domenica 24 gennaio 2010

The springomether

Last year my aunt Doris gave me a small vase of beautiful narcissi. I cut them as they drooped and let the bulbs in the balcony.
Two weeks ago some green spots magically appeared from them :)
Now I'm following their growth and will keep track of it, it will be my personal springomether :)
This is its stage today!
Happy spring-countdown to everybody!

venerdì 15 gennaio 2010

My hibernation... abroad!

It's amazing how fast time passes...!
Shame on me, hibernating like that for over two months...!
Well, there are good reasons for not being online during the last time :) I had the awesome chance to enjoy some free time abroad, where I could recharge my batteries with new cultures, languages, colours, food, architecture... I love travelling!!!
1999 Abtei Muri Südtiroler Lagrein Riserva by Rachel Black
While I took my dreamy parentheses around Europe, Merano kept drinking wine, playing music and celebrating Christmas with many other enthusiasts :)
November was the time for the world's best wines in the Kurhaus with the WineFestival, a long red carpet welcomed the visitors on the Freiheitsstrasse and many precious wines were awaiting them in the inside.

As soon as the gastronomic tent of the MIWF was removed, diligent men started mounting the little wooden houses of the Christmas Market. This year the weather was gentle, it snew 3-4 times, the mountains are still covered by a white blanket :) What I can't stop watching during the Christmas Market, are the black sheep staying in a small cot on the Thermenplatz: mummy, daddy and their children, they are just soooo cute! People go mad for them!

In December I was particularly diligent and Christmas-minded :) I made a lot of Christmas biscuits! It's a nice South Tyrolean tradition I love! South Tyrolean women start baking biscuits various weeks before Christmas (the more they are kept in the box, the better they get) and give them as a gift to those people who deserve them ;)
I still have a small number of them, which I gelously conserve in my last, smallest box...

Thanks to the big effort of the Tourist Authority, the New Year was celebrated with music and fireworks and my city colourfully started its 2010!

Since last Friday the days have become sunnier and brighter, my narcissi are miraculously coming up from their dried little bulbs... Wow...
I'll talk to you soon again, my winter sleep has finished :)