We've had such a good week weather-wise. Sun and blue skies. On my birthday there was no wind and by the afternoon it was boiling. The boys had their t-shirts off and we were laying on the grass sunbathing and drinking wine. We worked quite fast and had quite a few breaks. We went to the supermarket after work to stock up on goodies, incuding a cake. It felt strange leaving the house - it's in the middle of nowhere so we havne't been able to come and go as we wish. We cooked a piece of meat in the fireplace, ate the cake and went out to a couple of bars in Perugia. It was ok, although the boys are out of funds so we found ourselves paying for the drinks.
Yesterday was also a nice day. We wanted to see Perugia by day as it looked so beautiful by night. Like many other Italian towns, it's old and retains an antique charm, with its cobbled streets and sculptured façades. It took us a while to get there: we walked, hitck-hiked, got a bus and then a tram. Once there we walked around, enjoying the sun and the Saturday bustle. There were lots of very well-dressed Italians going to church, markets selling antiques and hand-made pottery, children eating ice-cream, and locals sitting on the cathedral steps in the sunshine. It was so great to see a new town, and it really is a beautiful town.
I'm quite glad we're not working this weekend. My hands and back ache quite badly. I guess gripping the comb for 6 hours a day and stretching yoursef to reach the higher olives has to account for that.
There's a Halloween party going on tonight. We have no costumes so we'll probably use bin bags, and eyeliner and lipstick as face paint. It's quite nice to have a day of relaxing and sitting by the fire.
Happy Halloween.
domingo, 31 de octubre de 2010
lunes, 25 de octubre de 2010
Tiles
I can't believe I wrote the last entry only just yesterday. It feels like ages ago - I guess we're moving through completely different situations all the time, one day has nothing to do with the one before. At the weekend we were tourists visiting a touristy town, dragging our luggage everywhere with us; buying postcards and eating overpriced pizza; sitting on the steps of the main piazza and watching the world go by... Now, we're deep in the hills surrounding Perugia, with our own room (lit with candles, not bulbs); we're nor spending a penny and the food is homemade and finger-licking good; and sitting by the massive fireplace in the kitchen, reading and chatting.
We haven't started the olive picking yet because it rained all through the morning. Federica asked us if we would like to finish the tiling in a room in the cellar. We replied we'd never done it before and she said it wasn't a problem. Good old Helpx again, entrusting people with jobs for trained professionals. It was ok really. The gaps to be filled weren't right for the tiles available, so we pretended the wall was a jigsaw and tried to fit as many pieces in as tastefuly as possible. We even included some traingular pieces...
We spent about 3 hours preparing/eating lunch. Federica and Enrico both love cooking and it shows. They're very relaxed about the work and want us to join in in their lifestyle, eating pasta, drinking wine and taking it easy. It's great although I feel bad about not doing more work.
In the afternoon, well, half 5, we went for a walk with Enrico. He organises trekking trips so knows all about the area and has loads of knowledge of plants and seeds from the woods. He then left us and we climbed to the Panoramic point of Monte Tezino, where we spent some time gawping at the beautiful sun, setting over Lago Trasimeno.
Rob and Steve seem to feel like they're missing out and are joining us here tomorrow. It'll be nice to have them around, and will make speed up the olive picking. Steve's birthday is also on the 29th so Federica said we can have a party, Halloween themed of course.
I believe we start aour day at 7 tomorrow, so it's bedtime for me.
Will try to put some photos up in the next couple days.
We haven't started the olive picking yet because it rained all through the morning. Federica asked us if we would like to finish the tiling in a room in the cellar. We replied we'd never done it before and she said it wasn't a problem. Good old Helpx again, entrusting people with jobs for trained professionals. It was ok really. The gaps to be filled weren't right for the tiles available, so we pretended the wall was a jigsaw and tried to fit as many pieces in as tastefuly as possible. We even included some traingular pieces...
We spent about 3 hours preparing/eating lunch. Federica and Enrico both love cooking and it shows. They're very relaxed about the work and want us to join in in their lifestyle, eating pasta, drinking wine and taking it easy. It's great although I feel bad about not doing more work.
In the afternoon, well, half 5, we went for a walk with Enrico. He organises trekking trips so knows all about the area and has loads of knowledge of plants and seeds from the woods. He then left us and we climbed to the Panoramic point of Monte Tezino, where we spent some time gawping at the beautiful sun, setting over Lago Trasimeno.
Rob and Steve seem to feel like they're missing out and are joining us here tomorrow. It'll be nice to have them around, and will make speed up the olive picking. Steve's birthday is also on the 29th so Federica said we can have a party, Halloween themed of course.
I believe we start aour day at 7 tomorrow, so it's bedtime for me.
Will try to put some photos up in the next couple days.
domingo, 24 de octubre de 2010
Italia
Siamo in Italia!
