Calabria Take Four

Can you believe this was my fourth time taking the 10-hour night bus down to a little town called Castrovillari, a town whose level of coolness rivals only that of my native Vacaville; a town that, just as is the case with my hometown, holds a special place in my heart thanks entirely to the special people who call it home. This time was very different than the times I had visited two years ago, and I think it's because I have become an expected guest. People aren't as eager to take me around and show me new things, yet they welcome me into their homes with even more warmth than before. As Azzurra's nonna grinned widely and wrapped me in a bear hug, she exclaimed, "You promised you'd come back in two years and you kept your promise! You really did!!" I can't express what it means to me to feel that I have an adoptive Italian family here welcoming and watching over me.

Here's an array of photos from the trip. One night we had a big bbq/swim party at a friend of Ale's house:




We had lunch at Ale's grandparents, where I had the most impressive lasagne ever: 13 layers!!!


We went to a really funny play in the little "village" of San Basile, which was mostly in dialect. I was able to follow along pretty well, which surprised me!

One of the highlights was of course lunch at Azzu's grandparent's house. I got to see nonna, nonno, and zio roberto again after 2 years. It was a very jovial reunion!


We went outside to take a family photo, but that pasta-eating dog wreaked a bit of havoc (this is probably my favorite photo of the whole trip, with everyone reacting differently and heading in different directions!):

After a few more tries, we managed to take a class-A photo:

One night we ate heart-shaped pizza in Villapiana:

Our best beach day was when Azzu, Ale, and I went to the west coast for the day. The water was crystal clear, it was an all-rock beach, and we even got to do some snorkeling.

Ale remained focused on his crossword puzzles, which he never seemed to finish accurately:



Here's the super slutty girl who was the star of the most ridiculous photo shoot ever right in front of us (yes, the bleach-blonde one in the hot pink suit with her butt cheeks hanging out):


One of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen (and I'm from California):

Azzu and I exploring our holy natures:

We returned to homemade pizza at "Pizzeria Mena":

One night we got all dressed up to go out to my favorite restaurant (so far) in Calabria. This is the place where you order an "appetizer platter" and they bring you about 15 different plates with 30 different things to try. So amazing!





And this isn't even everything:

E' un spettacolo!!


After Azzu and Ale headed back up to Bologna, I moved to Federica's house. One day we went to a local hotel where her cousin has the hook-up (this is Italy, after all) to go swimming. Those are a couple of Pugliese boys on vacation with their family that we hung out with all afternoon.

Dun-da-da-dun! Federica's mother's Eggplant Parmesan!! Still the best thing I have ever eaten to date. She made it just for me and I wish I could have eaten the whole thing, but it's so heavy, that as they say in Italy, "It's a bomb!"


We spent a night at their beach house in Marina di Sibari and we had a block party dinner with the neighbors. One lady made these fabulous fried dough rings that required quite the set-up:


And then it was time for me to leave Calabria again and head back up to Siena to get my things in order and move to Florence! More on that to come...