Christmastime is an especially beautiful time of year in Ascoli. The decorations are up. Everyone is out in the square in the evening. There’s something going on every evening.
The holidays give us time to a chance to reflect on what’s important. In that spirit, we often are asked us why we moved to a relatively unknown part of Italy. Here’s part of the reason.
On a particularly fine day a few weeks ago, we woke up late having been out until 1am at a jazz guitar concert the night before. Finishing breakfast, we prepared to go out to do the shopping as we often do. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and lots of folks were out preparing to look at this weekend’s Mercato Antiquario.
We first stopped off at the open-air vegetable market, picking up some artichokes, broccoli, romanesco, and cavolini (brussel sprouts) on the stalk (rare here).
We then ambled over to see Emidio and sons at the bar where we usually take morning coffee.
Fully caffeinated, we headed off to finish shopping at the local grocery. Soon we ran into a American friend who visits Ascoli for a month or two a year, and had a lovely conversation about the magnificent buildings along the main drag.
Not long after, we ran into two expat friends of ours who were excited about a new type of pasta they made the night before.
After picking up some dinner for tonight, we met Franco, an engaging gentleman I met working with the Angeli del Bello – a volunteer organization that cleans up graffiti and other ugliness. He was happy to point out that my picture was in the local paper this morning from our most recent project. I’m a bit taller than most other folks in our group, and so am easy to recognize.
Finally, we ran into my commercialista (accountant) who was most happy to introduce his wife, whom we had not met before.
After all this, it was almost time to go home and make lunch! A typical morning in Ascoli!
So none of this is world-shaking. But I do think it is typical of a lifestyle that didn’t exist for us in the US. A lifestyle where moving slowly and meeting and talking to all sorts of people is really the essence of living.
So we feel truly blessed in our lives here in Italy. We hope that you find yourself in a similar situation wherever you are.
Ted and Linda
Linda's Trip Tips 