DiscoverSoriano.com Blog http://www.discoversoriano.com Tue, 13 May 2008 14:32:14 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.discoversoriano.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.discoversoriano.com DiscoverSoriano.com Blog http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=247&Itemid= DiscoverSoriano.com is a proud sponsor of this year's Jazz Festival in Soriano. We hope you will come and see us! We'll be filming a great deal of the festival this year in High Definition, as well as conducting numerous interviews. This is the preliminary schedule for the 2008 Jazz festival in Soriano. Most performances begin around 9:00 PM in Soriano's main Piazza. Some performances will take place in the City Hall Courtyard. Keep in mind that more events are likely to be added to the schedule as time drawn near. Additionally, performances end at midnight as the Rotezzia Pub in Soriano (Located in Catacombs below the main Piazza) opens up for all-night Jam Sessions. 2008 Jazz Festival Schedule July 19 Gege Telesforo Jazz All Stars July 21 Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances July 22 Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances July 23 Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances July 24 Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances July 25 Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances July 26 Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances July 27 Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant Performances July 28 Rosciglione and Munari present the Tuscia in Jazz Master 2008 Class July 29 Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Finals July 30 Rick Margitza July 31 Flavio Boltro Francisco Mela Aug 1 Kenny Barron Trio Aug 2 Jazz All Night (White Night) An all-night festival scheduled to last until 5AM -- Stages are erected all over town for multiple simultaneus performances throughout the night. Town stores, bars and restaurants remain open all night. Aug 2 Tony Monaco, Ray Mantilla, Flavio Boltro Aug 3 Tuscia in Jazz Masters/Teachers Jam Aug 6 Fabrizio Bosso DEA Trio Aug 7 Shawnn Monriera Italian Quartet Aug 8 Tuscia in Jazz Band play Formichella Sound Aug 9 Sould New Sound Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:01:57 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=246&Itemid=132 16 days to go before I make my trek to Italy for 5 months this year, but our tours have started. Fortunately, so that I could get some last minute work done and finish coaching our son's baseball team, Paola went over ahead of me for our first tour of the year. Scott Michelle (from Texas), and Don MaryAnn (from Washington) are our guests for this week that ends tomorrow. They have chosen to do a somewhat custom itinerary that more or less mixes some of the highlights from other itineraries we offer... making it somewhat intense: Rome, Florence, Cortona, up into Umbria, etc. etc. To my utter pleasure, Michelle has a Blog where she has been posting daily trip reports. It's a great read! Have a look. (http://caverfamily.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html) Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=244&Itemid=132 Let's face it... when I am in the US, this blog runs pretty dry. After all, a blog about Italy doesn't do too well when you are sitting at a computer in Florida. Well, that is soon to change. On May 12, I'll be heading over again, and this time I will be there for 5 months straight. No back and forth this year like I have done the last few years. But the news gets a little better... I'm heading over there with some new high-tech toys for the blog (and the rest of the site). I'll be bringing a new Canon Vixia HF-10 High Definition camera, as well as a new Gateway P-171XL FX with a full compliment of video editing software. My intention is to get pretty serious with the videos this summer. I'll be doing very in depth video blogs for all of the towns we visit on tours, as well as all of the festivals and events. Considering that we already have 14 tours booked, there will be a great deal of material, so stay tuned. See you soon! Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=242&Itemid=136 Last week Paola wanted to teach Alyssa, our 18 year old daughter, how to make Ceci Soup. She was saying it was so easy that she could do it blindfolded. As we laughed at her, she insisted that she could, so I ended up betting her $100 that she couldn’t. What started out as a stupid little bet turned into an evening of intense laughter and family fun. We found a sock, blindfolded Paola and she went to task as I filmed her. While it all went quite well, she failed to consider a few potential pitfalls. For one, at our house here in Florida, we have a flat electric stove. Finding the buttons was an exercise of trial and error. Additionally, she had some trouble finding rosemary, and finally learned that Paprika and Marjoram smell more or less the same. In the end, with almost no help at all, Paola pulls it off. More importantly, we had a week’s worth of laughter in an evening… and some great Ceci soup! Those of you that know us from our cooking classes and tours in Italy will get a chance to see Paola do her thing at our winter home in the States. I only hope you have as much fun watching this as we did making it. We’re even talking about make this a regular thing, turning it into a video cooking class. Sun, 09 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=241&Itemid=136 “My daughter