Last Day in Rome (Oct., 30, 2014)

Wow, it’s hard to believe that it is our last day together in Italy. I am so happy we shared this time together and so sad to be saying goodbye to her. Well, I suppose it had to come sometime, though I did try to convince her to come on, to Bangkok…..lol.

Today we had a fantastic day. We got up slowly, showered, hung out in the room, cleaned up and then went for coffee, a croissant and went across the street to the beautiful church, called Santa Maria Maggiore, the same name as the street our hostel is located on.

We saw a lady booking tours at the front door, so we thought it might be good to get some explanation about the church, as it is one of the 9 major basilica’s in Rome. What a great choice. The woman who took us on the tour was fantastic and knew so much about the place. There were two parts to the tour, an archaeological site below the church which was an affluent family home, as well as the basilica on the top of that villa. The people must have been nobility as their home, which dated back to sometime just before or after Christ, had a thermal bath, a tavern and many many rooms, with marble inlays and mosaic designs, reserved only for the rich. It was the coolest tour!

Papal vestment

Mosaic window and wall on upper balcony

Another mosaic

Mom, by/is an angel

Then we toured the upper portion of the basilica, which was built in the 17th century, and some of it earlier, depending on the parts that you saw. It was incredible. Huge rooms where the pope and bishops lived and worked, gifts donated to the church over the years, as well as commissioned mosaic and art that were unbelievable. We saw the vestments of the high clergy that were in charge at various times, the collections of art that each had, as well as the wonderful architecture within the basilica.

One breathtaking structure were the spiral, marble stairs that led up through the church. These were built by Bernini, and have no centre structure securing them. They are just built into the wall, one marble step at a time, that circle up and up and up. 

Looking down the Bernini marble staircase

Looking up the staircase

There were so many fantastic things to see in that church and it took us over two hours to complete the tour and take a look in the church, proper, itself. We got really lucky to see all of the ‘behind the doors’ parts of the basilica, on this tour. I don’t think you can just go and take a look at these things, unless with a licensed guide. What a gift we received.

After that, we walked to our nearby grocery store and bought our last yummy Italian lunch food, to snack on. We decided to also buy what we would both take along with us for our flights tomorrow. Poor mom, we will send her on the bus about 9:30 pm so she can be at the airport all night. There are no early morning buses to the airport that would get her there for 4:00 am, as she flies at 6 am and needs to be there 3 hours before. Anyway, she’s a trooper and doesn’t mind putting in the 4 hours before being able to check in. Better that way, then rushing and trying to get there early enough, when not many cabs, buses, etc are available but more likely, reliable from what others have said. Many people go the night before and just wait, so there will be a lot of other people there too.

Tonight we got mom all packed up, her lunch ready to go, and trundled (mom’s word) her suitcases down the street to a really nice restaurant, called Trattoria. We ate outside, and it was just down the street, two minutes from where she had to catch her airport bus.

It was lovely and a fantastic Last Supper for us. We had wine, and I had liver, she had steak, and we share a wonderful grilled, giant artichoke. It was great, I’d never eaten them this way before and though a lot of work, truly worth it and delicious. We met a really sweet couple that sat at the table next to us, from South Africa, originally from England. They were just spending one overnight in Rome and then catching a train to an area near Florence to pick up a cruise ship they were going on for 9 days. They were lovely and we chatted with them, gave them our map and some basic directions as well as told them that the Trevi Fountain was under construction and to skip it, as it was nothing to see right now. They were super grateful and seemed to enjoy chatting with us as well.

Then came time for mom to get to the bus, so we bid our new friends farewell, and off we went. The bus was there waiting when we got to the stop so we kept our goodbye quite short, mom got on the bus and that’s the end of the story for now. 

I’m back in our room, missing my partner, and she is on her way, or probably, now at Fiumicino Airport, settling into her four hour wait. I know she’ll be fine, I just wish I were there to help her with the bags. I already miss her so much. A part of me just seems to be gone. We have had such a great time and except for a couple of hours here and there, we’ve been together for the past month straight. No wonder I feel a hole now. I suppose she does too. 

I love you Momma, thanks for being my travel partner. You are so great and really a fantastic person to be with. Safe travels home, and know I will miss you and be thinking of you along the way.

The Two Peas

That’s all for now. Next stop……….Bangkok. Since the Wifi was out when I wrote this, just wanted to add that mom emailed me and got onto her flight without issue. She had a decent stay at the airport, found a cart, a restaurant and a nearby bathroom. She was happy!

