Our Garden in September–Il Nostro Giardino in Settembre

 

The end of September and I have to admit that with the cooler nights and early mornings along with the temperatures only reaching low to mid twenties centigrade recently that Autumn is with us.

The advantage for the garden is that the cooler temperatures and the little bit of rain we have now had have meant that more colour is appearing.

The orto as far as vegetables are concerned is still not producing much apart from tomatoes which although coming to the end are still ripening. We have also planted some peas, spinach and salad plants which are already up and if the weather stays mild may well give us some crops soon.

As for the fruit well I am ashamed to see how much is going to waste, I will post a photo that shows just how much fruit is covering the ground in our garden at the moment! We have used apples and pears in everyway you can think of and will have plenty of bottled, frozen puree, jams, juice etc to see us through the winter. We have even managed to find a few people who were able to take some fruit but most of our neighbours and friends locally have more than enough of their own.

There are still more apples to harvest, if we want an apple to eat we just pick it off the tree, which is absolutely the best way to eat fruit, the same goes for the last of the figs. We are now eating another interesting fruit from a small tree in the garden that we have been told is edible by the neighbours, never seen it before moving here. The Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, I looked it up on Wikipedia - Jujube and discovered they are believed to alleviate stress. They are certainly tasty enough, they have a sweet almost apple like flavour and we have been eating them straight from the tree. I think now I have read this we had better harvest them.

This afternoon we are going to harvest more grapes as we have discovered that they make a tasty grape juice which freezes well and will be the perfect way of using them for us. We are not interested in producing our own homemade wine as we are gifted with more than we can use anyway from our neighbours. Also to be honest there is so much great wine available at reasonable cost we do not need to.

To repeat myself from last month we may not have had a productive season with vegetables but we have certainly made up for it with our fruit, which luckily we do eat a lot of, well over the recommended number of portions per day for a healthy diet.

It is time once again for me to share some of my favourite garden photos from the last month with you. I always have difficulty selecting just a few so the interested gardeners and photographers amongst you will find the full album on Flickr.  Our Garden in September

Here then is a selection of eighteen photographs from the month of September for you to enjoy.

 

Boundary is just this side of the wires.

Pampas Grass

Nicotania.

Ornamental Peppers

Cerinthe and Golden Rod

Rudbechia

Jujube as mentioned in the text above.

Seedhead

Olives

Apple

Tomatoes

Grapes

Persimmon

More Apples than we were able to cope with.

Rose

Cyclamen

Autumn Daffodil – Sternbergia Lutea

More photos can be found in my Flickr album Our Garden in September

This week as it happens to be Wednesday and these are outdoor photos I am participating for the first time in Outdoor Wednesday.

Welcome to ‘News From Italy’ to the other participants, thankyou for calling by.

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Bolsena – Scenes From Late Summer Strolls–Lago di Bolsena–Part Two

 

This is the second post on late summer strolls that we took while we had friends staying recently. Last week I posted our Stroll Around Marta and wrote a little about how these particular friends helped us decide on this beautiful area when we where planning our relocation to Italy.

Having done the majority of the tourist musts for the region including staying in Roma, when they visit nowadays it is to ‘chill’ that is the expression I believe. We talk, eat, drink and take a little gentle exercise whilst exploring a little more the region they have grown to love along with us.

I always have my camera with me so I can now share with you, some of the scenes we saw on our strolls around three of the towns on the shores of Lago di Bolsena, Marta, Bolsena and Capodimonte.  Want to learn more about these places then just click on the place names, highlighted in blue, which will take you to Wikipedia links with information and other suggested links of interest about these towns.

Today we stroll around Bolsena. These particular friends have already explored the ‘centro storico’ so this walk was around the newer areas. I last posted about Bolsena and posted photos of the older parts plus a video just last month. My last post on Bolsena

 

After our stroll we headed to the beach for a light lunch in a beachside bar, this was the view.

After lunch a further stroll.

 

If you are interested the complete set of photos from our stroll can be viewed in My Flickr Album  Bolsena - Scenes from a stroll

Dishwasher Saga Update

Our Kitchen   Our House Renovations – Kitchen  Clicking on the link will take you to the start of this saga.

It is still not over!

For those of you following my Dishwasher Saga on September 20th I posted the following update.

September 17th We spoke to the office again and were told that it was now repaired and would be delivered back to us, sometime this week. Well guess what we had a phone call this evening and it is due to be delivered tomorrow morning, Tuesday 21st September.

I am quite excited as we have not had one for the last few months, so lets hope it all works this time.

September 10th No further news from the Engineer about the dishwasher, we have spoken to the office. They have no news and promise to ring back when they have some so we wait.   Dishwasher Saga

Today

September 27th Well since the above reports there has been good news, bad news and now more bad news!  September 21st the dishwasher was delivered back to us as promised was tested in situ and all seemed ok, until we got up the next morning to find a large puddle of water on the kitchen floor. Last Friday morning two engineers were sent out to see the what they could do. They did not seem to believe it was leaking until they tested it themselves. After fiddling around and using copious amounts of silicone sealer they left with instructions not to use until the next day to allow it time to set.

As we always use the dishwasher overnight to take advantage of the lower electricity rates it was not tried until Saturday night. Guess what we woke to a wet floor again on Sunday. A phone call this morning elicited the response of ‘Mio Dio’, so now we await another appointment!

This saga has now been running since July 16th and there is nothing we can do about it. Ok we have learnt that Wega are maybe not a great make of Dishwasher, even the engineers have agreed this when we asked them.

We have never heard of this make before and would not recommend it either, however it came as an extra free gift with our beautiful kitchen!

We will certainly be letting the kitchen suppliers know we are unimpressed!

I will be back later with the post that I intended to publish today, but had to get this done first, as I needed to and some of you had been asking.

I do appreciate how lucky I am to have a dishwasher but am beginning to wonder if I need one after all, free gift or not.

Sunday Song – La Nostra Lingua Italiano–Our Italian Language

 

 

 

For my Sunday Song selection this week I want to share with you a recent discovery I made in the final pages (page 289) of La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales which I reviewed here on Wednesday.

This is what she has to say about this song, in the words of Dianne Hales “ in ‘La Nostra Lingua Italiano – Our Italian Language’, written in 1993 and featured on YouTube, the songwriter Riccardo Cocciante  celebrates Italian as serene, sweet, welcoming, universal, generous and sensual, the language of the ancient marble of cathedrals, of boats and serenades at sea, of looks and smiles from afar, of palaces and fountains, of opera and the grand Italian cinema, the language always looking for ‘un po d’amore – a little love’ “

 

Courtesy of Lenore814

Lyrics to La Nostra Lingua Italiana :

Lingua di marmo antico di una cattedrale
lingua di spada e pianto di dolore
lingua che chiama da una torre al mare
lingua di mare che porta nuovi volti
lingua di monti esposta a tutti i venti
che parla di neve bianca agli aranceti
lingua serena, dolce, ospitale
la nostra lingua italiana
Lingua di lavoro e lingua per onore
nei mercati stoffe, gioielli e ori
lingua di barche e serenate a mare
lingua di sguardi e sorrisi da lontano
lingua ordinata da un uomo di Firenze
che parla del cielo agli architetti
lingua nuova, divina, universale
la nostra lingua italiana
Ed è per strada mentre lavora tra la gente
e l’onda dello stadio e l’urlo della folla
in trattoria mentre mangia e beve allegramente
e un sorriso nelle tue labbra di donna
e la tua voce mentre dice "ti amo“
e nei bar di chi si perde in un bicchiere
con chi ha sbagliato a piangere, a scherzare
e in ogni gesto cercare un po‘ d’amore
un po‘ d’amore
Lingua che parla di palazzi e fontane
lingua d‘ osteria tra vino e puttane
lingua di grazia nelle corti e nell‘amore
lingua d‘ amore che è bella da sentire
lingua che canta lungo l‘Arno al mare
fino alla sabbia del continente americano
lingua ideale, generosa, sensuale
la nostra lingua italiana
E un aeroplano che vola
sull‘Atlantico tranquillo
sulla rotta polare o quella delle Antille
una rosa rossa color del sangue
spina di una rosa ti punge e sei sua amante
e una donna snella che vince nella moda
e guida un‘ auto rossa prestigio della strada
poi si sposa con la luce e come un faro
proietta al mondo il grande cinema italiano
il grande cinema italiano
Lingua dell‘opera
lingua del bel canto che canta con violini
e gioca col suo accento
lingua dello spazio e termini in inglese
della scissione a freddo e formule in francese
lingua di pace
lingua di cultura
dell‘avanguardia internazionale
La lingua mia, la tua
la nostra lingua italiana

 La Nostra Lingua Italiana Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/

Riccardo was born on the 20th of February 1946 in Saigon, French Indochina now known as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to a French mother and an Italian father. The family moved to Italy, Rome when he was eleven years old where he has been a successful musician since 1972.  In 1991 he won the Sanremo Festival with the song "Se stiamo insieme", and for Christmas 1997 legendary Spanish operatic tenor and friend Plácido Domingo invited him to sing at Domingo's annual Christmas in Vienna concert, together with Sarah Brightman and Helmut Lotti.

