30 October 2017

We arrived back in Panicale late Thursday afternoon just in time for the week-end festival in the village. Celebrating the olive harvest so the village comes to life!

More tables/chairs were placed in the village piazza to take advantage of the activities and the expected intake of visitors.

A food van was set up early Saturday inside, near the piazza fountain and another making delicious crepes just at the entrance. Wonderful crepes, Phil was able to get his much loved Grand Manier crepe, a reminder of Paris, however since they didn't have any lemons for my favourite "sugar and lemon", I had to settle for just "sugar". I definitely wasn't going to have Nutella!

Pots of olive trees were placed around the fountain in the piazza to remind us of the "theme". This would be the last festival for the year as Panicale also winds down for the winter. The activities started around 10am on Saturday and wound down around 10pm, both Saturday and Sunday.

There were two live bands, one inside near the fountain, the other, an Irish band would you believe, playing inside the wall but down a narrow passage so it could not be seen from the centre but their fun Irish music could be heard and brought the crowds to them!

Nearby was a venue for olive oil and wine tasting. They are well organised.

For €15 you received a wine glass in a "hang around the neck" pouch, complete with sheet of tickets and a map of the village laying out where all the "eating" spots were and "tasting" spots.

Throughout Sat/Sun you can sample local & regional wines and olive oil, in exchange for 1-3 tickets and so on from venue to venue and make purchases if you like something in particular to take home.

In one venue there was honey tasting from the region of Umbria, one we really loved, a creamed honey, and said we would buy 500g jar. Then we read the label, and saw it was from eucalyptus trees....here we are again. No wonder we loved the taste!

It was a lot of fun, all the village appeared to join the festivities. There was a magician for the children and business owners appeared to do good trading.

The loud music finished about 10:30pm so the disturbance in our villa was minimal. Since we have double-glazed windows and front door we were able to keep the noise tolerable.

There were "security guards" on duty to ensure no trouble and really it appeared it was to ensure the barriers at the entrance to the piazza were not removed. Normally locals living in the village but on the other end of the village are allowed to drive their cars through the piazza however because of the activity in the piazza that would have been very difficult and dangerous so the "security" would ensure "no entry".

Aldo, our bar owner, says he doesn't understand why these security are there in their "bold" uniforms. They aren't police but private security firm. We saw them with handful of tickets for "free tasting", so I assume they too had a great time!

During the evening "traditionally dressed" dancers performed for the crowd. It was just delightful, the foot movements amazing, the skirts twirling, the yahoo, and foot stoping to the accompanying music was so good.

See the picture of the dear little boy, strumming his guitar. The next generation in training!

As Panicale slows down for the winter we noticed today (Monday) some restaurants and osterias now closed.

Aldo's son (Aldo's Bar), Simone, owns and runs a restaurant/osteria across the piazza. We dined there on Friday evening. His wife, Lorena, Sicilian by birth and chef, is a fantastic chef. Her food is devine. They closed Sunday evening to take advantage of "slower" trade and are having 11 day cruise to Canary Islands. They actually will then return and reopen their restaurant, right through December/January. They too, said they had a really good and busy summer tourists season. Aldo's just seems to keep on keeping on!

On Sunday evening we enjoyed a roast. We had purchase locally made pork sausages from the butcher in the village, together with potatoes and tomatoes from the green-grocer also in the village. The olive oil was from a bottle we bought at the festival and the rosemary, from our own garden. It was really good. The white wine we also bought at the festival. It was a late lunch, about 3pm but that's the way you eat in Italy.

We don't have many "definately going to do" things while we are in Panicale. We are taking advantage of the rest and "just being here".

We will venture out to close-by Chiusi tomorrow so I can send another box of things home. Now I have been advised by Pamela that our two boxes sent from Rome have arrived home, I am confident that Italy post has improved. I am trying to "lighten" our load as we continue on after Panicale to Milan, Lyon and Paris. (More shopping venues ahead).

The weather is cooling, nights here at 6-8°, max 17-20°. We are expecting the days to drop any time soon. The heating in our villa was officially "turned on" this morning so we will be cosy as the temperature drops.

We plan only to go to Orvietto, this time to visit the magnificant cathedral which was closed on our last trip. Another visit to Assissi is a "maybe".

My dear little Arthur had his 2nd birthday yesterday (29th October), I heard there were many balloons and he had a lovely day. Really sorry to have missed it and further holidays will have to be made around "grand-childrens birthdays". We were also away for Benji's 7th birthday although we did a pre-birthday visit just before we left Goulburn.

Love to all, still having a wonderful time but think of home, family and friends always. Missing Olly too, I am seeing lots of cats even in Panicale but they don't seem "vocal" and do not respond to mewow, mewow, at all! I will have to find out how locals call their cats!

From both of us, till next blog, love and blessings.