Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World
Just five days to December and it’s the time of year for colder damper weather, which in itself creates some of the most breathtaking scenery and camera shots here in our little bit of Chianti. Early morning mists fill the valleys below us and as the sun peaks through we witness shafts of sunlight breaking out from the mist and spotlighting the thousands of cobwebs covering just about everything!
Then the sun rises a little more and shines on nearby properties, but the mist has not risen yet so we get these ghostly looking apparitions. It’s important to stand still for a while and watch the vista changing as the mists start to gradually roll away. Beautiful. So then we drive to Fiano, our local village, for coffee at La Dispensa, which means going higher up still into brilliant sunshine. The drive back will be views of fog filling the valleys over Certaldo and looking like a great white lake.
We relax with our coffee and read the papers, greeting the locals as they come and go. On rainy days they joke with us saying that we have brought Tempo Inglese (English Weather) with us! But what is this? In the paper I read that there has been a miracle in Pisa; The Leaning Tower has straightened up by as much as four centimetres over the last twenty years! It seems that consolidation work carried out between 1993 and 2001 has resulted in this unexpected turn of events! Well that’s good, but if it keeps going, will we end up with the Once Leaning Tower of Pisa? All those tourists that travel long distances to have their foto taken looking like they are holding the building up with one hand, yes what of them? I guess they will instead come to see the Miracle of the Tower that moved!
Anyway, another article in the paper caught my eye, and something close to my heart or should I say waistband, Pecorino Cheese. I don’t just like cheese, I absolutely love it and it is the only thing stopping me from becoming vegan. Pecorino is the most popular cheese in Italy for everyday use. It ranges from very young and soft to a hard mature version, a bit like the texture of Parmesan but the taste is different. I love it for the fact that it is not cow’s cheese, which I avoid. When we first arrived in Italy, I had to find an alternative to English Cheddar, particularly for cooking. Pecorino hit the button and more! Can you buy Italian Pecorino in your country?
And, what about the Italian fashion scene for the run up to party time? Well, firstly chunky footwear is in, even with the most feminine smart couture! NeroGiardini
I was always a stiletto fan until the knees started complaining, so if you are following the younger women in the British Royal Family, you can still wear them and that can be your excuse. Otherwise, if like me you are crazy about everything Italian, perhaps not.
And, so to the big glittery C. Yes, Christmas is everywhere already. Festive markets in all the towns and cities. Also, Opera and Theatre with a festive edge. We will certainly go to some of these; I’ll report back when we do. What are you doing this festive season? Do let me know what you are up to!
Meanwhile, I am working on my ‘Buy real books for Christmas, you can’t unwrap an e-book’ campaign. See my own books at June’s Site
Well, time to get back to the day job and don’t forget to buy your advent calendar. I love them.
Salute June x
Firstly, I’m delighted to announce that my beautiful daughter Sharon and her friend Rosie have officially launched their new Magazine EnvyItaly. A cross between an upmarket magazine and a high quality coffee table book, EnvyItaly brings you everything you need to know about Luxury lifestyles, travel, food, wine and love in beautiful Italy. You can also read it online. I love it. Her Dad and I are so proud. Let me know what you think! 
Finally, on the way back to the carpark, we were relieved to find Olivieri Bistro open! On the outside it did not look very much, but once inside that all changed. I adore Burratta cheese (a big round soft creamy ball) and it was on the menu. Foto from Trip Advisor. Then I had a big dish of fresh porcini mushrooms with pasta. Yummy! Good coffee too. You can visit them on Facebook and Trip Advisor. This time of year ‘San Gim’ is really beautiful in the evenings, so I would recommend you go then. Have you been there? Let me know.
Also in the papers and magazines I found some gorgeous fashion. Just to remind you I only post pictures of fashion shoots that are advertising ‘made in Italy’ designs. Also where the designers are using happy models. So here is a lovely cosy outfit for winter by the lovely designer Carla Ferroni. If you go to her site you’ll find a fun video with a catchy Italian Montalbano type soundtrack. 
