Category Archives: Umbria

Covid resurgence

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Unfortunately for the human race, Covid-19 is making a resurgence. Here in Italy we had almost 7,500 new positives yesterday. We aren’t as bad as France, Germany, UK. Czech Republic, and Spain, many of whom are taking drastic measures to try to slow the disease.

The figures below come from The Local website.
Italy’s health authorities on Wednesday reported 7,332 new cases within the past 24 hours, a figure that exceeds the record high of 6,557 seen on March 21st. Italy is testing a lot (between Tuesday and Wednesday there were 152,196 tests) but this is still concerning. The percentage of swabs coming back positive has also risen, to 8.4%. (The figure on Tuesday was 5.4%)

Earlier on Wednesday a leading Italian virologist warned that a second lockdown could be needed over Christmas, saying it would allow Italy to “reset the system, lower the transmission of the virus and boost contact tracing.”

US Covid news from The Washington Post:

In many places where case counts are rising, political leaders are reluctant to impose new lockdowns, because the public is tired of them. But that creates something of a Catch-22: The most reliable way to reverse big outbreaks of this virus has been through strict crackdowns. In the U.S.: The virus is spreading in every region, with the highest case counts in the South and Midwest.

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On a lighter note. A couple of days ago I went for a walk. I drove a short way to a path I had been seeing ever since we moved here and I had always wanted to walk it. It was a glorious fall day. The late afternoon sun was slanting as it only does in the Fall when the sun is low in the sky. Here are a few pictures.

The path.
The tobacco in the fields is turning yellow. Ready for harvest.
Someone’s ready for winter.
Partially harvest tobacco field.

Everyone stay safe. We will probably start staying away from restaurants etc. since it is all inside dining here now. 🌈 Andrà tutto bene.

Weekend – Out and about – Photos

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The weather wasn’t so nice. We had lots of rain off and on, wind and cool temperatures. Some of the storms were downright scary looking. I love watching the weather approach from our high position. I can see the rain marching towards us, eclipsing the mountains.

Montone on it’s hilltop.
North in the direction of Citta di Castello.

I went to visit a friend and see her new pool on Friday afternoon (it is amazing!). She lives in Castel Rigone on top of the mountains between here and Lago Trasimeno. I took a couple of pictures along the way.

Olive grove. The picking season is nearing and it’s going to be a whopper.
View of Umbertide down in the valley.

Things are not going well with Covid-19 in many places now. France, Spain and the UK have lockdowns in parts of the country. Their new case numbers are skyrocketing. Italy has not been as bad as them but the numbers are steadily rising and a new proclamation is due to come out from the National Government on Wednesday. The early intel says they will mandate masks all the time both inside and out for all the country. Many regions have already done this on their own. I also heard there will be an 11PM curfew for Bars. Maybe this will help. Our schools have been back in session for two weeks and I haven’t heard any bad news from that. Of course the US is way out of control. I look at the maps of the new infections growth and the whole north of the country is red with higher cases daily. Now that school is back in, and the weather is cooler, people are inside more so the cases grow.

Be careful everyone. Wear those masks and avoid crowded situations. 🌈 Andrà tutto bene!

Bar Mary

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Domenica mattina. Umbertide is silent in the dark before the morning light makes itself known. The days have gotten noticeably shorter. The mornings darker. At 6:30 almost every day of the year, I hear from my bed, the sound of the metal gate on Bar Mary being thrown up to open for the day. Irene (pronounced Ear-RAY-Nay) is the designated opener. Mary, the closer. Saturday night was a raucous party. Sunday morning, is calm. The next thing I hear is the sound of chairs scraping on the stones. Everyday, Irene and Mary, the sister owners, spend an inordinate amount of time repositioning the chairs around the tables. And then the customers come and move them all again. 

Morning on Piazza Matteotti

Once Bar Mary was Bar Patsy. And who knows before that? It is owned by the Catholic Church who inherited it from an old woman who lived in the building. The sisters pay their rent to the church. Our first day in Umbertide, we had driven straight here from Rome after our overnight flight for our house hunting trip, we met Jim, our realtor, who, first thing, took us to Bar Mary for a beer. And it has been our “go to” place ever since.

Irene

The first customers arrive shortly after opening. I can hear Irene talking to them. And then a laugh that rings across the Piazza. Both Mary and Irene laugh easily, heartily, and loudly. I affectionately call it a cackle. Esspressi are made, and within seconds have been downed while standing at the bar. Sometimes a customer will linger at the outside tables over a cappuccino and a cornetto. The Sunday bells peal, calling people to mass.

Not long after opening, the old men begin to arrive. Every town in Italy has their cadres of old men, pensioners, kicked out of the house by the wife or coming to the Bar for company if they live alone. They sit, and read the sports page and have arguments about the teams.  Before long the Briscola begins. Also called Scopa, but not here in Umbertide. Here, it is only called Briscola. It is a quirky card game played by Italians. The games can get loud and heated. There were four tables going last evening, each surrounded by the inevitable kibitzers. The men always go home by seven for dinner. The old men never buy a thing from Bar Mary. They just take up table space. And they expect the bar to provide the cards! I wonder at this. What is in it for the Bar? And, as far as I can see, nothing. But it is tradition. And no one will complain.

The passagiata usually begins around five in the afternoon. People begin to stroll through the Piazza. Families with strollers and kids in tow. Grandparents with their grandchildren, showing off the bambini proudly. Then the teenagers and young people come through in packs. All seeing, and being seen. An evening ritual throughout Italy.

Passagiatta, evening stroll.
Spritz

Not long after the old men go home, the tables will be taken by families, couples and young people. They will order an affogato, or gelato. Maybe a drink or two. An aperol spritz perhaps. The little kids run wild screeching and spinning across the piazza. Chasing the pigeons. The parents pay them no mind. They are perfectly safe. And out of control 🙄.

You won’t see them blond like this one very often. Cute ragazzo.

A day in the life of an Italian bar – Bar Mary. 💕

Lunch with friends

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Nowadays we are careful about getting together for just about anything. We have space on our terrazzo for only four to dine together. So I can only invite two at a time. Today was the second time since lockdown that we’ve had friends over for a meal. The weather couldn’t have been better. Sunny, breezy and the perfect temperature. I set our round table outside.

My menu was: Bruschetta with avocado, gazpacho with mozzarella, shrimp risotto, peach cobbler. Some pictures.

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Stay safe everyone. Andrà tutti bene 🌈 And so it will. Ever hopeful.

Pigeon rescue

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I think and hope I saved a pigeon today. I’m not a huge fan of pigeons. Messy dumb birds and we have so many they are a nuisance. But I just can’t let one starve to death while I watch. There’s a small window across from our living room in the Comune. It has been left open and pigeons are living in there. I’m sure it’s a disaster inside. It must be some sort of storage or utility area for them not to have noticed, even though the building is empty.

Anyway, yesterday I noticed someone had shut the window, but I saw they’d shut a pigeon inside. I gave her the name Pia. Her mate was outside and quite distraught. For a pigeon the stuckee was pretty. Almost totally snow white. I tried to find some help this morning, and finally in the end was knocking on the Comune door and hoping a caretaker or workman was inside. Irene, at Bar Mary called to me and I told her the problem. She called someone and they said they’d let her out. So I had my fingers crossed.
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Good news. Later the window was open. I kind of wish they had shooed her out and re-closed the window. It’s got to be a disaster inside. And now all these pigeons are right back inside. 🙄 I’ll try to get a picture of Pia to post.

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stay safe all…🌈 andrà tutto bene.

