Italy 2012 – Abruzzo Cooking School and Puglia – Week 2

Sat Sept 15

Oh what a night!! Looked like it was clearing up last night before we went to bed but was not to be! A wicked thunderstorm…..lightening, wind, rain. The outside shutter woke me up around 1:30AM banging around. Got up to close them only to find my feet wet!! The water was just pouring in under the closed inside shutters. As soon as I opened them, to get the window and shutters closed, it was like someone had turned a hose on and in thru the window the rain came……I was wet, the bed was wet, the night table was wet, ….the floor was even wetter!! Finally managed to get them all closed, and then the wind then blew thru the bathroom shutters and knocked the curtain rod down…..bathroom floor now wet too! Luckily Connie was up by then and we got everything put back and dried up, with our towels!!, and managed to get back to sleep.

Took our time this morning….didn’t have to be out of the room until 10:30, so we had breakfast then finished packing and had the hotel call a taxi to take us to the car rental office in new town Termoli (which is still rather old).

This was the first time that I’ve ever been asked to show my international drivers license! Just lucky that I had one (from our trip in June). Not sure what would have happened if I hadn’t. Connie was also a driver but they didn’t ask for hers…..good thing because she didn’t have one! Our car is a Fiat Twingo. Good enough…..the main thing was the luggage fitting in it.

Made it out of Termoli safe and sound and on to the SS16 south (trying to avoid auto routes…much more scenic and we had lots of time)…..following the signs to Bari. Just after crossing into Puglia we saw a gal walking along the highway…..all dressed up. Strange since we were really in the middle of no where…..vineyards and orchards on both sides of the highway for miles. Then we saw another…..and another! We’re a little slow I guess but we finally clued in to who, or what, they were! The grape harvest was in full swing with lots of workers…..so I guess this was a prime area for business opportunities. It went on for miles….just about all the way to Bari. Sometimes there was only one gal, sometimes two or three. Some just walking, others sitting in plastic lawn chairs at the side of the road…..or just hanging out in the back of pick-up trucks. Bizarre but very interesting!!

We were dying for a break and some coffee but the area seemed to be a bit sketchy to us. Besides the ladies, the road was in really quite terrible condition, lots of farm vehicles and trucks and a ton of garbage along with sides of the road…..so un-Italian! But that said, it’s really quite beautiful driving through this area…..vineyards, and the Gargano peninsula off in the distance. We kept on going until we came to an autogrille that had lots of cars and a tour bus.

The road was only one lane in either direction so a bit of a slow go to start. I did pass a few of the slow moving vehicles and was going around 100kms/hr and cars/trucks were still passing me! Made it to Alberobello around 3:30.

Excellent blog https://www.wanderingitaly.com/maps/puglia-maps-guide.html Not a lot of information on Puglia, compared to all the other touristy places in Italy. Alberobello, yes but beyond that all the travel books have very small sections for this area.

Called Francesca and she met us at the car wash. We followed her to the trullo. It was supposed to be 5 minutes from Alberobello, and I guess if you are a crow, it would be! It was quite isolated down a terrible gravel, potholed road that is only wide enough for one car. Stone walls along the sides, so not sure what will happen if we run into another car along that stretch of road. Took way more than 5 minutes to get here…….you can only go 2 kms per hour.

The trullo is absolutely lovely! Francesca gave us a tour. The only bedroom that was made up was the pretty master bedroom??? When we asked where the bedding was for the other big bedroom, she looked at us and started laughing! She thought Connie and I were a “couple”. LOL! Off she had to go, down that horrid road, to somewhere to get bedding for the other room. The kitchen is really big, which is nice with doors opening onto the covered patio. Lots of counter space. Nice big living room with a fireplace and one other teeny little other bedroom that we didn’t use. Ensuite was lovely, other bathroom was big and good enough….right next to the other bedroom. We flipped and Connie got the big room. Loved the dome ceilings!

The only problem so far has been the bloody millipieds! They are absolutely gross….some big ones that almost look like leeches, some very tiny and everything in between! YUCK! There were a couple on the ceiling in the kitchen….they curl up and fall asleep or whatever they do, and then fall down! Just gross. Got rid of those and figured out that keeping the patio doors closed seemed to stop them from coming in en masse. The covered area is really nice….big table, lots of chairs and a gorgeous view with trulli dotting the valley and off in the distance. The millis also like to climb up the walls outside and curl up on the ceiling of the patio too……a quick sweep with the broom got rid of them for a while. Connie does the sweeping…..I stand way off to the side horrified by those things!!

Off down the bumpy road to pick up some groceries. Shopped at the DOK…picked up some essentials (wine!) and back home. It got dark rather quickly and we really didn’t pay much attention to the road on the way in or out unfortunately. Completely missed the turn off from the main road (just about to Locorotondo before we turned around). Found “our” turn off and then the other turn off (thanks to the pizza joint in the middle of nowhere) to OUR road. All good until we came to a fork in the road….of course we took the wrong one. Kept going and going….pitch black by now and the road was just as bad as OUR road…..came to a dead end after a good 10 minutes. A gate with nowhere to turn around….ditches on both side of the road instead on stone walls! Argh!! I had seen a driveway of sorts back a little ways, so I started backing up with only the backup lights to keep us on the road. Was a little worried I was going to burn out the clutch. Finally came to the “driveway” which was only a couple feet before another gate. Connie got out and helped navigate the back and forth, inch by inch, so I didn’t end up in the ditch. Happy to say we made it, not without a bit of sweat! What an adventure! We also decided at that point that we would never go out for dinner….or after dark! Just too scary on that road.

Got home and immediately opened a bottle of wine. Connie did the milli sweep outside….had a glass or two and put together a tomato and onion salad, cheese and sausage, olives and crackers for dinner. Sat outside and chatted until just after 11.

No millis in my bedroom….thank god! Took a gravol.

Sun Sept 16

Slept good….wine + gravol! Up at 7:30. Coffee and milli patrol on the patio….all good after I swept and I think squished/crushed quite a few of the buggers. Had rained overnight!! Nice and sunny tho this AM. Some nasty looking clouds off in the distance. Not in a hurry this morning…..sat around drinking coffee and yakking until lunch time. Just going to Alberbello today.

Getting out of our road was no problem….we also made sure we noted some landmarks to make our return trip a little easier. That road is wicked. Really kind of worried about bottoming out the car in a few spots.

Took a good 10 minutes to get into Alberbello (not 5!) Just parked in the first lot we came to so a bit of walking, which was OK.

Ah, what can I say about Alberobello!! It is a place out of a fairytale! Very pretty, unique with the trulli. Very beautiful but also very Disneyland-ish! You can go on horse and carriage rides, tours etc. There are many, many tacky tourist souvenir shops as well as some really nice local artisan shops…some rather expensive. Wandered around for a couple of hours. Lots of trulli, of course. The church is beautiful. Found an artisan shop and bought a couple of really cute hand painted Christmas ornaments and some beautifully embroidered tea towels for gifts.

It was pretty crowded being Sunday I guess?? This is the first place we’ve been that had a ton of tourists from all over. Many Italian tourist also. The weather was a little iffy….hot and sunny alternating with cloudy, cold and windy and the odd drop of rain thrown in.

Stopped and had a coffee and a Panini (not good). Found an ATM then explored a bit more. Found a nice Prodotti tipici store hoping we’d be able to get some sausages but nothing in the way of meats left. Bought some more wine, sour cherry jam and artichoke spread.

Made it back to our trullo without any wrong turns….definitely much easier in the daylight.

Dinner was a beet salad, tomato bruschetta , the salumi and cheese we bought yesterday. All really good! Just the kind of dinner I like. We finished off the bottle of rosato wine.

I swear I am going to kill off the entire millipied population in Puglia! I found one in my room….on the floor. Caused me much anxiety! Thank god for gravol!

Mon Sept 17

Market day in Cisternino! http://www.madeinsouthitalytoday.com/cisternino.php What a beautiful place it is! It’s one of the white villages from Roman/Greco times. Up on a hill with gorgeous views in all directions. The drive there was beautiful too…..through well tended countryside, trulli in every direction you look. Vineyards, orchards and olive trees everywhere. Very nice “country” road, in relatively good repair.

The market in Cisternino is fantastic! It’s huge on many streets and piazzas….the usual stuff….clothes, shoes, underwear, housewares etc. and food! The food was at the very end. Many veggie and fruit stands, a few cheese and meat trucks….no chicken or porchetta trucks though. Have decided that since we’re eating in, we’ll use some of the receipes from our cooking classes! Bought some veg for our sauce (4E) some parm cheese…huge big chunk for 3.42E that would have cost $15 at home. Meat for our sauce…2 veal chops, 1 large chunk of pork with the bone, and 4 sausages…all of which cost 4E! So basically dinner plus extra stuff for under 10E…pretty incredible really. We had a cooler bag and ice packs to stuck everything in there.

Walked back (uphill) to the car…..to find a ticket on it! 1E….I guess we parked somewhere we shouldn’t have but saw no sign anywhere….and there were lots of other cars parked there too, so who knows?? There was so much more of Cisternino that we could have seen but oh well.

On the road to Ostuni…..beautiful drive too. Ostuni is also a “white city”. Very, very pretty and hardly any tourists! Very “greek-ish”. Parked in a lot near the elementary school. Crazy! Because everyone arrived at the same time to pick up their kids for lunch. Absolute mayhem. People parking everywhere and anywhere, yelling and waving at their kids, the kids waving and yelling back, people honking their horns…..WOW! It was like they hadn’t seen their kids for months! Fun though to watch all the chaos! We pretty much had to just stop….almost impossible to even walk along the street.

Walked along the lower wall for a bit….the views are incredible! The valley below Ostuni is all olive groves, right to the sea. Blue sky, blue water and green olive groves….amazing. There really aren’t enough descriptive words in my head to come close to describing just how beautiful it is!

The old town, or centro storico, is lots of hills, stairs and narrow streets and alleys. You could hear people having lunch in their homes….talking, dishes rattling etc. After a 1/2 hour or so we ran into some tourists, otherwise not many people around at all. Nice to be able to wander all over with very few people. Lots of potted plants around the doorways, some very pretty doors with very elaborate frames of wood and carved stone. Many steps and lots of laundry! Finally hit the “touristy” area, which wasn’t very touristy at all! A few restaurants and shops but far from what Alberobello is like. Had lunch at a little bar….pizza for me, smoked cheese and meat, no red sauce (yeah!)….Connie had a tuna salad which of course was huge and could have fed a family of 4. A couple of Peronis and coffees.

Thought we were walking in the direction of the car but ended up at the top of the wall…..could see our car waaaaay down in the parking lot below. But walking around and down we got the best view of the centro storico.

Found a back road for Connie to have a go at driving (had been a while since she’d driven a manual transmission car). Followed that road for quite a while and ended up back on the highway next to the freeway. Used secondary roads all the way back to Alberobello…..just so much more scenic and less frenetic! A quick stop to pick up pecorino cheese, wine, water and bread on the way home.

Connie and I had a great time making our sauce, which was really good. Chopped, diced and cooked, laughed and talked and drank wine! Perfetto! Had orecchiette with it. Cheese and truffle honey and olives for appies first. We ate a lot but have lots of leftovers that we’ll have to finish off tomorrow. Coffee and the liqueur that Connie picked up.

Sat outside after I wiped out a few more millipieds…..they seem to come out at night when it’s cooler. Not as many though tonight…..I did find another one in the house…at least it wasn’t in my bedroom! To bed after midnight!

Tues Sept 18

Slept OK. Woke up at 5:30 but didn’t get up…..woke up again just after 7!

Off to Matera this morning….a little later than we’d planned. Did some laundry!

Took just over an hour to get there. Matera is just into Basilicata. Not a terribly pretty area enroute or once there. I guess all the brown dug up fields were probably wheat or semolina or something and may have been lovely in the summer but at this time of year it just looks barren or very stark. Not many olive trees or vineyards….not many trees at all! Roads were OK for the most part but lots of garbage….not really a nice drive at all, very disappointing after yesterday.

Matera, aside from the sassi, is quite a bit city. Seen lots of the blue “P” signs but never really came across any parking lots. We drove and drove for almost an hour. Finally found a lot by the bus depot. Then had to figure out where we were. Found the TI office hoping to get a map but they were closed for lunch….everything here closes for lunch around 11:30. Did manage to get a map from a hotel.

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/basilicata/matera.html

The sassi are right in the middle of the city, so where we parked was about as close as one can get. The place was just about deserted except for a couple of Japanese tour groups…..just amazes me that there are so few people around….I know this isn’t Tuscany but so much to see….some people just don’t know what they’re missing! Bonus for us I guess.

The sassi are really quite amazing. From the front they look like pretty standard Italian hilltown buildings but once inside they are definitely cave dwellings! There are a couple…or 5….very poorly marked routes you can follow but we never did finish one before we ran into a different coloured sign and then started on that one. The streets are very, very narrow….some are just steps. It’s like you are in a big hole in the ground that works it’s way back up the hillside around it.

Had a great lunch at a little restaurant, Nadi, https://www.ristorantenadi.com/it/index.asp?nav=ristorante . We both had the pasta, I had wine and Connie had a beer. Excellent!

Me.

Connie

Off exploring the maze of little alleys. Lots of nice restaurants and B&B’s tucked away. We toured a “Casa Grotto”, which is a re-creation depicting life living in the caves years ago. On to a couple of the churches, Madonna delle Virtu and San Nicola dei Greci (Santa Claus!). Some very well preserved frescoes and cavernous rooms carved out of the rock. Lots of little nooks and crannies. There was a modern art display in there too but pretty weird stuff….like tables on their sides with electric cables around them…..hahaha…we thought they were getting it set up for the display but were told, no, this IS the art! Up to the duomo, only to find out it is closed for restoration work which was too bad because you could see the beautiful stained glass windows so can only imagine how lovely it would have been from inside. We spent about 5 hours there and probably could have spent even more time….really quite a place. It’s a UNESCO world heritage sight…..I see why. Definitely worth the time and effort getting there…..and back!

Got lost trying to find our way back to the car! Just as confusing trying to get out of Matera as it was getting in. Had hoped we’d get back home before dark but was not to be! Took many wrong turns before finding a sign for Gioia delle Colle (jewel of the hill/mountain….not!) but it turned out to be a bit of back road so the long way around. G delle C almost broke me! Would see a sign for Alberobello, exit the roundabout and never see another sign again…..only to turn around and end up at the same roundabout yet again. After the 3rd time at the same roundabout, decided to take the exit for Putignano instead because I knew we could get to Alberobello from there too. Made it to Alberobello, but came in from a different direction…..straight through the main part of town. Dark as anything but we didn’t even get lost coming home from there.

Leftover pasta tonight for dinner.

Will definitely put gas in the car tomorrow…..we’ve got 2 bars left but who knows where we’ll end up tomorrow!

Wed Sept 19

Up early for us today….off to the Grotte di Castellana. The millis seem to be slowly disappearing…..not sure if it’s because I’ve killed them all or really I think it’s just getting too chilly for them now…..hopefully they have snuggled in under all the rocks for the winter!!

Very uneventful drive….took about 40 min to get there. Big parking lot with 1 bus and a handful of cars…..not sure if it’s just not tourist season anymore or what……again, very few people really. Arrived just after 10 and the English tour started at 11 so went and had coffees and paninis (not good!) at the snack bar . Very clean washrooms!

http://www.grottedicastellana.it/en/the-caves/

Our tour had about 10 people. Tour guide was really good. We could only take pictures in the first part of the cave. We did the 2 hours tour (15E per person). We toured all the various “rooms”, seen lots of stalactites and stalagmites in varying stages of development…..it’s quite amazing what one little drop of what will do over millennia! The “curtains” were my fav….looks like sheets of candles wax drips. The cave was discovered by some guy in 1938. They figure there are still hundreds of miles of underground to be explored. At first it was quite chilly in the cave so I put my sweater on but as we got further and further into it (close to the “white room”) the humidity level increased at lot (really bad hair!!). It was strange in that it seemed to get pretty warm but my skin was ice cold! All in all a good tour, very interesting and lovely but this is not the most spectacular cave I’ve visited.

A quick drink and bathroom stop and back to Alberobello to pick up a few more things…..tea towel for me, a couple more Christmas ornaments for gifts, a nice golf shirt for Ken, and a visit to the tour office to get info on the trains to Lecce. Very helpful guy! Checked the internet to get the train times…..pretty much run once an hour, so no problem. Got maps for Monopoli and info on the Brindisi airport (driving time, exits etc.). Also asked about our 1E parking ticket from Cisternino….not to worry he said….I hope he’s right! Not very crowded to day at all. Bought a nice little print of the trulli. Stopped at the DOK…picked up a chicken and some snacks.

Home early! 5:30. Opened the wine and got the chicken ready, olive oil and fresh herb rub which I also put under the skin. Connie did the eggplant parmesan……used the leftover sauce from Mon. and a lots of cheese. Had lots of fun getting everything ready…..yakking and drinking our wine! The oven didn’t really brown the chicken very well or get the parm bubbling so changed to the convection mode, which seemed to work better…..not terribly easy when there are no manuals on what exactly all the knobs and stuff do! In the end it was all delicious!

Quite chilly tonight. What a difference a week can make. It’s like after the storms blew in Termoli, they headed south with us. It’s lovely thru the day though….except for the wind. If the sun is not out it’s definitely sweater and jean weather. Very uneventful driving day….did not get lost anywhere!

Thurs Sept 20

Lecce today! Up at 5:30 to get ready and drive into Monopoli to catch the train at 9:13. The TI guy said it was about a 1/2 hour Italian drive so we allowed a little more than 1 hour! Left at 7:50 and quite by accident ended up at the train station at 8:45. Followed the signs for Monopoli and then the ones for the train station…..we saw 2 and then no more! Ended up in a dead end parking lot which turned out to be the one for the train station….bonus! How lucky was that. And we could park all day for free! Amazing. You buy your train tickets at the bar next to the station. 7.10E each way so 28.40E for both of us return…..much better than trying to drive there and park etc.

The train stopped at many towns along the way, including Cisternino. Could see it up on the hill, also saw Ostuni…..both just lovely! From there the train runs pretty close to the coastline so everything looked very wind swept. Olive groves for as far as you can see. Definitely see why 70% of Italy’s olive oil comes from Puglia. Other than olive groves, a few vineyards here and there, but nothing terribly spectacular scenery wise. Some of the towns looked pretty sad with many derelict buildings, lots of graffiti and surprisingly a lot of garbage…..reminded me of around Naples!

The train station was about a 15 min walk from the centro. We arrived just after 11 when everything that wasn’t a restaurant was closing up for siesta. First to Basilica di Santa Croce. Covered in scaffolding….which was too bad but we could at least see the rose window. Inside it is quite beautiful but not as spectacular as we were expecting. All the pillars, capitals, side altars….everything has carved flowers, fruit, faces etc. It looks like someone went crazy at a pottery/ceramic shop sale! This is baroque at it’s best! A lot of the carving reminded me of della Robbia works….without the bright coloured paint. The ceilings are amazing though. They’re brown with lots of gold and have pictures in the middle. Really pretty wrought iron chandeliers between each pillar and then the dome. Each and every pillar has some…or a lot….of carving on the capitals…above, below, in the middle. That is what makes it unique, otherwise not one of the best that I’ve seen.

From there we went straight to the Duomo (Duomo di Maria Santissima Assunta) ….was worried it would close up for the afternoon. Nice belltower, which looked rather new but was from 1620ish. Very nice wide open piazza…..with nothing in it. Very plain from the outside but really quite nice inside. Ceiling was much the same, beautiful, almost byzantine, chandeliers, many, many elaborately carved/decorated side chapels/altars (one is Bernini inspired….looks like a mini baldacchino from St Peters), very pretty stained glass windows and lovely tile floors. Definitely a must see…..found it much more interesting than Santa Croce……more colourful, more alive!

Just after 1 by then so we found a nice little restaurant in an alley. We ordered the “frittini misti” to start but really had no idea what we were going to get. A couple of different kinds of croquettes (cheese and potatoes???), deep fried breaded olives (that were to die for!), deep fried meatballs…..which could have been horse meat , who knows….there is a lot of that on the menus down this way. It was all really good! For lunch I ordered the tagliatelli con agostinetta, which was one crayfish thing. The pasta and sauce was excellent. Connie ordered the calamari and prawns….also really good. And a 1/2 litre of white wine for me and beer for Connie. Then coffee.

It was a fun restaurant. Lots of people….really busy with some family groups. At one point some people had to move their table and chairs so that a man, who lived in the buiding across the alley, could park his car!! Family run business…..fun owner and wait staff. Not cheap though….44E. Was 3:30 by the time we finished!

https://trattoria-storica-san-carlino.business.site/ (Still there but has some terrible reviews on tripadvisor, so we must have hit it on a good day!)

