First, I will describe my situation here a bit, as so much of life is measure contextually. I am staying with my Friend Adele and her two dogs, Eva and Camilla. There are also 4 cats which she calls them all by the name Cipolla (I think it means onion in Italian). Cipollas 1,2,3 and 4 are cute and sweet but are curious and get into everything, they also play very rough, very entertaining. I have woken in the nite more than once with this gang of 4 cats purring loudly nestled about my head and chest.
Adele lives in an old building that seems like it was converted into condos, she said it was an old palace. It is situated at the top of this hill or small mountain that the town is built upon. The tiny streets that go through the town are all one way and are more like quaint alley ways from a movie. At the bottom of the steep stone paved road we are on is some kind of old brick castle tower turret thingy, she claims was used in times of old to protect the village, I told her I want to live in it, she just laughs. It is nice to have her to show me around and explain things, Adele is a local girl and she drives us around these streets in her little Fiat very fast, sometimes it feels like an amusement park ride. I am always on edge slightly when riding along because they seem to like to follow the car in front of them from about 16 or 18 inches (ok I exaggerate a bit), it feels.
Yesterday we went around and did errands, bought bread (awesome and fantastic...YUM), fresh produce, hardware store, etc.,etc., I feel so at home. Everywhere we go Adele introduces me as her American friend, she adds, "he speaks very little Italian"......I smile, they smile and ask? "when is he leaving?" Just like visiting family! I think it was just a translation thing?? at least I hope!
Speaking of translation she told me Monday that we will take the guests that stayed downstairs and we will all go in the machine to the mountains. I'm thinking "machine?" but as I learned that is what they call Cars and automobiles here, machines (macchina).
Monday was a very sunny nice day a holiday here when the family gets together and enjoys the out of doors. They have a traditional Bbq of lamb "mutton" that is unique to the region. They cook the meat on little skewers like kebobs on this weird contraption of a BBQ grill, the likes of which I have never seen. Tasty!
We went out last week to a restaurant to eat, in Pescara the largest city of the Abruzzo region, with about 120k people. The restaurant was on the beach and nice, the food (pizza) was awesome. Adele explained to me the "rules" of making pizza, I dont remember them now but I get the impression they take the food and cooking very serious. There are clearly some do's and dont's to follow. The most novel aspect of dinner were the beverages. Of course I wanted to try the beer, but they bring it and serve it like they do a good wine. Even with the chill bucket, the way it is poured and the first sampling. (and the price, about $18)
Adele is a great cook, she is a vegetarian so all our meals are creative, healthy, and have a traditional flare. Impressed I am at the efficiency she can put together a complete fantastic meal, from scratch. I have never seen anything like it. I try to learn but I am often scolded for trying to help, mostly because I slow down the process. The cooking for Adele at least doesn't feel like a chore or something done out of domestic drudgery, there is a high level of pride, skill and quality involved. Something I rarely have seen in the US. But, then again I was stuck living the past 6 years in helicopter mom land where microwaving hot pockets for diner was considered a culinary delight and a nutritional success.
Adele explained to me that although the process seems fast it is not...that you cant rush the food, it is more about efficiency. And, she is right, she always has something being prepared a day or two ahead. For example last nite she began the pizza making process, she was preparing what she called the "mother", it was the dough. I asked her why she called it the mother and she explained that this was where the pizza begins, it is the start, its the mother. She finished and put the mother to bed, covered next to the heater. This morning as I woke up, she was preparing the sauce and some eggplant while reading email and eating her own breakfast.
The area here in Abruzzo is so interesting to me, I have had a lot of time to myself, it is quiet and beautiful. About every five miles is a tiny compact town or village situated on top of a hill or a small mountain, with the tell tale church tower standing above the rest. In between are small vineyards and orchards (mostly olives), that create this quasi random like , organic feeling checkerboard effect that covers the hillsides and rolling terrain. And behind it all about 40 kilometers to the west are snow covered mountains. We visited the top of one on Monday with Paolo and Gabriel. We were running on the sunny beach in the morning and playing in the snow in the afternoon. The view from up top was amazing, I think I could see Croatia.
Enjoy the pictures
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