Arrivederci Fossacesia

Tonight is my last night in Fossacesia. Tomorrow morning we are going back to Naples, and then on Tuesday I fly out to Hamburg. I don’t know whether to be excited about starting my exchange and seeing my long lost boyfriend again, or to be horribly upset that I have to once again be torn away from my Italian family. Instead I am choosing to enjoy the time I have left with them and trying hard not to wish away the hours.

The last couple of weeks here have been as perfect as ever: sunshine every single day, not a droplet of rain, lots of fresh delicious food, and lots and lots of sunbathing. However, believe it or not, our lives do extend beyond tanning and eating. Well, kind of. Most nights we go out to visit some town nearby, and eat…though we haven’t been to any more sagre or anything since the last time I posted a blog.

We have been to Lanciano, a big town nearby, several times to visit churches, drink aperitivi, and eat gelato. In fact, we went back to Lanciano tonight and managed to arrive in time for the annual medieval tug of war championships between the four quarters of the old town. The city of Lanciano turns three thousand and something years old this year if that helps you to understand just how medieval the town really is. I will write a separate blog for Lanciano. We have also been to a town called Vasto two times, though I will also post separately about these trips because it is too amazing to cram into this entry.

Meanwhile, back in Fossacesia, Afrodite went home on Friday, the same day that Vincenzo (her older brother) arrived. While Afro was still here we went to a locally famous restaurant along the coast to wait in line for an hour for la frittura di pesce and other assorted seafood delicacies.

Here you purchase your food. The line was much longer when we arrived

Here you eat

La frittura

Stuffed cuttlefish: yes, it is edible, but I wouldn't go crazy over it

That day was also Salvatore’s 22^nd birthday, and his girlfriend (of 7 years!!!) had made him a ginormous cheesecake and another cake in the shape of a plait that was filled with amarena crema, so we stopped by their place afterwards to join the party, eat some cake, and drink spumante.

Noi, le ragazze

The amarena plait cake the Federica made (the girl on the left above) 

We continued on downstairs to the lungomare to have a look at all the food stalls and waste enough time before the Fossacesia fireworks display at 1am. The fireworks, although not as grand as the Ortona ones, were still incredible. The thunderous booms ricocheted off the hills and echoed across the sea, as fireworks were fired from the shore into the sky. I was extremely impressed by the water-activated fireworks that were fired consecutively into the sea, and then begin to spin and fizz before exploding one by one in the same order they were fired. The finale was the best part (as always) with two sets of fireworks above and fireworks exploding non-stop out of the sea. I think Wellington should look into using this type of firework, if they aren’t too environmentally damaging.

In terms of long Italian lunches, I thought I was safe after Ferragosto, but then Lina’s friends upstairs, Raffaele and Carmela (Lina), invited us and many others to lunch on Thursday. Little did I know they had organised so much food. Whilst waiting for everyone to arrive, we sat at the table outside on the balcony to admire the view and nibble on some aperitivi. Once everyone had finally arrived copious amounts of pasta started coming out of the kitchen: penne with a tomato and mince sugo, sprinkled with fresh parmigiano. My gluten intolerance saved me from this plate as I have never been a fan of mince and tomato.

The view from Raffaele and Carmela's terrazza

Raffaele and Carmela, nonno and nonna, when we went to eat la frittura

Next we had peperoni gratinati which are slices of grilled capsicums, stuffed with a mixture of prosciutto, mozzarella and egg and then sprinkled with bread crumbs and baked. Lina made me a nice salad with lettuce, carrots and pinenuts and then brought me some of this delicious zucchini frittata she had made before passing it on to the rest of the table. I always feel so guilty, but Lina likes to worry for me and make a big fuss about getting me something to eat that I will like. It’s really cute, and I will miss having my own personal chef when I leave tomorrow, though I have watched closer this time to try and replicate these culinary creations of hers.

Peperoni gratinati

Almost most of the table, after the second course

For the secondo piatto there was more salad and lots of weird meats, including skinny pink sausages, unrecognisable pancetta, arrosticini and pork fillets. I reluctantly accepted a bit of the pork (due to my full stomach), and considered becoming a vegetarian.

After a bit of frutta, a giant straciatella mousse cake was handed out, followed by cups of gelato from the Dolce Vita: Bounty, Wild Berry Yoghurt and Hazlenut flavours. I also tried a bit of an amaro (bitter digestive) called Genziana, which is made from a special herb and typical to Abruzzo. It is now my favourite amaro because it’s really light and really aromatic, so when I found a tiny bottle of it in Ortona, I purchased some for Campbell to try too. I couldn’t last for the rest of the afternoon and had to go to bed because I wasn’t feeling well, but it was a very enjoyable afternoon filled with the usual Neapolitan antics.

Apart from this lunch, I have spent most of my time learning German on the beach morning and afternoon, perfecting the art of sunbathing, swimming hundreds of metres out into the sea with Gino to float on the clear, calm water, picking and eating fresh figs from the trees in the driveway, and watching the sun set on a quiet part of the beach late in the evening.

Fresh fico

In Fossacesia, the sun sets behind the hills and the sky turns into
a rainbow of colours

I have also walked up to San Giovanni in Venere, the abbey on the hill, during the daytime to get a better picture of the view and to see the inside of it. These photos give a much better idea of what the area is like:

The view of Fossacesia Marina from the lookout

The main entrance to the abbey

Speaking of returning to places, on Friday evening we went back to Ortona to have a look around the shops and the main church, though I wasn’t allowed to enter because my shoulders were showing. Nevertheless, I now have a few photos of Ortona by day – it is the place where we went for the amazing fireworks display.

The church that I couldn't visit

Gino, Lina, Vincenzo and Buccia walking towards the castle 

Yes, this is me beside the castle: my skin colour has changed significantly

Sadly, however, yesterday was our last day to enjoy the beautiful beach. Unfortunately it was a bit windy so I didn’t go swimming, but it did entice all the windsurfers and parasailers out onto the sea.

A windsurfer coming into the beach to girare

Since it was our last day I decided to buy some earrings from one of the African men who constantly pester you with endless amounts of things. I bought two pairs: one turquoise stone, and one made of coral. In the final week of August, the men also start carrying around umbrellas for sale because we all know that the end of August means the beginning of autumn and then winter and lots of rain. So after discovering that is currently a maximum of 16 degrees in Hamburg and raining I also decided to purchase an umbrella. I managed to get a seriously cute cream one dotted with tiny black hearts, which has frills around the edges for only €6. Now I can’t wait for it to rain!

I should probably start to get ready now, though I am extremely sad to be leaving. I have had an incredible time here, and feel so lucky to have spent almost a month on the coast of Italy. It’s been like a dream, and I will most definitely miss the continual sun and endless blue sea and sky.

La mia famiglia italiana sulla spiaggia

Thank you so much Lina and Gino for taking me on holiday with you! You have given me memories of an incredible summer that will last a lifetime. I will miss you both when I go to Hamburg, but it is now time to say goodbye, and to say goodbye to Fossacesia. I hope this won’t be the last time that I am here!

Ciaooooooooooo!