Our Day at Vatican City (Oct. 29, 2014)

Today we got up early, as we were so tired last night, that we went to bed right after our spaghetti and salad dinner. Which, by the way, was fantastic. It is so nice to be able to cook and have a fridge to use, at the hostel. Anyway, we had decided to go to see the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum, which is basically, the Vatican City. A huge set of buildings with art of various types in each of the 1000 rooms. We didn’t go to all the rooms, but saw about 5 hours of the Vatican quite nicely.

We went for our complimentary breakfast again, walked to Termini Station to get the subway, and checked out the airport bus times for mom, tomorrow night………….sniff, sniff. Then we took the subway to the Vatican. It was huge, and there was about a two hour, if not more, line up to buy tickets. Luckily, we already knew this, and purchased our tix online last night. Therefore, we jumped the line and went right in.

On our way to the Vatican City, we passed this guy selling roasted chestnuts on the street. Last time I was in Italy, I had these and they were fantastic. So, of course we stopped to buy some, and munched them all down right there on the street corner. We had to, because they make a mess with the shells, and there was a garbage bin right there, so we just hung out for  a short while and ate them. They were amazing and just as delicious as I remembered them, last time I ate them, in Italy.

There was a nice English family that was thinking about getting them too, so I piped up and said they were delicious. They bought some and were super happy as well. Their teenage girls were just chowing down on these warm roasted chestnuts. We asked them to take our picture, so they did.

Mom and me eating chestnuts

Once at the Museum, we got our audio guides and set off to learn about the place. I had been once before, but there is so much to see, that you can’t help but notice new and exciting things the second time you go as well. There is so much rich culture, art and especially paintings. It is really breathtaking. We walked for about 5 hours total, with a couple of little sit downs in between. One of our breaks was in the big cafeteria lounge area, where we ate lunch and got renewed with some fresh energy. It was a nice break and we both felt a lot better and ready to rock. We had spent the first part of the time, going straight to the Sistine Chapel as it was our primary goal to see, and the other rooms, secondary. The Chapel was as incredible as I remembered it, except possibly a little better, because they had just done some restorations on the paintings which seemed to be a lot brighter than the last time I saw them. We scored a seat on one of the side marble benches, which is not an easy feat.

Once people sit down there, they don’t get up until they’re ready to leave, as someone else will instantly take their spot. That’s what we did, and then stayed there, listening to our audio guides for over an hour. I think mom imagined the Sistine Chapel as being bigger, but loved it in any case, because it is so incredible. Then we moved on to see some of the other rooms. We looked on the map and found that we had missed the set of apartment rooms frescoed by Raphael, so we walked back, the whole length of the Vatican, to see them. You have no idea how far this is!

One of the frescoed ceilings at the Vatican

A mosaic floor at the Vatican

The last, incredible staircase to exit the Vatican!

Poor mom, though a major trooper, was getting pretty shaky legged by the time we had done that long walk through the halls of tapestries, maps, artifacts, Modern Art, sculptures, paintings and frescoes, that she was very glad to see the exit doors. Before we could exit, we were led in this crazy maze of walkways that went up the stairs, down the stairs, back through things we’d seen, but couldn’t go in reverse. It was all quite exhausting. When we finally began to think that there was an end to the maze, there was one last set of winding stairs we had to take, in order to get out. Both of us, sighed, rallied our poor bodies, then descended. The stairs were at least really pretty, so were picture worthy, but wow, what a trip! We finally escaped in one, well, two pieces, and took the subway home to rest, blog and make our dinner. What a great day!

Rome's idea of mosaic work in the subway tunnel.......Beautiful isn't it?

The Peas in a Pod Do Rome (Oct. 28, 2014)

Today was fantastic. We had an excellent day. First of all, we both slept like the dead, with no street noise as our room faces the back and not a front street. As well, other than us, there are only two people staying on our floor. This place rocks………we will have to write a fantastic review of the hostel, including the quiet space, included breakfast (though it’s a cappuccino and croissant filled with chocolate white or cream filling), and super convenient  location. 

Some of the choices for our breakfast

More breakfast choices

Anyway, we got up, showered, made a couple of sandwiches for our lunch, and took of to see Roma. First stop was the Capitolini Museum which is a huge building with several floors of wonderful sculptures, paintings and architecture to see. We walked down there, which wasn’t too far from our hostel, and stopped at some cool little shops along the way. One particularly cool shop was a Vespa Shop that also had a Vespa Museum in the basement. The photos show some of the cool displays of Vespa’s throughout the years. They spanned from 1946 to present, and were absolutely amazing.

