Cammina Cammina ("Walk Walk")

There is a small town just outside Camelli called Calosso.

Calosso conducts several wonderful annual events and this week we went there for the single best event that we have ever attended in our region!

It involved a 2 hour walk (10km) from Calosso town to the La Canova winery where we had dinner.

At 5pm we arrived at the Calosso Commune where we registered for the event and received a t-shirt and a glass of moscato. By 6pm a strong crowd of at least 100 had gathered and the group set off a few minutes later. The route was clever. It provided a relaxing walk which had just the right amount of ascents and descents to make it enjoyable.

We had a halfway stop at a winery where we were treated to fresh fruit, water and wine before we continued on.

The La Canova winery is on a spectacular ridge with views out over rolling hills of vines and hilltop towns. The final rise to this spot was the hardest of the walk but the fresh fruit, water and wine that awaited us there too was worth it.

While we waited for slower walkers to arrive, we appreciated the views, admired the winery's extensive rosemary hedge and chatted to the resident donkey and goat.

Eventually we were all invited into the cantine for dinner. The cantine at La Canova is extensive and beautifully combines history with modernity. Along the back wall there are huge stainless steel vats, on another rows of oak barrels and on others old historical farm pieces such as carts and signage. In the centre of the cantine long trestle tables were adorned in orange tablecloths. A band was playing upbeat jazzy music and we were instantly rejuvenated.

After finding our reserved spots at a centre table, we sat to watch the remaining 200 walkers and non-walkers arrive and settle.

Within a few minutes we were drinking wine and eating dinner, which consisted of carpionata multipla, ravioli al raga, formaggi, insalata e torta di nocciole con crema di cioccolato. The courses were brought to us on large platters or bowls and dished out by Pro Loco people who proved to be highly skilled! They used spoons and forks as tongs using one hand while they held the platter or bowl with the other hand. Food was plentiful and several helpings of each course could be had.

During dinner the band played Italian folk songs and the 200-strong crowd sang, some taking the microphone and getting involved like only Italians can. After dinner, the band played more rhythm music which we simply couldn't resist and before long we were up dancing too!

The atmosphere was...welcoming...inclusive...intimate...emotional...incredible... It so inspired Stu that he turned to me and said "Being part of this makes you wonder why there is any hate in the world"...

Above: Setting off on the walk

Above: Near the halfway point where we were given fresh fruit, water and wine

Anove: Nearing the end

Above: Two hot but happy walkers

Above: The walkers arrive at the winery

Above: The cantine set for dinner

Above: Two happy diners

 

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My pollice verde

Last week, our neighbour bestowed on me the esteemed title of "Pollice Verde" (green thumb)!

That is, until I transplanted a cherry tree at the beginning of summer. This caused all manner of trauma. "The the tree will die!", he exclaimed. "Such things can only be done in autumn!", he insisted.

But I am confident that my little transplanted tree will survive because I apply dry land (Australia!) as well as spiritual gardening techniques to our garden.

These are secrets of my "pollice verde":

- I use mulch. Our neighbour has seen me gathering cut grass, piling it up, watering it, waiting for it to start shrinking, then plastering it all over our gardens. He shakes his head at it, asks questions about why we do it and what it does and ultimately decides that it will kill our plants!

- I also talk to and stroke my plants. Our neighbour (hopefully) hasn't seen me doing this!

When you come from a gardening wasteland such as Australia, you simply cannot fail to have a "pollice verde" in the fertile and moist environment we have in Piemonte...

 

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Some people can't be helped...

I interrupt my normal posts to issue one from my better half...

"I got up early to finish the concreting of the bathroom and entry passage in readiness for tiling next week. I started at 6am and, 3 wheelbarrow loads later, the job was complete.

An hour later, I hear a small voice say "Oh, this is still wet!?"

Yes, Cath had stood in the wet cement.

Now we have a perfect imprint of her slippered foot in the concrete. Amazingly, the footprint is in the section she had helped me to smooth out only an hour before...so her comment is truly beyond comprehension.

