Fall in Sacile.

October 26-27th, 2009

We kept ourselves occupied while Evan was at work--even working through a tire leak two days in a row! Ross and Janet participated in my favorite activity...coffee, and yes I think of it as a verb. It's just down the street, and I'm here almost daily with Hollie and Ceci. Un cappucino and brioche cioccolato per favore.
Fall is in full swing in Sacile.
Janet & Ross in one of the most picturesque places in Sacile with the Livenza River in the background.

This is our house. The entire place. No, not really. We have the top left half--as in the small top left window and the middle-top window is our kitchen.

We joined Evan on base for lunch, and we saw the trees on base showcasing their fall colors. So bright and cheery! Ross and Janet picked a perfect time to visit. It has been dreary, cold, and rainy almost daily since they left. October 2010 is WIDE open for visitors just so you know.

Anyone recognize this? Did you guess Gelisi Antonio winery? Yes, this is the third time I've been there. But their wine is so good and Roberta is so kind to us. Even when I was explaining how sweet she has been to me and she suggested sweet wines to taste...just a bit of a language barrier!

And here we are with Tony, Hollie, and Ceci at Cellini's. We are here a lot--even Ross & Janet ate here twice during their visit.

Prosecco Road

October 25, 2009

After a relaxing morning, we decided to drive Prosecco Road. Hill after hill of prosecco vines. We had gorgeous, crisp weather and an enjoyable afternoon.

An old water mill off the beaten path.

Evan's pic from the car window.

The olives Ross tasted. Not so tasty before they are processed!

We took a break from the car for prosecco, selected meats, cheeses, bread, and olive oiled veggies.

On the way home we ran into the chestnut festival traffic--but other than that, it was a fantastic day!

Pumpkins, Knights, Knives, & Swords

October 24, 2009

The Italians do not celebrate Halloween with elaborate and creative costumes, but they do love all things zucca (pumpkin). We traveled through beautiful mountain views to get to the small medieval town, Venzone, for their pumpkin festival.As we entered the walled village, we heard the lively music and found these guys dancing a jig and playing on their bagpipes. Please note the bells on their ankles and knees--I think we all should wear bells on our ankles at some point. Curt--we thought of you with the bagpipes.

This was the main stage with singers, dancers, and sideshows.

Pork is big here in Italy...literally. Roasted pig with a pomegranate in his mouth.

Pumpkin carving. We watched the beginning stages and the winners were announced Sunday.

Another pumpkin carver.

It was chilly and windy since we were in a valley, but what great views.

It was funny to watch the kiddos on this ride. It's not much, but they still had fun.

Church facade with mountain view. The attached building is a pub now.

The sword in the...hay. Evan wanted to try them out but we're positive the Italians would have frowned on it. Chris--this one's for you.

Fall in Venzone.

Pumpkin beer, gelato, pasta, pizza, bread, frico...and

Crepes. Can you see the teeny sign under the arch? No. Well this is where Janet scooped up our free posters and we all enjoyed pumpkin crepes. Also, on the left, those are strings of real apples strung around the castle. Until next year festa della zucca.

Trieste.

October 23, 2009

Ross and Janet arrived yesterday and Evan took off Friday so we could wander around Trieste on the Adriatic Sea. Below is Miramare Castle built for Austrian Archduke Maximilian in the 1860s.

Maximilian and his wife lived here shortly, as he accepted an offer to become emperor of Mexico. He was executed shortly thereafter.We toured the very lavish rooms (fabric wallpaper with Maximilian's monogram), tilework on the floor, carved shields over the doorways, a private chapel, and gorgeous views of the waterfront. It was a cloudy day as you can see from the picture.

We caught the castle just in time. By the time we made in to the town center for a late lunch, the clouds took over and a rainstorm hit. But overall, our first sightseeing day was a success.

Ashley & Matt visit Sacile.

October 14, 2009

Ashley and Matt took the train from Venice to Sacile and stayed until Friday morning. We had a great time chatting, eating gelato, visiting wineries (finding the wineries was interesting too), and hanging out their last two days in Italy.

