Foodtopia Moments

 Part of my early journey this summer included a layover in Lisbon, Portugal. For lunch, I stopped at a hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop and got a local pork sandwich called a befana. It was simple, yet delicious. The pork was cooked in butter, and very flavorful on its own, but they suggested mustard and that took it to another level. At then end of the meal, I ordered a pastel de nata. I've had them from a Portuguese baker in North Jersey before, and also from Lidl, but this one was next level. The flaky layered pastry of the cup was delicious without the vanilla custard. The custard was perfect the perfect blend of rich and delicate. I culd've eaten a dozen of them. I only had two on the day, and each time I ordered one the people asked me, "only one?" I guess it's odd to only order one, or I look like someone who would order more than one. 

Back to traveling

 After almost two years, the long-distance travel bug bit me again. Last summer, I stayed local in the US to play golf and coach tennis. It was a blast, but traveling is what I still long for.  As I'm writing this, I am in my hotel room in Rome. I spent all day seeing the splendors of the old city, and getting my Italian phone and internet hooked up. This is, however, my second stop on the trip. 

On Tuesday, I started my journey with a red-eye flight to Lisbon, Portugal, where I had 9-hour layover. Armed with two bad knees and a must-see and taste list provided by ChatGPT, I spent the day taking rides with Bolt drivers to a few of the different sites. In Baixa, I saw the Praca de Comercio and the Rue Augusta Arch. Then I took a ride up to Alfama and saw the outside of the Lisbon Cathedral, and got a red roofed panoramic view from Miradouro de Santa Luzia. After a quick stop for lunch and souvenirs, I headed off to Belem to witness the Belem Tower. I stopped back in Baixa on the way back to the airport for a little treat. The pastel de nata custard cups have a special place in my heart. 

I got into Rome last night after 25 hours of traveling with almost no sleep. Slept in today, still hit the town running, and am getting ready for a nice Italian dinner.  I hit the rails in the morning for a three-train trip to my little oasis, Campomarino Lido. 

Foodtopia Moments

 For my last meal in town, I ate at the hotel restaurant. Eating alone is usually somewhat odd, but in this restaurant, a third of the tables were solo travelers. I started off the meal with a Caprese salad. It's the last good buffalo mozzarella I'll have till next summer. I will really miss the stuff. The little black pearls on top are actually little balls of balsamic vinegar.

I finished my meal with a pizza Roma. It was a white pizza, with thinly sliced potatoes, porchetta (roasted seasoned pork), a little bit of mozzarella, and plenty of pecorino romano cheese on top. It was delicious. Each bite had so much flavor. 

All Good Things

 The end of any trip is always bittersweet. This summer trip to Italy is no exception. I'm currently writing this from the Hilton Rome Airport where I'm spending the night before my flight home tomorrow. 

Along with my cousins Maryanne and Victoria, I've spent the past few days walking around, dining, and shopping in Florence and Pisa. It was a whirlwind, visiting the Academia to see Michelangelo's masterpiece "David," and tramping through the Boboli Gardens in 105 degree heat. Florence was its usual mix, filled with art and energy, however, after spending time in a sleepy beach town it seems extra busy right now. I've also never seen Pisa as packed as it was yesterday.

When we returned from Pisa to Florence last night we visited one of the city's wine walls where you order your wine or drink through a tiny window in the wall. Once you have your drinks, you stand near the window to drink and are literally introduced to fellow beverage enthusiasts from all over the world, and you just conversate. I spoke to several people from Australia and people from the US. 

Today we made our way south to Rome, but I pretty much just stayed at the airport and hotel, resting and getting ready for my flight. Tomorrow I return to the States, with an appointment to have my tooth extracted on Wednesday. 

Foodtopia Moments

 On our last night in Campomarino, we actually left town to head to Pizzeria Borgo Antico in neighboring San Martino in Pensilis. It was the night of their pampanella festival. Pampanella is pork belly, roasted with lots of paprika, salt, and red pepper. It's minorly spicy for us, but it's presented as piccante. We learned of the restaurant the week before at a family party, and wanted to return to try the wood fired pizza. It was delicious. I got the Mortadella pizza. It had buffalo mozzarella, mortadella, pistachio, and burrata. No lie, it was one of the best pizzas I've ever had. 

We've made it to Firenze

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty jam packed with the beach by day, and prepping the house for the winter as we left. On Wednesday night, Maryanne and I went out with our friend Monia to the Lungomare for a drink at the beach club Lido Aurora. The drinks were good, but the company and conversation were even better. 

Yesterday we were busy with packing our bags and doing some of the bigger things for closing down the condo. But, we did manage to get some beach time, and went out for a delicious dinner at Pizzeria Borgo Antico in San Martino in Pensilis.

This morning, we pushed off a little before 7 am for our trek to Firenze (Florence). We stopped in Ancona, spending a couple of hours with our cousin Greta and Zia Carmelita at her rehab facility. It was great seeing her again, and she was in much better shape than the last time we had seen her. 

We continued on our way after the visit. The drive was easy, as we stopped for lunch on the autostrada and avoided any traffic delays. We mainly walked around some of the city of Florence tonight, hitting up a rooftop terrace for an Aperol Spritz before grabbing a steak dinner. Tomorrow we'll start really visiting the sites. 

Foodtopia Moments

On Monday night, we visited Termoli for a meal sotto le stelle (under the stars). We went to Mari e Monti, which features dishes highlighting the area's vicinity to the sea and the land. My first course was an insalata di mare (seafood salad) with calamari and polipo (otopus). 

My primi piatti (first plate) was a gnocchi with a fish ragu. It was so rich in flavor, I thought I was eating meat event though it was fish. 

I followed that up with a plate of cozze (mussels). 

Then we went to Yo-Go Gelateria for some of the best gelato I've ever had. the owner of the place has won many awards and puts care into his craft. I had a mix of zuppa inglese, fior di latte, and pistachio flavors.