I am leaving the footprint there so that I can get some mileage out of it and in the hope that it might remind her not to stand in it again until it has set!"

...back to my posts tomorrow...

 

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Our next big renovation...the downstairs bathroom

With the upper fienile renovation finished, the lower fienile awaits...but we're turning our attention to another more pressing job first: the renovation of the downstairs bathroom and the side door entry passage.

When we purchased the house, the previous owner had installed a strange collection of walls in one of the downstairs rooms. These walls created a separate hallway, laundry and bathroom but were maze-like and labyrinthine.

We don't like pokey so we've been on a mission to open the area up ever since.

First we removed a staircase nearby to make an alternative hallway, which we have been using as an entry passage. We also removed the pokey hallway wall and were left with a laundry and a bathroom that were slightly larger than they had previously been.

Then we had a vision!

We realised that we could open up the space even further by removing the wall between the laundry and the bathroom and making a single room for both functions. So we did. We also removed the toilet, bath and shower (which we wanted to re-position in the space) and lifted the tiles in the entire area (3 different types) to take the floor back to cement.

The project subsequently stagnated while we were distracted by the upper fienile and we've been living with a washing machine in a corner of a dusty room and a bathroom without amenities!

Last month, we turned our attention to thIs entire area again. The first task was to explain to the plumber what we wanted to do, which was no mean feat in itself.

The work included moving one radiator and installing another radiator, both of which needed to be connected to the caldaia (heating) ystem. We also wanted to move the bath/shower to one side of the room and install a basin, bidet and toilet on the other side. Finally, we needed to streamline the plumbing to ensure that the grey waste from the bathroom upstairs flowed as fast as it could given that it would join the downstairs waste system.

When the plumber came, there was a lot of animated discussion and wild gesticulation at pipes and walls before he spray-painted the concrete floor. These red lines marked the channels where the new pipes would be laid. Stu needed to jackhammer through the concrete to create these channels.

Stu dutifully jackhammered, which had to be performed carefully after he found live unprotected electrical wires within the concrete! Finally, with the destruction finished, we called the plumber back. There was more animated discussion and wild gesticulation and yet more spray-painted lines.

On his third visit, the plumber arrived with PVC and copper piping, connections and equipment. He spent the entire day disconnecting and reconnecting pipes within the channels. Then he left, telling us to concrete over the channels then call him again once we'd laid the new tiles.

Stu has spent recent days closing the bathroom channels with concrete.

Since the tiles in the bathroom, laundry and entry passage will be the same, we also want them to be at the same level. This has meant that Stu also needed to jackhammer up the old tiles and floor in the entry passage and level this space with concrete too.

We are now waiting for the concrete to harden in all 3 areas so that we can start laying tiles!

Above: The bathroom floor jackhammered up and new piping laid

Above: The bathroom floor concreted over

Above: A false wall installed which will hide the piping and electrics. This photo also shows the future location of the toilet, bidet and sink.

Above: The side door entry passage jackhammered up

Above: The side door entry passage floor concreted over

 

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A non-watery experience

I neglected to tell you the most interesting (entertaining!?) part of our water testing experience yesterday...

Our chemist is located in a 4th storey apartment in the centre of Canelli. The rooms in the apartment have been remodelled somewhat to function as an office and a laboratory but the layout is still reminiscent of a home.

After giving us the results of our water test, our lovely chemist asked us if we liked alcohol. When you listen to someone speakIng in a foreign language, you often rely on context to help you imagine what they might be saying to you. In the utter absence of context for this particular question, I struggled to imagine hat he was asking...until I eventually decided he was definitely asking us if we liked alcohol.

I said yes.

He invited us into his laboratory.

We walked from his office, which contained old wooden furniture including shelves packed with books and paperwork, to the next room.