Rainy days and Mondays… 🎶

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It is the last day of August. The summer has passed. It feels like fall. The temperature was in the upper 90s just a week ago and today it won’t get out of the 60s. It is also raining steadily. Soaking the fields. The growing season is nearly done. The corn is drying on the stalks. The sunflowers are sad and drying as well. The tobacco is halfway harvested. The wine harvest is just starting. I am sure the rain is not appreciated by the vineyards. But it is just raining for today so I imagine the growers can let the grapes dry in the next sunny days and all will be well.

1,365 new cases in Italy. The good news is the summer vacation season is over today. So I hope our numbers will steady, or better yet, decline. 23,000,000 people were on the road going home from vacation over the weekend ! Considering there are only 60,000,000 people in Italy, that is quite the onslaught. I’m glad I wasn’t out there.

School is scheduled to begin in person classes next week. The kids won’t have to wear masks, but the teachers will. I’m not sure of the reasoning for this. They had to scramble for more desks because kids traditionally sit at two person desks. Now they can’t. They also mandated the school buses only carry half of the capacity so there is a shortage of buses. Our Italian teacher told us they have a rule the kids can only be on the bus for 15 minutes. This is creating its own set of problems and issues. For example, her son rides a bus for an hour to his school. Now what? I don’t know the answer.

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Stay safe everyone. Sooner or later we will get that vaccine. It is the only thing that will really help end this thing. But we mustn’t rush the process. Better safe than sorry.
🌈 Andrà tutto bene!

Update on Covid here, and my morning walk today

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I had a hard time with my title today. It is definitely not a pithy headline!

Numbers here in Italy have been fluctuating. For a few weeks they crept up steadily. Then the last couple of days they dropped from around 1,200 new cases a day to 800 or so. But yesterday it shot back up to above 1,400. Sigh. At least I know the people in charge are watching it carefully.

I am happy to note, since the closing of the discotheques and the new mask mandate our piazza has calmed considerably. No longer does Cafe Centrale have bands or loud music. They have a sign that all must wear masks. This has definitely dampened the party atmosphere. I am feeling good about this development.

There have been a couple of publicized issues here regarding anti-maskers. It is the law you must wear a mask on public transportation. A German tourist on a Vaporetto (bus boat) in Venice, was forced off the boat by fellow riders for repeatedly removing his mask. He was kept from reboarding by the passengers.

The MSC Italian cruise line started limited cruises out of Genoa along the Italian coast. They have taken extreme precautions to keep the ship virus free. They try to keep everyone in a bubble. All transport drivers are vetted. All shore tour guides are vetted. The rules are if you go into port you stay in your tour. A family decided to go off on their own in Naples even though they were told they could not. When they tried to re-board the ship they were denied. They were left in Naples.
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I’ve been very good with my walking since I decided to do it first thing when I get up. All my life I’ve excercised in the morning. For 20 years I rose at 5:30am to run. Then I changed to walking with my neighbor In Alexandria and we met outside at about 5:30am everyday. I find if I put off my walk until later, well, I simply won’t do it. It is also more pleasant in the morning. It’s cooler during these hot summer days for one thing. And I enjoy the quiet of the morning.

Today I walked along the river. Behind our house is a colony of feral cats. The latest batches of kittens are out and about. Someone built a little lean-to house covered with plastic and there is food out. No sign of mamma but here are two of the kittens. Tiny ones.

The Tiber in the still of the morning.

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Stay safe all…🌈 andrà tutto bene…spero di si!

New Covid case in Umbertide

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Our first Covid case in months has been announced by our Mayor. A man, who returned from travel in the north of Italy brought the Virus with him. He is being isolated and there is contact tracing so I’m hopeful this will be a one off. We will still stay vigilant.
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This is Sunday. Beautiful and hot. Just like August should be. Yesterday I made summer soup. A mish-mash of a few recipes I read. It is delish and people have asked for the recipe so I’ve included in the recipe bar above.

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Today, we decided to visit Calagrana for Pranzo. It had been too long. What a big crowd they had! Yay for them. A few pictures. The view from their terrace is always beautiful.

