Tag: travel in italy

Playwrights Write in Pontelandolfo!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Nonna's Trips & Events

Write Where You Are –

Pontelandolfo 2024 🇮🇹

SponsoreD by

Other Rooms founding artistic director, Jonathan Samarro, understands playwrights. Not only is he a produced and published playwright himself, but the organization he leads has been providing playwright support through a variety of initiatives. How do I know? Hey gang, you know I’m a playwright. (Check out my work on Next Stage Press and YouthPLAYS.) I’ve participated in and gained a lot from the resources Jonathan has created.

Accountable Sundays encourages writers – like sometimes lazy me – to commit to writing every Sunday. Write Where Your Are, a workshop that provides feedback during the creation of a new work, has been incredibly helpful. Other Voices is a reading series that features new completed plays. Retro Reads gives playwrights insights into the work of master playwrights through readings and discussions of classic plays. Seriously, we can all learn from the masters.

Jonathan’s latest initiative, Write Where You Are – Pontelandolfo 2024, offers playwrights the space, time, and community needed to move forward in their work. Those of you who follow this blog have already guessed why Pontelandolfo was chosen. It is my home town and where I do most of my writing. For those of you that are new – Pontelandolfo, nestled in the southern Italy Sannio hills, is a small village off the beaten tourist track. The Italian landscape and village life are a great catalyst for creativity.

Pontelandolfo – our favorite place.

Only eight playwrights were selected to participate in Other Rooms’ first retreat. Between October 14 – 23, 2024, the participants will be staying in La Locanda della Presuntuosa, an interesting villa built into a mountain and on acres of land. The villa provides an escape from the trodden tourist track of Italy’s big cities yet is minutes from Piazza Roma, the main piazza, and the center of Pontelandolfo life and lore. Cobblestone streets lead one to a medieval castle tower and cafés, ancient Roman churches and miniature works of art are hidden within an area steeped in history and culture.

Video is a wee bit too long but…

The week begins with a bar crawl to introduce everyone to village life. Hey, they are playwrights did you expect high tea? In addition to time for one’s own daily writing, the retreat offers master classes in playwriting, a stimulating array of traditional cultural activities, introduction to the province’s theatre community, opportunities to socialize with fellow writers and local people. They can even choose to eat lunch with a local family! YUMMMM!

Jonathan and his local team – gulp – which includes both Annarita Mancini and I, wanted to create a writer’s retreat that was different than the usual – meet around a table for a workshop. Chatting with Playwright and Professor Rosemary McLaughlin we decided to hold a master class, Writing Site Specific Work, at a site. The workshop will be held at Altilia, an excavation of a Roman Village in the town of Sepino – Area Archeologica di Saepinum.  How cool is that!

Rosemary is the head of the Playwriting Program at Drew University. She received her MFA in Theater Arts from Rutgers’ Mason Gross School and several writing fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Recent plays include Paterson Falls, commissioned by Writers Theatre of New Jersey, about the 1913 silk strike; A More Opportune Time, a contemporary adaptation of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus; Pushing the River, a comedy about aging, memory and eminent domain; Seven Fishermen, about the deadly consequences of a Westerner’s determination to “save” uncontacted people; and D.O.H. (Dykes of Hoboken), set in the 1980’s, a comedy in spite of being about gentrification and AIDS. Rosemary is also a director, a member of the Dramatists Guild and a board member of the International Centre for Women Playwrights.

Sidney Rushing will be introducing the group to the VOTE method to viable and practical story telling. (Victory, Obstacles Tactics and Emotions) It is method to attack a sagging second act, an inactive protagonist  and mine for a more meaningful story. (I really can’t wait to participate in this workshop.)This user friendly process is something you can apply to any story telling medium without angst or trepidation. You will learn how this technique applies to other stories and do the work for your own narrative. We haven’t decided yet where Sidney will be conducting this workshop but know it won’t be in a classroom like setting.

Syd has penned various stage productions in both Chicago, Texas and Los Angeles. He also wrote and performed his one man show Brother’s Tellin’  in Los Angeles earning a NAACP Best Play nomination. It opened up for Lily Tomlin’s show, The Search for Signs for Intelligent Life in the Universe. Syd was then selected for the Mark Taper Playwright’s Program. He went on to a string of produced plays including Aberdeen and Netarine, Akashic Permutations, Zu’s Earth, Unsung Heroes and more. Rushing was honored to be a recipient of the Lorraine Hansberry Distinguished Achievement Award, The 21st Century Voices winner, The Inaugural August Wilson Fellow and a top ten finalist in the Screen Craft Pilot Screenplay Competition 2023. He has taught every grade level from K-12, Prep for College and at Texas State University — named teacher of the year three times in succession within public schools. 

Write Where You Are – Pontelandolfo 2024 will be an exciting program for both the participants and the citizens of Pontelandolfo. This year’s participants have been selected but Other Rooms has set up a waiting list. If you would like to be considered for the waiting list or are interested in any of the programs sponsored by Other Rooms, contact Jonathan Samarro –   jonathanjsamarro@gmail.com.
 

Ci vediamo prossima volta!

Midge Guerrera

Books and plays make great gifts!

consider gifting a work of mine. Thanks!

Magical Night at Sognadoro Ristorante

by midgeguerrera, posted in Food - Eating In and Out!, Travel Comments

The summer season is almost over and the shore towns on the Adriatic Sea are slowing down. Jack and I thought that this would be a great time to explore, Termoli, a small city that we have flashed through once or twice before. I booked a hotel that was right on the sea and adjacent to the sea wall of Termoli’s historic center. In the province of Molise, this shore point is less than an hour and a half from our home in Pontelandolfo.

After checking in, sipping aperitivi by the sea, we climbed what felt like a million steps up to centro storico. The ancient city reminded us architecturally of one of our favorite places in Italy, Alghero Sardegna. (Shout out to the best language school ever – Alghero’s Pintadera.) We wandered the cobblestone streets, stared at the sea, and then I froze – there was a wee alley festooned with white lights, tables classically set and with an artsy vibe that took us back to Venice. (Read the blog Searching for Goldoni and you’ll understand.)

I decided that we absolutely had to eat there. Since it was only 7:30 PM, and way too early to eat, I needed to make a reservation for the yet unnamed space. Around the corner from the alley, we saw a handsome, curly haired man sitting by the restaurant’s front door. He smiled. I smiled and asked if there was a table for two available tonight in the alley.

“Si, signora – quale il sua nome?”

“Midge.”

“Midge?” He looked at me quizzically and probably thought, “Her mother named her after a small annoying fly?”

I shrugged and speaking the barely uttered truth said, “Margherita.”

He scrawlled “Margherita” on a scrap of paper, handed it to me and told me to choose a table, put my name under the water glass and come back whenever we wanted dinner. Then –

“Tu sei inglese?”

“No, sono americana.”

“Da dove?”

“New Jersey – ma vicino Philadelphia.”

“La mia moglie parle “Americano. Lei da Rochester – vicino New Jersey?”

Then and there it was decided that I should meet his wife! I mean, maybe somewhere between Rochester and New York/Jersey we might have run into each other during our decadent youths in some bar or another.

Jack and I continued our pre-dinner passeggiata and tried to keep our tourist faces at bay. The stillness of the old town, the colors of the buildings, the scent of the sea and the warm breeze made it a beautiful evening. Eventually, we made our way back to –

“Jack, what was the name of the restaurant?”

“I don’t know. You were talking to the owner. Don’t you remember how to get back there?”

“Of course I do.”

(I mean we only meandered up and down a few narrow vicoli, posed for a selfie near the sea wall and entered three different piazza since we made the reservation. )

“I will swiftly guide us back,” I lied.

Yes, I lied. But since the centro storico is enclosed by a wall, I managed to guide us back to Sognadoro, Via Rocco Mugnano,3 in Termoli! (For purposes of the blog, Midge, the smart-ass, looked up the address.)

We got back, found our reserved table waiting, looked at each other and smiled. What a cool environment. A young gregarious waiter appeared, brought our local white wine and asked if we knew what we wanted. What happened next couldn’t have been played out better by Netflix. Just as Jack started to say “tonno,” the owner, Francesco Sciscillo, came over, took away the menus and told us to wait.

We waited, he returned with a fish that was so fresh it was still jumping. You are all wondering what kind of fish it was. I am too. We are calling it the former alive fish called X. X had been very recently caught, right here in the Adriatic Sea.

Rats – I took the video in the wrong direction but you’ll get the point.

The thinly sliced fresh X was drizzled in olive oil from Francesco’s trees and spritzed with a dash of fresh lemon. Who knew that something so simple and swiftly prepared would be absolutely incredible.

Next appeared calamari fritti. Jack tries calamari everywhere we go. When I saw it, my fork of its own volition dashed into the plate. Tender, tender, tender. I immediately noticed that the calamari had not been cut into rings but had been sliced into rectangles. In the future, I too will prepare them this way. Each bite was full of flavor. They had been be very lightly coated in flower and flash fried. Yummmm.

Enjoyed more than you can imagine.

I don’t remember what else we ate, I do remember an enjoyable night spent in conversation and laughter. A young woman approached the table, introduced herself as Anna and said that her mother would be getting out of work soon and was anxious to meet us. The effervescent mom, Patrizia, regaled us with tales of making the transition between life in Rochester, New York and Termoli. The building that housed the restaurant had been in her husband’s family for generations. There was such pride in her voice as she spoke of his family and her family. A photo of Francesco’s mother is prominently placed inside the restaurant. Obviously, the sea and what it provides plays a preeminent role in their lives. She is climbing onto the fishing pier.

We were so enamored with the food, setting and family that the next day we returned for lunch. The entire family was seated at the “family table” and greeted us warmly. As the only customers, I suggested we simply eat what Francesco was serving the others. What a smart move! Polpette, ground fish and spices formed into but not to be confused with packaged fish sticks, were served in a rich red sauce. Next was a simple but tasty dish of chicory, red pepper and sepia. Great conversation, perfect lunch and then I saw something I didn’t like. Obvious tourists stopped outside the restaurant, pulled out their phones and stood there reading. Then they smirked a little and left. Smack me in the head – they were looking at reviews. Why would they leave? I quickly scanned the obvious sites. WHAT??? The place only had a few reviews on each site but there was a theme – rude owner, bad food, lousy atmosphere. TOTAL BULLSHIT! All we could think of was that the scant reviews were posted by someone who was jealous or opening their own place. Lesson learned – DON’T TRUST REVIEWS. I never look at reviews. That is a lie – wow two lies in one blog. That same night I asked at the hotel what place they would recommend for dinner. Then I looked the restaurant up – 5 stars everywhere. We ate there. 0 stars from us – boring tourist fare. The learned lesson was reinforced. In our quest for meals, we will continue to wander back lanes of towns until we find a place that just calls to us.

As we walked out the door that day, we looked at each other and both knew that Sognadoro would be on the top of our “lets go for a ride and eat something wonderful” short list.

Ci vediamo –

Midge Guerrera

Pontelandolfese and lovers of Italy wherever you are – check out my tourist guide to Pontelandolfo’s historic center – written in English and Italian. Or simply enjoy the life we lead in Italy by reading my humorous travel memoir.

An Italian Treasure Hunt – The Quest for the Crests of Pontelandolfo!: Una Caccia al Tesoro Italiana – Alla Ricerca Degli Stemmi di Pontelandolfo!

Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos is available wherever books are sold.

Tenuta Vannulo and a Perfect Day!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Stops Along the Journey - Sites Off the Tourist Track, Travel Comments

My weather app tells me it is still raining in Pontelandolfo, but here in Paestum, Cilento the sun is shining and we are cozily ensconced in glamorous lounge chairs facing a luscious garden and silent pool. (More about this place in a separate blog.) A perfect afternoon after the perfect morning. We set off from Pontelandolfo at 8:00 AM with our friends Mariann and Jeff. (Well getting up at 6:00 AM to be packed and out the door by 8:00 AM was not toooo perfect.). Our goal was to drive down hill to the Province of Salerno and visit a magical organic farm, Tenuta Vannulo.

Buffalo milk cappuccino was a great start to our day.

When I think of organic farms yielding great produce, I immediately think of my favorite family farmers Andrea and Tony at New Jersey’s Martenette Farm. I need them to come and check out this place. Tenuta Vannulo is a different type of farm – a much bigger operation. This farm, raising hundreds of water buffalo and lots of produce, is something to behold. For over three generations, beginning in the early 1900s, It has been in the Palmieri family. Even though it is a huge operation, the family is still involved. We spotted the 70 something Senore Palmieri out in the kitchen garden with a hoe. I would encourage all members of Organic Farming Associations who want to experience something that creates yummy products and attracts bus loads of locals and tourists alike to head to Southern Italy.

Tenuta Vannulo is not only an incredibly efficient modern working buffalo farm but also operates a number of buffalo driven shops and a restaurant. Of course there is a caseificio. Locals stop in for the freshest of cheeses – mozzarella, bocconcini, aversana, treccia, scamorza, burro and more – all made with the milk of bufalo indiano. No industrial production here! Everything is hand made with a limited production. The farm’s goal is to make enough to sell just to their local market.

If you are a kid getting off one of the ten buses filled with school groups that we saw, you began whining for the Yogurteria e Cioccolateria the moment you stepped off the bus. Actually, the whines were delightful, in multiple part harmonies and all the kids were sporting the same color cap. I figure it is easier for teachers to track their class if they sport the same color. Yup, these kids didn’t care about the mozzarella they wanted buffalo gelato! The gelato is just the beginning. One can get un caffè, cappuccino, fresh baked products, amazing puddings, candies – I can’t go on. My strictly enforced diet made me miss tasting but not drooling. (Don’t tell my diet buddies but I did have a cappucino made with buffalo milk. I wish I could buy this milk! So creamy, yet light – it has more fat than cow milk.)

The farm has more to look at than fields of produce, water buffalos, and wonderful outdoor spaces, they make and sell designer purses! The designer bags and goods, made on the premises by leather workers are fabulous. I controlled my self and went home without one but I may go back. Imagine saying – “oh this old thing – it’s made of buffalo hide from a wee artigianal shop near Salerno.” 🤣😂

Me thinks I talk too much. My effusive voice driven by what a cool place this is. I will stop typing. Video tells it best –

Now that you’ve seen the majestic creatures, let me tell you what our great guide, Rosaria, told us about the water buffalos. (Midge I thought you were done talking?) Back to the buffalo – they are smart! Three hundred of the milk producers reside in the ginormous stable – unfettered! They only ever take homeopathic medicines. They wake up in the morning to classical music. Buffalos like ritual – they have habits. Once they have chosen their bed – yes a foam mattress – they sleep in the same spot daily. If a buffalo feels the need to be milked, she strolls over to the self milking machine. Each buffalo has a micro chip so the farmers know who has been milked and how much they produced – it averages nine liters a day. Feeling hot a sticky? Mosey over to the shower for a cool down spray. Need a back rub? Head over to the car wash style rubdown machine. Space dirty? The cleaning crew comes by multiple times a day. Mariann laughingly said, ” in my next life I wouldn’t mind coming back as one of these girls.”

