Coreglia Antelminelli

On Saturday we drove up to the town of Coreglia Antelminelli. For years we have driven by the signs to this old hill town but this is the first time we turned off the highway that goes up the Serchio Valley to see what it is like. There is a gesso (plaster) figurine and emigration museum there that I thought would be interesting.

The town was much further up in the hills that we thought. In fact, the town we thought it was turned out to be Ghivizzano Castello. By the time we reached Coreglia A. (as opposed to Coreglia Piano which is down in the valley by the highway) we realized we were higher up than the town of Barga, a nearby hill town that dominates the central Serchio Valley.

We parked the car at the lot on the edge of town. Most old towns in the area don't allow non-residents to drive into the center. The first thing we saw was this severely pruned tree. This is what Dom and I call a "municipal clip job" because the trees along the sides of the roads and in parks are often cut back like this. They seem to regenerate okay and the purple "fuzz" on this one shows that it will be big and bushy within a year.

Just around the corner from the above garden was one of the old town gates.

There were many charming vistas like this one in the town. In spite of being out in the boonies, the homes are mostly well kept and prosperous looking.

This is a view of the main church in town with a bar in the foreground. Because of the winding, close-packed streets it was impossible to get a photo of the entire church.

Coming into town we had seen many signs like this. In fact, they were stapled to all the trees leading into town. This is very common in Italy. We just missed the ceremony in the church and did see a number of wedding guests heading back to their cars.

Inside the church you can still see the flowers on the alter and the pew decorations left from the wedding.

After peeking in the church we continued to climb up to the top of the hill where there was the ruins of an old fort. Along one street was this pretty public water tap. The date inscribed on it is 1826.

This is as close as we could get to the old fort. The sign on the gate said Privato.

This is a view down into the valley. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you might be able to discern the highway down at the bottom. It was WAY far down there.

I liked this view of the church tower and the house and garden in front of it. It was all neatly maintained.

We found the museum but it was only open until 1pm so we will have to go back another day. This statue in a courtyard behind the church probably symbolizes the museum contents. The area produced many plaster artisans who emigrated all over Europe to ply their craft. You can see the young man carrying plaster figurines such as those that would have been produced by the artisans. They also created plaster architectural detailing and that was no doubt their bread and butter trade.

This picture shows a public tap near the church. There are actually three taps--the main one in the lion's mouth, the one to the right of it in the striped marble and back behind that in the little alcove is another tap. Back before people had running water in their homes this is where the residents would have collected their water.

I liked this house with the mottled plaster on the facade.

Here is a shot of where we parked. This is actually the lower section of the parking area. The upper one is what you see held up by the pillars. This is not an uncommon structure on the edge of a hill town in a steep area. They just build out enough space for parking.

We headed off for a nice lunch before going off to see Mary and Orlando. The weather wasn't the bet but we enjoyed the excursion.

Unfortunately, Dom's dental issues worsened over the weekend. His bridge actually fell out on Saturday at lunch. Later that evening it became quite painful. As a result we did not do much yesterday (Sunday). The weather was horrible anyway so it was a good day to stay inside and relax. I did go do a walk with Mary but for the rest of the day it alternately rained and poured.

Today Dom had another dentist appointment and his reconstruction work is back on track. We did a number of errands but are still taking it easy. The weather has improved greatly and the forecast is for a nice stretch of sunny, warm days.

Il Dentista

Yesterday we had two appointments at the dentist's office, another adventure in dealing with life's little problems in a foreign country.

Dom has a three tooth bridge for his upper front teeth. He had been having trouble with it before we left--the same small piece kept breaking off and he planned to have the bridge redone when we returned to the U.S. in July. However, a second, larger piece broke off late last week. So, upon the recommendation of Mary and Orlando he called Dr. Staal (from Amsterdam originally and he speaks excellent English) and went in to see him at 10:30 yesterday. It was a good visit and they decided that he really needed the bridge redone now. The process will involve multiple visits over a two week period and will cost about the same as it would in Seattle.

