Yesterday was a very exciting day – some of our lockdown restrictions have been eased and we were allowed to get on our bikes again. We hooked the chariot up to my bike and Henry got his first ride. He wasn’t sure about it to begin with with and we had to stop and shorten his tether, but I think he did enjoy it. Once we’re allowed to drive further from the village we’ll probably get a second chariot so each dog will have their own – Henry kind of sat on Mo some of the time, although she didn’t seem too bothered.
I was a bit nervous at first, being responsible for the doggies’ safety, but it wasn’t too bad. And because my bike has a powerful motor even the climb up to Castello Delle Forme wasn’t a problem. There’s a great view from the top – you can clearly see Perugia at the north end of the fertile plain with the Apennines in the distance.
Last weekend was Angelo’s birthday so Colin gave him a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label as a gift. Three days later it was Colin’s 75th, so Angelo joined us for an after dinner glass of red wine. He brought two gifts – one was a beautiful black and white photo of Mo and Henry that he’d had blown up and framed, and the second was a jar of black truffles.
Colin’s birthday dinner was much simpler than planned – we’d hoped to be able to have several of the locals we’ve come to know over for a party, but of course that couldn’t happen. I’d made a great list of appies to make, but that will have to wait. In the meantime I made a delicious pizza from scratch – I’m getting pretty good at making pita bread, and didn’t have to change much to get a decent pizza dough.
We had some of the truffles a day or two later in a nice cream sauce over pasta – it was so tasty I made it again the next day. I’ve been trying out recipes from an Italian cookbook that’s been in the campervan for years – another great success was beef roast marinated in red wine.
One morning last week a couple of folks dressed in blue and yellow hazmat-type suits came knocking on everyone’s doors to hand out free face masks. I haven’t needed to wear mine yet but Colin puts his on when he goes to the store. We also had to print updated authorization forms that we carry with us whenever we go out, along with our passports.
We watched the last episode of the Borgias last night, and are both very disappointed that there wasn’t a final season to wrap all of the story lines up. We quite enjoyed our one episode per night watching, and will now have to choose something else.
We’ve lucked out a couple of times when checking out Rai Sport – they occasionally have been showing old cycling races such as previous years’ Amstel Gold as well as a bit of a past Giro or two. We’re still hopeful that we’ll get to see some live races later in the summer, but aren’t holding our breath.
Our daily dog walks are now followed by daily tick hunts. Henry especially seems to pick up a lot of them. His coat is getting shaggier but of course the grooming places are all still shut. Mo’s coat is much shorter so the ticks are easier to spot and pick off before they start burrowing.
A couple of days ago we were sitting inside when I heard a loud noise – when I looked out onto the terrace I saw that not only was it raining on our drying laundry, but the wind had picked our sunshade/umbrella right out of its base and blown it across the terrace. I scrambled to get the laundry off the drying rack before it got soaked, and Colin retrieved the umbrella and got it back in its base. Such is our excitement these days!
More of the same for the last week – nice sunny days, a few rainy ones, and a bit of fierce wind – dog walks and meals are the highlights. We feel very fortunate to be where we are right now.
Another work-party of locals continued to clear the choking vines and weeds down below us – when we went to have a look we were offered homemade donuts – we’re almost like locals now!
Some good news this morning – we might be able to start riding our bikes again a week from now, although we still won’t be able to venture outside the general area – the ‘commune of Marsciano’.
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We still have to queue at the supermarket and almost everyone still wears face-masks, but hopefully the tide is starting to turn.
I have a new pet spider – it’s on the fence of the terrace and spent most of one day mummifying a bee.
So – not much new here – still no bike riding, staying at home and only going out to walk the dogs or get groceries.
I found a very nice pita bread recipe, and it has come out pretty well both times I’ve tried it. I’m unable to make hummus as we haven’t yet found any tahini, and tzatziki isn’t happening because Colin can’t tell the difference between a cucumber and a zucchini – haha!
On our walk on Easter Sunday we saw the white dove/pigeon again – he was in the pigeon lady’s yard – hopefully he won’t be in her dinner pie.
Several of the local folks have gotten together – while keeping safe distance from each other – and are clearing a large area just below the medieval wall of brush and sucker trees. They’ve been hacking, weed whacking and burning for two days now and the area’s looking a lot tidier.
My sun rash came back with a vengeance so I had to go to the pharmacy the other day to get some more cortisone cream – after several applications it’s finally starting to recede. Luckily I’ve been very good about covering my shoulders and upper arms, and wearing my hat so it’s only been the backs of my lower arms that got hit.
We read about what’s happening in other countries and are pretty happy to be where we are right now. At least we’re not in the UK, or even worse, the US – I seriously think that Trump is trying to start a civil war there! I sometimes wonder what drugs he’s on – is it coke, or maybe snorting adderall? Whatever it is he’s completely incoherent in his daily campaign rallies – oops! press briefings – and I just wish he’d shut the f-up and people would quit paying attention to his ignorant blatherings – if only!
The past week has basically been more of the same – daily walks with the dogs, and sitting on the terrace reading and considering how fortunate we are.
There were, however, three things that had never happened before.
The first was yesterday afternoon – Good Friday – when we noticed a totally white pigeon (dove?) on the roof of the house next door. It sat calmly for several minutes before flying away. 
Now – we see dozens of pigeons every day, many of which have taken over a large empty house just across the lane, but we’ve never seen whitey before – a very auspicious sign perhaps?
As usual whenever we leave the house now, he had his passport and the form that Angelo provided us with that details who we are, where we’re from, and why we’re out on the road. Colin says that they were ever so nice, and were satisfied with the info and let him go on his way. It was very nice to find out that we’re doing things right.
The third event was this afternoon just after lunch when I went in to get the chicken Colin had purchased ready to put in the oven. I opened up the wrapping paper and was met with a red head with a beady eye looking at me.
Ok – it was dead, but it was staring right at me! I called down to Colin – who was out on the terrace – that he’d have to deal with it, laughing almost hysterically. I then looked more closely and realized that the bird still had its feet as well – more hysterical laughter followed as Colin came in and eventually managed to behead and de-feet the fowl.
Staying close to home, as we should. Going to the Conad in Case del Colle (that has the nice butcher’s) once or twice a week for major groceries, and the little Conad in the village if we need anything else in between. If there are people waiting outside we’re all respecting of each other’s place and space. Sometimes what would have been a fifteen minute shop takes almost an hour, but no one has been pushy or angry.
Still able to go for nice walks – yesterday we took the little ones for a really long trek and at one of the houses along the way we passed an old woman who said hello to us. She’d just exited an out-building and was heading into her house while holding a live pigeon by its feet – pigeon pie for dinner!
The weather has vacillated greatly between snow last week and back to sunny and beautiful, although the wind the last couple of days has been fierce and there’s snow on the tops of the surrounding mountains.
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He’s seen us on our bicycles, and as we entered his house we saw that he too was an aficionado. He had two bikes right near his door – one of which was a beautiful old Pinarello. As we chatted I was able to decipher that it was 25 or 30 years old and he’d done some of the work on it himself.
He then showed us the rest of his home – the first flight of stairs up is ‘left, then right’ stepping, as the treads don’t go all the way across. The house was three floors in all, with three bedrooms. He told us that he’d made the lovely custom headboards for each of the beds, as well as the armoire with pull-out drawers. He seemed very proud of his handiwork, as he should be.
We then repaired to the kitchen, where he made us some very strong espressos, to which we added some very potent grappa. In addition we were given chasers of something like sambuca, only better.
It was a lovely visit, and we managed to communicate fairly well – it seems we’re being accepted by the villagers more and more the longer we’re here. After parting from Luigi we continued our short walk down through the village, up by the church and back home.
I must say it seemed kind of weird to actually be close to another person – even shaking his hand, without my hand sanitizer, but Luigi didn’t seem concerned. How accustomed I’ve become to previously unthought of ‘dangers’ and I realized how nice it was to be welcomed into a ‘stranger’s’ home and to not be wary. Quite a bit to contemplate about the change in attitudes that have become by necessity the ‘norm’.
The last week has been more of the same, except for the weather. Like most other people in Europe, and now – finally – those at home, we’re only allowed out for groceries or walking the dogs.
Thank god Colin has two doggies so we can both get out for an hour or so each day.
We did go to the next town again to visit the nice butchers and get a few things, but otherwise have been in the house doing a lot of reading. The tv only gets Italian stations and there’s no sports happening – they’re down to showing football (soccer) matches from 1977 for entertainment. The first John Wick movie was on last night, and while it was funny to hear Keanue Reeves speak fluent Italian (ok – it was dubbed) it was getting late so I gave up partway through.
The weather took a bad turn – the last few days we’ve had fierce winds, and – snow! Colin was looking out the window and told me it was snowing and I actually didn’t believe him – I thought he was joking, and I am very gullible.
But no – it really was snowing – just a few days ago I’d taken the patio chairs out, and was quite comfortable in shorts and t-shirt, but now I have to bundle up in my winter coat and icelandic wool hat and mitts. I’d thought I’d left winter behind, but apparently not.
I try not to obsess about the news and how badly some countries and their useless governments are coping – why didn’t they learn from the mistakes made here? 
I’m glad we’re in such a small village and not a large city, and that we can still go outside – we’re alone in the hills within two minutes, and sometimes don’t see a single other person. We always carry our passports now, as well as the form that the police will sign if we’re ever stopped, but so far so good.
Little Henry is a bit of a rascal – he’s developed a fondness for my socks so I now have to hide them when I take them off. We had a tug-of-war the other day with one of them, and he’s also gone after my wool hat, which must now stay safely tucked away in my backpack.
He’s also had a little ‘accident’ or two in the house, although I wonder if it’s a protest because we’re not letting him lick our plates anymore when we’re finished eating.
