Zusammen und zu Fuss

Un titolo in inglese, un sottotitolo in tedesco, e lo scrivo in italiano, almeno per ora. Benvenuti nel mio blog, che parla di camminare – in montagna, per lo più, ma non solo. Camminare, viaggiare, condividere solitudini.

Anche cose più prosaiche , itinerari, immagini, indirizzi, inclinazioni.

Visioni fiosofiche….Ecco, non riesco a scrivere nemmeno due parole senza fare un refuso, ma tant’è, è l’emozione del mio primo giorno di blog.

 

Poudreuse

In the end, I didn’t go to the mountains on Thursday and neither on Friday. And for what I see, I will not go even before Christmas. (Later, with the cat on holiday in  corso Borsalino, no one knows – one day or another I must explain  the world why I have two houses, but not two husbands, with the world supposedly interested, of course)
But there is a snow storm, and for two days  it has been as cold as in New York, which is a very cold place – not as the Asiago plateau, which is definitely the coldest place in Italy, with the exception perhaps ot the summit of Mont Blanc or maybe not. Instead it seems that with unerring jinx we choose to go to the theater on nights when the whole northern Italy has been visited by father Frost. Last year it happened twice. Once I  decided tolet it go, just I find out that the company also had dropped, and then the show was postponed to everyone’s relief in March. This time when large flakes fell at five  o’ clock, I was about to give up, because now you can not see decent prose in town and now we obliged to go to the theater in Valencia, but go with the snow means  either the Colla route,  or the ascent of Pellizzari hill, and one thing or  the other are not really pleasing to do. A hill is a hill, and you need to climb it (but for all the useless public works, a tunnel under the Colla is not ?). My husband told me to call the theater to see if there was a shuttle, which must still be booked  ten days before. Unthinkable. But no: in a burst of unexpected rationality ” due to the particular circumstances”, the theater has reopened reservations. Maybe someone who has seen the ghost of Christmas past, present and future. Except that even a bus can crash , we smoothly went and came back  and the show was awesome (I love Dürrenmat).
The icing on the cake  we have seen a snow plow in Valenza. In native Mandrognistan, however, nada.

And now, for something completely different…

piazza Matteotti

 

Walking downtown

Today I hoped to be able to talk about a nice trip in the mountains …
But last night it snowed, whitening a little or plaine and  leaving me perplexed. What has happened in the mountains? Thank goodness yesterday, closing date, it seems, I brought the car to the Tire to mount snow tires and then I made a long walk up home (and back and forth I logged five kilometers for good)
My Tire is on the banks of  Tanaro and so I switched away from Righi, via Lumello, Bini square, in front of houses and ancient courtyards and activities mostly closed: Mac Doner, a tapestry retailer, hardware, bakery Sandroni, the “historic” one, not the satellite shops scattered downtown – his bread has woesened from what I could remember, though; by Alexander III street,  there are shops closing, others  already  closed and some  which I have never heard of. Besides the course, where I don’t go so often, and so it seems new every time
I wonder when the stacks were in Alexandria … is the title of a book on www.isral.it seek him. There are no more, but there’s not even work.

 

Poor Camillo

poor Camillo

The short gentleman in the photo is  Cavour; in the monument in Cavour square in Vercelli he looks shorter and disproportioned yet (and it may well have  been done  on purpose). One hundred and fifty years of Italian unity, and not only there are still no Italians, but also those, that have made it, didn’t seem so convinced, seeing what they did to the father of his country.
Walking in Vercelli can also be depressing, or cold, but not so dark as here (although St. Andrea, who still is a masterpiece, could take advantage from some more light …) and although low plaine is less cold than in my native Mandrognistan.

This is fun, just to practice colloquial italian (or to activate Google translator, just to  see how awful it can be…http://www.vercellink.com/vercelli/turismo-sport-001.php

 

Home

Tonight, while  I was parking my car in the garage, I listened to Condor, a broadcast on Radio 2 I love.  ( Or, at least, I thought to recognize the voice  of Luca Sofri) The dj,anyway, was saying that OLD MAN by Neal Young  was a masterpiece song in a masterpiece record. So, once at home, I took the CD of Harvest, I put it in the CD player, I played it as loud as in an Ibiza disco, by now I have no neighbors, and I sang my heart out for four minutes (and that song, it would take another twenty ). I know it’s very facebook, but  can I lose my face in front of my students ?