In the next room, which was once perhaps a bedroom in the apartment, we noticed photos of Canelli in the early 1900s on the walls, shelves and cupboards around the perimeter and large stainless steel tables in the middle of the space. On the tables stood rows of empty bottles of various colours, shapes and sizes. On the shelves there were other bottles containing clear, amber, green or brown liquids. Still more bottles stood on the floor and these contained swollen, half-submerged organic matter that floated ominously in their coloured liquids. Each bottle had a white homemade label attached to it.

We had entered a distillery.

Our chemist picked up one of these bottles, read the label (grappa), told us the percentage of alcohol and sugar, then poured us a glass. Then he picked up another bottle, read the label (nocciole), told us the percentage of alcohol and sugar, then poured us a glass. Then he picked up another bottle, read the label (genepy), told us the percentage of alcohol and sugar, then poured us a glass.

Quite simply, these were the single smoothest liquors that we have ever drunk.

After a fascinating half an hour, during which we had felt like characters in an episode of Breaking Bad (our chemist was Walt!), we left slightly under the influence with a bottle of the world's best genepy secreted in my handbag...

 

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A watery experience

Our only access to water here is via our well.

For years, this worried me stupid. Being a city girl, I was used to drinking water from a guaranteed supply and certified drinkable by the World Health Organisation!

When we first moved here, there was an old stone well that was defunct and a new concrete well that had been built some time during the previous 10 years. Our water system in the house was connected to the new well which brought water up from 7 metres underground. We showered in this water, washed our clothes in it and flushed the toilet with it. We also started to drink it in small quantities and were greatly relieved when we failed to contract cholera.

Then we read somewhere that drinking water high in calcium could give us kidney stones! We knew our water had a high calcium content because a hard white build-up would gather quickly on the insides of the jug. So we started purchasing bottled water too and would only drink our well water if it had been filtered and boiled. This system continued even after our plumber installed a softening system to remove the calcium...in the absence of proper certification, we continued to worry about our well water's potability.

During all this time, we contemplated getting it tested but, as with a lot of things here, we didn't know where to start and there always seemed to be other priorities.

When we mentioned to our neighbour that we were interested in getting our water tested, he gave us the contact details for a local chemist. He also told us that our home's previous owners had drunk the well water and lived to be 101 and 102 years old! One of these owners used to drink directly out of the 100-200 year old old stone well on the property! But this was before the use of pesticides and fungicides and we really did want to know the truth about our water...

So yesterday we finally got around to visiting the chemist. It was one of the easiest things we've done here, which is often the case with the tasks we've avoided or procrastinated over. He was a lovely older man who explained all of the tests that needed to be done in detail. They included PH, ammonia, nitrates, calcium, hardness, iron, manganese and sodium as well as herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, fungicides and phosphates. On top of this, he would also test bacteria counts for faecolis and streptococcus. He also explained that we could bring samples to him or he could come to the house and take the samples himself. I thought it might be better if he understood our set-up in terms of the well location and the softening equipment so I invited him to visit. He said he'd be there within 3 hours!

Our chemist arrived on time armed with a little blue plastic bottle carrier. He took samples before the softening equipment and at the kitchen tap and left saying that the results would be ready the next day.

We went to his office this morning to get the results where, to our joy, he declared our water to be "bellissimo"!!!

It looks like we've purchased our last bottle of water...

 

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The first flush is over, the petals on the ground...

I think there is nothing sadder than dying roses...

The huge flush of flowers that our climbing rose offered us in Spring has finally faded and every time I look at it now I feel depressed.

So I got the extendable ladder out of the shed and the sharp "rose shears" out of the cantine and dead-headed it with brutality. I also cut back excess green growth to allow better air circulation during the hot humid days of summer. Our heavy summer weather encourages small green caterpillars which are capable of stripping entire branches of leaves overnight.

Not a single dead rose remains...the ground is sprinkled with fading petals...and the bush is free to breathe again...

 

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Fresh garlic!

This is how we are buying our garlic from the market these days...not dried...but fresh!

It is moist, mild and we've taken to eating it raw in salads!

 

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A trip away...and a day at Limone sul Garda

On our return from Bolzano, we took the opportunity to drive the pretty route along Lago di Garda.

