Girl Time

August 13, 2018August 13, 2018navabruzzo Leave a comment

You may have heard that some retired couples go crazy now that they are spending all their time with their partners. Certainly, we are enjoying our lives together here in this amazing land of Italy. We are best of friends and have very similar likes and dislikes. That doesn’t mean we can’t get under each others skin in a heartbeat.

A few years before John and I moved to Italy, we both semi-retired, transitioning from full time to part-time jobs. I remained active in my search and rescue group along with a 30 hours-a-week job. John went from a full time fine-dining chef to a part-time chef position at a local brewery. We stayed busy and saw each other for evening meals and weekends. A few weeks prior to our move to Italy, we resigned from our jobs and went into full retirement mode. As we were caught up in the process of moving with our dogs, the reality of retirement didn’t hit us until a month or so into our life here in Italy. We were spending a lot of time together, and we only had one car! We developed wonderful new friendships , but at the end of the day, it was the two of us..

So, after 10 months here, some serious girl-time was needed. I planned a trip to northern Italy to see my friend, Giuliana. She and I had met online…sounds dubious but not..on the site Conversation Exchange. I was looking for someone to practice my Italian and she was looking for someone to practice her English. We hit it off and became good friends. John and I visited Giuliana a few years back on one of our vacations. We not only wanted to visit her, but we wanted to see her region. We were still doing research on where we wanted to move, as well as just enjoying the diversity of Italy.

So, this time it would just be us girls. I bought my train tickets and set out for a short visit this July. Not certain about the train system in Italy, I was pleasantly surprised. For me, with a few connections to make, I fell in love with the system. Sure there were some tight connections, but I made them all. Most likely on my next train trip, I’ll make certain to plan for more connection time. The stations are well marked, and I could find all my track changes quickly. Trains were clean and quiet. Definitely will use for a trip in the fall for John and I.

Giuliana lives in Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. It consists of mountains (some Alps), plains, hills and coast of the Adriatic. It has a moderate climate in the lower altitudes, and much of the flatter land is devoted to agriculture, predominately grapes. Guiliana and her lovely daughter, Irene, live in the quaint town of San Quirino, just north of Venetian-influenced Pordenone. If you’d like to following Giuliana, as she is very involved with the local food promotion of her region, here are her Facebook page and website.

During this visit, Europe was experiencing an intense heat wave. Friuli was in the 32-35C. Luckily, most of our first full day was in the mountains of Carnia. As Giuliana’s car climbed the Passo Rest, we entered into a world of heart-stopping beauty. The road taking us up and over the pass was basically a single lane, switchback line drawn through the forest. You would hope not to meet cars in the opposite direction. Once over the top, we continued our switchbacks down to eventually cross a large flat river, popular with sports fishermen. We then passed through tunnels carved out of the mountains! Our destination was getting closer..

Passo Rest

Fiume Tagliamento

Tunnel carved through mountain

Our reward was the immense beauty of towering mountains, a crystal clear lake of Caribbean blue rimmed by vibrant green pastures. The vista opened up across the lake to Sauris, which I learned has an upper and a lower – Sauris di Sopra and Sauris di Sotto. As this part of Italy is very close to Austria, the language and architecture take on a more Germanic blend. (Quick aside – While I was on the train to Giuliana’s, there where two ladies sitting near me, speaking a mix of Italian and German. Giuliana informed me it was a specific dialect of the area.)

Upper and lower Sauris from Lake Sauris

Chapel in Sauris di Sopra

Sauris di Sotto

Creative wood stacking

Upper Sauris

We walked both upper and lower Sauris, stopped in a mouthwatering cheese shop and then lunched at a friend’s hotel – Riglarhaus. If you have had the chance to tour different areas of Italy, you have been blessed with trying the local specialties of each region. To generalize, the south of Italy is heavy on pasta while the North uses more corn – polenta. I find the portions lighter in the Friuli region, which works well for summer heat. You will not see the large plates of pasta my southern heritage craves , which I sometimes regret if I don’t push back from the table sooner than not. Our antipasti arrived with the glorious local ham – Prosciutto di Sauris . “The Prosciutto di Sauris (Sauris Ham) is renowned and appreciated on both a national and international level and it owes its uniqueness to the particular method of smoking used, that is carried out by burning beech from the local woods in the traditional fireplaces and by channelling the smoke into the rooms used for smoking.” We followed with the tipico dish, Cjalson, light and yummy.

Cjalson

And of course, through all of this, was scenery out of ones’ dreams. We then traveled back down out of the mountains to visit Venzone, a beautiful medieval walled village devastated by an earthquake in 1976. An amazing reconstruction project has restored this village to be enjoyed by inhabitants and tourists alike.

The next day, Giuliana and I took the train into the capital city of the region – Trieste, bordering on Slovenia. What strikes you immediately about Trieste is the elegant architecture, as dramatically evident in the Piazza Unità d’Italia. And as a surprise to me, it is a city famous for its cafes and coffee. With a daytime temperature rising to 36C, we sought some shade and made plans to return in the future.

Piazza Unità d’Italia

It was lunch time and Giuliana’s friend and impromptu tour guide, Mauro, led the way to a repast I wasn’t too sure about but was game to try….Sardines. We boarded a harbor taxi to take us to Muggia, a lovely Venetian-influenced village just a 20 minute refreshing boat ride from Trieste. Mauro, as an inhabitant of Trieste, was a fountain of information, both historical and current, and I enjoyed our time together. Upon disembarking, we strolled around the lovely village, working up an appetite…

It was now lunch time…. Now just the word ‘Sardines’ conjures up oily little nasty fish in a can, stinking to high heaven. Sorry, I’m just not into those things. So it was with great reservation, I allowed my lunch to be ordered for me and, it turned out, I was in fish heaven – thankfully..The fish were much larger than the canned ones and came breaded and fried as well as grilled. My favorite were the sinfully delicious deep fried.

We ended our outing back in Trieste at the Eataly. This particular Eataly was set right on the waterfront with an impressive wall of glass to a stunning view of the harbor. We ordered gelato (of course), and relaxed in the cool air. Though the weather was brutally hot outside, we ended our day with a lovely air conditioned train ride back to Giuliana’s home. Trieste deserves a much longer stay from me… next time in cooler weather. I heard the piazza is lovely at night all lit up.

The Friuli-Venezia Giulia region has a lot to offer and the few days I spent there barely scratched the surface. But truthfully, I was there for some girl time with my friend and that was the best part. Lots of talking, laughing, eating great food (Giuliana is an awesome cook) and of course the sightseeing. I’m sure I’ll be back to visit with John sometime in the near future.

Fig Crostata – handsdown the best I’ve ever had

Frico – tipico fried cheese

and of course pizza!

A quick note – John and I are in the process of packing up and moving all our belongings to our new home. We hope to be all settled within the next few weeks. We’re exhausted but very anxious to be residents of Roccaspinalveti very soon. I’ll keep you posted.

Ciao for now…

Family Time

July 13, 2018July 13, 2018navabruzzo Leave a comment

‘Family’ (la famiglia) must be one of the very first words an Italian (any Italian, whether native born or not) learns. It may even be a genetic thing… 😉 So when I heard that my daughter, Brooke and our son-in-law Ryan, were planning a visit in our direction, this mom was a very happy person.

As Ryan is a teacher in Santiago, Chile, their month-long winter break falls in the middle of our summer. So, by coming to visit us, not only do they get to see family, but family in a very warm, sunny location.. Abruzzo, Italy. Their trip would begin with 10 days with us, then on to a few days in Turin before time in the French Alps. John and I make a list… favorites of Abruzzo that we had seen and a few on our must-see list. Also Ryan is a serious hiker and even though we could not hike at his level, we added a few family-friendly hikes into the mix.

Of course, the top of our list was to show off our new home and soon-to-be hometown, Roccaspinalveti. Gladly, Brooke and Ryan were eager to see the house, even with their serious jet lag. As we had friends planning to pick up some furniture from us, we set off on the first full day of vacation to Rocca. Our day in Rocca was filled with lots of laughs with new friends, DJ & Shawn and four of their nine children! , moving some furniture, lunch at a favorite bar in town, and finishing up with a fantastic hike to the town’s ancient ruins and wind farm.

Our New Home – chatting with son-in-law Ryan

Friends & Family…life is good in Rocca

The hike up to the wind farm

Rocca Vecchia

Ryan overlooking towers

And to fortify all of us, as the vacation evolved , were some exquisite meals, courtesy of John or local restaurants. Food was obviously a big focal point of the vacation. Most evenings, when fixing at home, I could hear either Brooke or Ryan getting some pointers as they assisted John in the kitchen. Every meal was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. Here are some of the mouthwatering dishes we indulged in….yummy factor high. 😉

And the sightseeing continued…

Local cities on our to-see list were Atri & Citta Sant’Angelo, both about a 15 minute drive from our farmhouse in Valle Piomba. Atri is our comune and the hill town where we do the most business, such as bank, cellphones and wifi, Italian lessons, produce market and so on. It’s a perfect town to relax and people-watch from a bar on the main piazza. We did tour an interesting museum and cloisters attached to the main Duomo – Museo Capitolare di Atri. We were taken by surprise, as the collection is extensive and interesting. The cloisters were peaceful, but cisterns under the church were closed at this time. The Duomo is going through a restoration due to damage from an earthquake a few years ago, and this may be the reason for the closure. There is an impressive chapel attached to the Duomo that is open for prayer and viewing.

Citta Sant’Angelo, another hill town, has been sadly ignored by us and we just came to that realization on our visit with Brooke & Ryan. It was a Sunday morning and the town was bright and colorful with flowers adorning residences and businesses alike. Two weddings were just about to begin, monopolizing two separate churches. Honking Fiat 500s careened up into town, carrying exquisite brides in their stunning dresses. They posed for their ‘before’ pictures, then gathered up their wedding party members and satiny trains to enter the cool stone vestibules.

Our group walked the old town through some narrow passageways and eventually ended up at a gelateria. Well, it was a very hot steamy day and refreshments were needed. As we enjoyed our melting heavenly concoctions, both weddings were exiting their respective churches. We had the pleasant surprise to see one of the wedding couples greeting well wishers and toasting champagne in front of their church … mainstreet Italy! It made me smile to see their joy…center stage in their hometown among their friends and family. We ended our visit at a belvedere with a playground. Aren’t we all still children in some way or another?

Scanno, being one of our favorite stops in Abruzzo, was on the list. Ryan added Sulmona just up the road and that rounded out another day of amazing sights. I’ve recently shared my thoughts on that town in my posting Scanno..where it all began.. for us. Sulmona had been a quick stop for us a few years back to talk to a realtor, so this was the ‘first’ visit for us. Unfortunately, due to the afternoon heat, we once again did a cursory tour. Sulmona deserves much more from us. We will make it happen in cooler weather.

