We met the local police officer yesterday. We were wrapping up a late breakfast when our door buzzer rang. Chad went out on the balcony, looked down, walked back inside and said, “It’s the po-po” and then went downstairs to let her in. (The police offer rang our doorbell at the lighter brown door on the right, and Chad went out on the balcony to see who it was.)
the door to our upstairs apartment is the lighter wood door on the right
Since we are on an extended stay in the town and Chad is pursuing Italian citizenship, the police officer stopped by to ask some questions about what we’re doing here and what are our intentions. She was so nice and just doing her job. We had a great conversation, and while she does speak some English, we had our entire conversation in Italian.
Speaking of which, everyone here automatically speaks to us in Italian with not even a reference to English. I’m not sure how many people even know English here, so this will be a great experience for practicing our Italian language skills. Some people speak slowly, some people speak quickly, some people include some dialect. After each exchange, Chad and I say to each other, “Did you catch when he said…” or “did you understand what she meant when she said…” We do try to ask clarifying questions to the other person to make sure we do truly understand what is being said.
In short, the people here are very friendly. When we walk about town, we always get a “ciao” (hello) or a “buon giorno” (good day) or, better yet, a “buon gior” which seems to be the local dialect where they shorten the word “giorno”. (This is usually said by the older people.)
And now some photos of the village. The oldest houses and narrowest pedestrian streets are around the main church in the old city center. The newer houses and streets are a little further out, although still within a couple of minutes’ walk since the town is so small, and it’s faster to walk everywhere than to even attempt to drive.
Here are the some of the main landmarks:
A view of the old town with the main church on top of the hill, the newer houses are spilling down the hill
The main church on top of the hill
The smaller church on the main street
Town hall
Here are the daily amenities near our apartment:
The grocery shop – the door where the customer is entering is the main grocery, next to that is a small garage for a car for the apartment above, and the open area next to that is an annex for the grocery
The grocery annex contains a freezer with frozen meat/seafood/veggies and shelves with bulk cleaning products – liquid soap, laundry detergent, household cleaners, etc where you can bring your own container and fill it from the bulk jug
The pharmacy (with the green cross) and the multi-purpose store (with the blue Tabacchi sign, selling toys, jewelry, groceries, etc)
The butcher shop
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 bar has seating “al fresco” in a parking space across the street
The bar also has a foosball table that keeps the young boys occupied after school
The flower shop next door to our apartment
And now some photos of the rest of the village:
A typical street in the oldest part of the village – this street is pedestrian-only as it has many steps spilling down the side of the mountain
Another typical street
Many houses have potted plants decorating their entrances – which reminds me, I need to make some purchases at the floral shop to decorate our balconies
Since the oldest part of the village was built on the hilltop, you can see where the houses use the mountain rock as foundations
And here’s a closer view of the rock foundations, and someone has created little plant gardens as well
I like this little plaza at the edge of the oldest part of the village – from where I’m standing, steps go down to the plaza and behind me is an asphalt street where cars can drive
And the little plaza includes a public water fountain
Imaging walking up these stairs to get to your front door – there are four different apartments which are accessed via these stairs
And here’s a photo of the newer part of the village, houses on this part of the street seem to have been all built in the 20th century – you can tell it’s newer because 1) it is paved in asphalt and 2) it is wide enough for two-way car traffic
Tomorrow Chad and I will drive to the coast (30 minutes away) to spend the day in the seaside town of Termoli and see historic sites and eat our weight in seafood. Stay tuned…
The woman entering the store is wearing a coat. Makes me wonder if you’re keeping warm.
Fill your container from bulk cleaning supplies- what an economical and environmentally efficient way to do it.