Funny Surprises in Normandy May 8, 2010
Posted by Chris in : Normandy , 2commentsToday we went into town with Cory, our hostess, for some groceries and were told that it is a bank holiday. She gave us a tour of the town and in the middle of the tour we noticed that there was a bunch of young Marines unloading from a bus in the main square. They were in full uniform, including their large guns. It was hilarious because we figured they would march around, twirl their guns, or something, but nothing happened. They got into formation, their uniforms were inspected and adjusted (their leader reminded us of their mother, if their mother was a big well-decorated man), they moved about twenty feet, and stood there for some time until we got bored and went into the grocery store.
So when we got back we headed out to the pond for some digging. Today we made a lot more progress than yesterday, but we also got stuck more too. The most memorable of the times was when Chris got stuck and went sideways into the mud and I went to help him, when my boot sank into the mud. He got out just fine, but I was pretty trapped because I wouldn’t put any weight on my right leg, for it would have sank too. So there I was knee-deep in the pond and Chris came to rescue me now. I grabbed onto his arm and pulled and out came my foot, no boot attached. So we spent about twenty minutes trying to dig my boot out while I did the flamingo in the pond. Then my other boot starts sinking… Needless to say, one of my socks is now very muddy.
For dinner tonight we had Curry Chicken,which was very delicious and after we watched Cricket with Bob. We’re slowly beginning to understand how the game is played. They shared with us how the usual matches last for five days and when one goes to one is it for the social gathering more than the game. However, there is a new version that is much faster to gain the appeal of the younger crowd. Cricket is very complicated; everything about it is very specific down to which side of the ball is shined.Tonight the match was between South Africa and England (England won).
Sorry again about the no pictures in the post. We still haven’t figured out what is wrong; the Flicker button has disappeared.
Besides Working April 28, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Carassai , 1 comment so farWorking with the grape vines has a tranquil effect and f
or meditative purposes, it is wonderful . Today is another beautiful day with minimal cloud coverage and high visibility, which makes today a great day to work outside. Yesterday was the same way and all of the critters came out to soak up some sun. We have been invited back in September to see the fruit of our labor- the grapes. I hope we can make it because if I enjoy pruning the vines then I would probably love picking (and probably tasting) the grapes!The common flowering plants around here are very lovely. There are Poppies all over the place, which are nice because they accent the countryside and up close the flower buds look like irritated skin (while I find it interesting, some people may not). There are many others that I don’t know the names of, but they help to mane this place very colorful.
Giuseppe told us that there is a castle in town that we will be checking out soon. He showed us a picture and it is not some ruins with a sign; it is very grand. We shall see!
Also there is the beach, which apparently the water is cold but it is getting hotter here. So perhaps on Sunday we will go with the family to the beach and hopefully the water is comfortable. If we can’t stand the water, a city is near by so we can walk around there.
The cute town on the hill is Cassarai, by the way.
Working in Italy April 25, 2010
Posted by Chris in : Carassai , 2commentsAs you guys know, we’re staying and working at Agriturismo la Cicala, a vineyard on the East coast of Italy. Despite the inclement weather of the past few days, today has been a gorgeous, sunny day. The weather is warming back up and our skin is loving the sun.
We didn’t get started with work until around 11 this morning but we handled the same amount of work as we did on Thursday in about half the time, clearly we are getting more skilled in tending grapes! Despite our growing skill, today the fields are muddy and pack onto our shoes quickly, making us feel like we’re wearing 10 lb. platform shoes.
After Giuseppe or I (Chris), clip the rogue shoots of the grape vines and tend to them, Tiffany comes through and ties the grape vines onto the poles, helping the grapes to grow straight and in the right direction.
The lack of rain gives us the stunning views we saw on our first day here but which has been blocked by the low clouds and fog since then. The countryside around Agriturismo La Cicala is absolutely beautiful, a wonderful change to the city scapes we’ve gotten used to seeing.
