About mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Mother, Grandmother, Teacher-Traveler, often packing or unpacking, esp since 4th COVID jab.

More Holy Week, even a Running Madonna!

Posted on April 23, 2013 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Dear Ceci, Finn, Gus, Kieran, and Mary –

I can see from Facebook pictures that you had fun on Easter (even Mary, who had a bad cold?). When we Skype, you must tell me all about it.

I already wrote you about Easter @ Auntie Elizabeth’s studio in Cianciana, but I couldn’t fit in everything. Today I’m going to back up and tell you some more about Good Friday, the day we remember Jesus died.

During the morning and afternoon of Good Friday, the townspeople walk in a long procession to a hill, called Monte Calvario, at the edge of town. These photographs are from there (click on each one, and you can read a little more).

Monte Calvario, after the Crucifixion (the man who has carried the cross up this hill has left, and this statue has been nailed to the cross). The statue of Mary, with a long black veil and a silver heart pierced with swords, has also been put up next to the cross.

Gaetano, leaving Monte Calvario (DO YOU REMEMBER HIM FROM THE PASTRY SHOP?)

On Good Friday night, the men you saw walking down from Monte Calvario return there. They take the statue down from the cross, place it in a glass coffin, and carry it down, through the town, to the main church. It all happens very late at night. That is one reason I didn’t go (but I heard them!).
The other reason I didn’t go is that IT TAKES THE MEN CARRYING THE STATUE 3 HOURS! Here is a video someone else made. You probably don’t want to watch the whole 5 minutes, but a minute will give you an idea of what I heard. The “Lamento” is the very slow song they begin to sing a minute into the video – listen. I think you’ll hear how sad it is.

Can you guess why it takes the men 3 hours? They walk 3 steps forward, and 1 step backwards, the whole way, the whole time carrying the statue.So, Good Friday is very sad, and Holy Saturday, too. Everything just feels empty. And then at Mass on Holy Saturday, as I wrote before, there is great excitement, and the bells ring, celebrating the resurrection.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!

At noon, in the main street, everybody in the village goes to watch for 3 statues:
the Risen Christ (San Salvatore)

Mary (Madonna), and St. Michael, S. Michele,
perform the last Easter scene. Three times, the d’Angelo family men carry their family’s angel statue from from S. Salvatore down the street to…

I will see some of you next week, and I already saw Mary this weekend (so big! so loving to talk!), and will see her in a month. I can’t wait!

Love,

E.B.

SUN & SEA & FOOD in Sicily

Posted on April 11, 2013 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

We stopped for lunch along the Ionian Sea. Our waiter said this calamari had just been caught today. It tasted delicioius — so fresh!

(Click on thumbnails to enlarge)
Dear Chloe, Ceci, Finn, Gus, Kieran, and Mary –

I am writing this to Chloe Schmidt, too, because it’s her grandma I’m travelling with, and I’m pretty sure Chloe would like to see where her grandma has been this week.

If you look at a map of Sicily, you’ll see that it is surrounded by water. It is an island very near the bottom of the “boot” of Italy. We have been traveling along the coast of Sicily. This means we have been driving along the sea and through tunnels and over mountain passes, to see all the beautiful towns and cities. Today we passed the volcano, Mt. Etna. Do you know about volcanoes? If not, be sure to ask mom or dad. Look closely at this picture, and you will see the smoke from the small eruptions that have been coming from Etna this week.

Yesterday we went to an outdoor MARKET. It was as big the Fairgrounds and sells everything, from small animals to all kinds of food and clothes, to toothpaste and bracelets.

Bunnies and birds were for sale at the market.

Spidey at the market!

Peggy wished we had a kitchen yesterday, because she is a great cook, and the market had amazing seafood.

We just arrived in Cefalu today. It probably looks a little like Florida or Mexico to you. To us, it seems like the most beautiful place we’ve visited in Sicily. Here is the picture I just took from the balcony of our little apartment:

BUONA FESTA!

Posted on March 31, 2013 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

(Click on thumbnails to enlarge them)

Dear Ceci, Finn, Gus, Kieran and Mary,

I know you are really busy on Easter, and the days leading up to it, too. Here in Cianciana, where I’m staying in Auntie Elizabeth’s Studio, things are also busy, even though Easter morning began very slowly here, with this sunrise outside the window. It’s actually two doors, with windows, and they open onto my little balcony, so I was able to stand outside the window to take this photo. :

Sunrise, Via Catania

One thing I noticed is that everybody has been cleaning, during Holy Week! They throw rugs over their balconies, and then beat them with a broom or stick. Also, I’ve noticed much more laundry handing out during Holy Week, than during other weeks.

The village’s main street is the widest, so it’s the best place to hang laundry.

On Good Friday, many children in town were in the big procession and play that take place every year on this day.

Cianciana Children, waiting for Jesus.

At the main church on Good Friday, a huge statue of Jesus was laid on a bed, and on Holy Saturday night – in the middle of Mass – they took it off the bed, and then this statue appeared over the main altar:

At this side altar, where I go every morning, everything is all set for the great feast. Do you see what’s woven into the rug? Look carefully!

Agnello Pasquale

No Easter bunnies, here, but Easter lambs! In fact, sweet ones are baked and sold in all the pastry shops in Cianciana (and all over Sicily – and Italy, too!). These delicious little cakes have marzipan and pistachios inside them. I went to my favorite pastry shop and asked for one. The owner, whose daughter lives upstairs over the pastry shop, makes these Easter Lambs. Here is Gaetano, carefully wrapping up my Easter Lamb:

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And here are the lambs, made by Gaetano’s daughter:

Easter Lambs are very, very sweet, believe me. If you five had been here, I could have shared mine with all of you, even baby Mary, who, I hear, is sometimes eating solid food! I miss you all. HAPPY EASTER!

Love, E.B.

Kids’ Feast!

Posted on March 19, 2013 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Hi, Ceci, Finn, Gus, Kieran, and Baby Mary – I miss you, both families, EVERY day, but this afternoon I thought of you especially, when I went to the celebration of St. Joseph. YOU WOULD HAVE LOVED BEING HERE, I know!

Many of the houses had these carpets with a photograph of St. Joseph hanging over the railings of their balcony.

Palms & Oranges for S. Giuseppe

The main street was lined with palms that looked as if they were growing oranges!

WHAT are these girls looking at???

ANSWER: BARBIE DOLL BALLOONS!

I think you would have liked some of the food, too

VERY spirited horses lead the Holy Family

I always thought Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus were on a donkey, during The Flight Into Egypt, but today, it was a horse – in fact, 4 horses. Well, who knows, maybe the Holy Family had a horse? Anyhow, I’ll post a short video (of the horses) on FB –

The Holy Family minus Jesus (at least I didn’t see him anywhere)

The priest spoke (I have a video for Facebook, because it won’t work on this page). After that, people went up and had some of the special bread for the day. I was in the morning procession, where we picked up the bread and marched with it to this altar on the main street of the village!

Hair!

Finn, Gus, and Kieran, this one’s for you —

Love,

E.B.

Lunch!

Image

Hi, Ceci, Finn, Gus Kieran and Mary. Today I walked to the village. It is very busy, full of honking horns and mooing cows.
These men were making huge stacks of pancakes for lunch. I think everyone (maybe not Mary, yet) would like them.

One day

Posted on June 11, 2012 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Hi, Ceci, Finn, Gus and Kieran!

I remember when Finn said, “You will be away for three months? That’s a long vacation, E.B.!” Like Ceci, Finn, and Gus, I’ve gone to school, but I also have a lot of vacation time. I will tell you about what we did one day this week after school

My teacher’s son, Ammon, had his 10th birthday party, and Ann and I were invited. I have been to many children’s birthday parties, but this one was very different for me.

Mommy and daddy know about French children (there was a book about them recently). Like the French, Italian adults seem “nonchalant” (mommy or daddy can explain!) around their children. Keep reading, to see what I mean.

When it came time to open his birthday presents, Elettra set them all on the ground, and Ammon just tore into them! He had great fun and received some wonderful gifts. I could tell he liked all of them: a large set of colored pencils, a big picture book about mythology, a nice pair of shorts; our gift – a Lego action figure – he really liked, too.

This video shows Ammon (dark black hair) and his pal Julio; they want to put together the action figure, so Ann is trying to open the plastic bag. His mother, Elettra, is there (her mouth is full of delicious Birthday Tart!), and so is Mauro, the director of our school. We really like Elettra and Mauro, and it was fun seeing them outside of school.

After the gifts, some of the kids grabbed pieces of the strawberry-and-cream birthday tart, but most of them preferred the tart topped with Nutella. For the rest of the party, they were around near us, or ran around the park, playing on their own. This short video shows one of the games they made up. Can you tell what they are doing?

The adults stood around chatting and eating tarts. Mauro had brought drinks. They were in recycled water bottles, so when he poured me a glass, I thought I was drinking bottled water…until I tasted the cool, dry white WINE!

We knew it was time to go when we saw Ammon’s little brother, Emilio (he is your age, Finn). He had fallen asleep in his mommy’s arms.

On the way home, we stopped to watch 2 alfieri practicing their flag-tossing. We have seen them and the other Siena alfieri many times, marching and twirling their flags. They have always been in their costumes. These are the two main flag-throwers for their contrada, which is called Onda, or “wave” – their colors are blue and white. About 30 other Onda alfieri march in front of them in the parades we have seen. The alfieri all start practicing when they are very young, about Ceci’s age, hoping to become THE BEST, like these two.

In this picture, they have just thrown their flags in the air. Sometimes they threw them way over the heads, other times they passed them under their legs, like daddy with a basketball. And they never missed! Their coach was sitting on the side. He seemed happy with their work.

Walking across the city to the apartment, we decided to stop for a gelato. It was time for the Passegiata, the time after dinner when everyone in the city goes out for a walk. I think mommy would like these shoes, don’t you?

A wedding had just taken place, too, so the bride and groom came to the Campo, Siena’s main piazza. The groom (pink jacket) is drinking a Spritz, a drink that Ann and I often enjoy on the Campo in the late afternoon.

As we ended our walk, we passed through the contrada where we live. It is called Selva (it means “forest,” and its colors are green and orange and white). They were having a party to open the contrada garden, so we joined them.

“La Mille Miglia”

Posted on May 20, 2012 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Hi, Ceci, Finn, Gus, and Kieran!

This week in Italy there is a big auto race. Well, when it started in 1927, it was a race. These days, it is more like a car show, driving from the city of Rome to the city of Brescia…and back again. By the end, the cars have gone nearly 2 thousand miles!

Of course, we wanted to see all the cars, especially the really old ones, called “Vintage” cars. We decided to go to the laundromat because we knew the cars would be driving down that street!

In this photo, I am hurrying out of the laundromat with my camera. I was afraid I would miss the cars! Can you see the “1000 Miglia” flag falling out of my purse?

Many others wanted to see the cars, too. Several people waited with us on the street.

A big crowd waited in Siena’s main piazza, called The Campo. It’s where the great bareback horserace takes place on July 2.

I’ll tell you more about that race another time, but NOW FOR THE “MILLE MIGLIA” —

First, we saw about 75 Italian, German, and British cars that looked like ones some people drive today.

Some of the cars looked the ones in “Cars”

I think Dad, Uncle Matt, and both Uncle Toms would like some of these, don’t you?

This green Porsche was the first of the Vintage cars to arrive.

It was the most fun I’ve ever had doing laundry!

Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner!

Posted on May 10, 2012 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

Hi to Ceci, Finn, Gus and Kieran!

You will be celebrating this special week with Grandpa Tom ( I just saw a great video about his St Thomas award). Probably you will eat lots of his 70th birthday cake with the cousins, too.

This has made me start to think about food you might like here in Tuscany, so I will tell you about some of it.

In the morning when I am out walking, I often stop at Caffetteria Diaccetto. I usually just have an espresso, but sometimes I have one of these pastries.

When it is hot in the afternoon, I usually have some gelato from Grom’s. Here is the list of May Flavors. You can read some of them, Ceci, and mommy or daddy can tell you the others. I am still trying looking for a flavor I don’t like!

We usually eat lunch at home. Mommy would love the salads we make here! Artichokes are in season, so we have them chilled. Eggplant is in season, so we have it grilled (on the stove – no oven!), then sometimes we chill it and just eat it cold, later in the day.

Sometimes we make dinner at home, too. Last week I made asparagus and gorgonzola risotto.

About a week ago, our Italian class and Ann and I made a special Siena pasta called “pici”. We mixed flour and water and a little oil, then stirred for awhile. After that, we took little globs of the dough and rolled them into worms.

LOOK…!

Finally, we boiled the pici, poured on some olive oil, then sprinkled it with cheese

Last week our friend Megan came to visit . We went to a very small restaurant called “La Torre”. All ten tables are right next to the kitchen. It would be like knocking down your wall and stairs — so you could watch dinner being made from the dining room!

