BACK AT IL MOLINO BUT FOUND MEMORIES OF ARCE AND CASTROCIELO

 Memories that will live within us forever were made on our trip to Arce and Castrocielo.  Here you see the pool and the mountains in the background at Villa Euchelia.  It is a beautiful place with only 7 rooms and beautiful gardens.  It is kind of off the beaten track but in a great setting with mountain and farm views.  AnnaMarie, our host and owner of the hotel, did everything in her power to make our stay memorable.  We had the best meal in Italy right there at Villa Euchelia.  It was a five star meal.  It cost 30 Euros each and was served  "soup to nuts".  It started with baccala and potato appetizer, then a home made pasta in a mushroom sauce,  next was a chicken rolade on a special sauce,  then an indescribable dessert that had yellow custard with pieces of phyllo dough that was crusty.  Wine during the meal and espresso followed.  Need I say more.  By the way, IL Molino does not have a bathroom scale.  Thank God.

This is a picture of the front to the hotel.  That person standing next to the junk car, oops in mean rental Fiat, is Brenda.  The building was built in the 1600's and completely restored by AnnaMarie and her husband.  AnnaMarie loves what she does and it really shows.  When we were leaving she gave us a bottle of wine as a gift.  Believe me I am a red wine drinker and this wine is the best I have ever tasted.  I doubt if I can get it home, but I am surely going to look for it.

 This is the center of Castrocielo.  As you can see it is a " bustling metropolis ".  In front of the town hall is the polizia locale car.  Behind is another car that probably belonged the men in the "bar" where you see the yellow plastic chairs.  By the way, bar in Italy means a place where they serve espresso and cappuccino and sweet pastries.  Men sit there all day playing cards, maybe scobe,  and drinking espresso and sambucca.  To the best of my knowledge hard liquor is not served there.  Even in restaurants hard liquor is just incidental.  I haven't had a vodka martini since I left home. I really don't want to mislead you, because I buy vodka at the coop, grocery store, and have it at home.  It's best vodka I have ever had and only cost 7 Euros for a bottle that is a little less than a 750ml.  It's called Keglevich.  If you see it buy it and I will be over for a drink.

Here is a picture from Arce of the mountains in the distance that project above the clouds. I took this right next to the church you saw in the last blog.  While there we also went to Rocca di Arce.  Rocca means rock. It is a hill, I would say mountain, town above Arce.  I drove a switch back road to the top and , believe me, you don't want to drive off the edge. It was white knuckles all the way up.  It is so high up that your ears start to pop.  People actually live up there.  It's nice if you are a bird.

So here we are back in Arce.  Here is a common sight in this part of Italy and probably all over this beautiful country.  Here you can get a mellon for 3 Euros.  That's about $4.00 American.  If you think you pay a lot of money for fruits and vegetables at home, try coming here.  If you want anything bring a lot of money.  If it wasn't for the exchange rate it would be great.  We went for groceries on Sunday at the coop in Camucia. That's the biggest town near us.  We bought a lot of food to last us maybe a week.  Just one bottle of wine and very little cleaning products and it cost 110Euros.  Those Euros cost me $154.00 in American dollars.

This is a small part of the abby of Montecassino in Cassino, Italy.  This was a side trip from Castrocielo and Arce.  This abby is in operation today, but was destroyed many times by different invaders to Italy.. The abby was founded in 529AD by St Benedict  The last people who destroyed it was the Americans during World War II because it was the German regional headquarters.  We held it siege for 6 months, then destroyed it in May of 1944.  Once again it was rebuild to its present beauty.  These stairs lead to the great chapel.  I don't know how many monks are there today but it is a large edifice.

This is the chapel.  I think it speaks for itself. If we had all the gold in that chapel, all of us can live comfortably for the rest of our lives. I have many more pictures that I can share with you when we get home.

