Benvenuti to all my Lovely Loyal and new followers,
The main via in Certaldo Alto. Foto J Finnigan.
Here in my our little bit of Tuscany on the edge of Chianti, I try to write this blog every Sunday Morning; occasionally it slips over to early Monday Morning. But today I have cleared my desk and am on schedule! My man and I have just returned from morning coffee at Bar Solferino in Certaldo and the sun is shining, so despite the freezing temperature, it is yet another beautiful day in Tuscany.
Now you may have noticed that we are rarely in our local village of Fiano these days. The sad fact is that Laura’s Bar/Alimentare has been closed for two weeks again and the village has fallen into the doldrums. Bar Piazzina in the centre of the village was abandoned months ago, so now there is nowhere to get coffee! The heart has gone out of the village and there are a lot of retired people who need somewhere to focus on. Fortunately, there are other shops; a tiny bakery and pizzeria, butchers, chemist, Milko’s book and card shop and a post office, however, the latter is only open two days a week now. The only snippet of good news is that the village hall has been converted into a Gymnasium for the village elementary school, so at least that’s something!
So for now, Certaldo it is, a town that manages to still be active with several bars, small shops and businesses, despite the dreadful economic situation. Do you remember when the UK was described as a nation of ‘shopkeepers?’ Well Italy is much the same, but things are changing fast.
Elton John is coming to the Sanremo Song Festival! La Nazione.
Saint Jude! A new TV series starting in the Autumn! Glossy magazine at my hairdressers.
Back at Bar Solferino earlier in the week, I read that Elton John is this year attending the Sanremo 2016 Song Festival. Looking at the list of other ‘stars’ I only recognise one and he is Italian! Oh, and would you believe it the gorgeous Jude Law seems to have taken his vows and will soon be starring as Pio XIII in a new TV series directed by Paolo Sorrentino. He still manages to look sexy, lets hope they haven’t cast him as gay, but hey ho. Apparently it will go out on Sky Atlantic and most European countries, including the UK, will be able to tune in. Mmmm must get SKY in before Wimbledon starts this year, methinks!
On the subject of sport, have you been to Florence and watched Historical Football, known here as Calcio Storica?
Calcio Storica. Very rough, half-naked rugby/football in Florence! La Nazione
It’s unique to Florence and is a kind of rugby match, however, the players wear medieval pantaloons and are stripped to the waist! It’s been going on for several hundred years and there are regular demands for it to be banned because of the extreme violence. Well it’s in the news again with more complaints. I cannot understand what the fuss is all about, if these guys want to play the game, why not! We girlies like it…..
Siena’s Il Palio says no to invite from the Queen!
La Nazione
Meanwhile, the other rather rough sport, the horse race called Il Palio in Siena, has caught the interest of Queen Elizabeth. She invited the riders and their horses to attend her next birthday celebration, but they have turned her down. They say that for just three days, the logistics are too problematic; so Queenie can’t always get what she wants despite being in the top ten most wealthy women in the world!
Well, enough of that. Back here in the villa, life goes on in the most pleasurable way. The sun is still shining and if we tuck into a sunny spot protected from the cold, we might just sit out with a nice glass of Pinot Grigio. On the other hand, if we go over to ‘C’era Una Volta’ at Lucardo for lunch, I won’t have to cook. O Dio, these executive decisions can weigh heavily on the mind; particularly on a Sunday. Ok, time to shut the studio down and make a decision.
Have a great week and do drop me a line.
Salute June x
PS. I would love it if you visit my author site at http://www.amazon.com/author/junefinnigan
‘My Father, The Assassin’. Book one in the series.
‘The Bolivian Connection’ Book two in the series.
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