Woke early this morning and got ready to leave Monfalcone. We went down and settled our account and then waited for Paolo to pick us up. We stopped in at Gian Luca's coffee shop to wish him a happy birthday - he is 40 today. We had a coffee and then said goodbye to Jim and Patrizia. We went to Zia's place to say goodbye and then hit the road to Aquilea, our first stop for today. We are on the road to Fossalta di Porteguera.
We stopped at Aquelia at Giuseppe and Nerida's house. Giuseppe is dad's cousin. He met us at the old Roman ruins and we toured the church, which has three floor levels, all constructed at different times. We then went to the Bapistry and then the roman museum. Fantastic relics of great historical significance. Aquelia was a port town of great significance during the Roman empire. After our tours, we went to Giuseppe and Nerida's place for lunch. Once again, far too much food! We had antipasto, followed by a black risotto and the a baked fish dish. All very nice. At lunch, we met Emaneule and Sylvia, their son and daughter in law, and their children Mauro and Marco. We also met Netida's dad, who at 90 still drives around the town. After lunch, Dad and Paolo went for a sleep whilst Giuseppe and Mauro took me for a tour of Aquelia and surrounds. After our return we sat for a while, then Giuseppe brought in some ancient roman relics that he dug ip in his garden and gave us each a couple of pieces to bring home.
We left their house and went to Anna Maria's house (sister of Giuseppe and another cousin of dads). We also net her husband Bruno who gas advanced Alzheimer's disease and is pretty much non responsive. We also met France his sister. Following a coffee and photo we were on the road again to Fossalta. Time we departed Aqueila: 6.30pm!