While having lunch we’d made a list and circled stuff on the map that we wanted to see, so started off with the idea that we’d do the route working our way back to the train station. It had gotten really windy…..argh. Wandered around….over to the Roman forum ruin, which might have been nice but couldn’t really see much of it because of a “Red Bull Soccer Exhibition” going on inside…..lots of tarps and promo tents, people, soccer players etc. Some beautiful palazzo but unfortunately they were still closed (til 5) so couldn’t go in. Quite by accident we found Museo Faggiani http://www.museofaggiano.it/en/how-was-born/ ….which is quite small but set up really well and a very nice man at the entrance. He had bought the house and rented it out for years. Had some plumbing problems and as a result had to do some digging…..only then did he discover all the old wells and passage ways that went back centuries. Each area is numbered and you follow the route and the descriptions….besides the Duomo, I think this might have been the highlight of the day.

They call Lecce the “Florence of the South”. I would beg to differ with that description. It’s a lovely place and definitely worth the visit but it really needs a lot of work. Some very unique and lovely buildings with wrought iron balconies, intricate carvings surrounding beautiful (and huge!) doors etc. but the city needs a good scrubbing! A good powerwash is in order or however they’d clean the buildings. So much black (dirt, pollution??) on everything….such a shame really. I’m glad we went though.

Caught the 6:33 back to Monopoli. That was a little stressful in that the train didn’t stop at the same stations as it did on the way down…..and you couldn’t always tell which station we were at because of where the train, or our car, stopped (not at the station sign, which you couldn’t always read anyway). I knew we were close when I saw Ostuni lit up on the hill. Had to watch very carefully from that point, in the dark, to make sure we were getting off at the right station……you have only like 2 or 3 minutes, or less!

Driving out of Monopoli was a bit of a challenge. Many, many cars at that time of night and many narrow and one way street. Kept heading in the direction we thought was the right way and finally found a sign for Alberobello. The drive back was the same road that we came in on but it’s very dark at night….not a light to be seen. Took my time, not without cars right on my ass pretty well the whole way. They pass at any opportunity….or just pass anywhere, period….even on curves. Didn’t worry too much about the guy behind me but the ones coming towards me….you just don’t know if someone will come around a curve in your lane! The train arrived at 7:35 and we were home by 8:30…..did pretty good!

Opened the bottle of 2007 wine from our winery tour/tasting in Vasto. Leftover eggplant parm and the frittini that Connie had bagged up at lunch, cheese with the truffle honey, olives, sausage, artichoke spread. All good.

I think I have managed to put the millipied population into extinction…..or its too cold for them now. Only a couple of small ones lurking when we got home and none in the house the last couple of days!!

Sleep in day tomorrow. Martina Franca and maybe Locorotondo.

Fri Sept 21

Up at 6:30. So much for sleeping in!. Coffee outside, as I’ve done each day so far. Roosters crowing, dogs barking (morning, noon and night!). It’s very pretty when the sun is coming up….a bit of a mist over the valley that last couple days.

Slow start this morning…..I updated my journal. Connie had a nice sleep in until almost 10. Finally got going around 11:30.

Martina Franca….a bit of a stressful place to drive thru. Thought we had pretty good maps, and they probably were, but the big problem was finding the names of the streets…..not a lot of signs. Got honked at a lot LOL! After driving around for what seemed like forever we ended up in a parking lot that we’d driven by a couple of times already. It was empty except for a few cars, so even after reading the signs we still weren’t really sure if we should park. We did and it was OK luckily. Had a bit of a walk to centro storico though.

Martina Franca is quite nice…..also a white town. The old town is the usual narrow streets and alleys, but very well maintained and clean. Some pretty old buildings palazzo and churches. Lots of wrought iron railings, potted plants and flowers….quite lovely! Of course though everything was closed except for a couple of restaurants. We ended up at Due Agnelli, which was only OK. Service was a bit snooty really….maybe they were “the” ritzy restaurant in town??? Lunch was OK. I had the cavatelli and mussels and wine, Connie had pasta as well. They automatically added a 2.50E service charge, the first time we’d seen it anywhere down here. Total bill was 32E for both of us.

MF is really quite a nice place. Wandered around up and down and around the streets and through the piazzi. Absolutely nothing was open…..not even a place to get coffee or a glass of wine! But definitely quite enjoyable with so few people around.

Back to the car and thought about stopping at Locorotondo but was close to 5:30 already and had lots of packing and cleaning up to do. A quick stop in Alberbello to grab some cash and one last bottle of wine.

Was quite pleasant (no wind!) so we sat outside….had a couple of glasses of wine and chatted. Had all our leftovers for dinner and fried eggs and toast!

Got packed up before bed…..have slept pretty good the last couple of night without the damn millis to worry about…..none tonight at all! Called Francesca to make sure she was here by 7:30 tomorrow. Set the clock to 5:30.

Sat Sept 22

Up at 5:30 as planned. A little anxious about the drive to Brindisi, finding the car rental place etc. Our flight wasn’t until 11:20 and although the driving time was only supposed to be an hour, we know that isn’t always the case.

Cleaned out the fridge, took some of the cheese, sausage and crackers. Francesca showed up right at 7:30. Gave us back the 200E cash damage deposit and we were off.

Connie’s ceramic dish was broken…..cracked right in half! How that happened who knows…I haven’t checked mine so I hope it’s OK.

On the road by 7:45, thru Fasano and on to the highway (no toll) heading towards Brindisi. Even after being stuck behind a little old slow car we made it in just over and hour. Dropped the car at the rental place, which was really simple because it’s right next to…almost attached….the airport. Had tons of time…..a bit of wasted stress earlier! Check in was quick and simple….no problems. Went and grabbed coffees and dolci and just sat around until it was time to go thru security etc. around 10:50. Once thru security there is a food store…..an amazing food store!! Many different kinds of pasta, sauces, salumi, cheeses, jars of everything, dishes, you name it they’ve got it! Got some dried cavatelli for Steve (brother). Have to go outside and up the portable stairs to the plane. Very nice, pretty new looking airport. Easy to get to from the highway and very easy to drop off the rental car….good to know if I ever come back this way!

Flight to Rome on Alitalia was good…..first time with them for me. Just over an hour. Lots of hilltowns below…..quite interesting seeing them from above. On some of them, you could very clearly see the circular roadways and the zigzaggy roads to get up to them.

Luggage came down quickly and Eduard was waiting just as planned. It was nice driving through the outskirts of Rome and then recognizing things like Palatine Hill and Circus Maximux when we came to them.

Our hotel/B&B, In And Out B&B, was such a find! $99CDN per night. It’s down a little alley, Viale de Fico, just around the corner from Piazza Navona. Location is perfect. Eduard had to maneuver down alleys with restaurants….people actually had to pull in their chairs for the car to go by! Arrived at the B&B by 2. The room is HUGE, 2 single bed, huge bathroom, 2 windows overlooking a different alley with bars and restaurants. We finally have internet again so back in touch with the world! This place is almost a must stay next time I come to Rome.

https://www.trivago.ca/rome-44337/hotel/in-and-out—piazza-navona-1942065

We hit the streets of Rome by 3. It had been 20+ years since Connie had been to Rome so we thought we’d try and cover as much of it as was humanly possible in a few hours. Beautiful day….bright and sunny and really hot!

