video driving lesson to support last blog!

Tips for motorists in Italy

When driving in Italy - Consider these rules:

To all my Italiano friends - please take lightly - you are all excellent drivers!

It is an offence to put up one’s finger at another driver but you can:

• Drive in the boot of the car in front
• Wave your arms aggressively at the car in front – yes, BOTH arms – one doesn’t need to keep hold of the steering wheel when on Italian roads!
• Flash your headlights constantly at the driver in front – wash frequently to ensure brightest beams.
• Blow your horn- this needs to be done in a certain manner – little beeps are not acceptable – place the palm of your hand on the horn and ensure it remains there until either the driver of the car in front does one of the following:

                  a)     pulls over (and possibly disappears over a ravine) ....or

b)       has a heart attack – then you can overtake waving aggressively and shouting abuse...or

c)      puts a finger up at you in which case you are at liberty to overtake – (wait until a vehicle is coming in the other direction) – then accuse him of committing offence and phone the police.

• Overtake on a blind bend.
• On the autostrada  it is important to stay in the outside lane until the last minute before your exit and then cut across both lanes and take the exit.  You will know if you have executed this appropriately by the screeching of brakes and possible pile-up of cars.
• Do use your mobile phone at all times whilst driving.  This is particularly important when approaching hair-pin bends and overtaking.  To obtain an advanced certificate of driving you can also attempt to make a call whilst keeping your free hand on the horn.  
• Remember that your passengers are more important than the other drivers on the road.  They must have your undivided attention at all times.  It is unacceptable not to look at them, even if they are in the rear seat.
• Pedestrians should not be on the road.  Roads are for vehicles. After all there would be pavements if people were meant to be walking at the side of the road.   Therefore, on seeing a pedestrian act extremely surprised, continue at 150k and close your eyes. 
• If you have a motorbike ensure that the exhaust makes the loudest possible noise and drive through villages between 11pm and 6am.
• When parking do not use car-parks or other legally designated places.  Find a good tight bend in the road and then deposit your car keeping the keys in the ignition with engine running.  If you can’t find a suitable bend then double park so that you are blocking other vehicles.    
• Your vehicle should also be used to keep residents alert at night. First find a row of houses next to the road in a quiet village.  Then park outside but leave your lights and radio on.  It is preferable to leave all car windows open so the maximum amount of music is emitted.  You can then add to the volume by standing adjacent to your car and holding a conversation in the loudest voice possible, with your friends in the bar 100 yards up the road. 

Spello and Cappuccino

Tuesday 30^th August.

SPELLO

Spent afternoon in Spello.  A really beautiful town – just made for artists!  Every corner  reveals another possible canvas.  A definite place to consider when I start my ‘Painting Holidays’!

As usual on top of a hill.  In fact it is situated on the slopes of Monte Subasio.  It was the ancient Hispellum of the Romans and a town which grew to be tremendously important.   As usual a great climb up into town.  There is parking at the top but  would you really want to execute the uphill climb at the end of your visit?  In 30C?  After a glass of vino?  With sore feet?  No, I thought not!

One of many beautiful little streets

There is a fort and a couple of pretty churches.  Its interesting to see that there is a Via Cappuccini, a Cappuccini church and a Piazza Cappuccini. 

Cappuccini gate

There also used to be a Cappuccini monastery set near to the Cappuccini gate.   Why interesting?  Well, the drink cappuccino gets its name from the colour of the habits worn by the Cappuccini monks. So, there you are!  

Bar Bondi garden terrace

Found beautiful bar for a gelato.  Not a great choice of ice-cream for Italy but excellent quality and friendly service.  2 euro for a small coppa or cone.  The best thing about this bar is the beautiful garden at the rear where one can sit and relax overlooking an amazing view.   Drinks and food are a bit more pricey compared with the smaller bars so  stick to the ice-creams! 

Bar Bondi

Every where very quiet but met this awful American who was carrying a huge antique mirror on his back and he was like, ‘Oh, I must stop shopping – I have two extra suitcases full already!  On my last trip to Italy  I came with five cases and took back eight!  Oh, the company are missing me !  They have given me a brand new lap-top to keep in touch!’  Oh, I travel business class so it doesn’t matter how much extra I take’!  Oh, my girlfriend will kill me!   Hope she does!  YUK!  We didn’t invite him to have ice-cream with us!

