Horrible to hear about the Earthquake in Turkey today. What a huge, heart breaking disaster. Seems a weak thing to say, but my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone there. Wish I could help more. We had fears of a tsunami here on the Adriatic Coast, and the train lines from Pescara were shut down for a while. The world is much smaller that we realise isn’t it. An earthquake in Turkey can cause a Tsunami in Italy. And here I am talking about being cold. It seems selfish.
I’ve had the winter blues lately, but am feeling better, and counting my blessings. It’s cold outside, but I have a warm fire to sit by. We’re all counting pennies because of the Putin energy crisis, but we have pennies to count.
Let this year be a gentler, kinder one. This world is too old, and the people have too much knowledge to keep making the same mistakes.
On Monday I woke up to another beautiful, but busy morning. Ascoli Piceno was our first stop. Hubby needed a new passport photo so we found ourselves in a different part of the city. No matter where you walk in Ascoli Piceno, the streets are well maintained and full of charm. We found the media store, and the job was done in less than five minutes, and for only five Euros. Nice!
Next a grocery store. We were parked close to a Eurospin in downtown Ascoli so we popped in. Big mistake, too busy, note to self…avoid this one in future. I needed the final ingredients for my 2022 Christmas cake. Italian stores don’t stock the same dried fruits as English or American stores, so I improvise a little, but it always tastes good. Same with mincemeat, no suet here folks, instead I freeze butter and grate it (and use half as much butter as I would suet), butter is richer and it actually tastes better.
Finally Brico, the hardware/building store. I guess that would be Home Depo in the US, and Home Base in England. Anyway, we needed a LPG gas fire, (GPL over here) to take the chill off the room until the fire is fixed. Hubby feels the cold more than me, and looks uncomfortable wrapped in a blanket, maybe its just not manly!!!
Look after your health in your working life, you’ll definitely need it when you retire. I’ve never been busier.
Oh, spooky, I remembered Monday was Halloween. I got my halloween scare…yes I screamed, but not for a witch or ghost, but a huge spider cricket. Not sure if any of you have ever encountered one of these! A spider cricket is a weird looking insect that likes to jump at your face. They have eight legs, and look just like a spider, but jump very high. One decided to rest in our kitchen sink last night…jumped at me in the semidarkness. We’ve been battling with bugs ever since we moved in here.
Tuesday arrived bright and sunny too. All Saints day! I didn’t even remember until I heard the church bells ringing more than normal. All Saints day means a very busy cemetery, a very busy bakery and nothing else open. I’m guessing thats why the grocery store in Ascoli Piceno was so busy on Monday. AllSaints’ Day in Italy started around the 9th century. Today November 1st is a festive day. Italian families will typically visit their local parish for mass on All Saints Day.And of course after mass they’ll celebrate with a nice long lunch among family and friends.
We took a long walk in the afternoon and bumped into Enzo, our neighbour, who looked like he may be escaping to his vegetable garden. His escape didn’t last long before his wife came out to find him, cocktail in hand and beautifully dressed. I’m guessing they had company.
On Friday morning we headed to Rome to meet our daughter and son in law. So excited to see them and bring them to our new home. The timing was perfect. They cleared customs less than fifteen minutes after we arrived at the airport. We checked into our hotel, freshened up a little, and then headed to Campo di Fiori. It’s one of my favourite piazzas. I love watching it transform at the end of the day, when market stalls make way for dining tables, such a great atmosphere. After lingering over a late lunch/early dinner, we wandered through our favourite streets. Rome is our happy place. Although we’d travelled to Italy several times, we didn’t make our first trip to Rome until 2010. It captured our hearts. Returning to Rome is like visiting an old friend. Close to Via Condotti I snapped a couple of photos of my old friend Michael, wish it really was him. It was a beautiful evening and I can’t wait to do it again.
Sitting here on this sunny Colorado afternoon at 5:25 mountain time on Sunday August 11th 2013 – I look back at my life and smile. I am fifty six years old and I think I have plenty to smile about. This afternoon I am remembering music, and what a huge part it played in my life.
What was the first record I ever bought? Albatross by Fleetwood Mac. The year was 1969
What was the first open air concert I went to? Reading. Saw Rod Stewart, Curved Air and Hawkwind. FANTASTIC – crazy times.
Best Concerts I’ve ever been to were David Bowie at Earls Court in 1973 and Michael Jackson at Earls Court in 1989 and 1992.
Finally remembering with great fondness, the last Michael Jackson concert I went to with my husband and my eight year old daughter. It was amazing. I can’t believe he isn’t with us anymore. RIP Michael.
My first Michael Jackson Concert was in 1988 at Wembley Arena. It was an amazing event. The London weather let us down and it rained, but it didn’t spoil the magic. After standing at the front of Wembley Arena and being crushed by thousands of people trying to get as close to Michael as possible, I was exhausted, but it was worth it. I was 31 in 1988.
My second Michael Jackson concert was in 1992. This time we took our 7-year-old daughter, who of course was a big fan. Who wasn’t? Michael Jackson was a little strange, but lots of people are a little strange. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone. The concert in 1992 was amazing. My 7-year-old daughter chanted “We want Michael” with the rest of them. He did not disappoint. He was DANGEROUS!
And now it is January 6, 2012. Michael Jackson is no longer with us, but his legacy lives on. I am 54, my daughter is 27 and the amazing ‘Cirque de Soleil’ are paying homage to Michael with their ‘Immortal Tour’. Of course I am going to be there! When Michael Jackson died a part of me died too. His music got me through some bad times in my life and I think about him every day. His body may be dead, but his music lives on.
Travel Tales and Mishaps 