Reduce, Reuse, but mostly Recycle

I think we've all heard stories about someone being fined 100's of Euro for putting recyclables in their garbage. Or garbage men ripping open bags and leaving everything because things weren't disposed of properly.

I imagine a lot of those are "tall tales", but there are very strict guidelines regarding recycling and waste disposal in Italy. Each town has its own set of rules, but generally they are similar.

This link has a list of most towns that Americans live in and links to the local waste disposal rules. Some of these links are in English, some are not. So it may take a little digging to find out the specifics for your town. It's certainly worth your effort though. Fines can reach up to 600Euro and beyond. Roveredo's fines range from 25Euro to 620Euro. Yikes!

Do I know anyone who's ever been fined? No, I don't.

I am in Maniago, and they seem pretty lax here. If I've run out of yellow garbage sacks for our household garbage and set out white ones, they still take them. Though I try very hard to follow the rules, I know occasionally a yogurt cup or water bottle probably makes its way to the garbage instead of the recycling. And there may be things that I think I'm doing right, but I'm not.

Mostly, I try to get it right because we do live next to Italians and I don't want them to think that I am disrespectful of their laws or of them. I have seen Italians cleaning up after American garbage that was left incorrectly, and they did not look to happy about it. Can you blame them?

I've cleaned up garbage after other Americans because I didn't want them to think it was us. And you know we all get lumped together. I wasn't too happy about it either. Can you blame me?

So, at least try to get it right. Ask an Italian neighbor if you're not sure. I'm sure that they'd be willing to help.

All Broken Up!

A little while back I tagged along on a class trip to Spilimbergo. By the way, if you have school-aged little ones, class trips are an awesome way to have cheap, tour-guided trips. There will be a translator and you will learn things that you wouldn't likely have otherwise had the opportunity. Plus you get to spend the day with your wonderful kiddos! I tag along whenever I can.

So back to Spilimbergo...it is actually the next "big town" over from Maniago and I go there all the time to hit up Bricofer. But on this trip I got to explore the local mosaic school, Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli. Each town in Italy is known for doing or having something special...Spilimbergo is the town of mosaics. Gorgeous artwork and spectacular artists! Students from all over Italy {and beyond} come here to become masters in the art of mosaic.

You can take classes too! You have to be fluent in Italian and there is a maximum age limit {If I remember correctly, it was 25-ish. I'm too old!}. And pay the hefty fees...but it is an option if mosaic is your calling. They also have short courses that do not end in certification, but are probably better for the hobbyist.


Level 1 classroom

Level 1 classroom



Level 1 work in progress, 'in corso'

 Our guide explained that the courses are extremely competitive. There are levels 1, 2, and 3 courses. She said that many people drop the course after a week or so if they aren't naturally good at it. Either you got it or you don't!

Level 2

Completed level 2 projects. Look like paintings!

Level 2 work in progress

The school itself is covered in mosaic. Floors, walls, signs, stairs. Inside and outside. Mosaic everywhere. The building is used as practice for the students.

When we entered the Level 3 classrooms, there were students working on a large project. The guide said that the school was closed that day but that students often stayed on well into the evening hours and come in on their off-time to complete projects. They really do want to be the best in their field. No riposo for these dedicated artists!

Level 3 students, hard at work

Breaking the tiles

Level 3 work in progress

Level 3 classroom

Don't you want to dive into these colors!

It seems the world is covered with mosaics from this school as well. If you are ever at a monument or special site and see a mosaic, look for "SMF" either in the mosaic itself or on a plaque nearby. If you see it, students from this small school in Spilimbergo created it. The 9/11 memorial in NYC has a mosaic from the school. If you've been and have pictures of it, I'd love to see them!

The mosaic on this wall shows a bit of a memorial to the NYC memorial, as well as some of their other artwork at important sites around the world.

There is a gift shop as well. I was hoping to pick up a couple bits and bobs to send out to our families. Hopes were dashed when I saw there was nothing under 100Euro, and plenty well beyond that. You can also order custom pieces to be created for you.

Items for sale

If you're interested in visiting the school or taking any of the classes, you can contact the school through their site. If you do take any classes, I'd love to hear about them!

Houseguests

The corn is coming down around Friuli. You can see for miles now. Long stretches of fields that were hiding homes before seem bare. Now all the critters that were living as high as an elephant's eye are now...at your house!

Meet the stink bug



This little guy was living in my mailbox.

They will invade your house. Any chance to sneak in through a cracked window or an open door will be taken full advantage of by hoards of these guys. Okay, maybe it's not quite the plague of stink bugs that I'm making it out to be, but they will get just about everywhere.

The good news is that they are merely a nuisance. They don't bite, sting, or eat your favorite sweaters. They just fly around and bump into the walls and windows. They've run me out of our bedroom a night or two because the thudding was too annoying to sleep but that's about the extent of it.

