One busy week

3 May 2022

Last week was a very busy week. So here it is on Monday and I’m finally blogging.

Last Monday was a holiday in Italy. Mike and I drove to Vasto for a tour of the Roman baths near the old town. There was a small group of people and the guide spoke only Italian. Fortunately, a woman with her husband and two young daughters offered to translate for us. Her name was Chiara and she had studied in Cincinnati for a year. Her husband also spoke English, as he had studied at the University of Minnesota for a year. It was good to have the translation. The ruins are small but very interesting. They were uncovered in the mid-1950s by a landslide. A catholic church had been built over them in the 14th or 15th century. Archaeologists are still excavating and researching. There were three baths, a hot one, a warm one and a cold one. The heating system was very sophisticated.

Chiara and her family are from a nearby town Cupella. They told us that in the town was an artichoke festival that day and highly recommended it. So we went and were not disappointed. Fried artichokes and spritzes, sitting in the town square, watching the kids run around and animated conversations. It was a very nice Italian day.

Tuesday we drove up a very winding and steep hill to the little town of Gissi. There is a nice grocery store there that we wanted to check out. And shop. It was an adventure.

On Wednesday my new friend Ann Reffold picked me up in her British truck and drove me to meet Nicky Righton. Nicky is another British expat. She is a very experienced horse person. On her small ranch she has five horses and a lovely restored home. She gives lessons and takes people on trail rides. I wish I could still ride…. But those days are gone.

On Thursday we packed overnight bags and took off for Navelli, a small town near the mountains. We had booked a B&B for that night because we were joining a walking tour on Friday. I created a separate folder on Google photos just for these two days. https://photos.app.goo.gl/k3ikuGs8wLgQdZNY6

We had a little trouble finding our B&B, but a nice woman who spoke English stopped and showed us the driveway. She is an expat from Columbus, Ohio and was hosting a group of people from there.

The owner of our B&B and winery, Francesca, was very welcoming and delightful. She showed us all around the house that she and her husband have been renovating for about eight years. It is quite lovely. Check it out: http://cantinarte.com/en/home-en/ Francesca recommended a restaurant for lunch in Bominaco that was charming and the food was delicious. After lunch we walked up the hill to the Chiesa di S. Maria Assunta e Oratorio di S. Pellegrino. There was a tour going on, but in Italian so we didn’t understand much. But at least we got in to see the church. Then the group walked over to the chapel, which is commonly called the “Sistine Chapel of Abruzzo” and it was breathtaking.

We returned to the B&B exhausted and took a short nap. When we woke up it was time to eat again. We walked to the town square where a local family had set up a food truck. Quite a few people were lined up ordering pizzas and calzone. We saw the group from Ohio and stopped to talk with them a short while. Then we ordered a pizza and took it back to the B&B. We played cards and went to bed early.

Breakfast was typical Italian, an assortment of meats and cheese, yogurt, rolls, juice, fruit, coffee. We met our tour at the Palazzo Santucci in Navelli at 10:00 am. We introduced everyone, and off we went! It was quite a day of long narrow streets and stairs. And we learned all about saffron. Please take time to see the photos and read the captions. Too much to describe here.

Saturday was a lazy day. Mike did some gardening, and I did housework and menu planning. Sunday was a holiday, but we took off for Vasto to do some grocery shopping. Only the Lidl was open. It’s not the best store. We prefer Conad.

Yesterday (Monday) we drove back to Vasto to get internet for our second house (more on this later) and pick up some groceries that we didn’t get on Sunday.