A vacation from a vacation

TTaking time off from a holiday for another holiday can be hard work.Our children planned for us to arrive from different points (Ning, Martin, and children Carla Lotta, Hugo and Hans from Bienne, Switzerland; Jamil, Wendy, and their boys Emilio and Danilo from Wallau, Germany; Paolo from London; and Kochel and son Massimo from Manila) to savor la dolce vita in Tabiano, Italy.

GOTTHARD PASS, Switzerland – A funny thing happened to us on the way to Tabiano. Jamil drove the Merc; while Wendy and Kochel took turns driving the BMW. which went pfft at kilometer 188 on the autobahn en route to Gotthard Tunnel – because the car was built for speed, not for kilometric stop-go traffic from sheer volume of motorcars. Two other travelers also pulled aside (overheating); by the time the Swiss towing service arrived, three more had stalled on the autobahn. We found another six cars lined up for servicing at the garage, which was exactly just 30 feet below the same spot of 188 Kms where we stalled. Envy the mechanic Marco Calcagni’s foresight to open his garage below the spot where motorists slow down for the autobahn to stop-go traffic which reassures him endless supply of car breakdowns.

We detoured to Varese to collect Massimo from his father Andrea, like a handover or exchange of prisoners during the Cold War.

*** Our holiday home for the next seven days was the Casalje Manganina, the smallest of six villas run by the Corazza scions. The clan oversees dominion from the Tabiano Castle, the storied redoubt at crossroads of medieval history and the crusades. In more peaceful time, it must have earned for the seigneur toll fees on traffic of salt, the only known preservative before refrigerators. In 1882, Rosa Corazza Gatti and her husband Giacomo Gatti acquired the Tabiano castle with all its annexes, part of the village, and over 500 hectares of land. (Rosa’s father Carlo Gatti was the 19th century Ice King of London).

Sunday evening mass at the cathedral of the Fidenza (dedicated to St. Domninus). Including the three of us, I counted only two dozen faithful at the cathedral... but we would discover at holy communion time a much larger congregation at the chapel in the crypt six steps below the main altar.

My wife Meng’s prayers were answered at the Fidenza Village Outlet Store where she bought three pairs of shoes (outlet prices, minus another as much as 50% less on brand names). There is a German saying, which translates You go broke trying to save. A friend advised to get there early before the horde of Chinese shoppers descend from their bus tours and buy everything in sight.

Meng also had a steamy adventure with the promise of enervating youthful looks at the Terme de Tabiano spa (sulphuric steam breathalyzer, massage, spa, etc...) Endless lines because even if habitués grow older, they continue to return from force of habit. I could suggest to give zing to the spa by introducing ballroom dancing with Filipino DI’s. Ning’s husband Martin also suggests throwing in bingo.

The houses at Antigo Borgo at the edge of the wall fortification used to be for service staff of the castle. Today the dwellings are part of the Tabiano Relais hotel and restaurant. For Euro 20 per head, the chef Mauricio Morni gave a talk in Italian cum demonstration and gustatory experience of Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, and wine. (Hotel Manager Frau Petra Langeder translated his spiel into English. She is Viennese and would occasionally lapse into German.) The demonstration provides two kinds of Parmigiano Reggiano (24 and 36 months old), two kinds of Prosciutto (di Parma and Salame Felino), and Lambrusco and Malvasia wine.

5 to 5 Day. The cows which supply the milk are a mix of American and European stock. Cows yield about 20 liters of milk daily. Unlike pampered civil servants, cows are milked at 5 in the morning and again at 5 in the afternoon, seven days a week, no weekend break. (I recall Gary Lising’s account about a milking champion who won the national event although he had only half a bucket full, while all others had their buckets full of milk. The judges awarded him the grand prize when they upheld his protest that he was given a bull to milk.)

They need 35 kgs of milk to fill the vat in which the cheese forms Parmesan cheese, a trade name jealously protected by the region. There are supermarkets which sell “parmisan” to deceive the unsuspecting buyer. (Deja vu of the Japanese town which named itself Usa to export it produce with the tag “Made in USA”)

Prosciutto is taken from the hind leg on which the swine does not rest when it sleeps. The other leg is sent for other uses. Prosciutto process remains a guarded secret by each brand and the ham is cured for 12, 16, 20... up to 40 months for graduated value; and an inspector from the guild applies the official approval stamp.

In the event, we were seduced by Chef Mauricio and the translation of Frau Langeder and we ordered lunch at the Relais’ osteria.

The universe is unevenly divided. We frolicked at the pool and indulged in hot showers of the Casa Daniela. But we read in Manila Bulletin of the fury of tropical storm Gorio and the devastation it wrought. We also heard that Pope Francis ordered the temporary closure of the Vatican fountains in sympathy with the shortage of water in Rome owing to severe lack of rainfall (72 percent less than usual in Rome).

*** MORE THAN JUST HOT AIR. Other than Valentine’s Day when every Romeo woos his Juliet with flowers, chocolates, etc., the biggest event back home every February is the Philippine Hot Air Ballon Fiesta, which Capt. Joy Roa and his hardy crew have held every year for the last 21 years. Next year’s fiesta in February, 2018, should surpass last year’s record 130,000 visitors and international and local media coverage over the four-day festival. Unlike other tourism events, the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta has been “flying on empty”, i.e., even without government support. Imagine what this event could draw and the media mileage it would draw if Tourism Secretary Teo made it one of her flagship projects?

We missed Tuscany on this trip, but I can look forward seeing it in living color from the heights of a hot air balloon in one of the coming series of Capt. Roa. FEEDBACK: