I've been excited to go to the festival since we heard about it then. Yesterday the festival was held and the University organized a bus to take students who wanted to attend. Ciclismo was also there for the fun. I went with a great group of friends from classes and met up with the Ciclismo folks there. It was a great mix of being touristy, watching the action with friends, catching up with Marcello and meeting the cool guests of the Ciclismo tour.
It was yet another rainy day, but it turned out to be great weather for the festival. The fog hanging on the Gubbian hills added to the aura of mysticism that surrounds a medieval festa. Here's the full Wiki article if you want to know more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Ubaldo_Day
I parted with my friends for a bit to say hi to Marcello and the Ciclismo guests he was hanging out with. It was fabulous that they were watching the end of the Giro d'Italia in the lobby of the hotel, a super epic day out there for the racers with roads of mud and pouring rain.
My friends, in the meantime, had gone to the top of the Gubbian hill via gondola. This is something I missed out on last summer so was quite glad to go up there to meet up with them.
This is a partial group shot...two of our guys are missing from it...
We thought it wise to get back down the hill to where the race of the ceri (monstrous candles) would be happening. I thought the town seemed pretty quiet when we got there, figured people stayed in because of the rain so I was a little disappointed because I thought the crowds wouldn't come out. Wrong-o! People came out of who-knows-where by the droves for the race of the 1,000 lb. candles.
The candles race through the streets and and then raced to the top of the very steep Gubbian hill. The "winner" is always the same as there is no way for the candles to change positions in the very narrow streets.
And here they come and go!
My video didn't upload just now so I'm including a YouTube video from someone else from last year. This is exactly the way it looks, just imagine no sunny sky.
It was a HUGE crowd, a total crush including children and older people as well. I didn't mind the crowd at all (this comes from someone who really minds being in a crush of people at sporting events, etc. in the U.S.)
I crowd surfed to the main piazza in hopes of finding Marcello; I didn't even have to look, I practically ran into him and his Ciclismo guests.
Very cool to see this beautiful horse and trumpeter make their way through the crowd, too!
After the candles made their way past this point, we wandered over to a pizza place where I joined the Ciclismo group for a fun dinner. It's really great to be included in the Ciclismo events when they come through town. These visits definitely take me back to last summer and I get a little sentimental wishing my friends from that trip were there, too.
Today
Today ended up a whole lot better than it started. The bus got us back late last night and I was all wired from the festival to get to sleep. My alarm threw me out of bed at 4 am. Today I was supposed to ride to the hilltop finish of today's stage of the Giro d'Italia. It's kind of funny because I didn't realize the reason I was supposed to go on a 200km bike ride with my friends was for this reason until after it didn't happen thanks to the rain that just won't quit. Luckily, I was able to go back to bed for an extra couple of hours.
Fortunately, there was a break in the rain and it allowed for a pretty intense, climbing training ride that was in the vicinity of Lake Trasimeno...absolutely gorgeous roads out there (most new to me). There's a fabulous 200 km (124 mile) Gran Fondo coming up this weekend. I don't know if I've ever ridden this far in my life...now I get to race that distance with 4,000 competitors doing the same distance. I'm super excited about it, though.
After the ride, my friend's mom served up some awesome pasta, chicken (the most moist chicken I think I've ever had & most flavorful as it was spiced really well), salad, wine. I was absolutely stuffed. I am a slow eater, it's just my style to not eat fast. I had to explain my slow eating habits to prevent her from being offended. Gotta love the culture surrounding food here. I really, really like it. To me, it's all about eating around the same table with others. That the food happens to be awesome makes it all that much better. Mom, for the record, I have told many Italians about your lasagna and that your is the best in the whole world. Come to think about it, I haven't tried Italian lasagna yet...the thought of it actually doesn't excite me all that much to be honest.
After the meal, I needed to catch the bus home thanks to the rain that had returned by this point. The bus stop is next to a bar where I stepped inside to stay out of the rain. A wonderful older guy started talking to me and before I knew it, I had been shooting the breeze with him (in Italian) for a solid 40 minutes. He insisted on buying me an espresso, I think it was so that I'd stay and talk. At the end of the conversation, I felt that something had changed--this morning I was tired and, therefore, tripping all over words; by this evening, they flowed out. He complimented my Italian (that's a first, by the way, and he's happily married so it's not like he was trying to woo me or anything). I see this as a milestone. The first of many more to come. Seriously, that conversation was so much fun. This is the definition of the Italian experience.
Now, it's finally time for me to head home and attempt to sleep (still on a high from today's ride). Internet is YET AGAIN broken at home. Thanks for traveling with me back to medieval Gubbio and to the coffee shop. Your emails continue to thrill me to receive, and I am so touched at your interest in these experiences. My hugs and kisses to you all (yes, I'm going to be kissing everyone on both cheeks when I get back home, what a great custom). I miss each of you very much and wish you were here (can't wish myself home just yet...)! :) Ciao!!!
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