FAGIANO SURGELATO

ohhhhh goshhhhhh!!!!!! now what?????

I have just had to maneuver a freshly-frozen pheasant into the freezer. its legs were sticking out and i could actually feel its wings. its head and beak were on the left-hand side as i pressed it diagonally into the last level of the freezer. no, the rack would not come out far enough for me to simply drop it in there, i actually had to press it in. and then the next thing i know, as i am frantically trying to put the shelf back in place, the amaro bottle has jammed underneath it, so i have to repeat the operation again, jiggling the bottle from beneath the bird.

now i feel like i might actually need to down the contents of the bottle to stop myself from wanting to throw up...

(for the practical details, Gian-Carlo - on of the owners of the restaurant downstairs and a keen hunter - gave me the bird because Cristian gave him a sausage). is there anything else i can add??


The ultimate aim...

THE EXORCIST

In comparison, the projectile vomiting skills of Linda Blair who played the child in "The Exorcist" or Monty Python's Mr Creosote are unremarkable. I would have won an award this week as I dashed desperately up and down the living room, unable to reach the bathroom before the worst happened...

Who said that tummy bugs were fun? I would just add that being is sick is great for the abs :)

LISBON TRANSPORT OPTIONS

San Francisco?
Toy racetrack?
Nothing of the sort, just the beautiful Lisbon and its many transort options!
From mercedes taxis to multicoloured trams, we had the time of our lives dashing around the city, taking as much in as possible during our 2-day minibreak.

MORE OF TRONDHEIM

Amazingly, we managed to attend a few receptions. This one was in the cathedral - one of the oldest in Northern Europe. We also found the groovyest tapas bar in the "venice of the north" (another one!)

TRONDHEIM: A FUN, DARK, DRIZZLE

Nienke spent most of her time in Trondheim, Northern Norway, on antibiotics - or maybe it was other medication that would help explain why in plenary, she kept asking "are you talking to your crotch" and at the cinema she threatened to "fondle" her neighbour.

Anders suffered from constant jetlag and was found asleep under the desk in the office, on a chair in the conference hall and even at the dinner table (so much for our riveting conversation ;)

Nonetheless, we braved the rain and the ice and made the most of our time up North.


Rakfisk, or half-fermented trout, can give you botulism and kill you... hopefully the aquavit and beer cocktail that you drink with it neutralized all germs.

Nienke singing in the rain in the old part of town.

Lovely public phone box with frilly lace curtain.

The harbour where ducks get frozen in.

Team dinner on the first night, when we had moose and elk!! go man!!

MONTREAL: MAPPLE TREES, SYRUP, NO MOOSE

views from the McGill University campus.

We peddled our bums off (Asheline, Leila, Harry, Stefan)

Views of Montreal from the island.

Team dinner at the end: moi, Renata, Katy, Leila, Franz, Nicole, Melanie, Bill, Asheline and a splendid one of Harry!

So when was it??? some time between the 5 and 12th of October 2007!

FOND MEMORIES...

Thank you (xiexie) Lao Xia and Chengla!

Warriors at the Great Wall.

Nigel and a jade cabbage leaf...

Some tourist at the bottom of the Great Wall of China!

Beijing taxi, dopey driver

One taxi after the next asked us to get out at Lao Xia’s house and refused to take us up to Fragrant Park Hill. By 10.30, we were still standing by the side of the road, with cars pulling over, thinking we might be prostitutes?!

Finally, Lao Xia managed to find a novice, willing to take us to the hotel, but unsure of the route to take. What ensued was a nerve-wracking journey, cold sweat forming at every junction, as we risked being taken out of our way with a driver totally unable to communicate with us (the Chinese being the only people in the world who don’t seem to twig on to sign language, mimics, drawings, etc). With a few wrong turns and some unbelievable homing skills, we made it back.

Dirt market
A great skill: singing with mouth full

From the room, I called Lao Xia to let him know we had arrived. He informed me that his wife and others had said it was totally normal for drivers not to want to go up to Fragrant Hill at night, and that it was in fact company policy to refuse, because of the number of hijackings that occur in the area… ohhhhhh, well that’s alright then!

Other driver stories include the taxi driver that took Asheline to the airport at 5.00 am and came to pick me up at 10.00 am. Between Lao Xia’s home and the airport, he fell asleep five times. Good job I don’t have a quiet voice!

Tienanmen Square, impossible to pass without thinking of the students that got killed.

The best driver however, might have been the one that picked Asheline and I up from the Forbidden City and took us back to Lao Xia’s house. He sang all the way back, with volume on full, and then heartily laughed at us as we tried to get him into the correct section of the compound.

Friday night Chinese John Travolta

Friday saw Asheline, Lao Xia and I visit the Summer Palace before going back for a great lunch of dumplings and other marvels prepared by Chenglan. The afternoon was dedicated to the Forbidden City and its many scaffoldings, and trying to find a taxi back to have dinner in the shopping mall behind Lao Xia’s home. A Korean BBQ fuelled us round the supermarket where we purchased a number of dried squid legs, bean curd strips and chopsticks.