So here we are. Our last day in Castrocielo and we spot a "farmers market" in town on our way out.  This is the meat truck.  He had every kind of Italian meat you could think of.  The problem was that he, nor anyone else there, could speak any English.  I mean NONE.  It was fun.  We all had a great time trying to understand one another.  Everybody was trying to help us.  We all had a lot of laughs. We ended up with Salomi, Prosciutto, Focaccia, and fresh picked olives both green and black.  We found out that the eating olives come from the southern part of Italy and the olive oil olives come from
                                                                                    Tuscany and north.

 Oh My God, where do you start.  Just look at all those fresh vegetables.  Needless to say we filled a few bags.

We got back to IL MOLINO just in time for Pino and Caroline to leave for Sicily and their next tour.  This tour will last for 3 weeks.  This was our dinner that night.  We had what was left of Brenda's special Tuscan bread soup.  You can see the assortment of meats and cheese in the plate at the center, all from the meat truck.  That's the Focaccia on the cutting board with fresh tomatoes and lettuce.  Of course that bottle next to the flowers, which by the way were picked in the yard, is of course olive oil.  As usual, more calories were consumed that night.  Oh well, when in Rome.....

It's almost 10:00PM here now and just around 4:00PM your time, and it's time for my nightly glass of Vin Santo and a nice fresh biscotti.  I really enjoy doing this blog, I hope you enjoy it too.

I didn't tell you about getting lost in Cassino and having to go to the bathroom.  I really believe that people in Italy do not use bathrooms.  I'm so sorry for killing that tree in the park, but when nature calls you have to do something or it could be quite embarrassing.  That's a story for another blog.  Ciao for now.

ANNA (PINO'S MOTHER) AND OUR TRIP TO MY GRANDFATHER'S HOMELAND (MAYBE)

 This is Anna, otherwise known as Nonna. She is the one on the right.  LOL.  I have to apologize because in my last blog I called her Nonno.  That would be grandfather, Nonna is grandmother.  Hey, I am still learning.(Thanks Cookie).  Anna is 81 years old and lives on her own not far from IL Molino.  She was born in Naples and her husband, who is now deceased, was born in Sicily.  They immigrated to England looking for work many years ago and lived there for 52 years.  Pino was born there and that's where he met Caroline.  All have since moved back to Italy.  Pino and Caroline created IL Molino, his brother Raphael, Pino's brother  has a similar place about 10 km from here and Antonino another brother  has a similar place in Luca.  All in Tuscany.  Anna is a great women.  You would all love her.  We have coffee with her almost every day at her house.  She loves the company

 This is the meal Anna prepared for us tonight.  Yep, you are right, that is lasagna. Not the kind we have at home but real Italian lasagna.  It was layered with very light pasta with meat and hard boiled eggs in between and a very creamy ricotta.  The sauce was also very light and smooth.  OMG, we ate half of that dish along with the usual fresh salad.  I don't know what kind of lettuce that is, but is is sweet and tender.  We also had Anna's home made egg plant made with olive oil. She made it last year and kept it in a jar in her cabinet.  No vinegar just olive oil and herbs.  I hope we can fit in the plane seats in October when we come home.

 This is the main street of Arce.  We traveled there when Pino and Caroline got home on Wednesday.  It is just south of Rome in the province of Lazio.  We were there for 2 days exploring.  It is possible that my grandfather, Eleuterio Cocozzola, came from this town.  Don't ask how Cocozzola turned into Andro because we don't know.  That is what we are trying to find out.  Everyone else in the family has the name Andro except him.  He was born in 1892 and came to the USA through Boston sometime in the early 1900's.  He became a citizen in 1937 and worked for the water department in Waterbury, Connecticut most of his life.  We are still searching.  Maybe he was in the witness protection program if they had one then.  Just joking.   A few pictures below you will see a monument with a name very close to his.  I couldn't check because records have been lost.  Italy has been invaded for centuries so many records have been lost.  I also found out today that after a 100 years or so, they destroy the cemeteries and use the land for something else.  I am not sure if that is true but, that's what someone told me today.  Come to think of it, I have not seen many cemeteries here.

This is the church in Arce.  It is a beautiful church but in need of restoration.  I think Arce is a town of poor farmers.  It is like time has passed them by.  A few miles North is the provincial capital, Frosinione.  The capital has transformed from an agricultural economy to an more industrial one.  The problem is that the factories produce a lot of smog.  On some days it is impossible to see the beautiful mountains because of all the smog.  By looking at the outside of the church, it appears that the only thing Arce got out of this situation is the smog.  The day we were there they were having a funeral for one of the residents.  His name was Eleuterio Siminelli.  He was 56 years old at the time of his death.  The entire town walked behind the hearse carrying the casket up the main street to the church.  I found out later that's what they do even if they don't know the deceased. Everybody morns. 

 Here is a view of the outside of the church.  You can see what the pollution has done the the exterior.  The vehicle you see on the right picked up all the flowers from the front of the church and led the procession to the church.  Apparently everyone puts flowers at the entrance of the church and just before the procession begins, this vehicle picks up all the flowers and joins the procession on their walk to the church.  At first we thought that the deceased was a real important person in town, but we found out later that is what they do for everyone.  I am guessing there were over 300 people behind the hearse.  Most of the women went inside the church and the men stayed outside.  I wanted to take a picture because I went into the church, but I thought that would be kind of tacky.

Yep, here she is.  The professional mourner.   Those of you that are Italian can relate to this picture.  Growing up, this lady or someone like her, was always at the funeral.  There were a few others but I couldn't get a good picture without being obvious.   Come on Rich and Patty and Grace, I know you know this lady.

Bringing the casket into the church.  You can see all the people following along.  That line went all the way down the street.

Here is the best I could find.  Notice the 5th and 6th name down the list.  It is very close to my grandfathers name.  Change the u to an o and the i at the end to an a and you have Cocozzola.  Maybe, just maybe.

This is at the bottom of the monument in the center of town.  It is dedicated to Italian Americans who
 fought in World War Two who had ties to Arce.








Here is a better shot of the wreath at the bottom of the monument,                                                                       

This is the monument..  The weather was beautiful that day as you can see by the picture.  We did not stay in Arce as there are no hotels there anymore.  We stayed just a few miles away in a town called Castrocielo.  We stayed at Villa Euchelia Resort. It is a 7 room hotel that is meticulously kept and exceptionally clean.  Our room faced the farm in back of the building.  Unfortunately the dog next door barked all night until 4am. Then the rooster started.  We had to keep the window open because the air conditioner was shut off from the desk and we could not turn it on. Electricity is very expensive in Italy so they do things to save power.  In fact if the A/C is on and you open the window, it goes off.  There is also no such thing as an incandescent light bulb in Italy.  All we have is those squiggly bulbs that are all of 15 watts, if that much.  Anyway the hotel was great and the hostess was even greater.  We had the best meal we have had in Italy so far at their restaurant.  In my next blog I will have pictures of that area.  The main problem was that Castrocielo is not a tourist area so no one spoke English.  That was interesting.  But we managed to get along.  It was funny at the farm market in town on the day we left.  I have some pictures of that.  All the people there were waiting to see what would happen.  We had a lot of laughs and so did they.  They were real nice people and tried to help us as much as they could.  I'll have more about that along with some pictures in the next blog.  Ciao for now.

IL MOLINO PART 2

So this is our third day at IL MOLINO and guess what I am doing.  Yep, the lawns need mowing.  Pino keeps the place manicured so here I am doing my best to keep it up.  The building in the background is called Fontenairo.  It has two separate bedrooms with a large kitchen and living room at one end. Everyone seems to gather there at night for food and fun.  It has a great outdoor patio with a long table that will fit at least 16 people.

Mowing all the lawns took about 6 hours over a 3 day period.  All in one day is too much for me.  If you look closely at the red object up near the bushes, that's me on the tractor.  As you can see the lawn is starting to burn.  We haven't had rain since we got here and it has been in the 80's each day (about 23C)   Maybe it won't grow much for the next few weeks.  Actually, I don't mind mowing.  It's therapeutic, not to mention the exercise to burn off all that pasta and olive oil.

