We recently had a plate of seafood pasta, which reminded us of our first-ever meal in Italy, on our honeymoon, which was was a TOTAL NIGHTMARE. (The meal, not the honeymoon.) Not exactly a Little Roads experience...

Whew! it is H-O-T here and we are really feeling it. Here are a couple of the things that we’re doing to try to beat the heat in our little town of Soriano nel Cimino.

An old friend came to visit, and has been with us the last couple of days. We went to summer music camp together when I was 14, and the next time I saw her was about 30 years later when she happened to be in Nashville on the night of our final concert in our symphony gigs before we quit and moved to Italy.

She did a little sightseeing on her own when we were working, and then we took her to see (and eat at) some places we love in our area. Ferento, the ancient Roman theater, set out in the countryside; and Celleno, the “borgo fantasma” (ghost town), which is like a little Civita di Bagnoregio — accessible only by footbridge. These places are evocative of more famous sites in Italy, but really off the beaten path; so, no big crowds, and no selfie sticks!