East Meets West

Singapore. Lanterns and Snakes!!

sammyjo — Sat, 9 Feb 2013 21:05:00 GMT

It's Singapore and the Chinese New Year. Everyone is on holiday for an extended four day weekend and there are red lanterns, fireworks and snakes everywhere. It would appear that some people are not very happy because it is the year of the snake. The poor thing seems to be the least popular of the zodiac animals!!

Last night we watched an incredible rehearsal of the Firework display which is to be shown at midnight tonight over Marina Bay. Tonight China Town will be crowded with people looking round the hundreds if stalls and watching the various dance and theatre productions.

Photos: Singapore

sammyjo — Sat, 9 Feb 2013 20:44:00 GMT

Photos fro holiday in Singapore

Orvieto

sammyjo — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 07:41:00 GMT

Orvieto, one of Umbria's majestic towns will certainly take you a good day's exploration. To be honest a whole day is just not sufficient and also too much especially during the summer months. There is just so much to see and do! If you can only spend one day there then I would suggest for adults, the grand Duomo (Cathedral), a wander round the town and the museum finishing with a leisurely walk around the outside of the city walls giving spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. in the evening enjoy a meal in one of the many excellent restaurants and then meander back through the picturesque streets. But for me, and especially If you have children then I would certainly recommend adding on the 'Donkey Well and a tour around the Parco delle Grotto which is the underground Etruscan town. Orvieto is honeycombed with Etruscan and medieval caves and tour through this grotto is incredible. Everything required to sustain life is evident in the caves from deep wells, an ancient wine press, olive press and hundreds of holes in the walls for pigeons which would have been a source of food.

The town sits majestically on a big chunk of volcanic rock called tuff, and many of the buildings are also made from the same substance.

I still, even after numerous visits marvel at the sight if the Duomo as it appears in font of you as a narrow side street widens into a huge piazza. It is just an incredible sight! A glittering concoction of stained glass, sculpture and mosaic and so huge it is virtually impossible to take a good photograph without falling over!!

Breakfast! This is the best time in the summer months! I like to call in at Orvieto for breakfast after dropping friends off at Rome airport n time for the early flight. At 7am Orvieto is cool, serene and just waking up. One can drive right up into the centre and park without any problem. Bliss!

What can I say about Orvieto? Massive, magnificent? The city stands on a tufa outcrop rising above the Paglia valley. The old town is characterised by narrow, winding streets with pretty houses and archways. We have visited so many times and still find new places to explore and yet won't let the familiar things go without a re-visit. If you want to really experience Orvieto you need a good three days to take everything in. What would I recommend on a first visit? The Cathedral is a MUST. As is the magical underground Etruscan city (escorted tours and tickets bought from office in main square opposite the Cathedral) and the Donkey Well. These three are quite sufficient for one day especially as a meander around the little streets should also be included.

Typical pottery shop

Donkey Well

This is fantastic! Visited first with daughter number one and then with daughters number one and two and lastly with friends but could quite easily have gone again! Great fun walking right down the spiral stairs into the well. Flip-flops not recommended.

Underground Etruscan City - it is incredible thinking that this was once a living city with all resources needed for life. Wells, stores, facilities for pressing grapes, buriel grounds, potteries, animal stores. ........

There s also a wonderfully refreshing walk around the outside of the city by the cliff wall from where there are beautiful panoramic views across the countryside.

It is a steep walk up from the lower city and main car park to the historical centre. There is an escalator but the trouble is that if you take this then you miss out on the atmosphere and all the quaint streets. You would also miss the Pozzi dellla Cava below.

This is an Etruscan well and pottery which has been recently excavated and restored privately by the family. It Is exquisite . Very interesting. A series of underground chambers with evidence of old kilns and pottery. Very extensive. It is a good place for lunch. Lovely dining room set into the cave and very reasonably lay priced menu. they also make their own produce including liqueurs. Also a bar and shop and VERY good toilets!