And the vacation continues…. An easy circuit hike took us from Santo Stefano di Sessanio to the well-known Rocca Calascio and back. The fortress is truly awe-inspiring in its structure and location, and the chapel graces the landscape. This is a favorite sight for many to visit. There is a quick climb from below for those not wishing to do the longer circuit hike. And yes, I am a huge fan of the campy movie, Ladyhawke…it’s all part of the mystique and draw for many folks. But I hope my husband’s photography says more than images of Michelle Pfieffer and Rutger Hauer. 😉

Calascio

Trail to the fortress

echoes of shepherds

Hang Glider Visiting

Santa Maria

statement in b&w

We then continued on to Campo Imperatore… no words for this amazing, spectacular place on the planet…It is known as “Little Tibet” and rightly so. We will definitely return for some trekking and just being in the moment..

There were other places and sights, but truly the best part of the vacation with Brooke and Ryan was the downtime at the farm. Whether we were in our separate places..reading, napping, playing with the dogs, bike riding, or together time – preparing and eating meals, walks around the vineyards and olive groves…it was all about connecting and family. Our lives move too fast unless we consciously choose to slow them down. And too quickly time with family races by. I will treasure every moment and keep this special time with family close to my heart.

Next time they visit, we’ll be doing southern Abruzzo and Molise… Stay tuned and ciao for now…

Scanno..where it all began..for us

June 5, 2018navabruzzo 1 Comment

John has always been a real trooper when it comes to our vacations. I do all the planning; buying plane tickets, picking hotels or B&Bs, how many days in a spot, what we do, etc. He does all the driving and we just jump into what is ahead, being very flexible if we need to adjust our day or hotel. Rarely have we had any major bumps on a vacation. There was a biggy a few years back in regards to stolen items, but that is another story with a happy ending. The smaller bumps have been changing hotels, adding a new destination and shortening a stay in one town for another. Easy stuff like that.

In 2010, we began planning our first trip to Italy, to take place in early summer of 2011. As we had never been to Italy, and it was early summer, we decided to go to places not as well traveled, thus avoiding the bulk of tourists. John was game to drive in Italy, so we rented a Fiat 500. I learned never to look behind us when we were on the Autostrada. Kind of self-preservation for my nerves as Italians drive very fast and very close. But it worked well for us not to do the ‘tour’ route, just our own vacation, the two of us.

Somehow the town of Scanno came across my radar and we have never been the same. Experiencing and getting to know this town started a deep seated love for Italy. Scanno is a lovely medieval village up in the Apennine Mountains about 2 hours SE of Rome. An easy drive on the Autostrada, then down a twisting road through the breathtaking Valle del Sagittario.

What first sparked my interest, when researching this town, was the traditional costumes that many of the older women of the town still wore. Step back to Scanno in the 1950s, here recorded by famous photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson , and marvel at this capsule in time suspended. It is true that time marches on and there are only a few of the older women today continuing to wear the traditional costume in daily life. But thankfully, the younger generation is preserving the traditional in exhibitions and annual events.

Some pics from our 2011 trip.

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Our introduction to the dear people in this town ‘tucked away in time’ (but definitely not amenities) was with Alessandra Mastrogiovanni of “La Dimora di d’Annunzio” B&B. Not only is her B&B centrally located in the historic center of town, a great place to stay, but it also has historic significance. The famous Italian author, Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863-1938), resided for a few summers here. And the best part is Alessandra. Sweet and endearing, helpful and knowledgeable… now a dear friend.

As I have spoken of before in some earlier postings, it’s the people that make this country great… and there are many here in Scanno that have made this town special for us… Alessandra and her sister Francesca, Angelo Di Masso of scrumptious Pan dell’Orso , Gregorio Rotolo, master cheesemaker, Dario & his dear wife, Antonella of Trattoria La Valle Scanno and many others…You will find that people on the street are friendly..they look you in the eye and wish you a ‘Buongiorno’ or ‘Buonasera’. You’ll be hooked…

There’s much to do in and around this lovely town…winter skiing, summer hiking, strolling around town, relaxing around Lago Scanno (in a heart shape!) just outside of town, enjoying delicious local dishes at excellent family-run restaurants, one of my favorites – eating gelato of course. There are cycle races, cultural & religious celebrations, photo exhibitions, regional crafts…a long list…

One of our adventures was a 1/2 day private cooking lesson with Gregorio’s talented sister, Rosaria. I basically hung around trying to make pasta, while John, with Francesca interpreting, worked alongside with Rosaria.

Just a bit south of Scanno, we met up with a lovely lady, Jessica D’Andrea, who now has her own excursion company, JD Trek L’Abruzzo. Here is her website as well. A few years back we did a fantastic hike with her, just John and I, up the Val di Rose outside the town of Civatella Alfendena. It was a breathtaking circuit for the day, where we were blessed to see many chamois clinging to sides of the mountains. And of course, some knockout views.

