Friday, July 17

Yesterday afternoon it poured down rain. Even minutes before it started we were saying that it missed us. The thunder roars around the valley like it is in an amphitheatre and within minutes the split between lightening and thunder was only 2 seconds. Along with a very wet dog we took shelter in the coffee shop. 

After the rain I took some photos. There is a faint rainbow over Castel d’Iire. You have to believe in it to see it. 

The next shots are of the painting I started yesterday and planned to finish today, but life got in the way in the form of our friend, Noel.

But, first we have to review some delicious meals: dinner and first breakfast and our trip up to second breakfast and market. Because of the rain all the drains are having to be cleaned out of debris. It has been over a month since it rained and things have collected. 

score!

This year one of my interests is the animals of Castelvecchio, but t-shirts will also continue and there two strange ones today considering that no one in town can read the first one and the second makes no sense. So far it seems that shoes have become more reasonable. Too many broken ankles, but if I find some outrageous ones I will take pictures. 

because, luckily, you have no idea what it says

very famous place in NYC

As we walked home from market with all our delicious stuff including socks and pizza on the left, we ran into Noel. He wanted to go up to Acciano, have coffee, (part of every trip since every coffee place is a good coffee place) and show us a part of the Park Sirente that we had not seen. It was beautiful picnic area down by the river. 

Confusing, abandoned train station with signs to stay behind the yellow line, a time table that does
not mention the town, and a place to validate your ticket.

You have to know that Italians are fiends for picnics, but this place did not look like it had been used in years. The steps were covered with leaves and the trees hung over the picnic tables till they touched. But the weird thing was there were three or four beautifully restored buildings that used to be a mill. They were perfect. One could have moved right in. The doors were wide open. There were the mill stones, which would be hard to carry away, but their were also nice lighting fixtures. It did look like someone came up there sometime to bbq meat, but the walls were not defaced or any of the things we have seen in other isolated places. I was poking around outside and found the mill wheel.

Our friend Noel

 From the signs this place is supposed to be some kind of visitors’ center, but not lately. If seems that sometimes money is available for projects and then once it isn’t those projects just stop. Like fields of sunflowers. At one time people were paid to grow them and now they are not. The only sunflowers around are volunteers. 

There was also one little chapel and it was locked. Is nothing sacred?

Now we have had lunch and I am fighting a losing battle to stay awake. Yesterday I didn’t have a nap and I slept so much better.