Family Matters

 Wednesday 9th August 2023

Today is our first full day in Sefro.  Breakfast awaits apparently.  It seems the soccer team have had breakfast and have cleaned out the buffet of course

I ask the usual question " Do you have anything gluten free?"  In Italian. The answer of yes is surprising as they bring out 4 slices of GF bread, and an assortment of pre-packaged cakes. Only one looks worth eating going on previous experience. We asked for butter and were given a plate full. They then offered us eggs, either scrambled or frittata. Not sure which one we got but it was delicious. and of course we had coffee lungos plus coffee Americano with heaps of milk. Not bad.

We had a bit of a walk and I took some nice photos of the waterfall, main street and surrounds.

the water flowing through the village

dads house. it is a semi detached at the top of steps.

the major waterfall with Paul

more waterfall

And then Paul decided we should take a drive to Castelraimondo as it is a beautiful town and might be nice for gluten bloody free lunch. The roads are narrow, the curves and corners are tight and we have a very big car. The combination of these things is that it makes for difficult driving and difficult passengering.  Paul was very careful when cars approached from the opposite way and slowed down and went very left. Have you heard the phrase about your passenger being in the gutter when driving on the right hand side. Paul took this  very literally and we often drove on grass, on the edge of the road and once hit an embankment, well maybe it was twice.

There was roadwork which made it difficult to get into the main square so we stopped at a supermarket for some lunch to take back. Very average.

Later we were invited to Carmine and Tizziana and her mother's (Manuela) house up the road for coffee. It was such a steep hill that we had to be driven there.  Lovely coffee but I made the big mistake of eating a teeny, tiny piece of apple strudel which contains, yes you guessed it, bloody gluten.  I didn't think I had reactions to gluten but after 3 years of no gluten, I had a bit of a reaction. A bit horrendous.

I felt much better when Ben and Izzy arrived after a big day of driving and wine tasting. 

The plan was for us all and the family of about 30 to go to a dinner at a pizza restaurant. Ben and Izzy had come to Sefro a day early to take part. You should have seen their room (though I wish we hadn't.  Room envy.)

Paul drove us to the restaurant in Fiuminata at about 8pm. A little earlier as is his want. The next person arrived maybe 8.30 with people still arriving 9.30ish. Lovely french fries, bruschetta, and huge amounts of pizza followed, and  finishing with nutella pizzas.

Not for me as they did not have gluten-bloody-free bases or bread etc.  So I got, wait for it, a monstrous huge steak. A cousin suggested maybe salad as well so I asked for a small salad. I got a huge bowl of lettuce and tomato. Yum, yum as I watched everyone else devour their pizza.  Oh and one of the cousins brought me a packet of gluten-bloody-free bread. You cant eat this bread without toasting it but I gave one piece a go just to be polite.

It was amazing to see so many of the family there, most of my cousins and most of their children and most of their children as well. 4 generations of some. They all wanted to meet Ben and Izzy and a few spoke some  English which helped. Paul's improved Italian was helpful and noted.

This is mainly mine and Ben's generations as the little kids are around the corner.

We left about 11ish declining their invitation to go and have ice-cream. It had been a long day and my various illnesses were taking a toll on both me and Paul.