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.

Elizabeth, our Cultural Advisor as to what is on in the area, asked if we wanted to go to a concert in the monastry at Fonte Avellana. Our last couple of cultural visits, respectively to a concert and an unveiling of a fresco, had been less than inspiring and had raised some doubts about her status as Advisor. We hesitated as the place is about 45 minutes drive away but she sweetened the pill by suggesting an aperitivo at her house before the concert, she would drive to the monastry and we would stop for something to eat on the way.

Elizabeth is back on form. The concert was in the basilica of the monastry which is a beautiful space to sit and enjoy the concert. The two players were Dario Destefano playing the cello and Maurizio Barboro on piano playing pieces by Vivaldi, Schumann, Schubert and Kabalewski. Even I, not the must musical of people, found the evening enjoyable and at times moving and exciting.

Searching on the internet I discovered the website for Dario Destefano and you can listen to excerpts of a recording they have done together.

On Sunday we went went with Pam from Tavernelle to visit the Reinhardt Garden near Lake Trasimeno in Umbria. The Garden was created by Thomas Reinhardt and his wife and is open to the public for two days in July. They have created a perennial garden, an olive garden and a tropical garden. We were able to visit the perennial and olive gardens. It was worth the the 2 hour car trip to see it.

Above are view from the perennial garden which is basically a traditional long borden. It was quite a shock to the eye to see it in the middle of Umbria – fresh green grass with lots of different perennials in tip top condition. The perennials were repeated in various combinations and it was very beautiful. However, beautiful as it was it was not a lesson in gardening for dry conditions as the soil was kept very moist proving that with heat and water most things grow well.

The olive garden was a delight and a surprise as one moved the flatness of the long border to the gentle hills planted with olives. I was looking forward to this garden as I like to see what plants people use to underplant their olive trees. At the entrance to the garden a group of trees were underplanted with “golden creeping jenny” which created an incredible effect but as it is a plant which needs moisture not something to be used in San Giorgio

After the gardens there was a small market which although small was good as there were a number of nurseries selling some unusual plants. We bought a “Salvia Sagittata” and a grass “Eragrostri trichodes”. It was also a place to see the other visitors to the garden and being a hot sunny day lots of ladies in hats were very much in evidence.
After the garden we went looking for a restaurant for lunch and found one with a view over Lake Trasimeno. Was the view over the lake better than the views over the Reinhardt Garden?

A very hot sticky night here in San Giorgio and hard to believe that just a week ago  we were having to wear jackets sitting outside. We had gone to celebrate Pam’s 60th birthday. (The photo of Pam and Michael has appeared before but as I forgot to take my camera to the party I decided to reuse the photo)

Sitting out under the trees in their garden we were wined and dined in style with the full moon adding something to the occasion. As the evening progressed the climate became chilly and shawls, wraps and jackets were put on and with the arrival of the cake refuge was taken indoors.

Despite the low temperatures the people at the party were warm, friendly and interesting with a wide range of ages and backgrounds.  At the table I was fortunate to be sitting between Pam’s daughter Katherine on leave from Hong Kong where she manages the office for “Get Reading Right” a system of teaching reading using synthetic phonics and Pam’s sister in law Catherine who is an artist and when I mentioned stopping at Mulhouse when driving back to England asked if I had seen the “Ricola Building as it’s a “must see” of modern architecture by Herzog & de Meuron. I had to confess my ignorance of modern architecture. Below is the building I’ll be looking out for next time we drive to London:

Pam and John Roscoe have finally made it to San Giorgio. After 4 years of waiting and wondering they finally arrived on the 2nd June to take the key to their new apartment. Unfortunately minor things such as gas, electricity and running water were not in place and so the initial 2 day stay with us became almost 2 weeks as they battled with the project manager and builders to get things into place. Wanting to add to the pressure  Pam and John had also invited 2 friends (Norma and Stewart) to come stay in the new apartment. They arrived 2 days after Pam and John moved into their almost finished apartment. Fortunately Stewart is very practical and John and Pam put his skills to good use in adding the final touches to the place. However, even then not everything went to plan as in putting up a toilet roll holder John and Stewart made the fatal mistake of only measuring once. They measured, drilled and put a hole in the cistern of the guest bathroom.

Despite all the set backs they are, as you can see, still smiling. They also have, as you can see, a great view from their terrace which drops steeply away. This explains the slightly terrorised look as Pam was teetering on the edge when the photo was taken.

On Sunday we were told about a festa in Torricella a small village up in the hills. The village was meant to be very beautiful, it was a wonderful sunny day and so we drove up the windy gravelly roads. We hadn’t realised how small it is. It makes San Giorgio seem like a metropolis. Torricella has a small piazza and one other street.

We had expected to stay about 20 minutes but 5 minutes was enough to see everything. Very pretty in a beautiful setting but even the presence of “Fred Magic” making animals out of balloons, or the local drammatic society who appeared from behind a painted curtain, or the presence of a group playing dance music to which no-one was dancing was enough to entice us to stay longer.