After
participating in 2 of the picnics, one in our lavenderfield and one at the medieval
tower, my friend Cinzia was so enthusiastic that she also wanted to host an
event.
She had
been thinking about opening a home restaurant for a while, but yes… paperwork,
lockdown… and so the opening party was repeatedly postponed.
Until now…
she invited the boys and girls from Teatro Cantiere to see if her place was
suitable and they were immediately enthusiastic. They are such a talented group
and are able to transform any setting into the perfect stage for their singing,
theater, music… performances. Really amazing!
Of course…
a living room restaurant does not have everything to seat 50 people. Cinzia
wanted to do things a little differently. No picnic with your own blankets, but
nicely decorated tables with a “shabby chic” look. As a result, she spent days
collecting materials, tables, chairs… Luckily, friends and family soon came
to her rescue, otherwise some of us would probably have ended up in the straw
bales ?
The event
was fully booked in a few hours and judging by all the enthusiastic reactions,
all attendees were very happy to be there. Some even had to drive more than an hour
and I already heard them asking about the next edition.
During
dinner, prepared by Cinzia and her family (her husband said this is a real
relationship test ?), everyone was surprised by the many wonderful
performances. With photos and even videos you cannot experience the goosebumps
moments we had. Cinzia told me that at one point, during dessert, she even shed
a few tears of emotion (and in all likelihood of relief and fatigue).
Speaking of
dessert. Simply sitting at the table was not an option… after the main course
we were all invited to follow Teatro Cantiere. On a candlelit path – it had
become really dark in the meantime – we walked on the calanche. These primeval
dunes are typical for this area and form an irregular pattern. Sometimes it
feels like walking on the moon. After a short walk we were asked to spread our
blankets and the second part of the show took place. There was even a real fire
girl present. Beautiful to see!
And… yes,
we also saw several falling stars.
It has been
a crazy, difficult, tough, uncertain… year. But evenings like this one, in
which art and togetherness are combined with good food and drinks in a
beautiful, natural setting, make sure that we can handle it for a while. These
are the moments that we really cherish.
I will
never call 2020 a fun year, but it there were a number of surprising
initiatives. We have partly reinvented ourselves and started beautiful –
hopefully lasting – collaborations.
In the meantime, we are continuing to work on spreading the word about our little piece of Italy. Soon more about new collaborations and ideas…
You see,
there is little idle time on our hill and our enthusiasm does not diminish over
the years 😀
Cascina Barroero: een hazelnotenparadijs in PiemonteOp een kleine 40 minuten rijden van Verdita ligt Cascina Barroero in Cortemilia. Een familiale boerderij gespecialiseerd in het verwerken van hazelnoten. Ze kweken deze noten in hun eigen velden. Je kan deze boerderij bezoeken en zo het hele proces ontdekken. De rondleiding gebeurt door een zeer goed Engels sprekende gids die alles van naaldje tot draadje (of van nootje tot koekje) uitlegt. De plantage, het oogsten, het pellen, de verwerking in de bakkerij: alles wordt bezocht en duidelijk uitgelegd. Er wordt erg milieuvriendelijk gewerkt: schapen die onder de bomen het onkruid opeten, de schelpen die verbrand worden en zo voor warm water zorgen, …. Je mag ook in elke ruimte binnen, hier geen geheimen. De rondleiding duurt ongeveer een dik uur. Daarna kan je, indien je dat wenst, aanschuiven voor een viergangen-lunch met allemaal gerechten op basis van hazelnoten. Wij genoten van een salade op basis van selder, hazelnoten en Parmezaanse kaas, een heerlijke tajarin en een uitgebreid dessertbordje. Echt de moeite waard om te bezoeken. ... See MoreSee Less
De vorige dagen hebben we hard gewerkt in ons lavendelveld zodat het er netjes bij lag om te genieten van de picknick (georganiseerd door LangaMyLove) en het optreden van Teatro Cantiere. Ook de volgende 2 donderdagen kan je nog mee komen genieten. ... See MoreSee Less