Category The Magic

Family Time

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‘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.

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

friends rocca

Friends & Family…life is good in Rocca

hike up to wind farm

The hike up to the wind farm

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Rocca Vecchia

ryan and wind farm

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.

cloisters

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

Calascio

trail

Trail to the fortress

echoes of shepherds

echoes of shepherds

hang glider

Hang Glider Visiting

santa maria

Santa Maria

b&w

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..

campo refugiocampowinding roadtopmiddle earth

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

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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.

scanno

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. 😉

Alessandra

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

 

Sea Rescue Dog

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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 practice

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

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!

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Pumping Up The Dogs

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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. 😉

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Kim practicing her pull

Marco throwing baywatch

Marco throwing the Baywatch

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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….

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Romeo pulling me in

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Enjoying the life

 

Holidays & Festivals

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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!..

harnessed and ready to gobath time

farrier at work

like a speeding bullet

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.

 

accordionoxenprocession

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.

blessing

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.

lunch music

lunch SRD.JPG

lunch

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

Until next time, ciao for now…

Città Sant’Angelo

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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 house

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.

 

main strada

The main strada through town

large doors

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.

 

S. Michele int

San Michele Arcangelo

S. Michele ext

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

San Francesco

cloister

Il Chiostro del Palazzo Municpale

cloister 2

Il Chiostro

cloister garden

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.

view to our house

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

Ciao for now…

 

That Time of the Year

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No matter where I have lived, I have never been a big fan of winter. Not enough sunlight hours, temps that make me shiver even with 5 or 6 layers on, house never seeming warm enough unless I’m directly in front of a fire, and so on. There are many of us out there that just make it through the Christmas season and are ready for spring, forget January, February & March. So I’m getting my grumbling out of the way and how can I possibly have room to grumble! I’m living a dream here in Italy.

So it’s our first winter here and this one is actually a mild one. Been averaging around mid 50’s when back on the east coast of the US it’s been bitter cold. I’m sure we’ll get some winter in the next few weeks. I’m able to get some treks in around the farm but I’m keeping to the roads as the fields are gummy with the mud. Taking the dogs out of the courtyard is a guaranteed hosing down upon returning. Notwithstanding, the views are stellar of fields  greening up with winter wheat and the snow-covered Gran Sasso mountains are formidable with 4 meters of snow to-date.

A shepherd just moved his sheep onto a large pasture across the way from us. We’re not sure where he came from with his flock but we are thrilled. Maybe a neighboring farm or perhaps he has moved his flock up the valley from the east. John and I are like children, with the excitement of sampling something pure and simple of life here. We can see their collective form change fluidity as the dogs work, like a large white amoeba on the green hillside….. John was a sport and got up at sunrise today to head over to the ridge-line to see the flock and the working dogs. The sheep had arrived at sundown yesterday and stayed the night grouped together in temporary fencing. This morning, when John arrived, there were 4 men milking right there in the middle of the flock with another working the sheep into place. After each ewe was milked, she was allowed into a large fenced area, while the head shepherd and his German Shepherd moved the next batch up to the milkers. As John approached, two guardian dogs (Cane da pastore Maremmano-Abruzzese) made it very clear to him to keep his distance from their flock. Once the milk was all collected, it was transported away in a van with the milkers. The cheese, that will be made from this milk, (most often Pecorino) is amazing and all four of us have gotten hooked. Romeo and Orso suck down any pieces we’re willing to dole out.

When I got up this morning, the flock was still there with the milkers most likely to return before moving the sheep on to their next pasture.

The Girls
Everyone Working
Milk for Cheese
The Milkers
Lead Shepherd
Guardians
The Herder
Finishing up
Those milked & those waiting
Now Time to Graze
Photos by John R. Dodge

Winter, I’ve decided, is also a good time to look for a house to buy. Yes, we need to make that decision eventually, as houses here in Italy aren’t usually rented indefinitely. They tend to go up for sale or to a family member in need. Such is the case with the house we’re renting now. The owner hopes to put it on the market in about a year. We are loving it here, but even though it is home now and it’s in such a stunning location, is a true bear to heat in the winter. So we’re going to look for something a bit smaller and take our time before we jump to buy. It may take us a year or so until we find what will work for us. I figure winter is a good time to look as you can see a house at its worst and then decide if you can live in it through the cold winter months. Does it make us feel warm and cozy, do we want to take a trek out into the weather, or just be at peace in our own place. So off we go this week to start looking. And where? We’d like to stay in the Abruzzo region within 45 minutes of the Adriatic. Maybe find a cottage in walking distance of a village with a bit of land for the dogs. Be situated in the hills between the sea and the mountains. The amazing thing about Abruzzo is that you can be swimming in the sea as you gaze at the mountains, they are that close.  I’ll update you down the road how the house hunting is going.