This is Mark.  He is from Anchorage, Alaska and has rented the entire resort for three weeks.  Each week a new batch of friends and relatives arrive for a week.  He is celebrating his 60th birthday and always wanted to do something like this.  Here he is cooking kabobs on the outside cement grill.  So far we have been invited to some of their food functions, especially when they bring in Luca a local chief who cooks while you watch.  It is really great.  This Saturday a new group of his friends and relatives come in.  According to Mark this is a big group, so next week will be real busy.  Brenda and I are looking forward to meeting all the new people.  They are bringing Luca in again for that group.  FUN, FUN, FUN,  FAT, FAT, FAT.  OH WELL, THERE IS ALWAYS A STARVATION DIET WHEN WE GET HOME.

A view of IL MOLINO from the back side.  I took this from the lawn tractor.

This is the finished product.  This field includes a Volley Ball area and a Croquet area.  It's quite large, and even larger from the seat of a Snapper Lawn Tractor.  I really enjoyed mowing this area.  There is another field on the other side of the building that is a little smaller than this field and includes a soccer field,  Yep, I mowed that one too, but not on the same day.

This is our swimming pool.  It is still open as it stays a lot warmer here than at home for this time of year.  I think it is the Mediterranean Climate that keeps it warmer here.  In fact, they seldom get snow here in winter and very little frost, if any.  I have an automatic pool vacuum that I turn on when needed , usually at the end of the day after everyone is finished swimming.  We cover it at night to keep in the heat.  You can see that the water is crystal clear.  It took a couple of days for me to get it that way, but I think the guests like to see it that way.

So here they are.  My new girl friends.  Molly is on the left and that is Bianca on the right.  I tie them up at night under the porch where it is dark and quiet so they don't bark.  I get them to come at night when I whistle for them Of course they know I have a snack for them.  I started that the first day I was here so I don't have to go looking for them in the dark.  They are fed when I untie them in the morning and at around five in the evening. Don't worry the dogs let you know when it is five.  When I walk in the morning Molly will follow me wherever I go.  If you stop for coffee (about 1 km away) she will wait until you finish, then walk back with you.  By the way, this is not your Dunkin Donuts type of coffee.  It is a small cup of cappuccino and a sweet pastry.  No one walks around with a paper coffee cup filled with coffee.  In fact the paper coffee cup does not exist, at least, in this part of Italy.  Everything is eaten or drunk with china and regular spoons and forks, even at the McDonnell's on the Auto-strata.

What better way to end the perfect day than with a glass of Vin Santo and nice home baked biscotti with almonds.  Tomorrow Caroline and Pino get back from their tour for 2 days before they head out to Sicily for three weeks to run more tours.  This is something else they do in addition to operating IL MOLINO.  Wow, they are busy people.  We are heading off to a hotel in Castrocielo, just south of Rome.  The hotel is near the small town of Arce, where my grandfather may have been born.  Were going to look and see.  Maybe we will find something, maybe not.  I'll let you know and, obviously, take some pictures.  Next time I will introduce you to Anna.  She is Pino's mother.  If you are an Italian you will know her.  She is the typical Italian grandmother.  Although her name is Anna, her real name Nonno.   Stay tuned.

WE ARRIVE AT IL MOLINO DI BORDONE ON SEPTEMBER 17TH

 We arrived early afternoon to IL Molino on September 17, 2013.  We were greeted by Caroline and Pino just in front of the lemon trees you see in this picture.  This is our home until around October 22nd.  IL Molino is a restored 17th century farm house and flour mill.  Caroline and Pino have done an excellent job over the past 12 years or so in bringing the property back to its 17th century grandeur.  Most of the original features have been painstakingly maintained.  kitchens and bathrooms through the property have been updated but most everything else remains original. Upon our arrival, Pino's mother (who is 81 and lives on her own about 1 km away) and Caroline prepared a lunch of pasta, chicken and fresh salad.  Here they eat their main meal at noon and have a light meal at night.  We haven't done that yet, but who know maybe we will get indoctrinated before we head back home.  Perhaps that's why everyone here is slim and fit.  I guess they work off the big meal during the afternoon.  The picture above is the entrance to our living accommodations.  There are more pictures of the interior and surrounding property included here.  More will follow in future blogs.

