Howzit from Italy

BAFANA VS FRANCE

2010-06-22T17:59:00.003+02:00

and this was how I followed the game... rivetting stuff.

WC: Bafana v France - Live updates

Jonty Mark June 22 2010 at 03:35PM

FULL TIME SOUTH AFRICA 2 FRANCE 190+1 Tshabalala ought to score, though Lloris makes a great save from his shot, and France clear. Nomvete, after a mazy dribble, wins a free kick. Mphela smashes it into the wall and that's FULL TIME! South Africa win, but it's not enough to get them into the last 16. They lose out to Mexico on goal difference after Uruguay's 1-0 win in Rustenburg. Tks for joining me, and stay tuned to IOL for all the latest on the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Good evening. 90 minutes South Africa will be the continent's second team to drop out in the first round thus far. I actually reckon there is a decent chance not one African side will reach the last 16. I'm sorry to say it, but it's true. Modise fires wide, it hits the side netting, and some fans think it's in. But it's not.

87 minutes It has to be noted that Bafana have played infinitely better tonight without Teko Modise in the side. Should Parreira have actually given up on Teko sooner than he did. Again, it is easy in hindsight, but he really should have dropped him for the Uruguay game. 84 minutes The game is drifting towards its conclusion now, but that is not stopping the vuvuzelas from roaring across Bloemfontein, and will doubtless not stop this town from partying long into the night. Bafana deserve a good send off, as does Carlos Alberto Parreira, for whom this will now certainly be a last game in charge of Bafana.

80 minutes Tshabalala fires a shot just over the bar, as time ticks away on South Africa's World Cup dream. There will be a few what ifs, of course. What if Suarez had been rightly ruled offside for Uruguay's second goal in Pretoria? What if Mphela had taken that glorious opportunity at the start of the second half. In the end, however, Bafana were just not quite good enough. They have, however, played patches of excellent football in this World Cup.

78 minutes Teko Modise has come on to replace Khuboni, who had an excellent game. It was always asking a lot for Bafana to make it to the last 16, but can they at least hold on for a win, so they can exit the tournament with their heads held high?

74 minutes You can see some of the puff has gone out of Bafana now, and understandably so. As it stands, they need to score three more to go through. Pienaar's pass to Nomvete is just cut out.

70 minutes GOAL. South Africa 2 France 1 Oh dear. But that's a fantastic move from France, a sign of exactly what they can do. A brilliant back heel from Diaby sends Sagna scampering through the midfield, and he releases Ribery, who crosses for Malouda to tap home. That's more than likely Bafana's chances gone. 68 minutes Nomvete is on for Parker. Why did Carlos Alberto Parreira not sacrifice a defender in a bid for glory? That's bizarre.

66 minutes Pienaar fires in a shot from range, but it's tame and easy for Lloris. Siyabonga Nomvete is about to come on. Tshabalala, meanwhile, is down with a leg injury.

64 minutes Mphela is in behind the French defence again, but it's from a difficult angle and he can's squeeze the ball home. Mexico almost equalise in Rustenburg, but they don't!

58 minutes Mphela is simply having shooting practice right now, and another belter is tipped around the post by Lloris. Ribery fires over at the other end. Still Uruguay 1 Mexico 0.

55 minutes Thierry Henry is about to come on for France. And Bafana right back Anele Ngcongca is stretchered off and will be replaced by Siboniso Gaxa. Henry comes on for Cisse.

50 minutes Do you think Gignac swore at Domenech in the dressing room at half time and that is why he's off? That was UNBELIEVABLY CLOSE! Tshabalala finds Mphela, who is clean through and curls it over Lloris and against the post. Could Bafana regret that miss at the final whistle?

47 minutes: Joe Clarke in Canada has just started his day's work! "Cheering on 'The Boys' from afar here in Vancouver," says Joe. "The work day has just begun here and what a start! Come on Bafana, live the dream, and let the nation dream with you. 4-0 against France, and Uruguay to win in the other game. VIVA BAFANA VIVA!" 46 minutes: WELCOME BACK! The French do not look happy in the tunnel. Chelsea winger Florent Malouda is on, replacing Andre Pierre Gignac. Bafana, unsurprisingly, are unchanged.And we're underway, could Bafana be 45 minutes away from glory?

45 minutes: By the way, I forgot to mention that just after Mphela's goal, the Sundowns striker slammed in another from Steven Pienaar's pass, but he was rightly called offside. Just thought I would throw that in. Khumalo, meanwhile, stretches out a long leg to deny Cisse a clear strike. And that is Half Time. This is riveting. Just a reminder - Bafana need two more goals and if the score stays the same in Rustenburg, Carlos Alberto Parreira's men are through. If Uruguay can score one more, Bafana only need one more. See you after the break, I need to catch my breath.

44 minutes THIS IS ON NOW! URUGUAY 1 MEXICO 0. Luis Suarez with a goal for Uruguay. Two more for Bafana and they are in the last 16. And against a French side that has lost the plot that is entirely possible.

42 minutes Mphela cracks in a beauty that Hugo Lloris does well to tip behind for a corner.

40 minutes: Ribery's free kick from way out forces Moeneeb Josephs into a brilliant reaction save. At the other end, Pienaar almost put Tshabalala in the clear.

36 minutes GOAL. OH YES! SOUTH AFRICA 2 FRANCE 0. Oh. My. Word. This on. Tshabalala crosses, the ball hits Diarra, and breaks fro Masilela, whose low cross is bundled in by Mphela. All we need now is a goal in the other match, and it's really, really starting to get interesting.

33 minutes Pienaar wins a free kick for a foul by Arsenal's Abou Diaby. Tshabalala curls it not that far over the bar. Uruguay-Mexico is still 0-0.

26 minutes RED CARD FOR FRANCE'S YOANN GOURCUFF. France's tournament goes from worse to catastrophic. But that is a pathetic decision from the Colombian referee. My word, the officiating at this tournament has been poor. He led with his arm, jumping for a cross, and caught Sibaya, but you do have to feel sorry for France. That was a shocker from Oscar Ruiz.

24 minutes A word for Khumalo, who has easily been Bafana's best defender at this tournament. Almost two for Bafana! Mphela storms forward and fires inches wide.

21 minutes OOOOOH! Mexico's Andres Guardardo hits a screamer that comes back off the crossbar in the other match. Cisse fires wide for France right here. This is getting interesting...

19 minutes GOAL GOAL GOAL! South Africa 1 France 0. A superb corner from Tshabalala, and Bongani Khumalo arrives at the back post to head in. The dream is still alive!

17 minutes: Steven Pienaar goes forward, stands still, starts smoking a pipe, and is robbed of the ball by Franck Ribery. Sibaya then actually has a shot, but it's way off target. <>That's better, Mr Pienaar. He absolutely crunches into a challene with Alou Diarra, winning the ball cleanly. Bafana break, but they give the ball away after about two passes.

12 minutes: The crowd have already started a Mexican wave. For once, I don't blame them. 10 minutes: Do you wait for something to happen before updating a live blog. Or do you just fill the space with some words anyway? Cisse flicks a header straight at Josephs. Otherwise nothing has happened. Bafana look ponderous, passing the ball sideways, before Pienaar loses it. He's not having a very good tournament at all.

6 mins: If the great question was, 'Can France be bothered', the answer is, I'm not sure yet. They are leisurely knocking the ball about, mostly with all the aggression of a snail, but it's early doors2mins: Tshabalaa's cross finds Mphela, but the Sundowns striker commits a foul. At the other end, Andre Pierre Gignac is clear, but shoot straight at Josephs.

4pm: And we're off. Mexico-Uruguay was underway a few seconds earlier.

3.57pm: The national anthems are over, and we are almost ready to kick off. Time for some name dropping, France and Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira is sitting a few seats away from me. I wonder what he makes of the French mess. Oscar Ruiz from Colombia is the referee today. The Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein is a sea of vuvuzela-blaring yellow. Can Bafana pull off a miracle, or at the very least a pride-restoring win. We are about to find out.

3.55pm: I will also, by the way, keep you up to date with the Mexico-Uruguay clash, taking place at the same time. SA 3 France 0 and Uruguay 2 Mexico 0 would do nicely, if you are a Bafana fan!

3.51pm: The teams are in the tunnel, waiting to come out onto the field. Doemenech has presumably picked guys he thinks are prepared to actually play for him this afternoon. You know that tv series 'Everybody Love Raymond'. Well, in France, it really is 'Everybody hates Raymond,' as one newspaper headline recently pointed out. Mind you, the players, for behaving like petulant schoolchildren are not far behind. There was, however only an enormous boo for Domenech when the names were read out here. And here come the teams.

