Hotel Rojan Sulmona

... lots of nibbles.<br><br>On Sunday we drove to Scanno, a mountain resort, that must have been very isolated in the past, to the extent that the women still wear a local costume that is unusual in Italy and specific to that area. It is worn mostly on special occasions now &#8211; weddings, for example. Scanno is not much more than 20kms from Sulmona, but it is a slow trip over narrow winding roads &#8211; worth it ...

... then I realized this was a huge terminal and had no idea where I was supposed to go. I went back to lady I bought my ticket from because she knew at least 15 words of English, which was better than the other couple people I tried to ask. She told me to go to gate 11 and pointed to the left. I went there, but the gates only went up to #8. I walked back and forth a couple times hoping a gate 9, 10, and 11 would appear but no such luck. I studied a few of the signs ...

... reflecting on the importance of "keeping your head" and remaining calm... eating pizza at a local restaurant... eating fruit from the trees and orchards surrounding the farm... figs, apricots, apples, plums and pears... spending time lazing about... soaking in the fresh air... and conversations with other farm stay guests... learning about their home countries of Trinidad, Brazil, Austria, New Zealand and France... watching the ...

I had only two chances to go skiing while I was in Italy but I was so happy I got to go and also to be able to start getting the hang of snowboarding at last. The first day I went with Gianluca and Francesca to Ovindoli and decided to go skiing which I picked up again quite quickly thankfully...WITHOUT tearing a cruciate ligament in the process!! There weren't that many ski runs in my opinion so it was a little ...

Hello everyone, A new week, and so a new summer camp. I'm now in Ravenna, in another small town called San Pietro in Vincoli. There's not too much to say right now; the camp is gong well, the kids are good, the town is nice, and the scenery is beautiful. I'm only allowed ten minutes of internet on the staff computer, so any more news than that will have to wait. Ciao.

... By the time we got to the airport I already had a hang over, feeling thirsty and dizzy, topped off with a pounding headache. But what the hell, it was our last day off so we might as well enjoy it....or suffer it. We slept the entire flight, train ride and tube ride back home, where we showered and jumped into bed, depressed at the prospect of returning to our boring jobs, but ever so grateful for a new traveling experience

... my first encounter with the glowing waters of the Adriatic Sea and rushed back to the car. Next stop was the town of Atessa. Apparently Atessa was not a very touristy town. We realized this as we walked through the streets of the old town and people looked at us, making us feel not too welcome. "Yes we are tourists and we do not speak your language" cried Adriano as a group of elderly men stopped dead in their tracks to ...

... and savoring the spicy plumes of tomato and chilli with red peppers and large plum peas. I noticed Giovanni Sr. wasn't using any oil in his pasta sauce which I thought was curious, so I asked and he said that because of his liver transplant he could not eat oily foods so he simply cooked with water. I was astonished that a dish cooked with water could smell so incredibly rich and full. Double the ...

... at the post office for a map of the two towns... The guy behind the window could not find anything so he picked up the phone. A minute later, to my surprise, he told us to return to the office where we had just made the copies and the guard would give us a map. No worries, we were soon back in Capradosso. Unfortunately, even though there are only three or four roads in the town, the names are different now than they were 100 years ...

... a big city. I spent three days/two nights here, in a nice B&B-type hotel just outside the city. I had hoped to do some hiking in the mountains, but mostly spent my time exploring the city and connecting with long-lost family. This area generally has cold winters and hot summers, with spring and fall being prime times. I was lucky that the three days I spent ...