Return to Salvatronda, Italy 2012

Back in Simioni-land!!

updates and photos to follow.

_______________________________________________________

Rome for my 60th Birthday

more later ( I hope!)

_______________________________________________________

Italy 2011

placeholder.


_______________________________________________________

Giro dei Simioni 2 -- 2011

Here I am, in Bologna!  
Rick and I are in the 3rd week of our 5 week return trip to Italy and Simionis.

We started with Castelfranco Veneto, and Alice's family -- we proceeded to go on a cruise with them on MSC, the Italian cruise line Alice works for.  While Bari, Greece, Turkey, and Croatia were nice to see, the real joy was the fun we had with her family as her parents Emanuele Simioni and Renata Zampieri celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

The most fun was trying to communicate with them for 7 days and nights when they speak no English, and we speak little Italian!  We had to create word games which became quite hysterical! Of course Alice, our fluent English/Italian speaker, was quite busy most of the time!

After the cruise Rick and I spent a few nights in Venice. Rather than just "see Venice" (we have visited on 2 other day-trips) we choose to rent an apartment back away from the crowds. We roamed quite streets/canals, but also went to visit St. Mark's Square with the basilica and Doge's Palace. (Be sure to use the time-saving tips for avoiding the long lines for tickets and entry. Ask me. We walked right in!)  

I found this article written by someone who stayed in the same district we did, Cannaregio, and also rented an apartment. She writes much better than me about why we enjoy getting a more local feel for cities we visit. Yep, we are still tourists, but try to be respectful visitors.
live-like-a-local-in-cannaregio-venice

After Venice we returned to Simionis and Castelfranco Veneto.

When back on land we spent time with Alice's aunts, uncles, and cousins, and especially enjoyed the polenta festa! (We went twice!)  We were surrounded by hundreds of people from local villages and all their families. A taste of not only great "poenta" (the Venetian dialect for polenta) but real Italian life.

Our main reason for visiting Castelfranco Veneto has been to trace Rick's father's family. We have not found any Simioni relatives, but this year we found a cousin! Rick's aunt's son, Alfredo Fior, right in Salvatronda! (See more on "Finding Desiderio" blog.) We could not have done this without Alice and her father taking us to Alfredo's home and introducing us to him in Venetian dialect! It was something special!

Still, Alice and her family ARE our family now! Maybe not by blood, but by the heart! We love these people! And I will continue to investigate upline since we also have more info (birthdates) of Desiderio's parents...  maybe we will connect up a generation or 3! 

While staying in our Castelfranco apartment, we drove to Thiene/Sarcedo and visited the families of Roberto and Francesco Simioni again. Francesco organized a family pranzo at an agriturismo which provided a fantastico meal. We ate and drank for 2 hours of course! Giulia Simioni was home from her NYC job for a few days, so we all enjoyed a reunion! New babies and toddlers, food and wine, english and italian. 

Francesco let Rick take the controls a bit!

- - - - - 

Rick and I spent two days alone in Verona, with a great spot right over Piazza Erba, and across from Torre Lamberti! We met a British couple we share breakfast and wine with on our hotel balcony both days.

Here in Bologna we've had another special treat as our San Diego friend, Lisa DeLucchi, who is spending 7 weeks in Florence, came here and spent 2 days with us! We've talked about this for months with our Italian language meet-up groups and friends, and we did it! We met right on her birthday and went out for terrific tagliatelle ragu, and tortellini en brodo!(at Eataly -- followed by some ridiculous singing of "My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R..... yep, got it on video!)

Add that our Bolonese friend, Alessandro Cipressi. He gave us a personal tour as he did last year, but the sun was shining this time!  And we then had a fantastic lunch (although that is not difficult to do here in Bologna!)


We soooo love the food here, and Bologna is such an interesting town, but really, we are here for the food!  :)


... more to follow....



_______________________________________________________

Alice in Wonderland!

Alice Simioni is here from Castelfranco Veneto, Italy! 

What a sweetie!  I'm having a blast showing her the best of San Diego, hitting all the parks (Zoo, Wild Animal Park, SeaWorld, and Disneyland!)  We're eating 'amburgers & fries, pancakes and French toast.  Watching "Gone With The Wind" and "Centennial". 
Rick is even allowing the Disney Channel while Alice and I sing songs together.

San Luis Rey Mission

Del Mar

California Simionis BBQ

Corn on the Cob American Style!






Our hot tub and pool






Wild Animal Park

We got together several different times with her Simioni relatives in Laguna Nigel.  It still amazes me that Castelfranco Simionis live that close to us.  I wrote down all the names Olga Simioni remembered, and we'll work on more later. What a fun family!

Alice tried to help Rick with his Italian lesson studies, but I don't think it helped!

And our "Princess" got her crown at Wonderland:

We met crazy Fausto too!  He came for our BBQ and also went with us up to Laguna Nigel for the day we had to return our Princess.

Alice: we are sorry you had to leave and look forward to your return to Wonderland!  <3




_______________________________________________________

Simioni del Mondo! It's a small world after all!

 Mattia meets Veronica in Greece..... OMG!

We are back in the USA for just a few days when Mattia Simioni writes me from Greece where he is working for the summer.  He is from Rick's father's hometown of Castelfranco Veneto.  

He tells me this story:  At his hotel a girl checks in who ends up working with him.  Her last name is Simioni too so they start up a conversation. She live about 2 hours from his town.  She happens to mention that she had recently met some Simionis from the USA who came to visit.  

He replies:  You don't mean Nancy & Rick Simioni do you???  She says "YES!!!" And he tells her how we had just visited HIS family!

In Greece!  It IS a small world after all!
______________________________________________

Returning to the lakes: Maggiore & Como, with Lucas & Elena

_______________________________________________________

Lucas, Elena, Sergio... Simionis By The Lakes

 

We have visited so many fabulous places with Elena and Lucas.  Here are a few more.

and then to Lucas' cousin Sergio's.  Cavona is the smallest village I've ever seen.  Very old, and really spooky in a thunder and lightening storm!  ;)

and then, this little village of only 200 people has this museum:

______________________________________________

Bello Asolo

We took an afternoon trip up to this little, beautiful, mountain village.  The "Giro d'italia" would be coming through a few days later.

_____________________________________________

Simioni Wedding In Thiene, Italy

So many Simionis, so little time!

We really enjoyed meeting Simionis from Thiene, Italy!

We were invited to the wedding of Elias Lorenzin and Diego Simioni.

Rick, Roberto, Diego, Elisa, Nancy, Francesco

We stayed two nights at the home of Roberto and his family: Guila, his daughter was my first Thiene Simionis Facebook friend, then Roberto.  Eventually, I became friends with many of the cousins.  Unfortunately, Giulia was not home this weekend, but at work in the USA!  New York City.  

 Elisa and Diego

 Many Simioni Cousins! (but none related to Rick.)

_______________________________________________________

Italy! In Search of Desiderio.

Our long awaited trip to Rick's father's hometown has begun.

We arrived safely in Milan and spent a day and a half adjusting to the time change and seeing a few of the sites.  The best was the view and architecture at the top of their Duomo!

More Photos on Facebook.

Then, the train to Vicenza, and on to the Simionis of Thiene and the wedding of Elisa and Diego.
______________________________________________

Finding Desiderio - Going to Castelfranco, Veneto, Italy

Rick and I have been spending hours and hours online the last few weeks planning our "Finding Desiderio" trip to Castelfranco, Veneto, Italy, in May.  

Rick's father, Desiderio Simioni, was born (1895) and raised in Castelfranco until he was 20 and came to Canada and the USA.  We have been searching online for info on him and we are beginning to have some success. The city of Castelfranco has found records of his family and we are pursuing it further. 

Meanwhile, the Facebook group "Simionis of the World" has become a daily habit.  Everyday we are chatting with Simionis in Italy who are helping us with our trip plans, and in most cases, are part of our growing agenda.  None of the over 100 Simionis we have "met" on Facebook are relatives!

We fly into Milan and the adventure begins. 

We'll be going to a Simioni wedding!  And staying with a Simioni family whom we have never met!  Then visiting another Simioni family a half hour away, before heading to Castelfranco for a week where we have rented an apartment.

In Castelfranco families there are already at work helping us by searching records in churches.  We'll be going to cemeteries and city offices, or wherever we can to try and find not only information on Desiderio, but also his sister who did not move to the USA.  There should be some descendants somewhere.

From there we head back towards Milan where Lucas Simioni will meet us and take us to Lago Maggiore where he and Elena will be taking us on a grand tour of the lakes and mountains area.  We are looking forward to meeting all of his family, including his brothers and cousin Sergio whom we chat and laugh with.  We already know great food and molto vino are going to be involved!

From there we head down to Bologna where we are meeting, no, not a Simioni, but Cippi!  The boyfriend of our Cali friend Stephanie!  We are staying with him for a few days while he shows us the best of Bologna.

We are not through yet!  From there we are going to Florence for a few days!  And NO ONE Is meeting us! We'll actually be on our own to enjoy the beauty of the art and architecture of this ancient city.

Lastly, we head back to Lago Maggiore for a few days of natural beauty, and probably more good food and wine before departing from Milan for our return to California.

Somehow we have been able to accommodate most everyone's schedules.  whew.   That took more than a few emails! And, it looks like we have worked this out now so that we can manage it all without renting a car... that hasn't been easy either.  Trains and friends! We should be able to pick one a vehicle somewhere should we find we want one.

We have just about narrowed down all our lodging, be it homes, hotels, apartments, or B&B's.  Yet even THAT has been an adventure.  The owner of the B&B at Lago Maggiore just happens to be visiting San Diego this week and we are planning a dinner together here!  

We love the internet!  It's been such an amazing tool!

We'll see how this trip all comes out in the end......

_______________________________________________________

North County San Diego Italian Language Meet-up Group

Last Summer, in an effort to find people to learn Italian with, I found a Meet-up Group online for "Italian Speakers".  In fact, I found a couple.  But they were down in San Diego, a 45 mile drive and we just didn't get down there.  We love going to San Diego's "Little Italy" but again we don't go into the city often.  Then I found a Meet-up group in North San Diego County!  And we haven't looked back.

We have met many fun and interesting people. I think about 1/3 are Italians now living here, 1/3 are Americans who have lived in Italy a year or more, and the other 1/3 like Rick and I: love Italy and want to learn the language.

We meet for dinner at an Italian restaurant every-other-Monday in Encinitas (still a half-hour drive).  The group just started last Spring with about 4 people, then maybe 15 when we started going in the Summer and now: over 100!

We often have parties at homes, and darn, with busy days we had in December including Rome and Christmas, I forgot to post that Rick and I hosted a "Festa di Natale" for our group.

Oh, there was so much food!  I'll have to go find some photos to post.

Last month Stephanie held an "Italian Movie Night" while her Italian boyfriend Cippi was here visiting.  Yesterday Nino & Susan had many of us over for a "Cherimoya Tasting Festival/Individual Guacamole Contest".  As typical, a "few" bottles of wine were involved.
Susan with Cherimoya Ice Cream:

Jodi is also a group member and she teaches Italian.  Rick and I took her class last Fall, and I'm starting another this week.  We are improving but slowly slowly.  It's still fun.  We have been listening to a variety of Italian language cd's since last May when Carolyn bought me "Fodors Italian for Travelers" cd's for my birthday.  We listen while home, walking, driving, when ever we can.  In fact, a Pimsleur lesson is running on this laptop as I type.

Rick and I are getting very excited for our Spring return to Italy.  Several Simionis have invited us to their towns to show us around.  Brother and sister, Mattia and Elisa, live right in Rick's father, Desiderio's, boyhood home Castelfranco.  We have not found any direct relatives yet, but I don't doubt we are all cousins!

We have also been invited to a Simioni wedding in Italy on May 1st!  So, we are moving our trip up to late April so we can be there for that.  Our plan is to fly to Venice and spend a week or 10 days in Veneto which is where most Simionis live.  Then head over towards Milan and the lakes area for a few more Simionis.  

Somewhere is this Simioni family is the groom-to-be, Diego:

Then we'll move down to Florence and Bologna for more typical touristy travel.  Cippi lives in Bologna so we hope to meet up with him. Another person in our Meet-up Group is going to Florence in a few weeks and is staying for 3 months.  This will be the 3rd year she and her husband are doing that.  We should over-lap a few days and now are planning to meet up with them there!

OK...  I'd better listen closer to these Italian lessons so I can chat with all the "Simioni del Mondo"!

_______________________________________________________

Roma! Rick's 60th Birthday

What a wonderful experience in Rome we had for Rick's 60th birthday!


