I think only 40 minutes elapsed from when we touched down to when we were on the road in our hired car. Since that includes the passing through Passport Control, Customs and having the obligatory cup of coffee I think that’s good going. Yes we only had cabin baggage and that makes a difference but 40 minutes from plane to car – that was a serious record breaker.

It was our first time using Ciampino and I can guarantee that it won’t be the last.

Travelling from Dublin we don’t have the luxury of a direct flight to Pescara. After trying Dublin – London – Pescara, Dublin – Frankfurt Hahn – Pescara and even Dublin – Bologna followed by a train to Pescara, we prefer Dublin – Rome and then a pullman or a hired car to our final destination.

Usually we use Fiumicino but this time based on a significant saving with Ryanair we picked Ciampino.

Here’s a tip when travelling with Ryanair – read the conditions, accept them and follow them. Make sure your bag dimensions and weight comply, and live with the fact that you’re not likely to be perfectly comfortable for the entire journey. Try to be Zen-like and keep your head while all around you…

Ciampino is a smaller and far more compact airport than Fiumicino. It doesn’t cater for the same number of flights, it doesn’t have as many weary travellers passing through and it doesn’t have the same facilities – but because of this after landing you get out quicker and that is usually the most important goal on arrival.

Let’s talk about my destination. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred I head east to Abruzzo. Because I start from Ciampino I’m already 30 minutes ahead than if I started from Fiumicino.

Add the two savings together and you are at least an hour ahead.

I admit that only having cabin baggage helps and if you had checked-in luggage and had to wait at the carousel these numbers would alter, but surely they’d be affected the same way no matter what airport you used.

I’m a convert to Ciampino and I think the only thing that would pull me back to Fiumicino would be a significant difference in flight coasts or availability.

I’ve talked about arriving, but what about departure?

Since we were likely to hit the Rome Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA) traffic around 8am to 9am on a weekday we decided to give ourselves plenty of time to get to Ciampino. Once we joined the GRA I think we only had to stay on it for 12 km.  Traffic can slow up anywhere but my experience of the journey from Abruzzo to Fiumicino is that the GRA with its many entry and exit points is the main culprit. Considering you are on it for 30km going to Fiumicino and 12km to Ciampino which would you prefer?

As I wrote earlier Ciampino doesn’t have a lot of facilities. It looked to me that there was only one bar/café in the departures area (before going through security) and it was mobbed. If you have a long wait it did not seem to be a relaxing place to spend time. We went outside and sat for half an hour and then we had an inspired idea.

Your reward for reading this post almost to the end is a tip – if you have to wait a while for your flight from Ciampino walk around to the arrivals area and get your coffee there. It’s a small bar with limited options but apart from the regular wave of the newly arrived, it’s ideal.

Finally as I passed through Passport Control at the B gates I could see a monument though the lounge window. The inscription reminded me of something I had read about but had forgotten.  Ciampino and Abruzzo have an important aviation connection. In October 1930, at Ciampino Nord military airport, the D’A.T. 3 helicopter, piloted by Major Marinello Nelli, designed by Corradino D’Ascanio (Popoli, Pescara February 1, 1891 — Pisa, August 6, 1981), rose 18 metres in the air, travelling a distance of over 1 km, flying for almost 9 minutes. In its day it broke three aviation records.

Retrato de Corradino d'Ascanio (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Corradino D’Ascanio went on to join Piaggio and designed the Vespa, how cool is that?!

Post from: About Abruzzo

Records Broken at Ciampino Airport

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When the music changes, so does the dance.

~ African proverb

Saturday afternoon.

The sun is a little bit blinding through the window.

The room is filled with the sound of the tenor saxophone of Joe Lovano. I’m playing his 2006 release Streams of Expression.

Right now I’m enjoying Second Nature (Pt. IV), but I know I’m going to replay his take on some Miles Davis classics from Birth of the Cool.

We’re into blue notes, improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation and swing territory. We’re into Jazz.

I like Jazz. There, I’ve said it. Not many of my friends do. I’d happily go to a concert or gig on my own – there’s comradeship in the Jazz community.

I once made a special trip from Dublin to Toronto to see Sonny Rollins play at Massey Hall. It was an opportunity not to be missed.

