Wine and Sheep Country

Grapevines, olive trees, corn and sheep all on steep grassy mountains.  It is very peaceful here.  The area we are in is very old, the house we are in has good space but quite rustic for what my family is used to.

Simple is how I was raised and that is the word I have chosen for this week’s accommodations.  

    The owners are a lovely family originally from England and just returned from sailing for the past six months.  They have been very helpful with guiding us in the right directions.  Force is not a touristy area so some of the gems are tucked away.

Looking out window to sheep

This morning I woke to the bleating of sheep as they were being moved up the hill by a couple of white dogs.  The hot pink sunrise peeked through the hills and a lonesome feeling hung in the air.

View from our terrace

My emotions were wiped away with the surprise that awaited me in the kitchen.  Our bread sack was lying on the floor and beside it were torn up pieces of bread and our can of Nestle’s Cocoa had been scratched up.. I glanced to the terrace doors that had been pushed open.  We had been raided by an Italian raccoon!  Yikes, I knew I needed to get the evidence cleaned up before Dennis woke or he would freak.  I kept quiet about it all day and contemplated not telling him until the week was over.

In the morning we went to Montefalcone.  It was a village on a mountaintop, quiet and a bit mysterious.  It reminded us of a town that a mob character from The Godfather would go to hideout.

Montefalcone on a cliff

The critters continued to introduce themselves to us Americans.  A spider the size of a baseball was quietly removed before Dennis caught wind of its existence but he heard the squeals when  large snail was napping on our shower room wall.  He hollered for me to take care of it.  I said it was no big deal compared to the monstrous spider and the raccoon mess I dealt with earlier.  He about fell over backwards on his chair……hee, hee, hee!

Amanda and Dave brought us strawberry grapes from their vines, walnuts from their tree and a jug of wind from their favorite consortium.  Is that hospitality or what?

Dennis and Piatro

When we arrived in Force we were unable to get through by phone to the owners.  We had no choice but to ask for help.  In a town this size and remote nobody speaks English.  The girls and I sat in the car and prayed while Dennis approached a cluster of construction workers. This is Piatro.  Despite the fact that he spoke zero English he was quick to drive us to someone who spoke English so we could get directions to our house.  We saw him throughout the week.  He was always wearing the same green sweater so he was easy to spot.

Later that evening we pushed the table against the terrace door, hung our backpacks up on the wall and shut our bedroom doors and hoped the critters would keep to themselves on our second night.