We dropped the anchor in the middle of the sea in front of the spiaggietti. We all went in the water except for Mike’s mom.  I personally haven’t been exposed to much open water swimming, so I tend to be apprehensive of the thought.  What if I get tired, what if I drink too much water? But I’m open to new experiences so I mustered up enough courage to slide into the deep waters and swim.  Mike, of course dove right in.

But the real challenge lay on getting back onto the gommone – gracefully, that is.  It was no easy feat, but with this, I fared better than Mike.

The neighbors, whom I will refer to here as i Dottori (The Doctors, since they are both anesthesiologists) are wonderful people from Catania (a city in Sicily).  They own the house next door and spend their August holidays in Santa Maria.  They are the ones who own the super fast  gommone, and they are a fun and groovy couple to hang around.

Later that afternoon, Mike, Ferd and I went for a 5km run, first heading east up the mountain, then northwest through farm roads around Santa Maria.  We made it to Groticelli/Capo Vaticano, one of the beaches we went to earlier on the boat, but this time we were high up on the mountain.  From there, we took a connecting scenic road with sea views to descend from the mountain, back to the house.  The hills were very steep, that’s why now my legs are sore.

While we were jogging, a car started honking at us and it turns out that it’s Nica, one of Mike and Ferd’s cousins who hasn’t come by to visit yet.  I guess running into her (literally) saved her a trip to the beach house.

The image below shows the route that we took.  On the upper left corner is I Spiagietti and the stretch of the 3 connecting arches just south is what makes up the Groticelli beach.

The boat ride on Monday morning and the 5KM run that afternoon was the perfect way to start the week off. Maybe it won’t be a lazy type of vacation after all.  Maybe we’d even lose some weight if only Mike’s parents aren’t so good at feeding us!  But hey, I’m not complaining — yet, at least.

These were in the restaurant Tavola Calda in Fiumicino Airport when we ate there for lunch during our layover on Saturday.  It was my first time seeing these packets of oil and vinegar.  It’s quite surprising really, because Italians take their olive oil and balsamic vinegar quite seriously.  I can’t imagine Italian foodies (aren’t they all?) using ones that come in tear-open packets, where they can’t see the color and consistency, and from which they can NOT ceremoniously pour!

Another observation I made is that some places now allow espresso to-go.  I wonder if  this and the oil and vinegar packets are signs that the MickeyD’s culture may slowly be penetrating the seams of this Slow Food Nation’s eating culture.   I hope not.  This is where the Slow Food Movement started after all.  This is a place where meals and coffee are always reasons to pause, linger and socialize, never gobble, gulp and go!  That’s a great thing, and I hope it doesn’t ever change.

I want to wake up early to make an early start and enjoy the scene from the picture below, which is the view from the window of Mike’s parents’ house.  The second picture is the view from their balcony.

Beautiful, no?  How nice it is to wake up to this!

Cappuccino and cornetto are among the things Mike and I like to eat for breakfast whenever we’re in Italy.  He prefers cornetto con marmellata, and I prefer cornetto con cioccolato.  The thing is that you need to wake up early to get these goods otherwise local bakeries run out.  They bake it daily and seem to only have a supply that last until 9am.  You would think they’d just make more if the demand is there, but nope!  As for the cappuccino, it’s practically illegal to order one after 10 am.  Ordering one after 10am or after a meal make it VERY apparent that you’re American.  They look at you strangely and if you’re unlucky, they’ll call the carabinieri on you.

Though we didn’t wake up til late yesterday, Mike and I still walked over to Ciccio Sul Mare to get our first cup of capuccio, and first bite of cornetto.  Unfortunately, they were out of cornetto, but we bravely ordered cappuccio anyway.  Mike recognized his cousin behind the counter so we didn’t get sued for ordering a cappuccio 11:15am .  (It seems that everyone is his cousin.)

