Dowd adventures in Bologna

lunedì 31 agosto 2015

Umbria, Monte Santa Maria Tiberina

So we set off to Umbria near the small town of Monte Santa Maria Tiberina (MSMT), about 12 km from Citta Di Castello. We left Bologna on the 4th July, at 38 degrees with Caterina in the back to help us out while we stayed and to help the boys with their homework for summer. I put the town and address into the navigator and off we went, 20 minutes out l realized it was taking us down the coast road, and l had been warned about the traffic, so l decided to turn around and go via Florence, as we turned around the air conditioning seemed to stop, so we tried a few things like turning knobs and tapping the outlets!!. Then l presumed maybe it had run out of liquid coolant, so as we drove along the freeway with the windows down looking for a service station on a Saturday who had a coolant machine. We finally found one, but along the way l had heard a bumping sound, and that concerned me, and the mechanic was also concerned, we waited 30 minutes while he pumped coolant in, but then when we started we heard the thumping again, so he warned us to be careful and gave it a spray of WD45, which did nothing but made him feel better for charging me 30 euros.
So we continued along, with the warm air rushing in and the continous thumping noise and many water breaks and praying. In short we arrived at the property 7 hours later on a 2.5 hour trip . To add to our issues the address we were given and put in the navigator sent us to the top of (MSMT) and l had to back down as the road is very narrow, we then contacted the girl who was letting us in, and she did not know the town, though it is 5 km away, and when we told her could she meet us at the post office she could not, so finally after many attempts we got her to send us her coordinates on whats up, and that led us to her or near. The track to the property was a very rough dirt and rock track that was on a steep incline. And so with the car in near collapse and laden down with luggage and 5 people l revved up the hill and prayed the thumping would not lead to a bang. We arrived at 8.30 at night, the place was lovely.
That night thankfully they had left some pasta and sauce so we made a quick pasta and some bread, and all collapsed into bed, there was no hot water ( dont ask) and so a swim in the pool was best.
We got the caretaker over at 11.30 as the power kept going out, sadly we did not really know about the hot water, it was simply switched off from the power outage, but we had no idea where the switch was, they had 4 electric boxes.
We woke to a beautiful view, and lovely silence, the place was delightful, we had a 14 bed villa and there was 5 of us at the moment, as the Fennessey family had to cancel coming due to work commitments. So in the next 2 weeks we had variuos friends come and stay for a few days.
First week was resonably quiet with Caterina and the boys playing in the pool, we brought a badminton net and played that many times along with water polo, l bought some plastic small soccer goals that made perfect waterpolo goals. We went through about 12 bottles of prosecco the first week, and visited Citta di Castello, after first finding a mechanic who could fix the broken compressor in the car, then that evening as l looked on the internet l found that Honda did a huge recall on compressors as they often broke, so we ended up taking the car from Citta DiCastello mechanic to Perugia Honda dealer. But when we arrived and booked it in he said the warranty had expired 6 months earlier, so 700 euros later we got it fixed. Caterina was a wonderful help as her Italian on these matters was so good, and she and l drived around from mechanics and hire car places, we could not have survived without her.
Our first guests where Antonio and his son Matteo on the thursday to saturday. Second guests where Dino and his wife Christine and his son Eduardo, and they stayed till Sunday. Third guests where Francesca, Dario and Dodo who arrived on the Sunday to Wed. And forth was Stefan who arrived on Monday till Thursday. And finally Emma and her son Sebastian who came on Thursday till when we left on Saturday. So it was a real hotel, with changing of sheets, moving of rooms, but it all worked our perfectly, with no one staying longer than they should. The food kept coming and in the end we drank about 3 dozen bottles of prosecco. We did most cooking and food up in a hut near the pool that had a cook top and fridge, with many trips back top the kitchen in the basement floor of the villa. But we got good at keeping sets of plates and foods up stairs in the hut, and with the outdoor area next to the pool for dining it was perfect.
The villa had 4 levels base floor was the kitchen and laundry, ground was 2 bedrooms with living area, 1st floor 2 bedrooms and living area, and third the same. Jayne and l slept in a building next to the villa with a bedroom living area, giving us a bit of piece as people came and went, leaving Caterina and the boys in the ground floor bedrooms, though the boys preferred sleeeping in Caterinas bed, and who could blame them.
The garden and lawns were terrific lots of room, well maintained, along with the huge pool 12x5 metres, along with the window into the pool from the gym area below. Obviously our guests were warned about the drive and all had some iossue with it, but got up. It was the one failure in the property, and it made you hesitant to leave the place. But we did do a trip to Citta Di Castello as few times, one to see Alberto Burri museum with Francesca, Dario, Stefan, and the kids, another evening we went there for dinner, and another day Jayne and l went to the museum there which is well worth the trip , and of course trips to the supermarket.
We did a day trip to Perugia and visited the museums and they are terrific, Perugia is the capital of Umbria and is a lovely looking town with a grerat piazza and fountain.
We left on saturday the 18th with Emma and Seb and drove via Urbano, the capital of Marche region and went to the main museum there, again well worth it, we have been there before and it is a very impressive town, finally arriving back in Bologna still in a heat wave.

