u/katnip_fl

I just ordered a Portola. Are the tires still inner tube? Do they have slime? Or will I need to put that in?

I’m in my 70’s and this show really clicks with me. The voiceover is so reminiscent of the detective shows I grew up with. The cinematography is eye catching and the old movie clips are so much fun. And then there’s Colin, not too tough to look at. I wonder if this show is more appealing to us boomers? Anyway, I’m diggin it!

My husband and I recently returned from a month long stay. We decided on Abruzzo, as part of the trip was to meet a distant cousin who I had connected with on Facebook from the town of Roccacasale where my GGF emigrated from in 1905. We did meet and it was a wonderful experience. We did want to be near the sea during our stay and ended up renting an apartment in Silvi for the month of June.

We flew into Rome and arrived on a Tuesday morning. The new entry system wasn’t working, but our wait wasn’t long. From the airport, we took the train to Pescara where we had arranged for a taxi to take us to Silvi. The train took you through some beautiful Italian scenery.

Our apartment was across the street from a small beach, we had a balcony view of the snowcapped mountains on one side and the sea on the other where we paid in advance for an umbrella. The water was heavenly! Clean, shallow and generally calm. Also, so very salty that floating was nearly effortless.

The town of Silvi on the Adriatic coast is a place where Italians go to vacation, not tourists. We never ran into any other Americans until our bus trip back to Rome out of Pescara. Most of our days were spent shopping locally or at the weekly market, going to the beach, getting gelato most evenings with a nighttime stroll along the promenade and beach. We took the train to the beautiful town of Pineto and later to Ortona where we rented e-bikes. Not sure I’d recommend it if you’re older like us. Very little instruction was given, I ended up hitting the wall inside one of the tunnels and bending the front rim. The bike rental charged 80eu for the damage. And we were sore and tired!

We were not interested in hitting the “sights” of Italy and really enjoyed the feeling of being a part of the Silvi community even for just a little while. We do not speak Italian other than a few words and there were not many in town that spoke any English, but greeting and thanking those folks we did meet and do business with seemed welcomed and appreciated. And thank goodness for Google Translate!

We’re thinking of renting e-bikes in Ortona for a morning this upcoming week. Has anyone done this and have any tips on where to go, what to do?

Planning on taking a bus from Rome airport to pescara. Will our carry on suitcases be thrown in the luggage compartment or will we be able to keep it with us and put in an overhead bin? I worry about their loss if out of sight.

We will be staying in Silvi for the month of June. Any suggestions for restaurants, beaches or places to see via train in Abruzzo? Also, Prontobus or Dicarlo from the airport?