 This is the olive grove to the south of the property.  Later in October we will be picking olives from these trees.  The olives are then sent out to be processed into olive oil.  We are now enjoying last years finished product.  You just can't get this at home.  This is where the second night we were here a guest came to our door and said there is a fire in the grove.  It looked big.  I made an attempt to call the fire department but they did not speak English and never showed up.  It turns out that it was Marco, the hired part time person burning the branches trimmed off the trees.  He later came to the door and apologized for not letting me know he was up there.  Calling the fire department in Italy is interesting.  The man on the other end of the phone thought it was the house on fire but I was trying to tell him it was the woods.  I kept asking Brenda "how do you say woods in Italian".  It was frustrating and funny at the same time.  Just one of many experiences we have had so for here in Italy.  I'll tell you more when we get home.

This is one of the piazza's in Cortona.  Cortona is a hill town with many narrow streets and alleys.  It is also a tourist mecca.  We walked around, no driving there, believe me.  Did the tourist thing and paid much too much money for truffles, truffle oil and a package of ingredients to make Tuscan Bread Soup, one of Brenda's favorites. 

A view of the countryside from Cortona.  The lake you see in the background is Lago Traisemeno.  It's the third largest lake in Italy.  The lake is very shallow and thus the water is quite warm.

 Our living room.  The television is on satellite and gets hundreds of stations, most of which you have to pay for.  The only program we can watch is international CNN and an English news station.  Everything else is in Italian.  I guess we will have to wait to get home to see Jeopardy  and Wheel.

 Dinning room.  We usually eat in the kitchen.  The stairs you see there lead up to Caroline and Pino's apartment.  It's pretty interesting up there.  They have three bedrooms and two baths.  I know because I have to go up there to water the planters outside the windows.  They have geraniums in them: hello, you are in Italy.  There are eight of them in windows through out the house that need watering about every two days.

 This is where it all happens here in Italy.  THE CUCINA. (kitchen)  As you can see it has what you need to cook great meals.  The door with the white paper on it is the refrigerator.  It's small and too cold most of the time.  The freezer is below.  I am making ice in a Tupperware container as ice cube trays are rare in Italy.  Come to think of it so is ice.  I chop it up and put in a plastic bag and use it for drinks and water.  The stove top is one step above a Coleman stove.  It has four burners all hot and hotter.

 This is the porch outside our door.  It is all stone and tile and a nice place to sit, except for the plastic chairs. Out there also is a repeater.  This is an electronic device that boosts the cell signal so we can use our phone.  All the guest come here to use their cell phones.  That blue object you see mid right in the picture is, yes, a cat feeding dish.  We have two cats to feed daily along with the dogs and fish.  In my next blog I have a picture of the dogs.  I feed them twice a day also, and the fish too.

Even though the kitchen is not as adequate as we are used to at home, you can still cook a great meal there.  This is one of our meals prepared by chief chef Brenda.  It consists of fresh sausage from the Coop, peppers, potatoes and mushrooms.  It was done with homemade olive oil and white wine and several spices.  Also a salad with fresh lettuce and tomatoes, again with the olive oil and a small amount of balsamic vinegar.  The bread is delivered to us by a bread man in a bread truck.  He comes three times a week and when he opens the door to the truck, WOW.  Of course the wine is vino locale. I know this is a long blog but I hope you enjoy it.  I'll have more pictures around the house and pool in my next blog along with pictures of Molly and Bianca, my newest girl friends.

