Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Weekend in the Italian Countryside

The first time I visited Italy I completely and utterly fell in love with it, the main reason was due to the fact that it helped me to discover who I am. Before, there was this whole side of myself, of my family, that I had no idea about. So when my estranged father offered me the chance to travel with him to Italy, I wholeheartedly took it. I spent two weeks roaming around the countryside, eating the best home cooked meals prepared by my cousin (seriously, Italian women know how to cook!), meeting family members I never knew existed, and discovering roots I didn’t know I had. Two weekends ago I  I was able revisit the countryside at my aunts house. I went from the city to the country, where I woke up every morning to the sound of chickens, of birds, and my family doing their morning chores. 

On Friday night, the 29th of September, I arrived at Frosinone train station, approximately forty-five minutes from Rome, and spent the next hour lost on the dark and winding roads. The backroads of the Italian countryside are one of the scariest things to be on in the dark, seriously, no lights, no railings, and my father driving at high speed in a standard car. Once we arrived at my Aunts home, she prepared a simple pasta dish with tomatoes and green beans, with wine, prosciutto, bread, and all the fruit I could want! It was the perfect end to a long journey. I woke up the next morning to some of the most beautiful views, the mountains in the background, rows and rows of olive trees, and miles of open fields. It was such a nice change from the city. After my morning cup of coffee (technically more like an expresso that I add copious amounts of milk and sugar to), we drove to my fathers birthplace of Arpino, a beautiful small town on the top of the mountain, known for being the birthplace of Cicero. We then visited my cousins, the same ones I stayed with the first time I visited Italy, where I watched them make homemade pasta, and walked around the nearby fields. 

Saturday evening was spent at yet another cousins house, one I visited previously, near the town of Posta Fibreno. If you spend twenty minutes or so driving up to the top of the mountain you can witness the beautiful views of the Lago di Posta Fibreno (Lake of Posta Fibreno) where we were able to watch the sun set over. We drove back down to walk along the lake once night had fallen, the town above us was lit with candles for their festival that night. And topped off the day with another homemade meal of fresh bread with walnuts, prosciutto, pasta with freshly picked mushrooms, champagne, wine, and of course…fresh fruit!


Most of the trip consisted of visiting family and eating homemade meals, which was no exception Sunday as we travelled to Alatri to see five of my cousins and eat copious amounts of food before we got into the car and spent five hours driving back to Cento, back to the city!
The view I had each morning!





In Arpino, overlooking over the countryside below the town


The homemade pasta my cousin made for lunch!


One of the highlights of my weekend was all the dogs I got to see!

Watching the sunset in Posta Fibreno

Lago di Posta Fibreno. Walked along the water later on...worth the mosquito bites



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