Foodtopia Moments

The other day I roasted some veggies in the oven. I tossed together some pomodorini (little tomatoes), melanzane (eggplant), zucchini, cipolle bianche (white onions), pepperoni rossi e gialli (red and yellow peppers), patate (potatoes), and basilico (basil) with some olio di olive (olive oil). I had a little the other day at dinner, but saved some to have with pasta this week. Wow was it tremendous with fusilli pasta today for lunch. The flavors of the veggies blend together so well with the pasta. I could’ve eaten a second dish if I’d have made more.

The heat is on

Someone needs to turn off the broiler. Without a cloud in sight, it’s been a hot couple of days here in Campomarino, and domani (tomorrow) it’s supposed to jump up around 100. Monday, my first official day at Lido Ritz Mare beach club, should see a reprieve in the temperature. I’ve been heading over there the past couple of days, having a soda, people watching, and planning my next script. I find the place relaxing to get my words on paper. I’ve already written the first scene, introducing my protagonist to the screen. I’ve continued my walking that I started last April, and with the heat, the pounds are sort of sweating right off of me. Instead of Richard Simmons’s “Sweating to the Oldies,” it’s pretty much me sweating with the oldies as I’m pretty much always around people in their 70s and 80s. Sweating is the name of the game here. People look at you strange if you run the AC more than a little while a day, and it’s blasphemous to run it at night while you sleep. So I wait until a few hours before bed, run it to cool the place down and remove some humidity, then turn it off before going to sleep. At this moment I’m sitting under a fan on the patio...sweating. It has been nice running into my cousin Gino a few times already. Today we bumped into each other while I was on my morning walk to my weigh-in at the pharmacy (9 pounds down since I left NJ), and he took me to his house to see his wife Carmella, and to meet a couple of other cousins Domenico and Elisabetta. Always nice to meet family for the first time. Tomorrow is lunch at Zia’s house, which I’m going to try and have her switch locations to my place because it’s always cooler (very relative). No need to pick the hotter location when it’s almost 100 degrees outside.

Foodtopia Moments

With all of my running around and nothing in the house for lunch, I went to my favorite restaurant in town, Ristorante Netti. The people were as friendly as ever and the food was still delicious. They no longer have rotisserie chicken, which was how I discovered them the first time back in 2009 at their old location. Today, I picked up portions of insalata di mare (seafood salad), parmigiana (eggplant parm is the only parm outside of the tourist areas), orecchiette con pomodori, mozzarella e olive (orecchiette pasta with tomatoes, mozzarella and olives), escarole, and pollo con patate (chicken with potatoes). I had a little of each today. Everything was so good. I love the octopus in the seafood salad.

Getting things done

Every year, the first couple of days here in Campomarino are pretty hectic. Opening the place up, washing laundry, sweeping, mopping, gardening, getting food and any necessities, and greeting a million people, all of this while trying to get used to the 6-hour time change. I guess a two year layoff from international travel has left me a little less ready for a time change than I used to be. The sixth load of laundry in less than two days is about to get hung on the line outside, hopefully it dries overnight because there is more laundry where that came from. When I arrived I quickly remembered that we had up to five people here right before we closed up the house in 2019. We all wanted to leave with clean clothes since we were all traveling, thus the beach and bath towels were left to be cleaned this year...three at a time due to the size of the washer. I had a load folded, a load hung, and another load in the wash before I went for a walk this morning...at 8:20. My goal is to get 10,000 steps everyday before relaxing. Today I’m over 21,000 so that was a good, hot, and sweaty first full day. I always want to get things accomplished in the first few days, and today was pretty successful. I took care of all of the garden that was reaching through the fence into the walkway in front of my house. I only worked on the outside, so that part looks much nicer. I walked over to the beach club and settled up. I’ll be at Lido Ritz post 113 Nord from August 2-22. I went into town this morning with Zia Carmelita to buy fruit and vegetables. I got a melone giallo (canary melon) as big as my head, four pounds of pomodorini (little tomatoes), two pounds of melanzane (eggplant), two pounds of zucchini, two pounds of cipolle bianche (white onions), two pounds of pepperoni rossi e gialli (red and yellow peppers), two pounds of patate (potatoes), two cloves of aglio (garlic), prezzemolo (parsley), and basilico (basil) for a grand total of 12.50 euros, or like $16. I also ordered two liters of olio di olivo (olive oil) from one of the local farmers who said he’d bring it tomorrow. I roasted a bunch of the veggies already and they were delicious at dinner. The melon was as sweet as I’ve ever had. Fun fact, before this area was developed for condos and beach clubs, this town was known for melon farming. Tomorrow, Zia and I are heading to the supermarket in Termoli. I have a whole list of things that i want, especially since I had many things to throw away since they passed the expiration date since my last trip.

Foodtopia Moments

Basically sleepwalking through the day, I was getting really hungry after heading into Milan and walking around. When I got back to the airport, I decided to grab a snack. The sandwich I chose was so simple, no sauces or condiments at all. Focaccia bread with arugula, provolone cheese, and a slice of ham. Very thin layers of each topping, so nothing stood out. It was the perfect amount of salt from the ham and cheese, and the focaccia was delicious when warmed up. I paired it with a Chinotto. Italy has some basic looking sandwiches, but trust them. They are usually delicious.

No Sleep til...

Heading into this summer’s trip I thought my advancing age, approaching double 4s, would help me fall asleep during the flight. No such luck as I just couldn’t get to a real sleep. The problem is the time, as I’m just not ready to sleep until shortly before the flight lands. I managed to get an hour of dozing in and out, then we landed. Groggy and ready to lay down, I made my way to the Crowne Plaza near the Malpensa Airport in Milan. It’s my first time staying at this hotel, and wasn’t even where I booked. About a week ago, I got an email from the hotel I had booked saying that I was being moved due to that hotel closing down for a refurbishment. Go me, as this place is nicer than the Holiday Inn Express I had booked. After a three hour nap, I cleaned myself up, threw on fresh clothes, and traveled into the center of Milan to get my Italian phone and internet hooked up for the month. Check and check. I also continued my daily 10,000 steps or more streak which is now over 15 months straight. I visited the Duomo, Piazza Garribaldi, and the Castello Sforzesco, and enjoyed some people watching before heading back to the hotel. Hoping to get some sleep tonight, though I have another travel day starting early tomorrow. About 7 hours worth of train rides are on the horizon, with no idea of what is waiting for me in Campomarino in regards to my garden. It is usually overgrown after one year, I can only imagine what it looks like after two years.