First Week - finito!

Un po di Casa

Today is Sunday and my first week here is over! I'm indulging in a couple of home comforts over breakfast...

TEA + MARMITE = HOME

 The time has gone *so* quickly probably because it's been fun and interesting apart from all the rain (sempre pioggia!) But today is the first day I can really go out and explore the area so I'll probably tell you about that further down. For now let's talk about the week so far.

Workwise, it's been very monotonous and repetative as life generally is, and we've been peeling Raddichio all week long  come rain or shine. There's still a lot to be done but it's such a tranquil environment and there's been no real need to rush. Stefano came to collect 6kg of Raddichio the other day, along with a few other people. He owns a restaurant on the other side of the valley that I hope we visit at least once - it's not exactly cheap but it'd be nice to see how the raddichio ends up! 

You peel away the brown mouldy leaves to reveal the beautiful raddichio.

On Thursday (and Sunday)afternoons Giulia has horse riding lessons (€18/hour) a few miles away in Feltre, so while the sun was out and the mountains were visible, I thought it'd be a good time to see some more of the region. 

The valley is deceptively large and flat despite being surrounded by such towering giants.  It was great being able to listen to Giulia's instructor boss her about - it helps you get a real insight into how the language is used on a daily basis. 

Giulia and her Pony for the day, Jessica

Jessica has a <3 shaved on her other hind leg, like a real pony should hahaha - will get a picture next time!

Giusi explained to me that the riding school, Circolo Ippico Feltre is run by an organisation that helps not only young offenders but adults who have had problems with the law. As well as being a riding school, there is a decent sized restaurant so that's really good - you can pick up a trade while you're given a second chance. Mi Piace.

After about 40 minutes the temperature managed to drop a few degrees so Giusi suggested we get a Coffee at the bar in the restaurant while Giulia finished up. We had an interesting discussion about Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and how the naming system and line of succession worked between the Tudors and the Stewarts. I compared her [Liz] to the Pope and we joked that they were both *apparently* virgins. 

The Restaurant and Bar has a dodgy generator so everything turns off regularly.

Dora is a dog who lives at the Riding School. She was trying to keep out of the wind.

On the way home we stopped at a Latteria (cheese-heaven-place for short) to get some formaggio and yogurt. We also briefly stopped in Limana on the way back to get Milk and ... something else maybe? hmm. 

I've been writing each of these blogs over a few days so many of the details escape me - I know we had something spicy for dinner. Sorry.

Friday and Saturday were pretty standard days - more Raddichio peeling on the farm, followed by nice hearty Risotto, and Spicy bean casserole - perfect for the cold evenings.

Giusi also told me about why one of the chickens (the brown hen) on the farm looks like it's skipping about all the time; about 10 months ago Michele managed to break one of the chicken's legs (accidentally ofcourse) so they did some research and rang the vet and he said it had to be put down. That seemed extreme, so Michele bound the leg with some wood and tape and a month later she was "skipping" around again. The vet said she's fine but he would have preffered to put her down (WTF?). Very amusing to watch. 

We seem to talk about food A LOT, but well...why wouldn't you?! haha I know I always say to everyone that I talk too much about food, but it seems I don't talk about it enough here! Though I did spend nearly an hour trying to explain what rhubarb was to Giusi (Rabarbaro) and we were going back and forth, back and forth - I was trying to describe it as red celery with an acidic taste like lemons - probably one of the few words we've had any real major difficulty with. 

I must say though, that the Lonely Planet Travel Phrasebook and Dictionary has been invaluable, along with a little free Flashcard App called Anki. That and talking more simplistically in Italian with the kids is helping me become more fluid with the language.

My Bible

We took another trip to Feltre on Saturday evening to go shopping at the Co-Op for basics likes pasta, flour, biscotti, and TEA! The Co-Op supports an organisation called Libera Terra which reclaims Foodstuffs and goods from the Mafia and sells them for Charity. 

The town is a medieval walled city and would have been more stunning if not for the rain - I'm going to attempt a trip sometime this week, though I think things are hotting up for us as we start to plant the peas, and Giusi's brother and sister-in-law (from Portsmouth apparently) are visiting on Wednesday and we are having a party or something? Should be good.

We went for a walk at this point for an hour or so, exploring the local area. 

A Little Stroll

Start at the green dot and head west.

 Thankyou Google Maps for allowing me to steal this good aerial shot. We started in the Hamlet of Cesa (Limana, Belluno) because well...that's where I'm staying so deal with it. 
Cesa is a tiny village but still managed to have a pub so it's home from home really. I've not been there yet but the village is pretty sleepy. 

Cesa (approached from the East)

Cesa, as seen from the North.

Myself, Lucky, Michele, Giulia and Sara set off down the path, through a barren area filled with piles of gravel and sand for construction, we then crossed onto part of the dried river bed to skim pebbles and to play with Lucky. Lucky almost jumped in to what has turned out to be, quite a fast flowing river. 

Lucky!

We continued to make our way along the Piave river bed, Michele explaining that the water gets more and more unpredictable every year. The Girls stopped and found some tiny fish to play with while I was fart arsing about with lenses. 

 

We stood around while Sara kept bringing us rock after rock after rock (I had a pocket full of pebbles after 5 minutes!) As we continued along Michele spotted some local wildlife though I missed it completely, but managed to get a picture of him showing Giulia whatever it was. 

As we neared the bend of the river (see the map) we stumbled upon a small sheet of ice that took a while for everyone to get across but we made it! Passing through the bramble on the shoreline was what took up most of the time. We found a few bulbs of a plant and some yellowy white flowers that Michele said were good with Rice - who knows! Pizza was on the menu tonight!

 Now Giusi likes to emphasise how good a cook Michele is, and while his Jams and preserves are excellent, his choice to experiment with Farro flour was...premature. Together with the use of a homemade starter instead of yeast and well...it was a bit of a disaster - the dough was too heavy so didn't rise and came out more like a pastry than a bread but the toppings were yummy! 

Not the best choice

Master at work.

HANDS OFF!

Even with the pizza base gone awry, the toppings were yummy. The first was just a simple margharita and the second had Raddichio, Olives and Artichoke hearts - BUONA! 

So that's the first week done and dusted. Tomorrow I have to start clearing space to plant Peas so that's gonna be a nice change from peeling raddichio. The only thing I miss at the moment is central heating - my feet are constantly frozen. 



You probably won't see another post until later in the week, so I'll leave you with this beautiful vista from todays walk!

Ciao for Niao!