World cup mania in Arezzo

Now that Italy has lost twice, we are in the surprising position of being more interested in World Cup Soccer than the Italians around us--at least for a day.  USA v. Germany tonight at 6 pm on RAI 5--Go USA!

Meanwhile, there is still a full day ahead. Yesterday there was an incredible thunderstorm with the heaviest rain (mixed with hail) that I've ever seen.  Our fledgling tomato plants survived fortunately and we were home before the downpour commenced.  We have finally ordered a bbq and an outdoor table and chairs for the backyard, with the help of our landlady Loretta who drove us to the store. As is typical here, we had to order what we wanted and it should be available for pick-up on Wednesday.  After that it will be time to invite our Italian friends to an American style BBQ.  I'm not sure what they will think about it, but we will give it a try.

We bought cherries at the outdoor market today, they are delicious and only 6 euros for a kg.  I tried to talk Tom into buying shorts made from American flag material but he declined.  Everything seems to be made from the US flag here--including doormats.  I'm not a love it or leave it kind of flag waving patriot, but I can't bring myself to wipe my feet on the flag!  To be fair I don't wipe my feet on the British flag either--there are also a lot of British flag doormats.

Visits to a few local museums and dinners out filled the past few days, plus unlimited calls to US phones on skype for $6 a month.  We have been enjoying making calls just to chat...if the phone rings, answer it!

We visited a local art museum.  Love this painting, but why is the BVM standing on baby heads?
(see below for closeup)

There is a modern art festival going on this summer.  Above is one of the art installations at Piazza
San Franceso.  I wish I had a giant bubble wand to put in a strategic location.

 Walking home we passed the birthplace of local boy made good Giorgio Vasari and noticed he has the same birthday as me, give or take 5 or 6 centuries.

Ancient churches and motorcycles everywhere.  Below--we spotted a
motoguzzi that we think is like the one Kelly just bought.

although hers is black,,,much more badass

Etruscan writing

 The archaeological museum is housed in an old palazzo next to the remains of a Roman amphitheater.  These Etruscan remains were found near where we now live.  Below you can see what Etruscan writing looks like.

View from the archaeological museum window

fascist era fountain designed by a New Yorker in front of a medieval church.  Note the dramatic
clouds--15 minutes later there was a thunderstorm

Giostra Saracino 2014

Flags have sprouted on all the buildings--above, the green and
red flag of our contrada, Porta Cruciferia, also known as the culcitrone

Arezzo has been gearing up for the 127th Giostra di Saracino since our arrival at the beginning of June. We heard the drummers and trumpeters practicing in the piazza a block away every night, saw the flag twirlers in the park, and even saw the horses tethered outside the local bars after the practices.

The city is divided into 4 quarters, called contradas.  Every night since June 14 our contrada has had an outdoor party a block from our apartment, including a DJ who cranks up the music around 11 pm and keeps playing until 3 am.  We stopped in one night around 11:30 and no one was there, but by 12:30 the place was packed.

contestants waiting for a chance for a practice run

They practice without the lances in the days before the joust

We saw these horses and contestants outside the bar on our way home from dinner

Porta Cruciferia participants practicing for the parade

There was a huge cena (dinner) for the contrada the night before the joust--over a 1000 people attended.  Pizza for everybody!

The history of the joust goes back to medieval times, when it was actual jousting (one knight against another), but the tournaments fell out of favor in the 1800s and were 'restored' in 1937.  In the modern version, 2 knights from each contrada participate in the joust, but not directly against each other.  They aim for 'the burrato which represents a 'saracen' and is named "Buratto, King of the Indies."    They receive points depending on where they hit the target held by the  buratto.  There are two rounds and the team with the most points wins a cup and bragging rights.  The Arezzinis are strongly partisan and the crowds in the standing room areas--mostly kids--are extremely vocal, like soccer fans who scream and jump up and down through the entire game.  Part of their strategy is to create maximum distractions to scare the opposing contrada's horse.  If the horse goes off the track, it is an invalid run and the score is zero. This actually happened once last night--a young horse balked, then ran off the track.  His rider got him back up to take a shot at the target, but no points were awarded.  We were warned before the joust that fistfights sometimes break out in the stands or on the field.  We did see a couple of shoving matches between the contradas, but nothing major.  A drunken young woman behind us kept yelling mild obscenities at one of the opposing contradas and stirred up quite a shouting match until her embarrassed boyfriend got her to sit down and shut up.

