Archery

My husband is an archer. Behind the house we live in there are mountains to climb, where he used to shoot wild boar, deer and capriola. We walked up yesterday to check out the Archery club who's lands are at the top of the mountain, and to our surprise Flavio found some old friends he used to shoot with. We spent the afternoon teaching Nicholas and me to shoot a bow and arrow. It was great! He actually managed to hit the target a few times (me too!), but more important, he loved it.

Part of me is thinking, "put a bow and arrow in the hands of a four year old? Are we nuts?" but another part loves the idea of him getting involved in a precision sport where he can spend time outdoors. For me there is a romantic aspect of it. It makes me think of the scene in Lord of the Rings when the elves dressed all in white came in to the battle at the critical moment to save the day with their arrows..........in fact, my husband kind of looks like Orlando Bloom. Well, maybe a bald Orlando Bloom, and maybe if the sun is behind him, and maybe if I squint.................
On our walk back, we saw a young lynx chasing a neighbors house cat. The house cat got away, but it made us think about our own lazy American cats that were kept inside for most of their lives and have only just recently started to experience quasi-freedom, so we hurried home to check on ours, but they were fine. Our property is fenced and there are two dogs and five cats that live here. I think if a lynx or other predator got in we'd here about it from the dogs. At least I hope so.

A little bit about Cortina. About a month ago I posted pictures from the Alps but I didn't write anything. The Alps of course are stunning and I'm not going to embarass myself by trying to describe them, but I can tell you about the towns. Cortina is a resort town, with designer stores, celebrities, etc. It is called the "Aspen of the alps". The architecture is georgous! They paint directly on to the buildings and use wood facades with intricate carvings.Dobbiaco is another town in this section of the Alps, which is called the Dolomite Mountains. It is close to the Austrian border, so it has both a German name (Toblach) and an Italian name (Dobbiaco). The people who live here consider themselves Tyroli. They have a certain amount of legal and economic independence, and they don't really think they are Italian. They also speak a different language, Ladina. This lanquage has evolved over the years from a combination of vulgar latin and german influence.

Emilia Romagna

There are 20 regions in Italy. A region is like a province or a state. The city of Bologna is in Emilia Romagna, which occupies the north-central portion of Italy. It is south of the Po River, and north of Tuscany. The eastern border is the Adriatic Sea and in the west it borders the region of Liguria (where Genoa is). There is also a small country located within the borders of Emilia Romagna, the independent republic of San Marino. I haven't been yet, but for some reason I am fascinated with the idea of a small country located nearby. Picture Kentucky deciding to become its own autonomous country, how weird would that be? Ok, maybe not the best example.....

But, I divert. On the culinary front, Emilia Romagna is most famous for inventing Lasagna, stuffed pastas including Tortellini and a smaller kind of tortellini called Cappelletti (yes, we are named after a pasta!) all served with broth, cream, or the famous Bolognese Ragu. Parma is another city in Emilia Romagna which produces the famous Parmigiano-Reggiano. They also use a lot of pork products like Prosciutto and Mortadella (sort of like the bologna you find at the deli). The city of Modena is also the home of Balsamic vinegar.

Amongst the pasta dishes, which include lesser-known favorites like passatelli and garganelli all’uovo, there is a pasta called strozzapretti. Literally translated, this means "Priest Strangler". According to local lore, the origin of the name goes back to the tradition of the wives preparing this type of pasta for the local priest, while their husbands hoped the priest would choke while he was eating it.

I'm finding that most of Italy has a love-hate relationship with the Church. For many years the Vatican has fought with local governments and rulers for control, and even now there are some areas that harbor resentment towards the Papacy. For example, take Rimini. Rimini is a beach town on the Adriatic ocean about 2 hours from Bologna. It is the place to "see and be seen" in summer. The entire city of Rimini was collectively excommunicated by the Pope around twenty years ago, because of the immorality of the so called Divertimentificio (fun-factory). How do you think they view the Vatican now? While a few are attending mass, others are enjoying a healthy plate of strozzapreti!