The Well in Pozzo dellla Cava

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pBPTrM7g4Q&w=640&h=390]

(video of main square and Cathedral)

We always pay a visit to the shop of artist Verdi Rossi in the Main Street. I love his paintings and sculptures all with a supportive story or poem. If you are an art lover or like to ponder on the philosophies of life then take half an hour to enjoy his work.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi4r6GcalWw&w=640&h=390]

View of tufa cliff

On the road into Orvieto after the station is the Necropolis of Tufa Crucifix. There are many of these buriel grounds or 'cities of he dead' but this one is probably the most interesting. You can park right next to it which is convenient. The chamber-tombs are arranged in such a way that they form a real city. They date back to the 8th to 3rd century BC.

Below: City of the dead.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi4r6GcalWw&w=640&h=390]

There are lots and lots if churches. We looked into this one yesterday. It is the Church of San Domenico. (1233) Gothic style. There is an adjacent monastery.

The following photos and video were taken on our walk around the cliff walls.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnak48j2aqY&w=640&h=390]

This church is actually built into the walls of he cliff. It is locked but I managed to zoom in through the bars on the window to get a photo.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi4r6GcalWw&w=640&h=390]

And we still haven't seen everything!

Posted with Blogsy

Photos: Italy

sammyjo — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 07:47:00 GMT

Umbria and Tuscany

So what night is it???

sammyjo — Mon, 7 Jan 2013 23:13:00 GMT

Gosh, Italy can be confusing!

If I had been dropped here on Saturday night (the 5th) I wouldn't have had a clue what month, let alone what day it was.

There were stockings hanging up ready to be filled (Christmas Eve?) and excited children dressed up as witches (Halloween?) and in the shops lots of goodies with pictures of this old woman on a broomstick and everywhere could be heard Gianni Morandi singing 'Trullala Trullala " (the only bit I could decipher at first.) Everyone also seemed very keen to get hold of some coal . (New Years Eve ?)

So what was the occasion? Italy's take on the Eve of Epiphany! A festival they call "La Befana".

It would appear that La Befana is celebrated in true Italian style with lots of excitement, parades, feasting, concerts and even bonfires in every town and village right across Italy. Legend has it that an old woman dressed in black and riding a broomstick visits all the children and leaves candies or presents for the good ones and coal for the bad ones. She enters down the chimney, Santa Claus style and brushes the house before she leaves thus clearing away all the year's problems. (A flavour of Chinese New Year here!)

Again, in true Italian style, a National Holiday followed and families are together doing what they love ..... attending parades and FEASTING! I do love these people! They really know how to let go and enjoy themselves but they do it with such panache! AND without causing any offence to anyone else. No drunken louts. No riots. I reckon the police have a great time. They just need to join in the fun!

There seems to be two conflicting stories about who Befana actually was but I will tell you the one that seems the most popular and that I like best.

There was once an old woman who was very particular about housework . Following the birth of Christ the three Kings (Wise Men) came to her village and asked directions to the stable but Befana didn't know. They invited her to join them in their quest to find the baby Jesus but Befana declined saying that she had too much housework to do. Later she changed her mind and went after them. Unfortunately she never found them or the stable and continues her search leaving presents for all the children she finds, just in case they are Jesus. So sweet! Take a look at this video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/MSj0fUlla64 >;The song is great! Listen to it here on YouTube! Sorry .. I'm not translating.... Much too long. Just enjoy! We popped into Assisi today to see what was happening. Assisi is wonderful even without a Festa but today lots of stalls selling all manner of local produce lined the Main Street and a witch .... Or could it be La Befana? ..... was giving out gifts to the children. The atmosphere was amazing!

At 15 .00 the legend was given rather n a modern twist as we turned our gaze to the skies to see La Bafana paragliding down from heaven from Monte Subasio!

La Befana is certainly very athletic! Look what she did in 2010 ...... http://youtu.be/VZrWm0IVezE

Could only happen in Italy!