speaks perfect English. After all, she spent a month in England with a native family”. That was the quote that caused me to simply give up, and it speaks volumes about Italian culture and the denial so many of them live in.It happened this past October. I was in a local barber shop in Soriano nel Cimino. The barber was telling me of the frustrations he had been experiencing as he tried to communicate with the American tourists that t=started coming over the past few years. They would come into the shop, looking for a haircut, but he had difficulty communicating with them. After all, he doesn’t speak a word of English, and it certainly helps to know what kind of cut your customer desires.I certainly understood, and promptly offered to help him. I explained that I would create a list of common (and not so common) terms that a barber would need to use, along with their Italian translations. He could simply give the sheet of paper to customers and solve most of his problems. I had done similar things for local restaurants, an ice cream stand, etc.Imagine my surprise when he declined the offer. He explained that he had been asking his daughter to do such a list for him, but she lives far away, is busy, and has had no time. He explained that his daughter had studied English in school, and was therefore fluent in English. I explained to him that while she may have excellent English skills, it was highly unlikely that she would have many barber shop terms in her vocabulary. After all, what are the chances that she learned ‘buzz cut’ or ‘mullet’ in her studies? I continued to explain that he had an American sitting in the chair, and while his daughter may be fluent in English, it could never be at my level, since it is my mother tongue. Additionally, I was there, ready to help, and he had said that she had no time to help him.That is when he delivered the line. His daughter speaks perfect English because she spent a month in England. At that point, it becomes clear that there is no sense in continuing, but it illustrates a reality in Italian culture.As visitors travel Italy, they invariably notice that signs, menus, notices, etc. are translated so poorly that they are all but incomprehensible. This isn’t limited to barber shops and little local businesses. The problem exists in government, major corporations; just about anywhere you see English translations. You see it in airports, major hotels, government websites… everywhere!It’s the pride. Why have a non-Italian do a translation when we have a daughter, or a cousin, or a friend who claims to speak perfect English? It may spill over into the belief that the native-English speaking person can’t possibly do as good a job because they may not understand the nuances of Italian. I really don’t know.Here is another great example: Soriano nel Cimino’s tourist board has a website, of course. Have a look at their home page (http://www.prolocosoriano.it/En) . If that isn’t enough, keep digging on the site and try to read it. The kicker here is that for two years I have been offering to fix it for them… for free. I even went so far as to re-translate the site for them, and e-mail them a list of the mistakes with the changes they need to make. That was more than a year ago. I have explained to them in person why “The lucky hilly position” makes no sense in English. I explained how “the ideal place where to spend” is grammatically offensive. Did they change it? Why not? Nobody will tell, but I think it might hurt someone’s pride, so it is better to live in denial.OK, I just felt like venting. I’m done for now. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=235&Itemid= Wow… I’ve been away from Italy now for a total of 3 and a half months. That is the longest stretch in more than 2 years. When I am in the states, I’m not immersed in the wonders of Italian culture, so material for the blog is hard to come by.Anyhow, the other day Paola and I had the great pleasure of meeting a group of Floridians with whom I converse on a very popular message forum called ‘SlowTrav’, a website dedicated to travelers that understand and appreciate the concept of soaking in a culture when you visit, rather than racing by monuments to get it all in. On this forum, Italy is by far the most popular destination and subject of discussion.The group included people from all over Florida. We started the evening in Winter Park (Orlando’s version of Rodeo Drive) at a wine bar where we all got to know one another, then proceeded to Rocco’s Grille, and Italian restaurant run by a couple from Sicily, with Northern Italian accents (I never got the story behind that one). The food was fantastic, the people were even more fantastic, and we had some great laughs as we all got to know one another. Among the people in the group were Cecilia, who had stayed with us in Soriano just a few months ago; Jan, who we will be seeing this summer in Italy; Doug and Judith who put it all together; Gail Howard, who have one leg in Umbria, and one leg in the US (but I’m not allowed to tell you where in Umbria); Tom Judy (who live everyone’s dream of spending six months a year motor-homing through Europe – Check out the blog here (http://www.papillontravels.net/)); Ann Pat from Jax, ‘Cracker’ Tommy, Jim Wendy, Lou Kathy, and oh boy… too many names for one evening, so if I didn’t mention you, please leave a comment on this post and yell at me! We had a great time, and I am most certain that it the first of many gatherings of its kind. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:47:31 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=218&Itemid= You know, there is a really, really good reason that you don't see any Italian groups on the International rap scene. What could that reason be, you may ask... just click below and remember that Italians make great food and wine, ok? Oh yeah, and promise you will keep watching it at least until you see the Michael-Jackson-esque moonwalk. Trust me, it is worth the wait. Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:08:21 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=217&Itemid= Face it, I'm back in the states for a few months, so I just don't have much material for the blog these days. I mean, when I am in Italy, I could write several posts a day, but I am sitting here in Florida, what to contribute to THIS blog?That said, little things catch my attention here and there, and while I was clicking away on Youtube, I stumbled across another one that had me rolling on the floor.If you have read deeper into my blog, you certainly know the disdain I have for Olive Garden -- actually, any massive chain restaurant, but I am about Italy, so Olive Garden really hits a nerve.So you will certainly appreciate why I love this video.... Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:41:15 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=212&Itemid= All I have to say can be said by this video. I'm feeling safe now thanks to the POWEHRRR RAYNGERRRZ! Sat, 03 Nov 2007 16:47:30 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=209&Itemid= This year wasn't my first time seeing the Chestnut Festival, but through the years, I have never made it to the Palio. First things first, What on earth is a ‘Palio' ? Those who have heard the term generally know of it it in connection with the famous ‘Palio di Siena', which is a horse race. But Palio is really a term that can be used for any kind of competition in Italy. The word Palio itself refers to a large banner that acts as a trophy for the winner of whatever competion is being held. In other words, the Palio is the prize, not the contest.Soriano's Palio, unlike that of Siena, is not a horse race. Instead it is a half-day event that is made up of an archery competition and a jousting competition. It is one of the main events in Soriano nel Cimino's Sagra delle Castagne (Chestnut Festival).During the festival, the twon divides into 4 ‘contrade' districts, each with their cavalier and archer that will compete in the Palio. The contradas are ‘San Giorgio', ‘Rocca', ‘Trinita' and ‘Papacqua'. This year, San Giorgio swept the competition. Luckily, Paola's family belongs to San Giorgio. Actually, Paola's father was one of the founders for the festival, and he was the president of the San Giorgio contrada for years. Still, I lived in the Papacqua district when I lived in Soriano, and our rentals are all in the Rocca district. That said, I had a 75% chance shot at being connected to victory! The openening event of the festival is the ‘Blessing of the Cavaliers and Archers', during which the cavaliers ride (and archers walk) into the main square in a grand procession, accomanied by their districts trumpeteers and drummers, all followed by a magnificent parade of villagers in medieval dress. They take formation in front of the catheral as a priest blesses the competitors and the opening ceremonies commence.On the day of the Palio competition itself, thousands of people march down to the fields where the event will be held to cheer for their their respective contradas.The even begins with a round of archery, followed by a round of jousting for rings. Naturally, this is 2007, so the cavaliers are not jousting one on one. Instead, they ride a course that is marked with a series of poles. Each pole has three rings of different size. They are scored based on how many rings they get, how big those rings are, and the speed at which they maneuvered the course.With the second round, the archers take more distance and the cavaliers get a second shot at their remaining rings, again judged by ring count, ring size and speed.A third and final round puts the archers at a greatly increased distance, and the cavaliers that their last run around the track in an effort for the perfect score.When it is all done (It lasted about 5 hours), all of the scores are tallied and the contrada with the highest combined score wins this year's Palio. From that point forward, the losers go home deflated, while the winners parade all the way back to town for an evening of extreme celebration.The event is strongly felt in the town. Emotions run deep. I watched losers in tears and winners rejoice at their sumpremacy. I have to admit, I started out really not caring, but with all of the tension in the air leading up to the event, I found myself really excited, too. It was truly a blast! Sat, 27 Oct 2007 23:38:13 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=208&Itemid= Ask around Soriano about ‘Fosso Mulino’ (River Mill) and you will get mostly blank stares. So it is no surprise that after all of these years I had no idea that it existed. Very few people do.One day I was out with my friend (and our contractor) Andrea D’Alessio. He asked me if I had ever been to the waterfalls. My immediate answer was YES! There is a place in Soriano with some beautiful waterfalls that few know about, and I had been there. In fact, years ago I was telling Paola about them, and she didn’t believe me until I showed her.Anyhow, Andrea didn’t