Ice Skating in Claut

When it rains it pours. I really shouldn't be taking the time to blog right now, but it's a quick and easy check mark off my to -do list. Plus, we've had a great past week so it's hard not to share since there are plenty of weeks where NOTHING is going on other than the mundane hum drum of every day life.
Lucia ( the mother of Mathilde Anna and Catarina) organized a day of ice skating to Claut for the bulk of Lizzie's class on one of the school days off for Carnevale. First I'd like to reiterate that many Italians in this area speak English. Lucia is so fluent that I'm shocked at how well developed and functional her vocabulary is for a non-native speaker (I'm sure she could out "english" some of our native speakers from back home!). Lucia has gone out of her way to get us involved in Italian life and to introduce us to the other families in Lizzie's class. She also is our homeroom mom for Liz's class, mother to three (one of which is under 6 mos old), and one of those people who never (never) looses her cool. Altogether a wonderful person to be around, and so much fun on an outing like this.
The trip she organized was to Claut, a town about 30 minutes from us, which frequently holds world skiing and curling competitions. http://www.comune.claut.pn.it/ is the Italian site, it translates fairly well through google.

Lizzie and her friends:



The ever elusive Emma:



Moments before a snowball fight broke out on the way home:

Carnevale Parte Due

I've said it before, and have no doubt that I'll say it again, sometimes life in Italy is a touch past surreal. Almost always in the most fun and unbelievable ways possible.
A few weeks ago the mother of one of Elizabeth's friends was kind enough to invite us to be a part of the local Carnevale parades.
Emma didn't want to be in the parade, but did dress up as a nature goddess for the first Carnevale celebration. Liz really is happy to be there, she was just eying the float we were going to ride/be with and trying to figure out what exactly it was.



So here's how a local Italian Carnevale Parade goes: music (American country of course, heavy on the Garth Brooks) blares from speakers set on a tractor rigged to pull a float and disguised as a field of cacti. You, others dressed as American Indians, and others dressed as Cacti (yes-multiple cactus) dance and throw confetti as you walk through a town. I can't really give you all the details as to how many misconceptions they have of us or of our "redskins" -but the shrunken head on a stick that one person carried was really kind of funny. It's all in good humor and fantasy as they are happy to tell you.

Part of our tribe:



The local police obviously have a good sense of humor, a few even danced with us for a bit during the parade.



This float not only had moving eyes, but also a built in beer and wine keg that was serviced by Springefields own, Moe.



After the kind of mileage we did, the thought of having traveling refreshments is pretty appealing. I should mention that several families brought out food and drinks for the parade folk, raisin cake and apple juice was greatly appreciated at hour three of dancing in the streets.

This is the end of the Maniago parade. It was cold, we were tired, and I really appreciate Em, Chris, and some great friends for being such troopers while waiting!



This is from the second parade we did that went from the town of Malnisio, through Grizzo, to the Montereale piazza. You might recognize this town square from some of my other postings, it's quite the social place.



For that parade we were the first float. It was much easier than being back in the pack, AND we got to see everyone else come in while we had giant plates of fried bread and drinks provided by the town.

A perk of Carnevale-plenty of booths set up with goodies like this:



A few of the other surreal moments from Carnevale 2010:

I'm pretty sure that none of the nuns I've known dressed like this, flashed red satin thongs, or were men...Cross dressing (smurfs, nurses, nuns, cartoon characters, ... and fill in the blank) was a big theme this year. (This is the tame picture, the one from thirty seconds later and your eyes would be permanently scarred). For such macho men they have no trouble at all donning a fake set of breasts, a pretty garter, and a high set of heels.



Safety isn't really a huge priority in Italy. They seem to figure that if you are stupid enough to try something, who are they to stop you? Proof in point- this was a moving part of one of the floats. It's a rigged up motorized-tryke thingy with a wood back platform that they've set a kitchen chair on, it has two flat tires , rusty pipes, and three teenage boys hopping off and on while it scoots around.



Being in a Carnevale parade might have been one of the items on my life's list that I'd not known to include. It was a lot of fun, and I can't get over how nice it was for them to invite us to participate.

Here's Liz and Mom : happy to be included, and happy to be done for this year!



Casa James is always open for guests, but if you haven't booked your stay yet, Carnevale 2011 is only a year away.

Liz's first mini-basket game

The first go around we had with Mini-basket games ended up being more of an exposition. This week Liz had her first actual game. They did it as a skill game, then groups of three-on-three.

Here she is dribbling around cones:



Her three-on-three grouping. We all think the other team brought in fourth graders as ringers, those kids were huge!



Liz guarding the goal:



The Vajont team put up a good fight and it was a good set of games. Coach Eric, and the other coach, are great with the kids. Liz is already planning her HS and College Basketball careers, we'll be fighting off the recruiters soon.

Oh Carnevale, will I ever get all the confetti out of my hair? Part 1

Part 1 you ask? Yes, part 1. Carnevale lasts 2 solid weeks here in Bella Italia. If you choose, each day can be filled with nearly non-stop partying. THE carnevale is, of course, in Venezia. With all that we have had going on we chose to experience our local Carnvale only this year. Here's more info on the Venice tradition http://www.carnivalofvenice.com/area.asp?id=4 .
It started last weekend with San Leonardo's Carnevale. Chris had taken the girls down while I worked on homework. San Leonardo is a small (I mean really small) town but as I walked down to meet them I was a little concerned with finding the building they were in for the childrens indoor party. I shouldn't have worried, "Sweet Home Alabama", sung with all it's Italian infused glory, was blaring out of the building behind the main church. They had a great cover band doing their very best to sing American songs, tons of food and cake, vino and plenty of confetti.

