Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World.
I can’t help it, I love Christmas and this week’s blog is all about the festive season.
In our local village of Fiano a few days ago, my man and I left La Dispensa after morning coffee and was shocked to find a car parked with all four wheels on the road. The road has a white line along it, which is generally acknowledged as a ‘loading line’. To avoid parking on the line the Locals park half on the pavement thus avoiding having their wheels touching the line. The pathways are so damaged that it is accepted that pedestrians walk on the road, which is smoother anyway. I said to my man “Look at this, a car parked on the road which means I will have to walk around it!” Without batting an eyelid my man replied “Must be a foreigner!” I was heading for our lovely village ceramic shop to admire the Christmas window, you must come and visit it! I just love festive window displays
Back in La Dispensa, I had been reading the papers and looking for some interesting Rock Concerts. Then I noticed a poster for a local concert in Marcialla on 21 December in that lovely little theatre called Teatro Comunale Regina margherita, yes, the one with the lovely soft red velvet seats! Now it’s not all rock, but it looks like a great band with a whole range of instruments. It’s headed up by the very popular Fabrizio De Andrè You tube who has a lovely way with the acoustic guitar. Perhaps we should all go? Book tickets Here or telephone 055 807 4348.
Now I can’t remember Fiano having it’s own Christmas Tree before. There is a magnificent one down in our local town of Certaldo next to the Festive Ice rink, which you may also like to visit. But in Fiano? Well here is a photo, unfortunately the main piazza is also a carpark, so I could not avoid getting a few cars in the picture too. But it certainly brightens things up!
Now here in Tuscany the conversation is rarely without the mention of mangare, eating. My man and I popped into Ristorante C’era Una Volta in Lucardo yesterday as he wanted some more pasta with tartufo Bianco (white truffles) before the season ended. I fancied the risotto and Paolo’s recipe is beyond delicous. Zucca Giallo, Salvio e Ricotta Affumicato, which translates as Pumpkin, Sage and Smoked Ricotta Cheese. Heres a foto to make your mouth water. Mmmm, it’s only 10.45 in the morning but I could eat some more right now!
What did I hear you say, did I promise you four December Hunks? Well, here they are, four beautiful Italian guys all dressed up and ready to go to your Christmas party or posh do. Which one is yours? I’ll get up and dance with any of them, it is nearly Christmas after all. Which reminds me, I must get some mistletoe this week.
Now don’t forget, if you have bought all three of my books below, you are entitled to a free signed short story book called The Man in Black. Just send me a copy receipt or a foto of your books. It’s my treat for Christmas and to thank you for buying my books. I love my readers. Email me at june.finnigan@virgin.net.
Just in case next weekend proves difficult to get a blog done, may I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and exciting New Year. Do get in touch.
Salute June x
PS Books are not just for Christmas, they are lifetime companions. My site
So creative writing is out I’m afraid, and I can only send you my/our Warmest & Fond Greetings for the Festive Season.
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! 
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.
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