Petrella and Bojano

Petrella Tifernina is a neighboring town where Fabio, a friend of Rita's, has his hair salon. Last summer Fabio gave Danny a really nice haircut. He was due for a new trim, so on Friday morning we drove over to see Fabio again.

Danny has been enlisting me to cut his hair with electric clippers. Fabio does a much better job than I do.

Fabio's parents live in Florida and Montreal, but he remains loyal to Petrella, a town of about 1,200 people. His place is called High Philosophy, he told me, but there's no sign on his business or most of the other little shops on the Corso, the town's main street. 

Fabio's shop is the square door on the left

A very understated gas station

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This is some kind of workshop a few doors down from Fabio's place

After the haircut had been successfully concluded, Danny and I strolled around town a bit. It isn't as pretty as Montagano, but there's a nice lookout over the surrounding hills.

Petrella has its share of picturesque corners, too.

We came upon a street market where one vendor was selling tiralli by the kilo.

Another had an array of kitchen and farm implements for those who were still doing things the old-fashioned way. Note the scythes and, on the right, the chitarra for cutting noodles.

Our next stop was another Molisan town, Bojano, home to Trattoria da Filomena. We'd eaten well there last summer and wanted to visit again. There weren't many customers, and the waiter had a TV one in one corner airing pundits discussing the upcoming regional elections, but the window near our table looked out on a mob of gamboling lambs. And the lunch was great: beans and squares of pasta in a tomato broth, farfalle with asparagus, an excellent veal chop, roasted scamorza cheese, garlicky broccoli rabe,, and strawberries and cream for dessert. It was a perfect spring lunch.