Principessa Elizabeth:



Band:



Can you see all the confetti? It's a kids dream come true.



Liz chose to wear one of our princess costumes this go around. Emma opted out of going. I guess a bunch of under 10 year olds and adults throwing things at each other was not her idea of a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon, go figure.



When the party is wrapping up they give out gifts according to the ticket you got when you came in.



Liz got a bead kit, she was a little excited about it.



Since Chris was going out of town, we did our Valentines day celebration a little early. And since I am repeatedly told that I don't have any pictures of myself on the blog....here you go, Chris and I on our way out to date night.



Stay tuned for Carnevale Part 2, the parades.....

Pisa and Livorno

Originally we planned on taking the three day weekend for Pisa, Florence, and Volterra. In the end we decided we didn't want to rush Florence, it was much nicer to enjoy the drive through Tuscany and spend some time in the other two towns. Plus, Florence rates a trip of it's own. Here's the view on the Autostrada:





Passing the Ferrari may have been one of the highlight of Chris's trip.
Pisa was much more beautiful than I had expected. I really thought it would be a chance to mark something off the travelers to-do list then move on. Instead we thoroughly enjoyed the Duomo, Tower, and Baptistry. The art and architecture were breathtaking and the Saints mummy was a perk for the kids. We missed the Camposanto, but will be sure to make it next time.

Sorry, but you just have to have these pic's somewhere in your album.



The exterior of the Duomo.





More of the tower.



And the entire Campo dei Miracoli.



We also hoofed it down to the University of Pisa, where Galileo taught. That may have been one of the highlights of my trip. It is just so cool to stand in the spot where so little has changed, and imagine all that has gone on there.

We're pretty sure this is a former Medici palace, next to the University. It was too cold to try and find out for sure. It wasn't too cold to sample some of Italy's best gelato, but we all decided that Pisa warrants a summer trip.



We stayed in a cabin at Camp Darby. It was pretty neat with an interior completely of wood. It was a little on the brisk side, but to make up for it there was a shower complete with about a 12 nozzle back massage area.



That night we drove into Livorno and had one of the best meals at a little place on the beach. The kids were great as usual even when confronted with a dinner of HUGE ( I mean sea monster size) shrimp in a scampi dish for dinner. They may have spelled it wrong, but we still had to get a picture of the place down the street from our restaurant.



Livorno looked like a great little town, you can even see the lights of Corsica from the beach. Ah, I can't wait for summer!

Volterra

We made it into Volterra on a market morning, which means the city was packed to it's edges with vendors and buyers. Emma managed to score some really cute boots out of the deal, but it kind of hampered our sightseeing for the morning.

Volterra may have recently gained fame as the city of the Volturri in "Twilight" but it also happens to be one of many Italians favorite small cities. It was an Etruscan city prior to the Romans occupying it, and there is a great deal of history for such a small space. In fact they are considered to have the third best Etruscan collection in the world, right behind the Vatican and the British Museum. In addition to jewelry, surprisingly advanced tools, and other artifacts, the Etruscans left behind a great deal of funeral urns, hundreds of which are housed in the Etruscan museum. The Etruscans were known for their remarkable blend of cultures and "modern" art of the realist style.

Some of the funeral urns.



This is the ceiling of the stairway rotunda in the Etruscan museum, the detail was incredible.





This Roman theatre lies on the edge of town perfectly positioned to be a dump when out of commission, which is exactly how it managed to be preserved until the past century. You can see the levels of entrances on the stage. The first floor was for humans, second for heros, and the third (now missing floor), was for gods. Behind the theatre are also Roman baths which are being excavated. All this overlooks a Tuscan valley, truly beautiful.









Prior to Volterra gaining popular fame as a vampire hangout, it was still known as a city of the dead. Partially because of the Etruscan urn trade. It's naturally situated for carving near alabaster mines, as well as marble mines. The city is full of alabaster workshops.





At the TI center in the middle of town they have a canvas "wall" for Twilight fans. Emma has now been immortalized in Volturra. They are doing pretty well cashing in on the new tourists, even offering a 25 euro "Twilight" tour, we passed.



This is the "Twilight" doorway in the Piazza. If you've read the books, you'll know what I mean.

















This is the Etruscan arch on the edge of town. You can see how worn the sculptures are. This arch was so important to the town that during WWII when the Nazi's wanted to blow it up the townspeople ripped up the street under it and blocked the arch so that it wouldn't be a viable roadway, and therefore not important enough to bomb. The idea worked, and after the Nazi's were ousted the townspeople uncovered the arch and replaced the paving stones. Just another layer of history in this town that has been occupied for at least the past 3,000 years.











As an interesting side note the town has also converted a Medici palace into an ultra high level prison for Mafiosa from the south of Italy. It holds only about 16 "residents" at a time. The idea is that in the north they are separated from any connections they may have, and the guards and employees can't be as easily influenced.

All in all it was a beautiful, typical Tuscan town. We really enjoyed seeing all the sights and experiencing all the history.