9 Aug to 3 Sep, 2021 - Bomba (and surrounds), San Marino, Verona, Sirmione, Moniga del Garda, Riva del Garda, Torri del Benaco, Fraine - (Italy, Republic of San Marino)
For readers who are following the Bomba home renovations, we have two (almost) completed projects in this last month. The first, and the more significant, is our rooftop terrace. Ilir, our builder extraordinaire, removed a large section of tiles, and created a terrace in the space, sealed it all up, built a little room, and installed a pull down stair case to allow us access. The delay, before our last blog, was the stairs, which pushed everything back a month. Oh, we were using the terrace, but we were climbing up and down using a ladder.
As you can imagine, the views are extraordinarily wonderful. Towards the mountains, we have over 180 degrees from the lake past Maiella, villages dotted up and down the other side, with tiled rooftops framing the bottom margin of the vista. On the other side, we look up to the church bell tower.
Pull Down Steps to the Terrace
Finally, we can access our new terrace using steps. Unfortunately, steel beams in the roof meant that the permanent stairs we were originally wanting were never going to work. This has the advantage, though, of creating extra insulation in winter when we can just close them up.
Jo on our New Terrace This is looking up from the street side. The main view is out the other side, but the terrace is nicely tucked away up there.
We Aren't Tired of this View - Are You?
The second change is that we have knocked a much bigger hole in to the wall and installed a new window, in the direction of the main view.
Our New Window!
It's nearly five times bigger than the previous window.
Another sunset over Maiella
The importance of punctuation. We have managed to get ourselves connected to various Bombese residents, thanks to the wonders of modern technology and the advancement of social media platforms. One especially amiable lady has endeared herself to us, both on digital channels and in real-life encounters. We have celebrated Italian football success in the square with her; she notices when we miss church because we are away; she invites us to join her table when she has some friends with her in the piazza. When she messages on Whatsapp, though, she doesn't punctuate. Rarely, is this a problem, but one message I received had a word I couldn't work out, so I pasted the whole unformatted blob in to Google translate - which gave the slightly uncomfortable break down. What should have been, "It's hot. Wishing you well. Hugs", came out as "Wishing you good hot hugs". Yes, the importance of punctuation.
One of the side effects of increased population in August is the calendar of events. One of those events was a karaoke night. I supported Jo with backing vocals when she bravely got up and sang an Italian song from the 1980's. We shared it 3 or 4 blog entries ago if you want to go back and find it. Her rendition of "Lasciatemi Cantare" was competently performed, and earnt her a few fans.
One of the summer festival hightlights is the schedule of events at the Arena in Verona. This venue is a two millenium old Roman amphitheatre. We chose an easy to appreciate opera, Aida, by Verdi. We drove up and made a short week of it, stopping at San Marino for a night on the way, and tacking a couple of nights at Lago di Garda before returning.
I Assume We Could Still Dial Reception
The hotel we stayed in was, well, dated. But not in an awful way. Still, more nostalgic than quaint.
Built in Hairdryer
And this did work. Despite looking the better part of 40 years old, we unhooked it and it started blowing warm air.
Basilica di San Marino
Guaita - First Tower of San Marino
San Marino has three towers on its ridge. This is Guaita, the oldest, with the main construction occurring in the 11th century.
On Castelvecchio Bridge, Verona
Castelvecchio and its Bridge
Church Characters, Carrying Weight and Responsibility
I guess, without these individuals holding up the pillars, the whole structure might come crashing down. Verona cathedral.
Verona Arena - While Waiting
Aida, in Verona Arena
Sirmione Castle
At the southern end of Lago di Garda, Sirmione is a busy gateway town to the lake. The castle moat is just the lake water, full of birds and large fish all waiting for morsels from tourists.
North Shore of Lago di Garda
The northern end of the lake is dominated by imposing mountains circling the small town of Riva.
Looking out from Riva
Piazza III Novembre, Riva
The show was brilliant; the atmosphere was unforgettable. A huge cast, albeit many wearing masks. A sizeable choir, appropriately distanced. Dancers and an orchestra. The audience was limited to a 2021 acceptable 50% capacity only; entry by green-pass only, and masks of PPE2 standard were a requirement. Inside, though, we reflected how meeting regulations, and being seen to do the right thing, was more important than common sense. Ticket sales ensured that only every second seat was sold, to meet the half capacity mandate, and to encourage distancing. Logic would dictate that family units should not have to remain sparse. Encouraging people who came together to sit close would, in fact, increase the distance between distinct groups who do not know each other. However, the users patrolled the aisles, reminding people to move back to their allocated seats. When the girl behind us, aged around 10, was asked in stern tones to move away from her Mum, for social distancing reasons, we knew that wisdom had been retired for the night and replaced with beauracracy. Even in the toilets, when four urinals were available, rather than asking men to use the first and last, they made the first and third available. It was an indication that someone had been told to reduce capacity 50%; don't be sensible about it, just every second one is fine.
