Roman tourists

When we got to the Hilton Rome Airport hotel, the biggest question was whether Mom was going to join me in Rome or just stay back at the hotel and relax. The next biggest question was how long we would have to wait for our room to be ready. First, Mom decided that she would head into Rome, as her scooter could be stored in the baggage hold of the bus for the shuttle ride into town. Second, after we arrived at the hotel at 11:30, we had to wait until 1:30 to check -in. This wasn’t all bad. When we arrived, the lady offered us a chance to check-in right away to an upgraded room for 70 Euros. We declined and told her we’d wait a bit, as the next shuttle into Rome wasn’t until 2 p.m. Around 1 p.m., I started to hover by the front desk waiting for the opportunity to check-in. Finally the lady called me over as she had received permission to upgrade to an executive room free of charge, with access to a lounge with complimentary food and drinks. Not too bad.

In Rome today, we saw the memorial of Vittorio Emanuelle where my father once served as one of the soldiers who guarded this Italian version of the tomb of the unknown soldier. Then we pushed onward to the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. We had pranzo (lunch) at Macondo, a little restaurant just off of Piazza Navona. The food was great. For dessert, I took mom to Bar Tre Scalini, a famous Piazza Navona haunt renowned for its tartufo (a death by chocolate creation allegedly started there). Mom, a lover of chocolate, thoroughly enjoyed it. We then went back toward the bus, stopping for a drink on the way.

Tomorrow is an early day, as we fly out at 9:50 in the morning. 

We’re back in Rome

We awoke this morning with little energy. Last night, we went out for pizza at Ristorante Netti with my cousin Renato and his moglie (wife) Dorrette. It was a very enjoyable evening, and it made saying goodbye to Campomarino even tougher. We moved a few things inside last night, but we saved the bulk of the work for this morning.  

After showering, I went outside with the ladder and covered the ceiling fan and the air conditioner motor. Both of those combined didn’t take a fraction of the time it used to take to put the car up on bricks, which we no longer need to do. I got Mom stirring and I went and loaded the car.

The ride here was great. We left about an hour behind schedule, but it helped us avoid Rome morning commute traffic. So we got here in about 3 hours. The car we had was pretty good, a Peugot, and I was able to do upwards of 150-160 KPH (90-100 MPH) and it felt fairly safe. It must be a month or so in Italy that made me this aggressive. We passed many small mountainside towns and even some fires, which Italy has a lot of these days.

Now we are patiently waiting for our hotel room to be ready so we can head out into Rome for the afternoon. 

Foodtopia Moments

This is the first Foodtopia Moment that features colazione (breakfast). Sometimes Mom and I eat cereal, but usually we have popular local breakfast fare. Today, Mom had pizza con cipolla (onions), and I had a piece of pane rustica (rustic bread stuffed with meats and olives). The pane rustica was somewhat tough to find in past years as it sells pretty quickly. But it is slower in town this year, so I have lucked out several times. Pane rustica features prosciutto cotto (cooked ham), salsicce piccante (spicy sausage), mozzarella, pancetta, and olive neri (black olives). All of the ingredients are mixed into the dough, and baked together and the taste is rich and flavorful.

Closing ceremonies

Today Mom and I begin the closing ceremonies of our trip to Campomarino for 2012. It’s been a fun trip. I stepped in poop only once this year, and we managed to eat pranzo (lunch) out a few times. When I woke up today, I immediately went outside and gardened a bit, then I took the paddles off of the outside ceiling fan. Mom is packing now, and I am in the process of arranging my electronics/carryon bag.

After we finish cleaning the place today, we are slated to have dinner out at a restaurant in town tonight, so we are eating a light pranzo. My cousin Renato and his wife Dorrette are taking us out tonight. Hopefully it won’t be as humid as yesterday. Basically we are eating whatever leftovers we have in the fridge, so fruits and cheeses.

Tomorrow we head off to Rome early. We will be staying for one night at the Rome Airport Hilton then taking a flight Thursday morning for Newark. Mom and I are still debating whether or not we will head into Rome, as the hotel has a shuttle we can use for her cart. The train and subway are not options for Mom, so the shuttle is the only way. I’ll have the internet in Rome, so you’ll all know if we go out for an evening in Roma.

Foodtopia Moments

For pranzo (lunch) today, I made one of my favorite Italian dishes, called spaghetti carbonara. I researched some recipes, and kind of made a variation using the ingredients I had on hand. It was a total success and hit the spot. I first cooked up the pancetta, while the water for pasta boiled. A trick that most recipes mentioned was salting the pasta water well, because the dish does not call for any added salt.  When that was done, I made the sauce using a little heavy cream, two eggs, a little olive oil, black pepper, and pecorino Romano cheese. I whisked that mixture around until it was well mixed together. Once the pasta cooked, I drained it and immediately added it to the egg, cream, and cheese mixture. As I tossed it all together, I added the cooked pancetta and fresh chopped parsley. It sounds intricate, but it was easy to make and tasted delicious.  

Last day at the beach

Even Though it felt great to sit inside the air conditioning and watch the Olympics on TV, I decided to head out in the heat and enjoy my last day on the beach. I walked down to the free beach and laid out my towel, and let the sun rain down on me. Still, I get no darker.

As I passed the beach, I managed to snap a couple of quick photos of the campgrounds. Campomarino Lido, though now overflowing with condos, is at its core still a campground beach town. In the lido (beach section) area we have at least five campgrounds all with their own beaches. It was the earliest incarnation of beach clubs to be created here, and they have survived the onslaught on the big beach clubs along the lungomare (beach strand).

We’ve also begun prepping for our return to America. Tomorrow is our big prepping day, but today I packed my bag and all of our clothes are washed. We are down to washing towels. Tomorrow I have to garden a little more, and then take down the blades from the ceiling fan outside to prevent warping. I already went through our cabinets today and put all of our open items that will expire before next summer into a bag for Zia.

Foodtopia Moments

Sunday gravy. Those two words evoke a mouth watering image in most Italian-American minds, including mine. I started prepping last night, doing the bulk of cooking before heading out late for fireworks. More than 4 pounds of pomodorini (small tomatoes) were halved and mixed with a cipolla (onion), aglio (garlic), basilico (basil), olio di olive (olive oil) and sale marino (sea salt). Once it was good and cooked, I passed it through a muller, which separated out the seeds and skins. I made brasciola with prezzemolo (parsley), sale marino (sea salt), aglio (garlic) and grana padano formaggio (grana padano cheese). The meatballs were a mix of 20% maielle (pork) and 80% vitellone (beef), along with pane gratuatto (bread crumbs), grana padano formaggio (grana padano cheese), prezzemolo (parsley), sale marino (sea salt) and one uova (egg). I also used a Pugliese sausage that only one butcher counter nearby sells. It is a type of sausage that is not spicy, and not overloaded with garlic or fat, and it is always tender. Once the sauce and meat were mixed together and cooked for about an hour, the flavor was amazing. We heated it up today and served it over trivella pasta, which was perfect for the gravy.