John Wiankowski chose this town as his home in Belize. It takes the pressure off of you and you have your freedom to travel. We do it for many reasons and I have to say that we are a bit tired and overwhelmed, but so very happy. I choseTouring Abruzzoand with the wonderful help of Luciana and Alberto, the De Felice tree was fleshed out all the way back to the early 1800s. Work in progress and completion John primed the old tile in order to prepare for the new tile to adhere. With fourth and final search dog, Romeo, and our house completed, I returned to K9 Alert for my final active years in SAR. It is called La Valle DellOrfento. Since my grandfather, Carlo De Felice, had lived in San Salvo, a nearby city on the Adriatic Sea, I hoped that a few relatives remained in the area. With only 10 shy of 1000-strong inhabitants, Schiavi di Abruzzo is just the tonic for a quiet, pleasant retirement location. Along the way, not very far from San Spirito, a man was working with his 6 horses and mules to bring firewood out of the forest. We viewed a couple of prospective homes in Tufillo but they didnt meet our criteria. still in the works. Its been a few weeks now that I have been hiking with my full pack, adjusting, adding, subtracting. Just many hours on call and lots of driving ahead. On this cammino, we will travel many miles on secondary roads, so we made certain our feet could handle the hard surfaces as we carried all we would need for the week in our backpacks. The house has been a restoration project that reflects the artistic talents and expertise of Giacomo Ottaviano (owner/contractor), but upmost the work is from his heart. I hope that some of you reading this posting will consider either doing the cammino in its entirety or parts. Apart from the stringent COVID cleaning regulations, which most days left me exhausted, there was the lack of privacy. A true romantic, she is an avid cook and wine British Expat Living in Italy - Interview with Sue. For those of you thinking of moving to rural Italy, and in my limited experience, to Abruzzo, you may need to have a tribe. Forum for Expats Living in Italy on Expat Exchange. We will be certain to return for many a visit! We are already planning a 6 day cammino in Puglia this fall. The communities involved in this project include: Carunchio, Castelguidone, Castiglione Messer Marino, Celenza sul Trigno, Fraine, Montazzoli, Municipality of Roccaspinalveti, Schiavi Di Abruzzo, Torrebruna, as well as the Proloco San Giovanni Lipioni. The blog is run by Katy and Susanna, two expats residing in Sulmona. One final hike to share with you today and I thank you for your indulgence. Floor tiles would be a continuation of the hall project. A little over three years ago, we purchased our lovely home here in Roccaspinalveti, but in actuality it took us 4 years prior to our purchase to actually find it. We arrived at Caramanico Terme, found Hotel Viola to check-in to our rooms, walked around a bit and had dinner back at the hotel. And it was a grand success! As October marched on and the numbers of positive cases escalated, we decided it was a safer bet to hike just with each other. He is fearless on long ladders, both when he built our home in Virginia as well as painting here. Each one so different from the other, with their own talents, strengths and personalities. An interesting yet very frustrating element that can occur when buying an old house here in Italy, is the determination of ownership of a cantina and/or a stalla (e.g. We first rented a farmhouse in a small town about 15 minutes from the Adriatic Sea just north of Pescara. John Mariani. Storage space is at a premium in our downsized home and the need for additional storage and workshop space for John was important. At some point during those years, I found out that I could apply for my Italian citizenship. Just a very interesting and satisfying day to end our 6-day cammino. Huge complements to everyone involved with this cammino, working diligently to make this an outstanding experience! Over the past few years, we came to the realization that we were slowing downjust a little.. and to have a smaller home to care for was in our more immediate future. It was amazing. When I finally reached him by phone, he was very hesitant for me to meet his grandfather Michele De Felice, my third cousin who is in his late 80s. The air cooled, we gave a sigh of relief and caught our breath. Im a realist. Whether you need primary care or complex Our goal was Il Laghetto di Pietra Cernaia, a small lake at the foot of a monstrous rock outcropping. With only 10 shy of 1000-strong inhabitants, Schiavi di Abruzzo is just the tonic for a quiet, pleasant retirement location. Bursting with history and character, the town is known for its finely crafted, uniquely decorated stone houses and for some beautiful panoramic views. The three-storey property available here is an excellent getaway. Thankfully just wet boots and socks, no major bumps and we climbed a short steep path to the remnants of the hermitage San Onofrio AllOrfento. He emigrated from Italy in 1910 on a ship leaving the port of Naples, arriving at Ellis Island, New York. Just a thought. Alex has an Osprey Eja 38L, John a Quechua Forclaz 40 Air+ and I have an Osprey Tempest 40L. I was approached by Alessio Massari (mountain guide, environmentalist and good friend) to write a testimonial telling my story of rediscovering my Italian roots, from New York to Roccaspinalveti via San Salvo. . Even after six years of living in this beautiful country, John says, I still My first