Ciao a tutti mi amici! (Hello to all, my friends)

Well it is early fall which means, as it has for the last eight years, that Lou is on the move. This year I return to Italia to the province of Abruzzo visit the ancestral home of the house of Scudere or in the native tongue “Casa di Scudieri”. Not sure what I will find, I know that there are many Scudieri in Sulmona the city where my bisnonno (great grandfather) was born but, to this point, while I have been told there are molto Scudieri in Abruzzo, no one seems to be related to anyone LOL. Always knew we seemed to be an independent lot and this seems to be bearing out. This is probably because the root word for Scudieri is Scudiero or “Squire”. So just like “Smith” or “Baker” or “Porter”, the Scudieri is the plural for one who worked in a trusted position in the household of a knight.

So, I’m doing something a little different this year in that hiking will be minimal though walking g will be extensive. First I’ll head back to Umbria to see the “Festa I Primi d’Italia” a celebration of First meal courses in Italy…a pasta lover’s delight (are you shocked? Lol…l’m guessing not lol). From there I will go to the province of Abruzzo to see an authentic Italian patron Saint celebration (St Michael the Archangel) and observe the wine harvest with the intention of sampling one of my favorite red wines Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo. From there we will go into the Appinine mountains to the city of Sulmona and visit “la citta di originine degli Scudieri” where my great grandfather was born. So, thanks for tagging along. Weather was good coming into Rome so I was able to get a shot of our approach into Fiumicino airport, Rome. Andiamo! Let’s go.