By then it was 21.00 and we felt the disco urge (rather Lao Xia’s eyes were gleaming as he schemed his first trip ever to a disco – this is baby book material at the tender age of 64!), so we headed to the basement. Here we found hoards of youngsters in their party gear, filing into a dark hole with booming music that pounded our eardrums even from the dressing room where we dutifully left our purchases. An experience never to be forgotten. 1) quite a few people appear to have quite a lot of money as many were drinking bottles of spirits. 2) there were many more men than women. 3) the women at the bar were wearing Britney-style school girl mini dresses. 4) the dance floor was packed by 22.00 with most people facing the dj. 5) some audacious fellow tried to feel my backside but was not quick enough. 6) Asheline was a hit and got her fare share of stares.

In order:
Over the bridge and under Chairman Mao, to the Forbidden City.
Bridges at the Summer Palace.
We ate duck number 48'684'897 - delicious.
The Forbidden City; a strange place.

ZE MOTLEY CREW FREUM TOTLEY

September saw an intrepid tourist group appear from Yorkshire with the aim of visiting all of central Italy in a week. Guide books had not accounted for the pace of the intrepid pack. They covered Rome, Florence, Gubbio and Cortona to mention but a few, and they survived the deadly pong emanating from the adjacent pigsty. As such, a medal goes out to the Totley Crew for their stamina and good humour, their ability to down G&T with wine as opposed to peanuts; and also to combat deadly red ants.


Plonking around the pink city of Gubbio.


Pushing it to the extreme, in Rome, on the tourist bus for the day.


Taking a moment to admire local art - http://www.gabolandia.com/


After a hard day's worth.

BURSTING INTO FLOODS OF TEARS...

This flat is a jewel. It sits high above the Cortona skyline, with sweeping views of the Val di Chiana on one side and a unique outlook onto everybody's weddings on the other. It is cosy, friendly, just large enough to accommodate us and it shines with light on three sides. It draws you like a diamond, but its about to be abandoned... As the heaven's open, for the third winter running, we dive for the buckets and move the umbrella round the bed. Piazza Baldelli, Palazzo Baldelli, where noble families lived, where the first stones were set by the Greeks, where the Romans and Etruscans played, is disintegrating. Mold is taking over. The water is rising and we will have to get out before we sink.


Our bedroom / swimming pool.

UNA DOMENICA SPECIALE

é una domenica con teeeee.

Masica and Danilo tied the knot this Sunday at 11.00 am. The groom arrived later than the bride, but she lived next to the church so waited at home. The priest was annoyed and nearly called the Carabinieri when the friends of the groom lit fireworks outside the church. He then went on to preach about families and I had to hold on to Cristian to stop him from trying to beat him up. The choir was rehearsing for San Remo and shook the foundations more than the fireworks did.

When we finally got out and sprinkled vast amounts of rice everywhere, we made our way to the 4 Pietre in Castiglion Fibocchi, where we had a true Italian Wedding lunch. Antipastis kept coming; then there were three different types of pasta; two steaks, one with mushrooms, the other with pepper; mixed grill; fruit and the wedding cake. Needless to say that by then we all needed vast quantities of coffee and digestivo!


Say "cheese"!


Hugging the groom brings good luck!


Che spacco!!


The groom looked like he had seen aliens for the most part of the day...

UNDER THE UMBRIAN SUN

We must have re-enacted several films rolled into one. Many nationalities, one long table, piles of food, a pool, a superb host and much fun! That sums up Sunday afternoon or was it a year in Provence or stealing beauty?!


The blue whale won the race...


Ben - who looks a lot like Marc Rochat from school - with Clair


Sandra and Clair


Grapes did not feature in all parts of the menu.


And what do you want?!

ROYAL STATUS

On their last day in this weird and wonderful country, Toby and Helen got V.I.P. treatment. Assisi's flag throwers and drummers came out en force; in Perugia a band was playing beside the fountain; we got the last table at Pizzeria Capri without a booking; Juventus won 5 to 1 against Livorno in the first match of the season; and the cherry on the cake: the sun shone all day and the night was warm.

Some time on Sunday they were on their way to Wales whilst we were still asleep!

SHIVER DOWN SPINE

A bit like a wet dog, when it shivers, just before going for the great shake that will spray water everywhere, I am now on my last leg of being an estate agent. With three working days to go before my life returns to what it was just about one full year ago, I am looking ahead, planning and plotting what the next steps will be. The first one will no doubt be the equivalent of a bone handed over by the butcher - a celebratory bottle - then it's all steam towards contracts, meetings, articles and new adventures, with weddings and visitors coming up fast!


Dry cat

IN THE BLANKET OF RAIN, WE LOST OUR VISITORS

In a vain attempt to escape from England's horrendous weather, Toby and Helen made their way to Pisa/Florence (someone needs to tell Ryanair that Pisa and Florence are two very different and separate towns, about one hour apart, and with two individual airports... so landing in Pisa should be classed as a flight to Pisa, not Pisa/Florence, or maybe we could suggest adding Rome to the list?!). Unfortunately they were closely followed by the clouds, and then the rain, and then the thunder. Oups. Yesterday they went south, to Rome where they never had to open their umbrellas, so they then tried not to return by missing the train!

ELBA ISLAND IS BELLISSIMA!!!

and we loved every second - in retrospect, even the camping bit!


Procchio - how can you beat pizza with a view like this?!


Our calletta, next to Fetovaia


View from the carpark at Capoliveri


Capoliveri


Porto Azzurro


Loc Barbarossa