the MOUNTAINS above ITRI

On Wednesday we leave Rome & drive to Itri. We are still without our dedicated driver Tizio at this point. After the festival, realizing he had a huge festival to clean up after & a whole bunch of sleep to catch up with, Tizio gave us the keys to the van & some maps of Italy & said: "I'll meet you in Rome on Tuesday!" On Tuesday he called & said he would meet us on Friday in Cosenza. Rock&Roll--we were fine with navigating & driving ourselves. It was fun, even if we did get a little bit lost in Rome. Toni at Dal Werme arranged a show for us in Itri the next day, (our previous engagement for the night had fallen through). we would meet Fabio by the train station. Armed with our maps & Fabio's phone number we left Rome on a beautiful morning to drive south. First down the Autostrada & then in to the mountains. Just like home. We looked at the winding little road on the map & called Fabio: "is this the best way to Itri?" Fabio replied: "It's not a good way, but the other way is worse."
We met him in town & followed his car up into the mountains. Leaving the paved roads things became very familiar Taos-style. Up & up, round & round, a final burst with the little van, now packed with 8 people, gear, drumset, & luggage, slipping on the grass for the last 100 meters.
ARRIVAL. Look at the picture above! That's Claudio lighting a fire with olive wood. He'll boil the water for pasta over it. His grandfather rebuilt this house from a ruined foundation dating back to the Romans. Fabio & his friends throw parties up here. After lunch Art of Flying will play a show.
Sonya is cutting tomatoes for the salad. At lunch the olive oil is made by someone's father, another's grandfather made the wine, Fabio's mother made the ragu for the pasta & this killer dish with wild greens & fava beans. That's Fabio on the left. Later dubbed, Don Fabio as he scored the keys to the local castle telling the town that we were American film-makers scouting locations.
We play. Claudio ran a generator for Anne's bass. Fabio & friends sang along. One of the most beautiful settings (in or out of doors) I've ever played.