Nearing the end

I am sorry that my blog has not been more amusing or entertaining this year. I feel I have the Italian life style down now so there is not too much more to say that is funny. I know what a bidet is, although I have still not figured out how to use one for anything except watering plants. I have the correct underwear (two sizes too small) to disguise my real underwear hanging at the back of the drying rack. I bought four items of clothing in the market so that everything I had to wear was not super baggy, just baggy. I can order anything I want at a restaurant by simply pointing. I have not had any disgusting surprises yet. I can get lost, but then be found by asking,
“Dove la strada justa per _______?” Guys in tight pants on bikes are no longer the exciting item they once were and it has been a while since a pair of high heels swept me off my feet. Doing all these portraits has made me beloved or disliked depending on how they turned out. People are constantly asking for my email to send me pictures and I have to do at least three a week all winter. I can now use a fork with my left hand and have learned to leave my napkin on the table.

Corno Grande

Castelli. Earthquake repair has started!!

Done shopping for Magelica pottery in Castelli. This is the wall that they throw pottery over on some special smasing pottery day. We did not throw our purchases over.

Italy is still an amazing place and I wake up everyday to fabulous mountains. It is only the last two days that there have not been clouds up to some extraordinary dance on the mountain tops. I have rejoiced in the Adriatic and at di Gole San Venanzia. I decided to really like my pastels. The colors were so different this year and that made it fun and exciting again. I loved the color less stable weather even if it meant I didn’t get so much painting done and my book is edited as far as I am able to go with it.

Corno Grande

Campo Imperatore

Campo Imperatore

Campo Imperatore with Jim and Audrey

Leaving Campo Imperatore

I have read Russian, Italian and Irish-American history and I am starting to like non-fiction! We have enjoyed the company we have had. As always the time has gone too fast. We have one week left and a car. I am thinking beach everyday with a painting along the way. And a gelato a day.

A woman outstanding in her Campo Imperatore!

Introdaqua, Sulmona and Gole di San Venanzio

Today, Sunday, we drove to Introdaqua and dropped off some paintings to a gallery. Could work out well, we will see. Next on to Sulmona. We had lunch at a restaurant just past where we had coffee last weekend watching the parade. Today's activity was waiting for the bride and groom to come out of the church. There was an Apa parked outside the church.

This made it irresistible to me and I had to stay and watch. We had lunch and just as we finished the bride and groom came out. People were throwing mini confetti, the candy.

Don't forget the video guy.

He popped the cork on the champagne.... 

and they drove away!

We visited the mall and then went to Gole di San Venanzio to go swimming. I didn't take any pictures of us, but this is the long view and then I cropped it a bit so you could see how big the scene is compared to the people.

Big view

A little closer

And what day would be complete with out shirts and shoes.

Biggest news of the day is that if I could stay here till the first week in September I could be on Italian national TV in a story on everything that happens in CVS in August. So Twinfield, be grateful. It was so nice to be considered a happening in CVS. I have decided that if anyone wants me to do their portrait again then I will charge 100E. That seems fair right? First one is free, but after that pay through the nose!

Thursday and Friday

Thursday after all those pictures taken of me at Alba Fucens I went to get my hair cut. It is an amazing cultural experience. The woman actually knows my name which was surprising. I decided to go for it and have my hair highlighted, however it turns out that it is so grey that it now looks white, but I am considering it a preview. Up till the last minute and even after I was undecided. This is not something I usually participate in. The good thing was the chance to listen to so much Italian. I said nothing, hard to believe, but true. By the time she was done putting the highlighter on I looked like I was prepared for the alien invasion. Then I got to wait and listen. When it was my turn to have my hair cut an animated conversation was going on. I kept my eyes shut as the scissors flashed by my face. But it is a great haircut. I was only there two hours. Some people stayed on after their haircut was finished. Some people waited longer than me to have their hair started and one person just seemed to be hanging out there. It was so hot wrapped in a plastic bag with an entire box of tin foil on my hair, but that is the price one pays to be beautiful. Or at least different.

After that it was the grain festival. The best part was the free wine from the same vineyard that did the tasting at Girasole. The white wine is really excellent. The other best part was the music.

Old havesting equipment

Jim and Audrey buying food tickets

Our friend, Victorio, out taking pictures of people for me.

Me and the musicians.

Audrey before dinner.

Our friend in traditional CVS dress.

We did not love the traditional hand made pasta of CVS. Chef Boyorde is what came to mind. But it was a great event with so many people of the town. There was also an exhibition of people of CVS who had died in WW1 and WW2. It is important to always remember that war is the enemy not the people.

Friday was a beach day. After market we packed up a lunch and off we went. Once you are there it doesn’t matter how much money it took to get you there. This year our gelato place own first price for their dark chocolate gelato. It was spectacular.