Yet another lovely house!

In the evening we had a lovely meal with friends in family run restaurant in Valiano.  I had – wait for it – TRIPE!  It was delicious – stewed with onions and tomatoes.  Very different from the Lancashire tripe and onions!  Mind you I always preferred the boiled cold tripe with lots of salt and pepper and vinegar!

Autumn Leaves

Monday
 Pink trees!  Yes, there really are pink tress and I have never seen them here before.  The colours are amazing at the moment due to long periods of heat and drought.  It looks like Autumn.

A quiet day.  Walking in the morning.   Castiglione in the afternoon where I met a friend, Jan at Bar Castello. This was followed by business trip to Perugia for a meeting with our Notary, 

Finished the day with dinner at Battibecco  - so lovely!  

TODI

Sunday 28^th August

Lovely temperature in Castel Rigone today – 33C  instead of the 38C comparatively cool!

Caught up with the washing and had quiet morning enjoying the sun on the terrace – first time for a week it has been comfortable to sit here even at 10am in the morning!  SO great just being able to hang towels and sheets out of the window!  I wonder why?  Maybe because it is almost an act of defiance - going against all the middle class social rules!  Will make the most of it now because I wont be able to do it when we move into the villa at Cimbano!   

The Hotel was very busy today.  It was so difficult to Skype.  The Italians have incredibly loud voices! Reception is so bad that I have to sit literately 6 ins away from the WiFi thingy in the, very tiny, reception.  Guests were checking in and out constantly.  Much better when it is just the Perugia football team staying - they just seem to sleep and eat!

view from Todi

Went off to Todi at lunch.  Do not be tempted to take the little roads!  (Hubby's idea!)  Took absolutely ages – (about 2 hours). The signposting was lousy!  Really didnt feel like bothering by the time we got there.    On the E45 it would only have been 50 mins! 

Yes!  You have to climb right up to that church!

But one has to love Todi even with a numb bum!  We parked just outside the gates and walked ............ UP!- You should have guessed this by now! Why do all these towns entail a climb the equivalent of five of Lincoln’s ‘Steep Hill’?  There is a little cable car which goes up and down between a car park and the summit but you do get more of the atmosphere when you walk  (actually, the truth is we didn't know this till we got to the top because we didn't read the guide book!)

It’s a very pretty town. Very tranquil and set amongst exquisite countryside.  Lots of lovely churches and pretty houses set within medieval walls.  

Their ‘Festa’ started last night so the Piazza del Popolo was covered in scaffolding ready for the lighting. 

It's a shame we only had time to browse around the upper town.  Next time we will start off down below and meander along the city walls so we can see the remains of the amphitheatre and a round church – Santa Maria della Consolazione. 

It's also a good idea to start off early in the day so you can in at a couple of the beautiful little villages on the way – Collazzone and Fratta Todina. 

The best bar for gelato AND comfort can be found in Piazza Garibaldi – the outside is set under magnificent arches and you can lounge on lovely sofas whilst enjoying your ice-cream.  Inside is equally attractive and the people are very attentive and friendly.

Toilets - about 4 out of 10 today!  They are outside through the arches and can be entered from the back street. This means that they are also used generally and not just by the bar customers.  Have seen worse though!

nibbles

 From about 6.30pm there is a free little buffet of ‘tastes’ to enjoy with a vino or aperitvi. These consist of tiny sandwiches, pieces of pizza, foccacio, nuts etc. 

 Very reasonable prices – one euro 50 for small gelato.

 Three euro 40 for a coffee and a San Bitter ( similar to a Campari n soda) 

Got home reasonably early so had dinner on our little terrace.  Turkey escalope with tomatoes and a green rocket salad plus lots of pane e olio n probably too much vino rosso!  Mike went inside at 9.30pm cause he said he was chilly – it was still 26C!  Hate to think what we are going to feel like when we get back to the UK!

Isola Maggiore and Gubbio

Fantastic Day!

Didn't really matter that there hadn't been any water or I hadn't had a shower - got so blown around that hair would have been a mess anyway!
Mike working so took bus to Passignano and then, not in the mood to wander,  hopped on a boat which took me to Isola Maggiore.

