I don't want you to think we do nothing except go and watch resurrected rock stars and take bookings for our Abruzzo holiday villas. 

Far from it.

We've been to the opera too.

Not exactly the opera, or even an opera. More like bits of operas. Those greatest hits that you can never put a name to – and don't even realise you know – but which you can hum along to as soon as you've heard the first couple of bars.

Once a year, the town of Casalbordino – about an hour to the south of us – stages a full bells and whistles evening of opera, with a full orchestra, a choir and a palette of talented singers.

And on this occasion, not a fat lady in sight. 

Casalbordino's a pretty town and was dressed to the nines for the evening. A huge stage was set up at one end of the Piazza Umberto I right in the town centre, with the beautifully-lit church of Santo Salvatore providing a perfect backdrop.

This being Italy, it was hardly a surprise to see the names of Verdi, Puccini and Rossini writ large and the rest not exactly writ small, but more like left out altogether to make room for Donizetti and Leoncavallo.

This parade of national heroes was broken only by one grudging nod in the direction of Bizet and another to Orff. No Mozart ? No Mozart. Boo !

The talent was impressive, with the unfortunate exception of the Bass, who had what can most kindly be described as a bad day at the office. Happens to us all. But rarely as publicly.

Happily, tenor Giuliano di Filippo and mezzosoprano Chiara Chialli were both in thrilling voice and while their talents kept ears and eyes busy, touch enjoyed the feel of the chilled bottle of sparkling Pecorino; and taste and smell were more than happy with the delicious nibbles we'd brought along.

All five senses contentedly occupied. Can't often claim that.

So I've inched forward towards a full-blown, full-on opera experience. Preferably at that fantastic open-air arena in Verona.

In the meantime, Casolbordino opera on a summer evening – even with a dodgy Bass – is a pretty good alternative.

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This little corner of Abruzzo is in danger of becoming Resurrected Rock Star Central. I've already blogged the astonishingly good Elvis tribute band we saw in Casoli a couple of years ago – but who are making a long-overdue reappearance on Wednesday !

I now blog – with ears still slightly ringing – a truly memorable Friday night in nearby Palombaro being blown away by Queen tribute band Regina.

Now Queen were – are – Pauline's absolute most favorite band in history. Ever. Utterly.

So this wasn't a case of "Oh look at that poster. There's a Queen tribute band in Palombaro on Friday. If there's nothing on telly, fancy going ?"

It was "OHMIGOD LOOK A QUEEN TRIBUTE BAND AND THE SINGER LOOKS JUST LIKE FREDDIE MERCURY WE JUST ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE TO GO".

And thus it came to pass that we sat eating very good char-grilled sausages and scamorza, while I drank beer and Pauline peered moodily at a glass of that famed Abruzzo favourite sangria, while wondering why this was the only festa in Italian history where you couldn't buy a bottle of wine.

Luckily, an SOS SMS reached our friends Michele and Nick just as they were leaving home and they arrived with a bottle.

Just one unfortunately, which gave Michele and Pauline – and our other friend Ruth – just the excuse they needed to buy a round of industrial-strength gin and lemon-soda cocktails.

A couple of tables away, Freddie Mercury look-alike Diego Regina and the other band members, (who – not that it especially matters, but I mention it in passing – looked nothing like Brian May, or Roger Taylor, or the guy who played bass), prepared for the gig with practiced indolence.

Red wine. Hangers-on. Photos for fans. Cigarettes. Giggles and In-Jokes.

Rock'n'roll never changes.

Irritatingly, a well-meaning but utterly dire Abruzzo folk ditty chorale – the world's most incongruous-ever warm-up act – over-ran interminably, due mainly to some fool in the crowd who persisted in applauding them. Which of course encouraged them to do more.

Regina finally appeared just after 11.00. An hour-and-a-half of classic hits later, later they triumphantly wound it up, segueing from Radio Ga-Ga into We Are The Champions.

Now…anyone can dress-up to look like Freddie Mercury. Diego Regina clearly believes he is Freddie Mercury. And he's not being all that delusional.

He can sing. That's for sure. Like his hero, he also plays keyboards and guitar. And for ninety minutes, as he strutted his stuff onstage, he was his hero.

To back him up, the boys in the band had that razor-edged quality that sets genuine musicians apart from a bunch of guys who happen to own guitars and know a couple of chords.

No surprise to discover then that Regina were finalists in this year's Italy's Got Talent TV series.

They really are that good.

Killer 'Queen' in fact.