RAVENNA CITY OF MOSAICISTS AND SEAT OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN THE EARLY 400'S

Dante's Tomb also a resident of Ravenna

Ravenna was a great place to visit.  We arrived on Sunday, September 15th.  We followed our gps from Cernobbio and it lead us right to a place that said "You have reached your destination".  However, there was no hotel in sight.  Ravenna is full of one way streets so I guess it got confused.  We called the hotel and they could not give us directions from where we were but she said just look for "stazione" sign (station) then call back.  By luck, and after a couple of choice words, we found the sign and, believe it or not our gps picked up and got us to the front of the hotel.  Parked on the sidewalk and walked in to register.  The desk clerk, who spoke English, told us to drive around the block and find the door marked #22 and ring the bell so she could open it up and let us in to park.  After several tries we found the door and got in the parking area.  The hotel was built
  as a palace for an emperor in the 1800's.  He gave it

Basilica di S.Vitale

Basilica di S.Vitale

 to the catholic church and they sold it to the people who turned it into a hotel.  It was comfortable and friendly.  Remember, you don't have all the amenities here in Italy that you have home.  You get one towel, no face cloth (it doesn't exist in Italy), no in room coffee (that also doesn't exist in Italy).  After a while you learn to adapt.  We toured all the major buildings by walking to each one.  You buy a one ticket and they punch it as you enter.  It worked out great as the last building was almost across the street from out hotel.  All these palaces and churches were built in the 400's and 500's A.D.  Each if full of Mosaics on the walls and ceilings and floors.  I am sending some pictures but they really don't do justice to the brilliant colors and detail.  We are now at IL Molino and living the life of true Italians.  We have had outstanding meals and are putting on the pounds, but actually, not to many because of all the walking and activity.  I'll write more about IL Molino later, especially the gourmet meal that was prepared by a Tuscan chief for all the guests and WE GOT INVITED.  Ciao for now.  Enjoy the pictures.

Mauselo Di Galla Placidia

Basilica S.Appollinare in Classe

A RIDE ON THE FERRY TO BELLAGIO FOR SHOPPING

                                         OUR HOTEL IN CERNOBBIO

                                          VIEW OF LAKE COMO FROM OUR ROOM

                                               A SMALL VILLAGE ALONG LAKE COMO

                                           A VIEW FROM THE FERRY ON OUR WAY TO BELLAGIO

                                         SHOPPING, YES BRENDA DID CLIMB HERE

                                          LUNCH IN BELLAGIO                                                                        

THE WEATHER WAS GREAT, SUNNY, WARM WITH LOW HUMIDITY.  WE SPENT THE DAY SHOPPING IN THE CITY OF SILK.  YOU KNOW CHRISTMAS IS COMING SOON AND WE WILL BE READY.  THE PEOPLE ARE GREAT, THE FOOD IS OUTSTANDING, AND THE WEATHER IS BEAUTIFUL.  MORE TO COME SOON

WE MADE IT TO ITALY SAFE AND SOUND

Well this is the guy who got us safely to Italy.  It looks kind of small for such a long trip (about 8 hours).  Believe me, it was small and got smaller after 8 hours.  Food was typical airplane food, breakfast was questionable but edible.  The flight, however, went smoothly and we hit very little turbulence   Getting our car rental and finding our way out of Malspensa Airport was interesting.  We got the car ok but finding our way our of the airport was challenging.  We saw the terminal at least 5 or 6 times, then finally got out of that circle are found the road out.  There was a lot of horn blowing and word shouting.  Thank god we didn't understand all those nice words people were shouting at us because I might have had to revert to my Waterbury upbringing.  I never did, however, use the famous Waterbury salute, but I wanted to.   We did finally make it to our first destination, Cernobbio, Italy on Lake Como.  This is a beautiful lakeside village with a mountainous backdrop.  We did walk around for a while just to get the lay of land and had a nice lunch lakeside (pizza and caprese salad, what else in Italy).  The hotel is beautiful.  We have a nice room with a lake view.  Last night we had dinner lakeside and tried the local lake fish.  It's not grouper or sea bass, but it was edible.   We tried it once and that will probably be it.  I had perch and Brenda had some other kind of lake fish.  We're having a great time and everything is good.  Stay tuned, more to follow.  Ray and Brenda