Tag: Visit Pontelandolfo

Writers &Readers Thrive in Sannio Hills

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Nonna's Trips & Events

Since we got back to our happy creative place, my inbox has been a flutter with invitations to book launches, book club and writer meet and greets. Remember, my happy creative place is not an urban center but Pontelandolfo – a tiny village with a population under 3,000 – that includes sheep and cows.

One of the newest organizations that is making a literary impact is Sannio Che Legge. Spear headed by folks with an interest in art, literature, intellectual discourse and highlighting the cultural connections of Pontelandolfo, Morcone and the entire Sannio area, they are constantly providing me with a place to go and a book to read.

An aside: I just turned to Jack and bellowed, “I just love this!” We are sitting outside Bar Elimar, my writers room, Latin music is playing, I’m sipping a limoncello spritz, tapping my foot and writing. Two tables of men are playing cards. Three tables of thirty something’s, with babies in tow, are gossiping and laughing. How could someone not create art here???

Jack and I went to the Sannio Che Legge event at Morcone’s newest restaurant, Cantina Ristorante Biancamela. (Morcone’s progressive mayor and council are working hard to bring life back to their historic center. That is another blog. ) I was impressed. About 30 people were there listening to author Rita Martignetti talk about the genesis of his work. He actually gave all of us a copy of one of his books. Grazie Mille. His numerous works deal in an entertaining manner with the history of the Sannio Hills.

I should note that Sannio Che Legge grew out of the Pontelandolfo Biblioclub and signed a Reading Pact with the Municipality of Pontelandolfo. The organization is now entrusted with the Pontelandolfo Library.

I will be there with my cosmopolitan literati hat on.

One of my besties, Adele Gentile had a recent book launch and of course I went. Once her publisher gets that e-book link and on line bookstore link up there, you will get a full story on her tome.

Book launches here are set up a bit differently. Adele, the author, didn’t read any parts of her book. She has a wild and wonderful personality and I was looking forward to her reading. Instead, others – think critics – talked about the book. There was also dialogue with the author. It was actually incredibly interesting. A great way to learn about an author’s catalyst for creation.

Blue is Adele’s favorite colors and blue took over the auditorium. From the flowers on the stage to the cover of her emotional and yet entertaining memoir. I chuckled as I watched Adele hand out programs and check every detail of the launch. Is she a Jersey Girl too?

The place was packed. That means about 200 people came to a book launch. A book launch in a teeny tiny village! (Damn, time to start getting my stuff translated.)

Adele, wrote her memoir while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Ooops, I vowed I wouldn’t say a word until we had the links so that you could buy the book. It is – a freakin‘ amazing work.

Rescheduled to September.

I am excited to hear this presentation and buy a copy of the book – written in English and Italian. Written originally as a screenplay, the novel tells the tale of the 1861 pillage of Pontelalndolfo in the name of Risorgimento in a different way. An American woman with Pontelandolfo roots visits the village, sees a mural and …. I can’t wait to read the story.

I could overburden your inboxes with more examples or you could visit our little place of creative energy and see for yourself. Interested in gathering up some writer pals and spending a week here? Just let me know and we can organize something magical. Then, I will grab my laptop and join your writer’s room on Piazza Roma.

Ci vediamo,

Midge

http://www.midgeguerrera.com

Grazie Morcone for the International Tourism Award!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Nonna's Trips & Events
Annarita Mancini, my cultural adventures partner, and I were invited to talk about
Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo

Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo started in 2016. Rossella Mancini and I gathered up a group of exciting and creative cooks to share their skills with culinary adventurers from all over the United States. How did this idea come about? Was I a tourism creative genius? Like most good ideas there was a catalyst that kicked my ass into creative action. Two women with roots in Pontelandolfo were the absolute catalyst for this initiative. Mary and Leona, while visiting the village of their heritage and saying hi to my next door neighbors, literally recognized me.

“Are you Midge from Nonna’s Mulberry Tree?”

After looking around to see if she was talking to someone else, I grinned like I just won a blog Emmy and said, “gulp, yes.” (I also realized I was in a very old and ugly house dress.)

“We love your blog and are so jealous. I wish I could live here like you and meet everyone.”

“Even for a week,” said her friend.

“But you can I said!” Not knowing what I was committing too, my theatre brain started improvising.

“How?”

