OK yes we had some Proseco!
Federico and Martina
Michela with fresh tomatos
The first pie...
Michela making the pizza
A view from the car in Abetone
A view from Abetone
me and Paulo in AbetoneDay 20 Headed to Abetone..word of the day…cucchiaino…little spoon
Paulo was coming by at 10 am for us to head up to Abetone for the day. I wanted to buy some huckleberry Jam that Michela had at dinner for a topper for ice cream. It was fantastic. We got up about 8:30 am and got ready for the day. We had some fruit for breakfast and our usual glasses of water. Michela always has a huge bowl of fresh fruit on the table. Italian love their fresh fruit. We visited a little bit with Marco and Michela until Paulo arrived. We told Marco that we wanted to go to the cemetery to pay our respects to his mother whom had passed away in March. His father Armando died in 1987. He was a very nice man, I really liked him. I will always remember that when I was 13 he let me drive his little blue Fiat that was smaller than a Volkswagen. Paulo asked us if we wanted to go to the cemetery first for after we returned from Abetone. We wanted to go first to the cemetery. The cemetery is located in Pistoia and it was about a 15 minute drive to get there. The cemeteries are very different in Italy than in the US. They have beautiful headstones with pictures of the deceased on the headstones. The are many buildings with three and four stories for the caskets because there is not enough space for everyone to be buried in the ground. They have a flower shop right outside the cemetery and I wanted to buy something to put by their headstone. Paulo said that they are up high and there is no shelf so he told me not to get something to big or expensive. I purchased two small plants in little pots that we could lay on the ground below their headstone. We made our way around a few corners until we came upon Armando and Maura’s headstone. We stayed but a few minutes and I said a silent prayer for them. Paulo was pretty emotional so I gave him a big hug. He asked me if I remembered Dina, Maura’s mother and I told him that I did. Her brother Sergio, whom I also remember is also buried a few headstones away from his parents. We stayed but a few minutes and we were on our way to the car. I was happy that we went to see where they are buried. We hopped in the car and headed up to Abetone. Abetone is in the Tuscan mountains and is a small ski resort and summer hiking area. My cousin Marco loves to go to Abetone and do his ham radio contacts and hike. He is an outdoors person for sure. The road was curvey like when we went to Positano but it only lasted for about 1 hour. The drive was very pretty up into the mountain and there were a lot of motorcycle riders on the road. It is a popular place to go for a Sunday drive to escape the heat. We arrived in Abetone about noon and parked the car in the parking lot. We walked across the street to the store that Marco told Paulo to take us to so we could buy the Huckleberry Jam. I bought 3 jars to bring back home. On the way back to the car we stopped in this little shop and I bought a new pair of sunglasses. We got back into the car and headed up the road to the main town square. We parked in the parking lot and then we took some photos and then decided to scope out the places to eat lunch. We walked around the small town for about 20 minutes before deciding on a nice little restaurant to eat at. We order some appetizers and Dan ordered some pene pasta. We all shared in the dishes and they were very good. We had a very nice visit with Paulo during lunch and I was pumping him to come and visit me in Vancouver. After lunch we headed back up the street to the car and Paulo said we need to get some panna and huckleberries. (cream) He bought us a dish of fresh huckleberries with whip cream on top. We sat outside and I shared mine with Dan. It was pretty good. There were a lot of motorcycles parked by where we were sitting and all three of us have motorcycles so we were admiring the bikes for quite a while before we headed back to the car. I drove for about 20 minutes and I was getting tired to for the first time since we came to Italy, Dan drove the car. I took a nap as I could not keep my eyes open. I’m smart enough to know that I didn’t want to fall asleep at the wheel and kill us all. Paulo wanted to take us by his house in Pistoia before we headed back to Marcos. He bought a condo 4 years ago. It is in an older building but it was remolded and he was able to choose a lot of the features when they were doing the work. It is about 800 square feet. Small but very nice. He is single so it is the perfect size for him right now. We had some watermelon and some beverages and visited a bit more before we headed back to Marcos. We got back to Marco’s about 5 PM and Michela had been busy all day preparing for dinner. She was making her awesome homemade pizza’s. We have had her pizza before so we knew we were in for a real treat. Paulo stayed and visited for about another hour. He had plans with his girlfriend Monica that night so he want not going to be staying for dinner. Monica dropped by with her son Emilio so we were able to meet her. We said our goodbyes to Paulo and I got a tear in my eye as we did. I really enjoyed spending the day with him and I was sad that he was leaving. I wanted to get some photos of Michela making her pizza and I was also asking her a lot of questions about the preparation, her sauce and they types of cheese that she had. Well I don’t need to tell you how fantastic dinner was because if you have been reading my blog you know that Michela is a fantastic cook. I paid close attention and I told them that I will practice so that when they come to the US next summer I can make them pizza or use the telephone and order it. We had a good laugh on that one. We all ate way to much but it was a fantastic last evening with the family. Martina’s boyfriend Frederico was able to come for dinner. This was the first time we have seen him this trip. We met him four years ago. He is a very nice young man and he really like pizza!!! We took more photos and we all helped clean up the dinner dishes. Marco and Michela were getting up very early the next morning to go and visit her brother and his family so we had to say our goodbyes with them before we headed up to bed. They are such wonderful people and they open their hearts and home to us when we come to visit. We are so appreciative of that fact. I told them that I want them to come to Vancouver so we can do the same for them. They are hoping to come next August, I’m praying hard for that to happen. I was sad to say goodbye to them. We headed up to bed to get some sleep for our trip home. Good night….