Decorated Vespa at the Bici Baci Shop

'60's display of Vespas

Cool video of the shop

We continued on our way and arrived at the Museum. First of all there is an adjoining building which is a monument for an unnamed soldier. The building itself is fantastic and it has huge sculptures of horse drawn chariots on the top with other giant sculpture up the long front staircase. We looked at that, then went into the Capitolini Museum to have a look around. Our Roma Passes that we bought yesterday gave us free entrance to two major attractions including all the free transit we could use for three days. Today, they paid for themselves when we went to the Capitolini and then the Colosseo. These two sites are absolutely breathtaking and mom got teary when we saw the Colosseum for the first time. It is quite moving when you’ve heard so much about these places, see them in movies, then actually see them. 

We jumped on a bus just outside the Capitolini that took us to the Colosseo. It is always good to save the feet when possilbe, so we were quite happy to be able to use the bus to ferry us down the ten blocks to the next site. The Colosseo was really cool, and mom and I felt quite indulged as we sat upon a fallen structure, that was probably ten thousand years old, eating sandwiches and drinking sambucca. Quite the bizarre experience if there was one. We talked about people from ages ago, coming to this huge arena to watch their preferred sporting events, being the animals devouring the slaves or each other. Not our type of sports, but nevertheless, theirs. We were sure that people from that time must have brought in their own snacks and drinks to enjoy while seeing the entertainment, just the way we were. It was very unique.

Mom at the Colosseo in Rome!

Us at the Subway stop, going to Trevi

Overview of the Colosseo, where the animals and slaves were kept

Medusa at the Capitolini Museum

The She-wolf, mother to Romulis and Remus

Us on the Capitolini Steps

After the Colosseo, we decided that we had enough steam to go and see the Fontana di Trevi. We went to the subway station just around the corner from the Colosseo to go to that area. It required a subway car change, but we managed it without issue, and were at Barberini Station, where the Fountain of Trevi is. We walked a bit to get there, and were dismayed to find that the fountain has been drained, and scaffolding put up all over the sculptures, in order to do some cleaning and renovations or something. I was so sad, as this was the site I most wanted to show mom, and loved, myself. Oh well, she saw some of it, but it was fenced off and not very visible. Too bad that she missed it, as I think it’s one of Rome’s best sites. I suppose she’ll just have to return to see it…..hahaha.

When we discovered that, and saw what there was to see, we stopped at cafe and had a cappuccino and a little sit down to rest our weary feel. It was a welcome sit and we felt quite rejuvenated when we were done. We decided to take one of the buses I could spy from our table, which said ‘Termini Station’ on it. I knew that if we got to Termini, it would be a mere walk to our hostel. So that’s what we did, and came home to email, rest our bones, and have some dinner. A fantastic day with a lot accomplished and more to see tomorrow. We are both happy and enjoying the wonderful things to see in Rome. It is a fantastic, busy, huge and bustling city that you can just imagine what it was like long ago.

Mom, enjoying cappuccino after our day

More tomorrow.

Roma Here We Come (Oct., 26, 27, 2014)

Yesterday we just cleaned and got ready for Gabriella and Graziano to pick us up. We were sorry to say goodbye to Atri, but excited to be going to Rome. In the morning, we took a nice walk to our favourite park, one more time. We took some last minute photos, and headed home, and then to church. Yes, you heard right, church. Since we got to Atri, we had wanted to attend a mass in the huge duomo. Last Sunday, we intended to attend, but then hosted G and G for lunch instead, so it didn’t happen. This day, was perfect though, and we really enjoyed ourselves and felt energized to have taken part in the service. The priest was really easy to understand as he spoke really slowly, and very clearly. There was an organ and guitarist, that accompanied the choir, that was made up primarily of Atri children. It was really astounding how magical and strong the feelings in that service were.

Huge tree in the park

Tree where I left my cleansing apples

Same huge tree

View down the path in the park

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After G and G picked us up, we went to their place, and Gabriella so kindly cut both mom’s and my hair. She didn’t have to do that, but was very willing and seemed happy to do so. What a sweet person to do this, as it is a a lot of extra work and concentration to cut someone’s hair at that late hour.