Dom's first visit for actual work was yesterday at 4 pm and it took about an hour. Two visits in one day is quite something to our way of thinking. In the U.S. it usually takes a couple of days to get an appointment for all but the most critical emergencies. Even more interesting was the fact that Dom could have seen Dr. Staal on Wednesday when he originally called except we were going to Mugello. Some things in Italy work very well.

The next visit is Monday at 9:30 am. In the meantime, Dom is now dealing with a little discomfort but nothing ibuprofen cannot knock back.

Formula 1 Testing at Mugello

Yesterday we drove to Autodromo Mugello, a track about an hour away and one of Italy premier race venues. They were holding Formula 1 testing there May 1, 2 and 3.

We had been to the track before for a mostra scambio (historic auto and moto swap meet). Formula 1 testing attracted quite a few people but not as many as had no doubt been there on May 1. We saw signs indicating some of the grandstand areas had been sold out on the holiday. As you can see from these pictures it was a beautiful day. 

The picture below shows one of the curves and the main garage and grandstand areas.

I think the picture below is one of the Ferrari cars being driven by Felipe Massa. The teams only had one car and driver out on the track while we were there. We suspect they only have one "test team" and probably alternate cars on the track.

This is a closer view of the main grandstand area. When we were here last year for the mostra scambio they were renovating the main grandstand. The biggest event the track hosts is a Moto GP race.

We sat in the grandstand for quite a while watching the cars go in and out of the pits. This is a shot of the Ferrari garage. When the cars were in the garage, all the teams pulled screens across the garage opening so it was impossible to see what they were doing to the cars. There is a lot of secrecy in Formula 1.

The Ferrari team had garages 1 and 2 of course.

Here is Massa's car being pushed back into the garage. They went in and out, in and out.

There are twenty garages total. As you can see the grandstand was hardly full. There are other seating areas scattered around the track but this is the only one you could sit in for the testing. Some people just came and sat on the grass. That cost about Euros 10 while the tickets we purchased were Euros 20 each.

After sitting in the grandstand for an hour or so, we walked over to the first turn. It's a slight uphill from the exit from pit lane. Dom figured the cars get up to about 200 m.p.h. before they hit the breaks about halfway between the 100 sign in the lower right corner and the curve itself. Then they shift, shift, shift down before accelerating out of the turn.

They closed the track at 1 pm for lunch. A little sweeper truck came out and started doing circles on the track in front of the grandstand. Dom and I found it amusing because it is so small compared to the giant sweepers and blowers they use at NASCAR tracks.

Below is a short video that shows a car going past the grandstand. It's loud but nowhere near as ear-splitting as being there in person. We enjoyed our day at the track and are looking forward to going to Austin, TX in November for the U.S. Grand Prix race.

May Day

May Day is a holiday in Italy and in much of the rest of Europe. The weather was overcast but not cold so Dom and I decided to go to Florence for the day. It takes us less than an hour to hop in the car, drive there and park from Capannori--about half an hour less than from Partigliano.

There were a LOT of tourists wandering around Florence but because many of the businesses were closed (NOT those catering to tourists of course!) the streets were not too busy. We parked at the train station and wandered towards the San Lorenzo market. There were a few less stalls than usual and for the first time I noticed this building just cross the street from the entrance to the Medici Chapel at San Lorenzo church. I love the frescoes. They must have been brilliantly colorful when brand new.

The market was the market--full of people. I noticed that the purses are very colorful this year with lots of bright blue, pink, yellow and green leather.

We wandered over to a favorite shoe shop of mine--Cinque Lampade on Via dei Servi. It was closed but for the first time I noticed this shrine across the street from the shop. This must be were the store gets its name--Five Lamps!

We found a spot for lunch in Florence but did not stay long after we finished eating. The rainy weather caught up with us so we headed back to Capannori. This is what the piazza in front of our apartment looked like in the late afternoon.

