Bologna is a strange mixture of antique and modern. It's not uncommon to see an internet cafe in a building that is 1200 years old. Like most Italian cities, it was originally set out in a circular plan, with a wall (la mura) surrounding it to keep out invaders with only a few entrance ways. Using my imagination I can picture guards at each gate dressed in suits of armour. Today however, you are as likely to find kids with fringed jackets and slouchy boots (hello, are the 80s coming back?) at the entrance. In fact, today driving through Bologna, we saw an ancient section that looks like a castle. I was properly awed at the history in front of me when my husband casually mentions "oh yeah, that's where one of the biggest gay clubs in Bologna is now. " Like I said, a strange mixture.
In a way the city wall still keeps out invaders, at least by car. You need to have a permit to drive into the centro storico. Unless of course you are on a scooter. I have seen some adrenalin junkies in my life, but never like these Italians and there vespas! We almost killed one today who decided to cut us off at a light. You haven't seen anything until you see a man on a scooter with a cigarette in one hand and a cell phone in another, navigating a roundabout.
One of the most charming aspects of Bologna is the color. Everywhere you turn the buildings are colored either yellow, orange or red or some range between. There are delightful palazzos, towers, statues, artwork, and the famous porticos. The porticos are arches covering the sidewalks. Often you will find frescoes painted on the portico ceilings unexpectedly by simply looking up while walking. My new job is located on Via Santa Stefano, one of the main roads in the city, with one of the most beautiful porticos. I am going to be teaching conversational english at the aeronautic college my husband went to. I was suppose to start already, but due to some bureaucratic confusion (oh, Italian bureaucracy, that's a whole other blog! sigh....) I wont start until October 6th. It's also the road Flavio grew up on, so every time we go there it is like a walk down memory lane for him.
The strange dichotomy of new and old is everywhere. Many people here live in houses or buildings that are several hundred years old. The engineers and contractors here have some unique challenges to modernize them while preserving the historic aspects. At our house for example, there are some pretty amazing attributes: a stone terrace, marble flooring, a vineyard. However, there certainly aren't fiber optic cables, or without the recent major overhaul my in-laws did, even adequate electrical voltage to run a dryer. The clothes had to be hung out on a line to dry every day. It's a chore to update the houses, but I am grateful they did.
I, for one, like modern conveniences!
martedì 23 settembre 2008
martedì 9 settembre 2008
Life in Italy2
In the house in Vado, there is a cuckoo clock upstairs which Flavio turns off frequently because it annoys him. My father-in-law comes in and turns it on again but doesn't set it so it never keeps proper time. There is a grandfather clock downstairs that rings on the hour and on the half-hour, and the town clock bells and the church bells carry up the hill from the village. Flavio says the town priest has always been overzealous with the bells and rings them all the time, for any excuse. Consequently, I hear bells and chimes all day long, but I never know what time it is.
I don't start working until the 15th, so until then I don't really need to keep track except to remember that around one o'clock every day, four important events occur. First, the shops close for about three hours every day at this time for lunch. Second, the first bottle of vino for the day gets opened, third, for those who have gotten an early start on vino, naptime commences. The fourth thing to remember about one o'clock is that the tiger mosquitos start gearing up for the day and so we have to bring out all the defenses. Citronella spray, candles, insense, etc.
Tiger mosquitos started to arrive from Africa this year due to the Italian climate changing and becoming warmer. Nasty little buggers! I hate them and am looking forward to fall which should arrive any day now!
Another reason I am looking forward to fall is that this October, I get to participate in the wine making. I am so excited! When the time comes I will write all about it.
Oh yes, my job. I am starting at the aeronautic high school Flavio went to as an english teacher. It's only three hours a day for now, but I think it's a good start. The school is located smack downtown Bologna, on Via Santa Stefano, which is the road Flavio grew up on. Flavio's friend Patrick works there and pulled some strings for me to get an interview. Apparently there are three other english teachers there but they are all italian and the principal has been looking for a native english teacher who can teach the students proper accents and the nuances of the language. It sounds like it will be right up my alley. Also, Nicholas will be in school everyday until at least 4, so after my work in the morning I can spend my afternoons exploring Bologna.