3.44pm: Bafana will, in all likelihood, be the first host nation ever to be knocked out in the first round. But if you think they have problems, take a look at the French, who are in abject chaos. Coach Raymond Domenech has dropped captain Patrice Evra for this game, after he led the players as they refused to train on Sunday, in protest at the French Football Federation's decision to send home Nicholas Anelka. Anelka was given the boot because he refused to apologise for calling Domenech a "son of a whore" at half time in France's defeat to Mexico. Domenech has also dropped winger Florent Malouda, striker Sydney Govou and defender Eric Abidal for this game. Defender Sebastian Squillaci, striker Djibril Cisse and midfielder Alou Diarra all make their tournament debuts. Diarra is even captaining the side, in Evra's absence.

3.39pm: Right, so changes aplenty for both teams for an encounter in which they both need to give the other a serious hammering. Bafana have, as promised by coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, made five changes, with Tekom Modise FINALLY dropped. Steven Pienaar retains his place, but in come Moeneeb Josephs, MacBeth Sibaya, Thanduyise Khuboni, Anele Ngcongca and Bernard Parker, and out go Modise, Siboniso Gaxa, Itumeleng Khune (suspended), Kagiso Dikgacoi (suspended)and Reneilwe Letsholonyane.

3.30pm: Good day all. Remember you can e-mail me your thoughts at jonty.mark@inl.co.za. Here are the line-ups:South Africa (4-4-2): Josephs; Ngcongca, Mokoena, Khumalo, Masilela; Pienaar, Sibaya, Khuboni, Tshabalala; Parker, MphelaFrance (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Sagna, Gallas, Squillaci, Clichy; Diarra, Diaby; Gignac, Gourguff, Ribery; Cisse.Hello, and welcome to IOL's live coverage of this afternoon's World Cup 2010 Group A clash between South Africa and France. Both these sides need a heavy victory and must then pray there is a winner the group's other game between Uruguay and Mexico, and that goal difference then swings in their favour. Frankly, there's more likelihood of the ANC Youth League taking a vow of silence, but, in the spirit of miracles, let's hope Bafana can do it

Big surprise!

2010-06-21T09:40:00.002+02:00

Hi Victoria, what a lovely surprise. Thanks for the comments. Miss you too. Baci xxx

Via Ferrata

2009-09-23T10:27:00.005+02:00

This is what we have been up to for the last couple of weekends. It’s called “Via Ferrata”, not sure how to translate that. Literally it means “iron road”. It is a kind of mountain climbing, just not so risky as there are fixed cables, stemples, ladders and bridges. Some parts can be incredibly strenuous and trying. So far we have done a few and I am hooked. Unfortunately it is starting to become a bit chilly and rainy, so I think we won’t do anymore until next year spring. Can’t wait!

I also hope to be blogging again. After a little emotional hiccup, I am back on track!

La Ciaspolada

2009-03-09T18:04:00.004+01:00

Eccomi.

So, Saturday we went walking in the snow covered appenines with snow rackets. What a nice experience. We met at the hotel in the afternoon, got to meet and greet the rest of the apprehensive, nervous crowd of mainly Tuscans. Hoha-hola! At about 6pm we had what was supposed to be a snack, but seemed like a full on meal. Tigelle, crescentine, mortadella, prosciutto, salami, and lambrusco! The guide then gave us a “bre-efing”. I love it when Italians use English words. And then when one says “briefing” as you should, no-body seems to understand, so you have say the word in an italianised way. Anyway, eventually we left for our adventure under the full moon and stars and crunched our way over the snow filled mountains.

The walk was strenuous, but we had the goal of arriving at our destination….a hut with a log fire and a 3 course meal! I had exerted so much energy though, that I actually wasn’t at all hungry. What a disappointment. Anyway, either I had drunk too much lambrusco or the Tuscans were REALLY funny, I haven’t laughed that much in a long time.

Coming down wasn’t as easy as we had all thought. Knees were taking a lot of strain.
We got back to the hotel at about 1am. I collapsed into bed. Apparently not everyone was as fortunate. Some still had adrenaline pumping through the veins. And the quaint village hotel was right next to a church, with a beautiful bell that chimed every half hour!!! I slept through it all.

Padova visit

2009-02-19T10:52:00.004+01:00

We went to visit Diego’s wonderful aunt and uncle in Padova. We try to get there at least once a year. This time round lo Zio took us to see Scrovegni’s Chapel. A chapel entirely decorated by the hand of Giotto, a prolific and esteemed 14th century artist.

The wealthy money-lender, Enrico Scrovegni had it built around 1305 and decorated as penitence for his father’s sins and probably his own. Interesting times those medieval years. Lend money to the poor, charge exorbitant, illegal interest rates, poep yourself thinking you’re going to go to hell, use that money to build a chapel dedicated to God and voilà, you have secured your little possie in heaven. Yeah right. Anyway, it was really worthwhile visiting. Giotto did an amazing job for his times.

The Little Mermaid... NOT!

2009-02-11T18:04:00.005+01:00

So. My swimming training is going well. Felt like I swallowed half the pool today though.

Back stroke is definitely not my forte.

The splashing of the water, ear plugs, misted-up goggles, trying to catch my breath, swimming is definitely a sport that tackles all senses head-on. I am enjoying the challenge. Oh and Adonis, I mean, Francesco, the trainer, has a lot of patience.

I have also learned that the stroke “Butterfly” is called “Dolphin” in Italian, Delfino. Who knew?

Never a dull moment

2009-02-02T14:11:00.008+01:00

I was curled up on the couch, watching some travel programme, snuggling under the duvet, glancing out the window every once in a while to see if it was still snowing. I was comfortable. I was happy. At 4.30pm, I hear a distressed voice. “We’ve been at home the whole day, lets just go for a drive somewhere and then we can catch the six thirty movie”. I conceded.

Driving along in the Jeep, chewing the cud, as you do. Diego comments, “Oh, look, that area there is called la cassa d’espansione, when it rains really hard or when the melted snow starts coming down from the mountains and the river overflows, the extra water flows into this huge area, which was covered with water just a week ago. Today it’s empty, let’s check it out”. We drive up the ramp onto the embankment, drive a few metres along until we reach another ramp going down into this isolated expanse of area closed in by another embankment next to the river. It is becoming dark and has started snowing again.

We drive onto a plain of clay-like mud. “Oh cazzo”, I hear my husband say. This is not a good sign. The Jeep starts skidding and sliding all over the place, mud being thrown in the air, and then we were STUCK.IN.THE.MUD, in an isolated area with no-one in sight on a cold and snowy Sunday evening! “Lock yourself in the car, I am going to get help!” he says grabbing his jacket. I look into the rear view mirror and see him disappear into the dark, cold night air.

The first isolated house he came across was inhabited by a Chinese family. They closed the door in his face. After walking for about another 15 minutes, he came across a bar/coffee shop. By this time drenched and shivering with cold, he described his plight to the handful of locals enjoying an aperitif before dinner. Orfeo, an artisan of about 40 years old, offered to see what he could do to help. Nearly half an hour later, I heard their voices as they approached the Jeep. He said there was nothing he could do but he knew a farmer with a tractor who lived about a 20 minute drive away. He called Daniele. A jovial, thirty something-ish, arrived almost within 20 minutes, laughing, saying, “Chi è il cretino che ha fatto questa?” Diego sheepishly saying it was him.

Daniele alluded to the fact that there was a hotel down the road and that we didn’t have to go to this extreme to, you know, get the Jeep all steamy windowed. We laughed. Then he says, “But signora, I know you. You work at the local fruit shop”. My attempts to tell him that it was not me went unnoticed. Daniele was convinced. The poor girl, who looks like me, who works at the local, one-horse town fruit shop is going to have a very interesting reputation from now on! LOL.

The tractor pulled the Jeep out with very little effort. We were very relieved! We paid Daniele for his time and diesel, offered Orfeo a quick drink and then went home. Nearly 3 hours later. We didn’t get to see the movie, but the next time Diego wants to go for a little drive and I am cosy and snug on the couch, I’ll remind him of our costly, muddy little adventure in a town called Motta.

Here are some pictures, they aren’t very clear, due to weather conditions, but they give a general idea. The first three taken without the flash and the last one with the flash. The little white dots are snow flakes.

Questions

2009-01-30T13:21:00.003+01:00

Got this from Jax. Looked like fun, so here goes.

1. The phone rings; who do you want it to be? Someone with good news.
2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? Have to if I want my € 1 back!
3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? A listener.
4. Do you take compliments well? Yes.
5. Do you play Sudoku? I have played once or twice. It’s ok.
6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? Probably not.
7. Do you like to ride horses? As much as I like horses, don’t really trust them.
8. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? Yes and I still love camping. Especially waking up in a tent, feeling the fresh, crisp morning air.
9. What was your favorite game as a kid? My dolls. Jonathan and Tammy.
10. If a sexy person was pursuing you, but you knew he/she was married, would you go for it? Highly unlikely.
11. Have you lied to get out of a date? Sort of.
12. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you? Yes, but it isn’t that simple.
13. Do you like to pursue or be pursued? Be pursued.
14. Use three words to describe yourself? Honest, practical, reliable.
15. Do any songs make you cry? Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah.
16. Are you continuing your education? Not formally.
17. Do you know how to shoot a gun? Not really.
18. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grabbed? Our passports and other important documents.
19. How often do you read books? I am always reading something. At the moment I am reading 3 books.
20. Do you think more about the past, present or future? Present. I am happier that way.
21. What is your favorite children’s book? Enid Blyton’s Magic Faraway Tree series, What Katie did? series, Nancy Drew, The Secret Garden. Too many just to mention one!
22. What color are your eyes? Blue
23. How tall are you? 167 cm, try tell that to the person who renewed my ID!
24. Where is your dream house located? In the hills of Serramazzoni looking onto Monte Cimone! (sob)
25. Do you have a secret fetish? No.
26. Have you tried sushi? I could LIVE on sushi.
27. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth? Yes, with my friend Diane, a long time ago and a couple of times in Italy in order to renew the million and one documents that this bureaucratic system demands.
28. When was the last time you were at a library? About a year ago. Wish I could get there more often.
29. When was the last time you were at Church? Duomo di Milano, this December.
30. Where was the furthest place you traveled today? To work 12 kms from home.
31. What was your favorite job? I’ve enjoyed most of the varied things I’ve done and am doing.
32. Do you like mustard? I love mustard the burnier (?) the better. Where it feels like your frontal lobes are being lobotomised. Yummy.
33. Do you prefer to sleep or eat? Eat, no...sleep, no... eat, no... sleep… don’t know.
34. Do you look like your mom or dad? Sometimes my mom, sometimes my Dad (I am told).
35. How long does it take you in the shower? About 20 minutes.
36. Can you do the splits? No.
37. What movie do you want to see right now? "Doubt"
38. If you could fast forward your life, would you? Not at all.
39. What did you do for New Year’s? Stayed at home and watched the snow falling.
40. Do you think dying is scary? The idea is a little disturbing, but as St. Paul says “Death where is thy sting?”.
41. Could you relate to a character in Gray’s? I honestly have not watched one episode of this.
42. Do you own a camera phone? No.
43. Do you have an “ex box” with pics and letters from past lovers? No.
44. Was your mom a cheerleader? No.
45. What’s the last letter of your middle name? E.
46. Do you like your middle name? Yes.
47. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? 8 - 10.
48. Do you like care bears? Indifferent.
49. What do you buy at the movies? From now on Pizza! Only in Italy.
50. Do you know how to play poker? No.
51. Do you wear your seatbelt? Yes, I can’t relax until I do.
52. What do you wear to sleep? PJs.
53. Anything big ever happen in your hometown? Modena is quite an interesting town. It is the birthplace of Pavarotti. When he died we (I dragged Diego along) went to see him in the main church lying in state. Surreal. My friend K, said that we must have been the only South Africans to have seen Pavarotti in his coffin. I wonder if this is true. Ferrari and Maserati have their factories here, to some this is big. Modena is also the home to Balsamic Vinegar and some great wines.
54. How many meals do you eat a day? 3.
55. Is your tongue pierced? No.
56. Ever meet anyone you met on Face book? Yes. K, my SA friend who also lives in MO.
57. Do you read the newspaper? Yes, we have a copy delivered to work and I read SA newspapers online.
58. Do you like funny or serious people better? Both.
59. Ever been to heaven? Huh?
60. Did you eat a cookie today? Yes, some interesting little biscuits that Diego brought back from Sweden.
61. Do you use curse words in other languages? Che ca….valo!
62. Do you steal or pay for your music downloads? Prefer to buy from the CD shop, am old fashioned that way.
63. Do you hate chocolate? No.
64. What do you and your parents fight about the most? We don’t fight.
65. Are you a gullible person? Sometimes.
66. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy? One husband is all I can handle and thank goodness I am very happy with him.
67. If you could have any job what would it be? I have been pondering this one and can honestly say that I don’t know.
68. Are you easy to get along with? I try to be.
69. What is your favorite time of day? The Morning.

Change of plans

2009-01-29T10:44:00.000+01:00

Last night had these great plans. Diego is in Sweden, he gets back tonight. So, my plan was to eat hot dogs and chocolate and watch back to back episodes of Desperate Housewives. Well, I have never had a migraine as strong as the one I had last night. You know, those migraines where there is so much saliva in your mouth that you find yourself drooling, a dark room where you can’t even see your hand is not dark enough, the sound of your heart beating is even too loud. Got home, took a strong pain killer and went to bed. I feel much better today. That was not fun.

Tuesday English movie night was good. “Slumdog Millionaire” was showing. What a brilliant movie. A definite must see. Oh and I think this happens only in Italy where you can take a pizza into the movie house. I love Italy!

It's cold

2009-01-27T17:08:00.000+01:00

Writer's blog

2009-01-16T13:19:00.005+01:00

I am really surprised how openly some people blog. All thoughts and emotions are laid out there for all to read and comment on. Being fairly new to this blogging phenomenon, I find it hard to express certain thoughts without doing a quick mental scan of who might read the post. I admire the courage of those who just put it out there. A cheap form of psychotherapy perhaps. And those who comment ... psychoanalysts?

I type, reread what I have just typed, delete, retype, reread, delete, etc. So, will post a photo of a photo we saw the other day while walking through the streets of Milano instead. It's too cute.

Huh?

2009-01-09T10:14:00.004+01:00

At the petrol station the other day, I spotted this. LOL!

Site Seeing, Sbagliati and Shopping

2009-01-08T14:01:00.004+01:00

We left at around 9am for our little shopping spree in Milano. I have often heard people complain about the fog that envelops the city and how it can drive one a bit moggy. Well, we experienced it first hand and especially after watching the movie “The Mist” a couple of days before, it was a bit scary driving into this wall of never ending white, not sure what’s going to appear in front of you. Thank goodness the city centre was clear and the Duomo could be seen in all its splendour. We managed to explore the Duomo inside, outside and on top. A truly incredible piece of work.

We hit the shops starting in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and ending in La Rinascente. It was very difficult having to restrain myself and stick to the teeny budget that I had set. We finally ended our little excursion with an aperitivo in the Aperol Bar on a side street just off the piazza Duomo. I tasted a cocktail called “Sbagliato” (sparkling white wine, martini and Campari) for the first time. It was so good. We each had two and I practically flew, skipped, glided back to the metro, totally forgetting that an hour before I had been complaining that we had been on our feet for nearly 8 exhausting hours.

We had parked the car in one of two parking lots on the outskirts of Milano. I was convinced it was in the one and of course Murphy always rears his head with me, it was in the other, a ten minute walk away and of course we had already paid and of course the validity of the paid ticket was only 10 minutes and then we would have had to pay again. So, shopping bags in hand we had to sprint like Bolt to find the car, falling up the stairs, with 2 “sbagliati” in me, I didn’t feel a thing. The next day though, I had a kind of ache in my knee.

Happy New Year

2009-01-07T15:49:00.001+01:00

Our two week break has ended quickly. Back to work. Back to routine. I don’t mind, I quite like routine.

A lot of snow has been predicted for the north west. And yip, they got it right, it hasn’t stopped snowing since this morning. We are really having a true European winter this year. It is lovely.

Happy New Year by the way.

Besides day trips to Milano, Lucca, Bologna and Mantova, we didn’t do much these holidays.

I made meringues for the first time. They turned out quite well. I nearly burnt out the motor of the electric mixer I have trying to whip them egg whites into stiff peaks. Those who ate them, seemed to appreciate them.

I also realised these holidays that people who love to ski seem to go to a lot of trouble getting to and from the ramps. We drove past quite a popular ski resort on our way to Lucca. Usually driving through this resort on a normal day would take a few minutes, it took us over an hour. And there was a skiing accident, we saw the guy being loaded into the back of the ambulance. People walking for kilometres and kilometres on slippery, icy almost non existent pavements, carrying snowboards, skis and helmets, wearing cumbersome skiing outfits, some even having to manage children somewhere lost in all this skiing paraphernalia, trying to get to the ski lifts. I think you really gotta love this sport to go to all that trouble.

Christmas Lights in Milan

2008-12-22T13:31:00.001+01:00

I feel like I am the only paw-paw working today. Most people are already on leave, doing last minute shopping. Diego and I are going to Milano on Christmas eve to do a spot of shopping ourselves. I am looking forward to that.