We had a wonderful dinner with them and Gabriella cooked this delicious sesame seed chicken that she wanted us to try. I can’t tell you how wonderful this chicken was. Along with it, she included a variety of mixed cooked lentils and beans, with an amazing salad to finish it off. She is so incredibly kind and thoughtful…….all the time. I don’t know how she remains this way, as I’m sure she has worries and concerns of her own. Yet, she is always so ready to concentrate and think up what would make someone else feel good. What a sweet soul she has. I really like her.

This morning we got up early, ate some breakfast and were accompanied out to the bus stop with all our luggage, by G and G to go to Rome. We waited for a while, and sure enough, the huge two story bus destined for Rome, rounded the corner. We went up to the top level and sat near the front. The bus was very comfortable and a mere three hours later, with some stops to pick up others from some small towns, we arrived in Rome, Tiburtina station. We waited there for about an hour, had a coffee, used the bathroom, then caught the train from Tiburtina to Termini Station, where we needed to be, in order to find our hostel. It is a bit challenging to crate all the suitcases around with you, but mom was a trooper, and we did so, without too much issue. We arrived at Termini, got off the train, and found our hostel about a ten minute, quite easy walk, away from the station. The best part is that we arrived at the hostel, in a very convenient area, walking distance to many of the prime sites, and found that there was an elevator to our third floor accommodation. Yeah!!!!!!! We were thrilled. After that, we were even more thrilled to find out that our room and the hostel were amazing. Quiet, clean and very private is what we found. We looked at each other and cheered. After getting settled, we took a brief rest, then went out to explore the near area, bought some groceries, cooked a nice dinner and relaxed. A great day without mishap is always a great day……lol.

Our hostel, what a room!

Pic #2 of our room in Rome

Pic #3 of our room in Rome

Mom and me outside Termini Station in Rome

Cooking a great pasta dinner in our hostel

Mom checking email and our dinner! Yumm

Tonight we are turning in early so that we can wake up early, make some sandwiches, and take off to see some of Rome’s most historic and amazing sites. We bought Roma Passes today as they entitle us to three days of free transit, plus two important site entries and a whole bunch of other discounts and entries. I remember getting a Roma Pass last time I was here, and it is totally worth it.

We enjoyed Facetiming our wonderful family before turning in. Love you guys and hope to see you again soon.

Bye for now, from Roma.

Last Two Days in Atri (Oct. 24, 25, 2014)

Yesterday, Friday, it was really cold and rainy all day. We didn’t get to go out for our morning walk, so instead we did some hand laundry, had coffee, ate some breakfast and played Scrabble. We have really been enjoying the game and it’s such a fantastic thing to do when it is not nice out.

We had a nap in the chilly afternoon, after a yummy lunch of salad with cheese, mortadella

and prosciutto on it. We were trying to use up all the food left in our fridge as we will be departing on Sunday afternoon. We’re doing pretty well using it up and won’t have much left by Sunday. I think we laid down around 5 pm, and didn’t get up until 7 pm. I read for about an hour or so of that time, but mom said she slept so soundly, that she thought it was morning.

We hung around for a bit, then I decided to go out for a walk as the rain had stopped and it wasn’t too bad out. It was still cold so when I asked mom if she wanted to come, she quite firmly answered, ‘No’. I laughed and took off on my own. I walked for about an hour or so, then came home and picked up mom to take her to the square so we could check our mail. It was still really cold and by the time we were finished, both of us were shaking and happy to come home and get into our beds. I think it must have been around midnight before we went to bed, but then again, we napped for two hours.

Today we awoke to a slightly better day, at least no rain. We took advantage of the decent weather and got dressed to go for a walk. It was chilly, but quite nice and we really enjoyed our walk. We both wanted to look over our familiar railing alongside the city wall for one of our last times to see the wonderful landscape of Atri. We will miss it a lot.

When we came home, we ate some breakfast, and got into doing some cleaning of the place before leaving. Mom did all the windows inside and out, and dusted all the light fixtures, marble shelves, door frames, and anything else that could possibly have collected dust. I washed the two balcony floors, and all the shutters, both inside and out. These things have a way of collecting black, oily dirty from the rain and road that is really tricky to wash out. Anyway, by the time we’d done a good chunk of our cleaning, the place gleamed, and smells incredibly clean. We will turn off the fridge tonight so that we can clean it out tomorrow. As well, we will do the rest of the floors, sweeping and washing, and the bathrooms. All the mats have been washed so they are clean. Just last minute gathering of bedding and towels to do once we have showered tomorrow. Gabriella said she would wash these as there was no way we could do so and have them dry, before leaving. 

doesn’t have to do much once we leave, as they are also getting ready to leave for Canada. We don’t want them to have to do anything here if possible. Graziano has to turn off the gas, etc. but that shouldn’t be too difficult. At least they will know that things are scrubbed and fairly clean and tidy. I took a picture of my two friends who came by on the street when I was cleaning the shutters. They stopped, barked and stayed for a while looking up and wagging their tails. They are the two Keepers of the Square, but I suppose there are times when they leave their post to check out what else is going on. They are super friendly and everyone knows them and loves them. The lady down the street has a huge pink dog bowl outside her door that everyone puts their leftovers into, for the dogs. If not, there is usually dog kibble in the bowl. They don’t go hungry and are really kind of half way between street dogs and owned dogs. It’s very sweet and so are they.

The Keepers of the Square

Our goal is to have the place so clean that Gabriella This afternoon, mom had a little nap or read, and I went to the square to call a friend in Toronto. Later, we will have lunch of the rest of the salad makings and cold meats, then perhaps pack some of our stuff, and play a game of Scrabble. I have some serious wine drinking to do, in order to get rid of our last bits of red wine before leaving…..lol.

I checked into our bus times to Rome, and we emailed the B and B we will stay at to confirm our approximate arrival time. It will be good, because we catch an early bus from Pineto which will get us into Rome around lunchtime. Lots of light and time to find our way to the hostel as well as time afterwards to go out and see something. I think I’ll take mom to the Trevi Fountain if she’s not too tired. It’s not far from where we’re staying and is so incredible, I know she’ll want to go again. Then maybe we can go to the oldest gelato shop in Rome for some gelato. It’s bee quite a while since we last had gelato.

That’s all for now. Unless something exciting happens later today or tomorrow, my next blog will be from Rome.

Ciao for now.

Rain Hits Atri (Oct. 22-23, 2014)

Yesterday, Thursday, we had a really pleasant day. The weather has gotten cooler, by quite a bit, and rainy. It was chilly getting up in the morning. We decided to give Gabriella and Graziano a call as we had kind of left getting together, open. I called and Gabriella said to come on over. I said it was so yucky out, that if they felt like having a visit, we would really like that. She seemed quite excited, and so were we. It had been a quiet couple of days that were great, but it was now time to get up and do something. Both mom and I were very engaged to do so. We showered, planned what time to catch the bus to Pineto, and got ready. It was really grey outside and kind of chilly so we dressed warmly, gathered our stuff and trudged off to the bus stop. It wasn’t raining when we left, so we didn’t take our umbrella. Of course, once we got to Pineto, it looked a bit threatening, but hadn’t broken yet. We wanted to stop at a bakery to take some yummy desserts to G and G, as we had been so thrilled when they brought desserts for us, the other day.

We stopped at two bakeries and collected an array of yummy treats, then continued our walk to their place. Just before we arrived, the rain really started to pour, so we put up our hoods and booked it…..lol. We arrived without issue, mom smelling like a wet chicken in her down coat, and me, feet soaked through my mesh runners, bought with hot Thailand in mind, that would be cool and let the air through. Ahahaha. Anyway, Gabriella met us at the door, not allowing us inside until we took off our wet outer wear, and laughing about how soaked we were. She was miffed that we hadn’t called them when we arrived in Pineto, for a ride. Really, it was no big deal, just wet on the outside, but happy and warm on the inside. Graziano took one look at us and laughed. We all greeted, and went inside.

Just our luck, Gabriella had hosted a dinner the night before and had cooked a whole bunch of yummy dishes that there were leftovers from. My dear friend, you are going to be so envious, as she made gnocchi Fiorientina and told us that these are what you request on your birthday. She does a really cool thing, cooking whatever someone loves most, for their birthday. I can truly see why you ask for these on your special day. Anyway, they were delicious and we totally chowed down on them. They are spinach, ricotta cheese and some flour and egg, rolled into little balls and cooked. They must take forever to make, but are amazing. They have a light meat sauce over them and I add pepperincino oil to them with some parmesan cheese. Awesome!

Gnocchi Fiorentina

A Hungry Customer

All the wonderful dishes at Chez G and G

As you can see by the photo, there was a whole lot of other yummy food as well. An incredibly tender steak, chicken with a light coating, rapini, green beans mixed with carrots and peas, as well as pasta with meat sauce. A meal fit for royalty, which we are not, but do feel so, when fed over there.

We all sat around the table chatting while it poured rain outside. It was so much fun and we laughed a lot during our conversation. I was kind of happy that the weather wasn’t so formidable, as it gave us a chance to just ‘be’ and enjoy one another’s company. I think we sat there for several hours. Through lunch, coffee and desserts, we chatted, enjoyed and regretted our soon coming departures from Italy. Ours coming on Sunday, when we will stay at their place overnight and catch a bus for Rome. There we will stay for three nights, before catching our respective flights. Mom will return to Winnipeg and I will go on to Bangkok. Wow, what a change that will be. Graziano and Gabriella return to Toronto for six months, on October 30th and were also very sad to be leaving Italy.

We wound up the visit around 5:00 pm, and Graziano insisted that they drive us back to Atri, as it was still pouring rain. We were grateful, but had intended on taking the bus back so he didn’t have to take out his car. He didn’t seem to mind and said that they hadn’t been out with the car since our last adventure, several days ago. We accepted with grateful hearts and jumped into the car to come home. We were still stuffed so we didn’t need dinner. Instead, we played Scrabble, then went up to my room and hung out in my bed, reading and doing leg massages for each other. We turned out our lights around ten o’clock. It was still cold out, and raining.

This morning, we woke up to yet more rain, and a fog so thick that you could barely see the buildings across the street from us. Mom came into my bed around 7:30, we dozed for an hour or so, then I read to her from my book that is so interesting. We finally got out of bed at 9:15 to make some coffee and move our stiff bodies. Since it was still so yucky out, we couldn’t go for our usual morning walk. After coffee, I did some more hand washing and we hung it around the house to dry. Then we cooked up some breakfast which was delicious. We had some mixed vegetables from the day before yesterday, and decided to heat them up with some eggs scrambled into them. It was perfect, and not too heavy. Then we played a couple of games of Scrabble. Good thing there were games, thanks for having the games downstairs for rainy days. A great way to pass time in an interesting way. Then we thought the rain was letting up slightly and took advantage of it, by dressing warmly and going or a walk with our umbrella.

We walked down to the park and took a pass around the park, before it started to get really windy and more rainy. We headed home after taking some pics in the park, got our wet stuff off, and sat down to write our blogs and emails. It seems that the sun might come out soon, or so we hope.

Mom and me in the rain for a walk

Atri this morning

In the park on our walk today

Another park pic

The coolest circle of pines around another tree

A Couple of Quiet Days (Oct. 20, 21, 2014)

Monday we spent a quiet day overall. Every time we go on an adventure, we seem to need a day or two to recover and stay relaxed. I think it’s because we get to see and learn so many new things that it takes a little time afterward to sink in and be processed.

I didn’t sleep well Sunday night and woke up at 4 am, and could not go back to sleep. My back was bugging me, which it sometimes does, from karate long ago. Anyway, nothing awful, but I was really glad to be hanging around Atri for the day. We decided to go to the Monday Marcato in the morning to see what there was. We came across a sweet owl table cloth and bought it for our table. It’s so cheerful and sweet and my mom loves owls so when we saw it and the colours went so well, we decided to get it. The lady only had one left and it was a bit too long, so we cut off a strip from it and put it onto the glass top shelf next to the table, as a runner. It looks really nice and every time we come into the house, we get excited to see our table of owls looking at us. See the photo below to get an idea. It is oranges, browns and yellows and picks up the chair seats, the yellow painting across from the table, as well as the touches of dark wood on the doors, floor, painting frame and chairs. 

Owl Table Cloth and Runner

View #2 of Table

We returned home to rustle up some lunch. We had lots to choose from as we still had lots left over from our big lunch yesterday with Graziano and Gabriella. Neither of us felt too hungry, because, as you know, when you travel and change your food, location and habits, your tummy can sometimes be a bit resistant. In any case, we have been working hard to balance our intake and tummy workings. Thankfully mom brought some Senekot which is a natural encourager that seems to work quite well. The only thing you have to watch, is that you don’t wander too far from home after you’ve taken it…….lol. So we went for mini walks and came back home for a visit, now and then. All in all a great result and we’re feeling a lot better!

