Italian Sourjourn 2022

  Places still to visit: Torre di Lavino;  Punta Aderci, Vasto;  Trabocchi, Vasto;  Eremo di San Bartolomeo; San Libertore Di Mariella, Manopello 

We took our time getting up, did some final packing rearrangements and set off for the nearby Post Office to mail the Ibuprofen tablets which Kenan had brought to Stefania. MAC had wrapped the box and after some to and fro with the lady at the Post Office managed to get the package on its way. Then we drove to the airport, stopping for gas on the way. We returned the car and completed the formalities regarding the lights damage which it had sustained during our month-long rental. The AVIS people were very nice and even gave us a $40 discount for completing a survey for them. Then it was on to check in for the flight which was with Swiss (the new name for Swissair). After quite a wait we go to the check in desk and they told us they had no record of the our Rome/Zurich leg. This was pretty disturbing. The flight was originally booked with United. Then the nightmare began. I stood in front of the long-suffering check in girl talking to United for nearly an hour on the phone as United tri...

We were up early, completed packing and tidying up our home for the blast two weeks. We started loading the car and Stefania produced espressos for us before we left. It was a sad and tearful farewell. We had so much enjoyed our stay in Cugnoli and I think they had enjoyed our company too. We drove off on our way to Rome. The drive was reasonably uneventful on a sunny day and through the wonderful Abruzzo and Lazio countryside. We took them eastern peripheral road around Rome and were soon at QC Terme spa which we would stay at overnight. We unloaded the bags and drove back towards Rome. The staff at the hotel had advised us where to park and how to get the the Vatican area where we would meet Kenan, Anna, their two children Mabel and Ada from Washington State USA as well as Zehra who had traveled from Hamburg, Germany. We parked at an area called Laurentina which is a suburb in the south of the city. It also has a subway or Metro station which allows onward travel into the city. A...

We got up and continued packing for our departure in the morning. Then we went to Megalo to get a few things and at Tiger we found two ‘gold’ medals which we bought to give Stefania and Bruno, as well as a few other items. Then it was back to Cugnoli to stock up on some more money from the bank and go and meet Monika. We found her house and she showed us around the progress which has been made. It is going to be a beautiful place and she has made a lot of improvement as already. The kitchen is coming together and she has a working bedroom and living room and her son Eddie has his own bedroom. It has not always been easy working with me locals tradesmen but she has managed even if things are not moving as fast as she might like. After a tour of the house, we walked to see if we could find a cup of coffee. Most of the usual places were closed but we found one just by then bank and had an iced espresso and chatted for an hour. A kindly guy offered to pay for us, Monika thinks he has ‘de...

This was to be a no work day except for Stefania who planned a big family lunch. Emanuel’s and Elisabetta and Emanuele’s friend Alfredo would be coming as well as a couple of their friends Marco? And Antonia? Of course Angelo and Gianna would also be there. In order to make some room we took a walk down the road in the beautiful fall sunshine and I talked to Helen on the phone   and caught up with her news. Then we awaited the arrival of the guests. We had a glass of wine before lunch and the music started playing and Stefania and Bruno had a brief dance together. The chatter grew louder and more animated and the party had begun. We sat down to lunch and dish after dish came out, fried zucchini, cold meats, cheese, fried broccoli with cheese and more, all washed down with wine. Then the main courses arrived with lasagne and porchetta and a large number of arosticinis, the wonderful Abruzze lamb skewers which Angelo grilled on the special grill. Could it end without dessert? Nope,...

Another day of olive picking. We were up quite early and   Angelo and   Stefano and our new helper Andrea were getting the compressor ready for another session with the ‘wands’ which shake the olives free from the trees. We soon joined them and set about setting them nets under the trees and then picking by hand, some of the low hanging fruit. This is quite satisfying work although slower than using the wands, it does mean less of the leaves and branches get mixed in with the lives. Using the wands one has to be quite energetic to get the olives to fall. In suppose in the bold days all olives picking was done buy hand with the younger people climbing upm into the trees to get the higher fruit. More recently various kinds of shakers have been introduced and the laying of the nets on the ground more prevalent. However, as many of they trees are on steep slopes, the nets have to be held up to stop all the olives falling down the slope. How this is managed is a sight to see. It ca...

We were up earlier than usual and dressed tp go and help Stefania with preparations for the arrival of her brother Angelo. We met her at the pool as she was ready to start the olive picking around the pool area. Stefano, prepared the   compressor which would drive the two ‘wands’ which would be used to shake the olives loose from the trees. After a short while he got the machine going and we spread the nets underneath the first tree and the shaking of the tree began. The olives both black and green came tumbling down onto the nets along with some leaves and small twigs. When the most olives had been shaken free, we gathered up the net carefully so as not to spill the olives we had harvested and then they were emptied into a cassette or crate. Five crates of olives will make about 10 liters of oil when they have been pressed. The 'girls' show how it is done ...and then Bruno We moved from tree to tree at the top of the slope and down to where the animals are kept. Some trees s...

Rain is forecast for most of the day today. But we decided to go out anyway. Stefania recommended a church called San Liberator Di Mariella but this was closed when we would arrive so we decided to go to Manopello instead. We arrived at Manopello Scalo at a large church (name?)up on the hill which was quite plain in design but rather pleasant, Nearby there was signed to be an arboretum but we could not find it despite frequent signs saying it was on the road on which we were driving. So eventually we arrived in Manopello proper and at a church called Volto Santo. This is an impressive building which is of the Cappuccin order but was closed when we arrived. A large hotel stood next door. From Wikipedia: The  Manoppello Image  is a depiction of the face of  Jesus Christ  on a cloth (17.5 cm wide and 24 cm high) that is stored in a church in the village of  Manoppello, Italy . The church, known as Santuario del Volto Santo, is part of a monastery belongin...

The day dawned sunny but promised showers. We’ve set off for Caramanica Terme where there is a scenic walk in the Orfeno Valley by the river. This had not been possible the last time we were here as the path was too muddy and we did not have the right equipment. This time, there had been rain recently but things should have been drier. We arrived, parked and then decide to have a coffee and use the bathroom at a nearby café before embarking on the hike. This we did and then entered the nature reserve along with a bus load of noisy schoolchildren. The visitors’ center was not open but one could register one’s presence using a QR code, this was presumably in case you got lost and they had to come and find you. However, as there was no sign of life anywhere, I am not sure how that would have worked. There’s are a number of marked trails of varying lengths. We decide on one of the more modest ones and set off down a very stony path, past compounds where there is a project to preserve the E...

Today we planned to go to L’Aquila to see how much of the devastation from the earthquake in 2009 Had been repaired. This morning we had the first rain of the time we have spent here. The clouds were really low over the mountains and the rain fell heavily for a while and then eased off. We had a quick breakfast of fruit and coffee and just before we were due to set off, Stefania came down with an umbrella for us. By the time we left the house, the rain had eased a bit and we got to the car, fairly dry. We drove off and got on the autostrada where we had a really heavy downpour for a few minutes and then it cleared up and the rest of the day was dry with even some sunny spells. We arrived at L’Aquila at about 11 a.m. and sought a parking space which was not easy to find in the center. So after a bit of driving around we found space right next to the Basilica Santa Maria di Collemaggio an enormous edifice which had been badly damaged in the earthquake and which had been substantially a...