believe that I had been to ‘The waterfalls’, so he asked me to describe them. As I did, he laughed and simply explained that there were other, more breathtaking, waterfalls in Soriano. So he took me. He explained that not only was this a beautiful fork of the Tiber with awesome waterfalls, but there were the ruins of a 13th century Olive Mill. Cool!We drove just past the Viterbo-Orte Superstrada, right at the Soriano-Bomarzo exit, and hung a left. We drove down a road which is well known as a hangout for some extremely vile looking prostitutes (another story there) and parked along a little dirt road. After exiting the car, we went down a small trail into what appeared to be complete nothingness.At one point, I noticed beneath my feet there was some ancient concrete road, which was ribbed. Andrea explained that this was the path the mules used to cart the olives down, and the oil up.Next I found myself in a tunnel of sorts, created by massive rocks around me, and extending about 200 feet down the hill. All the while, this ancient road ran beneath my feet.After exiting the tunnel, immediately to my right was the river. As I walked toward it, I was struck by an absolutely beautiful set of waterfalls as I saw the water that had literally carved its passage through this ancient volcanic rock over millions of years. To say it was stunning would be an understatement.We walked around as I cursed my lack of a spare battery for my camera. It had a little juice left in it, so I took what video I could. How could I never have known about this place?As we crossed back to our entry point, there was an old structure in ruin. Andrea told me to look to my feet. There, sitting in the middle of this little forest was an ancient olive mill wheel. We then entered the structure, and a few more wheels were just lying there haphazardly. Wow! What a great experience to see all of this in such an untouched state.Such was my morning visit to what I now know of as ‘Fosso Mulino’. You won’t find it in any tour books, and you won’t find any ‘professional’ guides that can show it to you. It is just one of those hidden treasures, like Corviano, that you just have to be with the right person to see.I’m pretty sure I will make this a tour stop with my groups that are into nature and hiking. Sat, 20 Oct 2007 09:32:47 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=207&Itemid= Things got quite busy since my last post. We had a wave of guests come to Soriano, and the annual chestnut festival ( Sagra delle Castagne ) began, which really kept me running, camera in hand.The folks in Soriano's tourism office were kind enough to issue me an all-access press pass for all of the events, so I have tons of content (both video and photo) from the last few weeks that will take form in blog articles over the next few weeks.So now that I am back in the US and getting over my jet lag, I'll begin... The Flag Throwers ( Sbandieratori ) of Soriano nel CiminoSoriano is, for the most part, divided into four districts (Contrade). When the chestnut festival begins, these districts compete in many events (Archers, Cavaliers, Parades, Medieval dinners, etc.). Additionally, each district brings a distinct group with a specific talent. For example, Soriano's swordsmen are from the ‘Rocca' district. The ‘Trinita' district brings a group of heavily trained Flag Throwers.To be completely honest, they never impressed me in the past. I always thought it was a total non-event. I mean, big deal, right? But I hadn't seen the Flag Throwers from Soriano in years, and I was covering the festival, so I really should check it out. In fact, I actually considered if I wanted to waste my camera's battery life on the event for fear that I might end up missing something interesting later into the evening.The event was about to begin, and I took my place in the Piazza... thinking there must be something better to do. Then I heard the drums coming from Via Santa Maria (Trinita's home street). Suddenly I saw a massive group of drummers, trumpeters, and flag throwers march into Piazza behind the Trinita Flag Carrier. Their costumes were breathtaking! Their choreography was mesmerizing! Even the drums were absolutely stunning! When the row of trumpets began to play, my jaw dropped in utter awe.This was not the Flag Throwing group I remembered. In the past it was a small group of guys that put on a nice, but largely unspectacular performance. Wow, have they changed. Someone with great skill and vision has clearly taken over in this group. I would argue that it was the most spectacular event I saw during the festival. Maybe because my expectations were so low going in, or maybe they are just that great now.Unfortunately, the video that accompanies this article doesn't do them justice. It doesn't even come close to capturing the grandeur of the group, nor does it reproduce even a fraction of the awesome sound they produce. Not knowing what to expect, my camera missed many of the best moments of the performance. Next time I have an opportunity to film them, I will try to better convey how truly awesome this group was. Mon, 15 Oct 2007 08:29:52 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=205&Itemid= I remember my mother telling me about her move to Southern California, and how excited she was the first time she picked an orange off a tree and ate it right there. I was thinking, like... ok, big deal... you need to get out more! But then again, she was from New York, and I had been born and raised in