I love the saxophone. But I need a hook. I can appreciate the technical skill required to deliver musical pyrotechnics but if my feet don’t tap and the melody is lost then I’m lost too

I can admire it, but I can’t love it.

For me there has to be a theme. It may not be revealed until the end, it may be hinted at and then hidden, but eventually it has to arrive – it gives direction.

Joe Lovano is blowing cool with Prelude/Moon Dreams and I love it.

Bill Frisell - Joe Lovano - Paul Motian Italiano: Bill Frisell - Joe Lovano - Paul Motian in concerto a Roma (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But I’ve made myself a promise and I can’t stay with Joe.

It’s time for a little piano courtesy of Tony Pancella.

I have two of his albums, Different Like Two Drops of Water and Alter Ego – both bought in Gong on Via Palermo in Pescara. Never Late – gentle, comforting, it wraps you up the just the way your mind and body needs after a tough day.

But I can’t stop there; I’m on a journey – the guitar of Al di Meola beckons. I’m transported to Spain by Mediterranean Sundance on Friday Night in San Francisco, a classic album. Three guitarists, Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía, give one of the most sublime concerts ever. Released in 1981, it’s years since I played it – what have I been doing?

Can I stay here? Can I get swept away by this genius? Just wait a while and see where we go.

No. There’s a theme, I have my own melody. I’ve a promise to keep. Although I linger for longer than I planned I must be on my way.

Are you still with me? Will you travel a little longer?

Ci bum ci bum bum
Du du du du du

We are now with the distinctive voice of Paolo Conte.

Paolo Conte in Berlin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A few years ago I came back to the office after lunch and our receptionist/office administrator was in a foul mood, possibly close to tears. Her boss was being a bit of a pig.

I’d been listening to Paolo Conte and knew that Via Con Me is a song that would cheer anybody up. I sent her a link and sure enough her mood lifted – her boss remained a pig.

Joe Lovano, Tony Pancella, Al Di Meola and Paolo Conte – is there a theme?

Is it Jazz? Yes and No.

It’s Pescara Jazz!

All these great artists any many more including Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Roberta Gambarini and Enrico Rava gather in July and early August for the 2012 International Festival of Jazz in Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy.

This is special.

Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.
~ Art Blakey

Post from: About Abruzzo

Jazz on a Summer’s Day

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A day by the sea, taking the rays, with the occasional drip isn’t how I like to spend most days in Abruzzo. But the urge to do just that does come along a few times each year and since Abruzzo has an excellent stretch of coastline it would be a shame not to grasp the opportunity.

I’m not sure where I’ll go to get my fix. The odds are I’ll choose the sandy beaches of Pineto, Silvi or Montesilvano. The beach at Pineto has been a favourite of mine since I first discovered it about five years ago. I love the way the pines separate the sand from the town itself.  When lunchtime hunger pangs hit I just wander to the first place where I can get a plate of grilled mixed fish and maybe a cool beer – just perfect.

But the problem with going to your favourite place all the time is you miss out on really good alternatives. Vasto for example, or perhaps San Vito Chietino. A trip down the Trabocchi Coast of Chieti allows you to pick a different type of shoreline. The sand gives way to small stones, the long uninterrupted stretches of umbrella covered coast change to into more secluded bathing spots. And you also have the trabocchi, fishing platforms that look like wooden spiders walking out into the sea.

Even the larger towns and built up areas have something unique to offer. Perhaps you like the feel of working ports where fishing boats and cargo vessels create that unmistakable harbour buzz. Fancavilla al Mare has its marvellous pier that takes you right out among the waves. Pescara, perhaps not the first place you might think of for a relaxing day by the sea, has the advantage of plenty of distractions if you are overcome by the stress of doing very little.

After I get my fix I probably won’t have another beach day for weeks, maybe months. I tend to lean towards walking in the hills, but as I said every now and then the Adriatic calls and I feel I have to answer.

For those of you who have never been to Abruzzo you should know that the options for a beach holiday are excellent. All the way from Martinsicuro in Teramo to San Salvo Marina in Chieti, about 150 km along the SS16 – that’s quite a bit of coastline.

A friend of mine loves to base himself in Tortoreto (TE). I’ve yet to have the pleasure, but when he describes the town, the surroundings and the people (probably Abruzzo’s greatest assest), it sounds just perfect.

