Tuesday, July 02, 2024

Rainy Day Picnic in Abruzzo

Day Thirteen: Our intention was to have a relaxing beach day but we awoke to an overcast sky with rain predicted. Caesar wanted to visit a piece of family land so we drove into the hills and spoke to his neighbor who was growing the most remarkable tomatoes. He kindly gave us a bucketful when we left. We decided to revisit Guardiagrele where we visited a bottega and bought spices and dried herbs to bring home as well as some local salami and other dried meats and local cheeses. Instead of having Pranzo at a restaurant, we enjoyed a picnic on a park bench where we shared a roast porchetta panini, chips and a beer. Caesar dozed off on the bench until a thunderstorm interrupted his slumber. It is so cool to watch the weather from the high hills in Chieti because you can see the weather forming and moving and feel the changes in the wind and temperature. After the rain stopped we drove to Torrevecchia Teatina and admired the homes, the views and the Montepulciano vineyards. We talked to a few locals, visited the cemetery and enjoyed the sun and cool breezes after the rain. Check out the photo of the cactus I ran into. That hurt. We stopped at a supermarket on the way home to get some of our favorite things to bring home. The Italian supermarket has four ( no exaggeration) aisles of pasta, not including the fresh pasta in the refrigerated area. We are leaving Abruzzo in the morning so we spent the evening packing up and enjoying the tomatoes that the farmer gave us along with the delicious bread made by Danilo Toscani Del Nibletto and some local fruit, cheese and meat. Sad to leave Abruzzo but looking forward to the last leg of our journey-Lazio.






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Villa d'Este, Tivoli, Lazio, Italy

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