Paulo was coming by at 10 am for us to head up to Abetone for the day. I wanted to buy some huckleberry Jam that Michela had at dinner for a topper for ice cream. It was fantastic. We got up about 8:30 am and got ready for the day. We had some fruit for breakfast and our usual glasses of water. Michela always has a huge bowl of fresh fruit on the table. Italian love their fresh fruit. We visited a little bit with Marco and Michela until Paulo arrived. We told Marco that we wanted to go to the cemetery to pay our respects to his mother whom had passed away in March. His father Armando died in 1987. He was a very nice man, I really liked him. I will always remember that when I was 13 he let me drive his little blue Fiat that was smaller than a Volkswagen. Paulo asked us if we wanted to go to the cemetery first for after we returned from Abetone. We wanted to go first to the cemetery. The cemetery is located in Pistoia and it was about a 15 minute drive to get there. The cemeteries are very different in Italy than in the US. They have beautiful headstones with pictures of the deceased on the headstones. The are many buildings with three and four stories for the caskets because there is not enough space for everyone to be buried in the ground. They have a flower shop right outside the cemetery and I wanted to buy something to put by their headstone. Paulo said that they are up high and there is no shelf so he told me not to get something to big or expensive. I purchased two small plants in little pots that we could lay on the ground below their headstone. We made our way around a few corners until we came upon Armando and Maura’s headstone. We stayed but a few minutes and I said a silent prayer for them. Paulo was pretty emotional so I gave him a big hug. He asked me if I remembered Dina, Maura’s mother and I told him that I did. Her brother Sergio, whom I also remember is also buried a few headstones away from his parents. We stayed but a few minutes and we were on our way to the car. I was happy that we went to see where they are buried. We hopped in the car and headed up to Abetone. Abetone is in the Tuscan mountains and is a small ski resort and summer hiking area. My cousin Marco loves to go to Abetone and do his ham radio contacts and hike. He is an outdoors person for sure. The road was curvey like when we went to Positano but it only lasted for about 1 hour. The drive was very pretty up into the mountain and there were a lot of motorcycle riders on the road. It is a popular place to go for a Sunday drive to escape the heat. We arrived in Abetone about noon and parked the car in the parking lot. We walked across the street to the store that Marco told Paulo to take us to so we could buy the Huckleberry Jam. I bought 3 jars to bring back home. On the way back to the car we stopped in this little shop and I bought a new pair of sunglasses. We got back into the car and headed up the road to the main town square. We parked in the parking lot and then we took some photos and then decided to scope out the places to eat lunch. We walked around the small town for about 20 minutes before deciding on a nice little restaurant to eat at. We order some appetizers and Dan ordered some pene pasta. We all shared in the dishes and they were very good. We had a very nice visit with Paulo during lunch and I was pumping him to come and visit me in Vancouver. After lunch we headed back up the street to the car and Paulo said we need to get some panna and huckleberries. (cream) He bought us a dish of fresh huckleberries with whip cream on top. We sat outside and I shared mine with Dan. It was pretty good. There were a lot of motorcycles parked by where we were sitting and all three of us have motorcycles so we were admiring the bikes for quite a while before we headed back to the car. I drove for about 20 minutes and I was getting tired to for the first time since we came to Italy, Dan drove the car. I took a nap as I could not keep my eyes open. I’m smart enough to know that I didn’t want to fall asleep at the wheel and kill us all. Paulo wanted to take us by his house in Pistoia before we headed back to Marcos. He bought a condo 4 years ago. It is in an older building but it was remolded and he was able to choose a lot of the features when they were doing the work. It is about 800 square feet. Small but very nice. He is single so it is the perfect size for him right now. We had some watermelon and some beverages and visited a bit more before we headed back to Marcos. We got back to Marco’s about 5 PM and Michela had been busy all day preparing for dinner. She was making her awesome homemade pizza’s. We have had her pizza before so we knew we were in for a real treat. Paulo stayed and visited for about another hour. He had plans with his girlfriend Monica that night so he want not going to be staying for dinner. Monica dropped by with her son Emilio so we were able to meet her. We said our goodbyes to Paulo and I got a tear in my eye as we did. I really enjoyed spending the day with him and I was sad that he was leaving. I wanted to get some photos of Michela making her pizza and I was also asking her a lot of questions about the preparation, her sauce and they types of cheese that she had. Well I don’t need to tell you how fantastic dinner was because if you have been reading my blog you know that Michela is a fantastic cook. I paid close attention and I told them that I will practice so that when they come to the US next summer I can make them pizza or use the telephone and order it. We had a good laugh on that one. We all ate way to much but it was a fantastic last evening with the family. Martina’s boyfriend Frederico was able to come for dinner. This was the first time we have seen him this trip. We met him four years ago. He is a very nice young man and he really like pizza!!! We took more photos and we all helped clean up the dinner dishes. Marco and Michela were getting up very early the next morning to go and visit her brother and his family so we had to say our goodbyes with them before we headed up to bed. They are such wonderful people and they open their hearts and home to us when we come to visit. We are so appreciative of that fact. I told them that I want them to come to Vancouver so we can do the same for them. They are hoping to come next August, I’m praying hard for that to happen. I was sad to say goodbye to them. We headed up to bed to get some sleep for our trip home. Good night….
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