It is really quite fitting that Heather and Eddie Bowman (my former nephew but I will claim him forever) are our first guests in our Italian home because it’s largely due to their inspiration that we are here. Six years ago, they decided to pack up a few of their belongings and their 9-year-old son and move to Valencia, Spain. Then, they both had really good jobs in San Jose, California. Life was not bad for them. They just decided that they wanted to take their lives in a different direction. Mike and I visited them in Valencia in 2018 and we saw first-hand how life can be for an expat. It got us thinking.
So here we are now, four years later, hosting them in our home in Italy. They had found an inexpensive flight from Valencia to Rome, and they emailed us that they were coming. Barely a month after we arrived and still not really settled in. It’s gotta be fun, right? Eddie said he would rent a car from Rome, so I took a video of the winding hilly road to our house to help him find it. They decided to take the bus. Actually, the buses in Italy are quite nice and mostly on time.
Wednesday evening Mike and I picked them up at the bus terminal in Vasto. By now, we’ve got that drive down pretty good although I’m not sure what they were thinking, with all the twists and turns and hills.
If you’ve read my “House One, House Two" blog, you will know that we now are responsible for two houses. House Two is more suitable for guests. So we scrambled to get it set up in time for them. I had prepared a welcoming pasta fagioli for dinner that turned out pretty good, I must say. We introduced them to Abruzzo wine.
Up and out Wednesday morning to visit the Palazzo D’Avalos in Vasto. It’s a huge palazzo in the old town, high on the hillside overlooking the Adriatic. Then to lunch at Osterio Muro delle Lame. We had lots of time to kill before dinner at 8:00 pm, so we wandered around and lounged at a bar for a few hours.
Dinner was the highlight of our time together (my opinion). I had made reservations at a restaurant in a trabocco. Trabocci were once fishing huts built out on long piers from the shore but are no longer in use for fishing. Many of them have been repurposed into seafood restaurants. When we were about 10 minutes away, Mike made too sharp of a turn and drove into a curb, causing a flat tire. Watching Mike and Eddie change the tire was like watching a film in fast forward. Bravo to them for changing it in record time! I contacted the restaurant to let them know we would be a little late. No problem. It’s Italy!
At the Trimalcione restaurant, Mario and Emilia do all the cooking. Seating is limited to three tables, and there is only one seating for lunch and one for dinner. Dinner was a 10-course fish meal with wine. And it was amazing. I highly recommend it. Just book well in advance.
At about 10:30 that evening, I knew that there was no way we would be going horseback riding at 10:00 the next morning. So I texted Nicky (who owns the riding stable) to let her know that we probably would not be making it. She graciously said to not worry about it.
Thursday obviously we were all late risers. Maria had told us about a town not far from us that we might find interesting. It’s called Tornareccio. There are pretty mosaics on walls of houses and they are famous for honey. By the time we arrived, we were hungry but no restaurants were open. So we drove to a nearby town and found a gas station/bar/restaurant that was open. We had a delightful lunch there, then headed to Casalanguida for our appointment at the Band Museum.
Many years ago, Casalanguida was famous for its marching band. People from all around the area were proud members of it. Today, partly due to attrition and party due to Covid, the band is much smaller in size. But it survives. The son of the museum curator, Rudolfo, spoke good English and guided us through the museum and explained the history of the band. His parents were there too. The museum is his father’s pride. After the tour, they served us a glass of nice white Abruzzo wine. What a delightful time!
Then we walked to the center of town and watched a band play and march up and down the main street.
That evening was spent relaxing on the patio, eating cheese and salami, and drinking more wine. Maria and Robert stopped by for a chat.
The next morning was again a lazy one. Paul and Justina came by for a while and we all had coffee and a good conversation. Then back to Vasto to the bus terminal.
Mike and I waved goodbye to our guests and headed to a home goods store to buy items for the house. The afternoon for us was spent organizing things. Saturday and Sunday was devoted to yard work and laundry.
This week, we will focus on planning future excursions. Eddie had showed me how to mark cities and places as “Want to Go” and how to plan trips in Google Maps. He also showed me how to find good air fares on Google. So that’s what I’ll be doing this week. In addition to reviving my studies of Italian.
Click HERE for photos.
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