Danish Farragosto, Hit the Beach August 15, 16 & 17, 2017

My Friend Maria. We both love flowers and blue.

Farragosto view from the terrace.

Now you know it is a Danish Farragosto!

"Now I know why I live in Italy."

For the last two days we have spent the entire day at the beach. We have been so happy. The beach is beautiful and the water is clean, cool and fresh and there is shopping!

Beach Front Shopping Mall

Cool dude

Could he have mentioned that still had un-rubbed in sun screen on my nose?

You really need water shoes on a stone beach.

Car Pick Up and Italian Bon Farragosto, August 15, 2017

August 14

It was the long awaited day to pick up our car at the airport in Roma. The sad thing is that it means we only have eight days left in Italy this year. We had lots of plans for site seeing on the way home, but instead we came home and took a nap. This is a sure sign of advanced age.

After the nap we went shopping! I am afraid this is another sign. I bought a bunch of canvases at the hardware store. They are so good and now they will be here for next year and we went shopping for our evening picnic with the Danes on August 15. 

This is a completed road to another village. Unfortunately there are so many rock falls that it can't be used. 

View looking down into Gole San Venanzio

Piazza Raiano

Karaoke night in CVS. This kid is incredible.

People in the piazza for Karaoke at about 11:30pm.

We left the piazza around 11:30pm to go look at stars out in the dark area of our valley, which is actually most of the valley. There is still some light pollution, but we could see the milky way. We also heard strange rustling noises in the grass! 

Bon Fare Agosto

Today is National Picnic Day. (it is actually the celebration of the assumption of Mary into heaven without dying, but I have not seen a religious component to this day.) Nobody works and nothing is open. It was one of the most beautiful days of the summer. The temperature was a perfect 82. We planned a lazy day of doing nothing until we went to our friends’ house at 6pm. The plans were ruined when the neighbors invited us to go with them up to the mountains, but we had to be ready to go in 10 minutes and we had to bring two chairs and that was it. 

Walking to our picnic spot in the Sirentes.

We camp here!

Jim works on the fire for arroasticini.

Because of the fire danger, the grills had to be moved 200 meters from the trees.
Here are the grill masters out in the field. The fine for not moving the grills was 2000E.

Some eating.

We went up to the foot of the Sirentes in a large field. There were many other people there as well, but our neighbors had pitched their tents a couple of days ago. From the amount of food, equipment and supplies you would have guessed that at least a week encampment was planned, but no, it was all for Fare Agosto. It was another wonderful day of being treated like family by our Italian neighbors and their extended family. There was no saying no to any food or drink. We tried very hard to be moderate as we were going to a second feast at 6pm, but it is difficult. I played some soccer and “Rock, Paper, Scissors” with a young cousin. We tried to play badminton, but never had a volley of more than one hit. 

Sausage and Sirentes

Hard at work.

The food situation started with pastry and coffee, moved on to actual cake, then ante-pasta, with red wine, lasagna with rosata, and then arrosticini, sausage and other meets. Then more cake, coffee, Ginsiana, fruit, and Lemoncello. Then it was time for us to leave. And now it is time for us to go to our Danish friends!

Salute to Fare Agosto!

Me and the neighbors who were also camped next door. 

More eating.

Neighboring campers after eating for three or four hours.

Leaving the camp on the way to the next party!

Cool! August 12, 2017

August 12

In fact the fire was on the other side of the mountains somewhere near Avazzano. It must have been terrible on that side of the mountains. Another reason not to smoke is that smokers can’t smell when the world is on fire. This is also a reason not to call a smoker to find out if there is a wild fire. They think you are deranged and over anxious. 

The smoke had cleared from the valley by evening, although it was easier to see the actual smoke while the sun was going down. Around 9 pm or so our friends Vittorio and Ermelinda came to pick us up to go up to their shepherd cabin in the mountains. We have been lucky enough to have been invited there two other times when we and the shepherd, sheep dogs and the sheep were the only ones there. Imagine our surprise to find close to 100 people there all out on the lawn sitting on blankets. Even more surprising was that they were all facing the same way. The whole place was illuminated by big flood lights. The only thing we knew about this evening was that star gazing was involved. 

While hanging around staring at everyone and thing we met an Italian guy who lives in Canada. We asked him what was going to happen and he let us in on the plan. After 10 the lights would be turned off. Everyone would be lying out on the field looking at the sky. 

Star Gazers

There would be evocative music both recorded and live and people would do readings of an inspirational nature about the stars and the moon: which started coming up just as the lights went out. So we never could really see lots of stars, but there was a meteor that went across the sky for about 60 degrees. It was huge and really bright. The night is the Festa of San Lorenzo and the meteors are his tears. Pretty cool. The show wrapped up at midnight and then everyone was served pasta, wine and after Gensiana. 

Cooking pasta

Serving pasta

Serving Gensiana

They have been doing this party for many years and they have it down to a science. The temperature was down to about 25c and it felt so much better. It was just cool enough to have a long sleeve shirt on and for the hot pasta to feel really good. We got home about 2am. 

Yesterday was still a little too warm, but today is great. Last night there was music on the piazza. It was a trio that defined the meaning of mellow. It was very nice music. 

Today has been a beautiful day. We were able to go for a walk this morning and then I went up above our house and finished my oil painting, finally. I was actually COLD. 

The cold artist.

We have had the windows open ALL day. It is an amazing difference. There was one roll of thunder and about 20 raindrops so that situation is not yet improved. 

Yes we have clouds!

Meanwhile we went to lunch at Vittorio and Ermelinda’s city house. We got there around 1:30 or so. First we had sausage, cheeses, olives, little onions, mozzarella cheese. Next was wonderful pasta. The pasta had fried prosciutto, ricotta and parmesano. It was so good. I love the simple sauces here. Pasta is usually served with just one or two things on it. The seconda or meat course was cinganali, wild boar, but it looked and tasted like roast beast and salad. The second seconda meet was also wild boar, but a think piece wrapped around herbs and some other stuff. Also delicious. Salad is served with that. The whole meal was topped off by fruit and gensiana. It was lucky that our house is downhill from there. 

Since then we have been hanging out, napping and I finished the last of four watercolor birds that my mom asked me to do. 

Tomorrow we are going to a party at an English couple’s house in Seccinaro.

Pastels 2017

There aren't too many pastels, because the oils take about twice as long to do: 

four painting times instead of two for pastels. 

This painting has been cropped all along the left side and about up to the middle of the door on the right. 

Oils 2017

Convento grey day

From the old balcony.

Convento late afternoon. I love painting in here. 

Covento early afternoon.

Sirentes

These two paintings were done in the same spot looking different directions.

Convento

Castel di Ieri (commission)