Plenty of Rain, Food and Conversation in Abruzzo; But Here Comes The Sun!

We arrived back in Abruzzo last Friday evening having flown to Rome and driven across Italy in a cinquecento. So far I have to say I love the look of the little Fiat 500 and it does suit the narrow streets of some of the towns we’ve been through better than its larger rivals.

We, like many travellers these days, weren’t sure if the volcanic ash cloud would allow us to get away but everything worked out fine and our flight left almost on time.

We’ve had a busy few days so far. For the most part it’s been raining cats, dogs and elephants but today we saw sun come out though the clouds and spread a golden glow over the snow capped Majella and Gran Sasso ranges.

Bad weather didn’t stop us making the most of our stay here. It’s always nice to sit outside taking the sun’s rays while having an aperitivo or enjoying il pranzo but they still taste just as good when you’re inside comfortably hearing the falling rain.

So what did we get up to while it’s been a bit wet? Well maybe not so much that warrants a blog post but we’ve enjoyed ourselves all the same.

Almost every morning, raining or not, we’ve headed out for an 8 km walk in the country around Loreto Aprutino. Mostly it’s been raining, and we have gotten odd looks from some of the locals as we squelched our way back to our base.

But the walks have been both great and necessary. The trees are full of birds singing their hearts out, the fields are full of flowers in bloom and around every bend vegetables and fruit trees are showing future promise.

If there is one sound that I’ll take away with me as a memory of these walks it’s got to be the sound of frogs. We pass two tiny lakes on our route and the echo of frogs from them is amazing. It seems to get amplified and directed out of the hollow so that you suddenly hear it as you approach and then, no more than 50 metres later, it’s gone.

Getting out for a walk early in the morning is necessary because otherwise I think I’d return looking like the Michelin Man. Even someone with strong willpower would struggle not to over-indulge as the food on offer here is just wonderful. Add to that the fact that we’ve had three invitations to lunch or dinner since we got here and I think you’ll probably understand why some morning exercise is crucial.

So that leads me on to conversation and food, a perfect match! Since we arrived we’ve eaten out three times; twice in restaurants and once in a friend’s house. Each time the chance to catch-up and talk about what’s been happening has been great. Conversation, food, and a little wine – you don’t need good weather to enjoy time spent that way.

A few trips to shops stock-up, a visit to the local TIM shop to organise internet access and the not-so-local but not too far computer shop to get printer cartridges and we were pretty much sorted for our stay here.

We noticed our wine supply was low so we headed out to the Azienda Marramiero, Rosciano (PE) and bought some red, white and rose. Well what’s life without vino?!

But now that it appears the weather has turned for the better I’m looking forward to some of the highlights of the next couple of weeks.

The Giro d’Italia passes though Abruzzo over the next two days and I hope to see the peloton in full swing somewhere along the coast between Silvi Marina and Pineto on Thursday.

May is full of festivals in Abruzzo and I’m expecting to enjoy every moment of the festival of San Zopito this coming weekend (22, 23, 24 May). The old ox started to find the ceremony a bit too tiring and after many good years of service has been retired. A younger ox will be at the centre of the celebrations this weekend and I expect to see the entire town of Loreto Aprutino out in force cheering him on.

Then the weekend of the 29 and 30 May we have the Cantine Aperte. Forty different wine producers are opening their doors to the public, giving them a chance to see how they make their wines and also giving them a chance to taste some of their best products. Some of these cantine will have food and music organised to help add to the carnival atmosphere.

It’s going to be a fun couple of weeks I think.

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