Something new that you will find on this site is the page,  John’s recipes.  Folks on Facebook have been asking for his recipes as I post the yummy soups he has been making for us this winter. As I add more recipes to the page, I may end up categorizing them as we go along. Enjoy and if you have any questions about them, leave a comment on the recipe page and John will get back to you.

As always, I’ll leave you with today’s view of the Gran Sasso at dawn. Ciao for now.

gran sasso dawn

Our First Christmas

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No matter what we do over the holidays, we know we are blessed. We made it here; we live in a postcard; have made new and dear friends; we’ve waded through most of the Italian paperwork (for now), we and the pups are healthy and happy.

Christmas here in Italy is not only about decorations, baking, shopping, gift giving and the like, but mostly about CHRIST in Christmas. You can visit live nativity scenes, whether created as whole towns on hillsides or within the piazza in your local comune. Families assemble elaborate nativity scenes inside and outside their homes – ‘presepi’, and I mean, very elaborate and intricate!

Christmas Eve (La Vigilia di Natale), we got to experience the live Nativity in Atri, with the characters making a lovely procession through the medieval alleyways of town. Two bagpipers, clothed in black hats and capes, let the procession. The bagpipes played are very Italian, and the shepherds that play these instruments are the Zampognari. As the procession wove through the old town, blacksmiths hammered away and a monk-like character ladled out hot mulled wine to outreaching hands. 😉 The many beautiful churches of Atri were open for worship throughout the evening and night.

bagpipe

Live Nativity characters lead by the Zampognari.

joining the navitiy

A visitor staying warm….

 

Christmas morning rose beautiful and by the time I got rolling, it was about 55+ degrees. Romeo and I set out to hike out of our valley to a spot where we could either gaze to the mountains or the sea. I stopped for a few moments on our trek to listen and I heard absolutely nothing…..just the stillness. No human-made sound and even the birds were quiet. Just utter silence. It was breathtaking in the fact that I hadn’t experienced that for a very long time. Even hiking in Nelson County, Virginia,  we would hear the jets making their long journeys over the mountains that were in their flight paths. So Romeo and I continued on to our spot and just relaxed in the silence gazing over the Adriatic. It was a time to remember Christ in Christmas.

the seatoward the gran sasso

Christmas evening was a much anticipated event – dinner with Luigi and his family. We were so looking forward to being with our new friends as well as tasting the delights of a tipico abruzzese Italian Christmas meal. The food was plentiful, of course, and delicious, of course. Laughter, cross talking, loud talking, jabs right and left all in good fun made for wonderful memories of the evening. And I was transported back in time and place when my family in New Jersey would meet for holidays and weekends to share such a blessed time together. Here are a few shots from the evening. I’ll leave you with them and a Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo. 

 

Dear Luigi & John
John & Francesco
Stracciatelle
La Famiglia
Timballo Rossa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When The Winds Blow

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Last year, this region of Italy was slammed with an inordinate amount of snow. The folks around here are saying this only happens once in 5 years. Well, that seems like a pretty tight model for us. Power was out for many days, snow reached up to tops of doors, stuff like that. Now, the worst of it was closer to the mountains, but even Treciminiere, where we live, had a couple of feet from what I can gather looking at pictures.  Even if we don’t get much snow, fingers crossed as I’m not a winter person, the wind blows from the mountains with a fierce-some force.

So, we’re taking measures to prepare for the worst, and hope, as they say, for the best. One of the challenges is the mud around here. The alluvial soil turns into glue. Sticks to your car, feet, dogs’ paws and just is a pain. The road we live on is gravel and farm tractors are up and down it during the day. This in itself may prove to be a bit problematic maneuvering if winter is wet and warm. So maybe I need to pray for cold temps until the spring. In regards to mud and our parking area outside the courtyard, we lined the area with cane stalks (in lieu of straw) and this will give us a stronger base to walk over. Always the courtyard to park in if needed.

 

Cantina – wine cellar
Our ground floor
The stable – used for milk cows

Another item to take care of are the broken windows and open spaces under the house. We have basically three rooms on the ground floor under our living space; stable, cantina & storage. The stable was the worst offender with a number of broken panes of glass and just open drafty windows. John took cardboard, left over from all the IKEA boxes, and covered up all the openings. He then sprayed the cardboard with some acrylic to weatherproof. Looks like it’s working and the floors upstairs are much warmer. In addition, John put up a tarp over the entrance to the cantina to stop more airflow.