The owner was very funny. He told Megan she should order the ravioli with butter and sage. She did not, but I did, and it was incredibile.

I also ordered fish.

When we finished, the owner came over and WITHOUT LOOKING AT A LIST OR A MENU, told us everything we had ordered, from aperitivo to the last espresso! Then he went to the bar, which is right next to the kitchen, where his son was having a drink. At the bar, he figured out how much our dinner cost. You can see them both in this picture. The dad looks angry, but I think he is just trying to figure out the cost of our dinner.

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Yesterday, we drove into the mountains to visit the town of Volterra.

It is famous for alabaster. It is sort of like marble-top table in our entryway in St Paul. One difference is you can often see light shining right through alabaster! The photo at the top of this page shows a craftsman finishing a small vase he had just created. I took this 30-second video while he was still working on the vase.

For lunch we had Torta di Ceci. Yes! “Ceci” is another way to say “garbanzo beans”. The Torta is thin like pita bread, and made with ceci flour, then filled with mushed-up cecis!

The pizza chef mixes everything in a pan on top of the stove.

Then he bakes it in this brick oven.

It is very crispy on the outside, and gooey with ceci beans on the inside. I know you’d love it…

(I REALLY DID!)

Hi from E.B. to Ceci, Finn, Gus, and Kieran!

Posted on April 20, 2012 by mebtravelling - West to East, then back to the West, then --

On Thursday – for my birthday! – we visited a city near Siena. The city is called Montepulciano. Ceci can ask Mom or Dad how to say the name of the city (it is much harder than “Siena”). Anyhow, it sits on top of a mountain made of volcanic rock. It is a very old city.

In the little slideshow below are photos of what I saw on the road to Montepulciano:

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Montepulciano is a very steep city. As we walked, we saw many stairs going up to other streets. On the stairs we even saw flowers like ones in Minnesota. Do you recognize them?

Each neighborhood or “contrada” has its own mascot and flag. Can you tell which animal this one is?

We visited a MOSAICS school, where people learn how to make this kind of art. If you click here, you can read about how mosaics are a very, very old form of art. Italy has many mosaics as decorations in churches and other big buildings. Today, some people buy smaller mosaics, like the one I saw in this school.

In these bowls are the small pieces of glass that are used to make mosaics:The teacher was working on a mosaic when we visited. Look how fast his hand moves when he is working!The shop where he works in the school is very cold, so he wears a heavy jacket – and a baseball cap!This finished mosaic looks like a painting, doesn’t it? It took the artist a long time to fit all those pieces together to make this mosaic.As we walked through Montepulciano, we saw this “Pulcinella” on top of this clock tower. He strikes the bell every hour!

Here he is again:Next, we visited a shop where a man named Cesare (“CHAY-zuh-ray”) makes kitchen pots and pans and decorations of all sorts — out of COPPER!

In this picture he is explaining how he makes this special copper scooper for a chef in New York City. Do you recognize the drawing below the copper plate?

A few years ago Cesare made a special copper picture for Pope Benedict.

He also made this copper bowl and these copper grapes. Then he turned them into lights for the ceiling!
Ann told Cesare that her grandfather had been a coppersmith when he lived in Italy many years ago. She spoke to Cesare in Italian, and he understood her!
As we left the coppersmith’s shop, we passed a church called San Agostino. In English it is “St Augustine”. Gus, that means it is your church! Ask mom and dad to tell you which is St Augustine:

After San Agostino, we walked to Gattavecchi, which means “Old Cats” in Italian. It is also the last name of a very important family in Montepulciano. The town is famous for mosaics and copper, but even more famous a special wine, Vino Nobile. This link shows photos of the wine cellar of Gattavecchi. It is nearly TWO THOUSAND YEARS OLD.

These barrels for Gattavecchi’s Vino Nobile are located way down under the Cantina.
Look how worn these cellar stairs look! It’s because they are very old. They are part of an area that used to have Etruscan tombs. The Etruscans lived in Italy a long time ago, before the time before Jesus. I took this picture from down in the cellar, looking up to the main room of the Cantina, where people go for wine tasting.
We had bread soaked in olive oil.
The Vino Nobile of Montepulciano was delicious!
After the Cantina, as we walked along the road towards our van, I saw these two statues in the front yard of a house: