Go Fly a Kite! in Italy

Summer in the Umbrian Countryside

Summer has suddenly burst through in Umbria, with hot, sunny days after a long spell of thunderstorms, rain, and chill.  Spending my final weeks here in the beautiful Umbrian hills, I'm taking in all I can of my surroundings... while rampant mosquitoes get their fill of me. Reciprocity.

Go Fly a Kite!

This was just the kind of unexpected event that kept popping up to rival conventional ideas about what to do in Italy. Especially so because the invitation came from a mature, rather reserved and distinguished  Italian woman. It seemed to me a totally charming and captivating idea. 

Umbria is filled with lush hills everywhere you look. You can usually count on some winds and.... why not? Kite-flying seems a fun thing to do. Plus, we were about to learn something and create our own kite. 

We drove together to the event. We chatted a lot, and she was helping me along with my Spanish-influenced Italian. All the while, I silently noted how competently fast she took the hillside curves. I was still much more tentative with my foreign driving habits on these sharp, high, curves). 

Small Medieval Chapels Throughout Umbria

As we neared our venue, we came to a small, 15th C. chapel. A friend (in the photo) showed me the  semi-restored frescoes lining its walls. As I've said, there is always something remarkable in almost every locale you set foot upon here.

chapel in Toscolano with friend, Anna Giovanni

Go Make a Kite!

After being introduced to the event organizers, we were joined by about 50 other people of all ages  and seated together at  several long tables. We heard and saw slides that accompanied a enjoyable  presentation on  the history of kites and kite-making. In contrast to other presentations I'd attended  in Italy (mostly academic ones that went on for much too long)., this one was brief, interesting, and well illustrated. 

Added to that, the hands-on challenge was to make and decorate kites ourselves! Of course the kids loved it. What a kick for all the adults who'd never thought we'd get to play like this! My rather reserved friend seemed a bit embarrassed by the idea at first, but then got fully into it once the materials were in her hand..Good for her. It made me smile to it see all of us mature people transition into child-like seekers and makers of objects that could fly.

my kite in progress

We were given all the materials and instructions needed, and got to work while the rather wonderful history of kite-making flashed on the large screen. Everyone set to work, everyone looking so earnest in their playful attempts to make a kite that might fly... and decorated in our own way. 

The Kite Runner, a fine novel by Khaled Hosseini that takes place in Afghanistan, came to mind, along with thoughts of the meaning and value of kite-flying in human history. DaVinci and Benjamin Franklin were among the the famous kite-fliers of the world. Kites were made in all cultures of the world, especially featured in China and Japan, but also throughout the mid and far-east, and elsewhere. 

But Will It Fly?

The crucial reality test came next. 

When our kites were finished, with streamers and string attached, we went to a nearby field to test them out for real.  Would they fly? Truthfully, I was anxious about mine. It was my first, and I couldn't remember when I'd last flown a kite anywhere.

A hot sun was beating down on the field. I took off my shoes and tried to run in the grass with my kite held high.  Seeing my lame attempts to get my kite off the ground, a young boy came over and asked if he could fly my kite for me.  Indeed, yes and thank you !  Around and around he ran, delighted. And it so delighted me.

 

and my kite flew...

This Kite Carries a  Message

If there's meaning in kite-flying (of course there is), here's what I make of this experience. It's the importance of play, of exploration, and of seemingly unimportant things. The kindness of friends and new acquaintances sharing in gentle communal activities.  You never know what may fly. 

More Creative Life News

You can read and see more about Italy at Creative Life News here. plus other travels and creative adventures by this itinerant artist at Creative Life News here

 @ janetstrayer.com

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Getting Lost (and Found) in Italy

An Adventure Exploring the Umbrian Hills

Another Umbria (painting by Janet Strayer)

Today was a good day for a hike. After a series of thunderstorms and much overcast weather, today's sunshine encouraged my decision to explore the hills around our Umbrian homestead. I was on my own, and my  destination was a hike to the chestnut grove across the ravine into the deeper part of the forest. A good and then a very bad idea. It's not hard to find the right path if you know the way. But then, nothing is hard -- if you know the way. 

I had been given good directions from a visiting neighbour who'd already explored  the area. Being a student of ecological history, he told me that these chestnut groves in Italy were at least several centuries old, having been planted by ancient communities to forestall famines in other foods.  The chestnuts are still harvested today. 

The Chestnut Grove

Do you know how enchanting is to come upon a chestnut grove in the middle of a forest? It's a special spot that greets you like an enclosed garden, especially when you don't exactly know where you are.  I The tree branches are magnificently broad and heavy with leaves, while the brown ground is clear and soft.  A lovely spot to explore, so I did. 

After three happy hours exploring, I thought I should head back home. 

After five hours, however, hiking around and around and  in and out of the beautiful chestnut grove, I was officially lost!

I have a talent for getting lost. Like Hansel and Gretel. I should have brought something (more durable than breadcrumbs) to lead me back home. 

Ironically, all the trail signposts I found pointed in different locations but were printed with the same location name! 

My cell phone didn't work in the woods. Besides, whom would I call, given a recent thunderstorm had knocked out landline phone service in my home territory (in which there was also no cell reception).

Officially Lost

I could not reach anyone by phone, but I could take a blurry photo! I had little idea why, if someone eventually found my body here, this photo would matter. But here's my blurry photo of the view outward from where I got lost. I can almost see my house in the leftward distance. But how to get there from here??

So, I searched around the woods, yet again, for another trail.  Then I searched for another. I was turning in circles that lead nowhere. It was getting dark. 

Finally, I decided to continued on one path that lead to an asphalt road. Aha! Better than spending a lone night in the forest when friendly trees can turn into monsters, not to  mention the wandering wild boars. 

I stood by the road, which at least hinted at "civilization" and stuck my thumb out at the first passing car. No luck as the car passed me by. How few cars travelled this rural route? But returning to the forest to look again for the right path home seemed an  even worse idea.. So...

Like fortune's fool, I waited beside the road. I quickly held my hands up prayerfully when I saw a beat-up old car coming from the opposite direction. Yes, it stopped! I sputtered in Italian to explain my situation. The kind driver, named Basilio, said he would drive me home. I learned he was from a neighbouring village, Melezzole. I mentioned that I shopped at  Cesare's hardware store in that very village. He told me he worked for Cesare. And so it went. And so it goes... in Italy.

And Found

I t would have taken another 45 minutes for me to have reached my village on foot had I followed that road. But I didn't know that then, and my feet were already blistered. I hadn't even put on proper hiking shoes, thinking it was just going for a scenic walk. 

I reached home, gulped a liter of water, ate the cold chicken and pesto salad I'd prepared the day before, and thanked my lucky stars. That you, Basilio! Thank you, Italy. Thank you, good fortune.

More Creative Life

You can read and see more about Italy at Creative Life News here. plus other travels and creative adventures by this itinerant artist at Creative Life News here

 @ janetstrayer.com