romantic weekend on the roads of Collio, on the border between Italia and Slovenia

busy days and weeks, and then suddenly, like a breath of fresh air, a couple of days just for ourselves: riding together under the spring rain, drying up under the warm golden light of the afternoon, exploring new roads, tasting new things, finding our temporary hideaway in the woods.

as much as I can enjoy our daily life, jobs and routine at home, I love our lambretta weekends away. they kind of charge my batteries.

this time, we went a few kilometers east, to the famous wine region called Collio Goriziano in its italian part, and Brda when you cross the national border and enter to Slovenia.

Casso. August, Sunday 17th

maybe i subconsciously link the ilford film's mood and dramatic grain to places with a troubled past.

Casso | ilford 125

Poffabro and Frisanco. April, Saturday 26th

Frisanco and Poffabro are two towns near the Carnic Alps. we visited them in a cloudy and warm april weekend. they are as enchanting as they're quiet. we explored them by feet, cause the tiny streets were too narrow, and the silence was so solid, we did not want to disturb. 

Casarsa and Pier Paolo Pasolini's steps. March, Sunday 23rd

places tell stories. i've said and written that over and over. some days ago marco and i visited Casarsa della Delizia, a little village in Friuli Venezia Giulia, to hear some stories about the time Pier Paolo Pasolini lived there. you may have never heard about him, but he was one of the finest, still controversial, and most famous intellectual in postwar Italy. a poet, writer, journalist, filmmaker.

he was born in Bologna in 1922 and died in Rome in 1975, but he spent some meaningful years in Casarsa, where his mother came from. he used to spend his childhood summers there, and during the war and postwar years he moved with her from Bologna, to be safe. he lived in Casarsa for seven years, working as a teacher, before being forced to move to Rome, when a scandal about his homosexuality came out.

osmize in Carso. August, Thursday 15th

for august short break marco and i decided to take a 4 days roadtrip by lambretta. it was our very first trip by lambretta headed abroad, to our neighbor Slovenia. anyway, our first stop was still in Italy, very close to the state line. the Karst Plateau {Carso, in italian} is a plateau area extending in both Italy and Slovenia. 

for a very long time, the first thing that pop up in my mind when it came to Carso was First World War and its memory and legacy still very linked to the territory. but, since last year when a friend introduced me to that, i have a new (and better) feature to think about -and love- about this place: osmize. 

an osmiza (or osmica) is a restaurant opened temporarily from a farm to sell its products. it's typical of Trieste's surroundings and all the Carso area. originally, the opening period was eight days, which in slovenian is said osem, so they're called osmize, even if the opening time is longer nowadays. 

for me, the most fascinating thing about osmize is that they're not easy to find. they're mostly located in the backyards of the farmers homes in tiny villages, and a result of their temporary opening is that you're never sure if they're open until you go there. 

{websites like osmize.net and osmize.com, which host an updated calendar, are an huge help!}

the bright side is that there are so many osmize that if you're wandering around Carso sooner or later you will see an arrow hanging above a bunch of leafy branches: it's a frasca, it indicates that an osmiza is near you.

a frasca, which indicates a near osmiza

it's like entering a secret garden, but full of delicious food. the atmosphere is the same you feel when you're at a family lunch: informal, intimate.
many kinds of salami and cheese are usually the main dishes on the menu, with a side of hard boiled eggs, pickled vegetables, olives and, of course, local wines.

simple food, very (very) cheap price.

osmiza Gabrovec - Prepotto

hard boiled eggs 

visiting Carso again, looking at the bright gold of its summer landscapes, relaxing in a couple of osmize was just the perfect beginning for our roadtrip.

osmiza's tables in a home courtyard

ready to continue our journey towards Ljubljana

{nikon f-801 + fuji superia 200}

i know i've been slow in posting lately, september has been crazy!
i didn't stay out of the web writing completely, though. you can find these photos and more info about osmize on my post for Cosebelle Mag here (italian only), and i did a guest post on Green Holiday Italy, a lovely blog about responsible travel in Italy (in english!). thanks again for the opportunity, dear anna.