Out of my mouth came – “Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo – a new program. Give me your email addresses and I’ll send you the information.”

I tossed on better clothes and dashed to Rossella’s house. Five coffees later, our brain cells were whirling and twirling in the Sannio Hills. 1. Idea was solidified. 2. Organized an army of – hate to be sexist but – women. 3. Meet with those women who would be the first home chefs, hook Annarita Mancini our ace multi lingua person as our primary translator, set a cultural track and bammmmmmm – Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo was born and off!!!! It took a village and still does. Thank you to every cook, translator, historian, cultural group and more. Thank you to all.

From Saturday, May 21 to Saturday May 28, 2016 culinary and cultural adventurers participated in the first ever Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo program. Four of the eight participants had direct Pontelandolfo roots. The other women discovered our village for the first time.

OUR FIRST WONDERFUL GROUP OF 2016 ADVENTURERS – Mary, Leona, Nancy, Dana, Charleen, Eloise, Flora and Lynn! GRAZIE A TUTTI!

This tourism initiative may have its roots in Pontelandolfo but introduces people to the Sannio Hills. Since 2016, the majority of men and women who have used this program to explore our region have been foreigners, without any family history in the area. After one week, those strangers feel not only like family but like proud Pontelandolfese. The international program has grown because those strangers have told other strangers, have told other strangers – and the beat goes on.

At that August 9th jam packed presentation, Annarita and I were stunned when Morcone’s Assessore of Tourism, Giulia Ocone, came up to the microphone with this –

Holey Moley! I actually CRIED!

Grazie al Comune de Morcone, Luigino Ciarlo sindaco, Giulia Ocone Assessore alla cultura, Daria Lepore di il giornali – La Cittadella, e Carlo Perugini per aver creduto in quello che faccio.

Un ringraziamento speciale ai donatori – finanziato dall’ Unione euorpea – Next Generation EU, Ministero degli affari esterni e della cooperativa internazionale, ministero della cultura.

Thank you to Comune de Morcone, Luigino Ciarlo mayor, Giulia Ocone council member for culture, Daria Lepore of the newspaper – La Cittadella, and Carlo Perugini for believing in what I do.

A special thanks to the donors –  finanziato dall’ Unione euorpea – Next Generation EU, Ministero degli affair esterni e della cooperative internazionale, and the  ministero della cultura.

WOW Midge, I hope you remembered everyone! If you don’t know what Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo is watch this –

Interested in being part of the 2025 adventure? Send me an email at info@nonnasmulberrytree.com.

Now we have expanded beyond cooking and are doing writer’s retreats! There are two spots left for the 2024 Write Where You Are October retreat.

Since, I have the attention span of a gnat and keep whirling like a mad dervish, I wrote two books that touted the area. Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos is a collection of short stories that revolve around my Fiat, Fernando. Annarita and I finished a guide book to Pontelandolfo called, An italian Treasure Hunt: The Quest for the Crests of Pontelandolfo.

Jack and I are blessed to be part of the fabric of life here in the Sannio Hills. Thank you to all who have embraced us and embrace my crazy ideas. Thank you for the town of Morcone for recognizing what we have done. Ancora, grazie a tutti.

Ci Vediamo.

Midge

The Passion of the Play and the Players

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

If you are in Italy and anywhere near Pontelandolfo (BN), put July 31st and August 1st on your calendar – immediately. Even if you are not nearby – put it in your calendar and come to Pontelandolfo. At 9:30 PM in Piazza Roma you will be astounded by an incredible theatrical spectacle. It will be worth the ride. I am a theatre kid and it takes a lot to make me gasp. This community wide production of Dramma Sacro Santa Giocandina has done that. This week, I went to a rehearsal and was impressed by the focus and passion this group of players have for the script, rehearsal process and the traditions of their village.

In Pontelandolfo for over one year, a band of community actors, designers, musicians and technicians have been focused on bringing an historic story to life. Their focus and commitment is as powerful as the faith of the play’s heroine, Giocondina. Dramma Sacro Santa Giocandina, the Sacred Drama of Santa Giocondina, has been performed in the Sannio Hills since 1872. Originally, it was produced every seven years, then every four years. It has been seven years since Covid made the four year repetition impossible. Interesting that seven years brings the play full circle to its roots.

The story, of the ultimate sacrifice, is a familiar one. Giocondina, the young daughter of a Roman Senator converts to Christianity. Even though her father and family implore Giocondina, she refuses to abandon her faith. Roman Emperor Diocletian condemns her to be beheaded. Giocondina chooses to save her soul and live on in the kingdom of heaven. Continuing a sacred and socio-community tradition, the role of Giocondina is entrusted to a young woman from Pontelandolfo.

Pontelandolfo Actress Dalila Griffini in rehearsal as Giocondina.

The original script, crafted in 1872 by Ulisse Rinaldi, drew on an ancient tale of unmitigated Christian faith. In 1964, a Priest, Don Nicola D’Addona, revised the original seven act play into four acts. The play that continues to this day is a revision done by Professor Michele Rossi.

Direttore di Palcoscenico, essential the person in charge of all technical aspects, Fiorella De Michele, explained that the presentation of the sacred drama is very important for the Pontelandolfo community. Demonstrating the tradition of the production, the troupe of actors represents the play’s past and present. Many revise roles they have played in the past. Others, new to the show, become part of the future of continuing productions of Dramma Sacro Santa Giocondina.

Actor, Valerio Mancini, my handsome cousin, who has been in a number of independent films told me: “Quella di partecipare è stata una scelta non ponderata, non voluta ma dettata dall’istinto. Da buon Pontelandolfese sento come una responsabilità nei confronti del dramma. Farò di tutto per onorare il mio ruolo. In un mondo in cui regna l’incertezza, ogni piccolo gesto, ogni emozione suscitata, ogni sorriso strappato avrà conseguenze positive nel lungo periodo, in un altro luogo o su altre persone.”

Don’t worry – Valerio translated it for me: “To participate was an unconsidered choice, not wanted but dictated by instinct. As a good Pontelandolfese, I feel a responsibility towards the drama. I will do everything to honor my role. In a world where uncertainty reigns, every small gesture, every emotion aroused, every smile torn will have positive consequences in the long run, in another place or on other people.”

It does take a village to create this work of art, at the helm is Gabriele Palladino. He has been the artistic director of the spectacular a few times. I asked him to tell me about this year.

“The careful study of scenic solutions, delicate theatrical taste, the all-round interaction between the characters and the location, make this year’s drama original and innovative.”

He feels that he is creating an avant-garde theatrical experience, which paints itself with spectacular plays of light and shapes. I will tell you, that based on the rehearsal I saw, the musical mix created by Gennaro Del Nero also became a principal member of the cast. I watched Gabriele bring his arms up and down to cue the sound operator. The music is absolutely cued to the lines of the script.

Gabriele feels that the audience for this production has a more participatory and engaging role. He is an interesting director. I watched him join his actors in the rehearsal space, guiding them with words and movement. He traverses the space and becomes one with his performers. Gabrielle is a director, I wished I could have worked under.

Director Palladino said, “Two magical evenings, where the archaic lemmas of great literature, weight of the script and the glittering guise of the advancing new, will combine the past and the modern. The tradition of past centuries melded with a three thousand-year cultural proposal will manifest in a “fusion” of the drama. An intriguing, desired, sought-after, unforced “fusion”, which is the result of a long and passionate work.”

Artistic Director Gabriele Palladino at Work.

The team of Pontelandofese who may not be on stage but absolutely contribute to the event, include the sound, lights, and off-stage crew who make the magic happen. I applaude everyone involved in this production. You can applaud them too, on July 31 and August 1.

Technical women rock!

Ci vediamo July 31 and August 1. Midge

PS. Check out my books and plays at www.midgeguerrera.com

Felicissimo Anno Nuovo

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Have a wonderful 2020!

May this year be full of good health, happiness and grand adventures.

I hope we will see you in Pontelandolfo.

Buon 2020!

Ci vediamo,

Midge

Vivaldi Rocks Provincial Capital

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Il Concerto Barocco in Teatro San Vittorino was an incredible night of classical music! We discovered the concert on FaceBook! The social media giant decided that I must like Baroque music and the concert event notice kept popping up. We had no idea where in Benevento we would find Teatro San Vittorino. Actually, Sygic our GPS had no idea either. We got close and did the Midge thing – I asked a couple of artsy looking girls if they knew where the theatre was. They shrugged and said follow us. We wisely did.

Thank you FaceBook

Teatro San Vittorino is an acoustically wonderful small performance space. It was once part of the Convent of San Vittorino. The Convent is now home to the Università Degli Studi  Del Sannio. The theatre is tucked in a back alley off a gorgeous pedestrian boulevard. Without our tour guides, we never would have found it. Once inside, I marveled at the architecture. Jack marveled at the padded living roomesq chair seating.

Il Concerto Barocco was a production of the Conservatorio Statale di Musica Nicola Sala in Benevento. We had previously heard a full orchestra concert composed of the conservatory’s faculty and students and knew this event would be a musical marvel. Every time I see world class musical students perform, I think of my days teaching arts administration on the Westminster Choir College Campus in Princeton. Those students lived and breathed their art. The young Italian men and sadly only one woman we heard play works by Vivaldi, Corelli, Telemann and Sammartini had that same passion and talent.

The Orchestra da Camera del Conservatorio di Benevento is under the direction of violinist Giorgio Sasso. The maestro was one of the two faculty members playing with the small ensemble. His violin was a window into his soul. The music flowed. Cembalo player – harpsichordist – Antonio Varriano’s fingers flew over the harpsichord’s double decker keys.

The Vivaldi rock star was accomplished flautist, Tommaso Rossi, playing the flauto dolce in Vivaldi’s Concerto in do minore RV 441 per Flauto Dolce, archi e continuo – Recorder Concert in C minor. I had to google “flauto dolce” to discover it was a recorder. Before he even began, the auditorium gave him a rousing round of applause. He was not only handsome as hell but a magical musician. Every elementary school student who plays the plastic recorder should see Rossi play the elegant wooden real thing. We got to hear him also in a piece by Sammartini. WOW!

Enough about the elders of the orchestra. Each one of the eight student musicians did a stellar job. The students rotated in and out of the orchestra based on the piece. Sasso, during applause, would pull featured students forward to have their moment. Thank you Orchestra da Camera del Conservatorio di Benevento for another rockin’ night in the provincial capital of Benevento.

We often get asked, “just what do you do in a small Southern Italian village?” I usually snarkily reply, “live.” Then Jack gives me that look and I talk about how there is culture everywhere we look, the cost of living is low and Europe is at our feet. We don’t have to travel far from Pontelandolfo to hear world class music, visit museums, or eat at Japit, the best sushi restaurant anywhere – 20 minutes to Benevento. After the concert we went out for dinner – Chinese. Yes, we can eat in restaurants that feature fare that is not pasta. Naples is an hour and 15 minute train ride away. This gorgeous port city is rich with museums, theater, opera, dance and incredible architecture. You get my drift? We live in a bucolic village with access to the culture we love. Yup, I’m glad we discovered Teatro San Vittorino in Benevento – yet another reason to live in Pontelandolfo.

Visit Pontelandolfo and you will see what I mean! It is not too late to join us for the September 2019 Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo culinary adventure. Message Me!

 
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The Pizzagaina Caper

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

Dum da dum dum. Dum da dum dum. (Opening music to a Bond film).

The first one turned up Friday morning. Could its humble crust and crescent shape hide a nefarious role? It was warm to the touch – ah ha! Warm made it even more inviting.  Do we dare cut it open and see what the flaky crust contains?

Looks safe enough – is that a quiche like filling?  I decide to investigate the mysterious arrival of unrequested pizzagaina further and head over to ace cook and my bestie cugina, Carmela Fusco’s house. Was bringing pizzagaina to a pals house a holiday custom?  Do they just magically appear?  As I climbed the steps, this incredible odor wafted down.  I picked up the pace and raced up the stairs.  From the exercise or the thought of tasting whatever food was causing that heavenly scent, my tongue was hanging out of my mouth.  I pushed open the door.

Permesso, I bellowed practically pushing Carmela aside before she could say, avanti.

There on her kitchen table were a stack of the crescents, hot from the oven and screaming to be eaten. 

I lunged for one.  She smacked my hand and explained, it was Good Friday, the day everyone makes the traditional Easter stuffed pastry, pizzagaina. But since they contain meat no one may eat them. 

What???  I thought the Catholic Church said it was OK to eat meat on Friday. Carmela looked at me and said, questo è il venerdì Santo.  Holy Friday, hmmm.  Diverting my attention from the great look and smell of the pastries, I asked how she made them.  She looked at me sternly and told me she made them the same way her grandmother made them and her grandmother wouldn’t let anyone eat them on Good Friday either.

The heart of the crust was not the flour – in today’s case whole wheat flour.  Nor was it the eggs, wee bit of salt and pepper.  The way to get a crunchy flakey crust is too make sure you have a pal who just butchered one of their hogs and gives you fresh lard. (Growing up in Flagtown my mom and nonna swore by lard too.) . Carmela had more than a liter of lard.  I could just imagine all the great crusts she would be making and hoped I’d get invited.

 

Like most of the great cooks in Pontelandolfo, Carmela doesn’t measure. She just knows how much flour, lard, egg, salt and pepper will work well together. The creamy filling I saw oozing out of the top of one of the pastries was egg, diced dried sausage (pepperoni), parmesan cheese and a local aged – stagionato – cheese. She said everyone made them the same way – with a wee bit of personalization. I had a deja vu moment when she told me her secret ingredient was an addition of a little cooked white rice. Shazaam, my Aunt Julie’s had added rice too. One of Carmela’s neighbors adds raisons another cooked fresh sausage.

Now, I am thinking quiche and runny egg so I demanded further information and asked how she got the egg goo not to run all over the table. By then her daughter, Annarita, had arrived and they both looked at me like I was stupider than a chicken. Actually, I think one of might have asked me if I was stupider than a chicken. You beat the eggs, add the diced sausage and then add so much cheese that you get a super thick filling that you can spread. OOOOHHHHH! Circles of dough are rolled. The filling is spread on half the circle – leaving about an inch margin. Then the unfilled half is folded over and the crescent is sealed by pinching the edges together.

Now can we taste one? I asked again with a winsome smile on my face. NO! they both shouted at me. If Jesus could suffer on the cross, we can spend one day without meat! With that they wrapped one up for me to take home and sent me out the door.

Wait, they wrapped one up for me to take home! It was still warm. The odor was so strong I wanted to shove the whole thing in my mouth. But I didn’t. I drove home. Only to find two more pizzagaina on my door step. Easter gifts from neighbors. Apparently, it is a custom. This is torture. I now have a counter full of delicious things that I am not allowed to eat! Then I got it! It was an evil plot to torture me and get the enticing things out of other people’s homes! Errrrrgggg. After pouring a finger of scotch, I started to rethink this caper. Was it really nefarious? Or was it an Easter lesson learned. I finally got it. Lesson learned and remembered.

Ci vediamo a presto! Buona Pasqua!

______________________________________

Carmela is one of the ace cooks you can visit and learn from. There are still 2 spots left in the September 7-14 Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo session.

Click here for more information! Or email info@nonnasmulberrytree.com

An Experiment with 4 Suitcases

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Practical Matters - Living Abroad, Travel Comments
How can we possibly need all those suitcases??

What were we thinking dragging four – count them – four empty suitcases back to the USA? Well not exactly four empty suitcases. Jack has filled one to the brim. I leave clothes on both continents and am happy to schlepp nothing.  Why empty suitcases?  So that I can fill them with household goods we want to bring to our place in Pontelandolfo.

We have been flying Lufthansa which gets our full “going to Italy” suitcases to Naples where our best bud, Nicola picks us up. No suitcase angst. Jack, my frugal husband, discovered that premium seats on Norwegian Air from Newark, NJ was so much cheaper than Lufthansa.  Downside – you land in Rome with four full suitcases.  Upside –   the seats lie flat and you can sleep. Downside – you pay to stay in a hotel for a night or two.  Upside – it is Rome.  Downside – you have four freakin’ full suitcases!

When we landed in Rome with our four incredibly full and heavy suitcases – yes, you heard a WHINE –  the hotel’s driver picked us up and carried most of the bags. Then we used Mailbox Express to send half the bags to Pontelandolfo. We still had to drag two suitcases and computer bags on the train. Not fun. Oddio! I freakin’ hate it.

It was time to head back to New Jersey for a wedding – via Rome – with the same, albeit empty, four suitcases. I scoured for a car service – even a Bla Bla car – to get us and all our shit to Roma Fiumicino. The ever brilliant, Pasquale and Rossella, provided me with bus information. Flix Bus was cheap but took ten hours and left way too early in the morning.  Azienda Trasporti Molisana, ATM, had a bus that left from Boiano and only took the same three hours it would take in a car.  Hmm, I decided we would investigate.