L.A. After all, I had never seen an apple tree... In fact, at 42 years, I still have never seen an apple tree. Maybe I'm the one that needs to get out more. That said, if you are reading this from Napa Valley (Hi Jac and Ami), this post might have you thinking I've been locked in a cage most of my life. Well, that cage was walled by the confines of the 101, 405 and 118 freeways in the San Fernando Valley, and I can't stop saying to myself: ‘Dude! I, like, fully made WINE yesterday'. OK, I'm going to admit that it wasn't my first time. The first time was about 13 years ago when I happened to be here in Soriano nel Cimino during the harvest, and I helped my father in law with his private yield. At the time, my only point of reference in making wine was the image of Lucy rolling her pants up, stomping grapes, and screaming ‘Ohhhh Ricky'! I quickly learned that grape stomping was actually a practice that ended about a thousand years ago when the first mechanized wine press was invented. Some towns still practiced stomping (of a small portion of their grapes) for fun and entertainment during their wine festivals, and of course THAT made far better entertainment for the ‘I Love Lucy' fans.The ‘basket press' (Torchio in Italian), which was invented about 1,000 years ago has remained largely unchanged through the years. Farmers throughout Italy that have their own private vineyards for personal use still use this press every year to make their wine.Yesterday marked my second time. I went to visit Leo, Santino and Andrea. They are actually the contractors that restored our villa, but they also have a farm with their own two acre vineyard, plus more acreage of an olive orchard, hazelnut orchard, etc. They harvest their grapes each year, which produces an average of 1,300 liters of an excellent red. Believe it or not, that is hardly enough to get them through the year for their own personal use! Does that thought just drive your mind away from Lucy, and on to Otis from The Andy Griffith Show, or what?We spent the afternoon in their cantina filling the press with the separated grapes, and watching the must (basically grape juice that will grow up to become wine) pour out. As I watched and helped, I listened to them tell me what a true labor of love it is. Every so often, it was time to assemble the press and start cranking away, squeezing every little bit possible out of those pesky grapes! After all, we couldn't have a year with only 1,299 liters, could we?In between, we would rest, eat pecorino cheese, salami and mortadella with freshly baked bread. Of course, all the while we are either drinking the remains of last year's wine, or drinking the must straight from the press ( YUM!!! ).It was a wonderful afternoon that I will never forget. So much so, that we discussed expanding the vineyard for next year and dedicating a section to DiscoverSoriano's own private reserve. We'll be planning days with our guests to share in this wonderful experience, and will set aside enough to produce roughly 300 liters of our own reserve for our guests. Today I am off to Maurizio's farm, where he is just starting to pick his grapes. More to come!0 Thu, 27 Sep 2007 03:57:32 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=204&Itemid= In the past year, the value of the dollar has fallen 10% against the Euro. That means if the price of something in Europe has not changed, it costs you 10% more if you earn your money in US Dollars. In other words, a hotel rate of E.200 per night a year ago translated into $242, and today it translates into $282. OK, that's bad. But if you are considering a vacation in Italy, there is a way to be almost completely unaffected by this with DiscoverSoriano.com. DiscoverSoriano is an American company that operates tours in Italy. We own our own homes, we guide our own tours, and most of our operational costs are in Dollars, not Euros. Since some of our costs are in Dollars, and some are in Euros, we are largely unaffected by the exchange rate! This is very important for you, because we can keep you from being affected by the weakening dollar.Most hotels and tour operators in Italy are completely bound by the Euro. If they offer you a price in dollars, it is based on the exchange rate, so if the Dollar weakens by 10% against the Euro, they are forced to raise their prices in Dollars by at least 10%. At the end, you pay in Euros no matter what. Fortunately, DiscoverSoriano does not have this problem, and we can protect you against it.Think about it this way: If you are from Colorado and are thinking of taking a vacation to California, you would never consider that you might hold off on the vacation if the Dollar is weakening against the Euro, would you? That is because your dollar is still worth a dollar, whether you are in California or Colorado. But if you go to Italy, your Dollar is carrying less and less value as the exchange rate weakens it, so the trip is getting more and more expensive even if there is no inflation. That is not the case if you take a DiscoverSoriano.com tour.Our tours are all-inclusive. We pay for all of the lodging, all of the excursions, all of your meals and all of the transportation. All you pay is airfare (http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-2816122-10463203) , and that is not rising with the currency exchange. You pay it all in Dollars, and the price of your tour will not fluctuate with the exchange rate. So you can take that trip to Italy without worrying about the falling dollar.Your