For lunch we made ourselves some cut tomatoes, with some rice crackers, mortadella and prosciutto. It was just the right amount and filled the bill perfectly. After lunch, mom felt like having a little lie down. I worked on a drawing that I started a couple of days ago, that still needed a lot of work to finish. For a couple of hours, I drew and she read and slept. What a treat to be able to choose that for your afternoon. I feel so spoiled and very indulged….ahaha. 

Later in the afternoon, I went to the square and booked my accommodations for Bangkok. It seems so weird to think that this leg of the trip is coming to a close soon. I am so sad to think of saying goodbye to my mom. I wish she could just continue to travel with me. She is such great company and truly one of my dearest and best friends.

We Facetimed my brother and niece and nephew which was amazing, as always. They are so special and we miss them terribly. I was happy to catch them home, and not napping in order to have a great chat with them. They all look so well.

In the evening, we went for our usual walk. We walked for about an hour and a half and it was lovely. The weather was so pleasant and the air very still with no wind. We wound our way around and up and down town. We visited that park we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, then worked our way home. There, we had some tea with sambucca and mom had some risotto for supper. We walked again for a while, then came home, read for a bit and called it a night.

Last night I slept much better and we both woke up today (Tuesday), bright and cheery and totally refreshed. We had coffee, chatted and both showered. I did some hand laundry while mom was finishing, and now we are off to see what calls us. We passed by the grocery store, Conad and picked up some things we needed. We were going to try to see the jail as the couple of times we went to check it out, it was closed. In any case, we took so long getting started and doing the grocery shopping, that we didn’t make it to see the jail before siesta time when everything closes for a few hours. We had some lunch and then mom went upstairs to read, and  I took my drawing stuff, went for a walk to the park, and found a hilltop overlooking a valley. I sat there for an hour or so, and drew. 

When I got home, we didn’t do much, hung out and then went to the square for email and FaceTime. We rustled up some dinner when we returned, which was a nice light supper as we had eaten our heavier meal at lunch. We had finished off some more of the food from our big cook up. We ate the spinach, zucchini and added the ground beef we still had from our earlier spaghetti meal. Mom put in some hot pepper flakes which made it amazing. Some rosemary breadsticks that we found at Conad, accompanied the meal. We had some fun shooting ‘selfies’ while our meal heated up. We tried to get creative and put my cameral on its timer, then ran over for the shot. We ended up stacking two large pots, a dictionary and mom’s eye glasses which cradled the lens of the camera in a position pointing upward. It was really fun and we actually got some great shots.

Selfie #1

Selfie #2

Selfie #3

Our supper was some mortadella, prosciutto and some cheese stuffed appetizers we had bought to try, a while ago. They were good but a bit heavy. They were half way between a pizza pocket and empanada stuffed with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Truly a dieters delight……lol, but good.

We went out for a walk after dinner and clean up. It was another lovely still evening with a really comfortable temperature. We walked for about an hour. Mom is getting so fit and is going for longer and longer walks without tiring. She will be in tip top shape when Winnipeg gets her back. We returned home, read together in my big bed, then mom went to her bed and we slept. 

Thinking of all of you. Glad you are enjoying the adventures.

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Last Three Days (Oct. 17-19, 2014)

Wow, I didn’t realize that three days have gone by since I last wrote in my blog. Anyway, here they are.

Friday, after our walk in the early morning and cappuccino, we decided to go home and chill out. Both of us were kind of tired and felt like reading, napping and laying low……so we did. Later that evening, we were too lazy to make dinner and still kind of stuffed from that huge lunch in Roccomorice, that we decided to try Aperitivo which is when you go to one of the local coffee bars, order some wine and ask for aperitivi with your drinks. The one we went to was called Bar del Teatro which is in the piazza by the duomo, and used to be the old theatre. The guy serving us brought us a little assortment of deep fried doughy something or others, some little sandwiches with prosciutto, some cheese things and another type of dough pocket with meat in it. Though a lot of dough, they were quite light and delicious to have with our drinks. The man asked if we wanted drinks, which I didn’t understand, so I said ‘yes’ to find out what they were. He ended up making us a house cocktail consisting of grapefruit, mango, and orange juices along with some other kind of liqueur and vodka. They were a bit sweet, but delicious and went very well with our aperitivo. We headed home early and hit the sack. Our tummies were still quite full and our energy still a bit low.

