Last night one of O’s friends stopped by and, during the course of the conversation, he asked me if I missed living in the US. This started me thinking about my life, comparing the way I lived before, and considering the things that I do miss. Obviously, one of the things I miss is being [...]
Posts from ‘September, 2007’
A Mountain and a Saint
The weather has gotten warm again, but for a few days there it was downright chilly. After the scorching heat and dryness of the summer, I’m longing for the cool, crisp days of autumn and the eventual snows of winter. Last year, winter was a bust with only one day of snow in November which [...]
FIG aro!… or … An Ode to the Fig
This morning, after hanging out my laundry, I heard someone calling my name. So, I opened the window to see my landlady down below (I’m one story up) holding a plate piled high with figs. She said, “Do you want these or do you already have some?” I asked, with awe and barely repressed glee, [...]
I Templi Italici
The weekend was absolutely glorious with blue skies and cool, but not cold, temperatures. So, on Sunday, like Saturday, we decided to go roaming. First we hit the market in Trivento. Markets are always fun, full of interesting people and things to buy. The one in Trivento is held every Sunday and well-attended. (In other [...]
San Giovanni in Venere
Saturday, after leaving the cemetery, we drove over to San Giovanni in Venere near the town of Fossacesia, overlooking the Adriatic. According to tradition, the original building dates back to the Sixth Century when a small oratory dedicated to Saint John the Baptist was built over a pagan temple dedicated to Venus. In 847 that [...]
Sangro River Cemetery
On Saturday we took a ride up to Torino di Sangro with friends to visit the Sangro River War Cemetery, about 45 minutes away. This mostly British cemetery holds the bodies of the men who died during the fierce fighting to cross the River Sangro. It contains 1800 British burials, 355 New Zealand, 75 South [...]
Risotto alla Milanese
I was in the mood for rice today so decided on Risotto alla Milanese for lunch. This is a simple dish whose name makes it sound a lot more sophisticated than it really is. Risotto is a great dish to make in that you can make it with anything – all kinds of vegetables, meats, [...]
Raindrops are falling on my head
Ah, beautiful rain! It started around 4 pm yesterday and has been raining ever since. How wonderful and refreshing! Except for the 20 minute rain shower we had a few weeks ago, this is the first rain in almost 3 months. It’s hard to imagine that people could be so excited about rain, but we [...]
Il gatto
As you may know from previous posts, we have our regular visitor, Scooby Do, the beagle who comes around for leftovers every once in a while. On Friday night, it wasn’t only he who came visiting, but also a cat. The strange thing was that Scooby Do, who regularly chases cats with glee, seemed to [...]
Arts and Crafts
A few weeks ago we went to the artisan show at Guardiagrele. Of course, the word artisan makes it sound like a craft show. Believe me, it was anything but. Thinking back to the craft shows I went to in the states, they were chock-full of knitted works, simple wood crafts made with pattern cut-outs, [...]