Inside, we had to take care of the entry hall as this space was an add-on at a later date and not winterized at all. Single pane windows, sorely needed silicone, and the older part of the house is not heated. John bubbled wrap windows and the dividing door from unheated to heated. We also got some heavy curtains to cover the single pane windows in the heated part. Much better and the dogs are happier as well, as they have their beds in this hall.

We have lots of gas for our boiler and cords and cords of wood. Dogs have a nice garage with dog beds & heat lamp, so they are set on the days it’s not too nasty. Otherwise, the guys are usually inside with us when there’s bad weather. In the unheated part of the house, we have a cold storage room. We are setting aside drinking and washing water, extra staples and the such. So, yes, there are some challenges apart from all the beauty, but that’s a given everywhere on planet earth 🙂 And it doesn’t sound too much different from winters in Virginia.

Some fun stuff that has been going on these past few weeks are wrapped around the holiday season. Christmas decorations have gone up in towns and villages and many homes have twinkling & blinking colorful lights. Stores are filled with all kinds of sweet gifts, wrapped in sparkling and shiny papers and bows.

 

Lovely Tree at a Local Bar
Serious Dolce
Stacked Cake
Window Shopping
More Dolce

In Atri, the season opened with La Notte dei Faugni, which coincides with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

(Google translate: The tradition of the “faugni” in Atri is very rooted and dates back to the pre-Roman period, when the city was the capital of southern Piceno. In Atri the “faugni” appeared for the first time in religious rites in 431 AD. with the council of Ephesus. Subsequently, this ritual was renewed on the occasion of the translation of the Santa Casa da Nazart to Loreto. Tradition has it that even today, at the dawn of December 8th (5.00 am), feast of the Immaculate Conception, there are “fauns.” The Faugni are bundles of light, well-connected reeds that are brought into procession along the streets of the historic center of the city of Atri, from people of all ages, each of which embraces a “faugno.” The event acquires a particular charm due to the historical setting in which it is repeated: you walk the streets and neighborhoods of the historical center, along the remains of an ancient theater of the 1st century AD, the churches from the thirteenth century to the eighteenth century and the ducal palace of Acquaviva (one of the most powerful families in central southern Italy from the fourteenth century to the 18th century.)

 

John and I are still not quite into the late night/all night partying culture of Italy, so we bailed very early in the evening. We did get to see & hear a wonderful Celtic Italian band – Modena City Ramblers – warming up for their set that was to begin at 1:30 am. Warm up was at 8 pm and we could manage that. Streets lightly filled with the earlier crowd. When I looked back on FB the next day, I saw pictures of the streets packed with folks during the wee hours of the morn.

Also this past week, I got to attend a training session with Sea Rescue Dog Association. Romeo and I were both thrilled to be working. As I mentioned in my bio, I had been an operational dog handler in search and rescue in Virginia for a bit over 25 years. Great years of volunteer work and also great friendships with other dog handlers. Sorely missed! I do get a chance to chat online, from time to time, with my good friend, Pam, who is an operational handler with K9 Alert SAR Dogs, but it can’t take the place of face-to-face in-person camaraderie.

Going to this training on Sunday, now that I’m planted in Italy, was a treat, and Romeo got a good workout. Working dogs need to work. Sure, I take him for numerous walks, but built into this breed is the desire to work = thinking play, so to speak. Sunday was the ticket. Two hours of obedience & socialization exercises. Some of the lesson took place in two different adjoining (busy) piazzas and the other on the beach. I was in heaven, as I was brought up as a water baby and the sea calls. Romeo was a bit in shock. IMGP1078 - Copy First time seeing waves. And he really wanted to test the waters, but the exercise was to teach the dogs, at this point, to remain on shore while the handlers approached the water. Lots of fun and we’re invited back as either a guest or a member.

Now, I did retire from SAR to give John and I more time together to explore and that is still set in stone. Giving each weekend to training is a huge commitment, which I did faithfully carry out in Virginia. Now we want to see Italy and Europe. No more callouts in the middle of the night or on holidays to look for a missing person. I’ve passed that baton over when we moved here. But I can be a member, train Romeo and assist on a more relaxed schedule. No, I’m not going to test to be operational, because at this time in my life passing a lifeguard test is not going to happen. 😉  I guess you can tell I am pumped as I’m rambling on and giving you way too much information. I’ll stop here with a huge “thank you” to everyone at Sea Rescue Dogs and, of course, my husband.

I leave you with some great shots, courtesy of John, of our training day. Ciao until next time.