My lunch was excellent. My first course was amazing. Deconstructed gazpacho. But…I ate it before I thought to take a picture. Sorry. But I did take a picture of my next course. Seared tuna with a poached egg. Yum.

This next one is for my friend Jen who always loves anything fashion. These shoes, worn by the lady at the next table, and the purse to match, were amazing.

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Last night we had the most amazing cloud formation. I suppose it was a thunder head. It towered maybe 50,000 feet into the sky. Love the sun coming over the top. Or maybe it is not coming over the top. 🤔

Stay safe everyone! 🌈 andrà tutto bene.

Ferragosto!

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Today is August 15, also known as Ferragosto. It’s the holiday in the center of the month of August, which itself is the big vacation month in Italy. It is also a religious holiday — The assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption day.

Ferragosto originates from Feriae Augusti, the festival of Emperor Augustus, who made the 1st of August a day of rest after the weeks of hard work of the agricultural sector.

The popular tradition of taking a trip during Ferragosto arose under the fascist regime. In the second half of the 1920s, during the mid-August period, the regime organized hundreds of popular trips through the fascist leisure and recreational organizations of various corporations. The initiative gave the opportunity to less well-off social classes to visit Italian cities or to reach seaside and mountain resorts. The offer was limited to 13, 14 and 15 August, and comprised two options: the “One-Day Trip”, within a radius of 50-100 kilometers, and the “Three-Day Trip” within a radius of about 100–200 kilometers.

Today, here in Umbria, everything except for bars and restaurants, are closed today. If the Italians aren’t at the beach they are eating and drinking and having fun. I’m happy for them after all they’ve (we’ve) been through this year.

It still is a mystery to me, though, that people whose businesses were closed for 2-3 months and with the economy in the toilet, can still go on vacation. I still see “closed for vacation” signs everywhere. I noticed Bar Mary is closed for three days from today. Normally they take a week in summer. At least they are at the beach as we speak 🥰. Maybe it is the safety net the Italian government has put into place for its people. And they even have incentives for people to go on vacation. The people get to go on vacation and it’s a boost to the hard hit tourist industry.

It is certainly a lot different from the US right now. No one seems to be helping our hard hit populace. No one can afford a vacation. I worry about them paying the rent or mortgage, or even having enough to eat, for heavens sake. Molto triste. 😢

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Please let’s all work to stop this pandemic. We all can help. Andrà tutto bene 🌈

Quiet week

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Things have been changing around Europe (and the world) with the virus. Italy has had an uptick, but the numbers are still low compared to many countries like the US. And we have good tracking and testing methods in place. And quarantining.

We are having a lot of people from other places In the EU come in. As well as some other “allowed “ countries, also immigrants from many places. Many of these have brought the virus as a “gift” to us here in Italy. 😕

I’ve also been reading the US newspapers and watching this reopening of schools. I’m seeing it as a poorly thought out strategy. Super dangerous to so many.

In Georgia a high school opened. They said they couldn’t mandate the kids wear a mask. But they can punish a girl for wearing spaghetti straps, shorter skirts and scooped necklines (all prohibited by dress codes), yanking those girls out of class for “distracting” their fellow classmates with scandalous body parts like knee caps. 😳 oh my! Kneecaps! So tell me…if they can make a girl comply with dress codes…why can they not make the student populace wear a mask? Hmmmm? 🙄of course they can! Don’t be dopey.

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Life in Umbria is good, but we also have upticks. Seven Franciscan monk acolytes from all around the world arrived infected, and from them many other Monks in Assisi. A bunch in Passignano from an Romanian guest worker. Perugia has had an uptick also from guest workers. Marsciano 2 cases, both Belgian tourists. I, for one am hanging pretty close to home. Good food, wine and views. Summertime is splendid here.

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Andrà bene 🌈 You are your own keepers. Stay safe.💕