We then went for a jog up the mountain, took in a view of Capo Vaticano from up high, but decided that it was too hot to continue jogging.  We headed back home for a swim instead.  So many of Mike’s cousins stopped by to give us their benvenuti. We stayed in the water until it was time to eat lunch.  It was a BIG Sunday lunch with a BIG family to boot.  Then we took our afternoon siesta that lasted longer than I intended  (siestas in the beach house are OUT OF THIS WORLD.)    We woke up and had some Spumante and Pan di Spagna with cream and peaches, then heard mass where we saw and greeted more cousins.

Around 10pm, Mike, Ferd (Mike’s cousin who attends University of Pisa) and I headed to Tropea, a city perched on top of a mountain with a great night life and fantastic views.  We went for some late night pizza and midnight snack gelato.  I am hooked — to both the pizza from Pizzeria La Boheme, and the gelato from Gelateria Mimmo!  Mike and I shared a pizza with rucola, grana padana shavings, and prosciutto crudo.  It was perfect.  The melt-in-your-mouth prosciutto was laid on top after the pizza came out of the oven, hence it’s crudo, or uncooked.  The crust was perfectly thin, but not dry.  Just how we like it!  At Mimmo, I had un piccolo nocciola (hazelnut) and panna cotta flavor.  Here, the small is truly a small and not mammoth like in America.  Mike got his own nocciola.  I don’t like sharing when it comes to ice cream.  I want my own piccolo cup.

Needless to say, we had a very filling day yesterday – and food here is amazingly good.

But I still want my cornetto.

Today, we woke up late again (it must be jet lag, or the late night in Tropea).  Mike’s parents must have anticipated this since they know that neither Mike nor I are morning people.  They had gone to the bakery early and gotten us some cornetti, both marmellata and ciccolato before they ran out!  YAYY!

They’re great at making sure that we’re well-fed.

Our flight from Fiumicino to Lamezia was 40 minutes delayed.   We, together with our 3 pieces of luggage, were welcomed by Mike’s father and his cousin at the airport.  Sporting his 5-Series, his cousin flew on the Autostrada, and made it to Spilinga in half an hour.  Had his father driven, it would have taken an hour.   But normally it takes 45 minutes.  In any case, I love being on the road with Italians.  Most drive fast, and those who drive slowly know how to get out of the way or stay in the right lane.

Spilinga has a population of about 1500 people who are referred to as Spilingese.  It may be safe to say that the population of Spilingese in northern New Jersey is bigger than that of the actual town.  I think it’s interesting that even though the post-war exodus has limited Spilinga’s population growth, generations of Spilingese, both old and new still manage to find a reason to return.

Below is an image of the map showing this particular region of Southern Italy.   Circled in red is Lamezia, and in white is Spilinga.  Clearly, it’s at the top part of the shoe, close to the toe of Italy.

Upon arriving in Spilinga, we quickly said hello to a few cousins and then got back in the car to find our way down to the beach house.  Mike’s parents have a beach house in Santa Maria, one of the beaches in Capo Vaticano.  It’s about 5 kilometers from their house in Spilinga, and the journey down is quite nauseating because of tight windy roads on steep slopes of the mountain.  The image below doesn’t give the terrain any justice, but it gives you an idea.

Finally, we arrived in Santa Maria, our base for the next 2 weeks.  The water is still and blue, and the weather is lovely.  The house sits right on the Mediterranean, the water crashing 5 feet away during low tide.

Below is a map image of the coast, marked where the house is situated.

Mike put his bathing suit on the moment we got to the house and jumped right in the water.  You could almost see his head in the image above!    He’s so much like a happy child right now, it’s cute.  Come to think of it, this is the place where he spent practically every summer of his life.  It’s where his roots are.  It’s like being home.

For dinner, Mike’s mom made stuffed pizza and Mike’s cousins are coming over.  And so our vacation has begun.

The trip to Fiumicino went quickly.  We took a late night flight from Newark to Rome.  Then we had to connect to Lamezia where Mike’s father was fetching us.  I woke up on the plane just before the flight attendants served the dependable croissant with butter breakfast while flying over the alps. 

As we disembarked and started walking through the terminal, I was filled with excitement. 