We dropped into a little town called Limone sul Garda which is spectacular because it is right on the lake but also has a backdrop of high steep rocky mountains.

This little town is famous for its hillside cultivation of lemons which has been happening since the 1700s.

We stopped to taste the local limoncello and walk the narrow streets of the town. We also enjoyed a lake fish pasta lunch and a cool gelato as we cooked in the heat reflected off the rocky cliffs and the humidity rising from the lake.

The historic stone buildings, the lemon groves, the watery foreground and the rocky mountains provided some great photo opportunities...

 

 

 

 

 

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A trip away...a day in the mountains

After a day in the towns of Trento and Bolzano, we were keen to get out in the mountains.

So we took the cable car up to the Renon, a high plateau 1000 metres above Bolzano. The cableway is the longest one track cableway in the world. It travels about 4 kilometres in 12 minutes.

Historically, this plateau was first mentioned in AD 870 and a mountain inn was established on the plateau in AD 1200.

The plateau is dotted with towns and is populated enough to justify a railway line (built in 1907) which travels for about 5-6 kilometres along the top, stopping at about 8 stations along the way. We travelled from Oberbozen to Klobenstein.

Once at Klobenstein, we got off to walk to a lunch spot which had been recommended by the man from whom we rented our apartment in Bolzano.

The agriturismo was a 30 minute walk away, past ancient black wooden barns and across rolling green hills which caused us to stop and sing "The Hills Are Alive".

At our destination we patted horses and donkeys, played with cats, teased chooks and smelled the earthy sweetness of mountain cattle before settling down for lunch.

The 4-course meal was a combination of Italian and German foods. It consisted of salamis and cheeses, ravioli containing wild meats and cheeses, beef steak and wiener schnizel, raspberry semi freddo and apfel strudel.

While our mouths savoured these local tastes, our eyes feasted on views of the DolomitI and our ears rang with the sounds of Germanic-style church bells from nearby towns.

We left the agriturismo three hours after we'd arrived, walked back to Klobenstein then on to Lichtenstern (halfway back to Oberbozen). We caught the train again at Lichtenstern to travel the rest of the way to Oberbozen.

Late that afternoon, several tired people returned from the plateau in a silent cablecar, then stumbled back over Bolzano's cobblestones to their apartment.

Our dreams that night involved history and high pastures...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A trip away...a day in Trento and Bolzano

This week we went to the South Tyrol for a few days...

The South Tyrol was part of the Austro-Hungarian County of Tyrol until 1918 when it was annexed by Italy following World War I.

This recent history means that the culture and language of the South Tyrol is largely German. We felt comfortable in this environment as we had lived in Switzerland for a few years.

On the way to Bolzano, we stopped at Trento for lunch where we admired its especially beautiful piazza and church.

Once at Bolzano, we checked into our apartment before going for a walk through the old town.

Bolzano is a cyclist-friendly city and the entire town is full of bikes. Traffic in the old town is limited to pedestrians and cyclists which makes it possible to imagine what it might have been like when it was built. Outside the old town there are extensive walking/cycling tracks along two rivers. These routes are shaded by big old trees and make for comfortable walking in summer.

In the old town we walked under arched colonnades where trading used to take place in the 9th century. We visited the Franciscan monastery, where we walked through the original cloisters built in the first half of the 14th century and viewed frescoes from the 17th century. The monastery still operates and brown-cloaked monks can often be seen walking through town. Just outside the old town we found Mareccio Castle, a pretty 14th century castle surrounded by grapevines, and a little further out we found Runkelstein Castle, a spectacular construction which was built in the 13th century. This castle contains the best examples of secular frescoes in the world which provide a wonderful insight into the people, lifestyle and fashions of the time.

It was wonderful to experience a change in culture...to look again at pretty and perfect houses, neat and well organised farms, smell the mountains and eat deep dark strong Germanic bread.