Audrey and Jim looking for rocks. They are hard to find.

That might have seemed like enough for one day, but after a much better dinner than the night before, Jim and I headed up to the piazza for a repeat of the night before. There was a trio playing pop music. They had a nice sound. First we sat with the guys from Ireland and Britian. When they left we moved on to sit with our neighbors. Remember we had had dinner. They kept pressing food on us. Honestly one cannot say no. There is no word for “no” when it comes to food. They bought peanuts at the peanut stand which is at every event. I had never considered buying them, but they were great. They are from Texas and all I can say is that we are exporting all our best peanuts to Italy. You buy them in red plastic tubes. After that the night was officially over. You can’t top peanuts and Montepulciano d'Abruzzo in Italy.

Federica, her uncle, her boyfriend and her dad. She is the beautiful one.

Unpublished portraits

I do not think I have posted these. If I have then shut your eyes.

Our incredible friend, Pasquale Ranise

Franco....acts just like he looks. Last year in the pizza shop he told the woman that he had black hair when he came in.

Tuesday, Wednesday and part of Thursday

Yesterday I did my first translating for the commune. They had google translated stuff and it was terrible of course. I just went back and made the English ok. I hope they use it because it was much better than before. It was for the new sacred art museum.

Last night we went to a wine tasting with dinner. It started at 8:00, no really it started around 9pm. People talked a lot about the wine, how to look at wine, smell it…all important stuff, but I don’t believe anyone was there that did not know that. The wine maker is a woman and she is making wine at a hirer altitude than people thought possible. So it is a “miracle”. She was unpretentious and looked like she could live in Vermont. We sat at the foreigner table and I was happy to not interact with the Americans or Canadians or whatever English speaking group was at the opposite end of the table. Diner ended at midnight.

some dinner guests

Wine maker is short woman with dark hair

to clear the palette

The wine wine: hints of apple and just cut grass. Really good.

Sparkling wine, nice, but hard to really taste through the bubbles

The red was too heavy for the heat, but got better as time went on.

Antipasto

Antipasto

Antipasto

Antipasto. The black stuff is black truffles.

Pasta

Meat

 This restaurant has an excellent reputation, but the wine people went on so long that I think the food was not able to be served when it was ready. I would probably not go back there. We did have a really good time with our friends. When dinner was over Bass, from UK, asked if anyone wanted to play table tennis. When I said yes, I am sure he thought he was going to cream me. I thought so too, because why would you ask if you didn’t think you could win? But heh heh, I beat him two games by several points each time. So that made it a great night for me. When I was growing up and playing ping pong we used to describe putting back spin on the ball as “putting English” on it. Bass used back spin with every serve and he is English.

Wednesday

 We picked Audrey up at the airport in Rome and got our car: a Fiat Twingo. It is pretty small and only a two door. But maybe it will get even better gas milage than the car we had last year, a Lancia. We managed to stop at IKEA and we managed to get back onto the auto strada. We wanted to buy some frames and light bulbs. Compact fluorescents and LEDs are very expensive here. We got three and it was over 20E. The lamp we bought was 7,50E, but the bulb was 9E.  We are working out our plans for the week and it will be pretty great. So stay tuned. Only two weeks left. We are going to enjoy them.


Finally last night: music on the piazza. The group included our neighbor, the drummer and probably other local people, we only stayed for a few songs because we were too tired. I think there is music the next four nights.

This morning we drove to Rocca d Messa for coffee and then on to Ovindali for the market. From there we went on to Alba Fucens. 

Shopping in the market with Audrey

Church in the town of Alba Fucens

Today we went to Alba Fucens. These are Roman ruins of a fort that houses 2000 people in about 300 AD. They were to protect Roma from the Equi: the people of the Subequo valley. Equi is plural. Well it was beautiful. Quiet, peaceful and the stones could almost speak. The walls of stone were beautifully fashioned with the rock fit together perfectly. Most of the artifacts from Alba Fucens are in the museum of Abruzzo in Chieti. Now I want to go there.

Audrey and Jim contemplate the view.

Jim continues contemplating.

Me and an old column.

Amazing stone pattern.

More evidence of amazing stone cutting.

Looking young with a 1700 year old column and that is only the age of the rock after it was worked by humans.

With company you can have a picture of us as well as a cool stone pattern.

More Roman columns.

Jim and Audrey

Overview of the ruins

We walked over a hill to find the amphitheater I did not expect it to be so big. Someone told us that there is a nearby town were all the cobble stones are from Alba Fucens. So if you are an old place, you better hope you get buried by dirt or ashes. This is a must see for visitors. I had thought it was down on the plain by Avazzano, but it is surrounded by mountains and is an incredible setting, of course.

Outside the archway

Woman outstanding in her amphitheater

Walking through the arch

The arch from inside