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Saturday, January 9, 2010
Italia LOOP-dee-LOOP
Ciao Ciao! Tanti Auguri!
Hope this New Year finds everyone happy, healthy, and ready for what 2010 brings! Before rambling further, I would like to note that during the holidays I spent quite a bit of time reflecting on how grateful I am for my amazing family and friends at home and those I have met throughout my travels. Thank you for being part of my life, I feel very fortunate to be a part of yours! Hugs and Kisses to all!
Now to update my status…..
I have successfully made a giant loop within the interior of Italy and have found myself back where I left off, in Casale Monferrato. Many things have happened since my last check in and I finally have the time to submit the events in writing. One could infer justly, that sickness generally prompts these long updates so here I go typing a way from in bed in a very chilly room sniffling and sneezing away (glad you can’t catch a cold from the internet!).
When I left Casale last, I stayed about two weeks with a lovely couple in Cerrina Monferrato, helping revamp and renovate their very old villa in the Piemonte hills. The owners, Amelia and Roberto also run a bed and breakfast and have an animal shelter on premise for which they hold dinners in a tavola downstairs to raise money for the cause. After previously staying in a house with all women, I had the reverse experience here living with four men instead. Though the energy was way different than Serydarth, we had a lot of fun together and ate extremely well, since Robbie is an AMAZING chef! Their organization is called Ponte dell’ Arcobaleno and you can find more about it here:http://www.pontedellarcobaleno.com/
I then head south by train. The nearly two weeks in Rome, flew past. My small town break was over, and I had little time to switch gears. Rome is incredible if for nothing more than it’s astounding age. Being surrounded by buildings much older than the United States brings little significance to your existence.
I have semi created a budget guide to Rome, actually more of a list, that will be posted eventually because ROME needs it’s own space……
After spending a week with my friends Hallie and Emiliano, who live just outside of Rome (and whom later invited me to spend the Christmas holiday with their family!), I headed east where I lived almost a month in a town called Pacentro, a quiet community situated within the mountains in Abruzzo. This piccolo paise is just above the city of Sulmona, known for it’s amazing confetti (in the states confetti translates to Jordan almonds, but as usual, the Italians have away of making everything delicious so don’t imagine the typical wedding favor flavor.) It’s hard to explain my experience in Pacentro- it almost felt unreal. Instantly I was shown hospitality by my neighbors that ceased to end the entire stay. I have never felt so welcomed into a family, so quickly in a foreign country. Almost every meal was taken at one of their family’s homes, and was allowed, with enthusiasm, to work along side them learning a multitude of things from baking holiday goods to herding sheep and feeding horses (they lead guided tours of the mountain Mejella by horseback in the summer.) The chance to participate in the making of sausage and other cured meats was also REAL eye opening experience. Almost everything in Pacentro is made locally, if not in the home. The town also has a cooperative that distributes regional specialties throughout the world. Because of the altitude and climate of the region you find many products that are unlike other areas of Italy. It was great to see such a small village come together in this way. You can learn more about the products on their website:http://www.riverapacentro.it/
The time spent in Pacentro was incredible and I left missing the town and it’s people instantly. Grazie mille to Annetto, Maria, and their entire wonderful family for letting me temporarily become a part of it! Huge thanks to Wilma for allowing me to stay in her home and introducing me to this town that would have otherwise been unknown during this trip, and last but no least thank you to Hallie, Emiliano, and their family for making my holiday less lonely (I was in good hands, for those concerned!)
I have now returned to Casale where I will stay for two months to learn Italian, volunteer with various local organizations, and prospectively teach English. Please visit if you happen to find yourself in Italia, and grace me with some sunshine, it’s freezing over here! Baci!
XOXO Ally
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