Spending four hours on the road may seem to some like too
much, but Italy has some great rest stops for food. I used to be a big fan of
Autogrill, and they do have a bunch of great choices, but Sarni rest stops have
stepped up their game. Today, I stopped at an Autogrill, but none of their
sandwiches were hitting home with me. So I had a breakfast pastry and drove for
a couple of hours, then stopped at Sarni. Wow, their arancini di riso (rice
ball) filled with ragu (meat sauce with peas) was one of the best I’ve eaten in
Italy. I also had a ciabatta con cotoletta di pollo e pomodoro (chicken cutlet
and tomatoes on ciabatta roll). It was basic, but when they pressed the sandwich,
the tomatoes began to sweat making the sandwich moist and flavorful.
Once in town, Zia and I had dinner at Ristorante Netti. I
had the Pizza Netti, with rucola (arugula), mozzarella di bufala (buffalo milk mozzarella),
pomodoro, and Grana Padano cheese. It was mom’s favorite and one of the best on
the menu. Zia had Pizza Bufalina which was a plain pizza with buffalo milk
mozzarella. She gave me her leftovers, and I had some of mine left too, so I
have a great breakfast for a couple of days.
Today was a beautiful day. I didn’t see a cloud on either
side of the Apennine Mountains as I drove across the country from Rome to
Campomarino Lido. Every time I visit there are changes, some sad, some not so
much. One change is that plants on the patio have made good use of the two
years since we had most of them slashed almost completely away. The biggest
bounce back has to be the grape vines. I’ve never seen more than a few bunches
here before. It’s overloaded this year with scores of grape clusters.
The condo was open and ready for me to clean. Zia had given
it a once over, but It needed and still needs more. I washed the patio tiles,
opened up the climatizadore (air conditioner), put the paddles on the fan
outside. Swept inside and prepared my Brita filter for the summer. I managed a
walk to the beach today, and it was as beautiful as ever. One day this week, I
will head to Lido Ritz to make a reservation. I also managed to throw away
about 15 old pairs of shoes and flip flops that we’ve accumulated. Much like at
home, I have way too many shoes here as well. But I’m ready for any occasion.
After a day of grunt work, Zia and I headed out to
Ristorante Netti for dinner, settling on delicious pizza. After three hours, I’ve
had no ill effects. Today was also good for step counting, popping off 18,700
steps without trying.
In the first Foodtopia Moments of the summer, I visited Ristorante i Tre Scalini in Piazza Navona in Rome. I've visited this restaurant before, previously eating their delicious pastas carbonara and bolognese, as well as their tiramisu. They are well known for their tartuffo dessert as well. Tonight, I flipped it a little. I started off with a trio of bruschetta. One was traditional with pomodorini (little tomatoes), one had salt and olive oil, and one was topped with an olive and truffle spread. Each one was good in its own right. I followed that up with my first plate of pasta for the trip. This was rotini pasta with a sauce made from pomodorini, pesce (fish), olive (olives), and caperi (capers) with olio di olive (olive oil). I had seen the selection on someone's nearby plate and it looked delicious. It didn't disappoint. The sauce burst with flavor and each bite was filled with natural tastes.
What a day of travel it was. After 20 hours of cars, airport layovers, and flights, I have finally arrived in Rome. The Hello Sky Hotel in Rome Airport is brand new and perfect for a single traveler. They do have bigger rooms as well in case couples are traveling. Following a three hour nap, I set off into Rome today. In just a quick few hour trip, I managed to see il Coloseo (Coliseum),il Foro Romano (the Roman Forum), the memorial of Vittorio Emmanuelle, il Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain), il Panteon (the Pantheon), and Piazza Navona. At the final stop I managed to sneak in a plate of pasta at Ristorante i Tre Scalini. The main purpose of my trip into Rome was to set up my phone and WiFi for the summer, and I managed to do it in the first 30 minutes of my time, without ever leaving the train station. This left plenty of time to walk around and enjoy the live music and various street performers that litter the path through the ancient historic city.
The Eclipse of 2017 started out as a dud for Steve and I. When it occurred, we really didn't notice. My automatic car lights came on, but that was it. We were on the road to Nashville, where it turned to night for a minute, but we were still nine hours away. Nashville was hopping, which I really didn't notice until yesterday morning. Our 12-hour ride turned into a traffic filled nightmare. After 14 hours, we were still in Virginia and fading fast. So last night we snagged a room in Winchester, VA, for a quick five hours sleep.
This morning, Steve and I were up by 4:15 a.m., and on the road by 4:45. We pulled into the driveway before 8:10. Quick little morning jaunt, with very little traffic. We completed our quest, and the entire 15-day journey took us 6,928 miles through parts of 17 states, and 12 hotels. We saw six Major League Baseball stadiums, the Gateway Arch, The Alamo, an eclipse, the desert, the forest, the mountains, the prairies, and everything in between. It's been a blast.
Steve and I woke up before the crack of dawn today, and scooted out of San Antonio under the cover of night. When we arrived in Houston, we were too early to check in, so we headed downtown to Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros - the final destination of our quest to see a home game for every team. We grabbed some brunch near the stadium, then walked the four blocks to Houston's great stadium. The stadium, complete with a (closed because of the heat) retractable roof, is a great place to take in a game. The full glass wall with a downtown view is a nice touch. It has had some crazy features that have been removed, but one I really enjoyed was a balcony over the warning track in center field. The Quest has been a blast, and now comes the fun part of ranking the parks. Steve and I will each be doing our own rankings to see how they compare.
Tomorrow we have a near 13-hour, eclipse-crossing, jaunt to Nashville for the night. It's about halfway home so we'll put our feet up for a night before heading home on Tuesday.
This morning, Steve and I headed south from Arlington to San Antonio. We had a day break between our last two games, so we visited the Alamo and the Riverwalk here in town, It was a pretty cool stopover on our way to Houston. Tomorrow is an early out as we have a three hour ride from San Antonio to Houston before an Astros day game.
Spending four hours on the road may seem to some like too
much, but Italy has some great rest stops for food. I used to be a big fan of
Autogrill, and they do have a bunch of great choices, but Sarni rest stops have
stepped up their game. Today, I stopped at an Autogrill, but none of their
sandwiches were hitting home with me. So I had a breakfast pastry and drove for
a couple of hours, then stopped at Sarni. Wow, their arancini di riso (rice
ball) filled with ragu (meat sauce with peas) was one of the best I’ve eaten in
Italy. I also had a ciabatta con cotoletta di pollo e pomodoro (chicken cutlet
and tomatoes on ciabatta roll). It was basic, but when they pressed the sandwich,
the tomatoes began to sweat making the sandwich moist and flavorful. 
Once in town, Zia and I had dinner at Ristorante Netti. I
had the Pizza Netti, with rucola (arugula), mozzarella di bufala (buffalo milk mozzarella),
pomodoro, and Grana Padano cheese. It was mom’s favorite and one of the best on
the menu. Zia had Pizza Bufalina which was a plain pizza with buffalo milk
mozzarella. She gave me her leftovers, and I had some of mine left too, so I
have a great breakfast for a couple of days.
