After sleeping in a little bit, we wake to the sleepy sounds of birds chirping and roosters crowing. The setting is quite peaceful ~ a great way to begin a day of rest. 

First up though is coffee.... we have coffee, there is a Moka stovetop expresso maker, there is a stove. The lighter is empty. Searching high & low, there is not other lighter to be found. No coffee ?? Tossing some clothes on my back, I take a morning walk in search of coffee at the main piazza. It is all up hill on steep little roads but the walking way is shorter than the driving way so I’m there is short order. It’s also very pretty and interesting to see all the different buildings. Many of these homes/buildings are vacant. Life on the top of a mountain must be a challenge in many, many ways. There are only about 885 people living here (in 2017) but the town seems to be able to house much more. At the top of the mountain in the piazza I find the cappuccino in the gelateria / bar. Watching the people go about their morning routine is interesting while I give myself my morning dose of caffeine. There is also a dog hanging about. Some bells toll and in unison the men (they are all men) at the tables outside where I am sitting all stand and leave in different directions. Assuming they are off to some work.  The dog bounds after one man across the piazza and sits in the middle of the road for quite some time watching him walk down the street. It’s pretty hot out here already... another scorcher is coming.  

Finishing and fortified, I make my way back down to our home. After we are ready for the day, we hop into our car and make our way back up to the main piazza. Back at the gelateria/bar, Sue gets a cappuccino while I get a nice cold Coca-cola with lemon. 

There is a castle at the end of the piazza. Venturing inside we are greeted by the Capestrano Warrior. Well, he is a replica of the ancient original statue that was found by a local farmer in his vineyard. Inside the castle we find a guy working to clean up the remnants of what looks to have been a very large wedding party. Why one guy is doing all the cleaning up on Monday from the wedding reception that took place on Saturday, we just cannot figure. The setting is beautiful though with views in all directions of the stunning landscape and town below. 

Hoping back into our car, we are ready to drive out of Capestrano to visit the little town of Ofena. This is the town were the other side of Sue’s family immigrated from years ago. This little town is about 15 minutes driving away. It sets on the slope of a mountain. Only about 492 people live here. Driving through the small, winding streets we see many cars driving up & down. There is construction work going on in this town. Finding a spot to leave our car, we wander up the streets to explore. Sue has a couple addresses where families with the same last name are living. We find the streets but the actual house numbers Sue has are not visible. We walk up the main road to explore some more. This big white dog who at first seems friendly joins us. Quickly he becomes a nuisance trying to jump on us and nudging us. We scold the dog and walk away. Thankfully, he doesn’t pursue his bad behavior much more. Up the hill, Sue spots a nice house with two names on the buzzer labels that have her same family last name. Cool! 

Back down the hill and in our car, we are off to seek our our lunch. I made reservations for 12:30 at an agriturismo restaurant nearby. We are able to find the place after driving through some olive groves but find a sign at the door telling that they are closed until July 13 for some work being done. Would have been nice to have been told that via email but still the drive was short, easy and we saw some nice views along the way. 

Sue does some google research while I am driving to help us find an alternative nearby for lunch. Her efforts take us to a restaurant where we enjoy a nice lunch of a local cheese and egg dish that looks like a giant meatball or arancini but is much different and covered with a delicious tomato sauce. After that we have a pasta dish with fresh fettuccini with super fresh, delicious cherry tomatoes and a side of roasted potatoes which sadly are overly salty. 

Happily fed, we hop back in our car and drive back to our home in Capestrano. This is our day of rest so we are finished for the outings of the day. We plan to rest, nap and then go up into the town to visit the market for supplies (milk, wine and breakfast). After our nap, we venture by car back up to the main square. We stop in the market and buy some items before heading into the main piazza. Again at the gelateria/bar, we sit to enjoy an aperitivo. Aperol Spritz for the both of us with some little snacky-snacks to munch on as well. 

Back at our home, we are doing some more resting and relaxing (and a bit of laundry) before he turn in for the night. Dinner tonight is left-over lasagne with some grated cheese from the market. We eat late tonight and find that our terrace is not the place for eating so late in the evening ... flying things are attracted to our wine. Moving inside, we enjoy our meal. Then off to bed for some reading & blogging before sleeping.