The past couple of days have been a blur. Mom and I woke up
on Saturday at 3:30 to drive over the river and through the woods to pick up my
friend Phil at the Naples airport. He is staying with us for the week. We made
it there just before he exited the baggage claim, and then headed back home.
There is no direct autostrada between Campomarino and Naples, so it was all
side roads through winding hillsides and little mountain towns. 
When we got back to Campomarino, Phil and I headed to out to
the center of town for lunch, and then to the beach, which was pretty relaxed
for a Saturday. We had a great conversation with Maria Chiara, the local med
student who is the only person who speaks English that I have found here, and
had a few drinks right at the edge of the Adriatic.
That night we hit up Ristorante Netti, and then went beach
bar hopping. We discovered a couple of things. First, we are old. Like 14 years
too old to go to the beach bars for more than just one drink. And we (really Phil,
I kind of already knew) also found out that Italians are terrible at making
cocktails. If it is not a form of wine or a beer, they can’t make it.
Yesterday was also a pretty packed day. Phil and I first
went out for breakfast in the center of town. I had the best sfogliatelle I’ve
ever had. It was still warm inside and you could see the orange zest. Then we
decided to head into Termoli and visit some of the sites there. Unfortunately,
most of the town was closed by the time we got there, and opening as we were
heading back.
Last night we all had a truly unique dining experience at
Trattoria da Nonna Rosa in Campomarino paese. It is a six-table restaurant,
with Guisseppe, the proprietor, greeting you, butchering the meat, manning the
grill, and handling the check. A grandma was in the back in the kitchen cooking
all of the primi piatti (first plates). The restaurant was quaint, the food was
amazing, and just getting there through the narrow streets was an adventure.
This place is tucked away in some back street. The reviews were some of the
highest I’ve seen, and they are deserved. I’ll definitely return.
I woke up overnight to the sound of thunder so I quickly ran
outside and brought in our towels before they blew all over the place. Then
when I got up for the day, I squee geed some of the patio to get dirt off. The parking
lot was even more of a lake, and the skies keep threatening more rain. So our
plans for either Alberobello or Isole Tremiti are pretty much soaked.