Simbario

I've made a change to the page. I realized you were not being notified when I made posts to the blog. So now Ive added a gadget so you can subscribe and it notifies you by email.  Also, Barbara says I should tell you the keyboard in Italy is NOT like the keyboard in the U.S. so you will see typos.  Also when I spell check it highlights every English word!  so pardon in advance for errors.

Our trip here on the train was beautiful. Within a short time we came upon the coast and almost the entire way, there were mountains on one side and the Tyrrhenian Sea on the other. Che Bella!  Francesco's father picked us up at the train station and then drove us almost an hour to Spadola. It is beautiful here and reminds me some of  Upper Michigan. I can see whay my grandparents were comfortable leaving here and making thier new homes in the UP.  Forests, winding roads, or I should say hair-pin turns, and cool air, but it is clearly in the mountains!

Yesterday was down time. It rained and was cold. We went to the local grocery and got somewhat wet coming back.  The only way to get warm was to get unde the covers. They are not allowed to turn the heat on in Italy this "early". But the temperature was probably in the 40's; later the owner said there was a "technicality" and turned the radiator on in our room. We think the "technicality" was two soft Americans!

Today was beautiful, so we headed out and visited the town center of Spadola, Bregnaturo and  Simbario. Walking, we visited all in 3 hours! I was told how poor this area is but apparently in the last few years things have improved. They are building new housing all over the area and people drive really nice cars.
Porcini mushrooms grow here and this is the season for them. Francesco, boyfriend of the owner's daughter, our hotel clerk, waiter, mother hen- says people come from all over to pick mushrooms. But there must be more business too. We can tell there are lumber mills. There is a nature reserve. So we will find out more. As we walked to Bregnaturo today, we were approached by a man on a bicycle who asked  who we were we bagan to explain, he came back 4 or 5 times as we walked to clarify his inofrmation. So we are sure the entire toiwn now knows we are here and why. When we reached Simbario, we were approached by a man with similiar curiosity, we again explained anothere man walked up, they told us one of the men down the street was a Roti (my great grandmothe's maiden name), turns out his daughter works in the civic records of Simbario. So we are to ask for her tomorrow. Then the second man, accosts the local priest who is a very nice young African, who as it turns out also speaks English. Father Stephen has said he will help us tomorrow (Monday). He has some records at the church, but the older ones (1800's and early 1900's) have been taken to be repaired because the pages were falling out of the books. One of the gentlemen said there is only one Donato family in Simbario now, so we will see tomorrow.