Passignano from boat

 Great memories!
Hot, melting days with Charlie and Tasha, trudging up to the top to see the church of St Francis and the shrine.

Statue of St. Francis

I wonder if there is any money in here?

Kept the girls amused when they were little by saying we were going to 'Treasure Island'!  One of us kept going on ahead and hiding money (was Lira then) in the numerous holes in the trees along the way.  They never noticed they had climbed about 100 steps but we were absolutely shattered having probably doubled up on the walking distance.

not more steps!

The other  disadvantage was that they wanted to go back EVERY summer!

Came back on the oldest boat in the fleet - the PERUGIA.  really funny knowing that my Dad travelled on this very same boat over 30 years ago.


In the afternoon Mike picked me up from Passignano and we went off to Gubbio - again lots more walking so my legs feel like pieces of wood this morning but we did get the funivia to the top which was such fun!  Only bit I didn't like was the jumping out at the end whilst it was still moving.

Gubbio

Ampitheatre

I wonder if the girls remember buying little napkin rings with their names on at the top of the funivia?  That was the year Charlie was called Allessandria!    She changed her name every summer causing great confusion to all our friends who probably thought we had a whole tribe of daughters.

Funivia

Landed on top!  Lovely bar and restaurant.

Umbertide - Niente Acqua!

6am  Saturday 27^th.  Only 25C  -  positively cool! 

Umbertide by river

Just waiting to see whether we can have a shower or have to be smelly!  (have got some wet-wipes on hand!)  The water got cut-off unexpectedly last night.  Must be a leak - we would have been warned if it was water shortage.   It’s now coming through as a trickle so promising.

Rocca

Yesterday morning we visited Umbertide so called after builder Uberto, son of the king of Italy Ugo after old town was abandoned following Hannibal’s invasion.  (Hannibal comes up everywhere!)

The actual historical centre of the town is not very big at all but very distinctive..  There is a Rocca (fortress) which dominates the landscape and is well worth a visit.  Also the church of Santa Maria which has an octagonal plan topped by a cupola. 

lovely little houses

The Piazza San Francesco contains another church – Santa Croce which boasts a fine painting ‘Deposition from the Cross’ by Luca Signorelli.

There is a lovely bar at the crossroads just off the centre of town (with great toilets! – see yesterday’s blog.))   From a roadside table you are guaranteed to see at least two near-altercations and hear lots of horn-blasting!  Suppose one shouldn't really enjoy watching cars playing at dodgems! It is one of these junctions where what appears to be the main road is actually a side road plus the fact that the white STOP on the tarmac has virtually worn away!  

part of new walkway

A ‘must’ in Umbertide is a stroll along the newly formed riverside walk.  Along here in one direction you will be able to view a quaint set of old houses as you meander under assorted archways.  In the other direction, there are beautiful views across the gentle hills and fields as the river widens leaving the town. 

walkway

7am

Water off completely again so it’s ’wet-wipes. Not sure what I will do with my hair. It’s sort of wavy after being screwed up all night.  Maybe put it up.

Not too bad but feels ghastly!!!

Can’t hang on much longer cause catching the bus to Passignano for the morning – it’s market day - Mike working – it’s been too hot in the afternoons for him to concentrate.  Actually according to the TV news, people have been dying of the heat and there have been considerable warnings.  Not surprising when it’s 42C in the shade! 

Will go to Gubbio this afternoon and have a ride on the funivia.  It’s taken years to persuade Mike to do that again! 

Umbria Acqua has arrived - looking a bit puzzled!   He is staring out across the football stadium!  Will probably get out a divining rod next! Hopefully it will be back on before I arrive back tonight!

Toilets -Il Bagno!

Went into a beautiful bar this morning and, not only did it serve delicious cakes and coffee it had a great toilet!  This, in Italy,  usually means it was clean, had toilet paper and running water,AND one could lock the door!
 But today - even better - this one also had soap, paper towels  and a little vase of flowers!

 It also had a light that stayed on .  This is VERY important!

 Italian toilets, generally don't seem to have windows so if the light doesn't work or goes off when one is in the middle of whatever one is doing - life gets very difficult!


For example, many of the toilets in bars have a lights but they are usually the sensor type so often go off when one is on the throne.
This is easy to remedy if one is a teacher cause it happens all the time in our classrooms -simply  stand up and wave your arms around and then sit down again!  After all noone will see you - unless, of course, it's one of those toilets without a lock!

