5/22 We left San Salvo Marina and headed to Chieti through the town of Vasto. Back in the 1970’s, my grandfather visited his home town of Monteferrante which is at the top of a mountain here in the Abruzzo region. On one of the days, he and his relatives went to Vasto for lunch and a day out.

We decided we wanted to visit Vasto and see what it was like. Turned out it was absolutely adorable with a beautiful piazza and shops, bars, a church and a fort with a lot of places to walk. I know the town changed since he was there in the 70’s but it still let me see some of what he saw when he was there.

Jim and I went into one of the Vasto churches (of course we did) and it was decorated for a wedding so I took a photo or two to pass along.

The fort was across from the church but we did not go inside. We did not have a lot of time to spend in Vasto but what we saw, we liked and may go back one day during the week.

As we walked around the town, we found a little fruit and vegetable stand. I took the photo and I bought the red and white long Borlotto beans (in the pinto bean family) and some of the snow peas.

Next it was off to Ortona to visit with my cousin. We got there around 11:30 and she was waiting for us outside, very happy to see us. Hugs all around then into the house we went. Gabriella is a fabulous cook so when I went into the kitchen, I was able to see what she made and I knew we were not leaving there hungry. Smelled and looked absolutely wonderful and of course it was delicious. Antonino came home soon after so more hugs and smiles then we sat down to eat. Simple and simply delicious. We told them about our Italy trip so far then they told us the many things we could do in the region of Abruzzo.

We gave them the address of the apartment we are in now and they said it is too confusing for us to get there on our own so they hopped in their car and led the way. Seemed to take forever but they brought us right to the door. How nice was that?

The landlady was waiting outside so she invited them and us in to see the place and with their (the cousins that is) approval, we moved in. The cousins just wanted to make sure we would be comfortable. It is so nice to have famiglia here! They left shortly after to go to Antonino’s father’s 93rd birthday festeggiato. WOW! After they left, Jim and I walked around to see what is near our apartment.

The apartment is within walking distance of the town center so we will check that out and figure out what we would like to do while here in Chieti.