 

 

 

 

 

Craziness

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Yes, we came here with eyes wide open. Different culture, government, customs are all a part of this jam-packed experience – life. So what kind of craziness are we experiencing and actually laughing over.

poster for italian lessons

Poster in Atri’s Municipal Bulding

How’s this… we sign up for Italian lessons, offered through our region at a very affordable price. BUT hardly any of the employees in that office speak any English to help us. We’re signing up to get better at Italian, but don’t understand enough of it to figure out what someone is saying 100 miles an hour.. Seem a little off to you? Does to John and I and we just laugh. Thankfully, our good (Italian) friend, Stef, called the office and got all the details. Then, trying to locate the class… Google said one thing, or maybe two… here we go again on navigation. Stef got other information when she called the office for us. In the end, we had to stop some young folks on the street to get to the building two blocks over from where we were. It all worked out fine and now we are in Italian classes 2x a week for the next 6 months!

Cellphones and internet. Very cheap here. Rather than doing a two year contract like we had back in Virginia with Verizon, we do a month to month SIM card. Internet is 30 euros a month for 30 GB. Two cellphones a month – 20 euros. Now that works for me. And the internet is SO much faster than what we had back in Nelson County. But, there is a little glitch…our international calling is messed up. Been on the blink for over three weeks and the provider is ‘working on it’. It really shouldn’t be this difficult to fix, but again this is Italy and things just work in a different manner. So we have email, FB, messenger, etc. to stay in contact when needed. Ok, update on the international calling as we stopped by the store yesterday evening. When the support ticket was placed, it was only placed for credits due us, not for the technical issue of the international calling. That is now in place and I’ve been promised it would be working in 24 hours or refund and new provider. Guess I’ll know by this evening… And we are still laughing… Good sign.

Deliveries to our house. Now this issue is a truly perplexing one. The mail lady was able to find us, so no issues with mail deliveries. Common courier is another story. As packages cannot be left here without a signature or a paper handed over to the receiver, a call is made from the courier asking if we are home at a certain time to receive the package. All well in good, but usually the caller is speaking Italian very fast. I’ll try to slow them down, we work out a timing, but it’s our address that throws them. First there is no street sign up at the intersection. Google has not named our road and we don’t think most of the drivers are using Google anyway. Another problem is no one has lived at this address for a long time, so there isn’t a reference for these younger drivers. It’s definitely a learning curve to get them down here, but slowly we are working through it. Some packages make it here, some down the road at the winery. One right now is lost in limbo and trying to get that solved. We’re not laughing as much about this craziness right yet…

But the craziness is just, once again, small stuff. It works itself out. Usually. What we remember mostly about each day are the beautifully unique places we visit, the people we meet and new friendships developing. Today Luigi, our property manager and new friend, stopped by to drop off some paperwork. Along with him was his friend, Massimo. They bring laughter and friendship into our home and we are blessed for it. Yesterday, a friend of Luigi’s, Arturo, delivered us a second load of firewood.  We’re stocking up for winter. Arturo was with his family at the local restaurant for dinner. We were there as well. At the end of our meal, desserts showed up. We remarked to our waitress that she must be delivering them to the wrong table, as we had just finished ours. She said the gentleman (Arturo) at the other table had bought them for us. How could we refuse! New friendships everywhere we turn in this rural community.

This afternoon, we finally drove a few miles up the coast to a beach town – Pineto. I say ‘finally’ as we’ve been living here a bit over a month and not visited the sea yet. The sea is in my blood. My mother’s family was from a seaport in Abruzzo and my father’s family from Naples. Both on the water and the traditions of the sea and seafood were handed down to me. I learned to swim at the Jersey shore with my dad as my instructor. So not to have gotten down to the sea, as close as it is to us here, is just crazy!

pineto beach

The beautiful Adriatic in November

pineto beach deserted

Deserted November beach – enjoy it now – super crowded in summer

So we took a break from the ‘setting up house’ thing and headed to Pineto. Not only does Pineto have a wide beautiful beach, of course deserted at this time of the year, but a shoreline of ancient, commanding pine trees. These imposing sentinels supply deep shade in the summer and today added mystery with the subdued lighting of fall. We were also pleasantly surprised by a food & crafts market along the village’s main road.  I’m just sorry I didn’t come more hungry. 😉

pine trees

 

pineto market red

olives

Olives Galore!

I would say John and I are changing. We can laugh through the craziness. It’s not something we did as readily in the US. Maybe it’s because we realize that we’d miss out on the gift of being here. Or it may be an acceptance that  it’s all part of this amazing life here in Italy.

Not To Forget The Fun Stuff

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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…

 

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Our view as we drove west to Castelli

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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.

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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.