Month: June 2019

Went up to Metato Weds pm for a concert. It was so hot, but the views were incredible! The mountains just above us:

And the sea below:

A lovely evening. Great food, good company, sense of being way above it all.

The small town was lovely, but sheesh it was hard to walk around in. It basically clung to the side of a hill. Here are two shots from there.

As usual, I’ve got odds and ends for you too. How about this sign in a local bookstore saying that the latest Camillieri Sicilian detective story has come in. He’s such a hero here!

And a couple shots of my fellow students in Italian school. I’ve met sun many delightful people, mostly from Holland and Switzerland, but wherever we go out for lunch, we usually have 5-6 different nations represented. It’s humbling to learn about their countries and see how they see the world. Such a different viewpoint!

I went to the local museum/marble art venue on Friday for an interview with a Moravian sculptor who lives here: Ivan Theimer. He seems to have done a lot of monumental sculptures. They are so very cool. He pulls in a ton of history and culture in the monuments, plus a turtle or two. Check out the images and information for the Rights of Man monument in Paris It’s intriguing!

This is a piece of his they put on view for his talk. He has some imagery in the base. In the big monuments he has lots of small images and extra bits and pieces. I really like his work because he combines art and thinking.

And to wrap up, a couple Italy postcard shots and a moment of whimsy. OMG, this place is beautiful!

A delightful day. It began with a night in air conditioning…woohoo. Then the washing machine was delivered first thing. Yay!

Breakfast on the porch.

A few errands, and then off on the bike. The heat doesn’t bother me so much on the bike because I create my own wind as I ride and lots of sections of road are lined with thick trees so they are shady.My plan was to ride over to Collodi, Pinocchio’s birthplace. It’s on the other side of Lucca.

But it was too hot so I stopped for food, water, and ice cream and then headed home.On the way home, I saw these purple shutters. OMG, what were the Italian Aesthetic Police thinking when they allowed these through?

I ended up on a wrong turn, a wonderful tree-lined avenue, and found myself at the walls of Lucca!

It was so hot I drank all my water but I knew there was a good fountain in Valpromaro just before the last uphill. Installed in 1902. I was happy to use it!

Had a lovely day with a couple friends last Sunday. Leisurely drive, break for coffee at the beach, inside an amazing marble “cathedral,” and then up to the top of a quarry in a 4WD jeep.

The coffee was at a very modern place, even the bathroom sign was stylish and modern:. Check out these graphics. You’d never see this in America.

Then up up up a valley, to the Fantascritti caves.

We donned hard hats, mostly for the drops of water that came down through the marble. We drove a long way on a broken-up dirt single-lane road into the center of the mountain.

This is a special place: a piece of marble broke off and the workers decided it looked like the Madonna holding a baby. Since they need all the help the Madonna can give, they made it a shrine.

This photo is for Barb. Am amazingly huge machine for inside a mountain. Who knows how they got this in, but it dominates the”cathedral” interior of the quarry.

Then a good lunch, and THEN the jeep ride. The paved road was narrow and steep with very tight corners. And then it turned into a dirt road. I confess I was a bit nervous at the steep drop, but Filippo was a great driver and he got us to the top on one piece. Amazing views and lots of info. The quarry is very active on weekdays and the machinery for cutting and moving the huge 600-ton blocks off marble was all over the place.

No dull moments… Went to the office of demography to set up my residency but turns out they thought Mom was still alive so we have to sort that out first. I’m hoping this Saturday to become a proper Italian resident. Wish me luck!

Despite living in a construction zone, life is still good. Got hot water last Friday so I can shower. Yay! Bought a two-burner electric cooktop because it will be September before I have a kitchen. Sigh…

Meanwhile, I saw a bike race through town:

Saw a street name in a mountain town (on a bike ride) that’s dedicated to the Martyrs of Work, which mostly means the marble workers. Also passed an inspirational state of St. Francis.

Saw that Pietrasanta has finally installed some new artwork in the piazza.

And went on a hike to a beautiful waterfall, followed by lunch in a hilltop village. Very fun!

Our post-hike lunch. Simple and delicious. The coffee was €1 in tiny plastic cups from a Nespresso-type machine. But tasty…

Ciao a tutti!!

I’m back in my apartment, camping sort of. The floor in one room is done, and has electricity, so it’s usable. One bathroom works. That’s all I need. I’ve plugged a tiny fridge in and my neighbor has been kind enough to let me shower there a couple times. Voilà!

No blinds and two skylights, so I don’t sleep late. Each morning I fling open the windows and life in bed listening to the crowds of noisy birds. Cacophony!

But the apartment is nowhere close to being done.

Here’s the kitchen, not even fully designed yet. Just yesterday I decided to change my plan and today or tomorrow I’ll speak with the carpentry guys who have their workshop downstairs. Stay tuned…