Olivespastavino is on holiday, not Brooklyn New York this time but England. I’m officially here to look after my beautiful granddaughter while mum and dad go to a wedding but right now I’m off duty so I took the opportunity to walk from our B&B High Hampstead, into the village of Lurgashall in West Sussex. What a treat! A quintessentially English scene, village green cricket match in full swing, a pub and a lovely little store open for Sunday papers and a good selection of fresh produce and other goodies for stocking up the holiday fridge!
Village Pub…Noah’s Ark
I’m typing this post from my Ipad and it’s proving to be very difficult so I’m just going to add a couple more photos and leave it there. Suffice it to say, I am loving being here in a beautiful part of England but know that by the end of the weekend I will have had my fix and be more than ready to get back to Bella Italia!
A particularly pretty English Country GardenThe Main BarnOur fabulous B&B
P.S There are horses, sheep, dogs, chickens…it’s all fabulously rural England.
Fermo Antiques Market in Marche, compared to Arezzo in Tuscany, is not as big and doesn’t have as many furniture or larger antique stalls but the atmosphere is fabulous. It’s held every Thursday evening during July and August and when darkness falls around 8 30 pm it gets very busy and there’s a distinct hum of excitement, money exchanging hands and everyone looking for a bargain.
Antiques and Bric-a-Brac
It was a wonderful balmy evening last Thursday and we met friends for a delicious supper in the Capolinea Café before strolling around the market and savouring the excellent variety of goodies on offer including local crafts, food, bric-a-brac and antique stands. The Piazza del Popolo was buzzing with a mix of tourists and locals enjoying the relaxed ambience, friends greeting each other, laughing and chatting in that familiar Italian animated way, arms and hands flying, purchasers and vendors negotiating for lowest or highest price depending on which side of the deal they were. The Italians strolled about in family groups, like little gangs, Nonna holding the hand of the little ones, Mamma or Babbo, pushing the buggy and straggling behind them, the teenagers eagerly keeping an eye out for school friends they could escape with to enjoy a coke and a conspiratorial chat.
Books and Photos
Apart from the main square the market spilled over into the big road leading from the Piazza and several side streets; the stands here were mostly craft and local foods, salamis, pecorino cheeses etc., A favourite of mine is ciabuscolo which is a smoked and dry-cured sausage made from pork meat and fat, typical of the Marche region. I love the moist texture and spicy taste. Not sure it’s good for your heart though to eat too much of the delicious stuff. Olive Ascolane are another popular local dish; large green olives which are pitted and stuffed with sausage meat, dipped in breadcrumbs and deep fried. Yummy, my mouth is watering!
Olive Ascolaneciabuscolo (pink sausage on the right of the photo)I loved this stall ‘Any Old Iron’ !
Hope to make the market at least another twice before then end of this season!
