Foodtopia Moments

Today I went into Rome to Ristorante Tre Scalini in Piazza Navona. I had a bottle of water, bruschetta, rigatoni carbonara, and tiramisu. It was a fabulous last meal in Italy, right in one of the Nicest, most alive piazzas in the country.

Un Giorno in Roma

My last day in Campomarino yesterday was marred by massive thunderstorms which flooded the parking lot by my house, and halted my planned trips to the beach and to Ristorante Netti. So I spent most of the day and night preparing the house for the winter.

My cab was waiting for me when I walked out of my place at 5:20 this morning. The guy had me to the bus station about a half hour before my bus. Luckily, the summer is ending, and the bus was only half full. I didn’t need to share my row with anyone, and I was able to sleep through most of the 4-hour ride. Add on the 45 minute train ride to the airport from the Roma Tiburtina bus station, and I finally arrived at the hotel.

I was one of only six guests to take the 2 p.m. hotel shuttle to the center of Rome. There I did my shopping. I bought rosaries, shirts, pens, and Papa Francesco calendars. Then I went to Piazza Navona for lunch at Ristorante Tre Scalini. Just as I left the restaurant, in bright sunlight, the rain came only a little at first. Then the sun disappeared, and the heavens opened, leaving me in a rainstorm, shopping, with no coverage. I passed a street merchant and got fleeced for a crappy umbrella that I later tossed in the garbage. While in the city, I did manage to see the Pantheon, Monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle, and the Spanish Steps.

Because of the rain, and some last minute shopping, I missed the 5 p.m. shuttle back to the hotel, so I took the metro to Roma Termini and headed back on the Leonardo Express train direct to the airport.  It’s amazing how much nicer the train from Roma Termini, which is the express for visiting tourists, is than the train from Roma Tiburtina to the airport. This is where I will spend my last night in Italy. My flight leaves in the morning.

Foodtopia Moments

For my last morning in town, I decided to head to the bakery one last time and get a slice of pizza. Lucky for me, they had two smaller slices of kinds that I like. So I got a small piece of zucchini, and a small piece of eggplant pizza.

Today I made a turkey cutlet topped with a mixture of veggies. The oil for the cutlet was turned on with a few sprigs of rosemary and lemon slices. Right before putting in the cutlet, I took out the lemon, but left the rosemary. The veggies were cipolla (onion), basilico (basil), pomodorini (little tomatoes), funghi (mushrooms) and zucchini. Just before they were cooked, I added a little white wine from Licchiano Winery here in town. Once they were done. I put the veggies over the turkey cutlet and had a delicious meal.

Just About Closed Up

Empty patio

No big bikes or recycle cans

The time has come once again to close up the condo here in Italy. Another year has passed, 13 summers, and as I was talking to Zia yesterday it dawned on me that I’ve now been to this condo more for summers than my father was.

The last day here is always tough. The urge to just go to the beach and relax is often beaten by the need to stay in and finish all the work. Luckily I didn’t wait until today to do the heavy work, because I just don’t have the energy. The idea of going to the beach was thwarted by the clouds and 10 a.m. misting shower. The clouds still haven’t gone away. So I was able to cover the outdoor light and make sure the chairs and bikes are cleared from the patio.

I did save some food to cook today, watched two movies as I packed, and I’m in the process of making sure my electronics are charged for Rome. I will have a charger with me for some things, like the phones and wifi block. Computer will be on its last charge there.

Tonight I’ll call my taxi cab driver to confirm for tomorrow at 5:30 a.m., and I'll make sure nothing plugged in the outlets.

Foodtopia Moments

Tonight I went into town to Lo Spuntino, the best place to get slices of pizza. I picked up two exotic slices. One had sauce, red peppers, olives and provolone cheese. The other slice was stuffed with a little sauce in spots, onions, zucchini, and anchovies.

Maybe I Should’ve Waited…

Sometimes hindsight can be 20/20, and tonight it might be just that. I covered the air conditioner yesterday night so that I can’t use it anymore this year, but tonight the humidity is up there making it pretty rough for sleeping. Hopefully my fan holds up.

This morning was almost a wash as Zia and I headed out for some official paperwork to find that the place we went wasn’t even open. We spent 2 hours milling around the place thinking maybe the guy would be late, but he never arrived.  So we sent an email to the condo association office with the info needed and are hoping it suffices.  Just to make sure the morning wasn’t a total waste of time, I made sure to head to the beach for about an hour. Tomorrow, the beach is second on the agenda, right after cleaning the bathroom.

This afternoon I packed most of my clothes (some still drying), and will easily be packed by tomorrow night. I just need to make sure my electronics are nice and put away. Hopefully my bag is less than 50 pounds too. It should be as I’m leaving some things behind that I brought over in the bag. Tomorrow should be interesting as I finish the loose ends. I also need to call the taxi guy to confirm. Nothing like beginning a day of travel with all schedules hinging on a 60-year-old cab driver being on time.

On my way into town tonight I saw something that isn’t common in the US, a pickup soccer game. I know the field they were on and the term sandlot comes to mind. Anyway, when wondering how they get such good players in their country, I was looking at the bottom of the barrel, and they still had skills.

Foodtopia Moments

Today at lunch, one of the most interesting things that I had was just one of the four parts to my hot antipasta. Sitting in a delicious tomato and garlic sauce was a fish meatball. They had ground a white fish (cod?) and mixed in normal meatball spices and ingredients. The two polpette di pesce (balls of fish) were definitely something I will try to make one day using my meat grinder.

I also tasted a fruit for the first time over the weekend, and fell in love. I’ve had grapes millions of times, but never Uva di Fragola (strawberry grapes). They look like regular grapes, but they taste like sweet strawberries. Very interesting.