a Teramo night out

Arrosticini is the main, traditional food item of the festival... aaaaaand absolutely delicious.

Similar to kebabs, arrosticini are flavorful yet simple... and I ate way more than I thought I would! Wow.

Giacomo and Jacqueline:

Me, Angela, and arrosticinis!

Ylenia (Giacomo and Jacqueline's daughter) dates a guy from Teramo... and his family owns a well-known bakery in the town. His dad brought us a plateful of sweets AND (2 photos down) croissants with crema and nutella inside! WHOA... 

I found it awesome that he also took the empty wine bottle from the table at one point... went into the bakery... came out a minute later... and set the bottle back on the table - full. I love that they basically have wine out of taps in the wall here!! 

Dalila, me, Giacomo

(Dalila is Fabio's girlfriend - lovely girl, going to school in Milano!)

after lunch happenings in Abruzzo

I love the way they have their onions and garlic!

(Behind is a large garden.)

After lunch we were shown Giacomo's collection of birds - including two babies! He is hand feeding them with a little dropper...

While Gina lives right by the sea, Jacqueline and Giacomo's house is set in the countryside and has a gorgeous view of the sea and the surrounding hilly landscape:

The guys then got out the go cart... 

 Fabio and Denis raced along the road - Fabio in the go cart and Denis on his brand new motorcycle...

lunch for 20 ...totally normal

Angela and I lounged and people-watched on the beach for the morning of our first full day in Alba Adriatica.

Then we headed to Jacqueline and Giacomo's house for lunch. We showed up and found a table set for 20 people! - TWENTY!

Lunch was AWESOME. The courses kept coming from the kitchen. I appreciated Giacomo warning me that after the rabbit, there was also going to be cutlets and olive ascolane (stuffed olives) - a specialty from this area and one of my (and my family's!) favorites.

Before the meat courses, however, was the timballo. Mmmmmm. Similar to lasagna but, again, a specialty of Abruzzo - timballo is made with egg noodles and seems lighter than lasagna... not as much cheese but absolutely deeeelicious.

Timballo: 

A moment caught... Angela and I each laughing/smiling at different things.

What a GREAT experience!

Giacomo with the rabbit(s)...

Just a normal family lunch in Italy!

And, of course, ending the meal with homemade tiramisu!

Alba Adriatica's beach stroll

After a delicious trip to the pizzeria, Angela and I dropped our bags off at Gina's house (Mario, Gina's husband, passed away about a year ago - he was my grandpa's cousin...). Silvana then took us on a nice walk along the beach - Alba Adriatica has a great path that runs along the beach - many walkers, runners, and bicyclists use the path.

Silvana and me...

This was our turnaround point - gorgeous!

A view of the other direction (and the hills!)

Me and Angela - the two ASM Librarians!   : )

Back at Gina's house  : )

I surely don't understand all that she says (being fluent in Italian would be a dream! ...one that I'm slowly working towards)... but we were definitely both happy to see each other and spend time together. And there were numerous laughs and stories told over the next few days.

Alba Adriatica - the sea!

I haven't posted in a while. School is starting back up and everything is busy - a good busy!

My time in Alba Adriatica, Abruzzo was fantastic. My friend, Angela, and I had a great time with my cousins... they are incredibly accommodating, generous, and fun to be around.

The very first thing that we did after arriving at the train station was to go to Christopher and Denis' pizzeria!! They told us that they were planning to open one when I was there last Christmas with my family... and they have... and it's great!

Denis and his dad, Vincenzo

Silvana

Christopher

The pizza is delicious! We went here a few times... sometimes just to hang out in the afternoon. The pizzeria is just a few blocks from Gina's house (where we stayed), so Gina would walk over with us and hang out for a while.

If you look at the sign for the pizzeria in the first photo above, you can see that half is a sunrise and the other half is a pizza. Alba (from the town's name, Alba Adriatica) means sunrise... and the town is located on the Adriatic Sea. They worked that into the pizzeria's name too, which I love. Christopher designed the sign.   : )

makin misshaps in Milan - whoops!

Sheesh. Seems that since returning to Milan a week ago, I'm extremely accident prone.

• Arriving back to my apartment the first afternoon with luggage in tow, I tan over my big toe with a suitcase as I tried to squeeze everything through the door... the toe is still cut.
• Making the bed with newly washed sheets, I stubbed my second toe (same foot) badly on the corner of the bed.
• ...That toe is now completely red and purple, swollen, and does not want to bend.
• Purchasing local honey from the town's fresh dairy vending machine for little gifts, I tried to buy 3 not realizing that there were only 2 left (...3 euro gift to the vending machine. D'Oh!)
• My bicycle tipped over while filling water bottles at the park today and the chain came off.
• ...Because of the chain on (off!) my bike, I slowly limped home... in the rain.

The good news?? --

Some pieces of me are hurt but nothing too bad!

I fixed the bicycle chain!! First time ever attempting that and I figured it out  : )

Tomorrow I leave Milan for a little beach vacation with a friend and a visit to my Italian cousins!

My cousins live in Alba Adriatica - within Abruzzo.
After 3 days with family on the beach, Angela and I will be heading to Verona for a couple nights - where I'll be on my 30th birthday!!
...After that... back to Milan to prepare for another school year at ASM.

A couple Google Maps screenshots of where we'll be. The red marker furthest west is Milan... to the east is Verona... and south is Alba Adriatica!

I hope that when I return to Milan (as a thirty year-old!), Milan will welcome me back kindly, safely, and accident-free. -- Here's to a great second year ahead!

making spreadable butter

While I was in Denver this summer, my brother Lenny was making his own spreadable butter. I just tried it myself and will definitely continue doing this! Basically... this easy step cuts about 3/4 of the cost of this food staple... instead of buying a tub of spreadable butter, I can now make my own from a couple sticks and some canola oil (although I didn't have canola... so I used a mixed seed oil).

I followed the recipe found here and plan on trying to mix in a couple herbs for a smaller batch soon. Mmmmhmmmmm!

Funny timing on seeing Lenny do this at his house - as I had a huge block of hard butter in my refrigerator that was always impossible to try and scrap away at to use. ....Problem solved.   : )

Thanks Len!