Camino Musings

This is NOT laundry detergent! Perusing the grocery shelves, pretty much all the brand names are “foreign” here in Italy (sorry, bad joke!). The bottle was on the same shelf as bottles of something used for “bucato a mano”, loosely translated as “wash by hand”, so I assumed it was used to wash clothing. Well, it is used to wash clothes, but not in the “wash” cycle but rather in the rinse cycle. You see, this is fabric softener, a discovery I realized when I put some in the bathroom sink to hand wash a sweater and it didn’t produce any soap suds.

Another discovery – you can’t heat this in a microwave to make a cup of tea.Why, you ask? It looks like a bottle of water, but look at the small print – “frizzante” means “carbonated”. Not only does it taste strange, the tea leaves leak out of the tea bag. So, it’s a quick run to the grocery store to rectify the situation.

I guess sleep deprivation due to a night of coughing paroxysms dulled my powers of observation. Once I remade a cup of tea, put the correct liquid in the crazy European style washer /dryer with the dirty laundry and ate a yogurt, I was ready to embrace my chill-out day.

It was great weather for a stroll along the Lungomare. It seemed like the entire town turned out along the lungomare on this warm and humid Sunday afternoon – not only the human population but also the canines – and a local dog rescue group was out in force with adoptable pups!

The walkway extends about a mile toward the pier where one can take a traghetto to Amalfi or Positano or one of the other small villages along the Amalfi Coast.

The marina contains not only pleasure craft but also the simple fishing boats used by local fishermen.Because it was still unseasonably warm, a few of the locals took advantage of the weather to “catch a few rays”. Unlike in the USA, bikinis are for all ages and shapes!

There was even a puppet stage set up for the kids! And with popcorn, too!

By the time I arrived back at the apartment, the washer/dryer had completed its cycle. But as the dryer cycle doesn’t work as efficiently as what is found in the American appliances, I ended up using nature’s dryer.

So, now we know the true reason there are so many balconies in Italy!

On my way back to the apartment, I encountered Christina and we made arrangements to meet for dinner. The rest of the day, I relaxed, studied a little, and took a nap.

Dinner was at Cicirinella, a small quaint restaurant on a side street behind the Duomo. I enjoyed the appetizer selection and a risotto with mozzarella di buffala and bruccoli and a wonderful panna cotta.

While at dinner, it started to rain, so our post-dinner stroll was abbreviated. We parted ways and I collected my “drying” laundry off the balcony. Thank God for the balcony directly overhead as my clothes were pretty much dried!

There is an old Italian proverb: “Vedi Napoli e poi muori” (See Naples and die). I suppose this refers to the great love Neapolitans have for their crazy unpredictable city – it’s a vibrant, bustling Italian city full of inhabitants who are passionate in every aspect of their lives. Naples is not on the usual tourist itinerary; it does not have iconic sights – nothing even closely resembling the Eiffel Tower, Coliseum, Empire State Building, Great Wall or Big Ben. There are no world class art museums or natural wonders in the city proper. It is chaotic, a bit dirty and run down and graffiti is the prevailing form of street art. But it is the experience of observing and nay even participating in the throngs of humanity crowding the narrow cobblestone street of the old city, sitting down in a restaurant to enjoy the traditional specialty of the simple Margherita pizza (an exquisite concert of San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella di buffala, and fresh basil on a crust baked for a little over a minute in a 485 degree Celsius/ 900 degree Fahrenheit wood fired oven, first created in Naples in 1889 by Raffaele Esposito to honor the queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy), dodging the hustlers shoving cheap mass produced cornetto good luck charms in your face or hawking what I call “splat balls” savoring the crunch and subtle sweetness of a sfogliatella (a typical pastry, a specialty of the Campania/Naples region, with a multilayered dough usually filled with sweetened ricotta and perhaps some orange peel) that should not be missed!

I was fortunate today to have such an opportunity to “Vede Napoli” . We boarded a public bus at around 9:30 am and within an hour we emerged onto the hectic Neapolitan scene. After a quick espresso stop (requisite at that time of the morning,we were off to see the sights: the Galleria Umberto I, a shopping place constructed in the late 1880s (a UNESCO world Heritage Site)

the Royal Palace and Piazza Plebescitoand of course the famous Gran Caffe Gambrinus, built in 1860, with its amazing array of delicious pastries.

