I had scheduled a round of visits in the old village of my youth, while being hosted by one branch of cousins, who own food related industries in this area.
[my cousins' home]
[being restructred into a spa, friends' villa with a huge garden behind, where we played as kids]
My cousins' beautiful apartment is on the first floor of their huge building, while the 2nd floor contains a studio, and at least 3 bedrooms and related bathrooms facilities for guests.
They own a big German shepherd by the name of Ulisse, terribly protective of its lady owner; a powerful and fierce dog, who, eventually, accepted my presence in the household.
Its big eyes were constantly following my movements when I was doing something, especially in the kitchen, and ultimately would park himself on my side waiting for some goodie to be offered to him, as he is used to.
On Saturday night my cousins drove me to another town, where they planned to have dinner also with some other friends, with whom they play lots of golf together. I already knew one of the couples since I had hosted their daughter in NY years ago. The restaurant, owned by a Sicilian that moved north 20 years ago, is known for excellent fish dishes which we enjoyed thoroughly, followed by an exquisite dessert of meringue puffs covered with melted dark chocolate, and washed down by ‘ratafia`’, a sweet, but strong cherry liqueur!
One of my old school friends in Ghemme that had solicited my visit to Italy, annually plans a luncheon with the village people born in the same year, as per a tradition dating back to WWI. Wanting to include me this year, she planned it to take place on the Sunday that I was in town.
By 10:30am we gathered at the church to attend mass, during which time our presence was acknowledged and addressed by the officiating priest.
It was followed by a visit to the cemetery to remember those who passed away during the year, and in the past.
By 1pm our above group reached a nearby town where the luncheon was organized in a local restaurant, known for good food. There, we were joined by other natives that now live elsewhere, but return to the village for events such as this. The menu was extensive, beautifully served and the whole affair lasted 5 hours!
[sorbet served mid-meal before the grilled meats]
All sorts of goodies were enjoyed by everyone together with lots of conversation, catching up with family news and happenings, and ending up with old songs that one member that has a gorgeous voice usually delivers at the end of the gathering, supported by a cheering chorus!
At day's end, my friend and I drove home one of the attendees, who owns a big farm (known as a 'cascina' in Italian) in the outskirts of our village. Here, while sipping another espresso, we learned a few things about this farm's history and had an interesting visit of the grounds. Now they no longer have the big cows' stable of the past that produced milk and cheese, but rent some of their fields to a shepherd that brings his flock of sheep and goats down from from the mountains during the fall and winter seasons.
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