We're told not to smash them because that's when they stink. I haven't tried so I don't know if that's actually true. I'm not a big bug smasher by nature so I probably won't be finding out. I tend to scoop them up and put them back outside.

The young ones are bright green then they tend to turn brown. A brown stink bug won't be around much longer.

They don't stick around for too long. A few months then everything will be back to normal. Just when you think you can't handle them any longer, they'll be gone.

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While we're talking about things to be prepared for, if you weren't here last fall and winter. It rains a lot. A LOT. An almost unbearable amount.

If you're from the Northwest U.S. or maybe the U.K., you probably think I'm crazy. But last year, I felt like I was in one of those old Vietnam movies and would do just about anything for dry feet! I'll swear to it that gangrene was near setting it.

I think it takes a full 6 months of rain to have to beautiful, bountiful Spring that Italy has. That doesn't make it any more comfortable though.

So if you don't have any of these yet

Get some quick!

The BX carries a few pairs of children's rainboots. I've found children's rainboots off-base at Emisfero and Ipercoop as well. What I haven't found much of is adult-size rainboots off or on base. And if you're kind of choosy about color/design, you may find that you need to order some online.

You won't see many Italian ladies wearing rainboots, even if it's a torrential downpour outside. But these are the same ladies who wear heels to market on cobbled streets. Doesn't make sense to me, so I gladly stick to my rainboots even if it does occasionally garner an odd look here and there.

After all, I have to keep the gangrene at bay!

English Movie Schedule

The day after we returned from our week in Paris the Mister had to leave for a TDY. Unfortunately, we didn't have time {or think about} taking all of our trip photos off of his laptop. That means, I'll have to wait until next week to share information about our trip. I promise to share soon though!

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Most of you already know that the UCI Cinema in front of the Emisfero Mall plays movies in their original English version once or twice a week. This is great! It's the only way to see 3D movies or newer-than-the-base-theater movies. Unfortunately, the UCI site never indicated which movies were English or O.V. {Original Version}. On occasion, the Wyvern would list the movies for the week, but there was no real way for people to find out except by word of mouth. Until now! 

Some very smart people started a Facebook page dedicated to keeping us all up-to-date on the UCI Cinema O.V. schedule. They even have a weekly survey asking which movies we would most like to see and they pass this info on to the theater manager. Genius! 

Link up to "The Reel Wyvern" page to get the schedule and regular updates!

In Case You Missed It....

A few images from the Aviano Antique Market this Sunday....

Last Day of Freedom

Today is the first day of school here at Aviano. So what did we do on our last day of freedom?

A whole lotta this

We went to Lignano! A gorgeous beach town about an hour from the Aviano area.

A little info about the beach. You can rent a spot {chairs, umbrellas, etc.} for prices ranging from about 5 Euro to 18 Euro, or so. These are areas that are already set up along the beach. You choose based on the row, i.e. how close you are to the water. The closer you are to the sea, the higher the price. Though we found all of the prices quite reasonable. To give you an idea, we rented 2 chairs and an umbrella in Row 2 for 15 Euro. It was comfortable. I've grown used to having no personal space in Europe, so I was glad to see that these were spaced a couple feet from one another. It didn't feel at all crowded even though there were quite a few people there!

  



Flags indicate wind warning

Dude selling faux designer bags



 

After a couple hours of beach time, we wandered across the street to a cute restaurant called Isola Smeraldo. It had great indoor and outdoor seating. You could either order fresh baked pizza or go through the cafeteria-type line that had tons of fresh seafood. It all looked delicious! We got a couple of pizzas. And I don't mean to bombard you with prices, but our family of four ate for only 20 Euro! With this being a tourist town, I was really surprised at how inexpensive things were.

So after our wonderful meal, we decided to take a stroll around the area where we saw THIS!

  

 Oh yes, we did! We totally rented this for half an hour {10 Euro} and pedaled around Lignano. Touristy? Yes! A little dorky? Yes! Totally fun? Absolutely!

So if you've been avoiding the beach because you think maybe you're not fit enough...

Or young enough...

  Or, ummm, normal enough...

Then you're really missing out!

You're Not in Iowa Anymore

What is the most common sight when you leave the gates of Aviano AB?

It's got to be this, right? Gorgeous vineyards with budding grapes just waiting to be turned into your favorite Pinot or Cabernet or whatever you like flowing in your glass. I mean you're in Italy. Gotta be vineyards.

Well, don't be surprised if, instead of feeling like you've gotten off the plane in the Mediterranean, you feel like you're in the Midwest. This is what you are more likely to see.

CORN! CORN! CORN!

It's everywhere! I genuinely felt like we were driving through Iowa again when we got here last year. It was quite a shocker! Having been to the Mediterranean in the past, this is not what I expected nor is it what I saw in my previous travels. Northern Italy may not be quite what you have in mind when you think of Italy.

But look just beyond that corn.

Look at those beautiful mountains. Those are everywhere too!

And there are lovely vineyards....just not as many as I imagined.