Walked to Piazza Navona, a 2 minute walk, then off to find Orso 80 to make a reservation for dinner, if possible. Had tried to eat there the last time we were in Rome….excellent reviews….but just didn’t work out so wanted to try it this time. Unfortunately it wasn’t open until 7:30 so nothing we could do…..I guess I could have tried phoning! Really nice leather shop across the street…..had a look around and bought a nice little black purse.

http://www.orso80.it/

Pantheon was our first stop……this building just amazes me every time I see it!! It’s HUGE, it’s unique and it’s old! Went through it quickly….saw Raphaels tomb again. Wasn’t as crowded as the last time.

Santa Maria sopra Minerva I think is my most favorite church in Rome! I love the obelisk and Bernini’s elephant out front and inside is just beautiful….ceiling is blue with gold stars and of course Michelangelos Redeemer sculpture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risen_Christ_(Michelangelo,_Santa_Maria_sopra_Minerva) Lovely stained glass windows and altar. Spent over an hour inside….I touched the statue!! How exciting really to have touched something Michelangelo touched 500+ years ago. Lots of interesting art and a chapel that was painted by Lippi.

Off to Campo di Fiore. The restaurant that we wanted to eat at there wasn’t open until 7:15 and it was just 6:30, so found a café right in the campo and had a quick dinner….drinks and appies (fried veg, bruschetta with spinach and sausage). Sat and rested our feet and just took in all the action.

The campo is really a neat place with lots of stuff going on all the time. Guys selling those stupid glow in the dark/throw up in the air flying things, others selling purses and bags from blankets they’ve laid down….which they can quickly scoop up when the Carabinieri (?) come along . A few flower stalls left from the morning market (one of the best in Rome first thing in the morning!).

Stopped at Largo di Argentina https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/torre-argentina-roman-cat-sanctuary.

From the campo we walked to Vittorio Emanuele, just a massive building! Looking down Via del Fiore Imperiale you we saw the Colosseum lit up at night. Walked by the Foro Traiana and the Colonna Traiana (which they have a cast of in the “cast room” at the V&A in London). Next was the Trevi Fountain…took a bunch of pics and threw in coins, of course! Very crowded around there at night but quite lovely with the fountain lit up. Walked up to the Spanish Steps…..window shopped on Via Condotti!! Steps are just steps without all the potted plants (rhodos I think) that are out in the spring. Very crowded there as well.

Back to Piazza Navona by 10:30….really only the second time today that we’d sat down! Had a glass of wine, talked about our trip and people watched for an hour or so. Very busy place even at that time of night. It was a beautiful evening…nice and warm, no wind. We covered a lot of ground today! Rome is probably one of the most “walkable” cities ever!

Back to the B&B around 11:30 only to be met by a crush of people hanging out at the restaurants at the end of our street…..our window looks out over it. There must have been a few hundred people. Lots of coming and going, talking, yelling, cars, scooters…..the noise level was thru the roof! And thru the windows…..we hung out the window for a while watching all the activity…..noisy but fun! Had to leave the window open to get some air circulation. Finally went to bed just after midnight.

Sun Sept 23

Amazingly, even with all the noise, my head hit the pillow last night and that was it! What was more amazing was that, looking out the window this morning, there was virtually no mess left on that street! The street cleaners had been there very early and did a great job!

Left the keys at the desk and down the 3 flights of stairs. Our stay included breakfast but that didn’t start until 9! Eduard was outside right at 8:30. Half hour drive to the airport. Arrivederci Roma! I really enjoyed our whirlwind time in Rome. Traffic to the airport was horrendous but made it with lots of time to spare.

Thru security, flight was on time.

All in all I think this was a super trip! The cooking school week was fantastic! Way more than I had expected…..all the food and wine that was included was great. Cooking classes and “field trips” were excellent. The hotel, one bed and all was good. Weather was great the first few days then changed to fall (cold, windy, rainy) almost overnight. Puglia was very interesting…a bit strange though. Lovely in some areas and then really unattractive in others….and the hookers along the highway of course! Alberobello was very pretty/cute but probably a little too commercial/Disneyland-ish. Other towns, Ostuni, Cisternino, Martina Franca were very lovely and the completely the opposite of Alberobello….hardly any tourists. Just about everything (including the TI offices!) in the area closed for siesta…..good to know for next time! Matera was interesting but not very pretty around there at all…..and not terribly clean looking either. Lecce was a bit of a disappointment…..was interesting and certainly not an awful place but was touted as the “Florence of the South” so maybe had just set the bar for it a little high. Fun lunch tho. Driving was OK….the usual in Italy really. Signage has been an issue everytime I’ve been here…..no matter how many maps you have! Connie and I got along great…..good traveling companions are very important!

Italy 2012 – Abruzzo Cooking School and Puglia…..Week 1

Connie (a friend that I worked with for 25 years) and I talked about doing just such a trip for many years. We both love to cook AND to travel. A two for the price of one Groupon special popped up, thru a company called Edible Destinations by Epitourean. https://www.epitourean.com/master/345/a-taste-of-abruzzo-culinary-vacation Rather than just going all that way for one week, neither of us had been to Puglia, so we added a week there to our adventure. I’m doing this in two parts….first week at the cooking school, second week on our own in Puglia.

Sat. Sept 8

Met Connie at the airport at 6AM. Checked in, had coffee and off we went. A 3 hour stopover in Toronto then 8.5 hours to Rome.

Sun. Sept 9

Arrived on time around 9:45AM. Customs and immigration was crazy busy….the guy at the counter just waved us thru. Didn’t check or stamp our passports or anything! Luggage came down pretty quick and then found our way outside and the meeting spot outside the bookstore. Found the some of the group waiting for Fabrizio (our tour guide). Had a few hours to kill before everyone arrived. By 12:30 we were off! There are 16 of us. All Americans except for Connie and me.

A 3+ hour bus ride to Termoli. One stop for lunch/coffee break at an autogrille (coffee and a huge arancini). Termoli is right on the Adriatic in Molise, which has now merged with Abruzzo . Lovely old town with gorgeous views of the coast and big beautiful sandy beaches.

The hotel (Residenza Sveva) is referred to as “Alberghi diffuse” https://www.alberghidiffusi.it/?lang=en . Our room is a little odd….one big bed and one very tiny bed. Bathroom is big enough. We’re in #5, which is in a building just around the corner from the main piazza, with the church, restaurants etc., where the main part of the hotel is. We got checked in an met back at the hotel at 7:15 for our orientation, dinner and drinks.

They gave us two bottles of wine in the room! But no corkscrew so we met the neighbour, who kindly opened it for us! Funny, narrow little alley that you can almost touch the wall across from our little balcony. All the locals are sitting outside their doors, drinking their wine and visiting. Very warm, pleasant evening.

Had dinner at Ristorante Svevia (where our cooking classes will be) with the group. http://www.svevia.it/index_en.php Fantastic meal! Antipasto was mashed potato topped with a couple of really good and big shrimp and a drizzled with a mild light tomoato sauce…and a little salad. Primi was a cuttlefish risotto that was excellent….the cuttlefish was diced and very much like clams in texture and taste. Secondi was fish en papillote but clear paper (fata paper?) which was sort of like trout but came from the Adriatic. Dolce was a semifreddo with wine reduction sauce….very good. Then a cherry liqueur that was really good…..20% alcohol!

Termoli is very resort-ish until you get to the old town. Typical Italian town with piazzas, restaurants etc. Very nice. Lots of narrow little streets, balconies, tons of potted plants and flowers tumbling over railings and in the evenings, people sitting outside their doors. Really quite a cute place.

http://www.madeinsouthitalytoday.com/termoli.php

After dinner we had coffee at the café next to the hotel, chatted and got to know our companions for the week. Called Ken….all is OK. Also found out we’re the only ones with a room without a view!! It was 11:30PM and there were people of all ages wandering around. Little kids riding their bikes, women with babies in strollers etc. It’s still pretty warm so maybe this is just what you do when it’s too hot to stay inside. Temp is quite pleasant.

Mon Sept 10

Busy, busy day! Beautiful day….lots of sun, not too warm, just perfect!

Got our room changed….yeah. So right after breakfast we had to quickly go back, repack and take our suitcases to the lobby. Couldn’t move in right away so we had no idea where it was going to be other than it had a view and bigger balcony.

Off we went in our little bus to the Trabucco, which is a fishing contraption built out over the rocks….big net that is hooked up to a boom type thing with what looks like a big tangled mess of ropes attached to the corners. As a school of fish approach, the net is lowered into the water and the fish swim in and voila! They raise the net using a big crank…..was interesting as I’d never heard or saw one before. Very common on the Adriatic coast. http://www.italianways.com/the-trabocchi-coast/

While they did a demo for us, they served some sparkling white wine, bread with olive oil and pizzelle (waffle type cookie) with orange marmalade. Fun!

Off to San Giovanni Abbey. Built in the 12 century overlooking the Adriatic. Beautiful outside and I’m sure just as beautiful inside……we couldn’t go in because of a wedding. Very nice garden with a 1000 yr old olive tree that they thought had been dead for years but it bloomed this year! The views down the coast are spectacular! https://magazine.dooid.it/en/interests-en/rocca-san-giovanni-and-the-abbey-of-san-giovanni-in-venere/

Enroute to Vasto we had a quick stop at a local ceramiche workshop. She gave info on the local clay used, technic, etc, a quick demo and painted a number of pieces….all interesting but surprisingly nothing in her workshop was for sale for us!! She did mostly commissioned pieces….usually get the big sale run around but this was strictly to familiarize us with the local artisan and her work….kind of nice for a change but there were a couple of pieces that I wouldn’t of minded having!

Picnic lunch at Riserva Naturale Regionale Punta Aderci https://www.puntaderci.it/gallery/ a beautiful park on the coast…..spectacular views in both directions, some great trails for quick or long hikes. Fabrizio sent us off to explore telling us to come back in 45 min. at which point lunch had arrived! Many different kinds of pizza and buns/meat etc. and a number of bottles of “homemade” wine to wash it all down! Quite fun!

Fabrizio is new at this job…..it’s his own company that he started only a few months ago, Italia Sweet Italia. He has a degree in hospitality and tourism from a university in London, where he had initially hoped to stay. But after realizing that his Abruzzo had so much to offer and is relatively untouched by tourism (except on the coast) he saw an opportunity to make a business out of it and share his lovely Abruzzo with others. With some help from friends and family he got his company off to a start. We are only the 3rd tour of this type that he’s done. Using Groupon and getting connected with Edible Destinations was a good start for him. He told us to give him all feedback, positive and negative, so he can ensure a good experience. Abruzzo has been referred to a the poor man’s Tuscany….lol. More mountainous but just as beautiful in a bit of a different way.

Into Vasto proper for a tour around and a visit to the museum/art gallery in the Palazzo Avalos. Quite a history…. https://www.italyheritage.com/magazine/2002_02/0202_a.htm Many of the paintings were done by two brothers from the area. Beautiful garden with gorgeous views!

Met up at a café, had a quick drink and off on a walking tour of Vasto. Very pretty town/city. Beautiful doors…..old doors on many buildings, the usual old guys sitting in the piazza visiting.

Long day! Back to Termoli around 7:30. Got our new room. Much smaller but lovely view over looking the bay and beach. AND….there is only one bed!! Luckily it’s a queen size one so Connie and I divvied it up with our books/laptops etc. We’ll manage!

Dinner tonight was at a restaurant round the corner, Battello Ebbro. http://www.ilbattelloebbro.eu/ Antipasti was meats and cheese, primi was pasta and ceci and then secondi, chicken stew along with lots of wine and a “bitter” that wasn’t too good. Excellent dinner. It appears that “our” restaurant is closed on Monday, so we ate here instead. All this is included in the price we paid…..certainly cannot complain! All food so far has been local and so, so good! Chatted with our tour companions, got to know some a bit better. The couple from Utah….he won the trip through a pizza cooking contest on a radio station! Too fun! Wandered around town a bit after dinner, bought mugs/cups for our coffee in the morning (no coffee makers in the rooms so brought French press, electric water boiler and Starbucks café Via!) then met up with and sat and chatted with another couple until 11:30. NO internet….argh. Will deal with that tomorrow!

We have 3 sets of doors to our balcony. An outside set of shutters/doors, a middle set of glass doors and then an inner set of shutter type doors. Was quite warm in the room so wanted to leave them all open except the outside shutters….this is when we discovered that not only do those shutters open like normal doors but that they also tilt, but only the top part…..we thought we’d broken them and had a bit of a laugh about that. Apparently though they should not both, tilt and open at the same time…..we did manage to get them back to where they should have been and tilted properly. We then discovered that our bathroom window had exactly the same type of set up….so figured out to just tilt that one open except we somehow ended up knocking the curtain rod off and was surprisingly quite challenging to get back on!! Again, lots of laughs and a bit of cursing to get that done!

Excited about our first class tomorrow!

Tues Sept 11

Up very late last night…..couldn’t sleep even after taking a Benadryl. No more coffee at that time of night for me….or maybe just too much excitement.

Up at 6:30. Made coffee in the French press that Connie brought. I brought the water boiler, which worked ok but didn’t boil the water in the bottom of the press so you have to take it out and stir it every now and again……worked good enough. Tried to do this without waking Connie….she is not an early bird! Sat on our little balcony enjoying the view and updating my journal.

Breakfast was around 8:00 at the main hotel. Continental but very good…..lovely fresh buns and breads with local preserves to go with them….and more coffee….our choice of Americano, Cappuccino, tea, juice etc.

Our first cooking class “Homemade Pasta”. At the Svevia restaurant with Chef Massimo. We’re in a private room, which was set up really nice with workstations for everyone around the huge table. We each get aprons and a cookbook with all the recipes that we’re making.

Where the magic happens!

First thing we made was the regular past dough with the flour well and 2 eggs. Kneaded it A LOT….way more than I ever do at home but it was also way better! Chef came by and said mine was “perfetto”! Wrapped that up and left it while we prepared the dough for the cavatelli (local pasta…). It’s semolina and water with just a touch of olive oil only. Took a little bit to finally get it the right texture….a drier dough without the eggs. Has to be kneaded way more than the regular dough…..I think mine was “perfetto” again 🙂 Will definitely have some achy shoulders in the morning!

Next the sauce….into the kitchen, where the prep staff were getting all the seafood ready (fresh off the boat!). Chef M chopped up the veggies for the soffritto (as in the French mirepoix)….he peeled the freakin’ celery for goodness sakes!! Carrots, celery, white and red onion, a bit of olive oil and some salt. Once that was all just translucent, he added the meat….veal, pork, and lamb just hacked into big chunks. Browned it all nicely then added WHITE wine and then tomato sauce. Boiled it on high for 1/2 an hour then turned it down to simmer for at least 2 hours. All the veg were so fresh and so pretty!! Straight from the market that morning.

Then we made meatballs! They went into the tomato sauce that was simmering away.

Back to the pasta (and the wine had appeared!!)….chitarra, or guitar pasta because of the thing to cut it…looks like a square guitar with a million strings. Had to roll it out our regular dough and then cut it to fit in the guitar. Then you used a rolling pin to roll it over the strings which cuts the past into perfect spaghetti. To make the cavatelli (traditional pasta from Abruzzo) you cut the dough ball into small pieces then roll it into long skinny snakes a little thicker than you baby finger. Cut off 1/4 – 1/2 inch pieces, then with two fingers push the bits of dough forward and it kind of rolls over on itself, making a shell or “hotdog bun” shape. Chef M had made a veggie sauce earlier that we had later with the cavatelli.

Making the cavatelli

Lunch was excellent….the chitarra pasta with just the tomato sauce, no meat, then the cavatelli with the veg sauce, then separately all the meat, including the meatballs. Absolutely delicious! Tiramisu for dessert…..finished around 2:30.

Off on a field trip……olive oil tour and tasting was our first stop at La Selvotta. Some very different oils. A couple with quite the citrus flavor (lemon and orange very distinguishable…) would be great on fish and/or chicken. The oil was very good….gave that nice little after burn. Beautiful olive grove with trees anywhere from 5 – 50 years old. They process and sell all their own and also process small batches for personal use for local people. For their own (commercial use) they used all the new high tech presses but they still have the old stone presses that are used for the locals. They no longer use the old fashioned press with the mats….too much bacteria and mixing of old and new. https://www.oliveoilsitaly.com/producer/la-selvotta/

Wine tasting was next…..I forgot to grab a business card and now can’t remember the name of the winery!! Must remember to ask Fabrizio tomorrow. Toured the vineyard and he explained the “arbor” or “pergola” method of growing and shaping the canopy….protects the grapes from too much sun and also reduces moisture loss. They had vineyards using that method and also just the regular staked method. Tasted some Montipulciano d’Abruzzo, which is all they grow there. They make a reserve, DOC, IFH as well as vino d’tavola. Had a taste of prosciutto, headcheese (very good!) and bread with olive oil to go with our tasting. I bought a 2007 DOC.

Almost 7 before we headed back to Termoli. Dinner tonight was at Svevia Restaurant. Salted cod with a bread crumb topping, pan fired potatoes and beans. It was really good. I got my own special chocolalte crème brulee and everyone else had ice cream with pistachio nuts….which I could have eaten but oh well! Lots of wine and liqueurs to sample tonight. Sat around an chatted for a long time.

It’s midnight and I’m going to take a gravol….I really need a good nights sleep!

Wed Sept 12

Slept good! Another beautiful morning and another great continental breakfast

Class today was “L’arte Dei Ripieni – The Art of Stuffing”. We made ravioli pasta then the spinach and ricotta stuffing. Next was stuffed mussels……which was cheese and bread crumbs stuffed back into the mussel shells, then they were tied closed with little bits of string and poached in the mussels liquid……these were to die for!! Stuffed veggies…..little eggplants, zucchini, peppers….meat stuffing for the eggplant and zucchini and cheese for the peppers. Then we made egg and cheese balls which were really good! They were deep fried and served as appies or fried and covered with a tomato sauce. Lots of wine as usual.

The many beverages served at dinner!

Lunch was absolutely delicious…..we ate everything we made! At each meal we have many different drinks….usually one that is like a special of the day, aperitif, wine, various local made liqueurs to choose from and thankfully lots of water!! Finished around 2.

Had a bit of a rest and then on the bus and Vasto again to visit a cook shop…..same idea as our Gourmet Warehouse or Williams Sonoma….lots of great bits and pieces and some beautiful big pots and pans and gorgeous ceramics. I bought one of the clay/terracotta bowls that can go on the stove……..our mussels were cooked in a similar bowl/pot. Hope it makes it home in one piece!

Tonight some of us (10) opted for a dinner with Fabrizios family at his aunts place. Up on a hillside with views to the sea. Nice brick and stone house among olive trees and a vineyard. They have a little farm with a donkey, goats, chicken etc. They make their own wine, of course, so we got to fill the jugs from their big stainless steel vats. Lots of dried garlic ropes, onions and peppers hanging from the ceiling in their sort of lean-to type shed (which was quite lovely!) There were salumi hanging/drying from the rafters in the living room!! Quite enjoyable wandering around, chatting with his uncle and grandpa, drinking wine.

His mom and aunt started making the pasta for the lasagna and we rolled it out and put it all together. A local traditional lasagna…..layers of pasta, mushrooms in a sauce, béchamel, ham, parm and mozza cheese, topped with beaten egg and more parm. That went into the oven and back outside to enjoy all the goodies they’d put out for appies….their homemade salumi, olives from their trees, a couple of different kinds of cheese (can’t recall if from their goats…) and lots of wine of course.

They got the bbq going…..skewers of lamb done on a neat little contraption that has a bunch of little tube things that you stick the end of the skewers into and then they rotate over the fire.

First course was the best ever tomato salad….dressed simply with olive oil, basil, parsley and a bit of chili along with the antipasti of melon with prosciutto and more cheese. Lasagna was next….so simple but so delicious. Then the lamb skewers, which went well with the last bit of the salad. Dessert was olive oil cookies filled with grape marmalade….very good and lastly homemade limoncello and cherry liqueur to wash it all down. 20 of us all for dinner under the olive trees….so lovely. (I have lost all my pictures from that evening….I have no idea what happened to them but they are gone from my SD card….so disappointing)

Visited for a while after dinner and then back to Termoli. Had coffee with Rocky and Kathy (Philadelphia)…..chatted about healthcare (their system and ours…..they wished for ours!). She had worked in Healthcare Admin and Connie and I in insurance. A few of the younger ones came along with a few drinks under their belts and entertained us for a long time…..lots of laughs. Almost 2AM before we packed it in!