In the picture below you can see the stage set up for a May Day concert. It looked like the concert would be a total bust because of the pouring rain and wind.

However, by early evening the skies were clearing and the streets were drying out. The concert started at 8 pm (REALLY LOUD!) and an hour after this picture was taken the streets were filled with people. We enjoyed the fun from our balcony but mostly read our books and tried to get our TV working. The concert ended by 10 pm so it really wasn't any bother.

Italy went to digital television sometime last fall. We knew this was coming and last spring bought a converter box that is also a DVD player. It took quite a lot of messing around over several days but finally we got the converter box doing its job and we now have Italian television. We have missed it and now are able to watch our favorite game shows and the news. However, we have also been watching the Game of Thrones dvds we brought with us AND our DISH slingbox works here. The latter isn't terribly useful for most programs as they are on in the middle of the night here but we do have some things set up to record and we will be able to watch the NASCAR race on Sunday evening.

Marcia Podistica at Barga

On Sunday we drove early to Barga for the first marcia podistica of this trip. We had been up to Partigliano the day before to visit with Erina and Bruno which was a good thing because I was so tired I was having trouble speaking Italian. We had read late and so had only about five hours of sleep.

The walk began and ended at this lovely church outside of the town of Barga. The area is quite vertical so the walk was pretty much uphill for three kilometers and then downhill for three kilometers and then a little bit of an uphill bit at the end. It was challenging for Dom and I as we had not done much walking over the winter. Lots of skiing and other sports but not a lot of walking. Add in the fact that my legs were tired from all the cleaning I have been doing and you can understand why I approached the walk with trepidation.

 It was an overcast morning but quite comfortable in terms of temperature. The walk wound its way through the newer part of town, across the ravine and into the old town. Barga's main church is at the very top of the hill on which the town is built. Here is a view of the church tower at the beginning of the walk.

 Here is a view of the church tower from the middle of town. In the foreground is a theater called Teatro dei Differenti (Theater of the Different or Alternative). It is quite well known in Italy. Barga has close ties to Scotland and they have annual Highland Games in the summer. It is also one of the few places in Italy you can find cheddar cheese.

 The walk wound up beyond the town, through the woods and then started back downhill again. The mountains in the distanced are hazy but they are the Alpi Apuane.

Here is the church tower in Barga again on the way back down the hill. The six kilometers went by quickly and we soon found ourselves back where we started. We had a quick snack, picked up our prize packages (tissues, water, beer and juice!) and started back to Capannori, about 45 minutes away. We stopped for coffee but were still tired when we got back to the apartment. So, we crawled back into bed for a few more hours sleep!

Yesterday we dropped off our Permessi di Soggiorno packets and all went well. We have appointments at the Questura on June 13--just before we leave! We had a quick walk around Lucca, then ran some errands before returning back home. It was more cleaning for me in the afternoon. I finally have the entire place dusted, vacuumed and both bathrooms cleaned. Now for the floors and windows.

However, today is a holiday in Italy and we are off to Florence for a little R&R. More later...

Putting Things In Order

To start with, here are a few pictures from our stay in Diano Marina. We were up early enough to see the sun rise and this is what it looked like:

Later in the morning I took a few more photos from the balcony of our room. You can see the main part of the town through the Palm trees.

The lawn chairs are located on the deck over the restaurant. A little later in the morning there were fishermen on the rocks in this pictures.

Since our arrival we have mostly spent our time putting things in order. The place was in good shape but our renters had left things arranged differently than we prefer. Also, all our clothes were packed away so one of the first things we did was unpack those and settle into our bedroom. After being closed up all winter a fair amount of cleaning is needed as well--lots of dust-- which is to be expected in an urban environment. I am also once more at war with the pigeons. Our veranda needed a thorough scrub down which I did yesterday morning.

