On the way home

 Campomarino 2023 is in the books and I'm in the middle of my route home as I write this in my hotel room in Iceland. On Tuesday morning, my neighbor Fernando drove me to the train station in Termoli. It was a huge help getting a ride, and I thanked him profusely. Before my train ride, I walked around Termoli a little, picked up something to eat for breakfast and lunch onboard the train, and went down for one last view of the castle and the sea.

The train ride to Milan was great. After checking into the hotel, I headed out into Milan for some sightseeing and dinner. As I was walking through the Sforza Castle, I came across an orchestra warming up before their performance that night. I was crossing the courtyard to the sound of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" played by an orchestra, and it was awesome. 

Yesterday, my flight wasn't until nighttime, so I again went into Milan. This time, I finally went to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, which is much more of an experience than it sounds. I didn't take any of the classes that they offer, but I watched them roasting beans, and tried some of the treats. Then I went on to the Duomo of Milan. I have been in the cathedral plenty of times, and went back in yesterday. One of my favorite sculptures, of St. Bartholomew with his skin as a toga, is in this church. It's also home to immaculate stained glass windows. For the first time, though, I went to the rooftop terrace of the Duomo. There were amazing views, and I could see the ornate decorations of the Duomo up close. 

My flight last night to Keflavik, Iceland, was wonderful. No turbulence at all, and I was in the exit row so I had plenty of leg room. It was the middle of the night when I got to the hotel, so I'm excited to head out in a few minutes to see if there is anything nearby. It was much darker in the middle of the night this time than last month when I was here. My flight to Newark is tonight at 5, so I have a couple of hours to spend here. 

Foodtopia Moments

 Never in my life did I ever think I would write a Foodtopia Moments post in Italy that highlights...Starbucks. But, until yesterday, I had never visited the Starbucks Reserve in Milan. It's not a regular Starbucks, though you can still get some favorites, though I didn't see a frappucino in the place. They roast the rarest beans that Starbucks purchases, and the food is on a whole different level, and I only got a couple of small bites. 

I ordered an sfisioso con olive (olive bread stick) and a pistachio mousse tart to eat. For my beverage, I ordered an Oleato cold brew with foam. The Oleato line of drinks feature olive oil in partnership with Partana Olive Oil. I was apprehensive at first when I heard about the olive oil and coffee combo, but it was delicious. You could taste the olive oil, which is a high quality brand, but it was slightly sweetened and went perfectly with the bitterness of the cold brew. The sfisioso was delicious with plenty of whole olives, not just chopped up pieces. But the best thing was the pistachio mousse tart. If they had those at every Starbucks, I'd probably eat them several times a week.

Last days in town

My trip to Italy is winding down. Usually this means that the summer is ending. However, this year my trip here is ending with a decent amount of summer still on the horizon. It's been a great summer, with some time to relax, and some goals accomplished. I managed to lose 14 pounds this month while eating some of the most delicious food. I guess exercise, less stress, natural ingredients, and sweating my buns off in the heatwave was a good mix. 

Friday night, the cold air (temps in the low 70s) rolled in. By 10 at night it was raining, and continued to rain off and on all day Saturday. It was sunny long enough on Saturday morning for me to go for my walk, but by the time I was headed to the beach, the ominous clouds were approaching. There's something really beautiful about being at the water's edge and seeing the storm-front gather. The clouds just look so different when storms roll in here. We're do for more rain this afternoon. It literally hadn't rained more than a couple of drops the whole time I was here until Friday night. 

All week I had been putting together my "closing the condo" list. It got up to 43 tasks that needed to get done before leaving, and I planned on starting it yesterday. That day also happened to be my last day at Lido Ritz for 2023. One major task to do yesterday was get my bags packed. I guess I didn't realize how many souvenirs I was buying. I knew I was leaving clothes and shoes here at the condo, but I guess I overshot the estimated space, and it's not even really that much stuff that I'm bringing home. I still want to go in and rearrange the bag a little before my flights. 

As it was my last day at Lido Ritz beach club, I would hang a load of laundry on the line, then head to the beach club. After a couple of hours I'd come home and fold laundry, then put more wet clothes on the line. Washed and dried three loads since yesterday morning. I also made it to the beach twice yesterday. The water was considerably colder than it was on Friday, but rain will do that. 

Today I went for my normal morning 5K walk, picked up my favorites from my breakfast spots, then came home and got working. I've completed all of the tasks I can complete before tonight. When I'm done with lunch, I'll be able to knock about a half dozen things off the list and maybe play with my suitcase a little. Tomorrow morning I have a train ride to Milan, then a flight to Iceland on Wednesday night, and a flight to Newark on Thursday evening. Lots of travel the next few days. 

Foodtopia Moments

 This post is kind of all about the pizza. Last night, I went to Ristorante Netti for the first time this year and ordered the Pizza Netti. The bake the pizza with only some buffalo mozzarella. When the crust is finished, thy take it out and top it with chopped pomodorini (cherry tomatoes), arugula, shavings of Grana Padano cheese, and top that with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. The heat of the crust makes the tomatoes sweat just a little. It's a perfect combination. 

Walking around town this morning, I stopped at a different bakery for a piece of their Rustica pizza. It is essentially if someone made a stuffed pizza out of croissant layers with a small amount of mozzarella and a layer of proscuitto cotto (cooked ham). It's flakey, buttery, savory and a great mid morning breakfast after my walk. 

Lots of family time

The past few days have been so busy with the beach and family time, that I pretty much forgot to blog.  It's been wonderful having Zia and my cousin Valeria in town this whirlwind of a week. 

On Tuesday, my cousin Mario's daughter Arianna turned one. Her and her three-year-old sister Rosella are absolutely adorable. That night, Mario and his wife Cassandra hosted a party at Lido iBeach, which is beach club at the far north end of town. It's a beautiful club, with a pool, restaurant, and an amazing panoramic viewing spot to watch sunrises and sunsets. I went with my cousin Valeria and enjoyed a great night of celebrating. 

On Wednesday, after spending most of the day on the beach, Valeria and I met up with good friends Monia and Omar to grab a couple of cocktails on the Lungomare. We visited one familiar club, which no longer had fancy cocktails, and then Lido Aurora which has a new Tiki Bar and an 11 page drink menu. Got one with house made basil and cucumber syrups and gin. It was a perfect drink to cap off a night of great conversation.

Last night, again after soaking up the sun all day, I met up with Mario, Cassandra and the girls for some pizza at Ristorante Netti and a quick stop at Shangri La for some gelato. It was my first time to eat at Ristorante Netti this year, though I have picked up food to go from there many times this summer. I got an old favorite, Pizza Netti, and it was once again fresh and delicious. We also ran into my cousin Gino and his wife Carmela a couple of time while we were out on the town.

Tonight, my cousin Vincenzo and his wife Mariella came for a visit. It was great to see them, and to have Zia stay for a longer visit. Luckily, I'll get to see them again in a couple of weeks in the United States. 

As I'm writing this, we are getting our first real rain of the summer. Clouds rolled in after 9 p.m., and it just started storming. Tomorrow is supposed to be 16 degrees cooler than today, with clouds, sun, and rain. Weather is like a coin flip tomorrow. Forecasts also change here faster than the island from "Lost." This is my last weekend in town for this year, so it'll be busy with cleaning, packing, and securing the house for the "winter."