We explored the pedestrian-only streets bustling with predominantly Neapolitans, who were strolling and window shopping, and wandered down a street contains a multitude of shops specializing in figures for presepios (nativity displays).

The “Uber” baroque Chiesa di Gesù Nuovo was the first church visit. It was completed in 1597, and although the exterior is unimpressive, it is replete with the highest concentration of Baroque painting and sculpture of the Neapolitan school. And being Saturday, there happened to be a wedding ceremony!

The next stop was the Basilica of Santa Chiara, badly damaged in World War 2 bombing and now a 20th century reconstruction of the 14th century Gothic Church. And wouldn’t you know it, another wedding (with a wedding planner in a rather Goth-like dress)!

Of course, one cannot be in Naples with sampling pizza.

We each had our own entire pizza and 11 of the 12 people had a significant amount left over on the plate – but no doggy bags in Italy.

Our next stop was a guided tour of Underground Naples. The city sits on a base of volcanic tuffa rock. In the 4th century BC, the ancient Greeks excavated the area to supply the building blocks of the “Neopolis” or “new city”. The Romans later used these underground tunnels and caves as aqueducts, and more recently they were used as shelters for the citizens during the bombing of World War 2. Descending a narrow staircase for 40 meters and then squeezing through narrow dark tunnels, the remnants of the underground cisterns, caverns and catacombs, still contains flowing rivers and reservoirs.

And yes, the photo above is a toilet! Look for the footprints and hole!

The remains of a Greco-Roman theater are also located nearby, under the floor of a house, where Emperor Nero (the famous fiddler while Rome was burning😉) had his dressing room.

After the tour, which lasted about 90 minutes, we headed back to the bus stop for the bus back to Salerno.

So what is my impression of Naples? A fascinating city, with a rich and vibrant history and passionate citizens, truly everyone should “Vede Napoli”.

“I exist only because inside of me and above all else I am only a Neapolitan. Naples exists inside of me and always will. Fortunately for me there is this treasure that I have inside of me and when I need it, then I pull it out.” -Sophia Loren

A 15 minute walk, with a brief stop at Feltrinelli bookstore to pick up Italian language versions of Dan Brown’s “Angels and Demons” and Elena Ferrante’s “A Brilliant Friend”, brought me to my new apartment (I changed the location this morning) that I am sharing with an 85 -year-old retired attorney from Columbus, Ohio and a policeman from Holland. I dare say that I feel pretty safe! I picked up a few food items at the grocery and settled in before we went out for dinner. No pizza (or carbs) tonight – insalata caprese, branzino with fennel and a contorno of escarole. Tomorrow is Sunday and I am “chilling out”, doing laundry, and completing my Italian homework.

The day started with another chihuahua sighting. This cute little guy seems to be a regular at Bar Rosa.

The class today dealt with the condizionale presente tense (for you American English speakers: could,would, should) – a very useful grammatical tense for uncertain, polite, but occasionally dominant personalities as it is used as a form of courtesy, or when seeking advice, or when there is uncertainty, or when you want to give advice or make a suggestion to someone.

There is no such thing as a “quick lunch” in Italy! I have a one-hour break before the private lesson, so an attempt was made to squeeze in a brief repast. Christina and I went across the street to Osteria Je, Tu e Iss, a cozy place serving classic Salernitano cuisine. We arrived just after 12:30 pm and, of course, the restaurant did not “officially ” open until 1pm. However, they did seat us and we ordered our meals. Soon after we were joined by two other students (Ulrika, from my class, and her friend). As an appetizer, I selected insalata con mozzarella di Bufala, pomodori e aciughe ( mozzarella with tomatoes and anchovies) and cavatelli con cozze e pomodoro ( pasta with mussels and tomatoes.

Simple but delicious – with fresh local ingredients- this made for a filling meal. The only problem was that I had to essentially inhale it as the concept of fast food is foreign here. Christina chose the appetizer selection and pasta with anchovies.

After lunch and the private lesson, and a forty-five minute break, it was time for another one of the “cultural” excursions organized by the school. Fifteen of us piled into a mini-bus and were transported south of Salerno to Pontecatagno and the Azienda Agricola Filippo Morese to see the bufala. They originated from the water buffalo, not the American bison, and came from India over a thousand years ago. The terrain in this part of Italy is especially conducive to these water loving beasts because of the abundance of rain. This particular Azienda has been owned by the same family for about 100 years. There are about 300 animals, equally divided between males and females. The buffala are primarily bred by artificial insemination (sorry for the intimate details) and most are born in November. Each female produces on average 17 liters of milk per day. They are milked twice a day and the milk is transported to the caseificio in the afternoon where it is transformed into ricotta, yogurt and the local specialty of mozzarella di buffala. It cannot be called this unless it is produced in this geographic region or in an area near Casserta.

Milking time:

Caseificio:

We were able to sample the freshly made mozzarella and had the opportunity to purchase gelato (or yogurt) made from the buffala milk.

After our little snack, we visited the local archaeological museum that contains artifacts unearthed from excavations in the town. This area was initially inhabited by the Etruscans (8th century BC), with subsequent colonizations by the ancient Greeks and Romans. The collection was impressive; however it appears that the museum is not well attended due to its obscure location ( in the middle of nowhere)!

We returned to Salerno around 7:30 pm. I joined a group of students for dinner at Pizzeria Trianon. We spent three hours laughing and talking as John, an 85 year-old-retired attorney, entertained us with his many anecdotes.

Then it was back to the apartment for some well deserved rest. We have a test tomorrow.

Who knew that Chihuahuas drink coffee? Well, they really don’t but this Chihuahua owner needed her early morning caffeine.

Yes, it was back to Bar Rosa for my daily cappuccino and cornetto (vanilla pastry cream and blueberry preserves). I’ve picked up a head cold – probably the result of sleep deprivation and travel stress. I was in great need of tissues as I have sinus congestion. I stopped in at the small grocery store and discovered that tissues are only sold in packets of twelve. I may end up needing two or three packets, but 12??? I gifted 6 packs to my classmates.

Our lesson day started with a discussion of dreams that segued into an introduction to the trapassato verb tense (which means that something happened a long time ago – I wore the earrings that WERE GIVEN to me by my grandmother.)

After the private lesson, it was back to Trattoria Nonna Maria for pasta amatriciana (with guanciale) and a salad of puntarelle (a seasonal green veggie served with olive oil and anchovies).

It was quite late when I finished eating (after 3:30 pm) so I headed back to the school where we were meeting our guide for a “nature hike”. I didn’t realize the hike was up (and I do mean up) to the Castello Arecchi that overlooks the city. It was reminiscent of a very steep portion of the Camino de Santiago, except I didn’t have my trekking poles or backpack. It was quite humid and warm and as a result most of the group were perspiring quite a lot. It was like doing a really intense aerobic workout except with a great view.

I saw my first Salerno cat (lots of dogs here but I hadn’t seen a single feline. This little guy wasn’t too pleased seeing our group invade his lair.

I made it almost to the top. Thankfully a woman in our group asked the guide if she could get some sort of ride – taxi or bus- back down into the town. The prospect of climbing down over treacherous pine needle-covered uneven stone steps was terrifying for me, so, pride be damned, I asked to join her. The rest of the group forged onward to the castle while we waited for the bus. We spent about 25 minutes chatting, in Italian with a little Spanish thrown in, as we waited at the bus stop. Her daughter is attending the school for two weeks and she is just hanging out and relaxing while the daughter is studying. We stopped at a bar for a lemon soda as I was pretty dehydrated. We parted ways after I accompanied her to the grocery store. No dinner tonight for me – too tired, especially with this head cold, and I have homework after I post this blog!

Since I didn’t sleep well the night I arrived, I was exhausted and fell asleep fairly quickly but my internal clock is still set on East Coast USA time and I was up at 4:00 am. After tossing and turning for a couple of hours, it was apparent that I might as well get moving. Showered, dressed and out the door to my new favorite breakfast place, Bar Rosa, on via Roma very close proximity to school. A cappuccino and cornetto with chocolate pastry cream, the classic caffeine and sugar-loaded Italian breakfast, costs only 2 euros. The concept of a “healthy” breakfast with eggs, toast, cereal, and orange juice has not taken hold in this country.

In class, we continued our review of passato prossimo and imperfetto tied into a discussion about family members, when to use (or not use) the definite article before the noun when referring to mother, father, etc., and a little exercise centered on writing truths and lies (le buggie – pronounced with a soft “g” sound!) – “at school when I was young………, I (fill in the blank) and having our partner try to guess which statement was true.

After the morning class, I grabbed a panini for a quick lunch before the private lesson. No large pranzo today as I signed up for a cooking class for this evening. After the private lesson, I dropped off my notebook at my room and returned to the school where our group of eight were transferred by private car to a villa overlooking the city and the sea. The road up was a miniature version of the Amalfi Drive, with hairpin turns and a narrow byway. The property was lovely, with an in-ground pool, gardens, outdoor kitchen (where we helped to prepare our dinner) and a home that could be on the cover of Architectural Digest.

Stefania was our instructor. Her family owns the property, which also includes vineyards and olive trees. On the menu were mozzarella in carrozza (a deep fried sandwich with smoked mozzarella dipped in flour and egg) and crespelle (crepes) filled with ricotta and prosciutto di Parma, topped in tomato sauce and grated Parmigiana, and baked in the oven.

One could hear the constant clanging of bells as the sheep were coming in from the fields. There was a chill in the air so we ate in the dining room. It was an evening of great food and conversation with a nice group of school mates – from Japan, Holland, and Switzerland.

It’s been a really long time since I attended school. Let’s just say we’re talking decades! But October 8, 2018 was my first day of school in this millennium. I’m still battling the vestiges of jet lag combined with some sort of upper gastrointestinal tract issue ( stress-related? Reflux? Gallbladder?? – nothing like self diagnosis!) so I feel pretty out of it. It’s a 15 minute walk down narrow cobblestone streets to the L’Accademia Italiana, housed in a baroque style palazzo situated between the seaside and the Via Roma, a major thoroughfare. One enters the building by pushing the door buzzer, the ornate carved wooden door lock disengages and one ascends to the primo piano (1st floor in Europe but 2nd floor to all you Americans) via a marble staircase. The office staff greeted everyone as they entered and we were each directed into different classrooms to take a brief placement exam. Jet lag and a lack of knowledge of Italian prepositions (di, da, a, con, in, per) certainly impacted the score on my test! Also I couldn’t remember the third person plural conjugation of the conditional tense for the life of me (under normal conditions, i.e. not exhausted, I could have told you that the ending was “-ebbero”)! There was also a brief oral evaluation by one of the instructors. We were then divided into our classes for the week. As students attend for varied periods, one week up to several months, these classes change on a weekly basis. I am the only American in a class of eight women from Russia, Switzerland, Norway, France, Germany and Luxembourg.

Our instructor is Anna, a petite ball of energy. After introducing ourselves ( in Italian, of course), we commenced with a discussion on the topic of vacations, segueing into a review of when to use two of the several forms of past tense (passato prossimo and imperfetto). In English, it’s much more streamlined (e.g. walked, have walked are pretty much all the walking you can do in the past!). After a three hour session, broken up with a half hour break to grab a caffe’ (you don’t have to specify espresso as that’s what coffee is in Italy), most of the students dispersed to enjoy il pranzo (lunch) or head back to their apartments. Since I have a 45-minute private lesson every afternoon at 1:30, there isn’t much time to “fare il pranzo”. And I needed to take care of an issue with my accommodations (more on that later). Then I had my first session with Pina, my private instructor for the week. It is a struggle for me to speak with any degree of confidence – I can understand Italian reasonably well if spoken slowly and clearly – but pulling the words out of my brain is difficult. We spent the 45-minute session with me answering questions about myself.

Although this was my first day, I must say that I am impressed with the instructors – their energy, enthusiasm and desire to help each student improve her knowledge of Italian. Classes are held entirely in Italian, and since students come from all over Europe, Japan and even a few from the USA, one cannot resort to speaking English when frustrated trying to express a thought. However, most of the students have some degree of facility in other languages beside their mother tongue – many speak English or German as their second or third language. And many Americans cannot even speak (or write) proper English.

After the private class, I was famished. So I crossed the street to try out a Roman style trattoria, Nona Maria, that was recommended by Pina. I ordered a classic Roman pasta, cacio e pepe, an Italian version of “mac and cheese” made with bucatini (a thick spaghetti), pecorino Romano cheese and freshly ground pepper. Just three ingredients (plus some pasta cooking water added in to combine the ingredients), sounds simple to make but it’s difficult to not end up with a gloppy mess! It’s the ultimate Italian comfort food. Roasted zucchini as a contorno (side dish) completed the meal. Just as I was starting to eat, one of my classmates, a Russian woman named Christina, entered the restaurant and I invited her to join me. We enjoyed a lively conversation in Italian, as she does not speak any English. She is very independent, confident and adventurous and is a real Italophile. In fact this is her third time attending the school.