We also needed to get our internet "chiavetta" (also called an internet key or dongle) operational and make sure our cell phones worked. Our main number (a pay as you go phone) goes inactive if money is not put on it every 11 months and it had been a little more than that the last time we did it. As you can tell it is all working just fine now.

The kitchen also needed stocking and I did our big initial shopping yesterday. We now have most of the staples we need for our stay as well as fresh food to last several days. Tempting as it is, we cannot eat out all the time. Last night when I was making dinner I discovered that I had forgotten to buy vinegar for salads. However, I had purchased tiny onions marinated in balsamic vinegar. So, I popped the top on the onion jar and spooned some of the balsamic marinade from it onto our salads. It tasted great!

Yesterday I also put together the paperwork for the renewals of our Permessi di Soggiorno--our long stay permits. Tomorrow we head to the post office (where the paperwork is submitted) to see if I filled out the forms correctly. Hopefully, the process will go as smoothly as it did the last time.

We got up early this morning and went to a marcia podistica. More about that the next time.

We're Back!

I said on my Facebook page that I would post today. However, it has been another busy, busy, busy day and I am just too tired to say much. Nonetheless, here is a start at the highlights of our trip here and our first few days.

Our trip from Whidbey Island was uneventful. There were multiple opportunities for things to go wrong but we were lucky. We started off taking the shuttle from Greenbank to SeaTac Airport where we caught the first of our three flights. From Seattle we went to Chicago and from there to London Heathrow. Because we opted for "cheap" over "easy" we had to go through immigration/customs, pick up our luggage and recheck it for our flight from Heathrow to Nice. We had three hours and it went so smoothly we had about an hour and a half to wait. The flight to Nice actually left almost an hour late but Dom and I just slept while waiting for take-off and then slept most of the two hour flight.

When we arrived in Nice we picked up our Renault lease car and drove to Diano Marina in Italy, about and hour and half away. At least it should have taken that long. Because Wednesday was a holiday in Italy and large trucks are not allowed on the roads on holidays, the big rigs were parked along the side of the Autoroute in France approaching the border which cause quite a long backup. It took us about an hour to get through the traffic jam. Because of the flight delay and the traffic, instead of arriving at our hotel about 7 pm we ended up arriving about 8:30 pm.

After finding our hotel we just dropped our bags in our room and then went to find something to eat. We had a nice dinner and some gelato and then went back to the hotel. Upon arriving there, I discovered I had left my purse in the restaurant. I was borderline panic stricken because in my purse were my wallet, both our passports, the lease papers for the car, and both my US and Italian cell phones. It was about 10:30 by this time and all I could think to do was ask the man at the hotel front desk to call the restaurant and see if anyone was still there. Luckily, someone was so we hopped in our car and dashed back there. The woman in the restaurant was so nice. She said she had tried to run after us but we had already disappeared. Thankfully, nothing in the purse had been touched so no harm, no foul.

Our hotel, Arc en Ciel, turned out to be just lovely. Our room faced the sea and we were up early enough to appreciate the gorgeous sunrise. Breakfast began at 7:30 and we were down there not long after that. The restaurant/breakfast room is situated almost on the rocky shore so we enjoyed more of the sea view with a delicious meal of jam-filled croissants, a little meat and cheese, some juice and coffee for Dom and tea for me. Afterwards we walked the seaside promenade for about forty-five minutes and then returned to the hotel and continued on our way.

The weather was partly sunny in Diano Marina but it got better and better as we drove south. By the time we got to Lucca it was just perfect--sunny and 70! We arrived in Capannori about 12:45 and made our way up to the door of our apartment. Lo and behold, we could not get the key we had with us to work. It was a copy we had made before we left the last time and, although I had carefully checked to be sure it worked, on Thursday we could not get it to open the door.

