Marian's Christmas Roses

Each Christmas season, everyone at our house looks forward to these Christmas Pastries. My mother-in-law called them "roses". They are a variation on the traditional Neapolitan Christmas treat called Struffoli. It's the same ingredients but the technique for shaping them into flower shapes was handed down from Bill's mom

KNOCKERS

We started taking pictures of door knockers almost from the moment we arrived in Italy last March. Everywhere we went, we'd see a new design that we hadn't seen before, as well as lots of repeats.....particularly Egyptian women and lions.

But that hand hanging on the door was really creepy and we became obsessed with finding new and unique specimens in our travels.


Some were so old and rusted and barely hanging there at all. Others were so elegant and shiny, with beautifully carved doors behind them.








I think, originally, Bill was going to write a pun-laden post, comparing knockers to....well, you know, but thankfully he got distracted and so now I'm having a nostalgic moment and thought it was a good opportunity to post lots of pictures at one time......now that I have fast internet again, I'll have to figure out how to format these posts better.



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Oh Hiatus

Florida weather is lovely......and that's about all I can say about our re-entry at this point. Once we find our equilibrium, I want to continue writing about Italy...

Please check back after the Holidays. We miss Italy....and the delightful exchanges on this blog.

a presto~

PINK-lets

Where-oh- where have these little pink piglets gone? That's a rhetorical question, guys, so please don't feel compelled to answer. Sadly, I know where they've gone. After all, I live in a part of Italy that is all about PORK!!

Nevertheless, these darling little piglets showed up in a pen in the front yard of a nearby house recently, and for days and days and days, they made me smile. I grew up in Suburbia, USA, so piglets in the front yard are a novel sight for me. Each time we drove by, I'd insist that Bill stop the car so I could get a really good look at the little oinkers. If they were not in the yard, we'd just call and they would come waddling out of their pen, oinking and squealing, expecting to be fed. We had a few scares, when we called and they didn't come out......but then the next day, they'd be there again, climbing all over each other to get to the food trough. But last week.......there were a bunch of turkey chick-lets in the piglets' pen.

Now even a suburban kid knows that piglets are WAY cuter than turkey chicks.......and I am very sad that the piglets have gone missing. They were just so pink!!!

C'ERA UNA VOLTA - UNA FAVOLA (Once upon a time- a Fairy Tale)

Once upon a time there was a Nobile Family that lived in a castle high atop a shining medieval hill town in Alto Lazio. For many years this family ruled all the territory within sight of the castle's watchtower. Then wars and politics changed the social structure and Italy became a united country, and there was no longer an official nobile class.

Many years passed in this shining medieval hilltown and the decendants of the nobile family continued to live in their castle home. But as with many of the old nobility, in order to keep their homes, they welcome guests who were interested in learning what life was like"once upon a time".

Recently, Prince Riccardo graciously hosted us in the home of his ancestors, where we learned about his family's dramatic history that includes Vatican intrigue as well as a magnificent library which archives the family's activities dating back to 1068.......(to be continued)

Random Photos

We are happily working right up until our return to Florida at the end of October and between cooking and touring and packing and cleaning, well, sadly,there's not been much time for blogging. But when we find the time,we'll be telling you all about the places we've beenrecently and the amazing adventures we've had at villas and palaces, castles and wineries, cities and towns .....with princes and farmers,and amazing new friends from all over the world.

BANQUETS FIT FOR THE CARDINAL

The first night of the Chestnut Festival was celebrated with a competition among the four contrade, in their taverns. It was the Medieval equivalent of Iron Chefs, with each contrada trying to out-do their rivals for the most authentic, most dramatic, most delicious and most beautifully presented banquet. The judges walked from one Taverna to the next, being wined and dined in grand medieval style. We were so happy to follow the judges throughthe four beautifully decorated riones for a great sampling of medieval delights. Here's what we saw!!!