Sunshine
There is more sunshine in Italy than there is in NY. Totally subjective opinion, totally unproveable, but true, nevertheless. That was my reaction on Sunday morning when we arrived in Montone; it just seemed as if the light was fuller, and there was just more of it.
We rolled into the piazza at about 10:30 on Sunday morning, driven by our dear friend Claudio, and right into the thick of piazza life on a Sunday. While some of the women go to Mass, most of the men go to the piazza to chat with their friends, then the women join them, and everyone stands around talking and herding errant children. Our car was instantly surrounded by friendly faces, there were tons of hugs and kisses to welcome us back; it was an overwhelming welcome.
Martina took pity on us Sunday night, knowing that we had no food in the house, and invited us to dinner. It was marvelous to be absorbed right into town life again, not to mention eating delicious spaghetti with a baccala and chickpea sauce. The dish seemed like an unlikely pairing, but it’s a very simpatico combination.
We spent most of yesterday catching up on all of the town news, greeting our friends and finally meeting our neighbors Jody and Tom. They own Montone Due, a charming little house in town, and we’ve been e-mailing forever, but this is the first time that we met in person. 
Lunchtime we were moving some art supplies around for our friend Daniel, when Sergio lent us a hand, and insisted we come for lunch. An invitation to one of Manuela’s “simple” lunch is something to be treasured! Buccatini with guanciale, simple seared beefsteak, and divine little artichokes hearts, marinated in olive oil with a bit of Positano mint. And of course, lunch is never complete without a small glass of Manuela’s kick ass limoncello. I’m pretty sure that if you wander around town at mealtime, you will have no problem finding someone to feed you!
We finally got to do some food shopping, but just enough to hold us over until Wednesday, when we can go to the market. It’s good to be back!