There was a city tour scheduled for 4 p.m. After a brief introduction to the history of Salerno, we spent about two hours walking through the streets,

many of which were decorated with murals (not graffiti) as Stefania pointed out important sites, including the castle overlooking the city,

and the Marble Room in the municipal building where the treaty was signed ending Fascism in 1944. We ended at the Duomo, a basilica built and consecrated around 1088, honoring San Matteo. He is the patron saint of Salerno, his image is on the city seal and a few of his bones (as well as the wrist bone of Pope Gregory VII who consecrated the Church) are found in the underground crypt.

I ended this long and exhausting day by joining one of the other students (Kathleen from Australia) for a non-alcoholic drink at a bar in the old town. I have to admit we resorted to speaking in English!

After a busy and emotional day in Rome, the next stage of this adventure continues as I headed towards Salerno to attend a four-week course in Italian language. The school, L’Accademia Italiana, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. It offers classes and private tutoring as well as “extra-curricular” programs in local history, Italian culture, cooking, ceramics, and visits to archeological sites (Paestum, Pompeii), Naples, Amalfi, Casserta, and places where mozzarella cheese and limoncello are made.

I left the hotel by taxi before 9 a.m. and arrived well before the 10:04 a.m. departure on the Frecciarossa high speed train.

I was in second class premium and was pleasantly surprised to find a “beverage service”- water and a piece of (pre-packaged) crostata – better than most airlines in the US provide!

The train speed averaged 295 km/hour (approximately 180 mph for you Americans out there!) and surprisingly this train (unlike most in the Italian train system) arrived ahead of schedule. After eventually discovering how to exit the station (take the stairway down one level to the street), I got a taxi to transport me to the accommodations that were pre-arranged by the school – more on that situation later in the week – oooh, a cliff hanger!!!!!

After unloading the baggage, I tried to get oriented. Salerno is not a big city (about 150,000 inhabitants), so it is quite manageable. It extends along the blue Mediterranean Sea, with a lovely promenade.

Although a bit deserted in the mid-afternoon, it comes to life around 7pm as the citizens come out for the daily passeggiata. Salerno is not on the usual tourist itinerary, although an occasional cruise ship may dock for the day. However, the cruise passengers bypass this charming city, boarding transport traghettos and buses headed for the “glamour” of Positano and Capri or excursions to see the ruins of Pompeii. The L’Accademia has a prime location along the seaside promenade. There is also a fairly impressive historic center with narrow, essentially inaccessible (at least to American drivers), cobblestone streets.

Lunchtime had come and gone but a small pizzeria appeared and a traditional Neapolitan style margherita pizza (of course with beer) was on my menu.

A return to the seaside promenade in the early evening topped off a tiring travel day. First day of school tomorrow!!!

After last night’s torrential rainstorm, I was hoping that today would be sunny. Well, it was for brief intervals between at least five more drenching downpours. After my Italian style breakfast (cafe latte and a cornetto), I ventured out for a stroll of some of the nearby iconic landmarks. From the hotel, it is a short walk to Piazza Navona, a pedestrian-only zone with the famous baroque Four Rivers fountain designed by Bernini. However, there was no drowning Catholic cardinal in the water today (remember the movie, Angels and Demons, based on the Dan Brown book?).

Overlooking the fountain is the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, designed by Bernini’s pupil and eventual bitter enemy Borromini (note the irony!).

The best time to see Rome is before the hordes of tourists begin arriving around 9:30 a.m. With the dreary weather added to the early hour, it was almost deserted and oh so peaceful – no buskers, no one trying to sell Pashmina shawls ( most decidedly not made in Italy), nobody trying to pawn off a plastic whirly thing that shoots skyward only to disintegrate upon contact with terra firma.I especially enjoy veering of the main piazzas and streets to explore little negozios (shops) and rediscovering places I have previously visited (like one of my favorite trattorias, Da Francesco).

From Piazza Navona, it is quite a short walk to the Pantheon. Most tourists, however, miss the wonderful gem of the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi with the Caravaggio paintings of Saint Matthew.

The Pantheon, built in 27 BC by Marcus Agrippa, was originally a temple dedicated to the gods but now serves as a Catholic Church as well as containing the tombs of Raphael and several kings of Italy.

It is known for the oculus at the dome, the only source of natural light.