This is a cool place to visit. It is a wee bit off the tourist path and even with ten buses of kids I, with no patiences, didn’t feel stamped upon or smacked with a backpack. Hmm, I didn’t see any backpacks – thank the goddesses. The tours are organized so that we didn’t seem to overlap with another one. Each group was relatively small. The place is huge, so it is even possible to find a quiet place to sit and stare. The restaurant is worth the trip and the prices are not tourist outrageous. There were a lot of locals just there for lunch. Midge stop talking, just go back again! Enjoy!

Ci vediamo a presto!

Midge

Teachers and Community Theater folks – are you looking for family friendly plays that may even teach a lesson?
Please check out my work –

Published Plays by Midge

Hitting the Road!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Stops Along the Journey - Sites Off the Tourist Track

“Hit the road Midge and don’t ya come back no more, no more.” I have been persecuting Jack and my PR pal George by bellowing out those lyrics whenever I talk about setting up an East Coast USA reading tour for my book about life in Italy, Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos. George lives in the Netherlands and has been pimping me off to bookstores, Italian Clubs, women’s clubs and just about anyone he can think of. Jack, just raised an eyebrow at “pimping.” Hey, that is a PR vocabulary word – isn’t it? I will be in New Jersey for six months beginning in November and George has me hitting the road. I love the theatre of it all. At first, I wanted to do a November reading tour – a gig a day for 30 days. Jack explained that I might need to spend the whole day after a reading, sipping wine and being social sleeping.

What! I cried. I’ve done two shows a day for six days. Reading for an hour and schmoozing is a piece of cake.

How old were you when you did two shows a day?

Well – oh – ugggg.

One show, I mean reading, a day with a minimum of one day off in-between is now the plan. Except for the first week. Jack hadn’t made up the well thought out though yucky rule yet and we have bookings.

Janet Cantore Watson, the books illustrator, has already started taking her artistic show on the road. During the spring she did a signing at Commonplace Reader Bookstore in Yardly, PA. Before that, together we did a reading at Cafe Brio in Hillsborough and Rossi’s Restuarant and Bar in Hamilton. (We love all types of venues.) This past week Janet did one show a day for three days at the Somerset County 4-H Fair. (I did tell Jack that if Janet could do it so could I. He pointed out the age difference. The creep.) She came up with a great concept. She reads a story from Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos and then has the audience create illustrations for that tale. Clever, creative and encourages listening. Check out the video –

Janet is an amazing woman and puts fun into everything she does. We have gotten lots of positive feedback from her workshops. Sadly, I can’t draw a stick figure so I need to stick to entertaining. Here are the gigs I have so far. If you want more information email me at info@nonnasmulberrytree.com

November 9 –  Newtown Bookshop in Newtown, PA. 6:30PM

November 10 – Frenchtown Bookstore in Frenchtown, NJ. 7:00 PM

November 11 – Unico District X Kenilworth in Kenilworth, NJ 2:00 PM (Reservations please)

November 16 – Women’s Group of the Pontelandolfo Club. Waterbury, CT 6:30 PM

November 29 – Verve Restaurant 2nd Floor. Somerville, NJ. 6:30 PM

December 4 – Booked on Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA. 4:00 PM

December 13 – Horizons at Woodland Second Tuesday Book Club Lakewood, NJ

Let Me Entertain You! If I am not doing something creative and fun, I will be bored silly. During my six months in New Jersey, if you find me places to read, you will be keeping me sane. I will be forever grateful and Jack will thank you because I will not be driving him pazzo. I’m free, funny and won’t embarrass you – well maybe a little. Seriously, I would love to come and share stories from Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos (this is the international link) with your club, organization, condo complex etc. Just contact me and I’ll put it in the calendar.

Time to head down to Bar Elimar and have a Compari Spritz and people watch. Thanks for always being there for me.

Ci vediamo.

Midge – midgeguerrera.com

15 Minutes of Fame X 3!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Some folks have their names blazoned in the tabloids, trotting across banners on news shows and plastered on posters. My name – maybe someday will be tabloid fodder – but meantime can be found in a new novel by Casey Dawes. When dinosaurs roamed the earth, Casey and I went to Montclair State College together. She texted me one day and asked if she could use my name and be a character in her latest book, Spring in Promise Cove. Honey Moely, her books sell like hotcakes ! How could I say no to being immortalized in a novel.

Casey Dawes writes non-steamy contemporary romance and inspirational women’s fiction with romantic elements. Her latest series is set in a small fictional town on Montana’s Whitefish Lake. Kelly, Maggie, and Alex, all in their mid-forties, reclaim their friendship, embrace their community, and find a second chance at love along the way. 

No, I’m not Maggie but I’m in the same book! “Midge,” a writer, attends a spa/rejuvenation retreat with her old college buddies. Indeed, the other women at the retreat were friends of mine from my MSC days too. When I read the book, I realized that Casey captured all of our personalities spot on. I will not reveal the plot – just know romance is in the air and problems can always be solved with support of pals.

Casey has lived a varied life, some by choice, some by circumstance. According to Casey, “My master’s degree in theater didn’t prepare me for anything practical, so I’ve been a teacher, stage hand, secretary, database guru, manager in Corporate America, business coach, book shepherd, and writer.” (Sounds pretty practical to me – we all learned how improvise and create something out of nothing.)

She inherited an itchy foot from her grandfather, traveling to Europe and Australia and many towns and cities across the US while in business. She’s lived in towns with a population as small as 379 and in an apartment complex on 42nd Street and 9th Avenue in Manhattan. She’s dragged her belongings from New Jersey to Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, and Montana. (Hmm, I think we have lots in common.)

Casey Dawes – Thank you for my 15 minutes!

She and her husband are now traveling the US in a small trailer with the cat who owns them. When not writing or editing, she is exploring national parks, haunting independent bookstores, and lurking in spinning and yarn stores trying not to get caught fondling the fiber!

A few days ago my second 15 seconds happened totally out of the blue. We adore WHYY, the Philadelphia National Public Radio station. Even when we are in Italy, I always listen and contribute during their fund drives. I was in my office, heard the pitch for $$, went to the website sent a gift and wrote a paragraph about how important WHYY was to me – particularly when we are abroad. Less than 15 seconds later, I leaped out of my chair as the WHYY personality said “Midge gives even when she is out of the country!” For the next few minutes, “Midge” was the example for giving. I was soooo proud! I promptly texted my family in the USA and said, send money to WHYY! I don’t know if my diminutive name made a difference in their fundraising efforts but boy was I proud to help.

Yesterday, my sister sent me this headline from the local Ewing NJ paper, Ewing Community News. Cripes, my 15 minutes of fame just hit the trifecta!

Ci Vediamo!

Midge

Speaking of 15 minutes – help the actress in me escape and do readings from my book, Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos. I can do zoom readings from Italy or have your book club, bar, organization or exceptionally large family laughing at my antics driving around Italy. Just send an email to info@nonnasmulberrytree. com.

I still love theatre!

Italy Writers Rock!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Now Midge, shouldn’t that be “Italian Writers Rock?” Hmm, well it could be but then it wouldn’t be the creation of the energetic Wendy Ridolini. Wendy lives in Bisenti, Abruzzo and is committed to helping authors find their voices, get published and market their work. She is the visionary behind the September Creative Writing Retreat in Abruzzo and Sunflower Publishing which provides editorial and business publishing solutions. Her by-line as a book critic can be found in a variety of English language Italian magazines. How come I didn’t know about these magazines! Why haven’t I been subscribing to Italy Inside and Out, Abruzzissimo magazine or Lucca news.org?

Wendy Ridolini looks easy to talk to, I thought, and she was!

Wendy goes out of her way to identify authors who live in Italy and/or write stories set in Italy. Are you wondering how we met? She found me! WHAT? How can a critic and podcaster just find you? Gulp, I guess that means I am an author who lives in Italy, writes stories set in Italy and blatantly self promotes anywhere I can! One day I received an email from this women, Wendy Ridolini, I didn’t know telling me about herself. She produces the video podcast Italy Writes and was asking if she could interview me about my book Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos. Wow! I googled her and saw all she did and who she wrote for and sent back a resounding YES! The “Harriet the Spy” in me had to know why me. The easiest thing to do is just ask. So I asked Wendy how she found me. This is what she said,

“Things just appear in my Facebook feed, you just somehow popped in there. What worked for me was the title Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos. This must be a crazy woman who wrote a crazy book because it had a crazy title. I had to meet her.”

I guess all those totally silly TikTok videos and instagram posts really worked! The evening before the interview my PR pal Kathy, via FaceTime from New Jersey, made sure my room was set up, the lights were good and the large poster of my book cover was prominently placed. Being anal, I refreshed my aged brain with the answers to questions that I thought Wendy might ask and went to sleep feeling prepared. BOOM! RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! CRASH! Cripes what is happening to our house? Those were the sounds that woke me up at seven A.M. the next morning. The destruction workers that my landlord had contracted to pull down the tottering garage attached to our house and more specifically my office had started.

“TODAY!: I shrieked, “it has been months and they are starting today??” My theatre head kicked in and almost overcame my memoirist panicking head. I raced all over the house searching for a small space that didn’t rumble and tremble. Pal George in the Netherlands got the hysterical FaceTime call – “Does this room work – how does it look – &^^%#,” I said before I said hello. We settled on a small closet sized space with no electricity. The only light on my soon to be made up face was from a window. It had to do. Finish reading, then watch the video and tell me what you think.

Turn about is fair play so a week or so after that interview, I called Wendy to get more information about her writer’s workshop. I love the camaraderie of being around other writers and was trying to figure out if I could go. (Sadly, when I saw the dates I realized I was already booked on a Viking River Cruise.) The all inclusive price for the workshop was so cheap, that I have to keep my eyes open for next year. Rates are based on the room size in the lovely Casa delle Rondinelle in Bisenti, Abruzzo. The cheapest price for single occupancy is £1150 or if two people share the room £625 each. That’s $1403 and $762 dollars – for room, food transfer from the Pescara airport, workshops with super authors, yoga classes, Italian language class, one on one sessions with editor Amy Scott and more goodies.

Wendy has assembled a sterling group of authors to conduct master classes. She said, “There is nothing like talking to someone else who has been on a journey and discovering it may have taken months and years to get that book out there – and that could be inspiring”. Quoting the distinguished author Sue Morecraft, “Forty years to become an overnight success!”

