Padua, Snow and Noms

Hey all, 

Today I'll fill you in on what's been happening regarding the trip to Padua, the weather, some food AND a little jolly today (Wednesday - it's now Saturday but the jolly was on Wednesday) to get some more yummy noms. I apologise for not sticking to my promise of getting another update to you sooner but we've been trying to finish the Radicchio (it's going to the same place as before) - as i write this we are now 2 days from the end. 

I say two days because Giusi has been asked to go on TV in Roma on tuesday, so while she goes on a jolly down there with a few of her friends to represent the region I'm gonna head to Venice. Fingers crossed it's not flooded by rain or anything else. 

So Sunday was a long day but lots of fun was had by all! We were all headed to Padua for Sara's first Gymnastics Gala and to have a dander around the city. Despite living reasonably close proximity Giusi has never visited the city. 

After everyone had been showered and cleaned, camera batteries charged, hair done and a quick lunch we hopped in the car. About 40 miles into the trip we had to turn around because we didn't have Sara's outfit - OOPS! There's always something. 

The team from Belluno

Sara did really well especially for her first time in front of a large audience. Her team won medals for being the fastest and most colourful. Their coaches also get them all little cups that were dated. By the time the competition had finished it was about 4pm - we were losing light so made a rapid exit for Padua. 

Giulia congratulating Sara

Someone is very happy with herself.

It had only taken us 15 minutes to get into central Padua which was great besides the relentless rain slapping us in the face as we got out of the car. There were echoes from the kids of "Ho Fame! HO FAME!" (I'm hungry) so we were on a mission to find food as well as be tourists. Padua isn't that big, probably a bit bigger than Leicester and like Leicester, it's a university town, housing the second oldest university in Italy that was founded in 1222. It's also home to the worlds olded Botanical Garden which was created in 1545! Bonkers. 

There's also the Scorvegni Chapel, famously smothered in fresco's by Giotto but seeing as it was Sunday it was closed and to make matters worse - you have to book in advance! I've heard that for an extortionate amount of money you are made to watch a video for 15 minutes and then only have another 15 minutes to enjoy the frescos. My advice: Find High res images on Google if you want to actually look at the art.

Unfortunately the pictures are few and far between because of the heavy down pour so these four will have to do.

Monestero di Santa Giustina and behind, The cathedral of Santa Giustina.

Piazze Prato delle Valle

Dante, why so serious?

Padua has a lot to see, but it was sunday, it was raining and nearing dinner time so it wasn't exactly ideal. I may try and have another visit later in the year - any takers? We managed to find a quaint little bakery and got some flavoured focaccia then made our way back to the car. We'd taken Giusi's car which doesn't have a radio but thankfully I'd brought my laptop (to photoshop my current facebook cover photo - it had power lines criss-crossing everwhere!) and had enough battery to play the complete Best of R.E.M. album. Everyone in the back had conked out and were gone all the way home. I spent much of the journey home writing the previous entry of the blog and photoshopping.

SNOW!

That night we had just under a foot of snow and there was more to come - super happy fun times! The snow plows were out in full force - two passed the window in the space of an hour and traffic was flowing freely. (I seem to recall explaining the law about winter tires in the last entry, so I won't repeat myself). Thankfully it's not like England where the country comes to a halt, though I've been told that in the south of Italy things are worse than in England. 

A snow plow had been round only 10 minutes before and we had another inch or so of snow.

ROAD BLOCK!

The bus made it on time to pick up Sara for playschool, while Michele took Giulia in the Land Rover. Giusi and Lucky (along with myself) headed to the farm, and after clearing the broken branches from the road, we made it. There's not much farming to be done when everything is under a foot of snow. We attempted to salvage as much of the Radicchio that was outside as possible and move it into the main tunnel where it can be kept warm. After about 40 minutes of moving everything we gave up and decided to play. 

Lucky loves the snow - he's like Scrooge McDuck swimming through the money in his vault!

We were playing fetch with snow balls for Lucky to find - watching him try and find a snowball that's dispersed amongst more snow is hilarious to say the least. The rest of the day was pretty much free and that evening we had some good hearty grub filled with all the carby and sugary goodness you need when it's this cold.

Standard Salad of radicchio, lots of cheese, lots of bread, lots of olive oil.

Potatoes with a potato, egg and cheese tart - why not!

And for dessert:

Baked apples!

CREAM CAKES AND PASTRIES!

The following morning half of the snow had already melted. We were running very behind though because Giusi had to make a lot of calls and wait around for a delivery. 

Eventually the guy came and we got to the farm by 10am. The day itself was uneventful - just more Radicchio but the end is in sight so that's certainly a good feeling. In the evening Giusi's friends Isa and Eugenio came round for dinner. They own an Agriturismo up in the mountains in Valmorel called I  Boschi del Castagno - it's a bed and breakfast that also let's guests help out on the farm. They also host WWOOFers like myself.

Eugenio and Isabella

The next day it was straight to work peeling pumpkin seeds ready to be planted - but good news: child labour is still alive and kicking in this house MWAHAHAHA!

Oh you've finished eating? now get to work minion!

 Giulia had a small falling out with Giusi over homework and as  a result she wasn't going to get any lunch. When she came home there was more of a ruckus and after an hour or so she'd calmed down. I went outside with Lucky so Giusi could have a private chat with her about how important it is to focus in school.

After half an hour of belly rubs you'd have a face like that too.

That afternoon Isabella came round to take us all on a trip to get some oranges, olives, artichokes and €50 worth of  Organic Parmigiana Reggiano.

Olives, Wine, Artichokes, Rice, Biscotti, Formaggio - MMMMM

Mauro

Giusi is always on the phone!

Oranges, artichokes, lemons, Romanesco

€50 worth of Organic Parmesan - half of it is already gone.

 

The next few days will be filled with Radicchio but thankfully it's the last. Speak to you all soon! Here are some castles we drew when it was raining - they look pretty goddamn awesome if you ask me - what do you think? 

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  For those of you that don’t know or have just stumbled upon this blog, my name is Luke and I’ve recently sold almost everything I own and moved out to Italy to experience a bit of La Dolce Vita (should probably try and avoid those sorts of clichés) through an organisation called WorldWide Oppurtunities on Organic Farms – more commonly known as WWOOF. It was set up in 1971 by a couple of people  from England who wanted to escape the stresses of inner city life and get back to basics with farming organically and away from the general hustle and bustle. Their friends heard what they were doing and wanted to join in and it sort of spiralled out of control from there. It’s now a global organisation promoting low impact living and each country has a specific website. You pick a country, pay a membership fee (about £25/€30/$30-40) and you get access to a list with hundreds of farms. You contact them directly and tell them why you want to volunteer on their farm.  In exchange for working on a farm or small holding for 6-8 hours a day, you get to meet wonderful people, gain experience regarding organic farming techniques, eat delicious food and have a bed/caravan/ tent for the night.