only expenses once in Italy on a tour with us will be small personal incidentals and gifts. Of course, those will be affected by the exchange, so we decided to make you an offer. Since everyone else is raising their prices, and our costs are more or less unchanged, we have decided to LOWER our tour prices by nearly 10% for a limited time. In other words, if you were to spend $2,500 in gifts and personal items in Italy, it would be as if you were doing it with the exchange rate from 2005! All other costs are covered by us in the price of the tour.See our Cooking tours (about-soriano/cooking-vacations/cooking-vacations.html) and Organized Tours (guided-tours/organized/organized-tours.html) for more info. Or visit us at www.DiscoverSoriano.com (http://www.DiscoverSoriano.com) Technorati Profile (http://technorati.com/claim/gui7459rae) Wed, 26 Sep 2007 05:17:19 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=203&Itemid= I love Football (Go USC!) Baseball (Go Dodgers!).. I'm an American after all. But I have never been able to sink my heart into Soccer. So having spent all of these years in Italy, I've never been to a serious professional Soccer match. I've been to the small ones, but never ‘Stadium Sized' games. That changed yesterday.I'll write this article aimed at people that are not up to speed in the world of European Soccer, so I ask those of you that are in the know to be patient with me.I was invited to go to a match between AS Roma (Rome) and Juventus (Turin). They are the Italian Soccer equivalent of the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, with Juventus being the Yankees. You know, the team that has a huge following all over the country (and the world), not just mainly in their home town. It was held at Rome's Olympic Stadium.I was far more focused on the experience than the game itself. After all, I could care less if ‘Totti must die' or not. Still, I was there with a group of six die hard Juventus fans, who graciously shared a ‘nearly impossible to procure' ticket to the game. Many envious people felt the ‘golden ticket' had been wasted on me. That said, for my own personal safety I was a Juventus fan yesterday. The experience began with the walk up to the stadium. Vendors abound were selling flags, shirts, banners, towels, etc. proclaiming that ‘Juve must die' and ‘Juve I hate you', etc. Juve is short for Juventus, in the same way that we say ‘SC' for ‘USC'. There was no pro-Juventus paraphernalia to be found. In fact, I noted that none of the fans wore anything pro-Juventus. Odd, considering what a huge following they had all over the country.After a bit, we arrived at security check #1. Then #2, then #3. Then a caged fortress-like area where we inserted our tickets. Then yet another security check. Each person was individually patted down, made to empty their pockets and bags, then checked again, and again at a series of checkpoints. Nothing was allowed in. There were literally thousands of police in full riot gear everywhere you looked, forming lines, ready for the worst. I think I would have an easier time getting into the White House than the Soccer game yesterday. The moment we walked through the gates, I witnessed people opening their bags and getting shirts, hats, flags, etc. out. All Black and White... Juventus colors. They had been afraid to wear their gear outside of the protection of the ‘Juventus Section' of the stadium.As we walked into the stadium, I quickly learned that all of the security was outside. It was pure chaos as we attempted to find our seats... until I learned that seat assignments have no meaning. Everyone just crowded in wherever they could. Aisles, stairs, etc. were all fair play for seats.As we tried to make our way to a place where we could see the game, I suddenly heard a roar of screaming and felt the pressure of thousands of people pouncing around me, pushing me (and everyone) violently to one direction. As I looked up, completely confused, I saw a chair flying over the big fence into the stands where I was. Thousands of people were rushing away from the area... into me. Then another... and another.... Bottles, small objects, etc. It was mayhem. I noted that everyone on the other side of the fence was wearing Red and Yellow, while those on my side were wearing black and white. I was within 20 feet of the giant divider between Juventus fans and Roma fans. THANK GOD FOR THE MASSIVE BARRIER! Riot Police stormed the area and calmed things down, after a fashion. We continued to slowly make our way to a better place in the stadium. Pushing and shoving to move foot by foot was the order of the day.Once we were settled in our chosen location, one thing became utterly clear. I was in that spot for the duration. The stairway was completely blocked by fans and there was no way to move away from my two square feet of stadium floor. I had skipped lunch earlier, thinking I would get a bite at the game. HA! A couple hours earlier I passed up an opportunity to go to th Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:21:04 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=201&Itemid= It used to be that when I would come to Italy, for the first few days, people would see me and give me a huge ‘welcome back’. That was then. I would come here once a year in the summer and spend a month to six weeks here. Michael and Paola are here… it must be summer, right? Big hugs, dinner invites, the whole nine yards.But now things are different. I got here yesterday and there was no fanfare. Not a single dinner invite, not even an excited greeting. Instead, most people never even realized I had been away.Who can blame them? They saw me 3 ½ weeks ago, after all. I was here with the family all summer. Before that, I was here for Christmas… and in October before that… all summer before that… April before that… January before that… etc. In between my solo trips and family trips, Paola always peppers a trip or two per year on her own, so to the untrained eye, it seems that there is always a Kovnick in Soriano.When I tell them I have been in the states, I get that shocked look, accompanied with something on the order of ‘But didn’t I just see you???’