We arrived in Rome on Tuesday morning, rented our car and enjoyed the beautiful countryside on our way to Monteferrante. When we got to Monteferrante, Adolfo and Gabriella were waiting for us. It was so good to see family and begin meeting family members we had not met before.

We sat down to a wonderful pasta lunch and lively conversation. Our Italian lessons in Tucson definitely helped and our relatives were so kind as to speak slowly so we could understand the conversation. It was entertaining and not too hard to figure out what each other was saying.

For the most part we all do very well at figuring out what it is we are trying to say or hear with hand gestures, facial expressions, laugh, etc.

We walked around the town meeting many folks who are visiting from the U.S. and many of whom are from our home town of Cranford, NJ. That was really weird but so nice. August is the month when Europe goes on vacation so it’s a good time to visit. Monteferrante is a very small village on top of the mountain and absolutely beautiful with panoramic views that are amazing. After a couple of hours of walking, sitting at the bar for a drink, it was time for dinner! Oh yes, I remember now – Italians love to eat, drink, walk , talk then start all over again. They know how to enjoy life — it’s a beautiful thing!

After dinner Antonino, Gabriella’s husband, joined us. He had not eaten dinner so we sat down and ate again but this time for me, it was a yummy tomato & cucumber salad which I totally enjoyed. Jim decided a little more pasta was ok as well as the salad. Vincenzo and Alessia joined us after that and we all sat around the table talking until about 11pm when everyone realized my eyes were starting to glaze over from lack of sleep! Good byes and good nights were said and we crashed until 6am.

On Wednesday Jim and I went for a walk and met Gino who is from here but lives in Cranford right behind my brother! He’s in Monteferrante with his family for a few weeks and filled us in on who else was here from my home town and who was still to come.

Sunflower in Monteferrante

Back to the apartment which is absolutely lovely and plenty big enough with great views. Of course, when we returned, it was time for lunch so we ate a fabulous meal of green beans, tomato and potatoes along with eggplant filled with Provolone, Mortadella, mushrooms and bread crumbs then baked in the eggplant shell. Both dishes were amazing. And of course, pane – bread! You could actually catch a hint of the aroma of smoke from the wood-fired oven!

Gabriella then took us for a walk down several of the allies to find my grandparents’ house. When we found it, she explained how my grandfather’s family lived in one half of it and my grandmother’s family lived in the other half. I wanted to go inside but that was not possible. The current owner does not live here so all I could do was peek in the storage area where gardening tools were kept but that was it. Everything else was closed up and you could not see inside so I had to use my imagination.

Grandpa Berardinelli’s house in Monteferrante

The apartment we are now staying in is on the top floor of the house owned by Adolfo. It’s really very nice and has all we need plus some. The house is 3 stories and very roomy with plenty of space for the family. We finished our walk which took a while but was wonderful and we were able to enjoy the views and get a history of more of the town and see all the houses that are no longer occupied because the families left the area.

The fountain where Grandma & Grandpa Berardinelli drew water for their house.

At 8pm, the Donut Festival began and there was a band and several places to get your dinner then enjoy the company and conversation of everyone. While we ate Cinzia, (Gabriella’s sister) her husband Carlo and their son Cristiano arrived so we met more of the family. When we finished eating, everyone was talking then it started to rain and everyone took cover. We stayed there for a bit but then came into the house and talked until midnight. It was a long but very pleasant day.

Thursday turned out to be a very quiet day because it was cloudy, drizzly and a good day to relax and catch up on emails and preparing the blog. After going to Mass at 4pm with Gabriella, we went to Maria’s for coffee and ended up telling stories and hearing all about our grandparents’ lives in Monteferrante and when they came back to visit. It’s like we went back in time and it’s so good to hear the stories.

Ciao for today