So we took our tent and sleeping mats, a barbecue and esky (cooler box). We only just managed to squeeze in to a couple of different camp sites around the lake, an reflection of the fact that it was peak holiday time. A fellow camper at our first camp site, perhaps feeling that they were missing out, pointed out to us that charcoal barbecues were not allowed, before reporting our cooking activities to management. By this time, fortunately, our meal was largely ready, and when the embarrassed camp employee explained that, technically, we shouldn't be having the fire with our meat grilling, we moved the ribs and steaks to our plates and said we'd let the fire die out. It did, however, have us on edge for the next campgrounds. We made a decision to get the meat over the coals as soon as the flames had settled, long before the embers were at their best, but just to ensure our carniverous feast would be ready before we could get in to any sort of trouble. It did not happen - our remaining meals were free of confrontation, but we spent the entire cooking time looking sideways at anybody walking near our plot, wondering if we might have to feign ignorance.
Talking of flames segues me to the most grim topic of this blog. In fact, our most dreadful experience in Italy. The incident occurred on our way home from our Verona trip. On this day, after covering some 700 km, a stones-throw from home, less than 1 km from the village, disaster struck. We remain thankful for our own safety, and remind ourselves that it could have been so much worse. That reminder, however, is not always enough to stop us from despairing at what happened; and, I'm sure you'll agree, that we don't always have to play the "glad game" when misfortune strikes.
Soon After Stopping
We noticed smoke from the engine, at about the same time that a warning light came on the dash, and almost instantly, everything failed. It was quickly apparent that no amount of effort was going to get the fire under control, especially as we could not open the bonnet as it was already buckling because of the heat.
I cannot believe that even at this stage, I thought that the items in the boot might be salvageable once the flames were put out. At this point, the tyres had both blown, and I think the windows were shattering.
Our Car Engulfed in Flames
Fear of the tank exploding kept us at a safe distance, and now that the fire had taken hold of the trees and grass, we had concerns that the dry fields were going to be consumed as well.
The Final Product
After an hour or more, the fire brigade were satisfied that it was properly out. Nothing more to say, really.
I swear, it was not deliberate, that the next story was to see "Queen On Fire", an Italian tribute band which played at another town not far from our place.
Queen On Fire
One Friday night, we drove to nearby Montelpiano to watch an excellent Queen cover band. We got a tiny glimpse of what Freddie may have been like, had he been Italian.
August and September bring volatile weather. After many weeks of back to back dry and heat (Sicily recorded a European record of 48.8 celcius!), we had cloudbursts over Bomba. So localised, that while we were recording centimetres of rain in 10 minutes, other nearby locales were only getting light drizzle.
Deluge in Via Forno
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Deluge in Via Forno
The storm was only 10 or 15 minutes long, but the amount of rain was incredible. White water past our front door!
Delivery drivers flatly refuse to bring items down to our house, regardless of how the package is addressed. Common practice is for them to call about a half hour in advance. The onus is then on us to wait in the square, and when the driver comes, the package is thrust out the window or door at us. This is a fraction better than the driver preferred, but probably disallowed, delivery method of throwing the pack out as he drives past. We have, over the months, discovered two things. Firstly, if the package is from Amazon, they give free delivery to collection points, and the bar in the square is a qualifying Amazon location - free delivery, and we would have had to get to the square in any case to pick it up. Our second discovery is that the "all foreigners are the same" seems to apply even here - if we are not at home when we answer the phone, they tend to just leave it with Steve who lives on the main road. If he is not home, they put it on his doorstep, and expect him to ensure it gets to the rightful owner. This only applies for packages destined to English speaking homes.
Having a hire car for a few weeks ensured we weren't stranded in Bomba. The aforementioned Steve filled in the gaps on a number of occasions, driving to all corners of Chieti to help us co-ordinate the rental, and helping us land our replacement wheels. A shout out to Richard French, a mechanically minded friend who accompanied us to viewings to keep our decision making sound.
Day Trip, Nearby Fraine
I randomly found this location and liked the sounds of the delightful little church in the forest.
After a miserable story in the middle, it's always great to wrap up with something nice. There's few things more uplifting than a wedding. And a wedding in a castle, at that. Apperetivi beforehand; ceremony and champagne, with a beautfully timed cork pop by yours truly; a lunch of many courses at an agroturismo restaurant; and a long evening of drinking and socialising and karaoke.
You May Now Kiss ...
Wedding ceremony at the castle of Roccascalegna.
The Groom and the Bride
Sean and Sue, congratulations.
Selfie at a Wedding
Happy Wedding Guests
