PANICALE Archives - Page 4 of 17

Let the good times roll…

PANICALE, Umbria – Friday was Good Friday, Sunday was Easter, Pasqua. But did you know Monday in civilized countries is also a holiday? Yes, yes it is. Pasquetta, or little Easter is an official day off/party day/celebration of Spring kind of thing. Panicale handles it by throwing out the first cheese. Ruzzolone is what they call this unique sport where they race a wheel of cheese around a prescribed Race Course. Someone wrote and asked how long it lasts. No idea. It goes on and I’m all about it for an hour or so and inevitably music starts up in the piazza and fickle, next shiny object person that I am, I wander off. Usually the piazza is totally jammed, bands playing music, tables of wine, paninnis, recently sacrificed giant chocolate eggs, all the food groups represented.

These pictures from Monday were sent to us by our good friend Sarah Bowers knowing it would help us get busy and get packing for our trip to Umbria later this month. She reports it is bright and warm every day, with just enough light April Showers to get everything green and flowery. Exhibit A: her shot of the wisteria just starting to bloom by the warm sunny wall overlooking our garden. Non vedo l’ora. This is our favorite time of year in Italy.

If you’d like to see more photos, here’s a link to stories and pictures from a past year

We’re penciling in Padova and Trieste on our trip plans. Never been to Trieste. Any recommends there? Our friend Enrico of Milano who owns Paciarino here in Portland rolled his eyes heavenward and said “Oh, Trieste. You will love it. Greatly overlooked and one of the best best cities in Italy.” (speaking of loving it, my Ravioli Goat Cheese al Pomodoro was stellar. Complimenti, Enrico) If anyone has any Must See/Do things they think we should put on our Trieste list, let us know. So far, the only absolute is Piazza Grande and il Castillo di Miramar, Maximillian and Carlotta’s fairytale castle in the harbor.

We’re really ready now!

See you in Italy!

Stew Vreeland

Ah spring. When the first tiny Fiats pop up.

Midge and her Fiat 500C come out on a spring day

It is a sure sign of Spring in Maine when motorcycles and convertibles peek out from under their winter covers. Last week, inspired by day after blissful day of seventies and sunshine weather, some of us even took the snow tires off our daily drivers. And coaxed their little red Fiat and little green Ape out of the barn where they’d been happily hibernating.

And, of course, it snowed and snowed last night.

But all those early, and fleeting signs of spring, certainly do have us counting the days until we arrive in Umbria. Look out Panicale, here we come, ready or not.

By the way. We ARE ready!

We miss our roses when we are apart. And, in truth they do only come out for a week or two. But what they lack in longevity they make up for abundance and punctuality. They spread out over the pergola in a sea of yellow, regular as clockwork on May Day. And this year, on May first, we’ll be there when they come out.

DO WE HAVE VIDEOS SHOWING WHY WE LOVE ITALY IN SPRING?
WHY YES, YES WE DO:

Here are our Lady Banks Roses on Display on a typical but magical May day a year or so ago in Umbria.

And here is May Day luncheon outside Siena (with our buddy Al Fresco and a few of his fair weather friends) at the Spannocchia estate in nearby Tuscany.

See you in Italy,

Stew Vreeland

SURPRISE VISITOR TO PANICALE

SNOW IN PANICALE! Lots of it. Sunny Italy?

PANICALE, Umbria – Was it really sit-in-the-park-reading-a-book weather yesterday in both
New York and Chicago?
snowmanpanicale6002 AND IT SNOWED IN PANICALE!? And lots of it? Che sorpresa! I saw it on my iPhone weather thing but sort of put it out of my head. We’ve been there for snow storms but its so rare I went into minor denial. Until just now when our friend Katia sent us an email.

Check out Katia’s fine rentals site to see lots of brand new, fun-in-the-snow shots.
They are all from earlier today!

If you have ever been to Panicale, but haven’t yet seen it in the snow, you are in for a surprise. It looks like close to a foot of snow and it looks like everyone is having a ball. Snow ball? Allora. Enjoy!

Holly Daze. Natale Sunday. San Stefano Monday.

BUON NATALE A TUTTI! BUT. DON’T FORGET SAN STEFANO’S DAY… THE HOLIDAY THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
Did you know this day after Christmas is a holiday in Italy? I can relate to that. Christmas is on a Sunday this year and a lot of people are going to wish they had that next day off. In Italy they always do. That day is called San Stefano’s Day. It is like Boxing Day in the British Empire. But rather than being all about presents etc. in Umbria it is all about Tombola. Which is like Bingo. But it has more personality/legend/lore. Every number has a nickname and story to go with it. The Tombola games themselves are fun trip souvenirs, not to mention that they are a good way to motivate your self to learn Italian numbers and counting. And it is a pressure-packed learning device, as you have to be quick hearing the shouted out numbers, quick with yelling your numbers out and actually getting them right. Playing in a town-wide Tombola can be heart pounding exciting for a self conscious foreigner. Well, it was for me! But memorably fun too. If you find yourself in Italy over the holidays, ask around and chances are good there will be a game and it will surely be open to the public. That is what we did one year in Panicale. I played and I won . . . an Italian Hair Dryer. Now, if I only had enough hair to need said hair dryer. Sigh. Oh, well, the girls in the family were happy. And isn’t that what the holidays are supposed to be all about?

Where ever you are, enjoy the moment, enjoy being with who ever you are with and as always, we hope to . . . .

See you in Italy!

Buone Feste,

Stew Vreeland

How about a slice of Italy?

ITALY, NYC–Couple good ways to slice it. One is checking out our friend Steve Callen’s blog. Steve is a film maker from Down Under. He’s chucked it all down there for the moment and is living The Life in Italy. But old habits die hard and the video cam is still grasped tightly in his fist. To our benefit. He’s got a couple video Slices of Life in Italy. One two-parter is him doing a walkabout in Florence. And another one is going on An Explore south of Naples. As Carter said peering into Tut’s Tomb “I see wonderful things.” And his audio capture in Panicale . . . and the story that went with . . . they are able to put me there – on the very Umbrian cobblestones – without pictures. To my mind’s eye, it is a graceful piece of art. And his Spielberg Sighting Story is most excellent fun.

Need another slice? Our friend Shireen got our attention today with a link to an Urban Daddy story about a store that is all Tiramisu. Shireen is ahead of the loop on many things and we look to her for fun trends on all things electronic. She recommends Urban Daddy app and website. They are both pretty slick. We’ll be in Boston a few days next week and we will definitely be using that app there. Addresses, phones, photos, maps, pretty nice.

See you in Italy,

Stew