Some of the featured authors include memoirist Cathy Rentzenbrink and short story author Katherine Mezzacappa – shh don’t tell – she writes under a bunch of names – including erotic fiction – then again, why shouldn’t she! Midweek, Angela Petch will do a workshop on research for a historical fiction novel. Elizabeth Buchan, who has worked both sides of the table – first for publishers and then as an author – will share her unique experience. I give up! There will be numerous guest authors in different genres. What a fabulous week and I can’t go. To find out more –

Click Here for WRiter’s Retreat info

I asked Wendy for her back story. How did she get into the author business. Turns out is it the family business. She and her husband Duncan Watts moved to Abruzzo in 2009. Wendy taught English and life was lovely. Then Boom Crash snd Shake the enormous earthquake that leveled Bisenti totally destroyed their home. Her husband wrote an account about the destruction of houses during an earthquake in Bisenti. They put a caravan in the olive grove and lived there for several years. It was there Watts wrote his first book, Olives and Earthquakes.

Wattspeare, as Wendy calls Duncan, writing away in the caravan.

Wendy edited the book and got it ready to launch. Duncan loved writing so much that he kept writing, under the nome di plume – Jack Lench. Zap, Wendy was pulled into the publishing business. I love this so much and I have so much experience now on self publishing, I wanted to do this for a job! A career was launched! Things are working out, the Caravan may feel lonely because they left it behind an moved into a fabulous home.

Wendy’s next interview is with Rhys Bowen! I am soooo jealous! I’ve read everyone of Bowen’s book. Wendy will be talking to Bowen (Janet Quin-Hardin) about “the Tuscan Child” and “The Venice Sketchbook.” Can’t wait to hear that interview.

Ci Vediamo!

Midge Guerrera

PS. Speaking of authors – check out what I’ve published this past year. Plays published by Next Stage Press (a new one comes out in July) and Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos by Read Furiously. Happy reading.

Quarantine Angst

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Quarantine day 8 – I didn’t kill Jack yet.

At least I’m not wearing an ankle monitor! How do Jack and I manage not to kill each other during our latest quarantine in Pontelandolfo? He reads, feeds the chickens and stares at the mountain. I ramble up and down the stairs of our chilly stone house, cook, stare at the mountain and remind myself it is only for ten days. Lets back up a wee bit. How did we get here? Why are we quarantining when tourists from the USA can take quarantine free flights?

After dealing with health issues and the Covid Crisis for what seemed like an eternity in New Jersey, we finally felt secure enough to travel back to our Pontelandolfo home. I knew I didn’t want to visit more than one airport and risk seething at wackadoos who refuse to wear masks in crowded spaces. That meant finding a flight directly to Rome and ordering a car service to drive us from one region to another. Finding the flight was easy. We bought tickets on United from Newark to Rome. Their website was incredibly helpful as were the reminder emails to do everything on the pre-boarding list. Besides the usual chaos promulgated by the TSA, everything at Newark Airport went smoothly. The mask mandate was followed by our fellow travelers. This brought joy to Jack since he wouldn’t be embarrassed by me giving the evil eye and a tongue lashing to anyone who was non-compliant. People were courteous and spatially conscious. Here is a look at that pre-boarding list –

Vaccines? Check – we both had our two doses of Moderna. They didn’t ask to see them but we had our cards ready. Actually, we provided the data in advance to United and the EU-PLF.

EU-PLF? Check – sounds like peeeyyuuuu stinky feet but it is the Passenger Locator Form that you have to keep on you. Passenger Locator Forms (PLFs) are digital and will help public health authorities do contact tracing. That means if someone on my flight had some infectious disease, the European Union/Italy could find me. The idea is to prevent the spread of disease. In Newark they just wanted to see the piece of paper with the bar code but no one scanned it. When we got to Rome no one scanned it either. I’ll keep the bar code in my wallet with the vaccine card.

Covid-19 Test 48 Hours Before Landing – Check – for $85 each we got our noses swabbed the afternoon before we left. I carried our negative test results and a United representative barely glanced at them.

Digital Health Pass Reservation – Check – we made appointments to get our noses tickled again by a doctor administrating a covid swab test in Rome. In Rome’s Fiumincino Airport this was really well organized and it only cost € 20 each. Why did it cost so much more in New Jersey? We were swabbed, waited about twenty minutes and given a certificate of a negative test. Hmm – what happens if the test is positive? I’m glad I didn’t have to find out.

Self-Declaration Form for Travel to Italy From Abroad – Check. Double Check and Tripple Check. I completed this form in English and in Italian. It states that I am not a denier – I get that there is Covid -19 and haven’t tested positive, took the swab test, will take a swab test in Rome, will self isolate and where you can find me climbing the walls during self isolation. NO ONE took the form! United staff glanced at it. On the plane they gave us another one to fill out. NO ONE took that form either. I tried to give it to the car service driver. He didn’t want it. I thought maybe Pontelandolfo wanted it. They wanted something different…

After going through Border Control, we went out front and found our driver. He waived a sign with our names on it, helped lug the luggage and made us comfortable in his clean Mercedes sedan. Anybody need a lift from Rome – www.autonoleggiocerrato.it! In a three hour super highway and winding hill road journey, we made it back to Pontelandolfo. Our masked family and friends who are like family, were waving at us from the other side of the street. Think parade of one car with social distancing. When we got in the house, our cupboard and refrigerator were both jammed packed with fresh vegetables, meat and the cheeses you can only get in the Sannio hills. Wine from the local vintner was peeking at us from a shelf. Thank you! Grazie a tutti!

We settled in, I couldn’t wait to go see the piazza! What, we can’t go see the piazza? Jack looked at me – “quarantine remember.” But we took the covid quarantine free plane? “Tough – the village expects it.”

It has been eight days. Only eight days. Soon it will be ten days. Quarantining is the right thing to do. We care too much about this village to be the bearers of evil infectious yuck. Besides, quarantining isn’t so bad when you have a view like this.

Ci vediamo!

Midge

Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo

Midge Guerrera

Pintadera 2009 – Flashbacks

by midgeguerrera, posted in Travel Comments

On a recent snowy night, I hunkered down to clean out a dusty over stuffed plastic tub. You know the kind – large, filled with files and memoribillia you will get to some day, covered with a snap on lid and left to fade in the back of a closet. I opened the tub, pulled out a batch of files when a folded cache of browning papers fell into my lap.  Was it very old love notes from a high school beau?  Or recipes in my beloved zia’s hand.  Giggle, I slowly unfolded the cracked paper and saw the date – January 2009.  Wow, it was a love note of sorts, my notes on an earlier trip to Alghero, Sardegna and Italian lessons at the fabulous Centro Mediterraneo Pintadera.  Walk with me back to January, 2009 and take an armchair voyage.

We were excited to be heading back to Alghero. Never having been there in the winter we didn’t know what to expect. The city juts out into the sea. Walking the sea wall in the summer is bliss. Will it bluster in January?

It did not bluster! I wore a coat but Jack did his daily walk in the noonday sun in only a sweatshirt.

On Saturday, January 3, 2009 – courtesy of air miles we flew Primo Classe on Alitalia from Newark to Rome.  (In those days there were flights out of Newark, New Jersey.) I still use the little grey tweed makeup bags they gave us filled with mini stuff that I probably tossed. .

On Sunday, January 4, tired and still tipsy from all that Primo Classe booze we lugged our suitcases across the terminal to our jumper flight to Sardegna. We had an uneventful but cramped Air One flight to Alghero.  (They went out of business in 2014.) A 25€ cab ride organized by Pintadera brought us directly to the apartment they had found for us. Pintadera co-owner, Nicola, met us with keys in hand.  I looked at the steep staircase from the street leading up to the apartment, muttered bad words and lugged my suitcase up. Gasping for breath I walked in and saw the sea. The steps were worth it. Wow, we have an apartment with an ocean view.  The terrace was tiny but a terrace.   There was a twin bed with pillows in the front room, a chair or two, table and a kitchenette.  The bedroom had a king-sized bed. For the amount of time we planned on staying there it was perfect.

Bella Vista from or terrace!

I love Pintadera.  This was our second trip to the school.  We are so taken with the place and people, that I had organized a group of Italian language students from New Jersey to join us this time.  Starting Monday, January 5, we had classes daily from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  The weather was perfect. Staring at the sea, sipping a cappuccino at a bar with a view was heavenly. January in Alghero means very few tourists, sales in the stores and lots of sun.

Every day at 11:OO AM class took a caffè break. This is January – note the sun, smiles and me squinting.
Jack is always teachers pet.

The queen of not doing enough research and just diving into travel, I really lucked out. The first week in January, Alghero was transformed into a cultural Mecca. We had no idea how important Epiphany was nor how involved the arts community would be. That Monday, after class we strolled the tiny cobble stone streets and alleys following the sounds of carolers.  Sparkling arches of holiday lights topped the throngs out for a pre-epiphany passegiata.  Itinerant volunteer actors dressed like La Befana or the three Kings could be found in every small piazza dispensing nuts and fruit to every child. Even us kids in our second acts!

The whole city came out on January 5th and 6th – Epihany – waiting for La Befana, (The gift giving strega.)

Piazza Teatro lived up to its name.  A troupe of wheelchair assisted and developmentally challenged actors costumed beautifully portrayed the manger scene.  The love pouring out from every actor filled the piazza and my heart.  Their focus and passion for the nativity brought the scene to life.

Every one visits the new born baby. This is a fraction of the actors. I bet there were twenty.

After a scrumptious dinner of roasted calamari and l’insalata at a nameless little spot we followed the sounds of six part harmony. Angelic male voices filled the air from Piazza Civica.  The crowed surged there.  It felt and sounded like there were hundreds of men dressed in black with white collared shirts singing in intricate harmonies.  Traditional Sardo and spiritual songs wafted over the crowd as we trailed the singers from piazza to piazza.  Choiristers sang a rousing march as they moved from spot to spot.   I never found out if all of these musical artists were from Alghero.

A phenomenal men’s choir serenades us.

