Living Italy - a day at the fair

SIMPLE LIFE

A day at the fair

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What a difference a year can make, now the faces smiling out of the crowd are friends, people I am slowly coming to know. We came to the fair in our village last year and I felt like a tourist, with no real understanding of the lifestyle, heritage and traditions around me.

This year at the fair I felt relaxed, smiling and waving, nodding to the locals and getting a ‘Salve’ in return. We are slowly becoming part of the Valley, Australiani yes but welcomed wholeheartedly.

While Sam and his friend were off photographing the fair together, the kids (well just Luca as Carina took off with her girlfriends) and I were free to just wander.

I even sat and had a coffee with two lovely German men at the bar, they were on a ‘boys weekend’ and they couldn’t believe they found an Australian here in the midst of the celebrations.

The faces in these photos are no longer strangers, they are the ones who come over to ask after Carina, the ones who smile and nod at me, the ones who listen to my halting attempts at Italian, the ones who stop for a chat and a joke with Sam.

These are the people that our children go to school with, the ones who have invited us to their homes, to birthday parties, to become a part of the community and celebrate all that is so special and unique about our Valley.

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Sam has found his mojo and is back behind the camera, we actually met whilst studying photography. He was taking the commercial stream and I was happy in the fine art department. Not a single one of our friends thought we’d last, yet here we are almost 20 years later and still together.

Looking through the photos Sam took at the fair had me laughing at how different our style of photography is. With him being the chef in the family he tends towards the food, and I love the people. I hope you like this little glimpse into Sam’s view of the valley, it’s nice to get a bit of male perspective from time to time.

As always I hope you are chasing your own dreams, and if you come to Italy you know where to find us.

Thinking of visiting Italy next year?

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and the gang x

32 replies

Lisa Wood says:
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Oh Sam and Lisa, thanking you so much for sharing your Living Italy Day Fair – what a wonderful place you are now part of, living with the locals, meeting them and speaking with them.
Sam – you have captured the feeling of the place as it is.
What a great dream filled life you are both living….love Luca sweet happy face. Its so very good to follow your journey xxx
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  I feel we are slowly fitting in here now, it’s much easier for Sam as he speaks Italian. It’s so wonderful that I am here in Italy following your adventures in Australia. xx
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Lisa Clifford says:
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I love life in my little Italian village, Consuma in the mountains of eastern Tuscany. I related to your blog deeply because there is such a pure sense of delight when everyone accepts you and knows you. I too am la Australiana. Joy is found in funny places when you take the leap of faith and move to Italy. Brava…belle foto xx
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Joy is found in funny places, love that Lisa!
  
  This sense of belonging wasn’t something I felt the first time we lived in Italy, like all good things it comes with time. I can’t imagine living anywhere else now, and our community is so open and caring, yes a sense of pure delight.
  sending love xx
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Trisha Thomas says:
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Lisa, what a lovely, happy post. I love the pictures!! Give Sam my compliments. They guy with the big mustache is fabulous and the cows and the goats are great. The close-up of the cinghiale is pretty cool too. I am so pleased to hear you are no longer feeling like a tourist and can shoot-the-breeze with the locals. Your happiness comes jumping right off the screen, and that is wonderful.
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Hey thanks Trisha, Sam has found his mojo and is out working on the house right now. The man with the big mustache sells cheese in the next village up from ours. Things are falling into place and life is good, hope all is well with you and the family. sending love xx
  
  Just sent the link to your site to a friend of ours, I know he will love your writing xx
  Fantastic post and thank goodness I get my news and current affairs from you or I’d be lost. x
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meg says:
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I have to laugh! They were taking bets at our wedding, we found out after the fact, on how long it would last. So far it will be 32 years this December.
I loved living at the foot of the Dolomites when we lived there. At the base of Piancovallo. I am hoping to get back next summer to visit all of my friends … perhaps we will have a chance to meet. 🙂
Enjoy your life!
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  I remember ,my teacher at the photography college where we met warning me away from Sam because he was in the ‘commercial’ stream. Congrats on your 32 years,it would be wonderful to meet up come summer, maybe we should organize one big meet up of all us Italian expats and friends xx
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David says:
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Nearly 20 years together, that’s fantastic. Here’s to many more together. I hope it’s a happy journey
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Ha who would have believed it, the perfect odd couple hey xx
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jann says:
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Wonderful, Lisa! You and Sam are both such great photographers!! Bravo to Sam for getting back into it. (Hope you didn’t get any of that scary flooding up where you are). Baci xxxxx
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  No flooding here but plenty in Genoa and we have friends who live in that region. It seems that it floods every year. Getting the problem with the camera worked out had him happy to be snapping again x
  Maybe I’ll give the SLR a whirl now as well, I always though it was me not the camera Jann x
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Krista says:
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Ohh, I love this so much. 🙂 How happy you must be to see your Sam finding his loves again. 🙂 His pictures are fantastic!!! I hope he will share his images with us over and over again. 🙂
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  He really is gifted in so many ways, he seems to be able to turn his hand to anything. I’ll get him to post some more here from now on and over at the fb page, also just trying to work out instagram and etsy xxx
  sending love and big squishes to you and your bear x
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Kaye Bonato says:
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Another great post and photos from you both…..does add a whole different flavour and I loved seeing those knives Sam! It’s still in our plans to visit Italy in 2016 and who knows maybe one day we will live there too.

For now you are filling that part of my dream and I look forward to each and every new post.
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  I think Sam needs one of these knives all the guys here carry them and the women carry big machetes which makes me laugh. 2016 isn’t far away and that would be incredible to be able to visit with you when you live here.
  
  sending love x
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Karissa says:
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Our family hopes to return to my husband’s family in Sicily. I personnally am ready for the continual sun of Sicily. We live in the midwest United States where our winters have already been hard the last 3 years and we are starting early this year. Our first snow was Nov. 14th. Then in summer we swinging to the opposite extreme with temperatures frequently topping 100 degrees farenheidt (38 celsius) with no ocean breeze to alleviate the heat. Ready for a change…. Qui veniamo Sicilia!
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Sicily is so beautiful and my mother in law is from Salina. I’d love to live somewhere a bit warmer through winter. Sounds like a change is what you need, imagine that continual sunshine, ahhhh bliss xxx
  Which part of Sicily?
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Catherine says:
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Lovely to hear how you are embracing your mountain life and yes it looks very montanaro! We live close to the Dolomites and have a winter apartment in Val Zoldana, under Monte Civetta (3000?m) where the kids have spent years skiing and we have some of our closest friends. Down on the plains where we live everyone says that people from the mountains never open to those of the next valley, let alone foreigners, but I’ve found that they are warm and genuine – more than most! What I also love is their passion for the landscape, for sport and for good times together. It’s a hard, extreme life where nature rules – not fashion!
Hope to get up your way one day and see you Xxcat
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  I totally loved your post Catherine and phewwww that letter got me hot and bothered lol.
  I agree I’ve found the people here so welcoming and warm, hard working and quick to smile. I think it does have something to do with the extremes where everyone bands together in tough times. Fashion doesn’t rule here but that’s fine with me, we haven’t been to the Dolomites yet but would love to visit, I know Sam wants to go with the campervan next year.
  
  Now off to write a love letter to my husband ha ha…xxx
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La Contessa says:
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SI,IO ABITO su collina outside of FIRENZE SUD!Per tre anni…………..ITALY CHANGED ME FOR THE BETTER!I see its having it’s affects on YOU TOO!BENE………MOLTO BENE………..XX
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Contessa I was in the Doldrums and just popped over to read your post BEST DAY of your LIFE and your beautiful friendship and photos were magical, I also loved your post about the boys room and those fuschia beams. You really do light the world up, I’d love you to meet my Aunt, you so remind me of her, she is my Auntie Mame.xxx
  
  YES Italy changing us for the better xx
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Linda Rhyne says:
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My dream is to come for a visit!
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Ahhh Linda the first step is to set a date and then work backwards from that xx
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Maggie McLaren says:
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So pleased things are looking up. You write so well about everything, the ups and downs. And the photos compliment it all so beautifully. Lovely to see shots from both of you. Keep it up. Time for Christmas cards! What is the address again?
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Maggie I have almost forgotten Christmas and I still have all the cards here in my lounge in a bag on the window ledge so I can see them every day. I’m thinking this year that I’d love to cover the walls and ceiling of the kids room with glow in the dark stars, I thought it would be easy for everyone to put a few in a card. Imagine when the go to bed Christmas Eve and the surprise when I turn out the lights. xxx
  I’ll write a post and share the address with you xx
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Mel Milojevic says:
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Thanks for inviting us into your life Lisa and showing us how rewarding and wonderful a change in environment and lifestyle can truly be. Sam’s photos add another layer to your valley life xx
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Sam certainly adds another layer to most things, he’s always bigger than life. Sending love and be sure to put your site details in when you stop by to say hi, it shows up the last thing you posted and means I can tell everyone here to go and visit you. I love your site and all you share, always so uplifting x
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Josephine Alexander says:
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No, I have not lived in Italy but I do live on California”s Mendocino Coast which was populated in the 19th cent. by Italian dairy ranchers. The families are all still here on the ranches raising the cows, sheep and growing artichokes, basilica, etc……….so my friends have last names like Stornetta, Giacomelli, Biaggi and so on. We all have great dinners and I have written about them in my books. I am originally from Scotland so we actually have that old European lifestyle in common.
Great fun!
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  I love living by the coast and miss the ocean now we are in the mountains. I grew up in Melbourne and had lots of Italian friends and my Aunt married an Italian.It’s a different way of life that I just love, and you are an author as well, wonderful xx
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Wynne says:
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Love Luca’s face!
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  He usually looks like Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, he has this wide toothy smile that he pulls in every photo. We had a great day, and our friend from Australia is now a convert just like you xx
  When you coming back, we miss you !!! x
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