THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

Pescocostanzo

Pescocostanzo

Pescocostanzo

Pecentro

Pecentro

Pecentro

BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS: SILLY PLASTIC

Roccacasale

Roccacasale

Roccacasale

It is getting a little out of control here. I can’t remember what day it is or what we have done. I know it is now Friday because of the chicken. We can only buy a chicken on market day and I am quite sure it is not Tuesday. My computer has confirmed the chicken and also says it is Friday. We had a sudden fear that we might miss our plane, because we could not keep up with the days.

Let’s start with Thursday. It was a super gray day. Totally not a beach day and possibly a hang out at home day. We went up to Secinaro for a bit and then over to Gagliano to say good by to some friends and to get some amaretta cookies. MMMMM worth the trip. Unfortunately they are all presents.

I was so happy we got to have our wonderful home lunch of pizza and salad. The weather was a bit better so we set off for the second time to the town of Pescocostanzo. I had thought it was on rt. 17, but its name is so long that it is actually on another road. I wanted to see it because it was called an art town and there were three galleries. They were filled with terrible art that I can’t believe anyone would buy. Maybe I am missing something here, because I think the woman that owns the art gallery where my work is, said that no one in Denmark would buy pictures like mine. From the galleries I have seen in Italy it seems no one would buy it here either. Oh well. I kind of like what I do. Anyway, it was a beautiful town. Nothing open and deserted, but beautiful. From there we went to Pecentro. This is a town that is famous for its three towers and they were amazing. I think it should also be famous for the ceramic number plaques on each house. Each street has a different design.

We have been trying to get to Roccacasale for two years. We see it all the time, because it is built straight up the side of a hill with a triangular shaped castle at the top. It has been invaded many times so there are many archways for people to sneak around under. It is a beautiful town, but we parked next to a building where an elderly woman was screaming. I guess she had Alzheimer’s. It was really distressing and kind of ruined my positive feeling. From there it was home to a delicious dinner.

Friday Sept 7
Ok now I am writing about today and I can hardly keep it all straight. First there was market. Chicken!! And hilarious t-shirts: Yonk64, New York Street Boy; Girls Shops LA and NYC.  I do not think I have seen one t-shirt in Italian, except for soccer shirts. Then we drove to Pescara and somehow managed to find the art supply store. It was a really good one. They had Winsor & Newton fixative, open stock Rembrandt pastels, lots of paper, oils and watercolors. I was so excited. Just an aside: google map directions are about useless in Italy. There are few street signs and there is a round about every two minutes. But we found it anyway! And I don’t even have a really good map. No detail what so ever.

Then on North to check out beaches. Amazingly we managed to park next to one of the few non-pay beaches. Mostly you have to rent an umbrella and chairs to be on the beach, but there are a few spots for people with their own umbrellas. The amazing thing about this area of the Adriatic is that just up from the beach, before the railroad track, is a pine forest. If it was really hot it would be the perfect place to hang out. It was not wicked hot today. The water was full of sand so it was not as beautiful, but it was no problem for swimming, except I kept thinking about sharks.

 From the beach we drove up the mountains to Atri. This is a truly beautiful town and it is a real town, reminiscent of San Sepolcro, Flaminia’s town, with lots of stores, people and cafes. The other places where we have been that were so deserted might have people also. It might have been the time of day or the rain. There were at least five churches, probably more. The relator  who helped us buy our home has a house there for sale for 18,000E. It needs complete renovation, but the town would be an amazing place to live or it could probably be sold for more than the cost of renovation. We didn’t know where it was so we couldn’t see it, but the town is in the mountains only six miles from the coast. We were going to come home through the mountains, but we decided to take the autostrade. It is good that we did or we would still be out there somewhere in the dark. Now the chicken is half gone and we are half plastered. We have to finish the limoncello and we had a great cake from the bakery. There are rules here. Three days left in Italy. Wow. And why did no one visit us from America? So weird.