So we fell in love with Scanno and its people. Every trip we made to Italy since 2011, Scanno was on our itinerary to visit for a few days. We would have seriously chosen to live there, apart from the winters. I’m not a winter person. I can handle some snow, but Scanno gets more than its fair share and if you’re not into skiing and other winter sports, visiting Spring – Fall is a better option, at least for us. As we now live only about 1 1/2 hours from Scanno, we finally visited for a day a few weeks back. Of course, we stopped in to say hi to Alessandra, eat at one of our favorite restaurants, check out what the local jewelers were making, have some pastries at Pan del’Orso. Did I get gelato? No, not this time. Way too full from lunch. 😉

We will definitely return….. always… it is very dear to our hearts. A gem… put it on your list!

Sea Rescue Dog

May 17, 2018May 17, 2018navabruzzo Leave a comment

About 27 years ago, while living in Virginia, I started to actively look for a way to volunteer. I wanted to give back to the community, but I wasn’t finding anything that I felt capable of or comfortable doing. Then I was introduced to Canine Search and Rescue (SAR). The fit was perfect for me – many hours in the woods, hiking mountains, using cool outdoor gear, day or night, all with a dog. And of course, finding & rescuing lost persons or providing closure for family members was the most important outcome of hours of training. What could possibly be a better way to volunteer? You can read up on K9 SAR through the link to my Virginia group, K9 Alert Search and Rescue Dogs, Inc. Many missions, 4 dogs and 25 active years sped by. As the years started to accumulate and I got older, I could feel the numerous miles taking their toll on my body. I was definitely slowing down as the same mountains seemed to be getting higher. Leaving behind friendships, etched in years of training and searching day or night in all kinds of weather and terrain, was truly a tough decision. Before I had to make that decision, which was even more difficult as Romeo, my current dog, was still in his prime, John and I moved to Italy.

With the move and wanting to have more free time to enjoy and see Italy, I promised John and myself that I would not get involved in another search and rescue group here in Italy. And I am keeping THAT promise. What John didn’t bargain for was that I was interested in helping the Sea Rescue Dog Association in nearby Pescara. My original intent was to see if they needed an extra body to hang out in the water for the dogs-in-training to rescue, or haul water on the hot summer days to dogs and humans. Who was I kidding!

So, in November 2017, I went to observe one of their trainings, which just happened to be taking place on a piazza in downtown Pescara. During the off-season months, when it’s too cold for humans and dogs in the sea, most of the trainings entail obedience among distractions of people and sounds, as well as some agility and rescue techniques for the dogs. I found out that Romeo and I could participate and actually get a sports certificate, without me taking a lifeguard test. At my age and with my promise to John, I figured this would be just right for Romeo and I, and I could still provide help when needed. We couldn’t do real-life rescue, but we could be involved.

Winter Training

My once-a-month commitment (which I told myself), turned into every Sunday. Romeo is excited to go and is loving every moment of his new ‘job’. And he has made some nice ‘girlfriends’ along the way. After many months of obedience work, we are now entering the sea. I grew up in New Jersey with a father who imparted to me a healthy respect of the Atlantic Ocean. And if you’ve ever been to the Jersey shore, you know you need to respect those waves and undertow. So I cut my sea teeth on the Jersey shore, and it feels so very good to be back in the water. Romeo was a bit hesitant as he’d only been in lakes and ponds, but he’s getting use to the sea now. We did have some little waves last Sunday, which gave him a few minutes of apprehension but he sailed on through smiling.

The water work is both similar and different for him. Similar in the fact that he is ‘finding a person and rescuing them. The difference is they are not lost and they are in the water. Romeo was a land search and rescue dog in the US, where he would search an area in the woods to find the lost person, come back and tell me and bring me back to that person. Now I’m directing him into the water to a specific person. He swims out and pulls them to shore. There are additional components where we enter the water together, swimming out to the person, and bringing he/she to safety.

Pulling Marco to shore

Romeo is catching on quickly after only 3 lessons in the sea. Labradors, as well as the gentle giants – Terranovas (in US they are called Newfoundlands) are just bred that way. What I forgot to teach him were the Italian commands for focusing on the drowning subject and then heading out to the rescue. Our trainer, Marco, would be holding the dogs back, as their handlers sprinted into the sea to face the shore to pretend they were drowning. The dogs would be going crazy to swim out. Romeo’s turn came up. I sprinted out, turned and Romeo just meandered into the sea. Why wasn’t he getting ‘pumped up’ to head out to me? The light bulb came on… Marco was speaking to him in Italian. I have now added the Italian command to the English, and Romeo is becoming bilingual. Soon I can drop the English..smart dog!

Pumping Up The Dogs

Gulliver Ready To Rescue!

You may be asking, what has John been doing while I’m having all this fun? Well, he has graciously stepped up and volunteered his services as one of the group’s photographers. And literally stepped up..at our recent sea trainings, he’ll be calf-deep into the water, ballcap turned brim back (as any self-respecting photographer knows), clicking away at those ‘blasting through the waves’ canine shots.Many or most of the pics on this page today are his. Additionally, he gets to walk the beaches and shoot all kinds of interesting compositions, with some soon to grace the walls of our home.

The members of this group are hardworking and talented (as well as their amazing dogs), but definitely fun-loving Italians who have graciously accepted Romeo, John and I. A few of them do speak some English and are very helpful in translating what Marco is explaining to the group. My primary translator and friend Fabio, along with his lovely wife, Silvia, are Skyping with me once a week. They are working to improve their English that they use in their work environments. I’m trying to improve my conversational Italian. (They are doing a lot better than I am!) Needless to say, all the training sessions with Sea Rescue Dogs are in Italian. 😉

Kim practicing her pull

Marco throwing the Baywatch

Practicing pulling Baywatch to shore – the rescue

Beaches officially open beginning of June here, so the teams that have gotten their lifeguard certification and completed the water training, will be working the local beaches. Our sports certification test is coming up July 1. My daughter Brooke and our son-in-law Ryan will be visiting during that time, so they get to watch. I’ll try not to be too nervous.