Thurs Sept 13

“Traditional Homemade Desserts” today. Zia Rosaria (Chef Massimos aunt!) was our party chef. We made 4 different kinds of cookies…all very good. First ones were Mostaccioli, which they said were kind of chocolate molasses (mustardo) cookie, then one that was like a big scored sugar cookie that was cut into pieces, brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with sugar, Breakfast biscuits and finally Cavicioni which, besides flour, are made with chickpeas that have been boiled and blended….the dough is rolled out (using a pasta machine) very thin then stuffed with a filling like ravioli!

A couple of interesting things…..a couple of the recipes used baking ammonia. It’s crystals that come in big jar and it really smells like ammonia….it makes everything more light and airy. I’ve never seen it at home, but that said, nor have I ever looked for it or used a recipe that called for it! You can substitute 1tsp of the baking ammonia = 1 tsp baking soda and 1tsp baking powder. The other was the vanilla…..at home our recipes call for a tsp of pure vanilla extract, which is liquid, here they use pre-measured packets of powdered vanilla…..these I have seen at home but never thought to use them….are they “pure” vanilla?? Zia Rosaria didn’t use a bowl at all….made all her pastry dough the same a you would your pasta dough….kneading by hand and using the pasta maker to roll it out. No salt was added to any of the baked goodies! She also used a wine bottle to crush the ammonia crystals and to roll out some of the dough. Lot of wine while making all these…..before lunch. Fun morning!

Lunch today was delicious! Pork scallopine in a truffle gravy…..absolutely fantastic. I sopped up every last drop of it with the bread….and honestly would have licked the plate. It came with a tomato and onion salad that was great too. All the pastries for dessert. This was referred to as a “light lunch”!

After lunch we were supposed to have walking tour of old town Termoli artisan area but it was so windy and rainy….and COLD…I only did the tour of the fort and tower. My umbrella and blown inside out about 4 times just getting that far so didn’t bother with the rest of the tour. The info on the tower was interesting…..not terribly much there other than an old cannon and a few rather bizarre paintings. They can’t afford to do all the necessary restoration work so it’s not usually open unless someone has an exhibit of some sort (the art??). Just went back to the room, checked emails, reloaded the phone, napped and read for a while.

Dinner tonight was roast chicken….really moist and wonderfully crispy skin. First course was a delicious soup…..a very tasty broth with kidney beans, flat noodles, a bit of carrot and pancetta. More of the pastries for dessert along with limoncello.

After dinner Connie and I went in search of a café for a nightcap or coffee but because of the weather pretty well everything was closed up tight. Old town Termoli isn’t very big but there must be at least 10 or more really nice looking restaurants…..if they are anything like the Svevia, that is incredible for such a small place!

Just back to the room, made our own decaf coffee. Emails, reading….kind of a nice quiet day for a change.

Fri Sept 14

Up very early today. Had to be on the bus by 8:15. Much nicer this morning than yesterday….windy with the sun popping out every now and again…..definitely needed a jacket!

Our beach had taken quite a beating the night before!

First was the visit to the bell foundry, about an hour or so outside of Termoli, in the hilltown of Agnone. Beautiful drive inland with towns on the top…..the very top….of just about every hill or mountain we passed. Lots and lots of olive trees, some vineyards up the side of the hills.

The bell foundry was incredibly interesting….who would have thought! They have a very nice little museum and store, of course. Quite an amazing process that they go thru making the inner and outer moulds and the moulds for the decorations and inscriptions. Then the entire tuning process was interesting in itself….had never thought about “tuning” bells!! http://campanemarinelli.com/en/

On to Caseificio de Nucci Antonio. Had a great tour. Couldn’t go in the room where they make the curds but watched them dump big buckets of then into a big bin where they mooshed around, then someone takes big handfuls and shapes them into the cheeses….we seen the cacciocavello being made. After the cheese is shaped it sits in a saltwater bath for anywhere from 20 – 40 days, then into the cold room. We did get to go in there. All the cheeses, in various stages of maturity, were hanging. Some really dark yellow and covered in mold, others barely any colour at all. Very damp and moldy smelling…..there’s a well under the stone floor that keeps the humidity level correct. Connie and I bought a cacciocavello and scmorza. Finished the tour in their little museum with some information on the history and samples!

Our lunch was at Santa Lucia Massaria. Up on the hillside with incredible views in every direction. Beautiful place! We had a very simple lunch of porchetta buns and fresh tomato bruschetta. The porchetta was good but not as good as the Tuscan one….not as flavourful, but still good. Some pretty harsh homemade wine to go with it….watered it down quite a bit. Espresso’s and fresh figs and other fruit for dessert. She had a bunch of homemade products as well….confits, jams, honey, including truffle honey! 5E a jar….a real deal considering I paid almost $25 at home for a jar. I bought 3! Killed the rest of an hour or so wandering around the property. We were supposed to have lunch outside under a pergola, which looked lovely but a little too iffy to do that today. Very pretty place with lots of cozy little sitting areas and big stone patio with planters full of geraniums and other colourful flowers. Tons of olive trees and many other fruit trees. Unfortunately it was a bit windy and chilly just to sit though…..sun poked in and out….good while it was out, not so good when it wasn’t. One of the hilltowns across the way was Agnone, where the bell foundry was.

Back on the bus to Termoli at 5 for our Pizza Making class. Chef M had some of the pizza dough ready for kneading so some of us took a stab at that, others made the dough from scratch themselves. When it was all ready to go, rolled and pressed it into the pans and put the sauce on them…..which was simply canned tomatoes that had been put through a food mill, a bit of fresh basil, oregano and salt. I’m not a big sauce person so a little too much on the pizza for me, nor it thick crust pizza one of my favs…..lots of fun putting it all together…..lots of wine while we were doing it. Made a couple of different kinds of pizza as well as a bruschetta with mozza and stracchino cheese and Italian sausage and a pizza tart (covered) with onions and anchovies. All was delicious…..too much sauce, thick crust and all! One thing he did that I really liked was after putting the sauce on the pizza dough you back it! In a really hot oven for 10 or so minutes just to get the crust rising, cook the bottom and starting to brown around the edges. Take it out, put on whatever toppings you want and cheese, then back in the hot oven for just a few minutes to heat everything up and melt the cheese.

The bruschetta and pizza for dinner……our last dinner 😦 Lots of pics and hugs and Italian style cheek kisses. Jim and Susan from Iowa, Karen and Florence from NY were the ones that Connie and I hung around with most of the time. Great people. Susan had kidney cancer and luckily had recovered and was in full remission….small world really! We braved a coffee in the wind at the bar under our room. Looked like it was going to clear up quite nicely….lots of stars peeking out through the clouds.

A fun, very busy week. Learned some good technics for my future pasta and pizza making endeavours….looking forward to trying some of these things at home. Fabrizio was a great tour guide…..very attentive to everyones needs, open to suggestions and overall just a very nice guy. I hope his company is a great success for him. We certainly had no complaints….everything was what we thought and more! So impressed with the restaurant…..really quite an elegant place.

Back to the room to pack up and get ready for our next adventure…..Puglia! Have never been so looking forward to visiting….and of course staying in our trullo for the next week!