6/2-3 – It was time to drive up the mountain to Monteferrante where more of my cousins live. A small town where only about 50 people reside nowadays. Many of the homes are vacant since over the years people have left the mountain moving to the U.S. or other areas of Europe, primarily for work. Monteferrante is in the Abruzzo region and is where my mother’s parents were born. The fact that I have cousins here and we were able to meet with them in 2014, and then my sister and our children were able to join us in 2016 so all the family could be together, was fabulous. Those were fun times and this year, it is just Jim and me who are up on the mountain with the cousins.

In August, many of the families who left Monteferrante return for the summer holiday and they stay in the houses they own. Of course these homes have been renovated so they are a little more modern. There are also those houses that have been abandoned. Below you can sort of see both. Roofs alone provide a comparison, from a roof with solar panels to several with holes where the tiles have blown off.

The day we arrived we went to our cousin Bruno’s house where Argentina, Cristian and Greta were waiting for us. My how the children have grown. Our cousin Simone joined us after a bit as well. We sat down for a little snack and an aperativo before we had lunch at 2pm with our other cousins.

Below is a photo with Bruno and family then with Simone. The weather was good although a little warm. They were telling us it was warmer than usual for this time of year. We totally understood that.

We left their house and went to our other cousin’s house for lunch. Another fabulous lunch for us all to enjoy. We had homemade Gnocchi, pallotte cacio e uova (looks like a meatball but it is made with cheeses), then pork, roasted peppers, marinated eggplant, cucumber salad – and of course dolce, including a strawberry torte, chocolate cake and watermelon! Such a wonderful meal and boy were we stuffed!

Time for a walk around the town. We met a few of the folks sitting around the center and one of the men spoke English. He is originally from my home town of Cranford, NJ. His name is Pasquale – so we chatted for a while then he said, ok let’s take a walk. We walked for about an hour. He took us into the church (he is the keeper of the church keys.) We attended Mass here in 2016 so we knew what it was like but it was nice to have our own personal tour with an explanation of how things are today. It still amazes us to see these beautiful churches in these small villages. Today, this village is down to 50 residents except for August when some relatives return for the European holiday period, boosting the number to 200.

We also went to see the house where my grandparents lived. While they lived next door to each other in Monteferrante, they did not marry until after they arrived in the United States. No one lives here now and the houses/building are in total disrepair. It really is sad to see.

Jim and I stayed at my cousin’s apartment which is in her dad’s home. Adolfo was my grandfather’s nephew and we stayed with him in 2016. Sadly he passed in 2018 but I am sure he is smiling down on his family now that we are together again.

Friday Jim and I roamed around the town a bit and just relaxed which was very nice. We went to the bar and had a drink, played some cards for a bit then one of the cousins saw us and said dinner was at 8:30pm and we were definitely invited. Now Jim and I don’t normally eat that late but hey – when in Italy, do as the Italians! On top of that invitation, later in the afternoon Bruno and Argentina caught us and dragged us back down to the bar for an aperitivo before dinner.

Dinner was yummy; chicken, potatoes, roasted peppers, cucumber & tomato salad, marinated eggplant! A light meal?? Since there was no pasta, yes, a light meal. There were 10 of us around the table and the four children were at a small table in the living room. Reminded me of home – kids at the small table because there was no room at the big one.

There was a lot of conversation during dinner and of course several conversations going on at once. Nothing unusual here! Very little English spoken but somehow we do communicate. Jim and I can speak enough Italian for the most part to get our message across. Sometimes it takes a minute but it seems to work. We are brain tired at the end of the day for sure. After dinner it’s time for dessert along with watermelon which is so delicious, even in late May. 10:30 and I had to call it a night. Jim and I went back to the apartment across the street but my cousins continued talking until 12:30 when they finally broke up and went to their homes. What great memories we are continuing to make on this trip.

Saturday morning Jim and I returned to our little apartment here in Chieti. Tomorrow, Sunday, we have a cooking class with Rosy. Something different to do and will be fun plus we get to eat what we make and from her description of the class, 10:30 am to 4 pm should be a great meal. I’ll take photos for sure.

Ciao dear family and friends!