Visiting family

The past couple of days here have been pleasant weatherwise. Blue skies, the occasional cloud, a nice breeze, high temps, and a really calm sea. Beach time has been really peaceful. The big summer holiday, Ferragosto, was yesterday so little by little people have been returning to their homes as their vacations are ending. For the holiday, Zia and I had pranzo (lunch) together. I made a delicious ragu (gravy) with meatballs and sausage. There was a nice breeze on the patio, and we both contacted family and friends here to wish them a Buon Ferragosto.

This morning I drove inland to visit my father’s hometown of Torremaggiore, in the region of Puglia (the condo in Campomarino Lido where I am is in the region of Molise). My first stop was the cimitero (cemetery). There is only one cemetery for the citizens of Torremaggiore, which is the case for most small towns here. I passed by the graves and memorials for family and friends that have passed away. As I was walking through I started to notice that the years have really passed since some of the people have passed away. My dad’s memorial had the most recent death date, and that was nearly 13 years ago.

After the cemetery visit, I headed out for a nice, but quick visit with my cousin Vincenzo, his wife Mariella, and their daughters Erica and Mila. It’s always a nice visit with them, but I was running late and had plans to meet up with another cousin across town.

When I arrived at Roberto’s house, I got to visit with him, his wife Anna, and his kids Serena, Lorenzo and Massimo. We had snacks, talked for a while, toured the room he’s building for his father, and walked through his garden. After about an hour of catching up, we went over to his father’s house. Roberto’s father, my Zio Matteo, is my oldest living relative at 93-years-young. He recognized me right away, I showed him photos, he’s walking well for 93, and seems in good spirits.

After a day of visiting family, I headed back to Campomarino for pranzo and an afternoon of beach and exercise. There were some fires nearby today. Some little ones in our town, but bigger ones about 20 minutes away. The ash was raining down on the beach again and the air was smokey. Hoping no fires start up overnight with the winds kicking up.