Our usual black and white female (Squeak) and black male obviously knew that the back shutter door being open meant the food people were back.


Much to our surprise, Squeak has a trio of kittens (gattini). We know she has been pregnant in the past but our neighbors say she is not a good mother and the kittens don't survive very long. The first one we saw was Mini Squeak. The spitting image of the mother Mini is the boldest, always right on the heels of Mom.



Here are Squeak and Mini Squeak waiting to be fed.



There is another black and white kitten--this one mostly white with a bad eye. All three were eating but the two shy kittens did not stay long enough for me to get a picture of the whole family.



Here is a picture of the little gray kitten. It has a very worried expression and some orange mottling in its fur. If you enlarge this photo (by clicking on it) you might be able to just make out the white and black kitten right under the cobweb. Apparently, they are getting in out of the rain under our bread oven.

We really enjoy our interaction with the local cats. It will be interesting to see how "tame" the kittens become over the next few weeks. After several years Squeak still barely lets us pet her. I have already managed a few strokes on Mini Squeak's back. The other two have not stayed within reach yet.

Another Sunday, Another Marcia Podistica.

As is our usual practice, today being Sunday we rose early and went off to the day's marcia podistica. For those of you who might be new to this blog, a marcia podistica is an organized walk much like a volksmarch.

Today's event was in the town of Corsanico in the hills above Massarossa. There were incredibly lovely views out over the coastal plain. The early morning light helped highlight Lago di Massaciucoli, a large, swampy nature preserve that is a prime spot for outdoor activities. Later in the day it is not uncommon to see small sailboats out on the water. In the picture below it is difficult to tell where the actual coast is but if you click on the picture it will enlarge it and it might be easier to see.





The picture below shows the view to the northwest, 90 degrees from the above photo. The edge of the coast is a little better defined and beyond it one can just see the hill that is adjacent to the entrance to the Gulf of Poets. It is also possible to pick out pockets of mist that lay like thick cotton wool on the valley floor.




The walk route wound through a rather "high rent" district. Mostly we walked along narrow paved roads. Behind ornate iron gates were obviously expensive houses. All of them seemed to have a view towards the water. Towards the end of the 5 kilometers we walked along a rough track that finally turned onto a rustic path. It was on the rough stretch that Dom fell flat out. He managed to catch himself and not land hard. Below you can see Dom strolling along the gentler path.



The walk was memorable for its good weather and some lovely flowers. This large morning glory vine had bright blue flowers and seemed pretty prolific.




There were many beautiful houses along the walk route. This one stood out because of the porch roof, the beautiful ironwork and the two cats waiting for their people to wake up and pay attention to them.

Jet lag still has us in its grip. Last night I managed only an hour of sleep. Dom did better but after lunch we have both been pretty drowsy. I hope there are no major errors in this blog as I feel like I am writing it in my sleep!

Sun, cars and pizza!

We are still suffering from jet lag but after a good night's sleep and a great day out the long trip seems worth the pain. I have to admit that yesterday I felt so bad it made me wonder if it was worthwhile.

It was another beautiful sunny day with a high temperature around 80 degrees and a tad too much humidity. Dom watched Formula 1 qualifying at 7 am and I took a short walk. Afterwards we took off for Marina di Massa and another auto/moto mostra scambio (car/bike swap meet). It was not a large event and the bulk of it was held on covered clay tennis courts--hence the red dirt floor in the second picture above. We spent about half an hour looking at the goods. There were some interesting old Fiats but I thought the most interesting vehicle was the old Fiat 600 Multipla out front. The first picture above is me checking it out. It seats six but four of those seats look like lawn chairs. They fold down to make a clear area in back for cargo. On the whole the vehicle reminded me of a shrunken classic VW bus.

After the swap meet we drove along the Versilian coast. There are many miles of sand beach there but you can hardly see it from the street. All along that stretch is one pay-to-play beach establishment after another. Mostly one sees the water when crossing over the bridges spanning the rivers and streams that empty into the Mediterranean along there. Occasionally there is a public beach but they are rare and a bit scruffy. In our experience it is worthwhile paying to use one of the private establishments. For Euros5-10 one gets a beach chair and umbrella plus the use of the facilities including changing rooms, showers, bathrooms, and the snack bar.

However, even though the day was warm there were not a lot of people around. It is October now and as far as the Italians are concerned summer is over. We stopped to eat at a restaurant in Lido di Camaiore. As is usually the case, the seating area faced the street rather than the beach. We sat outside and enjoyed really good pizza (our first since we arrived) and a lovely salad with lettuce, tomato, corn and carrot.

Afterwards we headed back to the house. It was time for naps. Later in the evening we met our friends Mary and Orlando for dinner. It was great spending time with them and we had a lovely visit.

We intend to continue to ignore the list of chores that need to be done around the house until Monday. Tomorrow it is off to a marcia podistica, the Formula 1 race and a little more relaxation before we attack the spiders, grass and dirt.

In Italia!

Ciao a tutti! We arrived in Partigliano at about 7 pm yesterday evening. It was a long but uneventful flight. Going through Paris was good except for the layover. We spent over six hours at Charles De Gaulle Airport and it was the worst time of day for us. We arrived there about 8:15 am and left at 3:40 pm European Daylight Time but if you subtract 9 hours from those times you will see that it was 11:15 pm to 6:40 am Pacific Daylight Time. So, as far as our body clocks were concerned the only thing to do was sleep. I keep wondering why airports do not have more chaise lounge type chairs. Lacking those we found a couple of cushy armchairs but they were small enough that it was hard to curl up in one. I could not stay awake but nonetheless kept waking up because I was so uncomfortable.