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Pecorino Frizzante, Terre di Chieti IGT. NV. Cantina Colle Moro
Rose Veneto Frizzante 'Duca della Rocca' IGT. NV. Colombara

Let's once and for all debunk the dictum that when it comes to 'special' wine, the higher the price, the better the quality.

This month we have a bottle of one of the best summer wines you're ever going to find at a scandalously low €1.45; and a bottle of the best Italian sparkling wine I've ever tasted, at a princely €4.

We discovered the sparkler on the last weekend in May, when wineries across Abruzzo open their doors and invite you in to have a look round; sample their wines; and enjoy a few nibbles.

At the Cantina Colle Moro in nearby Frisa, we were offered a taste of a wine introduced only this year, a sparkling Pecorino.

Now, as we've mentioned here before, the Pecorino grape is an old Abruzzo heritage variety, rescued from the brink of extinction in the mid-90's.

Happily, we're right in the middle of its production area and the still white has not only become a firm personal favorite, but has also replaced Trebbiano as our 'house white' that you'll find waiting for you on your arrival for a Villasfor2 holiday.

But a sparkling variety ? Using the 'Charmat Method' – in which a natural sparkle to the wine is developed in a tank, rather than, (as with champagne), in a bottle – Cantina Colle Moro have with brilliant success transformed their pretty good still Pecorino into an absolutely outstanding fizzer.

Unlike Prosecco, which at its best from the Vadobbiadene – Conegliano area of the Veneto is a wine of lightness and delicacy, Colle Moro's Pecorino Frizzante is rich and full-bodied, not a million miles away in taste from a Pinot Noir-laden champagne.

There are other similarities. A yeastiness on the nose of fresh-baked brioche and a long, dry, tingly and almost spicy finish.

Absolutely vice-free and absolutely delicious.

The only thing that made me blink was the crown cap closure – rather like a bottle of Coke. But I guess it's a logical extension to the screw cap. Regard it as a conversation piece rather than a deal-breaker.

And if that's good, wait till you taste the rose frizzante sold under the Duca della Rocca brand.

From the Colombara co-op based in the small town of Cazzano just to the west of Venice, this is a mongrel of an IGT wine containing heaven-knows-what varieties which, due to the angelic skills of a blender, have been transformed into the ultimate summer gulper.

There's not even the tiniest hint of the mean, thin, sharpness you might expect from a wine this cheap. Nor of an excess dosage of sugar to mask its deficiencies.

Instead, there's a riot of strawberries, raspberries, cherries and redcurrants, beautifully dry and silky, cascading into your glass in a fun, frothy, pink cascade that's utterly beguiling. And at only 10.5%, it won't leave you feeling sandbagged on even the most scorching summer's day.  

€1.45 ? Yes, €1.45. Silly, isn't it ?

Both this month's recommendations can happily be drunk on their own, or with any light summer food. Both are extraordinarily good and I recommend them to you.

At A Glance…

• This month's 'Special Italian Wines': Pecorino Frizzante, Terre di Chieti & 'Duca della Roca' Rose Veneto
• Vintage: Both NV
• Designation: Both IGT
• Grape: Pecorino is 100% Pecorino; Rose Veneto blend is not stated
• Strength: Pecorino – 12%; Rose Veneto – 10.5%
• Closures: Pecorino – Crown cap; Rose Veneto – Cork
• Producers: Pecorino – Cantina Colle Moro; Rose Veneto – Colombara
• Website: www.collemoro.it
• These bottles cost: Pecorino – €4; Veneto Rose – €1.45 

Next Month…
From Umbria, we sample Sagrantino di Montefalco, a much-praised DOCG red from one of the region's best producers. It's a wine you'll enjoy drinking at home – and in your Abruzzo villa for two !

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Lunch was at La Cantina di Biffi in Sulmona. Not because George had lunched there a few days before, but because it looked nice; and it was lunchtime; and the only other choice seemed to be a Chinese restaurant.

Yes, there are Chinese restaurants in Abruzzo. And though I'm sure this was a crackingly good establishment, based on our experiences so far, Chinese restaurants in Abruzzo are unremittingly awful.

Aside from being a pretty town in the mould of many other Abruzzese pretty towns, Sulmona has two key selling points: Candy and garlic.

Sulmona's justly-famous red garlic is a real garlic-lovers' garlic. Pungent and powerful. At La Cantina di Biffi they chop it – not too finely – fry it, and stir it into polenta of a sublime creaminess.

Then they spoil it by rationing you to a meagre little portion – and anything less than a kilo of this delicious unctuousness counts as 'meagre' – as part of a really rather good antipasti platter.

