Saturday was spent on the beach but, there was a brisk wind, so I stayed away from swimming. The lazy morning was spent making new friends and chatting about women’s health. It was an interesting conversation among 4 women and it was great getting the European point of view on women’s issues. Then my cousin called us to come up to the Lido for lunch. He has been talking about making pasta with “lo stocco” for days now and it was incredible. “Lo stocco” is basically a soup/sauce base that is made from a variety of local seafood. My cousin added grape tomatoes and herbs and made it into a creamy sauce. It was delicious.
The evening was spent shopping and touring the city. It was a perfect day!
Sunday I woke up to this view from my apartment. No clouds in the sky, indicating another perfect day.
This morning was an emotional one for me. My cousin picked me up and we went to buy flowers to place at my maternal aunt’s and grandmother’s tomb. Making the drive to Petrizzi, my mom’s hometown, brought back lots of happy memories of my driving to the town with my mom and sister here several years ago. But, no matter how much time passes after you lose your mom, sometimes the loss hits you like it just happened and today my heart hurt from missing her. We paid our respects and then drove off to see my mom’s olive grove. Seeing the healthy trees and the well maintained land soothed me because I knew mom would be so happy.
That’s my cousin Frank next to the fig tree where I was able to find one fig ready to eat. It’s late in the season so I didn’t think I’d find any. What a treat! The little stone hut has been on the land for generations and was used for storage. It’s fallen into disrepair but it looks exactly the same as when I was last here over 10 years ago. Then back to the Lido for lunch of fried calamari and salad. Yum!
Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends in Toronto! It’s my first time missing one at home but I am grateful for the chance to be here with family. Love and blessings to all😘