Our neighbor across the hall, Signora Daniela, arrived just then and was really helpful. First, she let me borrow her cell phone because mine needed to be "topped up" before it would work for outgoing calls. I called our friend Anna in Partigliano who I knew had a key that worked. She was just going home for lunch so we dashed up there to pick up her keys. Meanwhile, our neighbor let us leave our bags in her apartment while we retrieved the key. Much, much easier than hauling them back to the car and then hauling them back up again when we returned.

By 2:30 or so we were back in Capannori with Anna's key and in the apartment. Because we were both starving we went downstairs to the bar on the ground floor and had lunch. After that we began the task of unpacking, making beds, rearranging and taking inventory of what needed to be done in the apartment.

Well, jet lag is setting in and I am going to have to stop here. More tomorrow including pictures.

Off to Italy!!!

We are finally headed back to Italy. It has been a long break for us--almost eleven months--since we left and we are eager to be there.

Tuesday we start our journey and we will finally arrive in Capannori Thursday morning. We land in Nice, France Wednesday evening and will spend the night in the town of Diano Marina before continuing on the next day. It is just too difficult to make the four hour drive from Nice to Capannori completely jet lagged. So, a nice stop in a seaside town is the perfect break.

We don't have much in the way of definite plans for our stay. This will be the first time we will be in Capannori and be able to just relax. We are looking forward to more Sunday morning walks, day trips around Tuscany and beyond and perhaps an overnight jaunt or two. In mid June we fly to Ireland to meet my family for ten days before returning to the U.S.

I plan to post regularly with details of our new life in a more urban environment. Our last sojourn was overwhelmingly taken up with getting the apartment in shape for our summer renters. We had little time to just enjoy being there. I am really looking forward to afternoons on the patio with my loaded Nook!

Check back regularly for updates.

A Wonderful 2012--So Far

Lou standing next to the big snowball that rolled down the hill one day.

Thus far 2012 has been a fine year for Dom and I.

The ski season was good (lots of snow!) with some really fabulous moments. Those include several weekends of powder skiing at Alpental plus more weekends that were fun even if the snow was challenging. As always, the Alpental social season was loads of fun. We also made it to Whistler Blackcomb for the first time in about 15 years. It was a great trip--good snow, good weather and great friends. Both of us skied well this season. Dom got new boots early on and I think my regular yoga made a big difference.

I especially enjoyed skiing with my nieces and nephews. The youngest, Peter, finally started skiing at age 12 and the oldest, Emily (20), has turned into a terrific skier who kept up with us on the most challenging runs on a great powder day in March. I love skiing with all of them.

My consulting project (developing a competency assessment and training program for a pathology laboratory) went well. I enjoyed working with my partner and we got the project completed about two weeks ago. Our client was really pleased with our efforts. It was so much fun working again that I am now hoping to get involved in more projects.

Dom made progress on his racecar project. He spent a lot of time pefecting his aluminum welding techniques.  He thought he might get it done before our departure but he took time out to make the cabinet for our bathroom. He also spent time at our commercial building in Issaquah and signed a tenant for one of the vacant spaces.

In contrast to last year, this spring in the Pacific Northwest has been great. While we had a rainy March, so far April has been quite nice. Both last weekend and this weekend were sunny and warm. Today the temperatures in Seattle were over 70! Nonetheless, we are looking forward to getting to Italy where the weather should be even better.

More about that in the next post!

A Recap of 2011

On the whole, 2011 was a great year for us. We did not spend as much time in Italy as we would like but life on Whidbey Island is always interesting.

In January, I began walking regularly with Ladies of the Beach. The Ladies meet on Monday mornings and mostly do beach walk. It is an informal group ($5 lifetime membership!) and they have divided the shoreline of the island into forty-eight numbered walks. If you complete all of them you have circumambulated Whidbey Island. When the tides are uncooperative there are lots of inland walks that are also interesting. I completed about twenty walks this year so it will be a while before I "graduate."



 Of course, Dom and I skied as much as possible but never as much as we would like. This is from last winter but we have already been on snow two days this season. We have had great early snow.

