The bride is me and I've been a married woman now for a month and one day. To the bestest man in the world, can I say this? Ok, sounds too mellow, so pretend I didn't say it, ok?
While I'm still trying to get used to the terms 'husband' and 'wife', I keep looking at our pictures and asking myself: was that lovely day for real? Sure, the weather wasn't that great and a couple of tiny little things didn't go as planned but...it certainly was a day to remember!
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| Us on a balcony overlooking Poffabro |
Now on to the wedding locations, aren't you curious? We chose the council of Spilimbergo which is a small medieval town made famous by its important school of mosaics: the so called 'Scuola mosaicisti del Friuli' attracting many keen students from around the world.
The council palace is beautifully frescoed, has an italian garden on the side and, thanks to its elevated location on top of a hill, has a great view over the sorrounding hills and plains and also of the castle that lies on top of the hill nearby.
Here's a view of the front:
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| Spilimbergo's council - Palazzo di Sopra |
The restaurant we chose for the after-ceremony, is called 'Macjoli e Brocons' (in local dialect 'hammer and nails' which admittedly doesn't sound very appropriate for a celebration, but it makes up for it with its delicious food) and is located in Poffabro, a tiny village of wood and stone, hanging tightly onto the slope of a mountain and resting like a sleeping beauty untouched by time and tourists. It has become really popular only in recent years, after being nominated one of the 'Prettiest Villages of Italy' and finding itself included in the Friulian Dolomites Natural Park . Friuli, this region, is all made up of little 'Poffabros' waiting to be discovered, even by us, its inhabitants.
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| Views of Poffabro |
The menu was traditional: for starters a selection of local homemade specialties. My favourites? A polenta crouton with 'morcja' (a spread made from baked butter) and 'scopeton' (herring preserved the 'Val Colvera way'). What followed was a double main course of gnocchi and pasta and for seconds venison and goulasch. Salads, steamed veggies and polenta as side dishes. Even the cake was homemade and for the occasion the sister of the chef (and co-owner with him of the place) made us a beautiful carrot sponge cake following her nonna's recipe! Filled with custard and covered in cream, it went down a treat! And to 'digest' this pantagruelic meal, we were offered a round of special 'grappa di pino mugo', that is a grappa infused with the berries of a peculiar pine tree which grows mostly underground! Its balsamic properties are well known in the Alps since ancient times...
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| the cake and its 'topping': a lovely gift handmade by my gorgeous cousin |
The party ended at a local festival, one of the many 'sagre' which are organized by almost every community, from the tiniest of villages to way bigger towns, year round but especially during the summer months and always with a 'theme'. Themes are mostly seasonal products, in fact you can come across the cherries festival, the wine festival, the asparagus festival just to name a few, but also local Saints. The festival or 'sagra' we went to was one of the many dedicated to St. Mark -nothing holy going on there, except the superb artisan beers- and was held in Stevenà di Caneva. It was a small festival but quite intimate, with a band playing traditional dancing music (we were called on stage to open the dances and mind you, we are totally hopeless at dancing!) and all the people cheering us and complimenting us after the initial 'shock' of seeing a couple of smartly dressed newlyweds enter a marquee full of normally dressed people enjoying their beers, wine and pork sausages...it was a lot of fun for all!
So now you see what we've been busy with of late... but what can one do? when love calls...
PS: Fancy visiting Poffabro and its sorroundings? Drop me a line and I'll be happy to give you some 'touristic advice'!
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