Me and Clara have been here for a week, and oh boy what a week. We decided to prolong our travels after spending so much time with fellow travelers in France. So here we are - olive picking. We've just finished the first week at a farm near Grosseto, south Tuscany. It was an interesting experience. The work was cool although pretty hard on our untrained biceps - it consisted of "combing" the trees with a sort of vibrating pitch fork, so that the olives would come flying out at a ridiculous speed and force. It hurt when they hit you in the eye. It was only 4 hours a day though, so tolerable. The rest of the day was spent exploring the area - old villages, hot springs, sunset on the beach, oil mill... The only two things that bothered us was: 1. It was a German colony. There were 12 of us and we were the ony non-Germans, so we spent most of the time looking at each other and thinking, oh God. But they were nice enough, except for 3 really butch women/men. 2. We had to pay for own food, which is against Helpx's principles, but it was the boss's first time with Helpx so.. I don't know, there wassn't much we could do.
So we're in Assisi at the mo, going to Perugia this afternoon to start at the second farm (olive picking aswell, and 7 hours of it..).
Will try to update but it's difficult to find a computer on olive farms.
Hi from Clara!
Me and Clara have been here for a week, and oh boy what a week. We decided to prolong our travels after spending so much time with fellow travelers in France. So here we are - olive picking. We've just finished the first week at a farm near Grosseto, south Tuscany. It was an interesting experience. The work was cool although pretty hard on our untrained biceps - it consisted of "combing" the trees with a sort of vibrating pitch fork, so that the olives would come flying out at a ridiculous speed and force. It hurt when they hit you in the eye. It was only 4 hours a day though, so tolerable. The rest of the day was spent exploring the area - old villages, hot springs, sunset on the beach, oil mill... The only two things that bothered us was: 1. It was a German colony. There were 12 of us and we were the ony non-Germans, so we spent most of the time looking at each other and thinking, oh God. But they were nice enough, except for 3 really butch women/men. 2. We had to pay for own food, which is against Helpx's principles, but it was the boss's first time with Helpx so.. I don't know, there wassn't much we could do.
So we're in Assisi at the mo, going to Perugia this afternoon to start at the second farm (olive picking aswell, and 7 hours of it..).
Will try to update but it's difficult to find a computer on olive farms.
Hi from Clara!
domingo, 3 de octubre de 2010
Long time no type
Who would have thought that after going through the body-wrenching experience of grape-picking last September and swearing we would never ever put outselves through that again, we went and did it, again!
Clara and I just got back from 2 fantastic weeks in Beaujeu, a small village in the Mâcon region of France, near Lyon. We worked in 2 different farms and have 2 completely different experiences, one good and one bad - but now they sum up to a great "holiday". The work was not as excruciating as last year - I don't know if it was because our bodies were slightly immune to last year's constant back bending or if it was due to the copious amounts of ibuprofen we took and the daily Tiger Balm massages, a miraculous substance. It must be said, the boss this year was les strict and we had plenty of breaks and sitting down was allowed, that must have contributed too. Still, because the other grape-pickers were all foreigners (all Appellation Controlee applicants ( a Dutch agency)) and not French locals, we found ourselves being some of the quickest workers. It was a very pleasant surprise.
We had a great group of Brits, Germans, Dutchies and an Australian, who sure livened up our evenings, drinking 5 euro 5 litre "bidons" of wine. They each had their own story and their own traveling ambitions and you can't help but it rubbing off and soon I was more than happy to ignore my flights back home and stay for an extra week of work.
A group of us stayed in Lyon for a couple of days after the work ended. It was great spending time with them in a non-working environment, although a bit weird. We were sad to leave them, and let them carry on with their disorganised travel plans and feel slightly unhinged back at home now. All I want to do is set off again. The idea of settling back into a routine is not particularly attractive at the moment.
However much I might complain about not having enough clothes when I travel, it sure feels good to live out of a suitcase.
Clara and I just got back from 2 fantastic weeks in Beaujeu, a small village in the Mâcon region of France, near Lyon. We worked in 2 different farms and have 2 completely different experiences, one good and one bad - but now they sum up to a great "holiday". The work was not as excruciating as last year - I don't know if it was because our bodies were slightly immune to last year's constant back bending or if it was due to the copious amounts of ibuprofen we took and the daily Tiger Balm massages, a miraculous substance. It must be said, the boss this year was les strict and we had plenty of breaks and sitting down was allowed, that must have contributed too. Still, because the other grape-pickers were all foreigners (all Appellation Controlee applicants ( a Dutch agency)) and not French locals, we found ourselves being some of the quickest workers. It was a very pleasant surprise.
We had a great group of Brits, Germans, Dutchies and an Australian, who sure livened up our evenings, drinking 5 euro 5 litre "bidons" of wine. They each had their own story and their own traveling ambitions and you can't help but it rubbing off and soon I was more than happy to ignore my flights back home and stay for an extra week of work.
A group of us stayed in Lyon for a couple of days after the work ended. It was great spending time with them in a non-working environment, although a bit weird. We were sad to leave them, and let them carry on with their disorganised travel plans and feel slightly unhinged back at home now. All I want to do is set off again. The idea of settling back into a routine is not particularly attractive at the moment.
However much I might complain about not having enough clothes when I travel, it sure feels good to live out of a suitcase.
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