A Town Called Rubiera

Rubiera is a town in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italy, and is about 10 kilometres west of Modena. We stayed there for one night last year on our way down to Florence.

We stayed in a really nice, old fashioned, but very clean and comfortable 3*** hotel that just happens to have a Michelin starred restaurant. Unfortunately, the restaurant doesn't open on Sunday nights, which is probably the reason we were able to stay in an elegant, old world 3*** hotel with free breakfast for 40€. But more of that another day.

It was stinking hot when we arrived, but we had to have a proper walk around as it's the first time either of us had been in a small Italian regional town. And it properly lived up to all the clichés. There's a much altered early medieval castle in the middle of town, plenty of old buildings with arcaded fronts, and lots of colours.

The Town Hall. Deep arcades, and an Amnesty International banner. Rubiera has had a reputation for being a humanitarian town since before WW2.

Colourful stucco and a blue sky: the streets of Rubiera.

Shade is important on a hot day.

The remnants of the castle, right on the market square in the middle of town.

I knew nothing about Rubiera before we arrived, because I was treating it as just a stop along the way to Florence. Now I look at the photos and wish we'd had more time and a bit more focus.

Maybe next time.

Fête St Georges 2024

There was no blog post on Wednesday - an oversight, because I had written one. This one:

Last Saturday was the fete St George. St George is the Patron Saint of Preuilly (and a fair percentage of other places, as well) and there has been a fete to celebrate him for many years. There have been occasions in the past when the fete wasn't held (recently because of the plague) and occasionally in previous centuries the town was chided by the authorities for not holding the fete and its associated cattle market.

These days there is no cattle market, although apparently some older residents of town remember it and rue its passing. All the local associations hold stands for renewing memberships, there are brocante style stalls, and various comestibles are available.

When we first arrived in town there were also rides and a lot of professional stalls, none of which have made it back after the dark years of Covid. This year the fete was a lot busier than the past three years so hopefully it will continue to grow.

ANZAC Biscuits

ANZAC biscuits are so named because of their association with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) from the First World War. They must contain rolled oats, sugar, butter and Golden Syrup. Usually they have dessicated coconut too. It is widely believed that Australian wives, mothers and women's groups sent the biscuits to troops fighting abroad in Europe and the Middle East because they were robust and didn't spoil on the long sea voyage to deliver them.

ANZAC is a protected term and manufacturers wishing to produce and sell these biscuits must apply to the Australian Department of Veterans Affairs. Commercially produced biscuits must adhere to the official recipe too (the only exceptions are substitutions to cater for dietary restrictions). Manufacturers must use the term 'biscuit' and not 'cookies'.

Versions of the ANZAC biscuit no doubt existed long before the First World War, but the first recipes using that name started appearing during the War, and in the decade immediately following. The first published recipes for a biscuit that is identical to the ANZAC biscuit we know and love today appeared in the 1920s.

Today they are a popular fundraiser for the Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) and collectors buy them for the limited edition decorative tins they are packaged in. 

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup dessicated coconut
125g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp boiling water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line oven trays with baking paper or a silicone sheet.
2. Combine flour, sugar, rolled oats and coconut.
3. Melt butter and golden syrup.
4. Add bicarb to boiling water and mix into butter mixture.
5. Stir into the dry ingredients.
6. Form the dough into large marble sized balls and drop onto trays, allowing generous room for spreading.
7. Bake for 10 minutes until light golden brown.
8. Cool on tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 25 biscuits. 

And in case you didn't know, today is ANZAC Day in Australia, a public holiday when Australian veterans are commemorated. Much like France on Armistice Day (11 November) there will be ceremonies at war memorials in towns big and small all over the country.

I baked ANZAC biscuits a couple of months ago for our Ukrainian Christmas event. I was pleased to see that they all went and people were keen to try them. No one had heard of them and I was intrigued that several people referred to them as 'macarons'.

Normal Service is Resumed

We did our first day of work with Claudette on Sunday. It was cold but clear, and Claudette responded beautifully, even if she never really warmed up. Here are some pics.

Tours at 08:30

Parked at Azay le Rideau

Wisteria

The gardens at Villandry

Merrill and Verena with Claudette at the end of the day

Heritage Paint Job

On the old N10 highway south of Ste Maure de Touraine was a service station and restaurant that holds a special place in the hearts of many locals, and a lot of people who travelled to the beaches and islands on the Atlantic coast in the 1970s.

Of late it has looked very sad - the restaurant is now a private club and looks tatty from the outside, and the petrol station has looked derelict, even though it is a regular meeting place for car events. We went to a coffee morning there in 2021, the first car event after lockdown.

On Saturday we drove past and noticed that work on improving the view had commenced. On Sunday the painting was complete, but more has yet to be done. Nevertheless, it's a great improvement and will gladden the hearts of many.

Bravo to the organisation Nostal'10

The Barbegal Mills

The Barbegal aqueduct and mills are situated in Fontvieille, Bouches-du-Rhône, near Arles. Often hailed as "the greatest known concentration of mechanical power in the ancient world," it has 16 overshot water wheels, where the outflow of one wheel propells the successive wheel, making it the largest ancient mill complex on record.

The mills are at a junction of two aqueducts that were integral to Arles' water supply. The aqueducts merge just north of the mill complex, and were regulated by a sluice controlling the water's flow to the mills.

The aqueducts where they cross the D82.

You can see the modern road.

We were there on a stinking hot day at the end of June last year. We parked in the official car park by the aqueducts that fed the mills, and followed them up quite a steep hill. That in itself was quite a build up, and leads to a channel cut through the top of the hill.

Walking uphill alongside the aqueducts

The channel cut through the hilltop

The mills are arranged in two parallel sets of eight, progressing down the hillside, each with its own waterwheel. You can see remnants of masonry either side of the water channels and massive foundations of the individual mills. It operated from the start of the 2nd century to the close of the 3rd century, and could grind an estimated at 4.5 tons of flour per day.

Looking downhill at the ruins of the mills

Although all is now in ruins it's quite easy to see how it worked, and artists impressions of how the mill looked at it peak abound.

I'm not sure I'd travel all the way to Arles to see it, but it's not that far from the Pont du Gard.