It should be obvious that Romeo and I are thriving. It’s difficult to turn away from a long-standing love of working dogs, and volunteer work gets into your blood. We are very happy campers and I am truly thankful to Sea Rescue Dog Association, but mostly to my husband for his patience and understanding, and to my God for giving me Romeo. Wow, life in Italy just fills my heart.

Enjoy the pics… Ciao until next time….

Romeo pulling me in

Enjoying the life

Holidays & Festivals

May 3, 2018May 3, 2018navabruzzo 2 Comments

The Everyday Question: Why did you move to Italy? Asked over and over again to us, mainly by the those younger than us and still in their working years. It’s a good question, and we always preface our reply with the fact that we are both retired. Italian youth look to the United States as the end of the rainbow; filled with opportunities, good paying jobs and whatever their dreams are made of. I get it and I certainly can’t judge or fault them. John and I are just in a place in our lives where we see a different picture…

Our list is long on the reasons why we are here and the enjoyment of life and family pretty much tops the list. Italy’s calendar is full of national, religious and cultural holidays and festivals. Also individual towns have their own personal Saint’s Day. So, you can be sure to find some place here in Italy celebrating something and in a big way. This would include music, food (of course), some type of procession, loads of people having lots of fun, maybe a blessing of animals, possibly a livestock and farm display, etc. We love it!

Such is May 1st, Italy’s Labor Day. Most businesses are closed (except some restaurants and bars), folks go to the beach, a town festival or a food fest in any of the surrounding cities, villages and towns. We chose the town of Nocciano about an hour SW of us. Translated for Wiki – Its land is particularly suitable for the cultivation of olive groves, vineyards and wheat, hence the presence of presses, wineries and mills. And they have their own castle. Actually, the primary reason we ended up at Nocciano was an invitation from my canine group, Sea Rescue Dogs, to meet with other members and give attendees the opportunity to meet the rescue dogs. It turned into a more encompassing experience for both John and I.

Apart from all the merchant booths throughout the town, we were led to a farm on the edge of town with a wonderful grassy field among olive trees. Here were the livestock and farm exhibitions along with equine and canine events. Ponies being expertly handled in a class by very young girls, dogs flying through an agility course, a farrier shoeing lovely equines, flaxen maned pair of horses to a cart, and then there where the oxen… big and wow!..

So as Romeo, along with the other dogs from our group, greeted folks, we had the chance to survey all the events ongoing in the field. The field ebbed and flowed with families on the day’s outing, children exploring, meeting our dogs, getting pony and cart rides and just enjoying the day. One particular display was the immense oxen pulling an intricately painted cart proceeded by a very accomplished accordion player. They processioned out of the field into the town to return later.

Prior to lunch, there was a blessing of the animals. Other events would continue through the afternoon into the evening, not only here in the field but throughout the town.

The day for us, as it continued to about 8 pm that evening, was lunch at picnic tables near a food stand serving not only arrosticini, panini porchetta, but also hot dogs and hamburgers. The area was filled with happy people eating amazing street food, topped off with beer, raw fava beans and music. Good friends and dogs wrapped up a wonderful day for us.

And always, big thanks to my husband, John Dodge, for the great photography.

Until next time, ciao for now…

Città Sant’Angelo

April 17, 2018April 17, 2018navabruzzo 1 Comment

We live between two beautiful towns – Atri to the northwest and Città Sant’Angelo to our southeast. Even though Atri is a longer drive, it’s actually our hometown, as per the dividing lines of districts. The road is an easier drive to Atri, we have our Italian classes there, I swim with a friend at the local pool, post office, John’s favorite bars, etc. Also Atri’s physical setup is very pleasing to us with a lovely main piazza between the prominent Duomo and theater. We definitely spend most of our time in Atri.

View from our valley to Città Sant’Angelo

Living in Valle Piomba, the majestic city of Città Sant’Angelo frames our sunrise view. As the crow flies, it is only a few miles from our house, and about a 15 minute drive on a ‘fun’ back-road. The first time we visited was in June of last year. Unfortunately, it was a Saturday afternoon, when everything was closed with everyone at home eating lunch. Apart from the quietness and lack of services at that time of day, we also found the town disconcerting with its main thoroughfare lacking a central piazza. So we needed to return for a fairer assessment of the town during regular business and social hours.

If you’d like a bit of history about the town, here are some links. It’s received many accolades, and rightly so. I’d rather give you links than try to be the expert about this or any city in Italy.

So this past Saturday morning, we headed to Città Sant’Angelo. It was a lovely day in the low 70s, but a bit hazy. As our luck would have it, an approaching weather front from Africa was bringing sands from the Sahara Desert that obscured the well-known breathtaking mountain and sea views. A return visit on a clearer day is definitely in the near future to enjoy this town’s expansive belvederes.