While in Milano, I wanted to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s original painting of the Last Supper and I knew that you had to book in advance. I was thinking like a day or two in advance. The first opening is in March. A bit disappointing.

I’ll try slot in a quick visit when I go back to Milano next year to renew my SA passport.

I’ll get to see the Duomo di Milano (Milan’s Cathedral) properly this time around. The last couple of times that I saw the Duomo it was covered in scaffolding as they were doing some restorations on the façade. The work has been completed so I will, for the first time, get to see the façade in all it’s glory.

And of course we will be spending a lot of time (and hopefully not money) in via Montenapoleone and the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele.

Wishing you all a lovely Christmas.

Baci xxx

Little helpers

2008-12-15T15:25:00.001+01:00

Our Christmas presents to each other have been bought, opened and already put to good use.

Introducing Roomba and Scooba. The most practical and definitely welcomed present anyone can ask for. We now have 2 little robot helpers running around, vacuuming and scrubbing the floors.

This is Roomba http://www.irobot.com/hrd_right_rail/roomba_rr/roomba_580/Roomba580_rr_video.cfm
And this is Scooba http://www.irobot.com/hrd_right_rail/scooba_rr/scooba_fam/scoobaFam_rr_video.cfm

Besides watching Roomba and Scooba cleaning, didn’t do much this weekend. I was fixated. The time I spent watching them, I could have vacuumed and scrubbed those floors, anyway the novelty will soon wear off and they will be left to do their jobs in peace, while I find more important things to do, like watching the rest of season four’s Desperate Housewives! (I am joking, just in case).

Surprise!

2008-12-10T12:57:00.006+01:00

My surprise was awesome. Diego fetched me from work at 6pm sharp. He took a crazy detour to get back to the highway (to avoid the traffic), this confused me a bit, but finally we were heading north towards Verona and Lake Garda. After nearly 2 hours of driving we arrived at the hotel. (http://www.villadeicedri.it/eng/novita_eng.htm). It is a beautifully restored nineteenth century villa located in a park with a 5000 m2 lake filled with thermal waters.

After checking in and seeing the Jacuzzi in the corner of the room, I really didn’t feel like venturing out into the cold night. It was 2°C! But, the experience was not complete without swimming in the lit-up thermal lake that was 37°C - 40°C! It was wonderful. I lost track of time and can’t remember how long we stayed in the lake with it’s healing waters, swimming from the grotto with hydromassages to the other little pools within the lake with hotter water and back again. Eventually we had to get out, we were turning into wrinkled prunes.

Saturday morning we woke up to a continental breakfast. And then spent the morning enjoying the Jacuzzi with fibre optic lights subtly changing colour. Very relaxing! Definitely one of the nicest birthdays I have had. Here are some photos I took during the day.

Another year older

2008-12-05T13:56:00.002+01:00

I had a nice day yesterday. It was cold, but the sun was shining and the sky was blue. I was actually hoping that it would snow, but it didn’t. Maybe tomorrow. Thanks for all the wishes.
Diego has a surprise for me. He told me to pack a bag (with a swimming costume) and is fetching me from work tonight. I can’t wait to find out where we are going! The whole day he has been sending me little hints. I still have no idea. I am excited!
He has been travelling quite a bit for work, I miss him when he is gone.
Especially when I watch TV alone and suddenly realise that what I am watching is actually a documentary on ghosts that have been spotted in the tunnels of the Underground in London. It was so fascinating that I couldn’t switch off and anyway I was too scared to move to reach out to grab the control to change channels, so I ended up watching the thing. Shouldn’t really do that when I am alone.
I especially love it when Diego comes home. (With lots of nice goodies). Last week he was in Paris. He brought back some delicious fois gras. This week he was in the UK, while waiting in the airport he managed to find season 4 of Desperate Housewives on DVD and lots of Aero chocolates, my all time favourite that we don’t have here. He really is a very kind and thoughtful husband. Baci.
The travelling is starting to get to him. Lately, every time he travels there seems to be some delay/problem. Alitalia striking and inadvertently causing havoc with the other airlines. An engine that decides to stop working in midair and so the plane being forced to turn around. Not fun at all.
Anyway, I am so looking forward to our little get away together, wherever it may be!

Spot the car

2008-12-01T10:21:00.003+01:00

This is what most people woke up to on Saturday morning.

It's snowing!

2008-11-28T13:02:00.001+01:00

Today should have been a stay at home day. Snuggled in front of the fire, watching DVDs, sipping hot chocolate, occasionally looking outside the window to see the big snow flakes drifting through the air, putting another log on the fire while admiring the white landscape, snuggling closer to Diego. But…wait… it’s Friday, we have to go to work. I cleaned the snow of my little yellow Fiat Panda, hands turned into a kind of scarlet red, blue colour from the cold. I cautiously pulled out of the driveway. Snowflakes seemed to be attacking the car from every direction, windscreen wipers couldn’t keep up with the onslaught. Finally got to work after following a snow plough that cleared the way. The road on the north side of our building was iced over and my little car skated for a couple of metres before I managed to get back control. Not a nice experience at all.

As I write it is still snowing heavily. If it continues Diego will have to come fetch me or I need to organise thermal tyres or snow chains… mmm... I think I’ll ask Diego to fetch me.

Update

2008-11-17T14:48:00.002+01:00

I know that I am going to sound boring… but time is flying!

Here’s a quick update.

we have been house hunting with a vengeance, but still nothing that we both like. (My heart is still in the place we put in an offer for, although things went a bit pear shaped there). The search continues.
Tuesday nights are our English Movie nights. The local movie house shows one film a week in English (the rest are all dubbed). It only costs €3,50! Last week we saw “Mamma Mia”. Never knew that Meryl Streep could sing. And Pierce Brosnan can hold a tune too. So for nearly a whole week I have “Mamma Mia here we go again, my, my, how can I resist you?” in my head. It’s annoying. The movie was entertaining. If you like ABBA. I like ABBA.
It rained the whole week last week. It was lovely. Today the sun is out and the sky is blue, it is quite cold though (about 10°C).
Diego has finally started going to gym again. I need to get into some kind of exercise routine.
Sunday I pulled out all our wool jerseys and then proceeded to spend the rest of the day shaving off the little balls that make the jerseys look untidy. Isn’t there another way to get rid of the little balls that form or at least a way to prevent them forming?
We aren’t going to NY for Christmas. We’ll probably go next Spring.
What else… ummm, oh I see Jax tagged me with some questions about me and Diego.

How long did you date? Long enough to take the second step.

How old is he? Older than me.

Who eats more? I eat more chocolate and drink lots more wine.

Who said “I love you” first? Can’t remember actually. We still do say it after nearly 7 years together though.

Who is taller? He is.

Who sings better? The question should be who sings worse.

Who is smarter? Depends. I have a much better memory. He is more logical, but can think laterally. He is a critical thinker and definitely more street wise. I tend to be a bit gullible and naive at times.

Whose temper is worse? Can’t tell, he reads this.

Who does the laundry? Most of the time I do. He irons his own work shirts though.

Who does the dishes? All of the time I do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Depends how you look at it.

Who pays the bills? Both of us.

Who cooks dinner? Depends who gets home first.

Who drives when you are together? Diego. The tiny, narrow roads F.R.E.A.K. me out and there are lots of them. My side mirrors are grateful that I only stick to highways when I drive.

Who is more stubborn? He says me, I say him.

Who kissed who first? Can’t remember, was a long time ago.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? We are both always right. Especially me.

Whose parents do you see the most? They live in SA, so neither really.

Who proposed? He proposed that we live in Italy. I needed a visa - it was on the check list.

Who is more sensitive? He is.

Who has more friends? He does.

Who has more siblings? I do.

Who wears the pants in the family? Neither one of us wears skirts.

Lekker weekend

2008-11-03T13:12:00.008+01:00

What a nice weekend! K, my SA/Italian friend threw a wonderful Halloween party on friday night. She really went to a lot of trouble. Her house was strewn with Halloween paraphernalia from pumpkins to skeletons to flying witches to balloons looking like eye balls with veins. The aperitivi (aperitifs) had names like "bat's blood" (aperol and orange juice), "Monster's mucus" (bread sticks with melted green cheese (fondue cheese with green food colouring) wrapped around the ends), "witch's bulging eye balls" (boiled eggs cut in half with an olive for the eye) etc.

The main meal was comprised of various dishes with pumpkin. A delicious pumpkin soup with pancetta and cream. Pumpkin lasagna - that was a first for me and will definitely be getting the recipe from K.