And finally on a much lighter note, I have pinched a picture from Beautiful Italy’s Timeline fotos as I could not resist sending you a copy. Seeing this gorgeous Italian Poliziotto is enough to make one rush out and get arrested!
Firstly, as you know, I mostly follow the Rock Music scene, my being an aging Rock singer, however, just occasionally I pick up on something else that really excites me. This time it is the amazing soprano voice of the young Martina Barreca. I must confess that what really caught my eye was the fact that she is getting together with rock musicians to do some ‘metal’ music. Now, I am not certain if a performance will be included in her up and coming stage show in Pisa, but she is such an amazing singer that I am tempted to go anyway, purely to hear her voice. 
Back in Fiano drinking coffee in La Dispensa, I read in La Repubblica a two page article about that gorgeous iconic actor Marcello Mastroianni. Brilliant actor, both serious and funny, I loved his many films alongside my favorite Italian actress Sophia Loren that we will watch again over Christmas. I’m thinking that, if you have any really favourite old films its important to get a load in on DVD. This is the only sure way of having them in your home; streaming has become hugely popular, but why risk having all your stuff in a cloud!
Funny how vinyl music records have become popular again. I have a lot of original 60’s and 70’s LPs, and as our music centre has died, I have been researching for a new ‘deck’ and speakers. I found this one, which has built-in speakers and might just buy it for a joint christmas present! What do you think? However, I need to persuade my man that the music centre really is dead; he never throws anything out, if it exists it’s repairable!
A band that beeped my radar last week, was Brit Floyd. I have to admit that I am not too keen on the idea of tribute bands, but I guess and if they are good, it does keep the live music out there. Brit Floyd have just completed their tour of Italy and I have taken the trouble to check them out on YouTube. They have their own style and have performed some of Pink Floyd’s classics really well. They sound and look good live, so why not give them a go! I sing cover songs, so who am I to cast any doubts! Their Balkan and European tour continues. 
And finally, much closer to home is the village of Marcialla, which has the lovely cosy little theatre called Teatro Communal Regina Margherita. It has lovely comfortable red velvet seats and is like something out of the vaudeville days! I have just picked up its winter/Spring performance dates and there will be evenings to suit all tastes. From comedy to children’s theatre, Jazz, opera, classical and other concerts. Even if you don’t speak Italian, you will love the atmosphere there. 
Most of you will know that early morning coffee at our local bar, is an essential start to our day. The other benefit of this is, over the years, having met some lovely locals; some very interesting and talented. One of these is the beautiful designer and artist, Gloria Campriani. Gloria was born in Certaldo and her studio is still here.
For many years Gloria worked with well-known names in the fashion sector and this experience led her to choose yarn as one of the main medias for her artistic career and the use of recycled materials now plays a big part in her creations. I love her work. Fotos provided by Gloria. Visit her website 
And, by amazing co-incidence, this weekend is the Festa de Lane (wools) di San Martino, in Florence. You will find everything you can imagine related to and /or made with wool. Don’t you just love hand-knitted stuff? I do. Did you learn to knit? I had the basics as a girl, but all my creations came out five times too big! Scarves a mile long, and so on!
Over coffee this morning, I spotted in La Repubblica, this advert for Berwich pantalone, that’s trousers to you and me, but it was the winter knits that caught my eye. I’d love to get the waistcoat for my man, but he may not like it as much as I do; I’ll have to ask him. What do you think? Visit their 
Then I saw these beautiful hand-made shoes by Fratelli Rossetti. Wow! They are just things of beauty; if you are into flats like me, there’s no need to be dull for the sake of comfort, not here in Italy! They have a shop in Florence! Yes! Here is their 
Meanwhile back at our lovely converted monastery farmhouse, we are surrounded by autumn coloured vineyards. This one is just to the left of our front gate. Some of the most beautiful views are to be had right now. despite the grey skies, high winds and rain.
And, last Tuesday we finally lit the log fire, having gone into denial for a couple of weeks, refusing to believe it was cold enough. And what a joy it is, snuggled up on the sofa with my man, gazing into those warming flames! Ah, life eeez good!
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