giovedì 2 luglio 2015

School holidays

Well the boys made it through their first year in an Italioan school, and they did a great job. Getting 9 and 10 's for sport, art and religion, much like l did at school, not brilliant in maths but a pass, better than me, and quite rerasonable with 6, 7's in Italian subjects. They were happy to finish, and now begins the 3.5 month holiday, with some homework.
So we started with a trip to Greece, flying into Athens for a night and day, which was perfect to see the Parthenon, and archelogical museum etc, they enjoyed this, the weather was lovely. The next evening we flew to Rhodes and stayed at the Armathus Hotel, which was perfect for us, the boys participated in all events during the day, beginning with bocce at 10.15, beach volleyball at 11, then darts, table tennis, cocktail challenge! with water polo at 3 and then soccer at 5. It was a typical resort hotel, with the biggest selction of foods at breakfast and dinner which the boys and l loved, Jayne not as much. We had great weather, the service in Greece was some of the best l have had ever!! and everyone was very helpful and happy. We flew back to Bologna well fed, brown and happy.
The next day l flew to NYC to work with 8 for 5 days, it was an eventful week with Beth the CEO leaving, Andrew the NZ starting, and an upgrade on the user interface beginning, as well a change back to the SMI office soon. Not much time to do anything, though l got to the Frick collection as a breather, and picked up two paintball guns and equipment we ordered for the boys.
Stayed in the number 1 UN hotel, which had great views of the major buildings of NY and the river and the UN, as well as a hotel called POD 39, which has hotels around the world, very clean, modern and fun, worth staying at if you are in NY.
Returned to Bologna after finding out the Fennesseys would not be coming with us to Umbria, as too much work with all the changes at 8, very sad, especially for all the boys, and that Guisseppi had a medical issue and we have had to move our trip sailing around Sicily to September, which is good actually as the boys are coming now, and the weather will be better than late June.
The boys went to a 2 week tennis camp towards Modena in the hills, quite a famous camp, most Italians who play tennis have been to it as kids. It has about 10 clay courts, a hotel to stay in and other activities to do. Hunter did very well winning 3 out of the 4 championships in the second week, and Ewan doing also well, but has not got the killer instinct that Hunter has, though l know Ewan plays tennis very well, hits it extremly well, but Hunter just studies the game very well and uses his pace around the court.
So they enjoyed that, loved playing around at night sneaking into others rooms and playing about, all tired. They complained that there was not enough food and the extra activities where a bit boring and few. I think the 2 weeks was perfect, and gave Janye and l a week without them, and Jayne another week without any of us!
So we have just had a week in Bologna with the weather heating up, thank god we joined the tennis club with a pool. Hunter had specialists and doctors look at his shoulder that he said was sore, and they all said he has some issue and should not play any sport that involves throwing or hitting, luckily we found a sport doctor who said he was fine and if it got sore to stop, and then gave us the permit for him to play on the tennis camp, and he had no issues except a sore wrist in the last 2 days. Bloody doctors here l feel get their licence from cafes! And the specialists from the gutter!, all over rated and over panicked.
So on Saturday we leave to Umbria for 2 weeks, and though the Fennesseys cant make it we have got a few friends dropping by for a few days through out the time, as we have a 14 bed villa! We are taking Katerina with us who we organized to help with all 5 boys, which are 2 now, and felt we could not cancel her as she had changed things to come, but she will help the boys get through most of their homework, only their reading to do themselves. We have Francesca and Dario, Dodo coming for 3 days, Dina and his family for a weekend, two friends of the boys for 3 days each, so they will have some company, and no one for too long.
We are staying near Citta di Castello which is where Alberto Burri has two wonderful museum's dedicated to his work, also Spoletto is near by, Assisi, Gubbio, Arezzo. The villa has a pool, gym with window looking into the pool, and a large enterainment area, along with the 14 beds. We are taking badminton , cricket, soccer, frisbee and many board games, so we should be right.
So until next time, after Umbria we come back to Bologna, and then a big drive with Megan Hollick up north through Europe towards Copenhagen, so farewell.

venerdì 15 maggio 2015

New York and London

Well how did l forget these trips, we all flew to NYC for easter, the others had never been there, so it was quite exciting. We stayed the first two days in NY, and Jayne and the boys did the circle line boat trip around Manhattan, and visited some museums and Times Square etc. The boys seemed most excited by some of the characters they saw and met on the streets, and the milk shakes at Starbucks. I did some work with 8 in the office, and so caught up with them at the end of the day. Then we had a car take us to the Fennesseys house in Greenwich, Connecticut. We (the boys) had a great time kicking the footy, playing cricket and jumping on the trampoline. It was great to sit around and eat and drink with them, especially after a few hard days working in NY !! We then went back to NYC on Monday afternoon for three nights at the Palace Hotel, which was a treat, thankfully we got a great deal. More shopping and street walking, finally flying back to Bologna.
A week later Jayne and l went to London without the boys for 4 days, staying in an apartment in Notting Hill, which was a great location, and good to stay in another area, We caught up with Mike and Kate Frayne for lunch at Spring restaurant, l went to several great shows, a Goya's exhibition, Diebenkorn, and some aother shows at Serpentime galleries. It was a great trip, with Jayne walking the streets window shopping, and me visiting galleries, l also caught up with Steve Thomson for lunch which is always fun and a good laugh.
While we were there so were the Fennesseys who had to renew their visas, so we caught up with them a few times, with James and l having a few beers one afternoon and watching some soccer with his kids. Like NY it was fun and we had lots of laughs, as well as talking about how huge 8 is going to be. Sue is working very hard on it, as is James with SMI, and so its all very exciting, l love every chance l can get to visit NY and spend time with Kana on the design.