They were our true guinea pigs. i.e. No Kleenex in the guest room--fixed. No heat--fixed. (Our vacationing landlord has to switch on our heat and he sent a friend over to help us out and warm us up!) The broken lamp I thought I fixed--still broken!

I will have a few more pics from our winery visits soon--A&M took home their 6 bottle limit.

Ash and I went to the Sacile market Thursday morning where my loving sister hooked me up with fall table decorations--gourds and red corn to match my pumpkins.

We enjoyed cheese, wine, olive oil, sausage, and bread both nights on the roof. Miss them and wish they could have stayed longer.

Venice Film Festival...or something like it.

October 12, 2009

I am determined to be at the Venice Film Festival next year and see all the stars on the red carpet. But until then, I'll update you on our most recent trip to Venice.

ASHLEY & MATT vacationed in Italy for their 10th anniversary, and it just so happens we were nearby to meet up with them. They dropped the kiddos off in Texas and did Venice up right--hotel on the water, etc. etc. My favorite moment was crossing the bridge nearest their hotel, looking up, and seeing Ashley's head pop out of her balcony. HHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIII! We were silly excited and she ran downstairs for hugs all around. Matt was there too and Evan but we were giddy as schoolgirls and they contained their excitement to a normal level.

We started off with a private boat ride from their hotel to Murano (the island where they handblow glass) and Burano (island of handmade lace items).

Heating the glass and cutting it off. He made a swirly piece to stick out from a lamp.
Onto Burano. There are a little over 3,000 people who live on the island. The houses are all painted a different color (there are 64 colors). Once someone marries, they take on that color of the new family.

Burano piazza.

Lunch in Burano at Romero's with yummy seafood, some gelato, lots of chatting--great afternoon.

Sister pic.

In between lunch and gelato, we both made purchases at La Perla where we saw so much handmade lace--beautiful. There are no new apprentices for lace-making (according to our La Perla lady). The oldest lacemaker is 93 years old and the youngest is 53 years old, and they are only allowed to make lace 3-4 hours/day.

The rest of the afternoon we wandered into St. Mark's Basilica just in time for it close as soon as we walked in. But that was plenty of time to see the paintings, the floor, the tilework, the frescoes--I mean, amazing. No pics out of respect.

We wandered into the Campanile and up the elevator for these great views of the city.

Ash & Matt's hotel (white facade) is even with the vaporetto (water taxi/bus) you see mid-picture.

St. Mark's Basilica domes.

San Giorgio Maggiore--across the lagoon from St. Mark's Square.

The Grand Canal.Top of Campanile.

Happy 10th Anniversary!

After a pizza dinner and walking through St. Mark's at night all lit up, we left A&M for a vaporetto and got some great pics from the Grand Canal at night.

St. Mark's Square at night. It transforms under the lights.

View from the vaporetto on the way back to the train station. Venice at night is a must-see.

The Rialto Bridge.

We caught the train back to Sacile and arrived home late but it was more than worth it to spend time with Ashley & Matt.

Do You See What I See?

As I am cleaning the house, preparing for Ashley and Matt, I have closed the windows because of a little construction project going on in our entry to the driveway. All the dust that is churned up will float inside the screens and nestle in to our daily lives. No problem.

After their two hour reposo, the Italians buzzed me and I promptly go downstairs. Do they need in my gate? Do you need some water? Whatever can I do to make you leave in time for me to pick up Evan and oh, by the way, we're having our first visitors. Tomorrow. Again, no problem.

Well, as you can see, if you see what I see, there is now a problem.

"La maquina...caput". Domani (tomorrow) we should be able to fix it. After thrusting my hips in a "move-the-machine-outta-the-way" movement and pleading with the "muy fuerte" (Spanish more familiar than Italian still) men to do something, they measured with a stick. They are convinced the 4-runner will fit. The attorney's wife in me is positive that with this hard core piece of evidence, should anything happen, we'll be in the right. But probably not, since they would argue that they measured. With their stick.