Life in Sunny Italy sure has been sunny. In fact, too sunny and way too hot. With several weeks of temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), we’ve spent a lot of time indoors. It was even too hot to go to the beach. My flowers took a beating, even though I watered them just about every other day. However, the grape vines surprised us by producing a small bunch of grapes. I think it’s a first for them!
<Mike inserts a paragraph here> We survived with our A/C, and now the weather has turned – completely. Yesterday we had a torrential rainstorm while we were driving that reminded us of the monsoons we experienced in India. Today was cooler but warm enough to head to the beach in the afternoon. After several hours at the beach we started thinking about getting something to eat and found out that the entire beach area was rapidly preparing for a 7PM to 4AM festival called, “La Notte Rosa” – the pink night. Our little car was fully surrounded by vendor trucks and we decided to leave while we could still drive away. Since we never feel like going out to eat late at night and pizza is not available until after 8PM, Margaret is developing her pizza making skills and her latest version became our dinner last night and it was great.
On Friday evening, July 28, there was a clarinet recital in the plaza by the church in Casalanguida. Four graduates of the music school in Pescara performed arrangements from classical to swing. It was really well done, and so nice to see so many people come to hear them. This town has a very strong sense of community that just radiates at events like this.
Our friend Dionne Swift, who is herself an artist, offered another guided walking tour of the mosaics in Tornareccio. We love those mosaics and invited our friends Valerie and Cecil (from Pescara and Evanston) and our new neighbor Cathey to join us. We picked Vallerie and Cecil up from the bus stop in Vasto Nord, relaxed for a few minutes, then picked Cathey up. Our little VW T-Cross was a trooper (again) carrying all of us up and down the hills and narrow roads. Dionne did not disappoint. Her insights and passion for the art exudes in her description of each piece of work.
We got to see the newly installed 100th mosaic, which is stunning, and the mosaic museum where we were able to vote for the submitted artworks that are in contention to become the next group of new mosaics. It was also interesting to see photos of the mosaics next to photos of the original art. Some mosaics are similar to the original, others have a slightly different interpretation.
Back home, I threw together some appertifs, and Mike popped a bottle of Prosecco. That morning, I had prepped the sauce for a penne in vodka sauce recipe from Stanley Tucci. While everyone was enjoying the appertifs, I finished the pasta. It was so good that we all had seconds. Dessert was a tray of assorted yummy cookies from a bakery in Vasto.
The next morning, Valerie, Cecil, Mike and I took off for
Roccascalenga to see the castle and have lunch at Civico 20. I know, we do this a lot. But we never tire of it. The town is charming, the views are fantastic, and the food at the restaurant is delicious. We like taking guests there.
We can’t believe that we leave for the States in just two weeks. Mike and I spent several hours the other day, making sure we have all of the reservations we need, and planning out our days. Mike, being a project manager, has not yet given up his clip board. That annoys me sometimes, but in reality, it is nice to have a plan and know that we’ve included everything we need to. We will be going to Chicago, Cincinnati, Oklahoma City, Houston, and back to Chicago. No Connecticut this trip because Kate, Lane, and Frank are coming to Italy in October. We are very excited about that!
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