Prairie Boy

Friday Oct. 21

Our last day in Campo di Fano at Mike GiaMarco's place.  A little background on GiaMia may be interesting for anyone thinking of a trip to Southern Italy.  We read about this place in an article written in a Red Deer, Alberta newspaper.  Mike's family originated here in Campo di Fano near Sulmona, Italy.  His parents moved to Hamilton when he was 9 years old. He has made his life in Calgary for the last number of years and in 1997 came back here to check out his roots.  This experience really moved him and encouraged him to venture out on a journey to fix up the family home.  This is a complicated process in Italy with various cultural and historical events creating a mountain of bureaucracy. Over the years the property was divided up amongst many family members, necessitating arduous detective work to gather the appropriate documents to eventually own it.  After gaining title to the property he began a three year restoration plan to turn the old barn and broken down house into an 8 suite vacation property.  He has successfully reached the point where he can now attract tourists to rent this space.  Have a look at his website: http://www.giamia.com/.

He added so much to our stay with his knowledge of the area, introduction to local characters and chances to meet and talk to some of his family.

Front view of GiaMia.

View from the back.

Our plans to hike up in the mountains changed when we looked outside and checked the weather.  The low lying cloud, chance of snow on our hiking path and the opportunity to drive a roller coaster road on ice encrusted switch backs with 500 ft. drop offs led to a quick decision to tour some local towns.  So in our first town after spotting a somewhat narrow parking stall and beginning to execute a perfect parallel parking demonstration some local fellows standing across the street helped with hand gestures to tell me when to stop before attacking the car behind me.  After a few to and fros one fellow ran over and climbed into his car and moved it forward.  I fear he did it out of self preservation to his car as much as to help me out.  In any event we all had a few smile and thank you exchanged in Italian and English. 

This fellow is moving his car to avoid impact from my van behind him.

We found a delightful coffee and sweet stop with a very friendly waitress who gave us a great cup of coffee.

Best coffee so far!

Off to the next town to track down a pork sandwich recommended by Mike the day before.  We found the market and followed our noses to the van selling cooked meats.

Drooling in anticipation of the pork sandwich.

Our server slicing the meat.

Our Sandwiches in the oven (just above the cooking chickens.

Here we are enjoying our lunch.

Cathy spied some clothes to try on but was unsuccessful in finding a good fit.

Back home again I went for a walk down by the river to explore the local valley and noticed these beautiful flowers.

The river below Gia Mia.

The evening was filled with a most enjoyable visit with Mike and his third cousin, Antonio who is a teacher in the high school system.  Mike had arranged this special visit for us to have an interaction with a local Italian.  The conversation ranged from education to the Italian medical system, politics and well beyond. Our host Mike was the translator and worked hard to make our evening enjoyable. Thanks Mike and Antonio.