More biographical and career information can be found about Riccardo Cocciante on both Wikipedia and his Official Website it is from these sites and YouTube that I have found out all my information when researching this post.

 

More Sunday Songs can be found by visiting 5 Minutes Just for Me

Buono Domenica a Tutti

Telecom Italia - Italian Advertising Part One - Friday Feature

 

Last week I explained that from today I would be changing direction with my Friday post which since the end of March has been called Friday Foto, from now on it will be called Friday Feature which I feel gives me more scope to try out some other ideas.

I have been thinking of other things to share with you from our everyday life here in Italy, besides my photography and one of the things that came to mind was that I had seen a video of an advert featured on another blog I read.

It is that post that has given me the idea to expand on this theme.

Italian Advertising is something I can share with you all over the world as visual media either in print or on film is usually easy to understand in any language. I thought therefore that it might be fun for you to view some of the Italian advertising campaigns via ‘News From Italy’.

With this in mind I have done some research to see if it was a feasible idea and thanks to YouTube have decided that I could do a series, especially when there are no Sagras or Festas to write about. At times this summer you must have thought our life here in Italy was just one long party!

Television advertising or Commercial Breaks as they used to be called in the UK many years ago are a big thing here on Italian television. I often think the adverts last longer than the section of the programme it has followed! Just like the rest of the world advertising and publicity are of great importance in Italy and millions of Euros are spent in advertising campaigns.

The advert my blogging friend recently posted was an advert from a Telecom Italia campaign starring John Travolta and Michelle Hunziker and as it was this advert that gave me the inspiration it will be the first one I feature.

John Travolta "tries" to Speak Italian

Michelle Hunziker was born in Switzerland on January 24,1977 and is well know to Italian audiences as an actress, model, singer and television personality.

She was married to Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti from 1998 to 2002; they have one daughter together, Aurora, born on December 5, 1996. Those of you who listen to my Sunday Songs will already be familiar with this name, as I have featured him.

John Travolta was born February 18, 1954 in America. He is an actor, dancer and singer who  first became famous in the 1970s, after starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease

John Travolta has done a series of commercials in Italy for Telecom Italia with  Michelle Hunziker. The commercials are silly but funny!  In the most recent one he asks Michelle to teach him some Italian words as so far he only seems to have learnt something that shocks Michelle.

Here is the link to the first episode for which unfortunately embedding has now been disabled. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWrUUUN-UcY&feature=related   Worth watching first if you have time as it is amusing.

Following the link above will allow you to view the entire series so far via You Tube.

The video featured below is the most recent in the series and has this summer been playing on our Televisions here in Italy.

 

stupefania

With thanks to All Roads Lead To Pecetto for the inspiration for this new series of posts.  Thankyou also to her for encouragement to go ahead with this idea.

LATEST NEWS!

For those of you following my Dishwasher Saga on September 10th I posted the following update.

No further news from the Engineer about the dishwasher, we have spoken to the office. They have no news and promise to ring back when they have some so we wait.   Dishwasher Saga

On Friday 17th we spoke to the office again and were told that it was now repaired and would be delivered back to us, sometime this week. Well guess what we had a phone call this evening and it is due to be delivered tomorrow morning, Tuesday 21st September.

The good news is that the dishwasher arrived on Tuesday as promised and it worked fantastic! The bad news is that it leaks leaving a large puddle on the kitchen floor, the engineer is due to visit us yet again this morning.

Book Review - La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales

 

Praise from the first word, if you have a love of Italy and or the Italian language whether you are able to speak it or not, this book is definitely not just a must read but a title destined for your private collection.

I have owned a copy of this book since the end of last year and I have enjoyed dipping into it frequently. I have not until now though read it in depth enough so that I felt able to write a review.

Dianne Hales is an American journalist and published author. She wrote this book as a result or because, in her own words she never expected to fall ‘ madly, gladly, giddily in love with the world's most luscious language.’  but fall she did head over heels. For over twenty years now Italian has become her way of immersing herself into Italy's culture, history, lifestyle and traditions. She shares this love with us in such an engaging manner you will be captivated.

Just take a peep at this list of Chapter headings.
Introduction: My Italian Brain and How It Grew
1. Confessions of an Innamorata
2. The Unlikely Rise of a Vulgar Tongue
3. To Hell and Back with Dante Alighieri
4. Italian's Literary Lions
5. The Baking of a Masterpiece
6. How Italian Civilized the West
7. La Storia dell'ArteA
8. On Golden Wings
9. Eating Italian
10. So Many Ways to Say "I Love You"
11. Marcello and Me
11. Irreverent Italian
12. Mother Tongue

I hope that just reading that list will have tempted you enough, it is the story of how the Italian language came into existence using art, history, music, literature, cooking, films and last but not least amore or love to teach us. It will not matter if you do not know or understand a word of Italian, a love of Italy and all things Italian is all you need. Or maybe if you do not already have that love reading this will will convert you. Learning Italian or want to learn then this is also the book for you as it takes you way beyond vocabulary and all that complicated Italian grammar. As a traveller to Italy whether in reality or virtually, it will also make a great introduction to the places and the people.

In truth I believe that everyone who reads my Blog 'News From Italy' will enjoy this in one way or another. What more can I say really but to recommend highly that you get hold of a copy to dip into yourself. As once you have done that you will definitely I think want a copy on your own bookshelves whether you are a novice or an expert on all things Italian.

Dianne Hales photograph from her website.

Continuing on from this book Dianne Hales launched a Blog Becoming Italian Word By Word where she celebrates the art of living via the Italian language with each interesting and informative post covering a different aspect.

You can also find out more about her by visiting her website  Dianne Hales

Still not convinced you will enjoy this, then please take just three minutes and listen to what Dianne has to say herself here.

crownbooks | 30 March 2010 Author Dianne Hales tells an audience how she came to write "La Bella Li...

Marta – Scenes From Late Summer Strolls – Lago di Bolsena–Part One

 

 

We had friends staying with us last week from England. They are not strangers to this area as they have been visiting us every year since we left the UK in 2004 and first came within months of our arrival, to stay with us in the apartment we rented in Tuscania while we were still deciding if this was the region that we wanted to live in. In fact before we even moved here they spent hours pouring over maps of Italy with us while we considered which area of Italy would meet all our requirements. International airport nearby, lakes, mountains, sea, beautiful countryside and towns with character, which lets face it meant almost anywhere in Italy would have met our criteria!

They have since flown here for a holiday every year while we lived in Vetralla, last year our move to Lago di Bolsena coincided with a new chapter in their lives when they purchased an impressive Volkswagen Camper Van. This has meant that last year and this time they have driven through northern Europe to visit us, combining the trip with exploring with their new found freedom. They are on their way home again now but will be spending ten days or so taking in some undiscovered for them regions of France. So far this year they have spent two months travelling this way and seem to be having great fun.

Having done the majority of the tourist musts for the region including staying in Roma, when they visit nowadays it is to ‘chill’ that is the expression I believe. We talk, eat, drink and take a little gentle exercise whilst exploring a little more the region they have grown to love along with us.

I always have my camera with me so I can now share with you, some of the scenes we saw on our strolls around three of the towns on the shores of Lago di Bolsena, Marta, Bolsena and Capodimonte.  Want to learn more about these places then just click on the place names, highlighted in blue, which will take you to Wikipedia links with information and other suggested links of interest about these towns.

Today we stroll around Marta.

Grotte Ave Maria

If you are interested the complete set of photos from our stroll can be viewed in My Flickr Album  Marta - Scenes from a stroll

For those of you following my Dishwasher Saga on September 10th I posted the following update.

No further news from the Engineer about the dishwasher, we have spoken to the office. They have no news and promise to ring back when they have some so we wait.   Dishwasher Saga

On Friday 17th we spoke to the office again and were told that it was now repaired and would be delivered back to us, sometime this week. Well guess what we had a phone call this evening and it is due to be delivered tomorrow morning, Tuesday 21st September.

I am quite excited as we have not had one for the last few months, so lets hope it all works this time.