Aside from the fact that it really has rained every day since we we have here, there have been some minor adventures. But first the rain, OF COURSE THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS CLIMATE CHANGE! Seriously rain every day at one time or another; rain at night, sunny morning, nice day, clouds in the afternoon, gray day, sun pops out at 4:00pm, sun is out and we have a shower! Yesterday was nice all day and as we left a restaurant last night at about 9:30 pm it started to sprinkle. It just doesn’t stop.
Ahhh BUT the memorable moments…
The first incident happened probably the second or third day we were here, but since it wasn’t part of of the GPS debacle, I didn’t mention it. The house has double doors leading to a small balcony off the kitchen and I wanted to open up the to get some fresh air in and step out on the balcony. There’s a top-to-bottom screen that rolls up like a shade and I struggled to release the latch mechanisms in each corner. Peter heard me cursing the screen and yelled, “Just give it a good knock”. And I did and it hit me back!

Bang, Bang The Screen Hit Me
Believe me I tried for an hour to figure out how to reduce this photo!!
I’ve had some delicious meals these past two weeks, too many to describe and most of the time I’d forget to take a photo. However, I had two Birthday meals, so I did capture those fabulous pasta dishes. Since I slept through most of my birthday, my first meal was dinner at La Meridian; Orecchiette with porcini mushrooms.

ORECCHIETTE with PORCINI MUSHROOMS
The next day I had my belated birthday lunch at La Piccola Perla Del Maltese in Cusano Mutri.

La Piccola Perla dell Matese
After some bruschetta that was made in heaven, I had an amazing Spaghetti Carbonara, every strand creamily delicious.

Spaghetti Carbonara
And then there was the morning we woke up to find we had no water! I called Pasquale who already knew about it. He said there was a problem on the road and the next door neighbor had already reported it. “Look out the window”, he said.

No Water!
Miraculously fixed in a couple of hours! And the bricks in the road were replaced.
No water, no problem, there is always wine in Guardia! On a warm Wednesday, we joined a few other expats (as how they refer to us) and visited a private vineyard and winery in Guardia Sanframondi which was located in the middle of all of their lush 20 hectares (just under 50 acres).

The Perfect Glass Of Wine in the Perfect Setting. Photo by Kelly Putney
We were given a thorough and informative tour of the entire operation. Huge stainless steel vats were installed in the lower level where the grapes were processed. The amount of equipment was overwhelming! I can’t imagine the investment in machinery and this is not a big vineyard and we are in just one of Italy’s many wine producing regions. What I learned however was that the fallinghina grape is grown here almost exclusively. In fact Corte Normanna’s wine has received official certifications from the government which attest to its quality and authenticity of origin. We spent a leisurely hour enjoying a light lunch of house made dishes and delicious cured meats and cheeses and of course wine.

Peter and I DID NOT KNOW a photo was being taken. We were listening intently to Alfredo
Alfredo, one of the two brothers who now run this family-owned generational vineyard, joined us and answered many questions and told us much about grape growing and how dependent they are on the weather fora good harvest.

Everyone is Smiling We Drank a Lot Of Wine
So far, we’ve closed at least two restaurants; one night at La Meridiana we left about 2am and it was after midnight when we finally let the staff of Alchime go home. We’ve been eating out a lot (Peter’s definite preference) but I did manage to cook a few dinners in my great kitchen here. Joel arrives tonight and I will be happy to cook more. Went to the open air Sunday market and bought several items for this week. I HAVE to share: 3 blood oranges, 4 bananas, a small melon, a small bunch of Vesuvio tomatoes, 2 zucchini’s, a huge head of fennel, 2lbs of fava beans = 5.50 Euros!! So then I went to the olive, cheese and salted fish dealer. It cost more than I expected but there were no prices on things per pound and even if I asked I’m not sure I would have gotten the translation ( their dialect) quickly enough. But that’s on me because all the dealers are patient with their new foreign customers of which we are many. I bought a bag of green olives – this is where he puts them in and I say basta. A quarter of a caciocavallo cheese, a good size piece of fresh ricotta (which I’m not sure what to do with yet), a small ball of mozzarella that his mama insisted I take, and about 1+ lb of pistachio nuts and finally 1 of these crazy big tarrella they make filled nuts – to eat along the way! All that cost $14.50 Euros! I’m sure I came out pretty good and we will eat well this week.

Caciocavallo Cheese
To Be Continued…
Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. Enjoy your visit with Joel!
Sounds like a great trip after an awful start. Love your blogs!!! Btw, you can sometimes get cacciocavallo cheese in Jersey City, at Rizzo’s Deli/Restaurant. Mrs. Rizzo is from Monte San Giacomo, the town in the Vallo di Diano, Salerno Province, where our grandmothers’ family was from. Enjoy the rest of your trip, and I hope you have an uneventful trip home🍷🍷.
Hey where’s the tomato sauce on the macaroni😘❤️🤣🎈🤣
This is the high class stuff!,!
I thought you might have run off the road since you stopped posting but I see you have been happily eating and drinking away. That’s good news. ENJOY!!!
Now this is the vacation you were waiting for in spite of rocky start. You and Peter look very ZEN(who cares if it is wine induced!). I am getting a vicarious thrill looking at the food and ambience. It looks so normal and sane compared to here .Savor every minute.
As I did not see any posts for a while…
I figured that something had gone
amiss. Say, Pete drinking too much
wine and wandering into a nearby town.
Good to find that you are really
enjoying your travels.
I like the mix of expert prose and
Photos.
I was going to comment on the
rapt expressions in the early photo.
But saw the explanation in the
caption. Best photos are frequently
Captured when the subjects are
unaware. That was a good one.
Continue to have the great time that
this experience has to offer.
Murray