Intra

We took the ferry with Ashlinn and Una to the Intra Market.
 

 
 
 

Santa Caterina Hermitage

We descended the 288 steps to this beautiful hermitage dating back to the 12th century. A beautiful Last Supper we saw in a card in their shop is secreted away in a private room.
 
 

Isole Madre e Bella

I'm very behind in my blog updates, but here are some photos from our day on Isola Madre and Isola Bella. We took the ferry from Angera where we were staying and took in some truly beautiful sights.

Abby and the Chocolate Factory 13.7.09

We bought the fixings for a picnic (if you pardon a bottle of lemon sorbet – whoever heard of a bottle of sorbet? – passing for lemonade, and a mango passing for an avocado) – a punnet of rocket, one of full-flavoured grape tomatoes, three bread rolls, prosciutto crudo, swiss cheese, a red capsicum and bag of ladyfingers -- then headed off for Switzerland and the Alprose Chocolate factory and museum. After our visit to the factory, we found a grassy lakefront spot at Lake Lugano – the straight of Laveno -- and enjoyed our picnic. We saw a coot and her tiny baby.

Uno Rules! Albanians meet Australians 12 July 09

Abby’s first friends in Italy were an Albanian sister and brother Simon spotted this morning in the park by the lake. Kailin, 10, and John, 7, (after John Travolta). Kailin and John involved Abby in “tennis” – actually badminton without rules – as well as trying to engage her in a variety of card games to which they attempted unsuccessfully to explain the rules in their broken Italian but which we, with Italian much worse than theirs, were unable to understand. We succeeded, finally, in having a fun game of cards when we taught them how to play Uno.

Abby lured Kailin and John down to the edge of the Lake where she was happily feeding the swans, white swans, and signets. Afterwards, Simon, Abby and I drove to find a cup of coffee and found a tiny hamlet with houses like you’d see in a movie about quaint, old-fashioned Italians.

Hair: Interpreted. 9 July 2009

Got my hair cut in a new language. Went in to ask if they could cut my hair before our lunch date with Simon’s new manager but they could only see me later in the afternoon – it would have to do. What did I need done? I just pointed my badger head at her and bared my roots. “Colore!” she said.

They offered no complementary cappuccino. There was certainly no WiFi network and table to spread out with my laptop while the colour set as there was in the posh Subiaco salon. But Sylvana, with her shiny black bob, was eager to help me to communicate my needs and even organised for an interpreter – a friend of hers -- to be present at my appointment with Claudio. I had a friend who once told me that she’d never let a straight man anywhere near her hair, and I knew what she meant. But on this occasion, I enjoyed having the attention of Claudio, a heterosexual man of about 60, to one of the features most critical to my feeling beautiful.

Welcome to Si Change!

Welcome to my blog on the Bachrach-Cox family year in Italy. The purpose of this blog is to keep a journal available to our family and friends of our experiences here, and to make it easier to stay close. I hope you'll enjoy my posts and that you'll respond with yours.