We packed the three boys in the car and drove into Maniago for the best carbonara according to Andrew. It was a cozy restaurant, decorated in traditional Italian style. We ordered the three plates of carbonara, which was very good. Chris loved it so much he almost got a second dish of it, except it was a very large portion and I couldn't finish mine, so he was able to finish mine and that satisfied him.
After lunch we drove back to the house and Andrew had talked about dropping us off at the store, but then remembered they were probably closed for reposo. They were, which meant we would have to walk back over after 3:30 when they reopened.
I had already been looking at locations for the wedding and we needed to talk to Andrew about the dates he is back in the states to try to cement down a date. I was originally thinking Memorial Day weekend because Chris thought he was in California by then, but it turns out he isn't. We narrowed down the dates so now I needed to research and contact people. We had a lot of down time at the house, so I spent much of that time doing that.
The store worker/owner (I'm not sure what he was) was helpful in us purchasing some wines that are from the region. We of course ended up getting the most expensive and smallest bottle because he said it was the best and sweet (since I'm not much of a wine drinker, I am most likely to like it if it is sweet). We were told we could bring two bottles back a piece packed into our luggage, so we bought a sparkling wine that we thought we might try to use at the wedding, another sweet wine from the area and a red wine from the Venice area (which Chris wanted so we could have a wine bottle from the area he proposed...awww...yes, he's a romantic :)). We found some homemade pasta packaged to be sold, so I bought that hoping it is good. We also had our stocking of what Angela and Andrew gave us for Christmas to pack and there was a lot of food in there.
We hung around the house some more until Angela returned home so we could go to BEFeD, which is some kind of Italian brew pub. The place is very popular, so when we pulled into the lot, it was almost full. The place was very cute, it had an Alpine Mountain feel to me, but I have no idea if I am accurate or not.
Angela told the guy there were seven of us, but he told her that they had no tables left. When asked how long the wait would be, he said it wouldn't work because after everyone left, there were reservations taking up all the tables. We decided to get the food to go and while we waited, the boys had fun eating the peanuts and throwing the shells on the ground. As we walked out about fifteen minutes later with our food (all the same - they are known for their roasted chicken and fries), Andrew told Angela that some Italians had walked in and asked for a table and so he wrote their names down. Whether it was because we had such a large party that he couldn't spare the room or because we were American, we don't know, but Angela said they will experience that every now and then. The Italians won't use English even though they may know it, may try to not give them the same deal as their fellow countrymen.
On our way home, we saw some massive bonfires being lit or already on fire. This evening they were celebrating La Befana. We were hoping to stop by one on our way back after eating, but we had the food in the car, so we were going home first and then might go back out later. That was the decision anyway, until we saw a fire going and a bunch of people standing around it near their home. We quickly stopped and jumped out to at least go stand by it for a few minutes.
The tradition as I had earlier been told by Angela and was later given more detail by an Italian named Anna, is that when the three wise men were searching for Jesus, they stopped at La Befana's house. The story has several different variations, but all of which included the wise men asking for direction. Most say she didn't go with them because she was too busy cleaning her house. So now, they gather their Christmas trees and make a huge bonfire that will help light the way for the wise men. On top of the piles, the Italians put an doll like figure of Befana on her broom. Some tradition also states that depending on how the smoke blows it will tell about the crops that coming year. This is done the evening before the Epiphany, which Italy celebrates. La Befana also will leave coal and/or goodies in children's socks.
At the bonfire, we could hear the Italians sing/chant something, though I didn't understand it, every so many minutes. I knew it had something to do with tradition, but wasn't sure what. I just thought it was so cool to hear it. We didn't stay long because the youngest son needed to use the restroom, besides we didn't want cold food, so we loaded back up and returned home to eat. The amount of food was huge and the chicken was really good with a spicy flavoring on the outside. The fries were equally as good and there was some type of mayonnaise sauce.
Afterward we began to hear fireworks going off again. I guess to celebrate this there are fireworks as well. The kids went out to see them right before they went to bed. From outside we could see some fires nearby, so I made Chris join me, we took Charlie out with us, and then walked around seeing the different bonfires.
There was a massive bonfire and probably at least forty people at the end of the street, across the main road. Chris and I walked up and the first hadn't been going long, since it was concentrated down at the bottom. We could see the doll at the top. Someone was lighting off small fireworks from behind the fire. We didn't get too close because there was another dog there and Charlie was barking at the fireworks. This group was singing songs too. To make the fire bigger, someone lit the other side of the pile. I must add too that this pile was at least twenty feet high and it's placed in a field.
We walked Charlie back to see if anyone else wanted to go and we would stay with the kids. They didn't, so Chris and I walked back out by ourselves with out the dog. I partly wanted to see how big that fire got. When we returned this time it wasn't long until an older Italian lady walked by and tried to speak with us in Italian. Since we couldn't understand, she waved over a woman a bit younger than I named Anna. She wanted Anna to make sure we knew about the tradition.
So, Anna, and her husband reiterated much of what I knew and added a bit. She told us to that what they were chanting was about pan e vino - bread and wine. It is like a prayer to go to ask to continue to supply it to them in the next year. The songs were just traditional regional songs in dialect. I guess in this area of Ceolini they speak a dialect that is not understandable to those who speak Italian. They used to be very separated with no roads in or out, so for years they were separated. Anna told me most of the older people speak that, but the younger will speak both. Her grandparents had to speak to each other in the dialect because they didn't know Italian.
I found out that Anna was also a history teacher, so I think between my questions and her enjoyment of sharing the history and tradition I learned a lot of history about the holiday and the area. They were waiting for the family to finish and go eat a big spread of food together. I found this just one of the best things I could have experienced here because while the touristy things are great, getting to know the actual real traditions and life is fascinating.
We returned to the house, and now my jacket smelled of smoke. It was already super dirty (due to me picking an off-white coat...doesn't clean well). We spent the rest of the evening packing all the breakable containers as best we could. Angela had a great idea of wrapping the wine bottles in diaper to not only cushion, but if they did break, the diapers would help to soak up the wine. Then she recommended I use freezer bags and packing tape over that to contain any extra wine that may leak out of the diaper...should it break. They've never had a break, and I've never had anything I've transported break, but it would suck if this was the first time!
Italy had been a great trip, for many reasons. Of course it is magical and memorable for me because of our engagement, but I also loved the Christmas decor, trees, and lights, I felt like I had a better look into the lives of the Italians and their traditions, and we had great hosts who had been living there for over four years. I will always hold this trip dear to my heart.
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1 comment:
I read The Legend of Old Befana to my students every year during our Holidays Around the World unit. I'll have to share with them your first-hand experience! They'll love it!
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