Second post on Italy: Ovindoli, Avezzano

After a few days in Rome, we headed out to see some more of my family in the small towns of Avezzano and Ovindoli.

Ovindoli!

Ovindoli is a beautiful small town of about 2,000 people that becomes popular in winter for its skiing and even more popular in the summer when it has great weather and lovely country scenery. Both of my grandparents (on my mom's side) are from Ovindoli, so I wanted to pay a visit. 

This is the outside of where my grandpa lived:

And here's me in front!

I came to Ovindoli with some relatives, as well. Here is the three of us in front of the house:

Emilio on the left, Tommaso on the right.

It was a pretty cold day in Ovindoli, and a small snow flurry actually started at one point. But I thought the snow made the town that much more picturesque and gave it even more of a small-town feeling. I took a bunch of pictures of the town itself, so here are just a few:

At the top of one mountain facing the town, there is a monument of a soldier dedicated to all the men who fought and died in World Wars I and II and were from Ovindoli:

After we had gone around to a bunch of spots in Ovindoli, we went and ate at a restaurant called "Il Pozzo." The owner and Emilio have been friends since their childhood, and they worked together at the same factory in Rome some years back. Il Pozzo, on the interior, has to be the most well-designed and aesthetically pleasing restaurant I've ever been/seen. It is literally built into the mountain rock of Ovindoli:

David, the owner of the restaurant, is on the left.

We spent the day in Ovindoli and a couple of nights in Avezzano. My grandma's sisters both live in Avezzano, and it was great being able to spend some time with them. We were fortunate to have Tommaso, who speaks English, as I ashamedly do not speak a word of Italian. I took just a handful of pictures of downtown Avezzano while I went on a walk with Tommaso. This is the cathedral and piazza. I remember that this is the piazza where my brother and I played some soccer back when we visited in 1996:

After our time in Avezzano, we went back to Rome for several more days, doing all the touring stuff and what not (see the first update on Rome below). 

By the way, P Sir, this is the table wine at Il Pozzo:

Colle Cavalieri (Cavalier Hill), Montepulciano D'Abruzzo. This house red (included with the price of bread, so, 3 Euros) has an enjoyable tannin feel to its aftertaste, which is complemented well with its alluvial bite on the front of the tongue, although yielding to a smoother, more refined cedar-like nose. 

It also tastes good.

And should you read this, Purtill, I hate to admit when you're right, but The Pillars of the Earth is really hard to put down.

On another note, I will probably try and post some more Rome pictures later when I have the chance. There's just so many of them and I haven't really had the opportunity to sort through them all.