Cash's Holiday

Cash's Holiday

Soriano nel Cimino

May 15th, 2010 · No Comments · Uncategorized

 

Buon Giorno,  Though to an Italian, my version is very flat….need to get some flair into it. To hear the language spoken, its very expressive and emotional. You get all primed up on what has been rehearsed  but when it comes to the real thing to a real Italian, your tongue and brain get tangled. They look at you and you at them and end up with a pigeon English type of communication.

Thursday 13th Good to report that we have made it safely to our home / base of the next three weeks and what a place….talk about Charles Dickens.  `Soriano nel Cimino’. Meaning the town  – Soriano, …nel Cimino (on the mountain). Best to look it up on the net as its not a very big town. The area consists of generalised housing as you drive towards it through farmland and wooded glades, then as the road begins to climb the old sector, sitting as a cluster above, comes into view. Think Medieval and you have it. Castle to top it off and all. Jules has done it again…what connections she has.

8000 population forms the township and surrounding area. It was quite a job finding our actual apartment (which is owned by an Australian couple who come here about four times a year) When I say difficult…picture hundreds of years ago, foot traffic, carts….accommodating for cars `not’. Narrow roadways, tiny lanes, blind corners, stone archways and lots of other cars, delivery trucks. All this at an elevated level of varying degrees. Failed to add to this mix – pedestrians. Repeating a circuit, having to back up to make way for the sudden appearance of other vehicles,….. visitors (us) to the area must stand out like neon lights. Wonder what the thoughts of the observing locals are.

Will get some photos up in the near future for you all. The place is amazing, its full of cobbled lanes  weaving between clay tiled roofed houses that share walls. Forget about backyards. Step out your door onto the street. Shutters protect the long thin windows, a number of which have little iron framed balconies. Breaking this exterior are flowered window boxes here and there.

Our house consists of…from the street, you step through green thick wooden French doors into a dark little foyer.  To the left is a door that, until only recently belonged to an Italian women (7th generation occupation) but sadly we hear she slipped on ice just outside her door when putting rubbish out, was helped back inside by a neighbour but was found dead a day or so later. Must have hit her head poor soul.  Hearing about `ice’ doesn’t surprise me as on arriving yesterday afternoon and arranging to meet up with a local (English) woman who manages things for the current owners….it was uncomfortably cold sitting outside having a drink with her at a nearby bar….this being May should be different but apparently it has been  cool. (pleased I packed extra `just in case’ warm cloths)  Anyway, sorry, got a bit sidetracked there. A narrow stairwell does a couple of turns to arrive at our door. Once in the apartment the first floor is kitchen, living and combined toilet, shower, laundry.  The stairwell  continues to wind up to a hallway with the two double bedrooms off it…at the end another shower / toilet.  Bypass that level and continue on up the next wind of stairs passing through a little room for general storage….. on round and up, the stairs continue, narrowing more. You just start to feel very enclosed  and feel conscious of head height when WOW, you come out onto a rooftop space and how does it go `On a clear day you can see forever’. Well not quite but the view out over the surrounding multi level roof tops to the countryside beyond is a picture. Green fields, trees, clay coloured homes. Leave the rest up to your imagination.  So to sum things up, the apartment has been modernised but only to the extent of comfort not detracting from the atmosphere you would expect to find. 

Now shall tell you a few things that have been observed over the past few weeks but failed to mention….When going out for dinner, dogs can go into restaurants too if on a lead and permission is given……Fashion amongst the younger set is tight jeans and the highest of heels……also plenty of fashionable `nana’s’(minus the high heels)……The Italians like to parade around (be seen). To quote Jules observing `Poncey people parading their pampered pooches in the piazza’ (piazza being a public courtyard area)……Scarf wrapped loosely round the neck of the young Italian man in a tee shirt is emerging, certainly on models in shop windows anyway.

And so I’ve finally finish…..thank goodness you say….G

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