Recently a member of TripAdvisor asked on the Abruzzo forum if  the regions’s coast was any good for a beach/swimming holiday.

Mmm…let me think about that – absolutely!

Post from: About Abruzzo

Somewhere Along The Adriatic

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And on that farm he has some…well he seems to have everything really.

Luigi lives very close to us in Loreto Aprutino. I exaggerated a little when I said he has a farm, he has a piece of land outside the town where he grows plenty of fruit and vegetables for his family for the year. Tomatoes, beans, courgettes you name it I bet Luigi grows it. The only fruit he doesn’t seem to grow is grapes. He buys them from a grower he trusts and makes his own wine – very tasty wine it is too.

His piece of land isn’t short on animals either. Ducks, geese, rabbits are there along with the big guys, the pigs.

A little while ago Luigi invited us over for dinner. “We’re having pig” he announced. What he meant was that he had killed a pig and that day, after the cuts had been taken and passed on to family and friends, they were having a celebratory meal and we were invited.

This was not a meal for vegetarians.

On the menu were slices of pork, pasta with a pork based sauce and various types of salsicce (sausages). All washed down with his very own Montepulciano D’Abruzzo.

Earlier that day as I was walking by, Luigi called me to his garage and there, instead of his car, his motorbike or his Ape, were benches set up for food preparation. With a few friends he was busy mincing the pork to make the pasta sauce and the salsicce.

I’d offered to help but our host would have none of it. I think he felt that it was a job for professionals and amateurs like me would slow the process down. I was good for eating the result – I think he had me sussed.

Later when we arrived for dinner we saw that a little miracle had changed the pork into perfectly formed salsicce.

I asked Luigi if he buys anything he eats from the shops or supermarkets. It turns out he does but not very often. Typically he grows it or raises it himself, negotiates with friends who have what he needs, buys from the market and then, maybe then, buys from a shop.

Being able to trace what’s on your plate back to its very place of origin, food provenance, has become an important issue in the last few years. I bet Luigi could tell you exactly where everything on his plate came from.

I grew up in a city and that ensured I had no real exposure to growing vegetables or raising animals. I’ve grown a few tomatoes, potatoes, peas and beans in buckets, raised beds and pots. Not enough to feed a family for a week but still I grew them and it was fun.

I don’t have a romantic notion of owning/renting a bit of land a growing food for a year. It’s hard work and although very rewarding I think my skills are better served elsewhere right now.

Luigi is retired but you’d never think it. He’s an inspiration. An early riser, he takes care of his animals and all he grows while the sun is not yet too hot. If there’s a festival of any sort being organised he’s usually in the thick of it. I think he only stays still when he’s eating.

We had a great night and when we eventually waddled home to our beds we vowed we wouldn’t eat again for a week.

Well that didn’t happen.

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The Best Salsicce I’ve Ever Tasted

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No I tell a lie – I don’t think I have a photograph of Maria’s face.

I’ve a photograph that shows a figure (that I’m fairly certain is Maria) walking away from me up a small street, but that image doesn’t do her justice.

She had a bright face, with silver hair and a mischievous glint in her eye.

She spoke in the local dialect so I could never really understand much of what she was saying. At the time my Italian was pretty poor (yes it’s improved ) but with or without Italian I’d have had difficulties.

But communication isn’t just by the spoken word and somehow Maria and I “chatted”. I think she was the first close neighbour from Loreto Aprutino to call to the house we were renting at the time. She brought a gift. It was a plum tart.

She was in her eighties but very spritely – although at least one younger neighbour (seventies) said she wasn’t in complete control of her faculties. Funny, that’s what some of the even younger neighbours sometimes say of those in their seventies.

She died a few years ago. Peacefully I was told.

She didn’t die in the earthquake of 2009, she didn’t die around Easter, she just died.

We were back in Loreto and as we went through the names of everybody we knew we were told the sad news.

I liked Maria and I was sad to hear of her passing.

I think the anniversary of the earthquake and the sense of loss that’s associated with 308 deaths and 60,000 people made homeless left me open for Maria to call once again.

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Memories of Maria

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Each year P and I have a similar discussion, which starts with “we must go next year” and ends with “we can’t because” once we check the dates.

Check the dates, that’s the key. Since Easter can fall between 22 March and 25 April it isn’t as simple as Christmas or the New Year.

