Darby Girl's Perspective

Day Fourteen: Travel to Lazio for the last few days of our adventure. We said goodbye with breakfast by the beautiful beach of Francavilla with Caesar’s aunt. Sunshine and a cool breeze and the sea! Never long enough in this part of Italy but we packed up and headed west. Stopped at the town of Celano in L’Aquila for pranzo and passagiata. Another town that was invaded by various forces throughout the centuries as well as an earthquake whose damage was never completed until after WWII. The rain was heavy during our visit but we were able to walk the historical trail and enjoyed pranzo at a restaurant called “la Locanda” a fitting spot since Caesar and I met at la Locanda (the one in Newtown Sqaure) 20 years ago. Made it to Tivoli by evening just as the sun returned.

Day Twelve: No history lesson. Today I was a celebrity. The hair. I have a lot of it and it is beginning to look pretty bad after all this travel. Caesar arranged that I meet stilista extraordinaire Alessandra Martella and have a salon morning. His nephew Fabio Pennoni joined us and I never had so much fun waiting for my hair to process, listening to all theee of them and trying to follow the conversation. When we finished up around eleven, we all had coffee and dolce and then went on a scavenger hunt through the market for a particular kind of baby bib for our grandchildren that the moms at home love, laughing all the way, particularly at my inability to remember the word for bib. Bavaglino. Nearly time to meet my kind and thoughtful cousin, Danilo Toscani Del Nibletto for pranzo at one of my favorite local places located high in the hills. Fabio offered to drive us and Alessandra agreed to join us too and Caesar decided to take credit for arranging for me to have a stylist and dri...

Day Eleven: Make New Friends. In Amazing Abruzzo , you can be from the seaside to the mountains in half hour. So, you can hike in the Appenine in the morning and swim in the Adriatic Sea in the afternoon. Or you can just make Sunday the day of rest that it was meant to be. Caesar has been following a British couple on Insta and FB who are doing a reconstruction on a property in Abruzzo ( Brambletye ) and he was adamant that we should meet them during this trip. Okay, Caesar, that’s not weird. Nonetheless, we traveled to Guardiagrele, which also happens to be the DeLuca hometown, to meet them for coffee in the morning. We didn’t get home until nearly 9PM. There was a marching band that didn’t march, church bells that never stopped, a MotoGuzzi rally that was attended by a Cardinal and a long afternoon of sharing stories, good food and wine with Lynn, Steve, Katja and Andrew and a sweet dog called Button.

Day Nine. Beach day in Francavilla. Night stroll through Pescara. The province of Pescara was carved out of Teramo and Chieti by the fascist regime in the early part of the 20th century. The town, specifically, the port and railroad, was heavily bombed during WWII so there are very few old buildings, most built after the war. Caesar’s parents were around 10-12 years old during this time and their farm was raided for food/wine by the Germans during their retreat from Allied forces. Around sunset, we drove into the hills around that area to watch the sunset over the Gran Sasso, part of the Appenine mountain range. We were also up there to get the best of the local dishes, arrosticini. It is so simple but so amazingly delicious. It is lamb, specifically mutton, on a stick and grilled and salted. This is not something I would expect to like and I was reluctant the first time I tried it. This is the simple food we miss so much at home.

Day Eight: Travel to Abruzzo. Arrivederci Giovinazzo. Said good bye to this gem by having early morning coffee overlooking the sea as the locals set up their beach day on the rocks below. Headed to home for Caesar, a couple hour ride north along the sea. Bella Italia! First stop was a visit to his beautiful Aunt and and cousin (visiting from USA also) in Francavilla and then late night “cena”with Caesar’s amazing niece and her partner in the city of Ortona, an important defensive port for Allied supply route during WWII. The Air BB here is a newly restored apartment with a big terrazzo and lots of room. Feels good to spread out and extra nice to have a washing machine since we are pretty much out of clothes now. We have an extra bedroom and bath here too, so if you’re so inclined, c ome join us!