After a long hot July and a sweltering August, September arrived, and we were pleased to welcome nice weather and to host friends in our new apartment.
We had our Casalanguida friends Maria, Pam and Dave for lunch. It was really nice to have them here. We were sorry that Robert was ill and could not attend. I finally performed a short piano recital that they had asked for ever since I bought the keyboard. (I just hadn’t practiced enough, but that day I felt confident). And I got to use my cherished Italian table (I bought it in Chicago 20 years ago) with my good dishes that had both finally arrived from Chicago.
We’ve also hosted new friends Ronald and Dina, whom we met at a cooking class (more on that later). They are from Holland and are renting a home in Spoltore.
We’ve had our friend Monica and her dog Rocco over for aperitifs. Monica is from New Jersey and Florida and owns an apartment in Silvi by the beach.
Our landlords from Casalanguida stopped by for coffee one day. Well I say landlords, but Julia and Valerij are more like friends. They own the house that we stayed in for two years. They live in Berlin, Germany and keep the house as a vacation home. It was good to see them and to show them our new home.
We had a vegan lunch at an animal rescue farm located here in Citta' Sant'Angelo. It was very interesting to talk with the owner Paula and to learn how she acquires and cares for the animals. There are horses, cows, chickens, goats, ducks, and even a wild boar (domesticated, though).
It was nice to host two of our UU friends from LGSA who came to visit at the end of September. Mary and Dave Gerlach and I go back probably 30-plus years. We hadn’t seen each other in more than a dozen years, but we’ve stayed in touch through Facebook. They are from Appleton, Wisconsin, and are friends with our son-in-law Lane Milde’s parents, which is another connection.
After a tour of Sicily, they flew to Pescara where we picked them up. Their flight arrived about 10:30 p.m. Saturday so when we got to our apartment, we all just crashed.
When we have visitors, we like to show them both sides of Abruzzo – the sea and the mountains. So Sunday we spent the day driving the coast, through Montesilvano and to the beach in Pescara. I had hoped to take them to the Museum of the People of Abruzzo, but it was closed. Instead, we went to the Gabriele D'Annunzio's Birthplace Museum. Now this turned out to be a good choice. D’Annunzio was an Italian writer, poet, playwright, soldier, politician, journalist. The 18th-century building, owned by the D'Annunzio family since the 19th century, was declared a national monument in 1927. The building suffered much damage during WWII but was restored in 1949. Much of the furniture is original pieces.
We had a nice lunch in Pescara, not wanting to eat too much because we’d planned a big dinner.
After a short rest back home, we headed up the hill to the center of this historic district of Citta’ Sant’Angelo. The weather was perfect, and we walked up the hill and around the belvedere admiring the views. Dinner was the usual pleasant experience at the Belvedere Hotel. Seafood appetizer, seafood pasta, good wine, and a homemade dessert. Then back home for an early bedtime since we were planning an early start the next day.
As I’ve said before, Mike and I like to visit the small towns around Abruzzo because they each have a unique character. One town on our list to see was Aielli, famous for the murals on the walls of the buildings in the village. From an article in the Abruzzo Magazine, I had learned that a group there offers tours in English. So I had arranged for a tour to begin at 10:00 a.m. This meant we needed to leave about 8:45. Our friends Valerie and Cecil, who own an apartment in Pescara and are from Evanston, IL, joined us. What a fun day we had! Here is a link to photos of our tour: HERE
After the tour, we were all hungry, so Mike and I suggested we drive to Avezzano to have lunch at the osteria we had eaten at a few weeks ago. I called and got us a reservation (in Italian, by the way). Again, the food and service were top notch!
We finished about 2-ish, so I suggested we all go to Albu Fucens to see the Roman ruins, since it was only about 20 minutes away. Again, it was an amazing site. We then stopped by the hotel that Mike and I had stayed at for our birthday weekend and walked up to the medieval ruins there. It was a long day, but so much fun!
Tuesday was a food day. Our contractor Leonardo had arranged for us to take a cooking class to learn to make authentic Italian pasta and ravioli. The host was Naira, who is a retired professor physics and now has a B&B in Spoltore with beautiful views of the countryside.
We arrived early (my bad), but that was no problem for Naira. She sat us at the table overlooking her property and served us coffee and something sweet. Then the adventure began. First, she gave us each an apron with our name on it and a chef hat. Then we learned to make pasta with a chitarra and to make ravioli. She explained the best way to make two different sauces. And she showed us how to make palotte caccio e uova.
Then we got to eat all that yummy food. My, my. So delicious! After the meal, Naira's neighbors Dina and Ronald stopped by to meet us. It was a great day!. Be sure to look at the photos.
Wednesday morning we took it easy and drove our guests to catch their noon bus from Pescara to Rome and their hotel for the night before their flight home. It was a very enjoyable time – so good to connect with old friends! Photos of us with Mary and Dave are HERE
Now as October begins, we look forward to more get-togethers, meeting new people, and learning more about our adopted country.
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