For dessert one of K's friends made a tray of delicious chocolates that were devoured in seconds, another made meringues in (what were supposed to be) the shape of bones, but depending on who you were, they looked more like Venus of Willendorfs or little white phallic objects that kept most of the guys very amused. They were delicious by the way. I brought the gelato (can’t get easier than that!).

Saturday we decided to get a really early start with our house hunting. Our aim was to visit as many estate agencies as possible in the new area we are looking in. The first one was located in a shopping centre. At 9.30am on a Saturday morning, the shopping centre was dead quiet and the only shop that was open was a florist. The cemetery across the road however was full of life. Ohhhh! Saturday was a public holiday “All Saints Day” which precedes “All Souls Day” or “Day of the Dead”. For Catholics a very important day to pay respect to their dearly departed. Cemeteries all over Italy are buzzing with activity, fresh flowers replace the dried, old twigs from the previous year, the already narrow roads are even narrower as people try to park, perching their cars on cliff edges. Trying to avoid all narrow roads dotted with cemeteries, we went home. I finished some house work and then had a little snooze in the afternoon (something I never do). In the evening we fetched Nu (Diego’s Calabrese friend) and went to eat in a nice Trattoria in Serramazzoni.

And Sunday, Cinzia and Arni, our friend’s from Bologna met at our house in the morning. We packed some panini filled with mortadella and went for a hike in the hills. Even though it had rained the previous day we decided to hike to Cascate Bucamante. The hike was quite strenuous and what made it worse was the mud everywhere. We were slipping and sliding all over the place. Negotiating a steep decline, holding onto branches, hoping that they weren’t rotten and ready to snap, Diego and Arni shouting directions as to where us girls should and shouldn’t be putting our feet, while debating which path to take. It was fun. On the way back home, we drove through Maranello. The little Ferrari town was packed with people dressed in Ferrari red, walking towards the auditorium, waving flags. We even thought about joining the Massas, I mean masses, but muddy brown jeans wouldn’t look so chic next to Ferrari red …um, pants, jackets, t-shirts, caps, socks, underwear. Gosh, the passion for signor Enzo’s creation is overwhelming. After a quick cup of tea and a much needed shower, we had dinner at Nu’s house. It was his birthday and to celebrate he made us some squid and spaghetti. His speciality. I had worked up an appetite during the day and as usual he did not disappoint. Auguri Nu!

Arni took some pictures of the new batch of kittens playing in the tree next to our house. Aren't they gorgeous! Grazie Arni.

Life in Italy...

2008-10-30T13:51:00.003+01:00

Needed to have photocopies done for my passport.
Go to the “Bar” (coffee shop) across the road from the questura (office that deals with immigration, passports etc, a kind of Home Affairs). The only place within walking distance that does photocopies. I wait in the queue with a couple of other non Italians, mainly North Africans and East Europeans. The girl doing the photocopying is rude and abrupt and treating the people in front of me very badly. It’s my turn. I give her two pages to photocopy. It comes to €0,50c.
Twenty five cents a copy! Ladri! I gave her a 1 euro coin. Waiting patiently for my change, she comes back to me and says she doesn’t have the change. Confused I say, “So?” She rudely and dismissively says to me “So, take a sweet for the change”. What?? Take a sweet for the change?!. She decides just like that for me! After loosing my cool, her mumbling something incoherent about me being English (I have a strong English accent when speaking Italian) I told her to stuff the photocopies and give me my money back. She did, but she kept the photocopies with all my personal details, name, address, passport number etc. For a while I had visions of this stronza selling my information to a Romanian drug lord or stealing my identity. Anyway, about 1km away was another place doing copies for €0,11c! Most of the people who use this service at the “Bar” are non Italians who can’t speak Italian at all and get treated like rubbish. Very disturbing.

Go to the anagrafe to redo my ID. I am 1,67 metres tall. This is a fact. The poppie sitting on the other side of the desk looks at me. “Signora, but are you wearing high heals today?” I was wearing ballerinas. “You are definitely not 1,67, you are at least 1,72 metres”. I didn’t even have time to protest. So, my new ID book says that I am 1,72 meters tall. Just like that.

There is a reality programme on TV at the moment called La Talpa. A very shoddy version of "The Mole". Anyway, the location is Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. For obvious reasons I was quite excited to watch this show. The first episode was interesting with the contestants having to do some Shark Cage Diving, mingle with some very traditionally dressed Zulus and generally try to guess who the mole was. Then the other day I saw the presenter of the show being interviewed. She was asked if apartheid still exists in SA. She hesitated for a second and then said YES! WTF?

Autumn

2008-10-15T13:03:00.009+02:00

I love Autumn. Not too hot, not too cold. The changing colours of the trees and vines are beautiful. Here are some pictures taken on Sunday while we were driving around the hills of Reggio-Emilia. These hills are filled with medieval castles, a lot of fun to explore.

See the different shades of brown, yellow, red and green. Picture taken from Maltida di Canossa's castle.

Rossena Castle. I love the colour of the ivy on the ancient rock wall.

While meandering around we came across a little temple built in memory of Francesco Petrarch the Italian poet, who wrote his epic poem AFRICA here. There, next to the temple, sitting alone, on a bench, surrounded by golden-brown leaves was a solitary figure. Signor Carlini. An 82 year-old, WW2 veteran. He struck up a conversation. Starting by telling us about the custodian who used to look after the temple, how he died, how his son died and the widow who had to go live with other relatives. There was a slight pause, Diego noted how wonderfully peaceful and silent it was. Signor Carlini said that he has always lived in silence as he has been deaf in one ear since he was 17 years old and with age, finally deaf in the other (he showed us the fancy things on the ends of his glasses which help him to hear, without these he says he is stone deaf). He went on to tell us how he became deaf at 17. It was during the war. One of his superiors asked him a question about another guy from his village. He didn't know the guy. His superior didn't believe him. He said, "Carlini do you see this pencil? Now feel it". The pain was indescribable. He could feel his oozing blood burning his skin. He told us that he has forgiven this man and actually felt sorry for him. Sjoe. It was when he starting reciting poems in dialect that we decided to kindly (hastily!) say goodbye.

It was really an uplifting experience meeting and chatting to this gentle old soul. I realised then how much I missed my grandparents and their idosyncracies and wondered how they would be now if they were still alive. Trying hard to imagine their voices. I made myself a cup of Rooibos tea, the smell and taste always brings back good memories.

Pictures

2008-10-14T13:29:00.010+02:00

I have finally managed to download some pictures of our little trip to Merano and Stelvio's Pass.

View from our hotel in Merano; going up the chairlift; on the way to Castle Tyrol; apple orchards on the way to Castle Tyrol; looking down on Stelvio's pass; view from the restaurant (3174 metres).

Chestnuts

2008-10-07T13:09:00.003+02:00

The weekend was relatively quiet. Diego has changed jobs so is waiting for his new company car, the Jeep is in for repairs, so we had to use my car to go shopping with and see another house that the agent reckoned was THE ONE. It wasn’t. Anyway, I have learned that my husband is a very nervous passenger when I drive. “You nearly hit that car!” “One centimetre more and we would have ended up in the ditch!” putting the tenth maalox in his mouth. LOL.

On Sunday we went searching for chestnuts. We met some friends in a little town called Zocca, in the Apennines (mountains between Modena and Bologna). We packed a little picnic lunch and went up with the scooter. We must have gathered about 4 kilos of chestnuts by the end of our search. I am not particularly fond of roasted chestnuts, but it was a lot fun gathering them. We even found a little museum dedicated to Chestnuts. Very interesting.

I must have eaten something strange or caught a bug of sorts. For about an hour between 10 and 11 o’clock Sunday night, the toilet was my best friend. It happened at the most inconvenient time. There was a programme on TV called “Vivo x un miracolo”, roughly translated “Saved by a miracle”. It’s a programme that reconstructs the actual events and has a psychiatrist, doctor and any other relevant experts in the studio to discuss what the survivors/non survivors did right and wrong and gives advise to others if you ever have to find yourself in a similar situation. Last night’s episode was about some South Africans who had a plane crash between Maun and Gaborone and how 2 survivors went searching for help having to fend off wild animals and drink fetid water along the way. Due to my little problem I missed the end. But, apparently they were found and it ended well, only to have the pilot die in another plane crash 4 years later, how ironic is that.

Alps

2008-09-30T14:09:00.001+02:00

We left for our little road trip just before lunch on Friday. Heading north towards the Alps, we finally arrived in Merano. A town in the province of Bolzano, near the Swiss border surrounded by mountains over 3000 metres high and apple orchards bursting with ripe, juicy apples. We found an inexpensive, comfortable hotel, overlooking the valley. (Although at first the hotel looked like a retirement home for German couples. There must have been some sort of package deal/organised thing for retired couples originating in Germany). We had a pleasant evening strolling around the city centre and eating at a local restaurant.

In the morning we set out early after breakfast, taking the chairlift up to Tyrol. Walked the 5 kms to the Castle Tyrol, stopping to admire the view and drink freshly squeezed apple juice found at stalls strategically positioned on the way up. The castle was fascinating and I could have spent a lot more time here, but we had to continue with the rest of our journey.

We wanted to reach the Stelvio Pass before sunset. According to WIKIPEDIA The Stelvio Pass (Italian: Passo dello Stelvio; German: Stilfser Joch), located in Italy, is at 2757 m the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps, and the second highest in the Alps, after the Col de l'Iseran (2770 m).[citation needed] In the list of highest paved roads in the Alps, it ranks 4th.

We found a hotel on the pass that caters mainly for summer skiers. It was full of boys and girls from their countries national team, from Austria to Slovenia. (Apparently the hotel closes at the beginning of November ‘cos it’s just too cold to do anything).

The following morning we took the cable car up to the peak along with all the skiers. We sat in the coffee shop, snug and warm, sipping cappuccino’s, while watching the training going on down below.

Eventually we left and started our journey back home. Living in a relatively flat part of Italy, I actually didn’t realise how many tunnels there are cutting through the mountains and how long they are. The one was nearly 10 kilometres!

Back at work now and can’t wait for another break!

Update

2008-09-22T13:07:00.003+02:00

Friday night, after Diego got home from his trip to Germany, we went to the Roadhouse Grill which has just recently opened in Carpi. It was so nice to see an elderly Italian couple eating big, juice-running-down-arms, sauce-spread-all-over-face hamburgers and sipping RED WINE.
I love Italy!

On Saturday, Diego went with a friend to watch cars racing in Imola. I took the opportunity to... yip, clean house and finish ALL the ironing. Sunday was nice and laid back, Diego cooked an awesome meal and we spent the rest of the day chilling in front of the TV. I love Sundays like these.

Work is quite hectic at the moment and I start a course on Thursday. Got a lot to get through before then. Ciao for now! Baci!

This and that

2008-09-15T13:47:00.004+02:00

It’s starting to turn really cold. We decided to have our last braai of the season on Sunday. Our friends arrived when it was overcast and rainy and then of course they left in the late afternoon when the sun was starting to peek out. We had a good time. The Caponata (typical Sicilian dish made with eggplant, olives, capers, onions, tomatoes, celery) I made turned out to be a bit too salty. I forgot to wash the salt covered capers before adding them to the rest of the ingredients. It was at least still edible. I enjoyed it. The rest of the food was delicious. Diego really knows how to braai a pork chop!

We have a new batch of kittens (again!) running around. The owners of the mother cat don’t seem to think it’s a priority to have her spayed. Anyway, they are really gorgeous and it was so much fun watching M, who is 3 years old, playing with them.

My dad is out of hospital after a very sudden, unexpected operation. He is in a lot of pain, but sounds very positive and up beat. I miss him so much.

We're alive.

2008-09-10T13:34:00.003+02:00

I am happy to report that they have switched on the "Big Bang" machine, thingy majiggy, what's-it-called and we are all still alive. The Large Hadron Collider is certainly stirring some controversy. I am afraid any comment I make will be a pure expression of my ignorance.

Last night we went to see ol' Gianna Nannini in action in Carpi. The piazza was packed and besides having to stand on my tippy toes, strain my eyes and contort my body to just get a wee glimpse of her, it was rather enjoyable.

The leaves are slowly turning brown and it is feeling much cooler today. Yippee... am so looking forward to winter.

Sad

2008-09-08T13:28:00.002+02:00

We didn't get the apartment. Long, complicated story. I am feeling sad, but relieved. The search continues.

False Friends

2008-09-04T12:53:00.003+02:00

The Italian language has what is called many “false friends”. For example: in italian the word sensibile means SENSITIVE and not sensible, the word sensitive generally means PSYCHIC and not sensitive as we know it in English. The one that always gets me into trouble is preservativo which does not mean preservative but CONDOM. So here I am busy explaining to all the little nonni and nonne how wonderfully healthy my homemade jam is ‘cos it doesn’t contain CONDOMS. Another story along this vein was told to me by a fellow English teacher. When she found a new flat that was already furnished, the owner was showing her around. In the bedroom, looking at the bed, she started saying emphatically “no, no, non uso la pillola”, the owner of the flat looked bemused, confounded, embarrassed and she was still all excited thinking that she was stating that she didn’t need the PILLOW. La pillola is THE PILL. Oooops!

Such fun learning a new language.

Tree Hugger

2008-08-29T15:22:00.006+02:00

Big, old trees have a profound effect on me. Hard to describe. I suppose the feeling is similar to that of when you see someone you love dearly again after many years apart. Maybe it's Enid Blyton's influence.

Back to work

2008-08-25T14:59:00.005+02:00

We had a nice two week break. Spent some time at the family seaside apartment in the Comacchio region (100km between Venice and Rimini) situated on the Adriatic sea.
Not really being a great lover of the beach: sand and sun protection cream do not go well together, noisy crowds, crying babies, blaring radios with lots of doef-doef music, burning sun, you get the picture. But the apartment is very comfortable with a continuous sea breeze passing through. It is on the second floor so has a relatively nice view with a spacious balcony. It's always interesting watching the comings and goings of the people down below. Diego saw a toddler run into the gate while his parents where distracted for a split second. Blood everywhere. They rushed him to the hospital. It wasn't serious. At 9 o'clock the masses move to the beach and 7 o'clock in the evening they all trek back home. Never being a beach person ever, not sure of what the beach culture is like in SA, but in Italy it is a very interesting.

The highlight for most Italians is their annual summer holiday at the seaside, so they have their holiday homes in their chosen seaside town and go there every year. They haul their umbrellas, deck chairs, buckets and spades to the same spot on the beach every day for 2 weeks. Others go to the pay beaches where they provide umbrellas and deck chairs (in very organised, neat rows), beach volley ball and aerobic instructors doing their thing on the beach with those that are willing to bounce their boobs in flimsy bikinis. It's very entertaining. And after all this they are rewarded with an amazing golden tan to die for (don't want to spoil the mood, so won't mention things like melanomas).

The last two days of our break were spent like this: I became THE domestic goddess. I cleaned out the kitchen cupboards, scrubbed them down from top to bottom and cleaned under the couches (hadn't done this in months). Did you know that spiders wrap their eggs in an almost perfectly round ball of web threads? That was fascinating, but not going to be happening under my couches. I like spiders, but not in my space. Sorry.

We put in an offer to buy our dream apartment which looks out at the highest point in the Emilian Appenine Mountain range. Now this is exciting! We'll know the answer in 2 weeks.

Tuscany

2008-08-05T15:09:00.002+02:00

Now I know why everyone raves about the rolling hills of Tuscany. And they are right. Tuscany is truly beautiful. We drove through to Bologna, picked up Giulio, the American cousin, and family and the six of us started our journey towards Siena. We got to the pretty B & B just after 2pm, checked-in, dropped off our bags and then went in search of the medieval town, Montalcino, famous for it’s Brunello di Montalcino wine. Just outside Montalcino we stopped at a quaint wine farm for a tour of their “cantina” and some wine tasting, we then went up the hill to the historical centre of Montalcino, found the restaurant that was recommended to us by the guide. The food was mediocre, the waitress forgot to bring half the drinks and the owner made up some excuse that she was in love so please forgive her. Then we headed back to the B & B.

Sunday after breakfast we drove the 4kms into the historical centre of Siena. Bought some (overpriced) traditional Siena cakes made by the Nannini family, not only famous for their pastries, but also for brother and sister, Alessandro (formula 1 racing driver) and Gianna Nannini, (famous Italian rock star). Checked out the main sites including the Piazza del Campo, where the Palio horse race takes place twice a year. The next one will be the 16th of August, won’t be able to get back to Siena to see it live, but will definitely watch it on TV with a bit more enthusiasm now.

Lunch time we ate in a restaurant in a little side street just off the Piazza del Campo. Diego’s food was a bit salty and the owner actually asked him if it was too salty (obviously after Diego had eaten everything without complaining). We paid the bill and the owner jokingly said “and you see, we didn’t make you pay for all the extra salt”. We all laughed in a mesmerized, polite kind of way, shaking our heads once outside. Cheeky little man!

Giulio and family went into the Duomo while Diego and I sat outside in the shade, people watching and chatting. A friendly little French toddler decided that my big toe seemed quite interesting, his parents were not amused though. A Dutch family sat down next to us and started munching on their nutella filled sandwiches, admiring the Duomo, saying “dat is mooi”, a couple of times.