search dog was an adoption from a work partner; a washed-out gun dog, a sweet, somewhat confused Labrador named Buck. WebAppealing to tourists and retirees alike, Bari is home to numerous shops (local mom-and-pops as well as high-end designer goods), museums, theaters, universities, a train, and bus hub from which to explore points north, south, and inland, an airport, and a cruise terminal. As the house is about 45 years old, there was some cosmetic updating to be done along with a few major additions, such as adding a new boiler and double-glazed windows to our living space. Weve been pushing hard on updates, as we have decided to sell our home here in Roccaspinalveti and move closer to the Adriatic Sea, in turn being closer to my San Salvo cousins. As this cammino was a group and John and I are more comfortable on vacations with just the two of us, we decided that I would organize a cammino and invite our close friend Alex. The decision was made. We all headed back up to the main trail and onward to Rifugio Di Marco and the meadows of the Majelletta. So it is said that hiking longer hikes and more often doesnt actually get you in shape for hiking. The depth and width of the beauty of the Majella is not done justice here. Why would a distant cousin, such as I, be important to them? Yes, Tim Allen (The Tool Man) is one of his heroes. We added a few more visits to other regions over the past years, but we always made time to visit a small village for a few days in Abruzzo. John continues to do the shopping in our village and Im sticking close to home. And Alberto located a few of my cousins alive and well in San Salvo! During this summer, I continued my studies with Italy Made Easy Academy online lessons. Our accommodations range from B&Bs, hotels and an agriturismo, and I used various sites and apps to make reservations. My tool man, as always, had a plan and the wall is now stable after a lot of cement work. There is much more inside our packs to talk about but it would be a really long post. It did make the longer days a challenge, but such a great experience! I felt out of my league immediately. What was the Search and Rescue that gave substance to my life for so many years? We would start in Polignano a Mare and complete the trek in Taranto. Its been a tough decision but one we knew would eventually come, just not so soon. While we were in the process of retiring from out careers in Virginia, selling our chalet home in the mountains with thoughts of downsizing in Abruzzo, I had been already cruising some excellent home sites and creating our top 20 home list. We previously had visited Sulmona a few years back, but never took the time required to truly appreciate this city. I am sure all handlers feel the same about their dogs and rightly so. Italy Expat Forum for Expats Living in Italy. WebExpats In Abruzzo, Italy If you are looking to connect with expats in Italy, then this page brings together all the latest expat blogs Italy written, any interviews, articles and news After watching a handler and her dog locate a volunteer ( the subject) hiding in the woods, seeing the dog return to the handler, indicate the find with a jump, and returning to the subject with the hander, I was totally onboard. But as of June 1, it appears that COVID restrictions on inside eating will be lifted. Not sure of the exact terminology but it was definitely a deep fissure in the landscape. It is everchanging depending on the weather and lighting and I just cant get enough. I hope for many more trails with these ladies. It was much larger than we needed and it came with two apartments and a large backyard. John and Alex just go by end weight and shake their heads at me, but I reveled in it! To be able to experience all these many hermitages within a 6 day span has truly been mind boggling. But we so love our house (about 250-300 years old) with a very modern interior. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Four great dogs my friends, my confidants, my fuzzy children.. unforgettable. And during this search for my family, John received his Italian citizenship by being married to me (Jure Matrimonii). No going back for me. Once the main kitchen is completed, we will turn the lower one into our dining area. We can dream and make plans in the hope that restrictions will eventually be lifted. The information that I got from my father, was that they were from Naples. As the apartment was part of our home, we felt it essential to maintain a level of quietness on our part in order to ensure our guests were not disturbed. The edges of the new tiles were beveled where they met rooms with original tiles. Making plans is a concrete way to exhibit hope, and so I made some. Thats all changing now, as as I meet up with my Italian speaking friends, whether were out hiking or meeting at one of our local bars. The location gave us plenty of excellent choices for dinner, time to visit the historic center and a good launching point for tomorrows first stage (tappa). The chapter may have closed but it doesnt end my friendships and I will certainly not forget my dogs. We did drop off our pets at the kennel, met up with Alex to ride-share from end town (Serramonacesca) and parked our car for the week. We didnt have much time to visit the hamlets and towns as we were averaging 11 tough miles a day with stops. These events are for the family and we get that now. This fall apartments and a large backyard expats living in abruzzo italy when he built our home in Belize would be a of! 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