I was telling my ex-pat pal in Ecuador, Marie, about my experimenting with bus transportation.  She promptly said, “ah, an experiment with four suitcases.”  Thanks Marie for the title!  Thanks for also reminding me that in Ecuador you have been using the buses forever.

An Experiment with 4 suitcases – 

ATM really had a comprehensive schedule.  But before I would investigate price, I sent a few e-mails to info@atm-molise.it.  (Dear proficient speakers of Italian – ignore my linguistic flaws. Non- Italian speakers will think I’m brilliant.)  Gulp, could I really drag 4 suitcases plus computer bags on the bus.  ATM responded immediately. (Damn, that impressed me.)

Me: Quante valigie possono portare ogni passeggero?  Grazie.

ATM: Quante ha bisogno di portarne? (I could see ATM rolling his/her eyes. How many do I need to carry – indeed!)

Me: Due (2) per me & due (2) per il mio marito.

ATM: Non c’è problema, buon viaggio. (Now ATM is laughing out loud and can’t wait to see us drag the suitcases down the street to the bus.)

Then I remembered a really important question.

Me: Dov’è ferma il pulmino nel Via Cavadini Boiano? The street is a long one.  How would we find the stop?

ATM: Davanti al vivaio La Ginestra, c’è il palo con l’indicazione ATM. Hmm near a nursery and there is a sign – sure there is a sign NOT.  This is Italy.

I moved on to the next step in the grand experiment and for €28.35 I booked two seats on the 9:55 AM ATM bus from Via Cavadini in Bojano (Boiano) to Fiumicino.  Jack and I often go to Boiano and decided we would do a trial run to find the alleged bus stop.  Shazaam – there was a clearly marked ATM sign right where they said it would be.  We were psyched.  This will be easy-peasy.

Trying to make the trip a wee bit easier I stuffed the duffle bag Jack usually packs into an oversized suitcase.  Great!  Now we are down to three suitcases, two computer bags and a purse.  What?  Jack promptly took his favorite blankee, I mean duffle bag out of the larger suitcase.  We are back up to four.  I whined again.  Jack then jammed, kicked and bullied a slightly smaller empty suitcase into the oversized one.  Four suitcases – pulling three and pocketing another. 

Rossella and Pasquale drove us to Boiano.  It had snowed.  The mountains looked fabulous.  The bus stop – full of snow.  How do you drag suitcases in the snow?  The bus arrived on time and stopped in the street.  Smart move.  We pulled the suitcases down the street and tossed them in the under-carriage storage bin.  The bus was modern and the seats comfortable.  The glass roof and wide windows provided breathtaking mountain views.  They also eliminated any large overhead storage.  My computer bag nested under my legs.

Happy Bus Riders!

After about an hour, I noticed the Lavazza Caffè maker ready to serve us and that there wasn’t a bathroom.  Suddenly, I had to pee.  Snow capped mountains zipped by.  I had to pee. I refused to think about peeing.  Olive groves, flocks of sheep and goats, plains prepped for spring plantings – those views and those thoughts filled my head. So did the many ways one could ask for a bathroom – C’è un bagno?  Dov’è il bagno? La toilette??  We arrived at Roma Stazione Tiburtina.  Our bags came out of the bottom of the bus and we were told to wait at the same place for the bus to Fiumicino.  I used my now longer list of Italian bathroom phrases and found the bathroom.  Paid the 50 cents to enter. Waited for a stall. Opened the door and found a marble hole in the floor with foot pads.  NOOOOOO!  I had on pantyhose.  That means taking off the pantyhose and putting my bare feet – noooooo!  I sucked it up and went back to get the bus to Fiumicino.  I could hold it another 40 minutes.  I am a strong woman.

The bus arrived and they loaded our luggage underneath, checked our tickets and off we went.  The wi-fi worked on this bus – it hadn’t on the first one.  It was a double decker bus and we chose the easy to get to bottom level.  We each took two seats and put our computer bags on one.  Most people went upstairs for the better views. Soon we arrived at Fiumicino’s international terminal.  They helped us with our bags and off we went to check in.  (Yes, I immediately found a bathroom.)

The bus company was easy to work with, ran on time, and was comfortable.  We have now discovered yet another way and another reason to get to Pontelandolfo!

Ci  vediamo!

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It is not too late to sign up for the 2019 Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo.  The May culinary adventure awaits you. The September section is almost full.