The Passport Control official barely looked at me or my passport.   He was working on his computer like it was a matter of life and death.  Without a stamp on my passport, I looked behind me only to see that the matter of life and death was Tetris!  

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Italy!

The big Samsung billboards with the Squadra Azzurra and scenes from their 2006 World Cup victory still dominate the walls of Fiumicino.  I reckon they’ll be up there until the Azzurri boys win another World Cup, whether it takes another 24 years or not.   And of course the Dolce & Gabbana and Ferragamo adverts aren’t missing either.  The cleverly named duty free shop Good Buy Roma, seemingly present in every corner while selling the same goods, is still present… in every corner.   And selling… the same goods.   Walking further, the smell of Italy fills the air as we walk past a few espresso bars, a gelateria, and a pasticceria with our beloved freshly-baked cornetti (a better version of the French croissant) filled with chocolate or marmellata (usually apricot or peach marmalade).   Close to our gate is a ‘fast-food’ type of eatery, however instead of burgers and greasy firies, they offer sandwiches with prosciutto and arugula, or fresh mozzarella and tomatoes.   While feasting on the smells and the sight of all that was good around me, I thought to myself,  Ciao Italia!  We meet again.

Being in this familiar airport gave me joy.  Having gone through Fiumicino numerous times in the past for business and leisure trips,  I know what to expect and it’s quite reassuring that not much changes.  This sense of comfort in a way eased my worries about meeting Mike’s relatives the second time around.  Worries like: “Will I be able to communicate well, even though I haven’t practiced my Italian in a while?”  “Will I fit in?”   “Will they find me too different, since I am not Italian?”

I know it’s silly that I let my nerves get to me, since I’d already been to his hometown in southern Italy and met most of his relatives two years ago.  It went amazingly well and  I loved it!  But as time passes, one forgets what to expect, the familiarity between acquaintances fades and anxiety over the unknown builds all over again.   

Still in familiar Fiumicino, we were getting hungry, and everywhere we turned, there was food!  But first, we wanted to check if we could get on an earlier flight to Lamezia.  The domestic terminal was bustling since it’s the beginning of the August holidays in Italy and everyone is travelling.  We fell in line at the Alitalia counter to inquire about getting on the next Lamezia flight.  There were three counters open, and two people ahead of us.  Three different people on separate occasions cut in, pretending to ask a ‘quick’ question at first, but somehow held up the attendants indefinitely.   Funny that nobody was incensed by this, except of course the Americans (or non-Europeans) who were waiting for their turn.  That saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” came to mind.  But we couldn’t quite do what the Romans did!  We patiently waited.  And when we finally had our turn forty minutes later, the earlier Lamezia flight was too full and about to leave.  At least we tried.  And I thought, Really, not much changes around here!  Forming lines is still optional.  Moving lines are still slow.

We had over three hours to kill and we were starving.   We snagged a spot in Frescobaldi.  It’s a wine, salami and cheese bar in the terminal.  We got 2 glasses of red Tuscan wines, and ordered a plate of carpaccio (wafer thin-sliced raw beef, with arugula, parmiggiano, and capers).  It was divine, considering we hadn’t stepped out of the airport yet.  Then we decided to try Tavola Calda for lunch, a restaurant in the airport that had reasonably priced meals.  We found the food to be less than mediocre, but it sustained us anyway.

Afterward, Mike had his shot of espresso at Gran Cafe Illy, and I tried crema illy for the first time.  It’s reminiscent of a frozen shot of espresso, that has a texture of an in-between shake and ice cream.  I loved it so much that  I’m adding this to my list of favorite things.

With full bellies and powered by potent coffee, we eagerly waited to board our flight.  I eagerly anticipated the next 14 days of our vacation and looked forward to falling in love with this beautiful country as I did during my previous visits.

As we climbed the aircraft’s stairs, I took a breath of some Italian fresh air — well, as fresh as tarmac air gets.  I set my silly worries aside and greeted Italia with a happy Ciao!  And Calabria, here we come!