I have a theory about italian coffee that it doesn't actually have any caffeine in it. How else could a culture drink an espresso after every meal and snack, and still take a nap in the afternoon? Yesterday we took a drive up to a ski resort about an hour away from the house. We took a hike in the mountain in the morning, then stopped at an 'osteria' (rustic restaurant) for a lunch of wild boar, cheese and red wine. Follow up with an espresso and we were ready for a nap after! I had plans to stop in the resort town for some shopping after lunch, but of course, everything was closed for the afterlunch 'sonolino' (nap). What a culture! Americans work way too much!
I don't start working until the 15th, so until then I don't really need to keep track except to remember that around one o'clock every day, four important events occur. First, the shops close for about three hours every day at this time for lunch. Second, the first bottle of vino for the day gets opened, third, for those who have gotten an early start on vino, naptime commences. The fourth thing to remember about one o'clock is that the tiger mosquitos start gearing up for the day and so we have to bring out all the defenses. Citronella spray, candles, insense, etc.
Tiger mosquitos started to arrive from Africa this year due to the Italian climate changing and becoming warmer. Nasty little buggers! I hate them and am looking forward to fall which should arrive any day now!
Another reason I am looking forward to fall is that this October, I get to participate in the wine making. I am so excited! When the time comes I will write all about it.
Oh yes, my job. I am starting at the aeronautic high school Flavio went to as an english teacher. It's only three hours a day for now, but I think it's a good start. The school is located smack downtown Bologna, on Via Santa Stefano, which is the road Flavio grew up on. Flavio's friend Patrick works there and pulled some strings for me to get an interview. Apparently there are three other english teachers there but they are all italian and the principal has been looking for a native english teacher who can teach the students proper accents and the nuances of the language. It sounds like it will be right up my alley. Also, Nicholas will be in school everyday until at least 4, so after my work in the morning I can spend my afternoons exploring Bologna.
I have a theory about italian coffee that it doesn't actually have any caffeine in it. How else could a culture drink an espresso after every meal and snack, and still take a nap in the afternoon? Yesterday we took a drive up to a ski resort about an hour away from the house. We took a hike in the mountain in the morning, then stopped at an 'osteria' (rustic restaurant) for a lunch of wild boar, cheese and red wine. Follow up with an espresso and we were ready for a nap after! I had plans to stop in the resort town for some shopping after lunch, but of course, everything was closed for the afterlunch 'sonolino' (nap). What a culture! Americans work way too much!
martedì 2 settembre 2008
Life in Italy
So to start the journey, Our friends, Jen and Derek drove us to the airport in Miami on Sunday. Jen just purchased my car from me and I actually had a few sad moments over it. I really loved that Jaguar like probably no other car I've had. She told me about her plans to get a personalized plate reading JENSJAG, so I guess that means she loves it too. Sigh, at least it's in good hands.
At the airport, everything was very smooth. No one blinked an eye at our 6 large checked bags (a few of which almost definitely weighed over the limit) and 3 carry-ons. Nine bags total, am I crazy? (Maybe that's a discussion for another day). Nicholas had his very own Thomas the Train carry-on. He was happily walking through the airport singing "chug a chugga choo choo". We were all very upbeat and sailed through security with virtually no hassles. Boarded the plane, sat down and we breathed a sigh of relief. After all the packing, selling our cars, shipping our stuff, etc., the worst was over, right? Well, not so fast. Anyone travelling on an overnight flight with a 4 year old boy should know this word: Benadryl! We were not so bright, and so didn't have any on hand, big mistake. My upbeat, cheerful son remained so for a long, long, long time. Finally he slept about an hour and a half, I slept for one hour, and Flavio didn't sleep at all. Makes for a lovely morning in Rome, right? A 5 hour layover on no sleep accompanied by the energizer kid makes for very grumpy parents!
Arriving in bologna approximately 15 hours after leaving Miami, we got our second wind and started relaxing. There is just something about the mountain air in the hills south of Bologna that can smooth over the wrinkles in a day. Let me describe our home.
