The Adriatic sea

March 20, 2012

This morning we tried to wake up at a normal time so we can have some normalcy in our lives. We even had dinner last night around six instead of eight and went to bed by ten! After we had watched part two of Harry Potter and the deathly Hallows. We had some muesli for breakfast that was different from the stuff we are used to, but we ate it anyway. We were out of fruit too since we haven't found a little fruit mart in this place.

We decided to take a drive to the Adriatic sea today and check out some rock formations on the way. The hills all around us and going down to the coas are so pretty right now. Jeremy said it reminds him of the hills around ventura near the beach but with more variation of ups and downs. Everything is so green and the trees are blooming everywhere. Popcorn is defiantly popping here! We passed peach orchards and old and new olive orchards with white blossoms mixed in with the pink. As we were driving along the autostrade, which is a toll road, we came across little hamlets up in the hills, usually with some kind of medieval parapet crowning the hillside and the rest of the buildings below it.

We found the calanchi rock formations and thought we could hike down, but it ended up being this gravelly strep road, so we drove down part of the way until we realized we weren't actually going to be able to hike to it. So we turned around next to one of the olive orchards and as Jeremy said, rally car raced back up the hill. The gravel was pretty loose in some parts and steep and there were lots of turns, but it was pretty fun!

We could see the ocean from the hills and the high fog was kind of blowing in and out. W even brought our swimsuits this time, but it was to breezy and the water was very cold like the pacific right now! We of course stuck our feet in but only lasted a few minutes. The water had a few wind waves and is a beautiful turquoise color as well. All along the shore there are beach houses and a train track in between the houses and the beach. There are also these really tall pine trees along the beach that are pruned to look like really tall umbrellas. Between the trees there are some public picnic tables and a few parks scattered along the way. On the actual sand are all these small buildings where tourists can rent boats or lounge chairs, changing rooms, etc... Of course they are all closed because it's not the season, so we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. We put our towels in between a couple of these and read the Hunger Games out loud for about an hour.

We were getting a little restless, so we decided to take a walk along the beach. Since we were walking into the end, it made it even colder, so Jeremy wanted to go for a little jog! We went for about a mile, stopping a few times to check out the cool shells everywhere. We kept finding these cool big corkscrew ones, but there was always something living in it! Keep in mind we are both in jeans and I'm wearing my leaner clogs and carrying a purse! I was not fast, but it did warm us up. We turned around after a mile and headed back, still looking for at least one corkscrew shell that was resident free. We finally found not one, but two! We want to make something cool with all these shells when we come back. The shells are currently soaking in a bath of warm water and dish soap to hopefully get the smell out of them! W don't want any stinky dead creatures in our suit cases! That happened to us in Denmark!

We had a really pleasant drive back, after stopping for gelato at this very nice pasticcierri. I got pistachio with this ciaco fondante that was so rich and yummy! We of course had to buy some pastries for the car ride too! Te drive is about an hour, but it went by really fast as we read more Hunger Games. Jeremy offered to let me drive, but I told him no since I could read to him and navigate and that has worked out really well!

We made a pit stop in Sulmona which is the next largest town to us and found a supermarcato to get some fruit and veggies. I'm sure we bought way too much food here, but we'll have to use it up. I think it is still cheaper then eating out all the time. It has been nice to have meals at "home". We do miss not eating pizza every day and ready for it again when we get to Rome! :)

We drove around Solmona some more, looking for the aqueduct where the market will be tomorrow. We want to see what is there and if there is anything fun! It's going to be tomorrow under this aqueduct in the main square.

So for a quick Italian lesson, any time you see a "ce" or "ci" together, it makes a "ch" sound. If there is an "sce" or "sci" it makes a "sh" sound. If the "c" is with an "h" like in pistachio, it makes a "c" sound. That's why ciao sounds like chow!

Oh and has is about 1.88 euros per liter! Very expensive, but we've only had to fill up once so far. And when you are driving, stop signs and lines in the road are more of a suggestion. But up here in the country it is much better then in the city. There are not as many scooters, too, which makes likes lots better. We love and miss you all!