This was the third year I planned to spend my birthday in Italy; this time right down to the arrival date of the day before. Of course I didn’t plan on all the chaos of bloody noses, missed flights and arriving late the night before. We told Pasquale and Anna we would see them for breakfast the next day (my birthday) and our plan was to go to my favorite restaurant in Cusano Mutri for a celebratory lunch.
Best laid plans and all that jazz were laid to rest as were Peter and I. It rained during the night and I am one of those people who find it extraordinarily comforting to hear the rain falling, probably because I imagine from my working days whatever was scheduled will be cancelled! The bedroom in Nonna’s House is very dark at night and so beautifully old world Italian with outside shutters closed, glass doors closed and indoor wooden shutters closed. Huddled under three blankets for warmth ( it was freezing in the house with no heat) and in the pitch black we slept and slept.
Early in the morning (EARLY) I heard the tractors going down the street to go to work, for this is a village married to the land as they say. I just rolled over and went back to sleep, never heard the church bells either from the nearby church. The room was dark, the bed was warm and we slept….till 4:00 in the afternoon!
Well so much for Cusano Mutri, we went to the Bar for Caffe Americano where we met some lovely people from New Orleans. I always feel like Pasquale’s Bar is like Rick’s Cafe in Casablanca; all the foreigners end up there eventually. Swapping stories with travelers near and far is a constant pastime in Guardia and done more often than not sitting around the outside table at the Bar.
Photo from Guardiaguide.wordpress.com. PASQUALE’S BAR
But we decided we better go grocery shopping 🛒, the fun things one does on their birthday! Off to the DECO supermarket where the manager beamed and heartily welcomed me like I was family- I still maintain it’s because no one else spends so much $$at one time in his store. They are very weird about giving you bags too, I think you are supposed to bring some, because last year when the checkout girl was not putting groceries in bags he reprimanded her – again this customer just spent 95 Euros! This year he asked me if I had bags? No, did we arrive last night?(in Italian), Si. So bags for me and then a gift – a huge DECO shopping bag which we loaded up with beer, milk, orange juice*, tomato pasata, and some pasta. I give him my most charming smile and tell him Mille grazies, io ritorno.
Another stop at the 50 cent store to pick a few household essentials which I fully intend to charge Pasquale for and we are home and ready for a dinner out. Our favorite restaurant in Guardia (admittedly not a lot of choices) is La Meridiana and you are almost always guaranteed to run into someone you’ve met before: Sure enough across the room is the New Orleans crowd enjoying their last meal in town as they are off to Rome tomorrow.
We ate like Italians with antipasta , primi piatti, secundo, Dolci and the manager brought us a delicious grappa flavored with arranciata. Delightful way to end my shortened birthday but I’v already decided to go to lunch to tomorrow in Cusano Mutri.
To be continued…
Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
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