This year Easter falls on 8 April for Western Christianity (Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, Protestant Churches, etc.), that’s tomorrow week.

When we were in Abruzzo for the 3 months of April, May and June in 2008 you’d think that we would have had a great chance to experience this moveable feast.

No, it didn’t happen. Easter fell on 23 March that year we missed out, the beginning of a pattern I really hope to break.

But it isn’t Easter that obsesses me. It is the Stations of the Cross or Via Crucis. In Ireland, the Stations of the Cross are observed on Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, which this year is on 6 April. Traditionally the faithful make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer and meditate upon the chief moments of Christ’s sufferings and death, helped by a series of artistic representations depicting Christ Carrying the Cross to his crucifixion.

But it’s a little different in Loreto Aprutino. Typically on the Sunday before Easter (Palm Sunday) there is a re-enactment of the Via Crucis with people in period costumes. If your Italian is up to it you can read about this event here.

In summary, the Aricicofraternita Sacro Monte dei Morti e Santa Maria della Pieta present the Via Crucis, a historical representation of the Passion of our Lord Jesus’ Christ with figures in period costumes, at 19:00 on 01/04/2012, Palm Sunday.

The re-enactment starts at Chiesa San Pietro  and takes a path all though the old town as this list of locations indicate:

Chiesa San Pietro(washing of the feet) -Castello Chiola (death sentence) – via Baio – via Degli Aquino – Largo Buco – via Marconi – P.za Unita’ D’Italia – via Montelauro – Chiesa San Biagio – via M.Pennesi – Chiesa Sant’Antonio – via dei Normanni – P.za Garibaldi – via V.Veneto – P.le Monumento – via C. Bonfiglio – residence La Fornace (Cucifixion).

But of course I’m going to miss it again.

Here is a small selection of photographs taken by Lino Rosetti during the 2008, 2010 and 2011 events.

If you are nearby it’s definitely worth being part of this most important event in the Catholic calendar.

In 2013 Easter falls on 31 March, which means Palm Sunday is on 24 March. I’ve put it in my diary; maybe next year I’ll break the pattern.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Chasing Easter in Abruzzo

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Temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees are becoming common and soon the skies will be mostly clear and sun worshippers will have no trouble getting their fix.

Beautiful, just beautiful.

It won’t be long before it’s warm enough to enjoy the waters of the Adriatic and maybe to sit outside enjoying a plate full of arrosticini.

Back on 19 February Daria and Leo of Coffee To Get Her at the Bernard Shaw in Dublin held a Sagra in which 2,500 arrosticini were eaten.

I couldn’t make it.

I was in Abruzzo with quite a bit of snow. (Sorry I mentioned the “s” word.)

But Daria and Leo had an idea and asked if I could help. Apart from the excellent Italian food, the absolutely scrummy arrosticini and the many Italian products available, they wanted to display Abruzzo for all to see.

They knew there was going to be a mixture of Irish and Italians at the Sagra, but not many of them would have visited the home of arrosticini. They wanted to show it off.

I was thrilled when they asked if I could provide photographs and without hesitation I agreed.

Here is a slideshow of the images I put together for the event. I tried to capture all the aspects of Abruzzo I’ve discovered over last few years and I guess this was my first Abruzzo photo exhibition!

Looking at the images now I can see that there’s one aspect I didn’t do justice to, something is missing. Can you guess what it is?

There are a lot of images. 127 to be exact. But I think that is an appropriate number which works out at approximately 1 photo for every 20 arrosticini consumed.

Just to show you that it’s possible to have a great time outdoors in Dublin in February, go to Coffee To Get Her on Facebook and select Photos (you may have to login to Facebook), select the untitled collection of 64 photos that has a thumbnail image of Leo in a most appropriate jacket and you’ll see what I mean.

Next time I hope to be there in person.

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Making a Small Contribution to Abruzzo Tourism

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So this is very likely the last time I’ll write about it for the foreseeable future. (Note the use of “very likely” and “foreseeable” giving me a get out clause! )

Let’s start with a quote.

When there’s snow on the ground, I like to pretend I’m walking on clouds.

Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata, Animal Crossing: Wild World, 2005

The use of the quote is straight forward I guess. The snow so perfectly covered the towns, and villages, the countryside and beaches, the car parks and factory yards that it was easy to imagine you’d been transported to a different world. For days I felt like I was walking on clouds, seeing familiar places in a new way. No field, no factory yard, no construction site looks ugly when completely covered with snow.

For days I heard rain, but no rain fell. There was a constant dripping sound as the sun struggled to shine. The daily pattern consisted of hearing the drips of melting snow and ice, watching rivulets of water flow down through the streets, clearing the snow and making the paths safe, feeling the drop in temperature, the dripping stops, the flow of water stops, everything ices up – and it begins again the next day.

In areas where the water was allowed to drip unimpeded icicles formed. They were both beautiful and dangerous. A falling icicle, over a foot long, shouldn’t be experience too closely.

At first I couldn’t understand the red tape surrounding paths and steps. They were clearly no-go areas but everything seemed perfectly fine, until you looked up. Large clumps of snow and ice waiting to fall on an unsuspecting shopper. In many cases saviours with cherry pickers and shovels cleared the danger but there were plenty of roofs and tonnes of snow so the process took a few days.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

I love this poem by Robert Frost. I love its deceptive simplicity. I know if you analyse it you can read many meanings into its verses but taken at face value I think it captures the mood of the town after the snowfall of 10 February.

There was a quiet calm that was different to the norm. Loreto Aprutino is usually a tranquil place but for a few days people gathered and watched and did absolutely nothing. Watching was the new sport.

They watched the bobcats lift snow into the dumper trucks. They watched the snow on roofs and guessed when it might fall splat on the tiled footpath below. They sat and watched the buses and cars negotiate the roads and shook their heads when an over enthusiastic driver lost his grip on things.

They watched the traffic police assist and direct.

They applauded the arrival of a new group member.

They watched each other, watching each other.

But the snowfall stopped and the weekend came to a close and gradually everything moved closer to normality.

Everyone had miles to go before they slept.

Post from: About Abruzzo

To See the World Fill up with Snow

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We boiled up snow and ice to make hot strong Bovril.

That was a line used by Chris Bonington (mountaineer) back in 1979 when he did a television commercial for the beefy drink.

Some ads stick.

As we walked around Loreto Aprutino on 11 February 2012 I couldn’t get that line out of my head. I had never seen so much snow. Skiers probably would think that up to a metre of snow is hardly anything, but it was a lot for me.

I’ve a friend living in Dublin who is from Atri. He said his parents skied along Pineto beach, that soldiers were called to clear paths to certain sections of the town and that the snow reached shoulder height in some areas.

Have you ever tried to swing a shovel when snow is at shoulder height?  Not easy I bet.

We didn’t have to deal with that. But I was glad of rain gear and sturdy boots to help us get around.

The local hardware store had restocked their supply of plastic shovel heads after running out a few days before – business was booming.

It was warm enough to have a coffee outside if you were dressed for the occasion.

Cinque (the town dog) combined his usual food foraging techniques with paw warming.

The town and its surroundings looked spectacular. Snow has a way of making even the the most unattractive field look beautiful.

Young, local, but perhaps slightly controversial artists expressed themselves on the newly discovered white canvas.

The hills were tested to see if they had the perfect gradients for sleds.

The comune started the job of clearing key routes and any dangerous snow covered roofs.

Olive trees cast twisting shadows and acted as sentinels, lining the paths to the snow covered mountains.

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L.A. in the Snow in Pictures

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I took quick shots from under a car wash roof but even there the snow was swirling around my face angling for a chance to settle on my camera and lens. The camera phone came out and helped a little but in the end I gave up.

We stood in awe, almost knee-deep in snow, watching as more and more snow fell.

All we needed was to sing an outdoor song at the top of our voices!

Something by Pooh Bear perhaps?!

Song For Snowy Weather

The more it snows
(Tiddly Pom)
The more it goes
(Tiddly Pom)
The more it goes
(Tiddly Pom)
On snowing.

And nobody knows
(Tiddly Pom)
How cold my toes
(Tiddly Pom)
How cold my toes
(Tiddly Pom)
Are growing.

The next morning after walking down to the to town very gingerly (a lot of ginger was needed over the next few days) I saw something I never thought I’d see on the streets of Loreto.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Cold Thoughts from 10 February 2012

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