We then headed back to the B & B and spent a very pleasant late afternoon at the pool.

Diego asked the Italian/Romanian/Hungarian/German housekeeper/Carabinieri* if she had any suggestions for a good restaurant in another medieval town we wanted to visit called San Gimigniano. She gave us a name of a place but mixed up all the vowels. So we ended up confusing half the citizens of San Gimigniano, but nevertheless found the restaurant owned by Fabio, who also happened to be a Carabinieri AND he gave us a 10 percent discount on the bill. We ate the famous Fiorentina (a huge T bone steak) and Caprese salad and bruschetta. We ate and drank and were very merry.

Monday after breakfast we headed back south to another medieval town called Montepulciano, famous for it’s Vino Nobile and Il Tempio di San Biagio. Stopped at an Enoteca for lunch but remarkably we did not drink any wine. By early evening we were back in Bologna, had pizza with Bice and then said a sad goodbye to the New Yorkers. Hopefully we’ll see them in New York for Christmas.

Back at work today, almost everyone is already on holiday. My company closes for 2 weeks starting from next week. So, doing some odds and ends. I am enjoying the almost deserted office, though.

Till next time. Ciaoooo!

* She had 4 passports, was a full time Carabinieri and part time housekeeper. I don’t think this situation is totally legal, but hey! She was also quite proud to share all this info with us so… who knows?

Hot

2008-07-31T13:24:00.003+02:00

Modena, Italy is not the nicest place to be in right now. It is hot, humid, sticky, sweaty, c'è un'afa pazzesca.

10 things

2008-07-30T12:36:00.002+02:00

1. My SA flag key ring broke. Red, yellow, black, white, blue and green beads EVERYWHERE.

2. Mia, the gorgeous white cat has disappeared. COME HOME MIA, WE MISS YOU.

3. Diego is still coughing and sneezing. Not fun having a fever when it’s 30 degrees Celsius AT 10 O’CLOCK AT NIGHT. Not a happy chappy.

4. My remote for the electronic gate needs a new battery. Discovered this at 8h35 when I was supposed to be at work at 8h30!

5. What a strange day yesterday. Had a bit of an argument with Diego so decided to do some retail therapy (I highly recommend it). After having spent a year's budget on Clarins skin care products I decided to go home, it was getting late and I had forgiven Diego. In the parking lot an irate Italian male was screaming into his cellphone “MA SEI DEFICIENTE! PORCA TROIA! ERO A CASA IERI SERA! SEI MATTA! PORCA PUTTANA!” Loosely translated… he was NOT happy. Then I get to my car and a couple are standing next to their car, the female of the couple was frantically searching for something in her handbag (the car keys I realised later) while the male of the two was pacing up and down, every now and again slamming his fist down on the car. Thanks god (sic) she found those keys! Alice tells me this morning that her husband nearly popped a blood vessel last night too. She didn’t go into detail. What a strange day!

6. Some work colleagues can be so boring. How does one feign interest? HELP!

7. The American family are coming to visit us on Friday. We are going to Sienna. YAY!

8. It’s Luke’s birthday tomorrow. My baby brother is turning TWENTY EIGHT. Wow.

9. In the Italian language there are no words starting with the letter “H”. So, when speaking English, Italians either do not pronounce the letter “H” or they over compensate. So when I heard that a friend of a friend had called her new kitten HAPPY. I cringed. This means the cat will be called either HHHHHappy or Appy. Can’t decide which is worse.

10. My accent when speaking Italian is not much better. It's those rolled R's that get me and there are MANY rolled R's.

SA Radio

2008-07-29T09:32:00.003+02:00

Was listening to 5fm on streaming yesterday. Haven’t listened to this station in many, many years. A guy phones in to recount how super duper his wife is by knocking out girls in clubs, hey, like, because she boxes, ek se! She goes to gym and she boxes (he tells us proudly) and if you had to see her you wouldn’t say so like, hey, because she is blond. Oooookay. (I must say that I have nothing against boxers, my grandfather won a gold medal at the 1932 Montreal Olympic games, ek se!) . Then someone else calls in telling us that he takes 15 minutes to drive to work and for the whole 15 minutes he thinks evil thoughts i.e. suffers from road rage, so the DJ with a nice booming voice says that one day he will run someone off the road, then says, “ok, I’m just kidding, but I will”. Huh? He will or he won’t?

Anyway, when I was 16 years old, there was some call in competition and all you had to do was answer 6 easy questions, I can’t remember all of them, but the question which stumped most people was “who sang the song entitled BEN?” or something like that. I knew the answer was Michael Jackson but nobody was getting it and out of frustration I picked up the phone, dialled the Radio 5 (as it was called then) telephone number and got through immediately, spoke to the DJ Tony (his surname escapes me right now). I won 500 ront and a Coleman cooler! Anyway, this radio station, in my opinion, was and still is targeted at 16 year olds. Maybe, I’ll try some other SA radio stations, how’s Highveld 94.7 these days?

Hectic

2008-07-28T13:00:00.003+02:00

These last two weeks have been quite hectic with visitors coming from Jo'burg, London and New York. My aunty P got quite sick though and left her little bug behind to infect Diego. Apparently there is a powerful strain of the flu going around at the moment.

This is a photo of one of the many sculptures in the Boboli Gardens of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.

Summer Time

2008-07-17T13:21:00.007+02:00

This is Mia, the cat we share with our neighbours. She is gorgeous. When she wants to be cuddled she throws herself over your feet, on her back, waiting for her stomach to be stroked. She is the friendliest cat I have ever seen. She loves people, even people she doesn't know. She is a dog in a cat's body. When we move, I think I'll kidnap her. I've grown quite fond of this bundle of fur.

Some arbitrary pretty sights to be seen around at this time of year.

FORZA!

2008-07-15T12:51:00.003+02:00

On Saturday we went to fetch the new scooter. It's a lot bigger and much more comfortable than the previous one. Our first trip is going to be to the Cinque Terre in Liguria. They say it is impossible to tour the region in a car, the roads are too narrow and there is usually no parking and if you do find parking it costs a fortune. The same for the Amalfi Coast region near Naples. This I can't wait to see! So exciting!

Reality check

2008-07-09T13:20:00.003+02:00

Last night while driving home from work, thinking about what to make for supper, which movie we should go and see, if I should wash my hair tonight or tomorrow morning, Diego phones me. "Babes I am going to be a home a little later, have to wait for an ambulance as there is a guy on the side of the road half dead". -"What?!" Next to the canal, on the dirt road about 1km from our house, a North African Male, probably Moroccan, had either been knocked over by a car or badly beaten up and tossed on the side of this semi-deserted sand road. The Carabinieri said it was the latter. They knew the guy. He was involved in drugs, prostitution etc etc. Nothing like seeing a guy in a crumpled heap, covered in dirt and dry grass, blood oozing from his badly grazed elbows (no other injuries were visible) to bring me back to reality. Of course, I didn't HAVE to make the detour to go and check it out, I could have made my merry way home, but it was stronger than me. I.AM.TOO.CURIOUS. Anyway, he was alive. He had a bad concussion. When he came round, he tried to escape. The cop had to restrain him, the medic gave him a sedative. That night, before going to bed, I triple checked that the door had been locked properly. Sometimes we go to bed with the key on the OUTSIDE of the door. I felt very vulnerable. I had forgotten what that edgy feeling felt like, that edgy feeling that every South African lives with in SA. Not nice!

Bobotie and Melanzane alla parmigiana

2008-07-07T13:11:00.005+02:00

Saturday night A and F, my Italian colleague and her husband, came over for dinner. I have been promising to make them a bobotie for some time. They really enjoyed it. A asked me for the recipe so she could make one for her mom when she comes down from Milano this weekend, so it must have been a success. Just to be safe I made melanzane (eggplant) and parmigiana in case they wouldn't enjoy the bobotie, anyway we ended up eating everything. That was a huge compliment. Italians can be very fussy eaters.

Sunday we took Diego's mom and her sister to an agriturismo in the hills of Bologna. An agriturismo is a kind of restaurant situated on a farm where they produce nearly everything that you eat and drink. And the dishes are generally traditional. The food was outstanding as usual. The wine was exceptional. Realised I had drunk too much when I found myself talking in a very LOUD voice. But that didn't stop me drinking the liquorice liqueur that was brought out at the end. After this "pantagruelic" meal we went to visit Diego's cousin and his wife who have just had a little girl.

Woke up this morning with every intention to restart the diet considering the amount of food I had eaten over the weekend. But the diet has been sabotaged yet again. A Lebanese client of ours sent me a gift of traditional Lebanese pastries. They are sweet and very tasty. Oh well, at least I have a good excuse for today. A dopo bella gente!