Vado is a small town south of Bologna nestled in a valley in the Epinnine mountains. There is only one road in and one road out of the town. Flavio estimates the population as less than 5,000 people. Most of the residents live in the valley, while some live in the surrounding mountains. We live in the mountains about 1\2 mile out of town. Short enough to walk or bike in, but the road up the mountain is a b°°ch! The house is a large stone house, painted "Bologna Red" (a very typical orange\reddish color for the area). It is on the western side of the town, and its possible in fall and winter to look down onto the village. You can glimpse a small portion now, but really the foliage is too thick for a good view. There is a levelled, terrace area in front of the house, with a wall seperating it from the steep decline of the mountain. If you walk down the stairs past the terrace it's possible to walk to the bottom of the property where there is a small river.
Throughout the property there are walnut and chesnut trees, pomegranite, apricot and fig trees, and all sorts of herbs to pick, like rosemary, sage and basil. There are grapes, two sections of the vineyard. At its most productive, the vineyard only produces wine for the family and to give to friends. It's not large, but its beautiful!
There are four apartments in the house. Each one has two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and a large living area. We are occupying one of the top apartments, Flavio's cousin is in another. My inlaws and Flavio's two grandmothers are downstairs, and in the fourth apartment is Flavio's great- aunt. Everyone is very gracious and welcoming. In fact, everyone in the town seems to be that way. I will tell more about the town next time.
Hope you are all well!
At the airport, everything was very smooth. No one blinked an eye at our 6 large checked bags (a few of which almost definitely weighed over the limit) and 3 carry-ons. Nine bags total, am I crazy? (Maybe that's a discussion for another day). Nicholas had his very own Thomas the Train carry-on. He was happily walking through the airport singing "chug a chugga choo choo". We were all very upbeat and sailed through security with virtually no hassles. Boarded the plane, sat down and we breathed a sigh of relief. After all the packing, selling our cars, shipping our stuff, etc., the worst was over, right? Well, not so fast. Anyone travelling on an overnight flight with a 4 year old boy should know this word: Benadryl! We were not so bright, and so didn't have any on hand, big mistake. My upbeat, cheerful son remained so for a long, long, long time. Finally he slept about an hour and a half, I slept for one hour, and Flavio didn't sleep at all. Makes for a lovely morning in Rome, right? A 5 hour layover on no sleep accompanied by the energizer kid makes for very grumpy parents!
Arriving in bologna approximately 15 hours after leaving Miami, we got our second wind and started relaxing. There is just something about the mountain air in the hills south of Bologna that can smooth over the wrinkles in a day. Let me describe our home.
Vado is a small town south of Bologna nestled in a valley in the Epinnine mountains. There is only one road in and one road out of the town. Flavio estimates the population as less than 5,000 people. Most of the residents live in the valley, while some live in the surrounding mountains. We live in the mountains about 1\2 mile out of town. Short enough to walk or bike in, but the road up the mountain is a b°°ch! The house is a large stone house, painted "Bologna Red" (a very typical orange\reddish color for the area). It is on the western side of the town, and its possible in fall and winter to look down onto the village. You can glimpse a small portion now, but really the foliage is too thick for a good view. There is a levelled, terrace area in front of the house, with a wall seperating it from the steep decline of the mountain. If you walk down the stairs past the terrace it's possible to walk to the bottom of the property where there is a small river.
Throughout the property there are walnut and chesnut trees, pomegranite, apricot and fig trees, and all sorts of herbs to pick, like rosemary, sage and basil. There are grapes, two sections of the vineyard. At its most productive, the vineyard only produces wine for the family and to give to friends. It's not large, but its beautiful!
There are four apartments in the house. Each one has two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and a large living area. We are occupying one of the top apartments, Flavio's cousin is in another. My inlaws and Flavio's two grandmothers are downstairs, and in the fourth apartment is Flavio's great- aunt. Everyone is very gracious and welcoming. In fact, everyone in the town seems to be that way. I will tell more about the town next time.
Hope you are all well!
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