The main strada through town

Doors are quite large here – horses and carriages welcomed

Piazzetta – Citta Sant’Angelo

Citta Sant’Angelo

Many folks were out and about, chatting, buying produce, attending a funeral, touring the older parts of town, as well as taking their children to a local playground. We were met with much more activity than our first visit. The historic center is bisected by a long street, with narrow spurs of residential buildings. The town layout strikes us as odd, but we continued into an older section where the streets twisted around old castle walls and in and out of old porticoes.

San Michele Arcangelo

Lovely exterior Collegiata di San Michele Arcangelo

first of season

I did make a very important stop along the way…. first gelato of the season! Well worth the wait and I am now set to try as many flavors as I can throughout the summer months. Definitely a great lunch in itself. 😉

We stopped in a few of the imposing churches and a cloister. By the time we were ready to leave it was lunch time and the town had emptied out except for some families at the playground.

San Francesco

Il Chiostro del Palazzo Municpale

Il Chiostro

Garden at Il Chiostro

Read up on the town. CITTÀ SANT’ANGELO NAMED THE SIXTH BEST PLACE TO LIVE IN THE WORLD ON A BUDGET.

Enjoy the pics and make it a stop on your next Italy trip. The historic center is full of color, beautiful architecture, narrow beguiling alleys, friendly folks, drop-dead views (when clear), numerous shops and restaurants (some tucked away to be discovered.) ….We will return soon..

From one of the belvederes, we could see our farm house in Valle Piomba. Look straight into the valley over the top of the red roofed barn in the foreground and you’d be about there.

The view from Città Sant’Angelo to our valley and house.

Ciao for now…

A Gentle Winter

February 4, 2018March 16, 2018navabruzzo Leave a comment

Whether we’re in the car, on bike or foot, we are enjoying the quieter times of winter. We laugh when I get a message on my phone saying the traffic is heavier than usual on the local provincial road. That means there may be two cars nearby instead of one. We realize, with the beach to our east and Atri to our west, that road will become busier this summer. The beaches here are gorgeous and pull many tourists during the hot summer months. Atri, a stunning hill town is just up the road from the beaches, much cooler there with a well-preserved medieval center, breathtaking in-your-face views of the Gran Sasso Mountains & the Adriatic Sea, and lovely bars to relax and people watch. We’re gauging that there may be an increase in traffic. But until then, we are cocooned here in the valley, venturing out when the need or desire arises.

Lately, with the house hunting, we’ve done a bit of driving around some spots in Abruzzo. We’re looking for a house with a price tag that means a little bit of fixing up will be required and John is already rubbing his hands together for a few small projects. We’re ok with a bit of work, but at our age, we are not going to get caught up in a major restoration project. We’d rather spend more time enjoying Italy. I have to say, all the views, whether mountains, rivers, sea, quaint villages, have been eye candy for us. If you stick to the countryside away from the industrialized larger cities, you just can’t find a bad view. Here are a few from our house hunting …

La Majella, Chieti Provence with the Gran Sasso to the far north ( your right)

Mountains of Southern Abruzzo

La Majella

Southern Abruzzo village with a sea view

If you shoot a straight ‘as the crow flies’ line south to a town we just visited, it’s only 41 miles (about 66 km), but it takes 2 hours from our valley to drive there. Sure there’s the Autostrade, but once you get off it, the roads wind, narrow, and climb. We love the adventure and John is happiest behind the wheel being way too much like an Italian driver!

Now house hunting can, for the most part, be lots of fun, but thinking about the financial side, here in Italy, is a bit of a brain drain. Back in the States, we’d just go into our bank of many years, check out the current rates, apply and, in most cases, get a loan. Here, not so… For one, they don’t know us. We do not have a banking history with an Italian bank. And we are finding out that some banks are not user-friendly for American citizens. Even though it will be easier to buy a house as an Italian citizen, all our investments and our Social Security checks (what they call here ‘our pension’) are from the USA. Our current bank will not give us a loan because our pension is not Italian. Not a question we even thought to ask when we applied for an account with them. So we’re checking out a few other banks that are a bit more forward thinking, and will make a switch here shortly. I did preface a remark in an early posting, saying our paperwork was over with for now. Well we just got past ‘now’. 😉

Also this winter, we purchased some mountain bikes, mostly for perusing farm roads as well as the never-ending bike path along the Adriatic. If you Google Adriatic cycle paths, you will find many sections available to cycle on both the west and east coastlines of the sea. We’re blessed to be near the Abruzzo Adriatic Cycle Path (Ciclovia adriatica). It begins in the beach town of Martinsicuro north of here close to the Marche region line. It heads south to San Salvo Marina, a distance of 134 km. I’d say the northern half is designated bike path, but the southern part is provincial roads along the coast. We’re going to stick to the actual bike path…for now.

Here is a short section of the path in the town of Pineto, with its majestic sentinel pine trees shading the path. We enjoyed a few hours on a very chilly, foggy day with our new friend, Christina. I met Christina on a closed FB page for those applying or already with Italian/American dual citizenship. She rents an apartment miraculously about 30 minutes from us! When she returns to Wisconsin in April, she hopes a letter awaits her confirming her Italian citizenship. 🙂 We feel blessed to have met her and look forward to some treks and more bike rides with her. And to Sandra M. S, Sandra S., Julie A. & Rose M., Facebook does help to make our world smaller in a wonderful way!

Pineto Pines

Torre di Cerrano

Getting our cycle legs back, after a number of years of not riding, has been a ‘lovely’ eye opener. We definitely are challenged to get back into shape and to relearn the joys of rocky roads!

farm road

But we are not discouraged, only determined to get over these new little challenges. What are a few little bumps on this adventurous and breathtaking road called ‘Italia’!