Tim and Jo Edwards visit, and lots of short holidays

Sorry its been awhile, late March we had Tim and Jo Edwards come through Bologna to visit while travelling to Cinque Terra, Rome , Venice and London. It was great to have them stay with us, and get back to having a caffe with Tim, something we did many times in Melbourne. The boys also enjoyed it, as Tim told them about their son Nick and Melbourne Grammar , where they will go soon.
Its always interesting to have friends from Aust come, as it reminds you of home, and you also realize the difference of life, and how we have grow to adopt the life of Italy, and l guess will find it strange when we return one day.
Jayne had her birthday on the day they left, so sadly after l mucked up the dates they missed out on her party here, which was a terrific night, with about 40 people coming along, lots of drinking and dancing, always good to see the Italians taking on some of the Australian habits.
Since then, life has been difficult, with Hunter not being the easiest child to be with, he has now quit soccer, sadly, but we sort of understand as the kids at the club are not friendly and really dont make you feel welcome, and the coaches dont seem to do anything about that culture. Soon he will start tennis, which Ewan has been doing, and doing very well, he plays a solid game, serving and hitting back consistently, and sometimes with incredible pace. He plays with kids much bigger than him, and always steps up to the challenge, but with his usual laid back attitude.
Hunter just had a visit to a specialist, as he has for 6 months complained about his shoulder and hips, it seems he has some issue re developement of bones, and so is highly flexible, so throwing a ball is not good at them moment, and possibly later on he may need an operation, it may have been set off by kicking the soccer ball, and skiing, when he fell over on his shoulder.
Jayne is singing away all the time, and enjoying it immensely, the teachers daughter Katerina, is becoming a babysitter for us, allowing Jayne and l to go to Asolo last weekend, and may be coming with us to Umbria in July. A few weeks ago we went to London for a few days and had another girl, Janna and American look after the boys, so its been good to have sometime to ourselves and get away from the boys, which l think is good for them as well.
Ewan is enjoying school alot, and has made some good friends, though he does not really catch up with them in the weekend, Hunter has not as many friends, but is well liked at the school, though he does not enjoy it as much.
This weekend is open day, and the boys will be aiding in showing off what they have learnt to prospective parents, Hunter is in science, dissecting a plant, and Ewan is playing the piano and some other things.
The boys are becoming very annoying with their apparent love with technology, and all we hear is that they need an iphone 5+ or 6, a laptop. And the play station has now been put away, and their itouchs have also been put away, and only brought out for certain times on the weekend. What of course makes it hard, is that every kid at the school seems to have an iPhone etc.
A couple of weekends ago we visited Le Marche for a long weekend, near the town Saverno, the boys loved it, as it was in the hillside and there was a dog to play with, we had a grewat time visiting the towns around the area.

giovedì 12 marzo 2015

Snippet of thoughts

We just had our very good friends, Leslie and Guiseppe come over for dinner, and cook it for us. Guiseppe lives in Siracusa, Sicily, and Leslie lives here in Bologna. They had been to the fish market in the day and bought some very fresh anchovies and things similiar to mortan bay bugs. Guiseppie deep fried the anchovies in a wonderful flour and spice mix, and the bugs were quickly cooked in hot water. Hunter loved the bugs especially, and the anchoives were something you could eat all night. All this along with a simple green salad, along with a bottle of prosecco and then a Albana grape white wine. Followed up by some local ice-cream, plain, banana, and bacia.
This is life in italy.
Ewan is on a camp to Assisi overnight, which Hunter went on a couple of weeks ago, and like when Hunter was on it, it is quieter.
Today l caught up with Leslie and Guiseppe at Bar Sole, where you bring your own food, and drink mainly wine, it is from the 1400s, which is a bit older than Watsons Wine Bar
Jayne went to Milan to get her passport renewed, as we need it done before we go to NY in a few weeks.
Jo and Tim Edwards arrive in a few days, and 8 was launched this week, tomorrow the app arrives, so far so good, with some good articles in the Wall Street Journal.
At the moment they are digging up Via Ugo Bassi, and Via Rizzoli, and you can see old Roman walls and stone work, along with the old tram tracks that ran into Piazza Maggiore. Sadly it will be all covered over, but is being recorded for history. We hope the road will be returned to stone work , more than bitumen, but l fear it will not for convienence . Apparently they are going to have a tram run up the road for tourist and local traffic, possabily stopping car traffic, which will be great.
All the work in the studio is coming along well, and l sold two pictures to Francesco Cenerini yesterday of the Francesco Church interior in Bologna, they are going to hang in his office.