All kinds of fuzzy, but lots of hair though!!

I had a lot of fun when I lived in Italy and this was one of those fun things. Playing in the band. Crowds were never that big except when we played the amphitheater in Florence, that was a good size crowd. What a fun show, to be on stage outdoors in an old Roman structure, to be making noise where others, albeit dressed in togas, may have done similar. Unfortunately I have no photo's of that, the individual responsible for the camera passed out in the car!
We played these venues which were essentially state owned property which was taken over by these anarchists. Pretty wild the parties they used to throw, never really understood what they were doing, looking for free rent I suppose. There was this one place out near Pisa I think, an old castle. The stage was set about ten feet off the ground, we had to climb up a ladder in the back, crawl through a tiny sound room until you emerged onto the fifteen by eighteen foot stage. I didn't understand why until we started playing. I have never seen people slam dance to the blues and have never seen it since. Slam dancing. The violence with which these people threw themselves and each other around was rather amazing and rather scary. It became clear as to why the high stage was needed. That was an entertaining gig to say the least.
Like the spurs?

Shopping?

You know, one of my favorite things about living in Italy, once you get past the fact that the country shuts down from noon til three, are the markets. Not just the open air markets that happen just about every weekend in every little town. I mean the little produce markets, the butcher, the baker all the individual compartmentalized little stores that give shopping for dinner a sense of adventure.
Of course there are the mega stores that rival Costco or your typical American supermarket, that seems to be the trend of the world, fast and all in one place. Those places make shopping a burden, something that has to be done every week, it becomes almost a military operation. Get in, grab your stuff and fight your way to the check out and run! Pushing through mobs of sweaty bodies only to find wilted old produce or stuff that was grown in some third world country with who knows how much chemical compound used to kill bug infestations. There is something about shopping at these mega stores that is dehumanizing, almost degrading. It isn't a pleasure, at least not in my humble view. There is no connection between the product your buying and you.
When you walk into a bake shop in Italy it is almost like entering the Ritz. There is so much polished glass, marble and brass, the gleam almost hurts. Pristine white walls are obviously washed along with every other surface. It is just the way it is done, the product takes center stage within a clean, neat, inviting environment. There are actually people there who will service you, even discuss the weather! It seems like people have time! Lord knows where they get it, can you save up green stamps and exchange them for more time? I would like to know!
The butcher shop is a sparkling white tiled sanctuary for the meat lover. There you can find large Italian guys willing to carve up your animal of choice just the way you like it. Oh the joy! Sausages and prosciutto hang from the ceiling like prizes to be won at the carnival. Brash voices are heard bantering back and forth about all manner of things, one gets the sense of life in these places.
I guess it is the sense of community one gets from patronizing these small establishments. The fact that these businesses are mom and pop owned, not some large corporation over seas kind of deal. It allows one to feel like they belong and the more you visit these places the more you get known, your likes and dislikes. It makes you feel special. To be able to walk into an establishment and be greeted with a warm sincere hello is often enough to make anyone's day.
I don't think I'm slamming the American model, as I said it seems to be the way the world is turning and with more and more people arriving daily, we may lose the mom and pop shop entirely one day but I hope not. I think big stores are okay and they serve their purpose, albeit their purpose has become muddied because they try to cater to all and everything.
The joy is knowing that the thing you are buying from that baker or that butcher or that produce vendor has been handled with care and passion. In a sense you are not buying an item but a creation. Something that someone truly believes in and that is what makes it so special. The joy is walking from one place to the next in the steps of generations, being a part of the fabric that makes life rich. Shopping in this manner helps to slow you down, allows you to interact with people and enjoy life. To smell the roses as it were. It also helps you connect with what it is you will be eating, and what is in season is what becomes dinner.
When you go to Italy, (for I know you all will!) make sure you visit some of these shops, you'll get a sense of what life is about!

Buon appetito

Prior to our purchase

I wanted to show a couple more before we bought pics, so you can get a good idea as to what we were buying! As I stated, a beautifully shaped pile of rocks! When I went house hunting with my inlaws all those years ago, this was the last house we looked at.





After experiencing the view and the serenity of the place I felt we had to have it! Silly me............. nine years later we have the house back on it's feet but not much else! The experience I had on that weekend all those years ago to find a house was truly a wild ride.
I flew into Florence on a Saturday morning, was picked up by my in laws from the airport and immediately we drove to Perugia to look at homes. I believe we looked at 7 houses that day, returning to Strada in the late evening well after dinner. As we ate a late supper my father in law told me about this house that had been for sale. He had sent us pictures of it and we had told him no we weren't interested. He thought the house had been sold but if I would like we could stop to look at it on the way to the airport in the morning. That's right, I flew in on Saturday and was flying back out the next day! Crazy youth! I told him it would be fun to have a look.
The next morning we left at 6:00 am to check out the house.
The access road was in such poor shape that we left the car several miles away and walked to the property. As we approached I was transfixed. The early morning light was filtering through a thin haze, coloring all in a rainbow of hues. The greenery around us was a deep vivid green, luscious would be an apt word to describe it. For an abandoned property it felt like home.
As I walked up next to the building several thoughts and feelings rushed through me, was the building going to collapse right before my eyes? and Look at that front yard! The view from the front is spectacular! I knew at that moment that this was the house for us. It spoke to me that morning in a way I'd never experienced before.
I told my father in law that we needed to find out whether or not we could buy the place and if we couldn't we needed to figure out a way to!
I got on the plane later that morning as excited as I'd ever been in my life. Needless to say my father in law found out rather circuitously that the property had become available again having been under agreement which fell through. We immediately jumped at the opportunity. Maybe it was fate?
Nine years later it is still a beautiful place, made even more so by the craftsmanship that has gone into building the house.

What a view!

This is the view from the front door at La Vigna, the photo quality is poor because this was taken in 2001, long before we bought a digital camera. I scanned this with a Lexmark, not too bad.
Those are castles in the far distance on the hill tops!