Of  course it isn't just jousting--the actual event is preceded by proclamations, a parade, performances by the drum and trumpet corps, a display of flag throwing and tumbling, and special cheers for Arezzo.  We arrived a little before 9 because the broadcast on Arezzo TV was supposed to start at 9--the stands were almost empty (it is a sold out event, you have to buy tickets the day they go on sale and they aren't cheap--40-60 euros each) the Italians showed up around 10 just as the event was actually beginning.

The competitors and participants paraded into Piazza Grande where the event was held.

 Piazza Grande looked spectacular, with coats of arms on the buildings and flags everywhere.

There were four groups of flag twirlers and it was impressive when they threw the flags through
the air to each other.

The judges ruled from on high (just like real life)

Even the horses dressed up

The Buratto of Indie--aka the target.  It twirls around when hit

The stands filled up right before the show started.  

Even though the score is solely based on where the lance pierces the targets, the judges took up to 5 minutes to hand down the score which is then read to the crowd by the MC.  For high scores, the fans go crazy.

The lance is handed up and the score is handed down.  The four sets of roman numerals are the scoreboard.  Our contrada's score  is the fourth one--he only got 2 points on the first round but redeemed himself with 5 on the second round.

The victors are awarded a golden lance.

Unfortunately, the golden lance went to the green & white team, not our  team.  Maybe at the next game in September.

The victor's flag

Our efforts to take a video on our little digital cameras were not highly successful, but here is a clip that shows a little of what was going on.

When the winner was announced, the fans went wild:

Sardegna, Roma, Firenze, Tuscany, and finally home in Arezzo!

Lots of traveling since we finished classes in Perugia--Naples, Sardegna (with Kelly), Rome, Florence and Tuscany with Tom's brother Bill, and finally, settling into our apartment in Arezzo.  The last post included pictures of Sardegna with Kelly.  After she left it wasn't nearly as much fun of course, but we bravely headed to Alghero for our last apartment on the island.  Alghero is a pretty town with a lot of Spanish influenced architecture and food due to having been ruled by Spain for many years.  We toured the town and took a boat ride to Grotto di Nettuno.

boat entering the grotto

inside the grotto

We visited several more nuraghic sites which I am sure Kelly was very sorry to miss.

And visited several towns and beaches as well:

View of Castelsardo

Castelsardo, hill town on Sardegna

elephant rock--the shape carved by the wind and water

We took RyanAir from Alghero to Rome and met up with Tom's brother Bill at the Hotel Medici in Rome.   Bill is 83 and was taking his first trip outside the US.  Unfortunately, he had all kinds of trouble getting to Italy--after many delays his flight was cancelled and he was told that they couldn't reschedule him at the airport, he would have to call Lufthansa.  Eventually his daughter got everything straightened out and he was on a flight the next day.  Unfortunately we didn't know about it until too late to reschedule the airport pickup (he was supposed to be met by one of those guys with a sign at the arrivals area).  Bill figured out how to get some euros and take the bus to Rome, but tried to walk from the station to the hotel and got lost--it took him 5 hours.  Everyone was in a panic not knowing where he was, to the extent of notifying the police in Rome, but he turned up safe and sound if foot weary at the hotel.  Since it was his first trip, we took in the expected sights in Rome, Florence, and then a week at a fantastic agriturismo in Tuscany.

 

brotherly toast at lunch at Sacro & Profano, Roma

musicians at piazza navona

We took the train from Rome to Florence where we stayed in a nice little apartment (Laura's Holiday House) within walking distance of the Accademia and the Uffizzi, both of which we visited of course.

taking the fast train to florence

mangia bene!   Bill tries risotto

we didn't look like tourists at all

We picked up a rental car in Florence and headed to our agriturismo in Rapale, a tiny Tuscan town about 15 miles from Sienna.  It was a beautiful spot, next to a medieval castle.  The property has been in the Ciroli family since the 1500s (at least) and the owner, Fortunato, enjoyed sharing the history of the villa and the area.

Fortunato showing us the wine cellar his father had dug out by hand

Fortunato tells us about his experiences at the villa during WW II

view of borgo rapale from the hill

On Fortunato's recommendation we did a drive through Chianti country, ending with a tour of the castle of Baron Ricasoli,  known as the Barone di Ferro (the iron Baron), the inventor of Chianti wine and a prime minister of the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century.  The castle and vineyards have been in the family for about 900 years.    Of course there was a wine tasting after the tour and an opportunity to buy wine afterward.  The Brolio wine from the Ricasoli estate is shipped worldwide and can be purchased in Seattle at most enotecas.  The 32nd Baron Ricasoli visited Seattle in 1998 on a wine tour, popularizing the Brolio brand.

guess what type of wine we had here with lunch?

