Living in San Giorgio di Pesaro and Kingston

San Giorgio is a long way from being a gastronomic hotspot in the world. However, recently a shop selling fresh pasta during the day and pizza at night opened. Apparently the fresh pasta is excellent but opinion is divided on the pizza – no two Italians will agree about what is a good pizza.

The two weeks ago the  “Osteria Casa Mina” opened. It is is the vaulted basement of “Casa Mina” in the old castello. It is open only at weekends and being an osteria provides simple foods – cold meats, a couple of pastas etc.

We weren’t here for the inauguration but the people who went said the quality of the food was good and a few people who have eaten there since have said the food was good and the place had a good atmosphere.

We haven’t had a chance to try the place but when we do I’ll report back.

On Sunday we went to Riccione for a plant market. Pam from Tavernelle had gone last year and said it was very good. We went not hoping for too much but in fact it was really good. There were over 50 stalls selling plants, garden ornaments etc. There were stalls from all parts of Italy and they were selling different plants or at least different varieties that are normally available in the garden centres round here.

The event takes place in the Villa Lodi Fe which is near the railway station. It happens twice a year – March and September.

We arrived just after 10.00 and after a quick cup of coffee we wandered round making a note of possible purchases. On the second circuit we bought some things and managed to get everything we wanted by 11.30 when it began to pour down. Opting for lunch we – Pam, Michael, Elizabeth from Carbarnardi, Bill and I – went to Gambero Rosso restaurant in the port at Riccione and had, as the name suggests, a fish lunch. The last time Bill and I had been there was about 10 years ago when it was too hot to sit outside and people were pushing to sit in air-conditioned comfort. This time we were pushing to get out of the rain.

On Saturday we went to the wedding of Federica and Roberta.
The weather forecast was for rain but fortunately at 4.00pm some sunshine broke through the clouds and at 4.05 the bride, looking radiant arrived and the wedding began in the beautiful renaissance church in Orciano.

Federica and Roberta have been living together for some years and as you can see from the top pictures their friends were delighted that they had finally decided to tie the knot.

The reception was held at Villa Rinalducci a recently restored villa near Fano. It was a beautiful setting and again fortune smiled onthe bride and groom as the photos got taken just before the rain began.

In the main entrance to the villa there were drinks and finger food – all beautifully presented and all tasting delicious. We then moved into the marque for the main meal which we started eating at 8.00 and finished eating at 12.30. During the meal we were treated to an incredible thunder and lightening storm causing the electricity to go off for about 40 minutes and we had to eat by candlelight. It was a great evening and made not getting home to 2.00am worthwhile.

Federica and Roberta were having Sunday at home and on Monday they fly to the USA for their honeymoon – two weeks doing the west coast and then the last few days in New York.
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At the end of June I sat the CELI3 exam. This is an exam for foreigners to assess their abilities in Italian. The exam is run by the University of Perugia and is a recognised qualification. There are 5 levels from 1 (basic) to 5 (fluent) and the content and marking are based on the Common European Framework for Languages.  In the exam you are tested on reading, writing, listening and speaking.  

I heard a few days ago that I had passed the exam and now I, according to the Common European Framework of Languages, “Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.”

I never knew I could do all this before. It apparently also means I could apply for courses at an Italian University – next stop medicine in Bologna.

We haven’t been to the cinema for some weeks and noticed that the film “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” was on. It met our critical criteria when deciding which films to go to i.e. plot easy to follow, dialogue not too important and lots of special effects.

We forgot that on Wednesday evening the tickets are half price and that Shrek had just opened. The cinema foyer was packed with parents and kids out for the night. We almost returned home but braved the queue and got the tickets (5 euros). Even though it wasn’t the most popular film on offer the cinema was still half full with noisy kids mostly sitting at the back of the cinema. So we opted for the front rows. Unfortunately just before the film started a large family group moved into the seats behind us. It’s never a good sign when dad is incredibly overweight, carries a large coca-cola and calls his kids a lot of little turds. Things got worse as one of the kids obviously suffered from attention deficit disorder and 30 minutes into the film began to constantly move along the row and then clamber over the seats to the front row and back again. “No Michele, No Michele”, was the nearest the dad came to trying to exert control.

Despite these things sent to try us I really enjoyed the film which was, as expected, real hokum, but entertaining hokum. The film also got a positive response from the young audience who give it a round of applause at the end.