 

No snow, no holidays yet

Anyway, the snow still  isn’t there. Or at least there wasn’t until last weekend (now with the new perturbation something should have been changed …). Not even a hint of snow,but many frozen ponds, foliage yellow – red a little ‘everywhere. The snow level is in effect at two thousand meters. And I went back to the Col de Joux, thinking that maybe Francesco is right when he says that is a bad place. Actually I would not be so radical. The valley is very beautiful, or at least pleasant, with the sun in summer, is delightful in the snow (even gay  at Extrepieraz), but now it is absolutely sad and dark: the chimneys of leaves in summer are nice coolness and humidity right now, for the fact that it is the shaded part of the valley. But I made another piece of the path of Ru Cortot (or Courtaud), And now I miss only a small section between Extrepieraz and Antagnod , although I do not know if that part of the path has already been restored (thanks to the usual European funds)

Brusson was dark too. For Christmas lights is still early…

 

At the seaside.

November is a truly sad month, more, here it has been foggy and raining for two days, but not pouring rain, something between humid fog and rain, that we call with a special name (scarnebbia – don’t say that south of Genova  because no one will understand) So on Friday, with a lot of things to do behind, i drove half an hour and went to the seaside at Arenzano, the nearest seaside resort, more one of Genova’s own places. It was warm, and people was running, walking, biking along the seaside or simply sitting in front of the waves. I was only 50 km away from home, but it looked like a completely different universe.

Have a look…

Arenzano al tramonto

 

Doctor’s choice

I do think that a good glass of wine must be in everybody’s list of pleasures. I have tasted a new novello wine, and while I’m not too keen on too young wines: a Novello di Teroldego Costa della Luna, from Trento, is in itself a good reason to go there: fruity, velvety, with a sweet almond taste that goes with everything (I paired it with chicken and mushrooms) Then you go to work (or to hike like I luckily did) happy.

 

Copyrighted?

Dear Mr Emmerich, I know I’m probably making too much of a fuss, but why can’t we have a decent image of Everest in your film? If a modern Arc is going to crash against Everest North Face, I want to see That face not some non descript semi – triangular peak. Or is it that the Chinese have copyrighted Mount Everest?

 

“All I wanted was to climb”

I was ready to write something else, some chat about myself, like I usually do in a blog. But  on Sunday mornig I found that on the front page of my usual newpaper. The rest, well youcan read it right here, a memory written by  Manuel Lugli. (choose the english page)

http://www.planetmountain.com/News/shownews1.lasso?l=1&keyid=37086

On the paper he was named a champion, but what is a champion, in a field where only you can decide what to do and where you go… and Tomaz Humar was undoubtely one of best, or the best.  The bell rang for him, and it was over, but his passion was all he needed. People  asking  why (why risk your life on an unclimbed route, why risk anyway), don’t usually want to understand. There is no “why”: for him, and for hundreds of us, less strong, unknown, just once a week climbers and hikers.

 

 

First Snow.

So, even if unnoticed by most of us, winter is creeping. Last week we had a bout of rain in plaines and snow in the mountains; so I decided to give my new windshield a try. I took my snowshoes from the basement, and put them in the car, hoping to use them. But it was early. In Chamonix, there was just a hint of snow, a few flakes on the trees. On my route to the Montenvers trail. My right knee began to ache. I know I have to act on it. My mother had arthritis, so I phoned to have a scan next week (since I hate to take painkillers, that kill my stomach alike) anyway I bumped up till the Rochers de Mottets, feeling like an old fat lady – like I am, anway. But there was such beauty in that just powdered  peaks, that, over the Mer de Glace, I was almost happy.

This the Aiguille du Midi shot from the Chamonix Cemetery, wintery yet happy.

But why so early in November I have to see Christmas decorations? (even in Chamonix, that I don’t think is so touched by crisis to need it