By this time, the crowds were emerging and the raindrops started falling with greater intensity. On the way back to the hotel, I stopped in a little shop to purchase a pair of socks and practice my Italian with the elderly shopkeeper. My addiction to bookstores was evident with a second stop – Feltrinelli, a bookstore chain similar to Barnes and Nobles. Of course 98+% of the books were in Italian, but I did purchase a copy of “Piccole Donne” by Louisa May Alcott) – yes, “Little Women”, which by the way was published 150 years ago! Since I have read this book numerous times as a child (and saw the movie versions with Kate Hepburn from 1934 and June Allyson from the 1950s), I am quite familiar with the plot. So I might be able to read it in Italian and understand most of it without Google Translate!But don’t you just love the Italian version of the updated cover! So who is using the Dr.Dre headset – Meg, Jo, Beth or Amy????

The afternoon was a very special time. I haven’t seen my late cousin’s daughter in 20 years – the last time was in 1998 when she was a university student in Rome. Serena has been living here ever since, and with the help of internet and social media, we have re-connected. It was such a joyful reunion and a blessing to see her again, and to meet her partner Francesco!

The Sicilian DNA predominates as I resemble her mother, my cousin. After a wonderful pranzo (lunch) at a trattoria, we strolled by many of the landmarks of the Eternal City – the Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain (newly cleaned!)

and the Monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle

before we parted ways. I was able to practice speaking Italian (Serena is fluent in English, but it was a great opportunity for me and I believe she and Francesco understood me most of the time!). We will be seeing each other again when I return to Rome in a month.

Since I had some time to kill before dinner, a visit to the hotel’s rooftop terrace sounded enticing since it wasn’t raining. A couple from Harrisburg, PA was enjoying a cocktail up there and we spent quite a while chatting about our travels. Of course it started raining again (actually it was another downpour), almost flooding us out. But the sun reappeared and they headed off to dinner and I took another lap of the Piazza Navona. Of course it started raining again and I headed for my dinner reservation at Cul de Sac, an enoteca (wine bar) that I last frequented in 2012 while visiting my daughter here during her semester abroad. The interior has not changed, nor has the varied and excellent wine selection. A local wine (Frascati) , pasta Siciliana and melanzane Calabrese was on my dinner menu, later to be topped off with the minimum daily requirement of a gelato con panna (ice cream topped with unsweetened whipped cream) after I walked back to the hotel in a (guess what?) torrential rain!

Back at the hotel lobby, I started a conversation with a couple about to start a Rick Steve’s tour I a couple of days. And they happened to be from my hometown! It truly is a small world. We compared RS tours and our experiences in Rome.

After a long (and somewhat emotional) day, it’s back up to the room to pack up for the next stage of my Italian adventure – tomorrow I’m taking the train to Salerno. A domani!

Alitalia Flight 615 departing Boston for Rome at 9:50 pm, boarding started at 8:40 with the forming of a typical Italian “line”, i.e. big mob crowding the gate entrance without any semblance of order. The gate personnel finally took control of the melee, and totally disregarding the zone system used by other airlines started boarding the seats beginning at the back of the plane. Everyone was seated, bags stashed in the overhead bins and under the seats, by scheduled departure time. Too bad we rushed because we got to enjoy sitting at the gate for another 30 minutes and then out on the tarmac for 10 more minutes.

Despite the delay, the plane had reasonable leg room in economy class and it looked pretty new – even the inflight magazine was in decent condition. Of course being served dinner at 11:30 pm was a little too late for digestive comfort. And don’t ever expect anything above the quality of a Stouffer’s Lean Cuisine in economy class!

Most all the passengers slept after our sumptuous feast of salmon or pasta served with a weird “salad” consisting of a lettuce leaf, slice of roast beef and a mayonnaise- like substance on the side. Dessert looked like a Little Debbie treat. At least the roll was fresh!

We were awakened about 5 hours later to a “breakfast” consisting of a pastry-like confection that resembled a Hot Pocket (it actually was hot!) although I couldn’t tell you what was in it as I passed on that golden opportunity. What? No espresso? Nope- just American coffee with powdered creamer! And this was on an Italian airline! I guess that a cappuccino and a cornetto (Italian version of a croissant) didn’t make it onto the menu.

