Yesterday it was cloudy and rain was predicted. There were exactly 14 drops in the morning. Later in the day it looked even more promising for rain. The clouds lowered until only the blue green of the foothills could be seen, but no rain. At least the cloud cover kept it cool so that we could eat lots of onion rings with our neighbors. Jim made an excellent dinner. We had onion rings, green beans, salad, cucumber salad and thin slices of chicken wrapped around grated cheese and panchetta. Enrica brought a cake for desert. An answer to prayer and Jim had made pears pooched in white wine and I made granita. It was a feast and we had an excellent time.
This morning we had first and second breakfast and then hung around in the piazza while we waited for our bus. A guy came up to speak to us and enthused about our paintings and the water-colour I had done of his mother. I know all this because our friend who speaks English and Italian was sitting with us. I did not recognise this person and I have no idea who is mother is, but he was a true fan. We went to wait for the bus in the blazing sun no less than 30 minutes early. (we are SO obviously Americans) The same guy went by us once and then he came back and then he went by us again and I commented on this to Jim. You know how it is. For five years you never see someone and suddenly they are everywhere. On his last trip on foot he brought me three black truffles each about the size of a golf ball. That is like 1000E worth of truffles. I am going to ask my neighbour what to do with them. The way I have liked them best is when they are shredded into olive oil and then drizzled on pasta.
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| For informational purposes only |
Truffles in my backpack and lots of Euros in our pockets we got on the bus to Sulmona. The driver talked on his headset the entire way there. This is a fairly dangerous, narrow, winding road with precipitous drop-offs. We had the same driver coming back and he was on the phone the entire time as well. He must have some other business going that does not involve the bus.
In Sulmona, it is one of the weekends of the jousting competition so people are dressed in midlevel costumes while drinking coffee and texting on their phones. Because Pizzaz Girabaldi is filled with tons of sand for the competition, the big Saturday market is held on a large bridge and then spills out into three or four sides streets in the burbs. Personally, I like it much better. When the market is in the piazza there are five or six lines of venders and it is like its own hot, crowded, little city.
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| The main street. |
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| Near Piazza Girabaldi |
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| Ovid who lends his name to everything you can think of in Sulmona. What a guy. |
Ok the good news is that there were lots of t-shirts that said ridiculous things. The best one was on a guy and I just didn’t have the nerve to ask if I could take a picture. Clearly I am not a serious journalist. Anyway it said, “Twin Power Texas”. Who thinks up these things? Somewhere a graphic design team is working away and this is the best they can do? And then, even worse, someone buys something so lacking in meaning? And to cap it off, I did not take a picture.
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| ??? |
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| T-Shirts that say "Keep Calm and..." are ubiquitous |
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| The USA: always working for world peace |
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| Only 21 Euros! |
First thing when you enter the market: under ware. Hey you have to put it on first so there you go.
Lots and lots of shoes were for sale. Cool trees!
Lots of garlic. Sulmona garlic is supposed to be the best in the world. Just ask anyone from Sulmona.
There was also a little market of things typical to the joust like little wooden swords, circlets of paper or leather flowers to wear in your hair or small shields with different crests. I was thinking how much Annie would have like the flower ring to wear in her hair, but then I realised she would have really wanted a sword. What a funny, sweet girl.
I had my new favourite thing in a coffee bar: creame caffe. (no it is not a creeme, but is kind of the same). It is not quite ice cream, but it is lightly frozen and is the closest thing to ice coffee available. If you ask for cold coffee and you think you have asked for iced coffee like at Starbucks, you would be wrong. Caffe fresco is hot coffee that has been shaken up with ice and then poured into a shot glass. It is still the size of a shot of espresso.
Fashion has been the first thing to die in the Italian heat wave of 2015. Especially for men. NO man seems to care any more how they look. I have seen men in the shortest shorts ever with black socks and sandals. Most men have man purses because their shorts are too short for pockets. I have a bad feeling about the Danish influence on fashion for men in our valley. Women, of course, are keeping up appearances for the most part. Most do not appear to be sweating because, either they are wearing some anti-prespirant lotion that I do not know about or they are wearing ever looser cotton dresses. No more form fitting spandex filled clothing.
We have just gotten up from our nap and are going to have some real ice coffee and a cookie made by our neighbor. Tonight is the first scheduled concert of the year and it does look like it could rain. Ma no!!
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