May, Saturday 18th

a sunny morning is so rare during this rainy spring that we feel lucky and run out at any brighter occasion.

Sesto al Reghena is a village in Friuli Venezia Giulia region. i had just heard of it, and never been there before last saturday, when we decided to visit a vintage fair and market in this small town center.

actually, i was more charmed by the flower gardens and by the narrow, neat streets than from the vintage market itself. 

the monastery of Santa Maria in Sylvis {Saint Mary in the Woods}, founded in 730, is the most distinctive corner of the place.

{nikon em + fujicolor 200}

Going East. April, Saturday 28th

on saturday morning, there were just 75 km between us and the Far East.

following a beautiful shining sun, we rode towards Udine, to enjoy the last day of the Far East film festival, the biggest european festival of popular east asian cinema.

the first part of the journey seemed kind of boring, cause it was all across the main road: straight and full of traffic {not to mention the traffic lights}. but with a Lambretta you don’t even have the chance to be bored… after the first 10 km she had already turned off twice. 

crossed the Tagliamento river, we finally took a more interesting side road, which ran through several tiny friulian towns. the road signs began to being bilingual: Italian (of course), and friulian dialect.  

 

with the festival, Udine only confirms his position as a major center of multiculturalism. 

red market stalls displaying bonsai, kokeshi dolls, cupcakes, handmade bags, teas. ethnic restaurants offering ad hoc menus, asian girls hanging around hand in hand giggling while eating gelato, cosplayers sitting down the loggia, the big panda {which is the symbol of the festival fourteenth edition} peeping at every street corner…

the tavern Al Cappello {The Hat} is our must in Udine. the owners put together in an unique spot their four great passions: for hats, cats, good food and good wine. coincidentally, they are also four of our greatest passions. we are addicted to their tartine, and the cold tocai {a white local wine} is the perfect companion. 

after a movie {we saw the papanese comedy “Mitsuko Delivers” by Ishii Yuya, original title Hara ga Kore Nande}  we were ready to go back home, but the lambretta wasn’t on the same page. 
it took a lot to turn her on and, as always, that attracted some old men willing to dispense good advices. lambrettas were really popular in italy during the fifties and the sixties, so the “original owners”, who are now in their seventies or eighties are always happy, nostalgic and fond of seeing someone with a lambretta, and they often stop to have a little chat with us about the pro and cons of having a scooter like that {fifty years and still the same problems, as, indeed, the ignition}.

mister Mario, who was there to see a kendo show, helped M. out with the spark plug {is not that M. was not capable, but we were glad to get help and chat with him} and talk about his old lambretta and his work as a mechanic. 

wonderful day. 

info
Al Cappello
via Paolo Sarpi, 5  
33100 Udine
www.osteriaalcappello.it 

it melts in your mouth. San Daniele del Friuli. March, Sunday 25th

it melts in your mouth. literally. you don’t know what these words mean until you taste some prosciutto in San Daniele {a pdo product}.

the last sunday of every month there is a flea market in San Daniele del Friuli, and the weather was so nice in these days that we decided to take the chance to go and eat some  really good prosciutto.

it’s about 60 km from home and the journey took about 1 hour and 20'. the lambretta had some problems in the beginning (still don’t know why) but then she did just fine.

we met a lot of other vintage scooters along the road, the temperature was perfect.

our favorite place to eat in San Daniele is a restaurant called Ai Bintars: the food is mouthwatering and the prices are good (with 15-20 euro you’ll come back home as full as an egg).

we had some prosciutto crudo, two slices of fresh goat cheese with olive oil and pepper, and a small dish of mushrooms in oil. 

info
Ai Bintars
viale Trento e Trieste, 63

San Daniele del Friuli (UD)

{pictures taken with diana F+ and iPhone 4}

 

Caneva Castle. March, Friday 9th

Caneva is a small village a few km from home. There is a ruined castle surrounded by vineyards. 

It’s quiet and peaceful, so we drank some tea and had a look around. 

There were a few years since the last time I went there and I remembered it bigger, but it’s really nice for a picnic. 

{all photos taken with a Lomography Diana F+}