La Festa della Lavanda - Castelnuovo d'Assisi

This weekend I did something that I actually had planned last year: I visited La Festa della Lavanda in Castenuovo d'Assisi. It is a fair organized by Il Lavandeto d'Assisi who grow various types of lavender.

But, besides the impressive lavender fields, there were a lot of other herbs and plants to be admired. Their santolina collection took my breath away and it was a pure pleasure to walk through the symmetric herbgarden.

There were the common kitchen herbs we all know, in very appelling combinations of colours and structures.

Apart from the common herbs, there were several types of basil of which the Basilico Greco drew my attention in particular because of its delicate leaves.

The few children I saw were happy too because there was a coop full of chickens with two very small and furry ones in it. They moved too fast to get a decent picture. There was een a small pond occupied by frogs, but of course, by the time I arrived they had all jumped in and were nowhere to be spotted. 

The children ran off to find their way in the lavender labyrinth.

By the time all the plants had been admired, there was still a small fair with several stands offering their own specialties. Lavender and herbplants, of course, but there were opportunities to follow workshops in order to learn how to make ointments or tisanes as well.

There was a stand with maiolica, all hand made in Deruta, artisan baskets, paintings or you could try home made lavender lemonade.

The best news? It's still there tomorrow, and the weekend of the 28/29th of June too.

Umbria - why I can´t stop writing about it.

This time, my blog is part of a blogtour I got involved in by my new virtual friend Jen. Her blog about the love for her Italian heritage and her passion for Italian wines started due to her Italian roots and was followed by a study in Italy, that woke her interest in Italian wines. The drive to truly learn the insides and outs of Italian wines led to the birth of Jen´s blog Vino Travels, where she shares experiences from her travels through the world of Italian wines and information from Italian wineries in particular. Jen will be a certified Italian Wine specialist later this year.

The purpose of the blogtour is to enlarge the network of bloggers by sharing other people´s blogs and show you wht their world, work, knowledge and interests are like, whilst on the other hand I will try to describe why I write what I write.

What am I working on?

My one and only real important goal in life is living it in Umbria, Italy. Through the years, I met a lot of nice people from Umbria. Some of them really care so much for this beautiful region that they promote it in the world and made me write a few guestposts for them. It feels like the ideal combination, sharing the lovely things of my life and being at the place I love at the same time. I haven´t completely reached the last, but, as said, I am working on it.

How does my work differ from others in the genre?

Actually, it doesn´t. My blogs about the Umbrian villages and spots give no details that can´t be found in a regular travelguide. The difference can only be felt in my passion for the whole spectrum, from Umbrian food to wide views, from wine tasting in a cantina to a medieval market in Bevagna. I love Umbria´s famous attractions like Assisi, but have a strong feeling for it´s amazing countrylife as well. I can write about the wild flowers at the Piano Grande one day, about picking olives the next day. About the amazing works in Perugia´s Galleria Nazionale on day three and on day four I may have met a hunter who explains the ins and outs of his life and gives me a recipe for hare nonna style. The thrill I get and share from all these small things is what gives my work a personal touch, rather than merely an Umbria promotion.

Why do I write what I do?

Of course, it would be nice if other people become interested in the many things Umbria has to offer. It would be great when people would start to appreciate Umbria´s value as highly as I do and give Umbria´s tourism a strong injection. Besides, by writing about Umbria and about my passion for it in particular I can make people understand – a little – why I am who I am.

How does your writing process work?

Until now I haven´t been aware that there was something as a writing process. By thinking about it now, I realize that I can´t NOT write about Umbria. The love for Umbria, the impressions and feelings keep flowing and turn into words that I simply have to let come out. My experiences from Umbria are little pearls in my life, that all together form a lovely necklace. To me, writing is completing this necklace and I hope to finish it with the most precious jewel, my own place in Umbria and never having to leave it anymore. 

Before clicking `send` I want to thank Jen for this opportunity, and pass it on to my friend Simone. She is a foodblogger, professional food photographer and a gifted cook as well. Her blog offers an abundance of recipes, travel stories and of course pictures. An especially nice detail are the stories about and the pictures of her gorgeous cats, but the core bussiness is food, with a capital F.

Someone else whose blog is worth viewing is the one written by my friend Alessandra. She and her brother Leonardo from Discovering Umbria organize wine and food tours in Umbria that will be an unforgettable experience of years of culture and traditions across the magical land of Umbria.

Good luck Simone and Alessandra, and many thanks to all of you who read my blog.

Assisi and its arts and craftsmuseum

Do you know this sensational, exited feeling when you discover a completely new spot located where you never expected it? This happened to me. I visit Assisi a few times each year for the past twenty years, showing the city to my guests or sometimes just to have a quick look at the Santo Stefano and its small garden (my favourite church in Assisi).

Assisi of course is a `no-to-be-missed` city when you are lucky enough to be in Umbria. This time though, I particularly enjoyed it because I found the 

Museo Arti e Mestieri dell´Umbria.

Founded by Davide Costantini and inaugurated in 2012, the museum tells the story of the Umbrian citizens´ daily lives, rich or poor, and the every day objects they used.

(c) Jan Vos

The museum is situated half way the Corso Mazzini, right next to the San Francesco Piccolino in the eponymous square. It´s a unique spot, not only because Assisi´s worldfamous saint San Francesco was born there, but also because inside the museum you will find the remains of a medieval house.

In the middle of it, there´s a medieval well, it shows an aquaduct and it has medieval walls as well as remains of the original pavement.

I could think of no better location to show the tools that were used in the kitchen at those times, covering not only the Middle Ages but a larger period as well, or the furniture people used in their homes, like a table dated at 1400, but one can also admired the toys used to keep the children busy.

Some of the exhibited possessions are really rare and shall not easily be found anywhere else.

Which means that even now, I felt jealous of a few objects shown, like the fabrics that must have been of an excellent quality, considering de state they´re in ages later.

An especially nice gesture you become when leaving the museum: an attest, signed by both the founder, Assisi´s mayor and the Regionn of Umbria on which you can fill your own name.

If you want to learn more and see a lot better pictures:

The museum´s entrance is free. It´s open every day from 9-13.00 and 13.00-18.00.

Its website is very informative.