Quite pricey at €13 each and contributing to a bill of €70-odd. But you can't expect my good friend and distant dining partner George Clooney to eat anywhere cheap for heaven's sake.

But this – and other touches of creative pricing – might've explained why George looked a little…well…gloomy in the photo proudly produced by the cantina's owner.

He'd probably just been given the bill.

That's enough precious blog space devoted to Gloomy George. Think instead of sweeties of an almost unnatural gloss and colour artfully fashioned into cute little flower shapes.

When it comes to confectionery, what's more important: eye appeal or taste ? Whether you're an aesthete or a glutton, you'll be thrilled that Sulmona's sweeties score highly on both counts.

And not as avariciously-priced as a Cantina Biffi starter either. Had George lunched on chocolates, sugared almonds and nougat instead of fancy antipasti, he'd have been all smiles come the post-prandial photo-call.

We again contributed significantly to the profits of Sulmona's hospitality industry with sloppily-served drinks in the smart bar right opposite the Chiesa della Annunziata, watching its medieval facade getting a quick scrub-up in preparation for a visit from Pope Benedict two days later.

A visit to anywhere alongside George Clooney and the Pope. Not many people can say that.

Anyway, here's the plan: Wander round undeniably delightful Sulmona and take in the sights; buy candies and garlic. Then get in the car, drive 15 minutes or so to the lovely little village of Pacentro; and have lunch.

Osteria Maggiore and Taverna de li Caldora, though as yet untried by us, have been sampled by Vf2 Guests and given top marks. And I don't think Gloomy George has discovered them yet.

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I came across this little widget that allows you to run simple polls and questionnaires on your website or blog.

And in a moment of idle curiosity, I thought it'd be fun to run a poll to see what everyone's favourite Italian food was.

Lasagna ? Pizza ? Spaghetti Bolognese ? Parma Ham ? Risotto ? Easy !

"Hold on a minute," said Pauline. "What about Spaghetti Carbonbara ? All those lovely salami and cheeses ? Minestrone ? Canneloni ? Osso Bucco ? Chicken Cacciatore ? Aubergines and Artichokes ? Tisamisu ? What about ice cream for heaven's sake !"

"Good point," I replied quickly as she paused for breath.

We eventually ended -up with a 'What's Your Favourite Italian Food ?' poll with about thirty-odd choices. Which was a little…unwieldy.

So, to coin a cooking metaphor, the idea went onto the back burner and instead, I posted the topic onto the LinkedIn professional networking site.

Two weeks later, the pattern of answers is clear. Everyone in the world – well, OK, everyone who subscribes to LinkedIn – loves Italian food: everyone has a special favourite.

And they're pretty well all different.

Pasta in all its many guises: Carbonara; Alla Vongole; Pesto; Puttanesca; Arrabiata. Bistecca alla Fiorentina. Crostini. Beef braised in Barolo. Bruschetta. Polenta (Polenta ?). Fritto Misto. Gnocchi. Carpaccio. Bressaola.

And Pizza. Lots and lots of different types of pizza. From Quattro Formaggi to Calzone.

And that's just a…er…taste.

What all this entirely unscientific research points to is that the mere mention of a favourite Italian food brings a smile to the face in a way that few – any ? – national cuisines can match.

You just can't imagine anyone coming over misty-eyed at the mention of Coq au Vin or Crepes Suzettes; or Paella; or Frankfurters and Sauerkraut.

When it comes to the ultimate comfort food Italian food seems to be in a class of its own.

What's your favourite ?

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Walk into any church in Abruzzo during December – and with regional variations, this probably applies to the rest of Italy too – and you'll find a lovingly-built Nativity scene: the 'presepe' depicting the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.

But it's a tradition that isn't just confined to churches, because constructing a presepe is a hugely popular hobby among Italians and at craft stores and markets, you can buy items ranging from the Three Wise Men;  to a tiny lamb; to an enormous 'stage set' on which you can build the most intricate nativity scene, complete with electrically-powered moving parts.

Our neighbour Nicolino Carosella in the nearby village of Fontepaduli has been building his own presepe outside his house for the past six years. Each year they get bigger and more elaborate and this year, it stretches right around his house.

The centrepiece of course is the nativity scene itself. You'll notice one important absentee. The tiny blue silk crib itself is empty. As is traditional in Abruzzo, the tiny figure of the infant Jesus won't be placed in the crib until midnight on Christmas Eve.

And in addition to the nativity scene. Nicolino has this year built a series of tableaux depicting countries of the world. The work involved is astonishing. Nicolino does it all himself and receives not a penny for his efforts. It's a labour of love.

And each year's display is completely different from previous years. The only constant is the centrepiece: the presepe.

