Bed and Breakfast 2 – Ancora Ospiti Posted by Serena on Jun 11, 2010 in Uncategorized
Once again, live from ‘Ai Chiosi’, the B&B that me and Geoff are managing for our friend Adriana, here is another brief description of a few of the ospiti (guests) that have recently come to stay with us:
| Mia cugina Maria Pia è venuta a fare una breve vacanza al B&B insieme col suo compagno Sergio e la ‘bambina’ Margie, una cagnetta dolcissima di otto mesi, di cui mio marito Geoff è innamoratissimo. Mentre io e mia cugina preparavamo una cena con pasta al pesto, insalata e formaggi nel mini appartamento dove io e Geoff abitiamo, Margie si è divertita come una pazza a correre su e giù per le scale che portano al soppalco con la zona notte. Dopo cena, esausta, Margie si è addormentata felice sul divano sdraiata fra mio marito e suo ‘babbo’ Sergio. Ma dopo un po’ ha avuto una brutta sorpresa: sua ‘mamma’ e suo ‘babbo’ l’hanno portata fuori e rinchiusa in macchina per la notte in modo che non distruggesse completamente la loro camera! |
My cousin Maria Pia came to the B&B for a short holiday along with her partner Sergio and their ‘baby’ Margie, a really sweet eight month old female dog which my husband Geoff is really in love with. While my cousin and I prepared a dinner of pasta with pesto, salad and cheese in the little apartment where me and Geoff live, Margie enjoyed herself like mad by running up and down the stairs that lead up to the bedroom on the mezzanine floor. After dinner, exhausted, Margie fell asleep stretched out on the sofa between my husband and her ‘dad’ Sergio. However, after a while she had a nasty surprise: her ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ took her out and shut her in the car for the night so that she didn’t completely destroy their bedroom! |
| Ci era stata richiesta una camera matrimoniale per una coppia per due notti. Quando ho visto arrivare un grosso fuoristrada guidato da due giovanissime ragazze ho avuto un attimo di panico, ma quando ho timidamente offerto di preparare velocemente un’altra camera a due letti, mi hanno risposto sorridendo che non c’erano problemi, andava benissimo così. Sono ripartite di lì a poco per andare al mare ad una cena organizzata dal cugino di una delle ragazze, e di nuovo la mattina dopo alle nove erano già pronte per andare al mare. La camera l’hanno usata pochissimo, lasciandosi dietro soltanto l’odore di profumo, shampoo, deodorante, ecc, il quale è durato per diversi giorni! |
A room with a double bed had been requested for a couple for two nights. When I saw a big four wheel drive vehicle arrive with two young girls in it I had a moment of panic, but when I shyly offered to quickly prepare another room with two single beds they smiled and replied that it wasn’t a problem, they’d be fine. They set off again after a short while to go and eat an evening meal, which had been organized by the cousin of one of the girls, down by the sea, and then the following morning at nine o’clock they were already ready to set off again for the sea. They used the room very little, leaving behind them only a smell of perfume, shampoo, deodorant etc. which lasted for several days! |
| Al fine settimana il B&B è stato preso d’assalto dai vampiri! Per primo è arrivato il vampiro fotografo, un signore di Pisa all’apparenza normale. Poi sono arrivate due giovani coppie di vampiri: pallidissimi, vestiti di nero, uno di loro armato di una enorme scure di plastica! Facevano parte di un clan chiamato ‘Camarilla’, che fa parte di un gioco di ruolo con vampiri e lupi mannari. Ogni anno vengono da tutta Italia e si ritrovano a Pontremoli al Castello del Piagnaro ad interpretare il gioco. Dormivano tutto il giorno, uscivano la sera e rientravano la notte dopo le tre. Non hanno voluto dire molto sul gioco, ma ci hanno assicurato che non c’è scorrimento di sangue, è piuttosto un gioco politico per la conquista del potere! |
At the weekend the B&B was attacked by vampires! The first to arrive was the vampire photographer, an ordinary looking gentleman from Pisa. Then two young vampire couples arrived: very pale, dressed in black, one of them armed with an enormous plastic battle axe! They were part of a clan called ‘Camarilla’ who take part in a role play game consisting of vampires and werewolves. They come together every year from all over Italy to meet in Pontremoli at the Piagnaro castle and reenact their game. They slept all day, went out in the evening, and came back again at around three in the morning. They didn’t want to tell us much about their game but they assured us that no blood flows, it is more a political game in which they battle for power! |
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Comments:
chainey:
I like these side-by-side examples. I find them very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to compose them.
Jeff:
I agree with Chainey, the side-by-side is an excellent layout. It lets me test my reading/translation skills by hiding the English version offscreen, then check your translation against my attempt. Although I will admit the last section about vampires threw me off a bit. That’ll teach me to rely on context!
Joan:
I, too, like the side-by-side translations and use them as does Jeff to test my ability to understand written Italian (if only I could understand spoken Italian as well!)
Why did it panic you that two girls might have shared a bed? I think so very highly of you; please tell me you are not homophobic!
serena:
@Joan Salve Joan, In fact I was very glad that they wanted to share the double bed because otherwise it would have meant preparing a different room for them with two single beds. I was more worried about them feeling uncomfortable about having to share a double bed.
We had taken the booking from Adriana (the owner) who had mistakenly thought that the room was for a young married couple, and hence had asked us to prepare a ‘camera matrimoniale’. That is why I panicked when I saw the car arrive with two girls, a mistake had been made, and I didn’t want them to be put out or embarrassed. However they were quite happy with the arrangement, so all was well in the end.
Saluti da Serena
Ruth Neeman:
Serena
Ho appena diventato un membro della communita che segue i suoi posts.
Mi piace le storie e il livello della lingua e perfetto – non e troppo facile ma e abbastanza semplice cosi che possa goderle. (e la versione inglese aiuta..)
Grazie
Ruth (da Boston)
serena:
@Ruth Neeman Salve Ruth, benvenuta nel mio blog, sono molto contenta che ti sia di aiuto.
A presto, Serena
Vince Mooney:
Salve Serena:
I also enjoy these side-by-side translations. I like to read the English first because it makes reading the Italian so much easier. And it is funnier. For example, I just translated “really in love with” (from the first section) as “realmente nell’amore con” instead of “innamoratissimo”. By reading the English first, I am learning how not to translate into Italian!
At the rate you are going, I think that by the end of the summer you’ll have a book written. All you need to add to the stories are a few recipes, a poem in the local dialect, and some pen and ink drawings. Presto: you’ll have a book Italian language classes would love to read.
Vince
serena:
@Vince Mooney Ottima idea, grazie Vince
Serena