It was kind of a quiet week for us, both literally and figuratively.  Two weather fronts came through which brought cold, wind, rain, and the possibility of snow showers.  We didn’t see snow; I was looking forward to seeing it, just for the novelty of snow in April.  We also didn’t have our balcony doors open and we didn’t venture outside as much as we’d previously done, so we weren’t as connected to the sounds of the village.

This past week was Holy Week, and we saw several new faces around town – family members who live elsewhere but who came back to spend Easter (la Pasqua) with the family.  We saw Easter wreaths on house doors and Easter bunnies and colorful egg decorations in the shops.  We bought a traditional Pasqua pastry which was a baked turnover filled with a light egg and cheese custard.  It was good!

the schedule for Holy Week in the village

the Easter pastry

the Easter pastry with its egg custard filling

On Thursday we saw a procession go down the street in front of our house, and at first, we thought it was part of Holy Week.  It was actually a funeral procession following a funeral mass at the cathedral.  There was a hearse decorated with flowers driving slowly down the street with a crowd of people walking behind it.  The church bells tolled a sorrowful song for 15 minutes.  The procession continued to the local cemetery.

The main church on top of the hill

We are getting further entrenched in our routine here.  People are becoming more friendly now that they realize we are staying here for a while and not just passing through.  The butcher gave us a taste of his homemade dried sausage (yum), the grocer gave us an extra apple during a visit, and some people have paid for our beers at the little bar.  Plus, we now recognize people on the street or in the bar and have a chat with them.

The bar near our apartment – you get a coffee here in the morning and then a beer/wine at the end of the day

The butcher shop

The grocery shop

We took a walk yesterday and a cat ran over to us and flopped down on the ground for some attention.  I didn’t take a picture of the cat because I was too busy petting it despite Chad’s protests.  As we continued our walk, the cat trotted after us for a while before taking a quick left to go explore elsewhere.  Then yesterday evening, we had a video call with Chad’s parents, Jim and Fran, and our cat Bokchoy made an appearance.  While I do miss our snuggly cats, especially on this cold and cloudy weekend, I’m very happy with this sabbatical in Italy.

Our cat Bokchoy a couple of years ago – such a ham