Slowly dropping back into my tranquil life after a whirlwind week, I have a lot on my plate - figuratively and literally, of course. But I'm not sweating it. As a reward for your patience during my
gita, I have a surprise for you. I won't reveal what it is just yet although since I've decided to avoid Rome during Easter festivities, I've arranged the Easter bunny to leave you all something colorful and very fun & way better than any chocolate bunnies, Cadbury creme eggs (I only know one person who actually eats these, by the way), and jelly beans (which we don't have here, but we do have
Scoppio del Carro which is better because shit gets blown up).
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| 4 pillow cases + 1 T-Shirt between my toilet & neighbor's kitchen |
More to follow this weekend.
Oh - I’ve since met my new neighbor – really nice kid – he’s quiet and therefore I love him. He was also cool with me hogging both clotheslines between my window and his - which we've established is the exact length of 4 pillow cases and 1 T-Shirt - as I caught up on laundry yesterday.
This morning I put on my little running capris, ensured my head was properly accessorized with sunglasses, ponytail, and iPod earbuds and bounced out into the sun and up into the hills. I even noticed I was wearing a smile as Gregoire was singing something French in my ear.
Still pretty freaking high from the visit to my ancestral villages, I have to say I'm still contemplating the soonest time to go back. You see, what started out as poking around to see if I could still get my Italian citizenship back in September '09 turned into curiosity about my family's history. Further exploration led me to Ancestry.com where I saw not only pictures of – you know – people in my family – but people sitting in the exact living room I played in as a child! Holy crap - this person had photos of my grandparents standing in the same garden in front of the same trash cans (Italians always have trash cans in their photos) that I came barreling around over 40 years ago with a glass Exxon (Put a tiger in your tank!) coffee mug, fell, and cut up my little hands on the pieces.
The person who’d assembled my family tree turned out to be my cousin, who connected me with another cousin who’s lived across town from me in the Springs the whole time – and who knew? Many pictures, e-mails, naturalization certificates, a couple glasses of wine, and a year and ½ later I found myself in the Commune of Castel di Sangro. On the first floor is a library and a lovely lady, goddess of really large books with handwritten birth records, and she made copies of some of the birth records...
...of these people!
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| How many bottles of wine can you find in this photo? Definitely my family. |
Now, being that she had already stayed a little late to help me and one doesn’t get between Italians and their evacuation from the work place, I promised her I would come back and spend more time. Plus she gave me the names of living relatives in a nearby small town I’d like to try to find. Plus Plus – remember English is not an option. Ergo, while I obviously am able to complete various missions in Italian, I’d like to be able to do it more competently with the grammar skills of someone who’s at least reached puberty.
This will require my setting up camp in aforementioned ancestral village, drinking much coffee at whatever local bar folks will chat with me, and taking drives like this:
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| Perhaps they didn't notice the sign... |
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| Barrea |
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| Civitella Alfadena (Coffee break!) |
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| Civitella Alfadena |
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| Pescasseroli |
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| Opi |
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| Gratuitous "I'm home" shot. |
But I think most of all, I want to spend time in a special place that feels like everything I love about Italy and everything I love about Colorado all rolled into one. I felt at home there, like curling up with a bowl of soup in front of a wood-pellet stove was the most natural response, that hikes through the mountains and likewise tiny villages were perfectly normal ways to spend a day. The only sad thing is that I feel like I have to do it before tourism ruins that place too.
Hi Valerie!... :-)
ReplyDeleteYou don't know me I guess, but I've been following your blog and I've awarded you with the 'Versatile Blogger'. Please visit my blog to receive it: http://ziva-aboutlivinnlovin.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-16-versatile-blogger-badge.html
gf!, what a fabulous photo of your family!. u mention wine bottles- reminds me of my MIL when she said she had to be quiet taking out the wine bottles to the recycling bin.. she may have been quiet but once the truck came and dumped it, her reputation was made...lol Glad u are happy, u deserve it.
ReplyDelete@Ziva - why thank you, I'm flattered! I'll stop by in the morning as it's after midnight here & I've got a few glasses of wine in me. Would rather be more coherent when visiting your place.
ReplyDelete@Chrissy - Been there with the wine bottles in the recycling bin, heard the clinking. Check. Tell your aunt it's a hell of a lot classier than beer & hard liquor bottles! Just tell her to put the "good" bottles on top and put any suspicious-looking white zin your friends may have been drinking on the bottom, just in case the trash guys are checking the bottle labels. And thank you - the picture was found by my cousin - and being happy is what these years are all about, right? Before you know it they're gone!
Che bello, Valeria!!! You look wonderful with the beautiful mountains in the backdrop. And what a picturesque town, too! I am so happy you found so much information about your family! That is so cool :) You truly found your roots :)
ReplyDeleteValerie, how cool it must be to feel at home in your ancestral village. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteAh, you're home :-)
ReplyDeleteThat old family photo is a gem xo
Hey, what a great adventure!!
ReplyDeleteCome downunder and you'll find THOUSANDS of people eating Cadbury's creme eggs ...
Have a great Easter break!!
@Barbara - You're the sweetest - Funny because I wasn't really looking in the beginning. It all started with "I think I'll go to wine school in Italy" 2 years ago.
ReplyDelete@Michele - Thank you. A very strange thing I wasn't expecting, and didn't want to leave!
@Sara - That foto was my cousin's find - she's got the most info compiled on the family and was the one I met through Ancestry.com...even though we played in that same alley as kids I didn't remember her and only met her in January!
@Red Nomad - Ha! I'll tell my friend and she'll know where to come when she's depleted her stash (I think she rations them). Enjoy your weekend as well! Cheers!
Wow, it sounds like so much fun digging into your "radici" :-)
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew where my birth-father was from. There were hints that he might have been Italian, so it would have been a great adventure trying to track down my own Italian ancestry.
Meh, for the time being I'm happy just assuming I'm the sole descendant of Leonardo Da Vinci. It's not like anyone can prove me wrong :-P
Love it, Haley! I liked the tangible aspect of seeing and touching the books, standing in the village and talking with people. Have a great weekend Signora Da Vinci!
ReplyDeleteA 'cool' post young lady! I pictured the washing line perfectly. I say it every time I come here, but you always transport with you and I come away heady from my visit (or maybe the fine wine).
ReplyDeleteI loathe creme eggs...bleurgh! Hubby, however adores them. Luckily he's on a sort of keep fit campaign and has cut down on chocolate, so those yucky things aren't in our house at the moment.
Your photographs of your family are marvellous. I wish I had some interesting ancestry...I don't think I have any Italian sadly.
@Nelson - Thank you for stopping by. Glad you enjoyed!
ReplyDelete@Carol - Be glad I didn't transport you to that clusterf*** of tourist groups clogging up the Ponte Vecchio just now - they make me want to kick puppies. Not really. Although morning shopping before Easter outside centro is so much fun! I'm with you on the creme eggs - che schifo.
Oh so happy for you! Do I see a tiny villa purchase in a your future? Seems as though you found the place your heart calls home... sometimes places choose us, sometimes more so than us choosing them.
ReplyDeleteCheers, bella!
Thank you - but not villa-buying for this girl. I can't even commit to a cat or house plant right now. But I can say that going back and spending more time there needs to happen. Happy unpacking, honey!
ReplyDeleteLOL @ the houseplant/cat comment. I definitely get that!!! (mine, tho, is relating to relationships, not houses, obviously.)
ReplyDeleteThose too. Commitment = "trap" in my mind. I don't think that will change. Too happy single for too long and trying to pin me down to some "future" gives me the heebie-jeebies - however the hell you spell heeby-jeebies.
ReplyDeleteAhh, Valerie. I am in the middle of making Hot Cross Buns for our neighbors but, I wanted to thank you for the reminder about Cats. Bravo! Now,Please know that when you talk about 4 pillow cases and a t-shirt on the clothes line, my mind skips forward to the movie SUMMERTIME with Katherine Hepburn. To see clothes on the line, smell fresh bread baking and sip wine in the local cafe.My dream!Thank you for sharing your moments. A bientot. Robin
ReplyDeleteI think that's the best thing about blogging - sharing our moments with those who appreciate them too. I'll rent that movie when I get home - I don't remember it, but I get on "old film" kicks between bouts of foreign films. Enjoy those hot cross buns - yum! Now, if only my neighborhood back home allowed clotheslines...
ReplyDeleteHi there. I've been introduced to you from your friend Carol (or should I say that daft old bat!! LOL!!) from Facing50withhumour, and I hope you don't mind if I follow your blog from over here in England. I'm right down the other end from Carol, in Devon! I absolutely love Italy and can't wait to get back there again. Ciao!
ReplyDeleteCiao - How could I possibly mind? Any friend of Carol's is welcome here ... as long as you bring booze. Nice to meet you!
ReplyDelete