I leave you with a vista shot of the Gran Sasso emerging from the fog. Living close to the sea, as we do, inevitably brings in fog, especially in the winter months. I captured this shot, did a little adjusting…enjoy and ciao for now..

fog

Milestones

November 25, 2017March 16, 2018navabruzzo Leave a comment

Moving to a new country definitely requires some paperwork, bureaucracy, patience, grunt work, prodding, copying, multiple appointments, misunderstandings, more patience and then finally success.

john carta It’s one thing to chat with our new Italian friends in our basic Italian and to have them take the time to make us understand or even speak a little English back to us. But when you need to get some official paperwork completed, such as a visa, you better be up on your Italian, have a friend come to interpret and pitch hit for you, or you’ll be using Google translate and still be misunderstood and also not understand. All in a day becoming a new resident of this country.

I won’t bore you with all the details but here is the sequence we needed to follow and we’re just about there:

I applied (or could just wait for John ) for residency. I need to be acknowledge by the comune as a resident to get free health care.
John needed his Carta di Soggiorno (5 year visa) to get his Codice Fiscale ( I had mine already being a citizen).
John gets his Codice Fiscale (Italian Social Security number)
John applies for residency
We both go to get our Health Insurance card and assigned a primary physician. If you have a recommendation, you can pick your own.
Also at anytime now we can get our Carta Identita. ID Card so we don’t have to carry our passports around.

Does your brain hurt yet? Mine did a bit, but we’re at the end of the tunnel and this week we pick up our health cards and open a bank account.

……..

Update on on Tessera Sanitaria (Italian healthcare card) and bank… John and I got our cards today, so socialized healthcare is now part of our lives and we are very pleased, indeed. Went to open a bank account and, to get the best deal, we need our Carta Identita. John heads off to the grocery store this morning, where they have a photo booth, and get some pics taken. I have mine and Monday we will get our cards, then back to the bank. Everything is falling into place. And hopefully our car will be ready for us sooner than not. Still waiting on delivery to the dealer.

……

My good friend, Pam, recently asked me what I’ve been doing apart from all the great trekking through the vineyards with the dogs. Truthfully , not enough of seeing Italy.. Setting up a home takes more time than I remember, because we’re doing a lot from scratch and in a new land. And once all this paperwork is behind us, I sincerely hoping we’ll have MUCH more time to play!

Well, we did take a short trip out to another medieval hill town, as well as walk some more through our ‘home town’, Atri. When you come to Italy, you will be amazed by the number of these hill towns everywhere. The terrain lends itself to these strongholds against invasion, and today are cherished and lived in, thus preserving ancient structures and character. The environs are usually friendly, calling out a greeting, but you will find the ‘older’ group a bit more hesitant until they have given you the once-over. 😉 Here are a few shots of the streets, which we love to walk. Atri is high on our list to do more touring with eight museums, centuries old churches, cisterns and just some wonderful belvederes overlooking the mountains and sea.

Atri

Mutignano

Belvedere in Mutignano

Well, Thanksgiving, a very American holiday, just passed and oh, what a memorable one it was. True, we were not with family, and that is sad, but new friends made it a special day. Having this holiday with other English speaking residents, some from the United States (actually 6 of us out of the 8 for dinner were from Virginia!) and two lovely Brits, just seemed to balance life here in Italy. It’s one thing to make new Italian friends and be immersed, but there is a strong inherent draw to those of the ‘same’ kind. Allowing our brains to relax back into English, share similar stories, jokes and loves, make for a fun and relaxing evening. I put away my cellphone for the evening. No pics. Just be in the moment, eat great food, conversation running rampart and savor the moment.

A few weeks back, I mentioned us signing up for our Italian classes. Twice a week, we meet at a school, for our class. Our teacher, Cristina, is a lovely young lady, that speaks rapid fire Italian with just a smidge of English. And I mean a really small smidge! Sink or swim as John and I see it. It’s a good review for me, as I have had weekly Skype with Stef for over a year, and definitely a great start for John. The other students are all from Africa, progressing toward their work documents. Brave young men that risked all coming to Italy on a boat with many others. Last night we chatted with two young men from Nigeria, who both have high hopes of making it to the United States for jobs. They are all drawn to New York City, Chicago and LA. John and I admire their courage and determination, and wish them all the best. We will all be together in this class for the next 6 months, as 100 hours are required to complete.

So, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are now behind us. Time to pull out the Santas and start decorating! Get a tree and put up some lights….and to travel to different local towns for Christmas festivities! That can only mean more fun and food 😉

I’ll be back soon. Ciao for now….

Food & Friends

November 13, 2017March 16, 2018navabruzzo Leave a comment

Looking back, when we lived in Nelson County, VA, we kept more to ourselves, especially when we lived on the side of a mountain. We had an extremely steep driveway, and it just was off-putting to people. It was either too steep for their vehicles (a long climb on foot) or just too out of the way. So visits were few and far between. Also, the atmosphere of the deep mountains of the Blue Ridge is reserved in the respect that folks kept to themselves more, enjoying their privacy. We unconsciously adapted that behavior. Being in Italy and specifically on this farm, just on the edge of a road, makes dropping in or having a party an easy occurrence or event. And we are so enjoying the culture of being social.

