By Trina Otero

#1 – Hands down, the coffee!! Macchiatone, macchiato, espresso… Whatever you would like to call it. THE BEST [aside from my Tia’s cafe con leche ;)]

#2 – The roads… Because in most places I can/have to walk everywhere, which gives me a free workout 😉

#3 – Fresh, local, mostly home grown produce [depends which area you are in]. Free from artificial crap and oh so yummy!

#4 –  Potato chips that only cost about €1 which is only about about $1.30-2.00 depending on the conversion rate that day. Still a score!

#5 – Local spring water…. This big bottle only cost about €0.30-0.70. Can’t remember, but it’s cheap, and FRESH!

#6 – Beautiful, take – your – breath – away views. Like this:

#7 – Gnocchi – my favorite pasta thus far, hand made by Zia (Aunt), Nonna’s sister 🙂 (((nom nom nom)))

#8 – Pastries 🙂 This one is ferratella!

#9 – Strange but awesome liquors… This one is made from the root of licorice.

#10 – My love, Leone. I met him here in Cerchio. Mio bambino (My baby).

#11 – Loving children. They are very lovable and curious 🙂 Kids talk to me more than adults here lol

#12 – Castle ruins and old architecture

#13 – Supplì… Yum! It’s this fried ball of risotto and cheese inside.. Omg..

#14 & 15 – Wine (who would I be if I did not mention this?!) and peperoncino. I prefer the white wines in Northern Italy (I love Tomasella winery) and the red wines in this region of Abruzzo. Peperoncino is a red chili pepper. I love the peppers here.. And cutting tiny pieces and putting them on pasta, pizza, fish.. Almost everything!!

#16 – Weird, cool mini doors that look like they lead to Narnia..

#17 – Open markets!

I have so many more and I will continue to add to this list!!!! Hope you enjoy as much as I do 🙂

Ciao,
T.O.