Sunday, August 23, 2009

#243 Tricase Family

After about five more hours of driving from Salerno, we arrived in Tricase. Tricase is my father's home near the southern most point of the "heel" of Italy. I have been to Tricase many times in my life. During my childhood, my parents, brother, and I took family vacations every three or four years to see my grandparents and extended family in Italy. My father was one of seven children so I have ten aunts and uncles, 9 cousins, and 13 second cousins who live in or near Tricase (plus Paola and Marco in Rome and Perugia). Above you can see pictures of my Aunt Paolina with Kathleen, Uncle Salvatore with my father Ottavio, Uncle Mario giving a tour of his house, and Aunt Maria Assunta with cousin Paola on their shared birthday of August 15th.

Our agenda for the next week is primarily focused on swimming in the Mediterranean sea, soaking up the sun (for the darker skinned people), eating good southern Italian food, and enjoying the town. We will do a little bit of sightseeing in Tricase and perhaps visit a nearby city or two.

My aunts have help arrange the rental of two Tricase apartments. Kathleen's parents are staying in a one bedroom place while our family is renting a three bedroom apartment. The location is in town and on the same block as Aunt Paolina's. We can walk to a grocery store, cafes, bakeries, piazzas, and church. The final picture above shows Maria standing in front of our apartment.

To get to the ocean, we need to drive 10 minutes to the Tricase "beaches". The swimming areas are on the rocky shore at two places called Tricase Porto and Marina Serra. We also have the option of driving about 30 minutes to a sandy beach.

No comments: