Monday 3rd October

We spent the morning sitting outside and just contemplating the beautiful morning. Then we went up to the house for lunch of spaghetti with just in-house tomatoes and some porchetta with salad. Then it was back for a rest before going to the Gommista to see if he could fix the scratch on the car. His verdict was for us to claim off our insurance, he thought it would cost between euro 300 and euro 500 and probably take a day to fix so we decided to leave it. 

Then we went for a drive into Cugnoli and as we parked the car, a UK car drew up and we fell into conversation with the owner who had just bought a house in Cugnoli. Her name was Monika  and she was a single mother of an 8 year old child whose family was originally from Poland but she is now living in the UK but would soon be a Cugnoli resident. She was applying for residence in Italy. After talking to her for a while she invited us to see her new house of which she was very proud. We helped her take her bags and items up the short hill and narrow street to the house. It is on three levels and is very spacious with high ceilings and several terraces. The house had been reconstructed after the earthquake damage and seems to be very solid and strong. All the rooms are spacious and it has a nice sized kitchen although there is some fitting out to be done which isn’t in progress at the moment and the contractors were just leaving for the day with promises to return in the morning. We exchanged information and promised to keep in touch.

Then we walked the short distance to a small store where we bought a bottle of dish soap and then drove to the gas station and picked up half a tank of gas and then back ‘home’ again.

At 7 p.m. we had a ‘small’ dinner of mozzarella and tomatoes and some prosciutto before we left for Pescara in Bruno’s car to attend a concert in a church close to their apartment. When we got there, the church was closed and the concert seemed not to be taking place! Never mind it was a nice evening and we walked up and down the pedestrian precincts in Pescara and ended up at the Gelateria! Here we ordered what seemed to be small confections but when they arrived proved to be rather larger and with huge amounts of whipped cream, pistachios and, of course, gelato! They were delicious but of little use to a diet! 

Some 'over the top' gelato!!

My attempts to pay were thwarted by Bruno. Then it was back to Cugnoli and bed.