Above: Trento

Above: Trento

Above: Mareccio Castle in Bolzano

Above: Franciscan monastery in Bolzano

Above: The German bread that we brought home with us

 

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Walking amongst the vines at Strevi

We have just survived a five-day heatwave in which temperatures hovered between 38 and 40 degrees!

So what did we choose to do on one of these days?

We chose to wander amidst the vineyards during the hottest hours to experience a roving lunch at 6 different wineries!

The flow of the walk required us to backtrack in order to eat our meal in the proper order (antipasti, insalata, primi, secondi, dolce, formaggio).

However, with the heat already rising off the earth before we set off, we quickly decided there was nothing wrong with having primi first and moving on to dessert immediately!

The meal consisted of farinata, followed by bunet/pastry/biscuit/cake, then chicken salad and ravioli, ending with antipasti and cheeses.

At the winery providing the farinata, the owners were carrying large branches of cherry trees around their guests. These branches were heavily laden with the most perfectly formed and sweet cherries. We thought this a very authentic but rather drastic way of distributing cherries. When we asked about the longevity of the poor tree that must surely lose all of its limbs over the course of the day, the owners explained that they cannot afford to pick the cherries this year so they will fall and waste anyway.

At the winery offering the ravioli, we sat under polythene covers erected to protect us from the sun. Unfortunately, these amplified the heat so drastically that we ate the delicious ravioli as quickly as we could and took our red faces and dripping bodies into their cantina to cool down enough to walk to the next winery.

At the winery providing the cheeses, we were entertained with live music and a light breeze. These pleasant distractions ensured that we left the event with nothing but happy thoughts despite the discomfort of the weather.

We returned to our cars with nothing on our minds other than immediate air-conditioning...and cold showers back at home.

 

 

 

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Topiary success!

I thought I'd better update you on my continuing attempts at topiary (refer post on 27 August 2014 called "There is hope yet")...

When we arrived here, the box tree in our front garden could best be described as a "Blob". I have since been developing the garden into one that contains colour, aroma and shape.

Unfortunately, The Blob remained a blight on my landscape.

Until recently.

During winter, I took to it with the clippers and over subsequent months I have been chopping a branch off here and a twig or two off there.

It has now emerged as something that enables airflow around the front of the house but also complements the plants in the courtyard...

 

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How can we trust each other when there are wild strawberries around!?

With the rain we received in early spring and an incredibly hot late spring, the jungle is claiming our driveway.

Over recent weeks, we've been observing invasive vines growing slowly thicker and heavier and weighing down the trees that line the driveway.

This week they started to hamper our ability to get the car through so something had to be done.

We are currently experiencing a heat wave and temperatures are hovering around the 38-40 degree mark. Since we can't be outside after 10am in this heat, we gathered our various garden tools and set off down the road to tackle the jungle before breakfast.

Several hours later, with breakfast long forgotten, our legs cut to pieces by blackberry bushes and sweat stinging our eyes, the vines had been clipped, cut and wrestled out of the tree tops.

Unfortunately they were still scattered all over the driveway and in the rising heat, we could barely summon the energy to rake up the mess and push it off the road. But somehow we persevered, eventually casting aside the rake to scrabble around on the ground and gather armfuls of dying weed instead.

On the way home we made a startling discovery: an extensive wild strawberry patch growing along the side of the road!

This created a renewed energy as we carefully picked two handfuls of these soft sweet organic treasures to take back home for a well-earned breakfast...

 

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The changing of the guard (oops! I mean tyres...)

Italy is very specific about when vehicles must have winter/snow tyres (or chains in the vehicle) and when owners are permitted to change them back to summer tyres.

Winter/snow tyres must be on by 15 October and summer tyres can be on any time after 15 April.

Why have different tyres anyway? Why not just use winter ones all year round?

As an ignorant Australian, I asked this same question a few years ago...

Apparently winter tyres make your car less fuel efficient so it pays to put your summer tyres on as soon as you can.

Since we spent April in Australia, we must be the only people in Italy who changed their tyres in late May!

 

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