So we’ve planned a dinner party. Our first here. Chef John is getting ready! John plans to use the wood oven as well as modern conveniences and he is stoked. We have enough furniture in place to make a small gathering happen. Now in Italy, you will find many of

Creative use of ironing board!

the rooms filled with extra tables and chairs. We laughed over this as we peruse real estate listings. Oh and extra beds everywhere. And I mean everywhere! Italy is all about family and eating, so their interior decorating definitely takes this into consideration. I am, in no way, making fun of the cultural difference, but enjoying their resourcefulness. We’re not going to follow the Italian model to its extent for our party, but will be adding small tables to our dining room and hall to accommodate our friends and all the food.

We’re ready!

This party evolved out of a promise..a thank you…. to Luigi for all his help getting the house ready for our arrival back at the beginning of October. He specifically asked for BBQ ribs, as he learned that John had just finished up his last job, prior to retirement, at Devils Backbone Brewery. We picked a date for the dinner with Luigi and it grew a bit, asking some of our neighbors and friends. When John and I moved here, we made a firm decision to immerse ourselves among the people of this land, and not resort to the familiarity of expat living. A few of our guests spoke no English, some a bit and one couple was from the same county in Virginia we had just moved from… small world. In the end, we all can laugh together and friendships grow in spite of the language differences. And of course, we’re learning more Italian each day.

As this is not a food blog, I won’t go into great details on John’s menu, but to say it was a mix of American and Italian elements. And his BBQ ribs were a big hit! He used his wood oven for a number of the dishes and to top off the evening, he and Luigi roasted some chestnuts. This brings me to the fact that our dinner party turned out to be on an Italian holiday; Feast of San Martino, November 11. San Martino was the patron saint of wine and wine making, the 11th signifies when the first sips of vino novello can be tasted. Also to be enjoyed are freshly pressed olive oil and roasted chestnuts. Stef and Ugo brought their new olive oil and Luigi supplied the chestnuts. Just a perfectly wonderful night of friends, food and traditions.

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Not To Forget The Fun Stuff

October 30, 2017March 16, 2018navabruzzo 3 Comments

When you’re no longer a tourist, and you’re setting up a new home, you can get caught up in the minutia of that process. John and I are both from art backgrounds as well as both having OCD. We can spend way too much time playing off each other, arranging furniture and art pieces. Also, because this old farmhouse hasn’t been lived in for a number of years, we’re discovering appliances, etc. that do not work very well or function at all. Our heating thermostat malfunctioned today, so until we locate another, we’re heating with wood. The wood will heat the water for the radiators as well as hot water for washing. The oven kept tripping the main breaker for the house. John pulled it apart and it looks like a new oven is needed. Just life stuff like that. Small stuff, really. And we don’t sweat the small stuff with views like these! Time to get outside…

Our view as we drove west to Castelli

IMG_20171028_143325852

So off we go on a day trip. One of the main reasons we moved to Italy was to experience the culture, arts, food and more of this amazing land. Today we are heading to a village up in the Gran Sasso Mountains, well known for its ceramics (maiolica); the town of Castelli. The drive itself to Castelli was truly a work of art. If we never saw one piece of pottery, we would have still felt that our day was full… full of the beauty of God’s artistic hand. If we draw a straight line from our house to the mountains, most likely the drive would be about 45 minutes. But since roads heading that way aren’t straight (and there aren’t many straight ones in Italy apart from the Autostrada), it took us about 1-1/2 hrs to reach Castelli. That’s factoring in photo stops along the way. But the whole time there and back, as I took an alternate route home, we just marveled at the sights. And sometimes you just need to NOT listen to Google maps. Navigate on instinct.

On of the wonderful collections

We toured the lovely village of Castelli, visited some shops, spent some money and met some talented artists. This time of year, international tourists aren’t many. The village is very quiet and one artist took some time out of his workday to show us part of his process. We got a great recommendation for lunch, ate some great regional food, and then headed back home.

Off-season.. lovely & quiet. The artists have the time to chat and demonstrate.

Along the way home, apart from more photo stops, we met up with the same freewheeling horse we saw on our earlier trip up the mountain. Not sure if he was on a ‘prison break’, but no one seemed to be around during the day to say otherwise. Perhaps a normal occurrence. One of my friends in Richmond, VA suggested it may be a gypsy cob. I’ll have to ask around and do some research. He was wearing a bell on his collar.

Taken through windshield of our car

It was great day out and about, with us heading home to some more fun stuff. John has always talked about building himself a wood oven, envisioning delectable pizzas and breads emerging. So when we first arrived at our house in early October, he was ecstatic to find we had a wood oven, old as it may be! This weekend, John finally got around to firing it up to determine its quirks and how best to get the most out of it for baking bread and pizza. We’re both very excited. I’m sure he will have it rolling in no time. I can smell bread baking already … well almost. Actually, he roasted up some sausage that he had on hand and made some crostini. Hungry yet? 😉

There’s always lots to share..life here is just one amazing day after the next. But hey, we’ve only been here a month. This will be an fun ride. Thanks for enjoying it with us.

Will catch up with you in a few weeks..ciao for now.

Navigating Life in Abruzzo

Not Really Expats Living the Dream

Category Having Fun

Girl Time

Family Time

Scanno..where it all began..for us

Holidays & Festivals

Città Sant’Angelo

A Gentle Winter

Milestones

Food & Friends

Not To Forget The Fun Stuff

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