We planned 8 days in this beautiful city so we could take our time seeing the sites and "feel" the city. We loved it!  The first few days we were amazed at the artwork in the Galleria Borghese (I love Bernini sculptures), and in several "average" churches; we strolled the Spanish Steps, and Pizzia del Popolo, and ate well at every little ristorante we tried! Romans really warmed up to us as soon as Rick would tell them "Mio padre nato Castelfranco, Veneto". Instantly we became Italian to them!

The Spanish Steps:

On Friday night we met Rick's good friend, Tony Zambito, who was in Europe on a business trip, and had flown to Rome to help Rick celebrate his birthday. The three of us walked into this little pizzeria and then who followed in? Julian!  It was awesome! What a great surprise for Rick! Can you imagine? Tony had helped Julian arrange to fly in too!

Saturday, Rick's birthday, was awesome as the 4 of us spent most of the day touring the Roman Forum -- hours!  So fascinating. So much history.  We walked on the same cobble stone roads that Julius Caesar had been on and we even saw where his body was burned after he was assassinated. People still leave flowers there! We envisioned what it all must have been so very long ago.  Some building remnants were 17 centuries old!


Rome, The Eternal City. After lunch: The Coliseum. While we've seen it on TV many times, walking around and imagining the bloody battles that took place was chilling. Time to watch "Gladiator" again? 

It was a glorious, sunny, day and perfect for walking around ancient Rome, and of course, for photos. We have hundreds! (Thanks mostly to Tony and Julian who really got into using their high-tech cameras.)


After a little break, as evening settled in, we wandered back out in the City of Love mingling with Romans and tourists around the Trevi Fountain - another magical place.  There are always people just strolling the narrow streets, eating gelato, and absorbing the sites and sounds of Rome. We did the same while Julian and Tony continued to take photos.  This could be my favorite place in Rome.  Later we had a nice little dinner at a restaurant on the block between the fountain and our hotel. Rick, Julian, and I topped the evening by returning to the Coliseum to view it at night under the stars and a nearly full moon.  Julian took many photos here too.

Simionis of the World

For over a year now I have been chatting with "Simionis of the World" on Facebook. It's been a fun experience. Most of the Italian Simionis live in northern Italy, radiating from the "epicenter" near Venice. I did find two living in Rome, Daniela and Riccardo. They did not know each other. We tried to meet up with them while in Rome but it didn't work out.


Meanwhile, one of the Simionis I have had a lot of fun with over the past year, my young college student friend Silvia, wanted to come down to meet us in person. Her parents did too, and, amazingly they drove 6 or 7 hours to come have lunch with us.

map: Cartigliano to Rome

We met on Sunday in Trastevere, just west of the Tiber River, at il Duca. What a great time we had! Silvia is the only one who could speak both English and Italian fluently, but Rick and Oscar both knew enough words to make some conversation. Analisa, Federica, and I managed a bit and had fun in any case.  We somehow shared stories along with the outstanding food.   (I know you are trying to imagine ME not being able to talk..... )

Oscar doesn't live far from where Rick's father grew up, and is convinced their grandparents would have certainly known each other.
(see:  Simionis of the World Blog)




Annalisa & Nancy

The Simioni men: Oscar, Julian, Rick

We look forward to spending even more time with them next Spring when we return to Italy and tour the northern part of the country!  Thanks Oscar and Annalisa!

The next few days Rick, Julian, and I did some more visiting around the city: Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiori; a night trip to St. Peters Square, Castel St. Angelo, crossing the Tiber River on the Bridge of Castel St. Angelo, oh, and ate some more! We saw a Leonardi di Vinci exhibit that was temporarily in town, and took the subway to find the only pyramid in Rome!

Campo di Fiore

Yes, there is a pyramid in Rome!

The Tiber River at night:

Finally the last day, Rick and I were alone again and it suddenly felt lonely. We returned  St. Peter's, The Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums.  It is such an incredible place.   We'd toured it last time we were here -- we had a day and a half before our cruise left -- but there is so much to see and take in we had to come back again.

Piazza Navona -- and their annual Christmas Market.  Wish we had known about La Befana before we went.

Another panini by the Pantheon.

Inside the Vatican Museum:

Being in Rome with the love of my life for his 60th birthday was awesome.  Having our son join us was beyond words. My heart was full!


Movie to follow soon ----  I'll edit this post then....


click here for more about Rome.

_______________________________________________________