Urbanissimo!

I can't believe there's only two and a half weeks to go until the wedding! Time seems to be ticking at hyperspeed at the moment, and it won't be long before 50 of you, friends and family, descend on Urbania for a weekend of vino rosso, good food and the opportunity to laugh at us baking in our own personal saunas of wedding dress and black suit.

The past few weeks have been busy- there's always something happening in the town day and night. During the summer there are lots of festivals and events, and there's certainly no such thing as a quiet Sunday stroll downtown. The past three Sundays we've watched a brass brand perform whilst eating free homemade cake given to us by two lovely nonna's (see pic!) in honour of the Festa della Madanna di Cassoni which was taking place in a little cobbled sidestreet; taken our little Peugeut along to join the very long queue of cars being blessed by the local priest for the festival of St Christopher and a visited the Chiesa dei Morti (the Church of the Dead), one of Urbania's most famous landmarks which houses several mummified bodies found in the graveyard. The soil in the graveyard contains properties that cause mummification- and some of the most 'interesting' (their term,not mine) bodies are displayed in the church. I found it all a bit creepy, especially the mummy with a crazy grin on his face, which according to the the tour guide, was due to the fact that he'd been buried alive. Nice. Matty 'Haley Joel Osmet from the 6th Sense' Mathias (Simeon- you know what I mean!) however was fascinated and stayed in there a whole extra 5 mins after I'd retreated back to the main piazza for a slightly more cheerful gelato. It's not all mummies and blessings though- there are free opera concerts, markets, street parties and slightly more bizarrely last week- a breakdancing competition, watched keenly by a piazza full of old men and women... not the audience you'd expect, but they seemed to like it nonetheless.

So, if you're looking for something to do during the days before or after the wedding- then have no fear! There's plenty to keep you entertained in Urbania. Mind you, if the weather's nice- I'm sure there'll be no need to move from a comfy seat outside one of the little bars, where with a glass of wine in hand you can spend the entire afternoon watching the non-mummified world go by.

Cer xx

Curses!!

Last night was lottery night here in Italy...well actually it's Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday but last night the rollover jackpot was a ball dropping 16 million euros which is about 105 million quid. imagine that? with that sort of dinari i could afford to buy petrol in Pont Abraham or start buying Guinness or Magners on every round, although i still would think again about parking in the middle of Cardiff.

Anyhoo we went in halves with my cousin Marcello, and lo and behold we didnt flipping win. I am always convinced when i buy a lottery ticket that i am going to win but am not bothered at all if i dont. On this occasion, even my unknockable knowledge of my upcoming victory was dented somewhat by Marcello who stated that for this lottery, so many tickets have been bought that if you put them together they would stretch from Rome to Beijing. Undeterred by this attack on my hope and some would say (i.e Cer) my naivity i handed over our money and asked him to let us go in with him.

Marci is half Welsh and half Italian, a great cook who sleeps about 3 hours a night, he is the man with the business brain, he also has hands like shovels-like a block of meat with 5 big sausages protruding out. Sometimes i look in awe and some pity as he tries to type a number on his phone. Pete Dev reckons i have fat hands, it must be a family thing. Anyhoo, I digress... So we didn't win; and before i sat down to type this i bought a fizzy water instead of buying the Scarlets, a mansion in Pembrokeshire, a debenture in the Millenium Stadium or the entire DVD back catalogue of the Gilmore Girls, BattleStar Gallactica and the Thundercats (actually if we had won, i would be sat here typing this in a Boba Fett outfit drinking posh red pop) Ah well, c'est la vie, there is always Thursday.
Ferg

Italians - people of the night........

Its Ferg here again and for starters let me get this straight, i don't think that Italians are vampires or skimpily clad pagans dancing around neolithic chambers in honour of the great horned God Cerrunos. The reason for the title of this particular blog is that i am fascinated and a bit jealous that most Italians live their day up until about 2 o clock in morning.

For me its always been different, ever since my glorious Mamma let me stay up til an eye popping 10 o clock so i could watch the Equaliser, i have been a bit of an early bird when it comes to beddy bo boes. unless i am paraletic drunk, if i am up past 1030 i start slurring, i cant stand up properly and i get crotchety.....which is actually exactly how i am when i am paraletic drunk......

Anyway back to those amazing Italians. Its great here, most shops are open until half past seven or eight o clock but as soon as it gets dark the piazza (the square) in the centre of the town is chock full of people of every age, kids mix with the elderly, adults sit and enjoy a lovely warm evening while their kids can enjoy themselves without worry (other than from Italians drivers....they're still around trying to pick off people, the bastards)while teenagers, in gangs, just enjoy the evening. Honestly its 11 o clock at night and the whole town is in the centre, talking (shouting) laughing (in a shouty way) and just having a fantastic time, sometimes there are bands but if not there always is a lovely, entertaining and safe atmosphere. The pace of life is fantastic, they work hard but as soon as half past twelve in the afternoon comes along...bang...thats it, everywhere except a few cafes are closed, they dont re-open until about half past four.

To me it shows that their time is important and they put that above the making of money. I know its bloody boiling at that time but i think its because they want to enjoy their lunch at a nice pace which is completely different to how they take breakfast which is something akin to feeding time at the crocodile pit.

There is a lot i will miss about Italy when we get back to Wales, the fresh smell of tomatoes in the supermarket, raw meat, low level sexism with no awareness that it is sexism, eating with my hands (although Cerith has put her foot down with the soup course) but i think most of all I will miss our nightly walks to the piazza, the warmness of the night and the people and the noise of a community happy with each others company.

bandits at 10 o 'clock

Hi team,

Ferg here, i thought i would post a few blogs on here as well to prove that Cer hasn't smacked me over the noggin with a spade and buried me under the patio. I would also add that my entries are my opinions alone and do not reflect the views of my lush missus.