Il castello di Barone Ricasoli

workers in the castle vineyards

We also visited  various Tuscan towns and monasteries as well as doing a scenic drive through the crete sinese (hills of Tuscany).

entry to San Gusme a medieval village

a boy and his moto in San Gusme

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typical narrow vicolo--this one in Montepulciano

stopped for lunch one day at a cafe full of card players!  I was the only
women in the joint

have to have pizza at least once in Italy!

modern sculpture in a medieval town

Of course Sienna was on the agenda

it was nice to return to the agriturismo at the end of the day to our private garden with a view

We also brought Bill to Arezzo to see our home for the next 15 months.  Mario and Loretta and their daughter Julia were kind enough to meet us at the apartment with the keys and a bottle of wine to toast our arrival.

Loretta, Mario, Bill, Julia  and I toast the new apartment

The boys went to the Ferarri museum and factory (but didn't do the drive on the test track).

When our week in Tuscany was over, I headed to Arezzo to set up the apartment and Tom and Bill went back to Rome for a few nights, and managed to see the Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peters among other notable sights not covered on the first part of the trip.

Tom and the Italian ladies lined up
to take this photo

Moving into our new apartment in Arezzo!

When we rented the apartment the kitchen appliances and cupboards were not in yet and it was unfurnished.  When we returned, all was completed and they had even stocked the kitchen with cooking utensils and dishes, provided sheets, towels, pillows, etc--we are set.  We love the apartment even more now that we have moved in.  We both walk around saying, "look at all this space!"  "I'm getting lost there is so much room!" and other equally clever observations.  Here are a few pix of the apartment and garden (we have just begun to start planting a garden--it is a work in progress).  We can finally grow sun loving plants!  We fully expect our tomatoes to ripen--I won't need my lamb and green tomatoes recipe.

kitchen with door leading to terrazzo and garden

drying our laundry Italian style

table and chairs to arrive this weekend to keep company
with the umbrella

bought a shovel and started digging beds, planted rosemary
oregano and tomatoes

Looking at our apartment from the garden.  The rectangle on
the right is for doing laundry  by hand.  Our apartment windows are the
ones on the bottom (primo piano)

living room, showing 300 year old frescoes and door leading to hall with
bathroom and second bedroom

guestroom and study area--those are all Italian study aides and books (plus a few maps) 

you can only appreciate this picture showing our shower with an actual shower door if you
have spent 7 months using tiny showers with  plastic sliders in the corner that open a generous
14 inches and always come off the tracks.

Mario and Loretta have been incredibly  helpful in getting us set up here.  In addition to gifts of wine and olive oil they made themselves, they took us to the commune to get registered as residents of the city and Mario came back to help out if needed when 2 police officers (guns and all!) came to the apartment a few days later to verify that we actually live here.  Mario also set up our electricity and water service for us, and we are invited to a bbq at their farm this week-end, after Mario takes  us to see the town where Michelangelo was born.  He also gave us the heads-up on how and when to buy tickets to the June 21 Saracen games (medieval jousting).  Tom was at the ticket office 4  minutes after it opened and there was a huge line already.  If Mario hadn't provided the info, we would never have gotten tickets.  Mario works for the city, not far from our apartment, and has stopped by several times on his lunch break to do things in the apartment (put up hooks in the bathroom, help install the cabinet doors which were on back order). He has also provided a lot of information about our building, which is included on the historical registry--our street, Via Pelliceria, is described as the "most typical medieval street" in Arezzo on a plaque at the end of the street.

Since it has been a heat wave since we moved in (between 35 and 40 C--95-104F--the past week)  we have been staying in during the hottest part of the day and going out in the afternoon and evening.  We are incredibly fortunate that our apartment stays pretty cool, even when it is 104!

medieval dress on display at TI

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post office Italian style--tile picture of mercury on the ceiling (above)
tiled, arched entry to the stamp counter ( below)/  We had to pick up the forms
to renew the permesso di soggiorno--not looking forward to that!

appetizer at chiave d'oro (left), piazza grande at night right)

restaurants at the Vasari portico, Piazza Grande

Sunday afternoon in the park:  practicing for the games 6/21 (above)
wedding pictures ( below)

And,as  you can tell from this too long blog, we have wi fi in the apartment now!  Amazingly easy to get set up (unlike almost everything else in Italy--took 3 hours to get through the paperwork for the residency certificate)--made an appointment, the guy showed up (early), and we were good to go less that a week after we requested service.  Let's hear it for competition in the free market!  There are a lot of internet providers here and they want your business--unlike almost everything else which is run by the government or not subject to much competition.  The cost is a lot less than we paid in the US as well.

So you can email us or, if you prefer snail mail, write to us at:  Via Pelliceria 15, Arezzo, AZ 51200 Italy.

Ciao a tutti!