May 11, 2008

Today is Giancarlo’s birthday (and Mother's Day).

The dawn broke grey on the Tyrannian Sea, but it was less windy than yesterday. Everyone apologized for the lack of sun, however we know from speaking with our families that it’s much warmer here than it is at home. Off we went with Peppino and Giancarlo to Tropea where we were met by a huge contingent of Rotarians from the Tropea club including some of their children. We met Club President Luigi, as well as Giuseppe, Peppino, Raffaela, Pino, Giaccomo, Ernesto, and his son Lorenzo.

We first walked through the old city of Tropea, which was largely built in the 5^th century. We viewed an island with a castle on it called Santa Maria del Isola. It used to be isolated by water 2 centuries ago, but now it is connected to land.

We saw the Jesuit church, where the priest told us he had visited the St. John Neumann shrine in Philadelphia. There was a large bomb hanging on the wall inside of the church. It was dropped by an American bomber during World War II along with six other bombs. They did not detonate, and it was believed to be a miracle performed by Madonna, so it was hung on the wall. They had to dig it out of the ground from 5 meters below.

The town was full of a festive feeling because it was the first communion day for many young people, plus they were celebrating Festa della Mamma (Mother’s day).

Tropea is quite beautiful, and you should visit. If you come, it is recommended that you visit in June or September. There are 7 islands off the coast. You can sail to them. In Tropea, there are 42 restaurants.

We had a fantastic lunch in the country at a very secluded restaurant known only to the locals where the vegetables, fruit, meat, olive oil, and wine are all produced by the proprietors. This area is known for its wine production. We were fated with multi-antipasti, (eggplant, olives, ricotta, anduja), primi (pasta), and grande secondi (meats and sausages), and molte vino Calabrese (lots of local wine). We enjoyed the feast and the crowded noisy ristorante immensely. This was one of the best meals thus far.

On the way back to town, we stopped by Giuseppe’s house to pick up our schedule for the next 5 days, and enjoyed tartufo (ice cream) and a nocino (walnut liquor) made by Raffaela’s mother. From there, we went off to look at the sea from different panoramic spots. It was gorgeous. The turquoise-colored water was so clear that you could see the bottom. You could see Sicily from the coast. We then walked along the beach. We then went back to our hotel (albergo) for an hour’s rest before a large dinner.

At dinner, some of the dishes included smoked swordfish (yum!), cefallo (local pesche), spaghetti with fish, swordfish rotini (rolled swordfish, baked in cheese and olive oil). The wine tonight was white (vino bianco), and was called Grecco. It’s very typical in Calabria. I believe we had it the first night we were here as well. Try it if you can find it – it’s quite good. We also had more tartufo. We have become tartufo connoisseurs, and are making plans to learn how to make it when we get back.

Tomorrow we are off to Nicotera and Palmi. We are working our way South, before heading up towards Napoli. Hopefully we can drop by an Internet café so that we can publish this for you.

Buona Notte.