Landing an hour late, we disembarked down the stairs onto the tarmac to be transported by bus to the terminal and its seemingly never-ending line though passport control. It took so long that my bag had already completed a couple of laps on the baggage carousel. Thankfully I prearranged a car transfer to the hotel. There’s something “special” about having someone waiting at the exit hold a piece of paper with your last name on it. My driver looked like an eccentric Italian artist- longish white hair and a beard. He was quite friendly and seemed to understand my attempts at conversation in Italian. However, his most amazing talent is driving a manual transmission minivan through crazy Rome traffic while holding a cell phone in one hand, shifting and steering and using both hands to “talk” the Italian way, with hand gestures. Actually I don’t think he used his hands much for steering. But we made it to the hotel which is located on a narrow cobblestone street in the historic center, near Campo dei Fiori. The Hotel Smeraldo has a great location, right across from the Forno Roscioli – they have great pizza by the slice, breads, and cookies. I can see it from my room.The hotel lobby and entrance have undergone extensive renovations since I was last here in 2012, but the rooms still look the same.After a quick shower and change of clothes, I foregoed (forewent?) a nap and decided to stroll around before my scheduled food tour of Trastevere. I walked to the Campo dei Fiori (the market was shutting down for the day) visited the butcher shop (Norcineria) where I purchased the infamous (previously smuggled) salami in 2012 and strolled through the Jewish Ghetto.Of course I had to stop by the cat sanctuary in Largo Argentina to pay my respects.My food tour was to begin soon so I strolled over to the Isola Tibertina to meet up with the group. We spent the next four hours tasting Roman specialties, dodging raindrops along our walk through this vibrant neighborhood on the other side of the Tiber River. We sampled prosciutto with melon and burrata, wine, a stewed pork dish that was reportedly a favorite of Julius Caesarvisited a wine cellar (circa 80 B.C.) located under a medieval synagogue that is now a restauranta biscotti shop that’s been in business for over 80 yearsand sampled street food like pizza al taglio and suppli (deep fried rice balls)porchetta and cheeseand then some pasta amatriciana and cacio e pepe.We passed Santa Maria in Trastevere on our way for a gelato at Fatamorgana.As the tour was ending, the skies opened up to a downpour. I foolishly had chosen to walk back to the hotel. Let’s just say that I could have used some swim flippers instead of the shoes I was wearing! Now it’s time for a well-earned rest after 36 hours of being awake. Tomorrow is my last day in Rome before I head for Salerno. Buona notte!

My mother was born in Sicily, came to the USA as an adult and never really learned to speak English very well. I grew up hearing her speak Sicilian (definitely a different language than Italian) with her friends and a fragmented Sicinglish (her Sicilian version of Spanglish) with me. I could discern what she was saying (in both of her “languages”), but I couldn’t verbally produce any semblance of Italian. Many decades ago, I enrolled in an introductory course in Italian at University of Pittsburgh. I picked up some basic vocabulary and grammar but life got in the way and I never really could achieve my dream of being able to carry on a conversation in Italian.

Well, the kids are grown and on their own, and I now have the luxury of being able to afford, both financially and time-wise, to check off one more thing on the bucket list. I am sitting at Gate E7 at Logan Airport in Boston, waiting to board an Alitalia flight to Rome. With my trusty backpack containing several changes of clothing ( yes, I have had the dubious honor of experiencing a suitcase not making it to my destination!) and a bag checked through to Rome, I am embarking on the next adventure – a four-week course at L’Accademia Italiana language school in Salerno (south of Naples). I will spend the next two nights in Rome, getting over jet lag and visiting with my cousin’s daughter who I last saw 20 years ago, before taking the train to Salerno. I will be staying with a host family to totally immerse myself in the language and culture.

I have quite a long layover at Logan, so a trip to Legal Seafood was on the docket for my last American meal for a while.A crab cake and a Sam Adams seasonal brew, of course! Sitting next to me was a Ph.D physicist and we had a lovely conversation about his upcoming trip to Valencia, Spain (he works in radiation oncology at Rhode Island Hospital), the propensity of his three teenagers to communicate almost exclusively by texting, and the joys of learning another language.

I arrive in Rome around noon and will be staying in the historic center at Hotel Smeraldo, near the Campo dei Fiori. I last stayed there eight years ago while visiting my daughter who was spending a semester abroad. I have a food tour scheduled for the evening and will be meeting my cousin’s daughter on Saturday for lunch (il pranzo). You may be learning some Italian by reading this blog, but I have to say that “autocorrect” is a pain in the ass as it changes Italian words into nonsensical English ones!

So ciao for now! Fino a domani (until tomorrow)!