Tropea

2008-07-04T13:28:00.003+02:00

This summer has started with a vengeance. It is hot. Last year we went to Tropea, a gorgeous seaside city in Calabria, southern Italy. For days I lived on granita (similar to SA's slush puppy-do they still exist?). We lay on the beautiful white beaches, swam in the turquoise sea. Hard to believe that this piece of paradise produced Albert Anastasia, the notorious "Cosa Nostra" boss and the still very active 'Ndrangheta, another organised crime organisation. The famous Tropea Onion (a type of red onion, sweet and quite tasty) is also produced here. That's what I think I'll eat tonight, a pizza with some Tropea Onion. Che fame!

Wine

2008-07-01T13:05:00.003+02:00

We live on a vineyard in Modena. Nearly every morning it is not unusual to get stuck behind a very slow moving tractor, this definitely happens when I am extremely late for work. Like this morning.

The grapes from our region of Modena are used to make Lambrusco di Sorbara, a light sparkling red wine.

Burp!

2008-06-24T13:44:00.002+02:00

Ok, so because I dragged Diego to see CATS, he dragged me to a BURPING COMPETITION! Apparently it is very famous. I have never heard of it. It's like a big Lusitoland/flea market/beer festival, happens once a year every summer and last night it was packed! The participants in the competition have to burp into a microphone which is attached to a device which measures the power, loudness, strength, force, length etc of the burp (quite a complicated thing this). Anyway, never stuck around long enough to find out who won.

CATS 21-06-2008

2008-06-23T14:07:00.003+02:00

I have always wanted to see this production. When I was in London with Mom about 11 years ago, she had already seen CATS with Luke a couple of years before, so we decided to see Phantom of the opera instead. And sooo, when I saw that they were coming to Bologna , I jumped at the opportunity and dragged Diego a long. He seemed to really enjoy it. The performance was in a huge a stadium seating 5500 people and I only managed to get seats at the back, towards the side, so the seats weren't that great, actually, not really seats, huge concrete steps without back rests. Anyway, at the price they weren't too bad. Next time we must take those little binoculars that you see seasoned theatre goers with, the envy of us without.

2008-06-18T13:23:00.003+02:00

It seems to have finally stopped raining for a while. Apparently it hasn't rained so much in such a short space of time in like 200 years. The canal near our house was nearly overflowing. We even saw some strange lobster like creatures walking around on the embankment. It is quite amazing the amount of life that canal has in and around it - ducks, frogs, fish, nutria (otter type creature, looks more like a humungous rat) and now this lobster type of creature.

I heard an interesting theory the other day on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), from a friend whose brother suffers from this disorder. Excessive cleanliness/fear of germs could be a rejection of society. Trying not to have anything to do with society and therefore when in contact with something external to oneself, there is the need to "wash" it away. And when there is the "rejection or obliteration" of society and others by the person affected with OCD, this person does not compare his/her self to others and the fear of being judged/criticised by others diminshes. Interesting. I once saw a girl on the train who had covered the entire seat and area around her with toilet paper, she did not move for the entire journey which lasted something like 2 hours. It was fascinating to watch. I was itching to speak to her, to find out more about this behaviour. Obviously I didn't.

Lately, I have been having my own OCD moment - no it has got nothing to do with cleaning house that's for sure, am certainly not the domestic goddess, Diego can confirm that -. I can't get enough of Sinead O'Connor's Mandinka. As soon as I get into my car the CD goes on and I listen to this song over and over again. The moment will pass.

11 June 2004 - 11 June 2008

2008-06-12T13:45:00.003+02:00

Yesterday I didn't even realise it, but we have been living in Italy for exactly 4 years. We unknowingly celebrated with some friends in a German restaurant called the Oktoberfest.

When I was a child I knew that one day I would wind up in Italy. A sort of premonition.

When we arrived in Bologna it was hot. A heat that I still cannot get used to. Humid and sticky, night and day. A heat that reminds me of Durban in February. (Give me snow any time).
There was a strong scent of Jasmine wafting through the streets.

And this is what reminded me of our 4th anniversary in Italy. The scent of a big Jasmine bush outside the restaurant as we were leaving close to midnight.

The experience has been mostly exciting and positive, a bit painful at times, a bit "what-the-hell am-I-doing-here-when-I-could-be-in-my-beautiful-South-Africa-with-my-family" at times. Yet I am thoroughly enjoying the journey to wherever we may end up.

My first job was as an English teacher. The "Principal" asked me to go to bed with him. I told him that my husband wouldn't be too happy with me if I did, but ... maybe if he could watch ... The "Principal" went as red as the Ferrari I am sure he didn't own and left me alone after that. I stuck it out for one year and then ventured into the Italian world of "real" work, where I still am today, 3 years later and still enjoying it. A small ITC company doing HR related stuff. At least I'm using some of my Psychology degree.

Had to redo my driver's licence. That was a tiny bit traumatic considering I don't know my left from my right in English, never mind in Italian and having to drive on the wrong side of the road.

Anyway, here we are and I can't wait to see what the next 4 years are going to bring.

Arrivederci.

Dachau

2008-06-11T12:55:00.003+02:00

It was eery how such a beautiful city could have such a terrible past.

We spent the whole day going through the site, starting from how the Nazi's registered new prisoners and ending at the gas chamber and crematorium. Surreal.

We came across a plaque marking an area where some executions took place. The plaque was about 4 metres from a wall and in this space was some dense foliage, but a relatively well worn path could be seen heading toward the wall. So, this led us to think that a lot of people thought like us... maybe bullet holes could be seen on the wall. While searching for some maccabre remanants (that didn't exist anyway as the wall was relatively new), a rather irate German woman comes running towards us, obviously we didn't understand a thing she was saying, but it turns out that she had just planted some "little plants" on this path (which we didn't notice) and that how could we even think of walking there... "is sis vot you do in your country?" she asked, ummm....ja, we live in Italy.... She was incredibly distraught. I tried to explain to her that if there is a plaque and a relatively well worn path leading to the wall, then this will lead to the conclusion we were led to and maybe they should put up sign saying that there is nothing to see and NOT to walk where we had walked. Lesson number one in Germany, you cannot reason with a very pissed off Frau Helga. We finally had to walk away. A large group of Italians were walking towards us, Diego says loud enough in Italian for them to hear "wow, did you see the bullet holes in the wall, a definite must see".

"München mag dich"

2008-06-10T13:49:00.005+02:00

And I love Munich. What a beautiful city. I could so easily live there. We arrived Thursay evening after having to deal with a traffic jam at the Italian / Austrian border and then as soon as we got to Germany "put foot" on the autobahn reaching 200km/h.

The next day Diego had a meeting. I had the morning to myself. Grabbed the map, never let it out of my sight and started to walk towards the Englischer Garten. A park bigger than Central Park in New York they tell me. Sat and watched the ducks and swans for a bit, every now and then reading some stuff about Munich that I had printed off the internet.

The Lenbachhaus grabbed my attention. A Tuscan style villa housing the city's gallery where a huge collection of paintings by Der Blaue Reiter can be found. I have always liked Kadinsky and Klee, so couldn't let this opportunity slip. Trekked about 5 kms across city. It was worth it. I also watched a documentary by an artist called Sarah Morris about the Munich Massacre. She interviewed the police psychologist in charge at the time, it was very interesting to hear his "side of the story".

While walking I bumped into this guy:

"Walking Man, 1995 The area in front of the building on Leopoldstrasse is dominated by the sculpture "Walking Man". The 17-metre-tall, 16-tonne figure by the American artist Jonathan Borofsky, with its dynamic, out-reaching form, stands in contrast to the strictly geometric pattern of the facade behind it. As it strides out, the sculpture gives the impression of striving forward and serves as a symbol for a society geared to performance and dynamism.© Munich Re, Munich"

The next day we went to Dachau. Tell you more about that tomorrow. Ciao!

Modena

2008-06-05T12:24:00.003+02:00

This is the Duomo of Modena in the main piazza. Today is a beautiful sunshine day and what makes it extra special is that Diego and I on holiday. Buon lavoro a tutti!

Sono Italiana!

2008-05-28T14:38:00.002+02:00

Today I became an Italian citizen. I thought that it there would have been more pomp and ceremony, instead we were all ushered into a little room and then called one by one into the vice mayor's office to swear our allegiance to the republic. I was handed a little book to read entitled Costituzione Italiana. The vice mayor told me to read it "con calma". I would have thought that this should have been given to us before becoming citizens. Anyway, it was a painless process considering what I had to go through to get my permit of stay four years ago. I think I will celebrate tonight with some tortelloni burro e salvia and lambrusco. Cin cin.