Italy Slow Food Tour Day 1

This year our annual trip had us arriving in Rome.  We were able to enjoy a few days in this eternal city exploring the history and visual architecture, before continuing to Orasara di Puglia where our food tour will begin.

It is always a joy to take people to Italy for their first time.  This year is no exception.  Our nephew and his new bride postponed their honeymoon for a year, so they could join us on this trip.  He is the baby of our momma'a baby, making him the last grandchild or third generation of Italian American's in our family.  Of course, he has a proper Italian name, Rocco. 

We have been able to bring a few of the grandchildren over here and when they arrive, they all start to see where the family traditions come from.  Suddenly the things that our great grandma and grandma did, make sense, almost like recovering an important piece to their cultural heritage puzzle.  Most Americans are immigrants and come from some other place.  When we travel back to our origins, we start to better understand who we are.  This is probably true for all of us with diverse cultural backgrounds.


This year also holds a special Italian/American connection.  One of the grandchildren is hosting a Foreign Exchange Student from the Rome area.  So while he is in Ohio, learning about the day to day life in America, we were greeted by his lovely family on this trip.  They extended such hospitality to us these first couple of days. Adriana and Renato, graciously met us at the airport with their daughter, Martina and parents, Paola and Domenico.

Our hosts prepared a lovely lunch before a tour of Lake Nemi.  This is a volcanic lake with ancient lore surrounding its origin.  It was rumored to be an area dedicated to the Goddess Diana, our modern day Wonder Woman.  At this lake, she was honored and many rites and traditions were performed.  There have also been discoveries of roman battle ships found within the lake that are said to belong to Roman emperor Caligula from the 1st Century AD.


 
We ended our day with a delicious meal at our hosts' favorite local restaurant.  The chef came out to discuss some of the meals we enjoyed.  There was a chicory sausage, papparedelle with chigale and borlotti beans with pork belly.  It was a perfect end to a wonderful day.