Italy, part 1.
It feels like forever ago, but it's only six weeks ago really.
This year we shared a house with two friends of very long standing, D and M. It was in the Veneto, the region between Venice and the Italian Lakes. That's quite a large region; to be more precise we rented a house in the Colli Berici, just to the south of Vicenza and off most tourist routes. We were so far up in the hills there was no phone signal, let alone WiFi. But the back garden had visitors:
The first few days we did a fair bit of not very much. Then we went to Bassano del Grappa, about thirty miles away. Grappa is the spirit made from wine must - a distant relative of brandy, but without the colour. Two of the best-known companies are based there, but our focus was on Nardini, by instruction from
chiron14! They do tastings, but I was the designated driver that day. :-(
The distillery and shop are right next to one of the major attractions of the town, a bridge designed by Palladio. Like anything made of wood, it's been rebuilt and repaired so many times over the last four and a half centuries that there is probably not so much as a twig left of the original wood, but the design is all there. It was pretty thoroughly rebuilt after the last war, when the crossing was heavily contested. It looks good now, though.
The view north is to the mountains.
The town is a classic pretty hill town:
Slightly later in the week we had our big date with the opera. It takes place nightly all summer in the huge Roman arena in Verona. Some of it fell down in a mediaeval earthquake, but there's plenty left. We sat in the cheap seats - or, rather, stone benches. We took cushions.
We were in place a couple of hours before it started, when there was still plenty of light and a lovely view.
As it got dark, people in the audience lit their candles.
Then a lady came on stage in a pink outfit. She had a gong.
And it started. The opera was Nabucco. Verdi, of course. Seriously silly plot, glorious music.
It finished way after midnight. The air had chilled, but the marble retains the heat of the day, so it was like personal underfloor heating. If you ever get the chance to see an opera there, jump at it. The direction and acting were a bit old-fashioned - singers mostly stood and emoted rather than acting, which made Placido Domingo in the title role stand out - he acted every second he was on stage.
We left and walked over to the car park. The Piazza was pretty.
More soon.
This year we shared a house with two friends of very long standing, D and M. It was in the Veneto, the region between Venice and the Italian Lakes. That's quite a large region; to be more precise we rented a house in the Colli Berici, just to the south of Vicenza and off most tourist routes. We were so far up in the hills there was no phone signal, let alone WiFi. But the back garden had visitors:
The first few days we did a fair bit of not very much. Then we went to Bassano del Grappa, about thirty miles away. Grappa is the spirit made from wine must - a distant relative of brandy, but without the colour. Two of the best-known companies are based there, but our focus was on Nardini, by instruction from
chiron14! They do tastings, but I was the designated driver that day. :-(The distillery and shop are right next to one of the major attractions of the town, a bridge designed by Palladio. Like anything made of wood, it's been rebuilt and repaired so many times over the last four and a half centuries that there is probably not so much as a twig left of the original wood, but the design is all there. It was pretty thoroughly rebuilt after the last war, when the crossing was heavily contested. It looks good now, though.
The view north is to the mountains.
The town is a classic pretty hill town:
Slightly later in the week we had our big date with the opera. It takes place nightly all summer in the huge Roman arena in Verona. Some of it fell down in a mediaeval earthquake, but there's plenty left. We sat in the cheap seats - or, rather, stone benches. We took cushions.
We were in place a couple of hours before it started, when there was still plenty of light and a lovely view.
As it got dark, people in the audience lit their candles.
Then a lady came on stage in a pink outfit. She had a gong.
And it started. The opera was Nabucco. Verdi, of course. Seriously silly plot, glorious music.
It finished way after midnight. The air had chilled, but the marble retains the heat of the day, so it was like personal underfloor heating. If you ever get the chance to see an opera there, jump at it. The direction and acting were a bit old-fashioned - singers mostly stood and emoted rather than acting, which made Placido Domingo in the title role stand out - he acted every second he was on stage.
We left and walked over to the car park. The Piazza was pretty.
More soon.
