Fragrant Days

"Romeo" Iris,  Elderberry in flower,  Mock orange jasmine, and petunias surefine - All fragrant

The sweetness of mock orange blossoms and elderflowers waft through my open windows these days, making my heart go pitter patter. As the first color of spring has deepened into a full on explosion of green, accentuated with every type of flowering bud, bulb and tree, it is impossible to ignore the colors and fragrances of life happening all around me these days. It perhaps happened earlier where you live and perhaps you are already wilting from the  heat of summer, but here at a bit of altitude, we are just getting fully under way with color, berries, birdsong and intoxicating floral scents of every variety. Today, the Linden trees in the market were just starting to bloom and the sweetness made me stop and look up to behold these massive trees' alluring essence. We just had a small cloudburst and now the air is fresh and full of the wet fecund earth and cut grass aroma wafting up through the open windows. Perhaps I have just have had a bit of time recently to enjoy all this bountiful green growth and natural perfume that is so abundant this time of the year. My indulgent time to savor the season is in no small part to the help of our volunteer workers that have helped get our garden in, weed, watered and be generally well looked after, thereby giving me a bit of breathing space. Many thanks to all of them for that bit of respite indeed.

Woofers and Workawayers this season so far

This seasonal switch has been more hectic then usual for me this year, with plenty going on here at Bella Baita. We've been painting, patching, planting, and tidying up after all of that. I'm sure you know what I mean. You probably have had the same going on at your house.

Fabrizio painting our big room in anticipation of the season

I did a quick trip to the states to tidy up some of my affairs in the high country of Colorado, before enjoying a little family reunion at my brothers in Broomfield. We have a few significant birthdays this year amongst the siblings, nephews and nieces, so it was a great excuse to get together for a few days to enjoy each others company as we enjoyed the Colorado Rockies.

Part of the Gulley clan at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park

You may not have realized, but I kind of have a thing for mountains. I'm drawn to them, marvel at them and love living in them in all their glory. This blog has been a celebration of my life here in my husbands family slice of Piemonte's Alpi Cozie (or Cottian Alps in English). I'm happy to be a part of the fabric of our little community, able to savor all the large and small personal and sensory pleasures that mountain living has on offer.

My little rock garden outside my window

Although I haven't been able to write much lately, I do have a few recipes that I will be sharing soon.
I had friends here at the end of May and got out and about up the Chisone valley to play tourist in my neighborhood that I don't always get to do when we are busy.

Marla's creations (that would be me)

It was wonderful as always to marvel with my friends, at the Fenestrelle Fortress, sometimes called the Great Wall of Piedmont, and wander through the small hamlets of Usseaux, Balboutet, and land over at Lago Laux, for wine with a delightful slice of Marienella's "torts del giorno". Although there is more that one can do than the few things I have mentioned.

I think that will dip your toes into our Chisone valley stream and have you wishing for more. We'll be waiting for your visit and in the meantime I'll be savoring these fleeting and fabulously fragrant days.

Bella Baita, our Home Sweet Home

Guest Blogger Cherrye Moore on Winter time ex pat life in Calabria

Today for your reading pleasure I have the lovely Cherrye Moore, as a guest blogger here at Bella Baita View. My compatriot Cherrye hails from the opposite end of the bel paese, and is a fellow B&B owner, "Il Cedro", travel consultant and blogger at "La Bella Vita". 
We've bumped into each other on the blog-o-sphere with our common interest of Bed and Breakfast life and she even featured me last summer in her Expat in Italy-owned Business Series. You can read that interview here.
Do have a wander round her site as she has a charming tale about how she and her husband met and she offers up a variety of useful information on her "Travel Tips Tuesday" series.
If you want to win some Perugian chocolate straight from the source, do have a look at the contest that Cherrye and Tina Ferrari of Tina Tangos  along with AffordableCallingCards.net.
having going on. You still have time to enter. Check out all the details here for
Blogging from the Boot: The Best of 2009


Without further ado...

Ahh … the Christmas rush is over, New Year’s Eve celebrations have come and gone and sleepy Calabria has quietly slipped into-and in fact, almost through-the first month of 2010.

As has been the case since we opened our B&B Il Cedro a few years ago, the first few months are often plagued with cold, wintery days and rainy nights. It is dangerous ground for a normally busy B&B.

As opposed to other, more tourist-friendly regions in Italy, January and February tend to be lazy months for us in Catanzaro, so much in fact that some B&Bs (ok, yea that would be us) close for half of January and take a winter break.

We are lucky, though, in regards to the location of our bed and breakfast.

Catanzaro sits smack dab in the middle of Calabria and since we are the capital of the region, our B&B business doesn’t rely solely on the sand and sole.

Many of our regular guests are professors at the university, pharmaceutical representatives and salespeople who travel to the city.

We fill our rooms with Calabrian-Americans, Calabrian-Canadians, Calabrian-Australians who venture to the south of the boot-regardless of the season-to trace their heritage and walk in their grandfathers’ footsteps.

But it is only the summer months-June, July and August-that my Calabria, and in fact, my Catanzaro, see tourists. They come to explore the coasts, swim in the Ionian Sea and trek through the nearby Sila mountains. They want to explore Old Italy, enjoy an afternoon nap and take a passeggiata  through a medieval village on a moonlight night.

I often wonder how different my Italian experience-and my job!-would be if we lived in northern Italy, if we lived in a place that welcomed year-round tourism and catered to the needs of foreign visitors.

And some day, I might know.

I have a feeling Calabria is on the brink-just moments away from the big tourism boom that will propel her into international stardom. But until then, I’ll just sit here, in my hidden corner of the Mediterranean, sipping my espresso and gazing at the stars … and waiting to share this piece of Italia with the rest of the world.

Cherrye Moore is a southern Italy travel consultant, My Bella Vita  and B&B owner living in Calabria, Italy. She is currently hosting Blogging from the Boots: The Best of 2009 - the first annual expats in Italy Affordable Calling Cards's blogging awards. Submit or nominate your favorite expat-written blog posts today!