68 Days of Summer – Day 45-47 – Lots of Sun, Lots of Sun

Farmer's Market

(l-r) Linda and Mom

I’ve been busy since Saturday primarily doing nothing but relaxing. We’ve been hitting the beach every day, walking to the farmer’s market and bakery almost daily, and eating great food.  Melons we’ve been eating for breakfast have been particularly sweet this year, and we’ve been lucky never to get a dull melon.

Campomarino is much more alive this week, as many Italians are here for vacation. Friday is a big holiday, Ferragosto, and the natives usually have off some the week before to begin celebrations. The fruit market, the bakery, the beach and the streets at night are more swollen with patrons this week.

Beach exercise class

We have our last day at Lido Ritz beach club tomorrow. It has been fun and relaxing  as the Adriatic has really calmed down since last week. The weather has been great as well. Mom is also improving her confidence getting in and out of the water, and she is doing more acqua-exercises everyday. Though, she is not quite ready for the Lido Ritz morning exercise classes at the water’s edge.

Waiting in line at the bakery

We’ve also been getting lots of sun. I even have some sunburn on my lips. I am pretty much at my bronzing point, and likely will not get much darker. Today I turn to dark tanning oil to finish off the summer sun bathing.

68 Days of Summer – Day 44 – A Pet Shop

The Friday market was in town this morning, so Mom made her first and last trip there for the summer. Last Friday we were busy, and next Friday is Italy’s biggest summer holiday so there is no market. We picked up a wide array of goods like paper towels, pillows for the bed, mortadella, and some taralli biscuits, which are like Italian pretzels with fennel seeds.

After the market, we came home, made a few sandwiches to bring to the beach and went to lay out under the sun. It was probably one of the nicest days of the summer, hot, a little breeze, and not a cloud in sight. The water was Caribbean blue and the sand seemed brighter than I’ve seen it all summer. We ate lunch, mortadella Panini (sandwiches) under our umbrellone (big beach umbrella) with the sounds of the sea in the background.

Tonight we went into Termoli to pick up our family friend Linda. She came here, without sleeping, all the way from California with stops in New York and Milan. While we waited for her train to arrive, we headed over the a pet shop near the station. In all the times I’ve been coming here, this is the first pet shop I’ve seen. We picked up treats for all of the animals waiting for us, but don’t tell them and ruin the surprise. ;-) 

Foodtopia Moments

Cena (dinner) was prepared by Ristorante Federico II in Termoli, Italy. Among the items we had was this dish, chitarra allo scoglio (hand made spaghetti with mixed fish in tomato broth). It was delicious with cozze (mussels), vongole (clams), calamari, and gamberi (sort of like large shrimp) all mixed into the pasta. The flavor was bread-dipping good. 

68 Days of Summer – Day 43 – Sand and Castle

I made it a point today to keep my only Samsung Galaxy Young on me at all times as a pedometer today. Throughout the day, I managed to get in more than 17,000 steps. And it was very easy to do. After a walk downtown this morning, Mom and I went to Lido Ritz for some time in the sun. My stomach is officially burned, as are my lower legs, oddly. Italian Solarcaine is not as powerful as the stateside stuff.

Today was very windy, and the water was too rough to enjoy, so we just sat out by our umbrella and watched the people doing yoga and dancing at the water’s edge. Hopefully tomorrow will be less windy and offer us a chance to go swimming.

After the beach, we headed into Termoli. We walked around town a bit before heading into the castle town of Federico II. We then had dinner under the stars in a piazza new the Duomo of Termoli at Ristorante Federico II. They specialize in pesce (fish), and never disappoint with their freshness and flavor. The we grabbed a gelato before heading back. Termoli was alive with people tonight as the Festa di San Basso is winding down. There is even a carnival in the town’s port.

Foodtopia Moments

Pranzo (lunch) was prepared yesterday, but we ate it today. I made a dish of Salsiccia e pepperoni (sausage and peppers). I picked up a couple of rolls from the bakery, and we each had a delicious sandwich and some buffalo  mozzarella. It took a lot of will power not to head back to the bakery and get a couple more rolls.

68 Days of Summer – Day 42 – From Thunder to Waves

I woke up on a mission to pay off all of our condo fees and repairs for the year. I knew I also wanted to pick up a melon or something for breakfast. Just as I was walking out the door, dressed for the beach but heading downtown, the sounds of thunder crackled across the sky.

As I looked to the left, there was a blue sky. To the right, over the Adriatic Sea, all I could see were low lying, dark grey clouds that were clearly spilling rain over the ocean. Lightning, thunder, and clouds does not bode well for a walk, nor a day at the beach. However, it was not raining on me. I grabbed an umbrella, and began my walk, still not a drop. Lots of loud thunder and lightning, but not a drop of rain. It wasn’t until I was home that we got a few drops, but it never rained.

We had already rented a beach umbrella and chairs for the next week at Lido Ritz, so after pranzo (lunch) Mom and I went to the beach. She stayed in the open air pavilion, and I went and spent two and a half hours getting sun, with a wind coming off the ocean that seemed to never end. No umbrellas could be opened on the beach because the wind was so strong. Only a few people were going in the water, as the waves and current were more than they are used to. The brave few who went in went diving into the three foot waves like they were gigantic. Normally there are no waves here because we have breakers about 100 yards offshore. Even though the sea was angry today, it was still a beautiful sight to behold.

68 Days of Summer – Day 41 – Lido Ritz

This morning we woke up to a beautiful sunny sky with a light breeze blowing. It was time to twist Mom’s arm and get her to the beach for the first time in two years. We suited up and sped (see rascal scooter with me walking behind it) off to the beach club Lido Ritz. This beach club has several clienti (clients) who require wheelchairs or assistance, and they are very accommodating.

Mom is walking better the past few days, using her walker to get down the beach paths. Yesterday she walked a supermarket, and today she walked at the beach. We had seats in the second row, and tomorrow we begin a week in the front row. As we exited the beach, to the sounds of “buon pranzo” (good lunching) from the locals and the staff of the beach club, we passed fruit and cheese vendors . We stopped and bought some formaggi (cheese) to have in the fridge and it is delicious. The cheese guy was from Gargano, which is about an hour and a half down the coast.

Pranzo (lunch) was prepared by Zia. She made a delicious Italian lunch of penne con sugo di pomodori (penne with tomato sauce), polpette di carne machinato (meatballs made with ground beef), and brasciola. Best of all, Mom did the flight of stairs no problem, the most stairs she’s done since her knee replacement surgeries.

After pranzo, we headed back to Lido Ritz and got into the Adriatic. It was pretty warm today. As we sat on the beach enjoying the twilight hours of music and people dancing in the clubhouse, we saw the clouds gathering. Luckily, we made it back before the rain, which only lasted 20 minutes. Though, all of the heat was gone when the rain dissipated.