We had planned to ride our bikes to a larger town just north of us to get groceries, but discovered that my front tire was completely flat. Upon removing it we found a vicious thorn about half an inch long, just like a spike – ok, Colin found it while I supervised. Ok again! – Colin found it while I watched helplessly and tried to keep the dogs out of the way.
We picked up some fresh local veggies and more excellent meat from the butcher – he remembered us from our last visit and we got some lovely lamb chops as well as a nice roasting chicken, a steak and some ground beef (I’ll never be a vegetarian!).
We’ve taken the dogs out every day for nice longwalks – one of the few things we’re still allowed to do. Even recreational bike riding is now forbidden since if you have an accident you would be taking precious emergency resources away from a completely overburdened medical system trying desperately to save coronavirus victims’ lives.
We consider ourselves very fortunate to be where we are right now, despite the fact that we are right in the middle of Italy – or maybe because that’s where we are. We’re in a lovely, comfortable little house, we have a great outdoor space, and are nowhere near a big city. The village is coping very well and the small Conad store here hasn’t run out of anything (although thanks to me they’re getting low on a certain kind of vino rosso) – could be much worse!
It’s gotten warm enough to put the patio furniture out so I spent a couple of hours this afternoon sipping some local red and reading online about the idiots in the UK and US – not just the citizens but especially the incompetent leaders – oh my god!!
On a lighter note – I hardly ever take selfies, but this is me on our terrace – not bad view behind me, right?
We’re still under lockdown, of course, but managing nicely. We have good food and beautiful weather, but are staying close to home. I always carry my passport now when I leave the house, and we’ve gone on some nice long walks in the surrounding hills with the dogs without straying more than a couple of km from the village.
On our walk today we actually saw a carabinieri (police) but they didn’t stop to ask us for our ‘form’. There are only two cases of the virus anywhere near us – one in Deruta and one in Marsciano, so we feel pretty safe.
We saw our neighbour Angelo today and asked about his neighbour Rita, who is older and feeds Chairman Meow when Angelo is out of town – he says she’s ok and he takes her a few groceries, etc as she needs them so she doesn’t have to venture out to the store. Neighbours looking out for each other – simple concept!
Everyone seems pretty calm in and around the village and the surrounding area – folks are pruning their olive trees, tending their gardens, mending stone walls, etc – no panic to be seen, and still no bare shelves in the little Conad store – not even a shortage of toilet paper.
Ok – someone has to explain that to me because I’m having a hard time believing that TP is the most important thing to hoard – personally if I was to panic – and I won’t, I think I’d rather have food!
I’ve been using the new Nikon much of the time recently but went back to the Canon on our walk today just for fun. I’m very pleased with the photos I’m taking from both, although I do need to learn more about what the Nikon can do.
We did go for a ride that same day – lovely blue sky but not too hot. I realized right away on the first hill that the motor in my bike wasn’t working, which was a big drag as we had several climbs on the roads we were on.
After pushing the heavy tank up more than one hill we got to a high point that made easier riding for me back down to the house. It turned out that all that was needed was a quick cleanup of the contact points on the control pad – problem solved, thank goodness!
The last two nights there’s been a vehicle driving very slowly through the village with a loudspeaker blaring. I couldn’t catch much of it up in our ‘medieval’ portion of the village, but we assumed it was about staying home and avoiding crowds – this was verified to us by the brits that we met again on one of our dog walks.
We went for another nice bike ride this afternoon, and was it ever nice to have the motor working – some of the back ‘roads’ are very steep. The wind was so fierce it almost blew us off the road at times, but we persevered. We did notice that there was very little traffic on any of the roads – folks seem to be keeping close to home, as recommended by the authorities.
There’s more than one home-made banner hung on the balconies of houses down in the piazza coloured with rainbows and the words ‘andra tutto bene’ – everything will be good.
Even in ‘the red zone’ that we’re in there’s no panic, and the local little store is still fully stocked, including toilet paper – what is it with other places and the obsession with TP?!?
The bar was still serving, but apparently they now have to shut at 6 pm and patrons have to keep 3 feet apart from each other. We were still able to sit outside and it wasn’t a problem, and the dogs still got their usual treats from Antonio.
We’ve been using my hand sanitizer, and are careful about getting near anyone, or touching anyone’s hands, etc. We’re not panicking, but also trying to be careful. So far none of the shops we’ve been in have empty shelves or seem to be running out of anything. We did buy more food than usual in Marsciano, hoping to go out once a week rather than every few days for supplies.
We’ve charged up both of the electric bikes and plan to start going for rides – if we can’t go south to Sicily as planned at least we can still get fresh air and exercise without endangering ourselves or others.
Well, things have changed again – all cafes, restaurants and bars are closed completely, as well as the post office – drats! We’ll have to make our own coffee now and sit on the terrace instead of down at the bar. And if we want to go anywhere there’s a form we need to fill out stating our destination and explaining why we should be allowed to leave the village.
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 