. In fact, I would argue that many people think we live here now.Such is now my life with DiscoverSoriano.com. So why do I blog this? Last night I met a couple of our guests from Arizona who are leaving today. (Hi Lynda and Christine). They told me about how much they loved it here. They felt so at home, and Lynda was really interested in purchasing a place here as a vacation home. It really occurred to me how doable something like that really is. If you sit down and do the math, it isn’t really more difficult or costly than having your second home in the mountains or at the beach in the U.S. It just seems that way.To start, purchasing a place here is far less costly that it would be in the states. One could easily get a beautiful place here for less than $75,000. Property taxes here are extremely low. Ongoing expenses such as heating, electricity, phone, internet, etc. are all relative, of course. So what makes owning a vacation home here seem so far out is that it is a world away.But if you consider that someone from the east coast only has an 8 hour flight, then a one-hour drive to get here, is it really that far? Even from the west coast, it isn’t that bad. Essentially, you give up coming for the weekends in favor of spending weeks, but the payoff is that you are in ITALY. When you look at the cost of ownership here, it covers the airfare (http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-2816122-10463203) many, many times over.Then it is worth considering what one would do with a second home in Italy. The first and obvious answer is to see Italy. After all, after 23 years, I am still discovering this wonderful country every time I come. I’ve never seen such an amazing place. But then consider the rest of Europe. After all, in Soriano, we are about an hour from the Rome airport, and there are airlines that now sell tickets to just about anywhere in Europe for insane prices. Think about spending the weekend in London, Berlin, Paris, etc. for around $40 each way.Add all of that to the fact that Viterbo (the provincial capitol) is only 10 miles from us, and their airport is gearing up for commercial international air service. All of Europe is literally at your doorstep.Thinking about it, it really does add up. The cost of having that cabin (and using it) in the mountains is really on par with the cost of having (and using) that medieval retreat in the heart of Italy. Hmmmm. Sat, 22 Sep 2007 05:23:46 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=198&Itemid= For those of you that will be coming to Soriano for the Chestnut Festival, I thought I would post a video that shows a few of the highlights. This video is a promotional piece by Soriano nel Cimino's Medieval Swordsmen. While they perform at many festivals all over the world, being from Soriano, they perform at each and every festival in the town.This video concentrates on them, but many of the video clips are taken during the Chestnut Festival (Sagra delle Castagne) over the years. Enjoy! Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:54:11 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=196&Itemid= 40th Annual Chestnut Festival (Sagra delle Castagne) Schedule - 2007 Every year, during the first two weeks of October, Soriano nel Cimino hosts a festival that surrounds the chestnut harvest. This festival is done on a large scale, and attracts thousands of people from surrounding areas, including Rome. The two main events of the Sagra are the Palio and the Corteo Storico. Unfortunately Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:28:27 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=194&Itemid=137 Have you ever been on a vacation and come home having the feeling that you need a vacation from your vacation? Have you ever phoned home and said something to the effect of ‘We’re exhausted, but we’ve seen this, and that, and that, and that, and that’? When you plan trips, do you juggle your itinerary to try to fit things in?If the answer to any of those is YES, read on.Growing up, my family traveled quite a bit, and in my adult life I have continued that tradition with my own family. I’ve been to many places and sat at the foot of countless landmarks. Still, if I look back at it all, it amazes me to recognize where my fond memories come from, and which vacations I count among the best. That said, I’ll give you the short list of my vacation memories to build up to the point of this article.During my first time to Italy in 1983, I visited Rome, Florence, Milan, Positano, Pisa, Modena, and Calabria. I visited each and every landmark in each of those places. However, my strongest and fondest memories come from sitting outside of the home of my friend’s grandmother in Calabria. I watched the goat and the chickens run around… the children playing n the streets. The sound of a family speaking a language I didn’t understand. The little old lady wearing black and sitting in front of her door all day as she mourned her husband. I remember seeing feathers on the ground while noting a missing chicken… and being told we were having chicken for dinner that night. I remember the sweet look on ‘Nonna’s’ face as she would serve me and say MANGIA with that huge smile of hers. I remember the smells and the sounds as though were yesterday. As I think about this experience from 24 years ago, I take a deep breath and smile. I have no such fond memories of any landmarks… just memories of having seen them… as though they were merely checked off a list.Don’t get me wrong. I am happy to have seen those landmarks, but they don’t define the vacation. Rocco’s grandmother had a much greater impact.My first trip to England was two years later. Again, I saw most of the ‘must-see’ sights. But other things happened on that trip. I proposed to Paola, and we went to Manchester for her friend’s wedding. Besides the obvious wonderful memory of having become engaged to the love of my life, my fondest memory of that trip was an evening in her friend’s house laughing with friends. I remember going downstairs and walking to the corner store for something and noting how incredibly British everything was. It was an evening of full immersion into British culture. It was a great day, and far more memorable than having seen Buckingham Palace a few days prior. Again, I am happy to have seen the sights, but they did not define the trip.I was motivated to write this article as I was looking at part of an itinerary of a soon-to-be guest of ours. It was hectic and filled with tons of landmarks and little time in between. I told her about my first trip to Paris. It was a business trip that left me very little time to see anything. Still, we squeezed in the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. On our last day, we had a 3 hour window of time before our flight during which I made a mad dash through the Louvre… Saw Mona, and thought how great it would be to spend a week in this museum. Still, when I think about that trip, I think about a lunch we had with some clients outside of the city in a small farmhouse Bistro. I got a sense of the culture. That lunch is a fond memory. The Eiffel Tower was… well, The Eiffel Tower. It was merely checked off.On yet another business trip, I was in China. The Great Wall was fascinating. The Forbidden City was amazing. But there was a night in particular in Xiamen that we had dinner with associates and their families that really sticks out in my mind. We talked and talked and talked. I learned so much about the culture and the people I was sharing a meal with. I learned their political perspective, their family values, and their view of the world. It was such an incredible experience. The great wall was… Great. But that dinner defines not only my trip to China, but a new understanding and appreciation I gained for their culture.I could go on and on. I have similar stories for so many other places, so many other trips. I’ll convey just one more trip to finish my point.Seven years ago Paola and I went to Bora Bora for a week. When we got there, we quickly learned that there is absolutely nothing to do on the island. Everything there is to see can be seen in a morning. You can swim, snorkel, boat and lay out… period. When it gets dark, there are only two things to do: Sleep and… well, it is definitely a place for couples. And that is all we did.To this day, I count Bora Bora as the best vacation of my life. I also count it as the vacation in which we saw and did the least. It was 0% landmarks, 100% experience. 0% itinerary, 100% relaxation.I have never before, nor since come home from a vacation so recharged! In fact, I keep a large fish bowl full of Bora Bora sand and shells on my desk as a reminder.All of these experiences are of course my own, and they may or may not fit your personality. However, in watching our guests, I see the same thing time after time. None of our guests in Soriano have ever written us about their wonderful memories of The Trevi Fountain. They write us about their wonderful memories of ‘that evening sipping wine in Piazza’, or ‘that time we had pizza together’, or the little oddities they experienced here and there. It is the culture that grabs them, not the landmarks.In fact, it is never the things you plan on that define the trip. It is always what happens in between. So if you plan a trip with a schedule loaded with monuments and landmarks, you may not have enough time in between to make those wonderful memories… and you are more likely to go home needing a vacation from the vacation than relaxed.If you are planning a trip to Italy (or anywhere for that matter), try to fight that urge to get it all in. If you try to control the experience, you will miss something special. Slow down and let the experience of a wonderful new culture come to you. I promise it is worth it. Technorati Profile (http://technorati.com/claim/euekj6a8u2) Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:01:51 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=193&Itemid=137 We’ve been renting homes to travelers for over a year now, and I’ve noticed two distinct groups of people: ‘Italy first-timers’ and ‘Italian culture chasers’. In all honesty, some, albeit very few, of the first-timers truly resemble the culture chasers. The ‘first-timers’ are the people that have finally made it to Italy for Sun, 09 Sep 2007 08:54:09 +0100