Agroturismo La Cicala April 22, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Carassai, Uncategorized , 1 comment so farYesterday’s travels included an eleven hour train ride and 30 bus ride to get to the small village that the farm we’re working at (the village is called Carassai). The train ride was complicated and cheap (50 euro for the both of us and many train changes) but the views were stunning.
When we got to the farm house we were amazed!
The place is immaculate and the views from around the place are stunning. Guiseppe (pronounced like Joseph) and his wife, Madga, own the farm and 30 hectors of land around it. They grow both Sangiovese grapes (you need 85% Sangiovese grapes to make Chainti wine) and Olives.
Today we worked with the young grapes (about one year old). Pruning and making sure they will grow straight. The work is not too hard and there is a lot of it. Since this would cost us about 80 Euros a night to stay here plus the cost of lunch and dinner, if we were being paid, we would be paid 8 Euros an hour (breakfast is included in the price although with our work, they are obligated to feed us 3 meals a day, and we are only obligated to work for five hours a day each). Also, Guiseppe and Chris are working on his website this afternoon.
So Chris is in love and I thin
k I am too. The place is charming, the views are amazing, the people are very welcoming and generous, and the food is fresh and has a lot of flavor (which is a big change of pace from generally bland food that we could afford). Last night we had Spaghetti with spicy sausage, bread, salad from their garden, and eggs from their chickens.
There is a beach near by that we’re thinking about checking out when we have some free time. It looked nice from the train (white sand, really blue water). We have the farm house to ourselves this week, since there are no guests until next week and our hosts have their own home about a half a mile away. We are definitely going to be spoiled by this place!
April 20:Week In Pictures April 20, 2010
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Herculaneum April 18, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Naples , add a commentWe woke up to cloudy skies and a drizzle that lasted all day. But we wouldn’t let a little rain stop us, so we went to 
Herculaneum today. Apparently the free heritage week ends on the 25th of April, so we can go to all of these places for free (we plan on leaving on the 21st).
Herculaneum is very similar to Pompei, except it’s smaller and much more preserved. So much so that we were very surprised to see that some of the rooms still had the original ceilings with Fresco still on it! Some places had the original wooden door frames. There were two and three story buildings mostly intact. Most of t
he buildings were once homes that had eight rooms and they were very spacious (perhaps very high-end homes). It was definitely something to see and a bit better to do in the rain instead of Pompei, since Pompei doesn’t have much shelter.
There is still excavations being done under the city that is there today, since there is still some of Herculaneum that has not been tampered with yet. We got to go into a little of the tunneling that has been done so far. There was a neat sculpture inside the tunnel and not much else that was of interest.
We hope to be going to the Archeological museum in Napoli tomorrow to see all of the things (and people) they have discovered in the ruins. It may be closed since most of Italy is on Mondays. We shall see.
Napoli: A Day At The Beach April 17, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Naples , add a commentAfter seeing the coast yesterday in Sorrento we knew we had to go to the beach. It hasn’t been that warm out (mostly in the low 70′s) but the humidity level makes it feel much warmer, so we packed the hotel towels, flip-flops, water, and sun block (leaving the cameras behind of course) and headed for the beach in Napoli.
Come to find out there isn’t much of a beach in Napoli which was a little sad considering the amount of reading I’d been doing about the lovely gray sand beaches this area is known for. The entire area of beach was smaller than our last apartment, but alas, the sun was lovely, it had a great view of Vesuvius, clear water, and it wasn’t very crowded.
We were wondering why the beach wasn’t as packed as the guide books were saying and then we got into the water! Saying “brrr” doesn’t cover it; it was down right cold! Apparently it is cold all year round and the locals wait until the middle of summer to go into the Mediterranean (I suppose it’s hard to fight the temptation with the heat and all).
We made a sand castle and lounged around, building up the courage to go into the nice water. We did actually go in twice, both times ended with us sun bathing like cats, trying to get dry and warm.