Nicolino's displays have now become a regular part of our Abruzzo Christmas. As they're built outside his spacious house, they're always 'open' and remain so until January 6 – the traditional close of the festivities.

THere's nothing to pay. Just park your car and wander round. It's not a sight you're going to see anywhere else and the fact that it's so personal and that Nicolino takes so much pleasure in your admiration and delight makes it all rather magical.

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After a thoroughly dire and drenching October, we rather feared the worst for November which is – statistically – the wettest month of the year.

But aside from a couple of apologetic little showers as October grudgingly relinquished its soggy hold, the weather's been absolutely glorious, with day after day of clear blue skies and temperatures around 20C/68F.

Our November guests, who'd decided on Villasfor2 after the usual online search for an Italy villa for couples, were dazzled and delighted – and not just by the sun, for while it's true that an Abruzzo autumn is nothing if not unpredictable, November rewards your visit with the arrival of the year's new olive oil, wine and sweet chestnuts.

All over Italy, the year's Vino Novello  is released on November 6. Which craftily gives it a fortnight's head start over Beaujolais Nouveau. Despite the dire predictions triggered by rain during the grape harvest, the new Montepulciano we've tried from our regular favourite everyday cantinas Tollo and Miglianico is delicious. Packed with fruit; soft and gentle.

For a change, we also tried a Primitivo Novello from Puglia, which was heady stuff. And at €4.39, not cheap either. Sadly, taking a leaf out of the Bumper Book of French Greed by noting the prices asked for new Beaujolais, some Abruzzo producers are attempting to cash-in on Vino Novello's popularity. One, who shall be nameless – oh..OK…Zaccagnini – is charging a whopping €7+ a bottle !

Is it any good ? I haven't a clue and I'm not paying to find out either, as there are plenty of other less-pricey choices. Vino Novello isn't made in vast quantities – less than 1% of Italy's annual output – so it's hardly exported and is there to be quaffed and enjoyed as a fleeting pleasure. Gone, generally, by the new year.

And what to nibble alongside ? Roast chestnuts. The biggest, sweetest, fattest ones are known as marrone – turned into marrons glaces in France – and they have an incredible affinity with the sweet fruitiness of Vino Novello.

And the oil. The last addition to this wonderful autumn bounty. Picked, pressed and ready. Not a big crop this year – but really excellent quality. A dark gold colour, shot with green. Good unfiltered oil; country bread and a little salt are one of the very finest things to eat and you'll find a bottle of this same oil, from the olive groves bordering Villasfor2, always waiting for you in your villa.

What better reason to change that web search from an Italy villa for couples to an Abruzzo villa for couples ? November could be a foodie's  best month for an Abruzzo holiday !

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We've just spent the day helping Rocco and La Signora with this year's Abruzzo olive harvest. It was a harvest that for a while didn't look like happening.  The weather for the past two weeks has been utterly awful. Torrential downpours have pummelled ripe olives off trees and walking through the groves bordering our swimming pool became a depressing experience as every step squashed fallen olives into the mud.

For a while, this year's prospects for Abruzzo olive oil hung in the balance then on Monday, rain miraculously gave way to clear skies and warm weather, with the promise of a settled two weeks and temperatures soaring into the mid-70s. It needed patience to keep the tractors in their sheds for a couple more days while the land dried out a little. Over-eagerness at this point would've done more harm by churning up the olive groves into a muddy morass.

Rocco has to pick the olives off about 200 trees and needs around 10 straight days of good weather to do this. It's a tough job. It gets light around 7.00, but he needs to wait an hour or so until the sun's dried any dew off the olives before he can start picking. Wet olives go rotten in a blink, so the day begins by laying huge nets on the ground around the trees onto which the olives fall as they get shaken out of the branches.

The days of handpicking olives are long gone. A couple of contraptions powered by compressed air do the job instead. Shaped like giant hands, they vibrate fiercely, doing a quick and effective job of sending olives showering out of the trees and cascading into the nets.Hardly an olive escapes. Those that do are left, on Rocco's orders 'per gli ucelli' – for the birds.

There are minor dramas. The compressed airhose for one of Rocco's two automated pickers springs a leak. Fixed in a twinkling. More seriously, one of the 'hands' on the other picker snags on a branch and snaps in two. Replacing it involves an hour's round-trip to Palombaro. Rocco incurs the wrath of La Signora for being clumsy.

La Signora also makes me quake as she shows me the right way to handle the mechanised picker; the right way to lay out the nets;and the right way to gather up the nets full of fallen olives and empty them carefully into plastic panniers.

