Sabato parte due - Sarre' Castle

Elena Roulett, my Aosta Angel

Entrance to the property

The favorite photo of the day is here... It is one of the peaks of the Alps peeking though the gate to the castle. I am trying to use natural formations to frame the photos I take. We will see how it turns out. Not bad!

Since we had already seen the major sites of Aosta, we decided to switch the plans for the rest of the week. Elena drove us to Castle Sarre, which is the villiage in which she lives. We went in two carloads, and it was an amazing sight through this part of the Aosta Valley. I had wondered who lived beyond the city of Aosta, and Elena's family lives in the small village of Sarre, where the castle is.

We purchased the tour tickets, and as the guide spoke, Elana translated for us. This is the hunting lodge of the Savoy family, purchased by Victor Emanuele for recreation trips.

We took many photos, especially of the trophy room, which is decorated with the horns of hundreds of ibex horns and skulls. It sounds strange, but ti was very artistic and unusual, to say the least.

The view from the castle

The bedrooms of the royal family, King Victor Emanuelle II and Queen Margharita were beautiful, but not elaborate. Pizza Margharita was named to honor her, as this royal family was very well loved. The pizza has red sauce, white mozzarella, and the green  basil... the colors of the Italian flag.

The family photos made this part of Italian history seem more personalized, and I could see the people, not only the role they played in Government. King Umberto II, Victor Emanueleàs son, was a shy man, and was not a good leader, as he was taken under the charismatic power of Mussolini.The royal family was exiled and they lived their lives in Portugal. Eventually the women of the family were allowed to visit Italy, but the men were not until this generation. The Republic was born on June 2nd. Elena was telling me there is some controversy about the vote... that the monarchy actually had more votes than the republic, but there was much fraud. The Republic moved forward, and that is what Italy has today.

The Castle was very interesting, and the scenery surrounding it was just beautiful. I took a ton of photos for Mike Savoie, the director of the Honors Program at VSU. I think he will be so pleased to see part of his ancestry.

Ray, Me, Nancy, Greg, Jordan, Schuyler, and Shakela

I am having trouble uploading photos, as the site is an Italian one and it i a bit different from how it is set up on my laptop back home. I keep looking. I am sure when I ask the students, they will be able to tell me how to do it, and that it will be something very easy!

Ra and Rissotto Valdastana - Yummy!

We returned to Aosta and had dinner at Ristorante Il Girasole... the Sunflower (Viade Soles, 29. www.ristorantegirasoleaosta.it. Of course... my favorite flower... It is over near the Duomo, facing it to the right. I am so glad Elena recommended this. It was delicious!

The food was great, especially the Risotto Valdastana, a favorite of Jordan's! Greg finally found something he liked... this risotto... We had a lovely day with my now very real face-to-face friend, Elena. She has such an easy way with our students. Ray says he feels like we have known her forever! I do, too. It will be fun getting to spend time with someone who has been my pen pal for the past nine months!

A sleepy crew returned to the hotel. I feel like I have so many stories to tell, but there is not enough time and space to get to each... What a wonderful place for us to begin this voyage. Tomorrow will bring something entirely different... the top of the Alps, as we he'd to see Monte Bianco - Mont Blanc.

There is a different keyboard attached to the bluetooth. I cannot yet figure out how to get back to the English-American one. So dashes, and parenthesis and apostrophies are missing in action! There are differences in how the Blogger is reacting, as well. I will look for hints when I am back on line. Technology - love and hate it.

Buona notte!