Friday, October 15

 

I had a great night's sleep.  Maybe (?) I am getting over jet lag? My host was a slim Italian man who wheezed at every breath and talked in a whisper.  His wife was a much younger Asian woman and they were so nice. I do wish I had gotten a photo of them and their beautiful B & B. My only complaint was that I had no internet but that gave me time to get myself organized. 

I had an unusual cake for breakfast.  It had an orangy glaze on top and was quite tasty.  I had a breakfast companion that made me feel totally at home.  He was a totally black teenager cat - a young Tom.  We were instant friends and I got several love bites and one lasting scratch.  What a lover! 

I have seen many such huts in Italy. They are used for storage.

The beautiful vistas. Today's hike was 14.6 miles but seemed a bit easier because there was more downhill than up.  I only got majorly lost and minorly lost three times.  An improvement over the other days.

I loved this sign.  Not sure of all the words but clearly the dog was nervous.

The trail looking like this all day.

The locals were out all day preparing for winter.

I crossed a number of streams but none that I worried I was going to fall in.

All day I listened to the sounds of running water, so peaceful. And each tiny village smelled of firewood.  

Look at the beautiful pansies.  Do we plant them in the fall?  I don't remember seeing them for sale in the fall.

I went in this small church next to my hotel.  I thought this porcelin depiction was particularly interesting.

I was fascinated by this more modern statue.

Dinner was the best part of the day.  I started with this tomato and onion bruschetta. I wolfed down all three pieces.  Not only was I hungry but this was really good.  Fresh local tomatoes like we don't get from the grocery.

My main course was this Topini (gnocchi) with Cacio e Pepe (cheese and black pepper).  If you have never had good gnocchi, you are missing out on one of the best dishes in the world.  Most gnocchi is heavy and gummy but good gnocchi is light as a feather.  This almost levitated off the plate.  I cancelled my next two courses because I was full. I have yet to see an obese person here but if I ate like this every day, I would certainly not float off the plate.

I hope you all realize that I write this blog when I am so tired and I barely think.  Please forgive my grammatical errors.  The more tired I get, the fewer commas I use, and perhaps some days I don't even make any sense at all. Hugs and kisses and prayers for you all.