La Signora – a five foot nothing, feisty, bright-eyed whirlwind – puts the fear of God into me in case I do things wrong. Patience isn't a strong suit. She continuously rages at Rocco's slightest real or imagined misdemeanour. When he's sure she's not looking, he grins at me and winks.

Pauline gets on like a house on fire with La Signora and discovers her name is Angela. I'm a little fearful of such familiarity. She's now – and might well always remain – La Signora. In between barking at me and Rocco and smiling sweetly while she chats to Pauline, she's scrambling about nimbly in the uppermost part of olive trees, her picker sending olives, twigs and leaves fluttering indescriminately onto the ground.

Nearing mid-day, La Signora returns home, returning soon after with rigatoni in tomato sauce with grated peccorino; sausages and green beans; bread and cheese; Rocco's own home-made salami; apples and red wine. All prepared by her 84 year-old mother. We squat down by the side of Rocco's ageing white Fiat van and feast. Do we like it ? Yes we do. Then have some more. Feeble protests are brushed aside as seconds are ladled out.

We start emptying the panniers into a big, metre-square container on the back of Rocco's tractor. When full, it'll hold 100kgs of olives. The days's haul so far comes to within a few inches of the top. After six hours, we're starting to hurt. Rocco and La Signora will finish off the last few trees and haul the olives off to the frantoio – the olive mill – to be turned into Abruzzo's finest olive oil. Then tomorrow – and until every last olive is picked – they'll do it all over again.

Next year, if you're on your Abruzzo villa vacation in late October, join us for a little Abruzzo olive picking with us. We can't provide exact dates for the harvest, because there's no regular start/finish time and all is dependent on the weather and unpteen other factors. It's hard work – but it's fun – and La Signora's mother makes a great lunch !

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An Abruzzo festa features music, food, wine – and line dancing ! Villasfor2’s annual local festa in Ascigno follows the time-honoured pattern.

Each year, on the first Friday and Saturday in September, our little home village of Ascigno puts on a festa in honour of its patron saint San Gabriele.

Arrive about 8.30 and grab a table. Buy beer and wine. Ponder whether to go for the arrosticini or porchetta. Pauline decides on arrosticini. I make a last minute decision on a pannini salsicce. A humble sausage sandwich.

Up strikes the band. Up gets everyone to dance. Did you know line-dancing is a way of life in Abruzzo ? Babies learn how as soon as they can walk.

But our loyalties are divided here. Our favourite band 'Terre del Sud' are playing in Casoli. A little after 10.00, we sneak off. In Casoli, in front of a huge crowd, Terre del Sud play an absolutely electrifying set.

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If you're searching for an Abruzzo villa, you'll quickly find the Villasfor2 website – the starting point for a great Italian holiday. But it wasn't always like that…

We reached something of a milestone on September 1, when our website registered its 6,000th visitor.

That piece of news isn't going to cause mass panic in the corridors at Google, MSN and Yahoo, where they get that number of hits every nano-second, but it's highly significant for a little fish in a big pond like villasfor2.com

For a while after we started, it would've been easier and probably cheaper to have gone round knocking on people's doors and asking if they'd like us to read bits of our website to them.

On a few of those early days, the site attracted the dreaded 'zero hits'- which is a bit depressing when you think that of the 6.7 billion people in the world, not one felt like getting info about an Abruzzo villa holiday. Or if they did, it wasn't from us.

There wasn't a single turning point.The numbers just started edging-up. And as more people found the site, the more they started browsing through it to the point where we've registered well over 22,000 page hits in our short existence from people in 85 different countries around the world.

Of those countries, three account for the lion's share of visitors to the site. 30% from the UK; 24% from the USA; and 19% from Italy. And sure enough, people who've booked Abruzzo villa holidays with us so far have come from the UK, the USA and Italy !

Number 4 in the visitors hit parade is Canada – and our first Canadian visitors arrive in early October; number 5 is Australia – but so far it hasn't been a case of 'Advance Australia Fair'. More like 'Just looking thanks..'

And what's the most popular page on the villasfor2 site ? The 'David's Abruzzoblog' section you're reading now – but that's been around longest. Otherwise – pretty much as you'd expect. If you're searching the web for an Abruzzo villa, your first contact with us will be the first page of our website. Then you'll want to know what your Abruzzo villa's actually like; and about prices, booking and availability. 

After that, your own individual preferences kick-in – Where to go ? What to see ? Where to eat ? What to eat ? (And drink !); and the weather (of course !) The site provides most of the answers.

And if it doesn't – hit the tab that says 'Contact Us' and ask !

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