When we were walking to the beach from the bus stop there was a man on a moped, driving in the street that whistled at us. We looked over and he was trying to sell us an Iphone! There are a lot of people in the streets that sell Iphones, but we had never seen a drive-by (street-to-sidewalk?) Iphone salesman.
Biking Around Florence April 15, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Florence , 1 comment so farSorry about not posting yesterday we were so tired from the four hour bike ride around Florence and a million stairs that w
e went to the hostel and fell asleep. The bikes were cheap, only 1.50 Euro an hour or 4.00 Euro for five hours. We had a blast going around town, it was definitely less exhausting to go by bicycle than by foot. It was so fun that neither of us realized that our behinds were bruised from the constant bumps in the uneven stone pavement!
We went to the Michelangelo Piazza which is located at the top of a hill (meaning be prepared for a lot of steps) and has a great view of the city. At the top there is a replica of David in copper ( I suppose you could say he’s green with envy) and a man playing Queen on an electric guitar (he was playing it like a Dulcimer). And of course, perhaps the most amazing view of Florence!
Today we sat on a train for six hours or so to get to Napoli (Naples) and Found some cheap-eats via the front desk attendant who “knows a guy”. Very nice and very Italian. He also told us that we can take the city bus for a Euro to Pompeii or Herculaneum (Mt. Vesuvius is about six miles away from Napoli). I’m excited! I love ancient paraphernalia and impressive geographical features!
P.S. The BBC has posted that all flights in northern Europe and parts of Western Europe are canceled due to a volcanic explosion in Iceland. This should not effect our trip considering how far south we are currently, but we may get some lovely sunsets. I’ll take pictures if we do!
April 13: Week In Pictures April 13, 2010
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Best Of Tuscany Tour April 12, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Florence, Italy , add a commentThe tour started at 8:30 this morning when we boarded the bus and headed to Siena. A native of Siena, our guide, took us through the city; giving us insight into how the inhabitants live both now and in the past. It was very interesting! The city is divided into 17 neighborhoods that compete against each other twice a year in a horse race in the main square (Campo). The only rule is that a rider cannot mess with an opponent’s reigns, so there is a lot of foul play among the different neighborhoods. The winning neighborhood celebrates by drinking, obviously, and putting pacifiers in their mouths to symbolize that a new champion is born (and to put shame in the loosers).
The next stop was a Chianti wine farm that is situated on top of a tall hill in the country. The view was amazing! Rows and rows of Olive trees, Grape vines, and Saffron covered the valley. Also, we could see our next stop, San Gimignano, from there. At the farm we ate lunch of traditional pasta
Ragu, salad, sheep cheese, and bread with Olive oil. About 95% of what we ate came from the farm we were on. We even met the Chianina cows!
So then we got back on the bus and headed for stop number three. San Gimignano is also situated on a hill top and is famous for it’s towers and it is also home of “the best Gelato”. There were once around 70 towers, but now ther
e are a lot less. It was a strange sight to see since the towers look like modern-day sky scrapers. San Gimignano is very small, so it was easy to navigate (20 minutes or less from one side to the other) and the city still has it’s old city walls in tact so it’s not easy to accidentally leave the city. We got there and immediately went to the Gelato shop. There were strange flavors (such as Saffron with cinnamon), interesting flavors , and tasty sounding flavors all ready to be eaten. We tried the Passion Fruit, Mango, and Strawberry.
The next stop was Pisa. We were a wee bit peckish by then, so we grabbed Mc.Donald’s and had a little picnic in front of the Duomo (Nothing says 
Americans in Italy better than a McRoyal at a large tourist destination). The guide said that the marble facade of the buildings came from many different places and we saw that because random bricks that had Celtic knots or Latin written on them, and the pieces were all different colors.
P.S. Our “cat rental” came in through the window yesterday after about two hours of meowing it’s head off on the neighbor’s roof. It was shocking and hilarious.