Dance, Little Man, dance!

6am  Friday 26^th August

Watched 'Ron'  in concert in Assisi last night.  Must buy his CD

Assisi is so beautiful at night - Santa Chiara

Had one of these unexpected magical Italian evenings  that my daughters know so well.  We’ve had lots in the past – some arranged – suppers in the garden at an Italian friend’s house where we would sit  watching the sun go down, eating, drinking and talking into the early hours while cicadas sang in the trees.  Others like last night where we just happened to be in the right place at the right time. 

Last night we called in at Assisi  after a trip to Perugia. Still hot at 7pm (but had been 42C! )
After buying some pottery and having a meal we wandered into the square by the fountain only to find a performance of drumming and flag waving and throwing. (actually they dropped quite a lot!) The energy put into the beating of the drums is amazing! I could listen to them for ever!  There was also a concert by, I think, 'Ron'?  

Two toddlers stood in front of me watching the drummers and just couldn’t keep still!  They were so cute but didn't dare take photos in this weird age we live in. They danced for the full time and showed amazing rhythm which just shows how natural movement and dance is.   It’s a shame that we knock it all out of them by lack of example and encouragement in the pre-school days and then put them straight into severely disciplined ballet classes at an early age.  

Night market

Thank goodness for ‘Twinkle-Toes Dance’ !  They have the right idea – to encourage a love of dance and music while developing natural rhythm and learning basic steps.  Their teachers are also performers so naturally radiate enthusiasm and passion.

That’s really got me thinking now - how often do kids in the UK see adults dancing or performing music apart from bobbing around aimlessly at a disco?  We  used  to have folk-dancing when I was little and everyone from the village would gather in the village hall, children and adults together and so we learnt by example.  It also enhanced our confidence and made us less embarrassed.  Now there is nothing.  Here, in Italy, children regularly see adults they know performing music, singing and dancing as every village and town seems to have their own orchestra and band and dance group, and, of course just about the whole village is involved with the annual Festa. It is also 'cool' to belong to such groups.  This makes a big difference! 

Also, when do UK children see Professional dancers performing – maybe on an occasional theatre trip? And how many children are taught by REAL dancers?  People who live to dance, who can inspire their pupils.    Those who attend Dance Schools where the teachers are also performers are very lucky.  There are not many of them around! 

  

Italy - A country of excesses!

Mad parking!

When parking DO find a convenient bend1  It's so much fun!

Cake !

Cakes for breakfast, coffee, tea!  Large cakes, small cakes, cakes with nuts, lots with nutella,  huge meringues.  They all look very tempting but...........well, you need to try them because they just don't taste as you expect them to and lots of English folk are not too keen.    Hubby loves the gooey layered ones with chocolate cream and and the spongy ones with the red liqueur.  Its not fair for me to comment cause I don't really like cake anyway! 

Chocolate!

Italians love chocolate in and with everything!  Chocolate cakes, rich chocolate ice-cream, gooey thick hot chocolate drinks, chocolate sauce drizzled over melon (yuck!)  If you like chocolate too then do visit one of the chocolate festivals.  There is a good one at Perugia.

Crafts and art - in every city town and tiny village you will find art and craft displays and will be able to see real artists and craftsmen at work.  This a wood-carver's workshop in Assisi.  Hence the huge Pinocchio!

Sockets and plugs - there are so many different kinds!"  In our house we have four different types of sockets -  there are two pin narrow and two pin small, three pin large and three pin small and so it goes on so when you also need UK adaptors it gets quite tricky!

Excess of food!
These pizzas are standard fare at Citta della Domenica and  very good,  very cheap and provide you with another meal tomorrow!

Festivals!  Everywhere!
You would easily attend one a day in the months of July and August.
They celebrate everything!  Peaches, Fish, Tomatoes, melons.......

Kittens!  
These sweet little chaps were lucky - they had a good home (with 9 more!) But there are lots and lots of strays. 

Motorbikes and scooters!
These were OK but there are alot of these with  noisy exhausts which just make you so mad at 1am!




I could think of lots and lots more .....  sunshine!  wonderful people!  fantastic views, olive groves, Cyprus trees....the list is endless!