 The bulk of the winter was spent remodelling our master bathroom (see earlier post). The above picture is after we installed our fabulous storage units from IKEA. We still have a few things to do to be 100% complete.

Dom in his work gear last winter. He is a rock star when it comes to DIY!

As you know from previous posts, we spent seven weeks in Italy during which we completed the purchase of our new condominium. At the end of May, on our way back to Nice, France to fly home, we stopped in Monte Carlo for lunch and a walk around the Formula 1 track. It was the Wednesday before the race and there was lots of activity. It was the last nice weather we saw until mid-July. The Seattle area had a horrible summer.

My niece Kate graduated from 8th Grade. It was a lot of fun attending her graduation. This is Kate, her parents (my brother Charlie) and her two brothers.

I continued walking with Ladies of the Beach during the summer. Sometimes our access to the beach can be pretty exciting. It has been interesting exploring the Whidbey shoreline and it is a great group of women.

 We have a bubbler fountain on our waterside deck. The birds often use it for baths. They like to sit right on top of the bubbler. We have christened it the Birdy Bidet!

Over the summer we sold the Mercedes SUV and bought my mother's Lexus sports sedan. The latter is a fun car to drive but I sometimes miss the larger vehicle, especially when I want to haul something large. Thankfully we still have the Toyota Tacoma pickup.

Living on Puget Sound we see some really strange floating vessels. This was the oddest--a giant floating radar dome heading out after being repaired in Everett. This past year we have also see aircraft carriers (goodbye Abraham Lincoln!), lots of submarines, floating cranes, freighters, tugs and barges and all sorts of other ships and boats. Also, one day we watched a pod of orcas frolic in front of the house for well over an hour.

 We had four weddings to attend this year. Here's Dom at one of them with our dear friend Leeds.

 Here we are at another wedding with my parents.

 In mid-September Dom's brother and sister-in-law came for a visit. They took this picture of us on the ferry from the island to the mainland. This is the ferry we take ALL the time. It is only a twelve minute ride--just enought time for coffee and pastry in the morning. Otherwise, we rarely leave the car during the crossing unless we have guests.

Here are the guests themselves--Ang and Frank.

Right after Ang and Frank left, I received a job offer. So, I have been doing consulting work since late September. An old friend asked me to job share with her and we have been developing a competency assessment and training system for a pathology laboratory in Seattle. Mostly I work from home but usually go to Seattle once a week for meetings. It has meant a lot more driving but I am really enjoying it. The project will last until early spring so I will be free to leave for Italy in April.

Since we returned from Italy Dom has been making good progress on his Formula V project. The body is done and he is working on the rest of the racecar. He says it should be finished before we go to Italy but we will see.

 In October we went to another wedding in San Francisco. Above is Coit Tower from the top of the Serpentine on Lombard Street. We had a couple of days to sightsee but kept the trip short because of my work commitments.

 My second cousin Amy and her new husband Tim cutting their cake. It was fun to see most of our San Francisco based family.

 Not going to Italy means we spent October in Western Washington for the first time in twelve years. It was interesting seeing how the garden changed during the time we are usually away. Here is a shot of one of our many maple trees. This is a Lion's Head Maple which is one of the last to lose it's leaves.

 We spent Thanksgiving at Alpental with my parents, my brother Charlie and his friend Tracy. It was quiet without any of the kids but we got a lot of chores finished. My parents did a big remodeling job on the place over the summer and there have been a number of things to do afterwards. This picture was taken at dinner the day after Thanksgiving and includes our friend Ingrid.

Christmas will be spent at Alpental with lots of family. In addition to my parents, my sister, her husband and two kids and my brother and his three kids will be there. It will be a really full house! The nieces and nephews are getting very grown up and now range in age from twenty to twelve.

Dom and I send you our very best wishes for a joyful holiday season and a happy and successfull 2012.