Blue sea & blue skies
Today the sea appeared more blue than the days that I was here.... Today we'll be travelling up north - Grisolia. This is the town where Francesca was formerly from. And this is also where her mum and brother are staying. Before we head there, we had to make a short stop at a butcher. Coz Francesca wanted to buy some meat, cheese for her mum and also some friends of hers. Francesca and Emanuel also bought sandwiches which we ate on our way there.... Apprently this was not for lunch... this was just snack... hahaha... I did not know until we reached her mum's place....
Shelves of pickled tomatoes, olives etc.
Grisolia was about 1hr drive from Lamezia. But I must say, when you drive along the sea and you get to view the fantastic costal scenery.... the long drive was nothing! Pity I'm visiting here in winter, I imagine in summer it must be fantastic! I mean you can swim in the sea and sun-bathe... hahaha.... i'm not a fan of sun bathing or busking/standing under the sun. Coz in singapore, the horrible heat just puts you off totally... and people don't sunbathe in s'pore.
Along the way, Francesca and Emanuel also showed me the place where they held their wedding lunch. The place was really really nice... i mean the scenery was just so picturesque. Emanuel told me that it was not cheap to hold the reception there.... and apparently that place organises conference for some academics every year.
Soon we reached Francesca's mum's place. She was in the midst of cooking lunch! hahaha.... well... you can say i was surprised and yet not surprised... coz until now... everywhere I visit, there is always food... be it a meal or somesort of snack. As the food had yet to be ready, Emanuel showed me the different levels of the building. Apparently, the ground level is Francesca's mum's house, the 1st level is Francesca's house and the top level is Francesca's sister's place. Pietro has his own house which is the building opposite the building where Francesca's mum was staying! by the way, when Italian say 'house' it is really a full apartment with bedrooms, living room, toilets and kitchen! Emanuel told me that Francesca's place was renovated recently.... and just that summer they rented out to some people who were there for vacation. When Francesca's mum got to know it she was really angry. Coz for the older generation folks, they don't like to rent out their own houses to other people even though the place maybe vacant.
Francesca & her mum. Taken in Francesca's mum's kitchen
Similar to most houses, Francesca's mum also grow her own olive tree, mandarin orange trees and peas! yup! I'm not joking... that's how it is for Italians in the south of Italy. Emanuel told me that although Francesca's mum stay so near to the sea, she does not visit the beach... coz she does not like to get out of the house. furthermore, she has some problems with movement as one side of her hip requires operation, but she does not want to go under the knife. I must say that after knowing Francesca's mum these past few days, and hearing from Emanuel saying that she is a strong woman... I could see it with my eyes that she is indeed a very strong and tough woman! I believe she had gone through quite a number of hardships in the past... but i've never asked Francesca or Emanuel about them.
Houses in front of Francesca's mum's place
Olive trees grown by Francesca's mum
Pietro put on the DVD that was on Emanuel and Francesca's wedding! hahaha.... coz they wanted to let me see it... and soon it was lunch. and now... I finally know what was the veggie that was served at a number of the meals that I've eaten. the Italians like to cooked it to mush with olive oil and salt. And I've very well acquainted with this veggie. Its none other than Bok Choy or Kailan! yup! the mustard plant that I eat a lot back in s'pore... but in Denmark its so damn expensive.... but apparently the italians eat this a lot! But out chinese style of cooking is very different from the Italian. We stiry fry it... so it took my a couple of meals later before I realised it was Bok Choy or Kailan. The flowers of the Bok choy or Kailan gave it away. Lunch was good. Wine was served... and this wine was made by Francesca's mum.
After lunch, we headed to 1 of Francesca's friends. When we arrived there.... I got to know that it was an old lady that she and her mum are very close to. She was surprised to see me... hahaha... by now everywhere I went with francesca and her family, and introduced to the people, they are surprised to see me... coz I'm of a different ethnicity from them. So far all the Italians that I've been introduced to I'm always very overwhelmed by their warmth, friendliness.... they always make you feel a part of their family, friends... And I'm also used to the 2 air-kisses that everyone gives when you meet or depart. Even though I'm a stranger, they will air-kiss me. Anyway, back to this lady, she was living by herself... and recently she underwent somesort of operation for her hip. And when we were there, when we were leaving, a sharp pain struck her. She had to grip onto something to hold up. I was telling Emanuel that this is dangerous coz if anything were to happen to her... no one will know nor get help for her...
After conversing with her for about 30min, we left and went to visit another old lady... hahhaha.... so now i know that Francesca when she say 'friend' he/she is not limited to her age group people but old people too... =D
anyway this old lady that we were visiting is a very close friend of Francesca and her mother's. And the lady's husband passed away a few months ago. However, she was staying with her son and her daughter... hmmm... as in she has her own level, that's in the ground level. her son and his fmaily lived above her and her daughter and her family on the other wing of the house. The old lady thought I was from philipines.... hahaha... coz i think her brother or some other relative married a lady from the philipines. Her husband's sister was visiting her then....
They offered me some homemade Italian cakes and also the super strong liquer that her husbdan's sister made. I must say it was fantastic! After visiting the old ladies, we headed to Francesca's mum's place to say goodbye before heading to Pizzo, where we'll be having dinner with some of Emanuel's & Francesca's friends. Along the way, we stopped on a hill that overlooked a town by the sea and there was an ancient monastry on the hill. I took several photos, before departing.
Town lighted up. Town was along the coastal line
That's me on a rock. behind me is the ancient ruins on the hill
We reached around 9pm. All of them were pretty interesting people... mixtures of Italian and English were spoken at dinner. Dinner was another different pasta that I've not eaten before - pasta with chickpeas. and lots of super strong liquer available on the table. hahaha... i did try all, just tiny sips for each flavour. and finally I decided, it was still the Licorice Liquer that I drank on Christmas eve that's the winner for me!
After dessert, we had Italian Poker! yup! I was briefed by the house owner's wife (sorry I cannot remember her name). Managed to win 2 rounds.... compared to the others who were winning more rounds than me. But at least I know the rules of the game. We ended the game around 1.30am. Then we bade each other goodbyes and headed back to Francesca's & Emanuel's place. I had to wash up and most probably will only be sleeping for 3hrs. Coz I need to catch the 7.21am train to Rome that day. Hahaha.... Francesca was like will I be able to wake up? I told her... no Problem... sure will be able to....
anyway... my adventures in Calabria ended today... and tomorrow, the 2nd part of adventures in Rome resume... =D
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