La Befanas scampered about clutching brooms and tossing sweets at children. The the night before Epiphany, La Befana traditionally flies from house to house bringing candy to good children and carbone, coal, to evil monsters. Besides engaging with the crowds La Befana was also plastered on doors or hanging from lamp posts. (The universe must be kicking me. I just had finished yet another rewrite of my play “Mamma Mia – La Befana!??” when I found this picture. Hmm – time to start pitching that work???)

La Befana, the gift giving witch, is a symbol of Epiphany.

Often, other amateur actors appeared dressed as angels or in traditional Sardegna garb to entertain with stories, dance and pageantry.  Music and art was everywhere.

Folklorico Dancers shook the cobblestones. In 2009 I wrote, “Hey USA how about a little more public art?”

After class one day, I saw a sign for a children’s theatre performance at Alghero’s opera house, Teatro Civica di Alghero.  Built in 1829, the space is amazing.  Think a jewel box version of Carnegie Hall with draped box seats surrounding the house.  It is unique because it is the only Italian theater built entirely of wood. Lavish is an understatement. We ventured in and sat down in our box excited to see our first performance in Italy.  It was the worst children’s theatre I have ever experienced in my life.  Disclaimer, in the 1970s I was the director of a touring children’s theater company so I kind of know what works and what doesn’t.  Here are just some of the reasons it was abysmal – for the first fifteen minutes the star – a middle aged curly haired sprightly woman stood on stage directing traffic to seats.  Then the curtain opens – late of course – on an amateur cardboard set.  Add to that bad lighting and a shared microphone and you have all the stuff you need for failure.  I love audience participation and pre -show warm ups but this crew did a warm-up that lasted an hour.  Then there was a brief pause and the scripted piece began and went on and on and on.  The show started at 5:00 PM.  We snuck out with many others at 7:00 PM and the show was still going on.  Do I sound snarky?  I love theater and it pains me to have troupes produce less than professional work for children.  That said, seeing the interior of Teatro Civica was worth the distraction.

Who are the divas in the box???? We didn’t know the women we shared the box with but loved their fur coats.

Early Wednesday mornings I took an early morning jaunt to the covered market. This market is classic.  One whole section is just stall after stall of fish vendors.  Sardegna is an island and Alghero sits right on the sea – perfect location for the freshest of fish.  Fruit and vegetable stalls, ready-made treats and more filled the space.  I love wandering the aisles and discovering what I will be cooking.

Tuna anyone?
Ovella Negra just a staircase away from our apartment.

I love this city!  We also loved the wine and local cheese plates we enjoyed in Ovella Negra, the grotto like bar below the apartment. (We have been back to Alghero many times since and sadly, this bar is no longer there.). The owner was a real foodie. He only served local fare and treated us like visiting royalty.  During our two week stay, we did go there almost every single day so I could see why they treated us well.  This particular night, I must have had an orgasmic food experience – why else would I have written down every morsel.  We tend to share lots of small plates – think tapas style.  First, he served us a fresh, unsalted goat cheese that was so light and creamy it must have been made by angels.  With that, of course we had Cardegna, a dry white wine. Next, some room temperature small plates to warm ones heart of dried tuna and sword fish.  Yup, caught off the coast.  We tasted bottarga, Sardinian cured fish roe, for the first time.  Now, we are bottarga junkies.  Bottarga is cured, air-dried roe from flathead mullets and is a Sardinian staple.  After dinner, we were given a glass of Mirto – a local digestivo.  It is the national drink of Sardegna and made by infusing alcohol with fresh myrtle berries.  Most nights we staggered up the stairs to our apartment. The stairs seem easier when I stagger.

Saturday, January 10th we took the train to Sassari.  The train ticket was 3.80€ roundtrip.  It was a twenty-minute walk to the train station from our center city apartment. The ancient train meandered through a valley and we were surrounded by mountains.  Sheep, sheepdogs and olive groves completed the picture.   They city of Sassari was reminiscent of any neighborhood in any major Italian city.  Cobble stone streets, buildings that were built during the middle ages and – of course – one of the finest restaurants on the island.  We had the best grilled calamari ever at the Trattoria Gesuino.  Seriously, the best ever!  So very tender – I can still taste it.  We visited the Museo Nazionale “Giovanni Antonio Sanna.”  This archeological museum was chock full of great finds – including glass from 200 BC.  We will go back someday.

We hopped the Train to Sassari and visited the museum. That will be 2 euro please.

  Every great day takes longer than you think. Gulp, we missed the last train back.  Thanks to that snafu we experienced even more of the island on the bus. The bus was 3€ – bella vista – we saw hills, small towns and more sheep.  No wonder the local cheese is so fantastic!  The bus meandered through villages the train passed by. We were dropped off in the park by the city wall.  It was a shorter walk back to the apartment. Which of course we didn’t enter, going down to the bar instead.

Life in Alghero for educational tourists like us is magical. We didn’t know what to expect in January – except cheaper prices – and were happily surprised by the temperature, holiday culture and the food. Since I kept that journal in 2009, we have been back to Pintadera at least four additional times. We love the sea, the food, the people and of course Centro Mediterraneo Pintadera. We will return – perhaps we will see you there too.

Ci Vediamo.

Midge

PS: Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo is organizing for 2022. Today we read about travel. Tomorrow we travel.

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