(If you want to learn more about the celebrations click on the link below: )

http://travelumbria.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/epiphany-in-umbria.html?m=1

For those of you who are not from Scotland or the North of England and are wondering what on earth coal has to do with New Year. Well, in those Northern climes people go first footing (visiting) on New Years Eve and they always carry a bottle of Whisky, some Shortbread and a piece of coal. The Whisky is for obvious reasons. The shortbread symbolised no shortage of food and the coal for warmth.

I've always loved New Year's Eve. We didn't go First Footing but we always had lots of friends round, ate lots of food and played games. At five minutes to midnight another important tradition took place. A dark haired man (usually my dad) was pushed out of the back door with the coal, shortbread and Whisky, to stand shivering till the bells chimed midnight and then he was allowed in through the front door. This symbolising the taking out the old year and its troubles and bringing in a healthy and prosperous New Year. It had to be a dark haired man because going back to Viking days if a blonde man arrived on your doorstep it could only mean trouble!!!

Things NOT to say in Italy!

sammyjo — Tue, 1 Jan 2013 04:24:00 GMT

Italian is a great language. Dead easy to pronounce in that, with a very few exceptions, it sticks to the rules. On the other hand there are lots of very similar sounding words which have completely different meanings.

Take the humble doughnut (although Italian doughnuts are anything but humble..... not dry, not greasy, not artificial, just plain scrumptious and SO many varieties! The custard is my favourite. Velvety heaven!)

Anyway, to get back to the language!

The word for doughnut varies from North to South in Italy but in Umbria it is 'bombelino' so you can imagine that it is easy to hear this incorrectly and ask for a 'bombela'.

Unfortunately you won't be very successful in a Pasticeria because a 'bombela' is a cylinder and usually a 'bombela di gas!'

It's strange how wrong words stick. It seems like once you've said or heard the wrong word, it keeps popping up! Take our annual Festa. My husband was extolling its virtues a few years ago to an Italian friend who found it rather strange that our barbers had their own festa .... 'Festa dei barbieri'. Actually, they don't! He should have said Festa dei Barbari. The festa of the barbarians and definitely NOT the barbers! Now I have to be SO careful because, despite the fact that I walk past a poster showing 'barbari' several times a day, I just want to say 'barbieri'!

A few other goofs!

There is a little village near us called Macerata. We asked directions to 'Macerato' which turned out to be the local sewage plant!

(macerato ...... macerated!)

Pizza! I've seen a few surprised tourists when presented with their 'Peperoni Pizza' on finding that it didn't contain any salami! Peperoni in Italian are bell peppers, not pepperoni in the US which is hot salami.

To finish with, another 'foodie'.

For pasta lovers especially those who like 'penne'. What you need to remember is that in Italian every letter needs to be sounded. So to say 'penne' you need to divide it into two syllables and say "pen-ne" thus pronouncing both parts of the double consonant. What happens if you don't???

Well, by saying "Pene" you will be referring to a vital part of the male anatomy!

Once upon a time ......

sammyjo — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:22:00 GMT

So how did we come to be in Italy? It is a bit like a fairy story!

Once upon a time there was a young girl who longed for a holiday where it never rained, where you didn't spend days sat reading trapped in a car on some boring headland in Wales! One day her father decided to take her to Italy where he had been stationed during the last war. So off they went, driving across France and Switzerland until they reached Lake Trasimeno near Castiglione del Lago. At last she had her holiday without rain! In fact there was so much sun that they often escaped to some pine-woods high on a nearby hill.

She had never been so happy and fell in love with the place, the food, the sun and a few Italian boys!

A few years and two daughters later the girl and her husband (English!) decided to buy a house in the area. They searched high and low and eventually found one high on a hill in Castel Rigone , a beautiful Medieval village set amongst pine-woods. Yes ... you've guessed! The very same pine-woods she had visited with her mum and dad a long, long time ago!

They fell in love with the little house, the village, the people and the pine-woods and lived happily ever after!

Photos: SammyJo

sammyjo — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 05:23:00 GMT

Pics of me and friends and Family