Night view of our aperitif

Saturday we got up feeling more refreshed and went out for a walk again, first thing in the morning. It was a beautiful sunny day and perfect for an early morning walk. When we came home, we had a coffee, then decided that we’d like to have Graziano and Gabriella over to our place for a meal so that Gabriella wasn’t always the one cooking. We looked at each other and both felt quite nervous to cook for her, as she is such an amazing cook, and we don’t know much about authentic Italian cooking. With a deep breath, we proceeded to figure out the menu for our guests to have a nice lunch. This is the biggest meal of the day and usually consists of a first, and second course including salad and dessert with coffee correto. I called them to see if they could come, and when would be a good day. They said that tomorrow would work, so mom and I set off to get the needed groceries for our meal.

Mom was making risotto with funghi and pecorino cheese, and spinach, Trinidadian style but not as spicy. My dishes were to be pan fried pork chops, stir fried zucchini, red peppers, onion and garlic, as well as a tomato salad with fresh basil and arugala. We managed to find all the needed ingredients including some sambucca for the coffee after lunch. We also bought some nice fruit for dessert with some apricot cookies. 

While we were shopping, we decided to go to this great store called Acqua and Sapone which is a store that you get soaps, paper products, etc. We thought it was a good idea to stock up on the paper products that we used while staying here, in order to leave a supply for the house upon leaving. Though our departure isn’t for a while, the store flyer appeared in our mailbox with a great sale on the items we needed, so we took advantage of the sale.

Us, eating gelato

Once we got home, we had a light lunch, then mom had a nap and I drew for a couple of hours. When she got up, we did a lot of preliminary chopping for the meal we would cook the next day. It saved us a lot of time to do it the day before and was very pleasant to do together while we chatted. Bedtime was fairly early, but we did go for supper to the pizza place across the street from us. We had the best pizza’s and white wine. Mom had a delicious funghi and truffle pizza and I had ham, mushroom and cheese. Both were great, but big! Then we went for a stroll and came upon a man who was barbecuing in his front yard. We went over to talk to him and ask what he was cooking. He spoke no English, but we ended up communicating enough to tell him where we were from, that he had relatives in Toronto but had never been, that he knew were we were staying, and he insisted on having us try a skewer of his lamb cubes that he was cooking. His name was Massimo and his kids peered over the balcony at us conversing. All the family was so sweet and everyone around here is kind and tries to help. They are so patient with my lack of the language, yet I seem to be getting by as we can hold a conversation with people we meet, and even learn some things about them. It’s really fun trying to speak in Italian and I enjoy practising the language.

Mom and me eating pizza across the street

Chopping strong onions with bread to in her teeth to reduce the tears....lol.

Today we got up, went out for another walk in the bright sunshine. Both of us woke up with annoyed backs today, due to our lack of movement over the past couple of lazy days. We both have noticed that if we sit around, nap and don’t move much, that our backs start to complain. So, we walked for quite a while this morning before returning home to begin cooking for our friends. Our lunch was a great hit, and the first part was mom’s awesome risotto that she made from memory. Since we had cut up everything last night, it took us no time at all to put everything together, and we timed it all as though we were pros……lol. It was a beautiful lunch in the bright sunshine of our freshly cleaned Atri home. We enjoyed having Graziano and Gabriella over very much and I think they liked the food. They said they did, but both are so very polite, that even if they didn’t, they probably wouldn’t say. Anyway, all was great. Oh, we also had some mortadella and prosciutto with the meat and vegetable dishes for our second course, which added nicely.

For dessert we had fruit and then with coffee and sambuca, some delicious pastries that they brought over. These were to die for and an excellent addition to a yummy meal. After we ate and cleaned up, we went for a drive to see a little town called Casoli which is about 10 kilometers away, across the valley from Atri. We got out and walked around and this town had huge paintings on the buildings, done by local artists with information about the painting below each one. It was such a cool idea and we walked slowly along, reading each one and looking at the art. Then we got back into the car and visited a beach that is close by Pineto, but not too far from Casoli. The beach is public, but not yet popular so there weren’t many people there. It was lovely and we plan to return there later in the week, during the warm part of the day, to enjoy the water and smooth stones.

Central piazza in Casoli

My beautiful momma in Casoli

Information building

Mom, Graziano and Gabriella over valley

Tonight we got home, had a bite to eat, then did some blogging and email catch up as the WiFi hasn’t been too good lately and when it’s iffy, we don’t get our mail and can’t send stuff.

So, now you’re caught up.

Talk to you soon. Take care and keep smiling.