The King of Ornano Grande - Santo Stefano di Sessanio to Ornano Grande

​We leave Santo Stefano after a rather sumptuous breakfast as would be expected at this over the top lodging.  It was really good and we all stuffed a few treats in our pockets for down the road (wanted to get our money’s worth ha - pockets not big enough).  

We start the big climb for the day right away and the views looking back at the town and in every direction are breathtaking.  

We start to get really fine glimpses of the Gran Sasso which is the largest abruzzese mountain. 

Then to the top and a plunge down to the giant plain below.  The next ten miles or so is a stretch of stunning scenery that feels like western us views mixed in with some quintessentially Italian stuff - their lovely white doe eyed cows, people collecting porcini mushrooms, a few arrosticinni stands (ie meat on a stick). 

Then a climb back up on the other side of this vast valley and a steep long downhill on the other side through a lush green forest.

Then a lot of up and downs still glimpsing the Gran Sasso and even a few peeks through the woods at the Adriatic Sea to our right.  

Then we stop in Castelli and have lunch.  Castelli is a town known for its ceramics and there were ceramic shops everywhere.  Peeked in a few but of course a set of dish ware was not an option!

Then we have a mere 15 k to get to our lodging in Ornano grande.  The sun is a bit intense and there is some climbing involved and an unusual amount of traffic. We didn’t see a single sleeping dog in the middle of the road. 

We arrive at our hotel and for the first time we are in a very modern structure compared to everywhere else we have been.  We all admit the change feels good.  Then the social fun begins. I am sorry I did not take any photos of the characters I am about to tell you about. I dearly regret it already. The hotel has a bar restaurant and the local guys hanging out start asking questions.  One guy, who we find out later is named, Giovanni, tells us he is waiting for his brother.  He is probably about our age a bit worse for wear, has  some physical problems.  He has some mobility issues and uses a cane. He tells us he was born in the us and speaks pretty good English but also has some speech issues so he was sometimes hard to understand.  His brother is arriving from the US, Philadelphia.  He hasn’t seen him for three years.  The brother finally arrives and we witness the touching reunion, hugs and kisses.  The brother, Bernie along with his fiancée, Martinella are the very stereotypical east coast Italian Americans.  A bit loud, a bit over the top.  But Bernie was an entertainer and the conversations were so funny. We were all laughing so hard.  So their story is they were both born right in this town in Italy.  Bernie had a crush on Martinella and asked her out but her strict father wouldn’t let her date.  So he gave up but says he never stopped thinking of her. They both married other people and then both divorced and they have recently been reunited and seemed to be very much in love.  So Giovanni refers to his brother as the King and the rest of the evening we all referred to him as such.  So fun and when they all had to leave to go to Mom’s house for a welcome home dinner, we all looked at each other in disbelief that we had just been part of this crazy, warm, and extremely funny discourse.