Our trip so far has been amazing and the countries we have seen have been unbelievable but i'll probably go into that more as we go on. As for Italy, I love it, the way of life here is great and the people are too(Except when they get behind the wheel of a car - see later). Unlike the experience we had in France, they love you trying to speak their language and will do anything to help, unfortunately for my waist, the food and wine is also heavenly. Not long til the wedding and i cannot wait, the only sad thing is that the closer we get to the wedding is one day less we have here but that still doesnt stop the excitement and the butterflies!!

Anyhoo on to my experiences on the roads...You know that bit in Return of the Jedi when Lando Calrissian is in charge of the Millenium Falcon and they are attacking the new Death Star? ok? then you will also remember that all of a sudden out of no where comes about a 1000 tie fighters from all directions, all speeds and with no sense of any safety for any other pilot, friend or foe. now if you exchange me for Lando, our Peugeot 206 for the Falcon and the Tie Fighter pilots for every Italian driver in the world then you have a fair idea of what i have had to deal with the moment i left the tunnel and entered Italy from France.

One of my bestest buddies in the world Morgatron is hand on heart, one of the scariest drivers i have ever met but over here they would build monuments in his honour as the safest driver in Italy.

With month of experience driving over here i have put together a little tick test to help any of you wanting to drive over here.

1. You are driving at breakneck speed on the italian motorway and you need to catch up with news. do you
a. wait until you reach your destination then get up to date
b. Turn on the radio hoping to catch the news but being careful as you are driving about 90 mph
c. Open your newspaper and read it whilst swerving into all three lanes, ignoring gesticulating drivers because your need to read your piggin star signs is much more important than not killing people

2. You are driving along the road and the car infront slows down and indicates left, do you?
a. Slow down to make sure the driver turns safely
b. speed up but its ok there is no oncoming traffic so it will turn quickly
c. ignore the cars indicator and intention and try and overtake because its slowed down

3. You are going on a car journey but you have your little 4 year old daughter with you, do you?
a. put her in the childs car seat in the back, seat belt on and give her some toys to play with to pass the time
b. you havent put a childs seat in so put her in the back with an adults seatbelt on, its the not safest but its a step in the right direction
c. sod safety put your child on your lap and drive around like a complete twat

4. You are driving up on a steep and bendy mountain road, do you?
a. Slow down and take it easy, you are a long time dead
b. If there are passing spaces then no problem just drive a bit carefully
c. Hammer the car like there is no tomorrow, overtake on corners especially lorries and buses and if you cheat death by mere metres and someone blows their horn behave like they have stolen your grans handbag and go mental.

If you answered all A's - you are a safe driver, bit too safe really, bit boring probably...
if you answered all B's - you are pretty safe but take risks or you are a albanian transvestite (i dont make the rules, you just are)
if you answered all C's - you are a C or more than likely have some Italian blood in you..

All those C's happened to me. Its funny, the Italians really are a contradiction, it seems that they have an enormous book of traffic laws which they almost go out of their way to ignore or break. They overtake wherever and whenever they want. Not can, but want. They don't park their cars they abandon them and in the middle of a busy road they just stop, get out of the car and let their lift out, they dont even look behind. But if, God forbid you go swimming without a cap or order a cappuchino after half past 10 in the morning they will go into catatonic shock............

Overenthusiasm doesn't always pay....

Something for me to keep in mind, I think....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/8149910.stm

Scorchio!

It's absolutely scorching here today! So I've spent the afternoon in our local (air conditioned) bar surfing the net looking for our honeymoon. And I'm pleased to say- it's misson accomplished!

School was a bit of a mare today, mainly due to our hangovers. Marcello came over for food last night, and we managed to polish off a bottle of vino each. Note to self: in future, no drinking on a school night! Mat's cooking is getting very good though- thanks to Marci's expert tips!!

We've also been sorting out hotel rooms for the wedding. Can't believe there's only a month to go! Those of you coming over will be pleased to hear that your rooms are all booked, and plans are in place to make sure you all get from the airport. The photo at the top is of the Palazzo Comunale where the wedding ceremony is taking place. I'm still trying to convince Mat that I don't want to walk down the aisle to the Indiana Jones theme music....

Cer x

Buongiorno Italia!

Well, we made it! We've been living here in Urbania for 3 weeks now and have totally fallen in love with the place. We've managed to fit lots in already- we're students at the local language school, have been to see 2 operas, and have visited Florence, Verona and Venice whilst still spending a fair few afternoons by the pool!

The drive over from Wales was fun, with a little detour to the Champagne region in France. It was also hardgoing at times, especially in our little Peugeot with no air con.... talk about an oven on wheels!

I'm sure Mat will dedicate at least 10 blogs his opinions/rants on Italian motorists, roads and roadsigns- so I'll leave that up to him!

Our new flat is great. It sits on one of the (many) hills overlooking the town, with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. From the fields of sunflowers that stretch as far as the eye can see, to the fairytale bell tower of Peglio perched on the mountain top opposite. Our landlord and his family are lovely too. We often come home to find a box of fresh veg from the garden waiting outside our front door.

We've started our italian lessons at the local language school. Our teacher doesn't speak a word of english, so we're currently learning the passato prossimo through the combined use of full on italian and 'Give us a Clue'. At times our lessons look more like a demented game of charades than a classroom. Still, we're getting there- piano, piano!

Well, we'll keep updating this blog as it's a lot easier than sending you all separate emails! Lazy I know, but someone has to soak up all this sunshine!

So, as they say in Llandow- ciao for now!

Cer