Once we arrived at the house it was better. Unpacking and getting things turned on at the house kept us moving. About 8 pm we went to Ristorante La Terrazza for dinner. By the time we finished there we were both dozing in our chairs. So, it was back home and to bed for both of us.

This morning we went to the "trucker" bar for cappucino and pastry. It is really great to walk into local places, be recognized and not even have to order because they know what we want. After that it was off to the supermercato to load up on groceries. When we got back to Partigliano it required both of us to haul everything back to the house. All four of my Whidbey Island shopping bags were full plus on the side was a six pack of fizzy water and a package of toilet paper.

You can see my four Payless grocery bags plus the water. There is also a basil plant sticking out of the bag on the counter. You can buy them for about Euro2 at the supermarket!

After I got everything put away Dom and I walked through the fields to check on the olive crop. There seem to be enough fruit to make it worthwhile harvesting. There will not be as much as last year but we should have a respectable haul.

Then it was more puttering around--vacuuming up the dead bugs after spraying some yesterday--and then lunch. Of course after that we started falling asleep again. A thunder and lightening storm blew through about that time. It got close enough to rattle the windows pretty well and interfere with the satellite reception. So it seemed like a good time for a nap. At least that is what Dom is doing. I am trying to make it to 4 pm before crashing but it looks like I will come up a bit short.

I tried to take a picture of the heavy rain out the kitchen door. The bright speckles are the flash reflecting off some of the closer raindrops. It's a little hard to tell but the water is streaming down the steps and then running off the patio to the left.

I have actually been falling asleep as I write this. When I jerk my head back up I see that my fingers go on longer than my brain does. Hopefully I have caught everything that needs catchingnnnnnnnn. Well, there I go again so I guess it is off to nap for me.

A Day for a Good Book

Today is blustery and rainy here on Whidbey Island with a definite autumn nip in the air. It's the perfect sort of day to curl up in a comfy armchair and indulge in a good book. I have some interesting volumes in my "to read" stacks but I am inclined to find one of my favorite "life in Italy" books and lose myself in la vita bella for an hour or two.

If you are looking for something like that check out my Amazon book store. The link to all the recommendations is on the left hand side of the blog, only a few of which actually appear at any one time. I have included all our favorite books about expats living in Italy as well as some Italy-oriented fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks and a few odds and ends. Some are perfect for a rainy afternoon but others make excellent reading in preparation for your next trip to Italy.

One of my absolute favorites is Kinta Beevor's A Tuscan Childhood. It is an enchanting look at the life of an English girl whose artist parents buy and renovate a castle in the Italian Lunigiana (just over the hills from where we are). Although the author only lived there full-time for a short while, she spent holidays there from 1916 until after World War II. Her insight into the lives of the British expat community in Florence and her view of the daily life of the local Tuscans are glimpses into fascinating worlds that no longer exist. At the same time, the Italian countryside she loved remains largely unchanged.

Another book I enjoy is R.W.B. Lewis' book The City of Florence. It is a very readable history of the city but it is also interspersed with descriptions of the two extended sabbaticals this American university professor and his family spent there. I still cannot go into Piazza Santa Croce without looking up at the building he and his wife stayed in and imagining their daily life amongst the stones of Florence.

If you are looking for something lighter, any of Donna Leon's mysteries set in Venice are highly recommended. Her Inspector Guido Brunetti is an honorable policeman trying to navigate his way through the shifting moral sands of the Italian law enforcement and judicial systems. Almost more interesting is his interaction with his family--his university professor wife and their two teenage children.

All of these, and many others I recommend can be found via the Abbastanza Buono Book Recommendations link to the left.

TGI September!

August was an INCREDIBLY busy month. Unfortunately, it was mostly business issues that kept us occupied. Nonetheless, we managed a lot of fun as well. Here are the highlights:

Soon after our weekend at the races in Wenatchee, Dom's brother John, his wife Vicky and their daughter Schuyler came to visit for a week.



In between conference calls and too many emails we managed to take in quite a few of the local sights.


One of the booths at the Bayview Farmers Market.



One of the decommissioned guns at Fort Casey




Dom and John on the boat tour at Lake Diablo in the North Cascades.

The Seattle City Light tour of the lakes and dams was something we have wanted to do for some time. Guests in town is always a good excuse so off we went one day (with reservations and a picnic) to Newhalem on Highway 20.



The boat travels up Diablo Lake to the foot of Ross Dam.


Really spectacular scenery but almost no wildlife sighted.

After we got off the boat we walked back across the dam where the bus picked us up to take us back to Newhalem. The tour was well done and well worth the long drive there and back.

We also took our guests to Deception Pass. Dom and John walked out on the bridge while Schuyler, Vicky and I admired the view.

I spent one weekend with my brother's kids. We went to the acquarium in Seattle, had fish and chips at Ivar's and explored Pike Place Market.

Last weekend I helped sister Patty celebrate the big 5-0!

Here she is with the birthday cake.

It was the wild and crazy women celebrating at Alpental.

The next day some of us hiked to Snow Lake.

It was a brilliant day but the hike sure seemed easier the last time I did it.

I have to say I am glad September is finally here. The business stuff has calmed down some so hopefully this month will be a tad more relaxed before we leave for Italy on September 29. However, the calendar is awfully full so maybe in October...