About

My name is Noel McCarthy and I write the About Abruzzo blog using the pen name Bodach. Using a pen name may change in the future but for now I’m sticking to it. Bodach is a character from an old Irish legend that I enjoyed when I was a lot younger.

I also write Blog of Good Cheer using a pen name Felix. Felix seems appropriate as it means happy or lucky in Latin and the blog attempts to celebrate anything good that I stumble upon during my day-to-day life.

If I ever play the saxophone anything like Paul Desmond I might give up blogging but that’s highly unlikely so I guess you’re stuck with me.

I love Dublin and Ireland, but I try to spend as much time as possible in Abruzzo. Not a bad dilemma at all.

About Abruzzo is dedicated to thoughts, comments and photographs, relating to Abruzzo, Italy.

I first visited Abruzzo in August 2007.

My wife and I always enjoyed spending time in Italy but we wanted to experience something different.

We decided on Abruzzo and loved it. The fantastic scenery, the wonderful food and the very friendly and helpful people made our stay a memorable one.

We explored quite a bit during that visit, perhaps a bit too quickly to take it all in. But we left in no doubt that we’d be back.

Each year since 2007 we’ve tried to visit Abruzzo as often and for as long as we possibly can. Mostly it’s just for two weeks at a time but in 2008 we were able to base ourselves there for three months. It was magical.

I started this blog in November 2008.

It is a personal view, attempting to highlight a region that means so much to me.

I hope you enjoy it.

If you want to find out more about me then you can read this series of guest posts I wrote in 2010 on  Italy Chronicles. Alex Roe encouraged me to tell the story of how we fell in love with Italy and how we “discovered” Abruzzo.

1. There’s Something About Italy – Part One – The Spell is Cast
2. There’s Something About Italy – Part Two – We’re Going Where?
3. There’s Something About Italy – Part Three – Abruzzo Split My Personality