More Rules
Rule #6: The Food Drives Me Crazy
Food shapes every day constantly slipping into conversations and dictating our touring plans. It’s just that way in Italia. We discuss what’s for dinner before lunch is done.
Rule #7: No Hotels
Rent an apartment and get into the local scene. Eat out to experience the local food and develop your local culinary context. The most fun for me is scouring the local markets for inspiration, talking about the meal with my new neighbors and then cooking the local dishes at home.
Rule #8: Don’t eat tortelloni in Sicilia.
Italia’s 20 regions have very distinctive food. Eat locally. Use seasonal ingredients in their prime. On the coast in Sicilia eat the fish. In Bologna eat the tortelloni.
Rule #9: Italians Still Respect Their Craft
Our barista at the caffe down the street from our central Bologna apartment always drew a picture on top of your cappuccino no matter how crowded the caffe.
Rule #10: Be Polite
Be sure to say buongiorno when you walk in and ciao, grazie as you leave. Soon you’re recognized and can soon engage in conversations with your local merchants and neighbors.
Rule #11: Take a Break
So it’s about 4 in the afternoon. We’ve been touring all day. “Sono stanco” one of the group would say. “I’m tired” was our code that at least one of us needed a caffeine boost. Settle into a caffe for a macchiato and a piece of your favorite sweet. In 30 minutes we’re amply fueled to finish our shopping and make our way home to think about dinner. Take a break, it’s not a forced march.
Rule #12: You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Beautiful Ravenna is on the Adriatic south of Venice with world-class mosaics everywhere. There’s a great indoor mercato where the butcher told us that we couldn’t buy chicken for our brodo we must have an old capon. He was right. Then we stopped in a fresh pasta shop near our Bologna apartment. We told the woman what we wanted. She wrapped our pasta like una regalla, a gift tied with ribbon. I told her I was making a brodo and in Italian she scolded me. “No you can’t have this pasta for a brodo. This is quick cooked for a simple sauce. Take a stuffed pasta take i tortelloni.” She was right too. It was the best I ever made.
Rule #13: Exercise Every Day
All the walking and climbing in Italia usually means that I will lose weight in Italia. Two of us were brave enough to pay 2 euro and climb the 408 gnarled wooden steps to the top of the tower. We stopped to chat with those descending on the narrow landings. Our question was always is it worth it? The climb is exhausting but the 360 degree panoramic are spectacular.
Rule #14: Explore Local Culture
In Ortigia Sicilia at the Teatro dei Pupi (puppet theater) we caught a traditional Roger II legend about his liberation of Sicily from Moorish control. These stories are very old and a part of a Sicilian’s soul.
Rule #15: No Menu, Hmmm
In Castellammare Sicilia we fell into a small outdoor osteria with no menu. Actually the young woman who owned the place and did the cooking alone was our menu. After her recitation of the food she was serving, she became our Signora il Menu. The meal was superb! She was a gracious host and shared ingredients and methods for the dishes she was making that day. I even got a peek into her kitchen as she made our lunch.