Chamber of Commerce picture-postcard-perfect day in Zermatt

25 Sep
The last time I was in Zermatt was 43 years ago. A college girlfriend and I made the Grand Tour of Europe in the summer of 1972 following Frommer’s Europe on $5.00 a Day. Zermatt was a splurge because we had to pay $5.35 EACH just for our room and breakfast, way over budget. I think we lived on bread and cheap wine for the duration of our stay. I never forgot how beautiful it was. It still is. It’s still expensive, too.
Postcard view. The Matterhorn remained cloud free all day.
Postcard view. The Matterhorn remained cloud free all day.
We arrived the other day to cold — almost winter-cold — weather. Having worn my jeans for 3 days, they could practically stand up by themselves. I needed to wash them and had only unlined hiking pants to wear for Thursday’s planned expedition to a high elevation. If it was cold in Zermatt, 10,000+ feet was not going to be any better. I set off to see if I could find any tights to wear as insulation. At one of the many shops selling high-priced outdoor fashion, I stated my need. “We didn’t expect it to be so cold,” I told the clerk. “Neither did we,” he said. If the Swiss think it’s cold, it IS cold. Luckily they had a lovely pair of purple and black merino wool long johns for me. I guess today we do not say “long johns” nor even “long underwear;” it is a “base layer.” How elegant. And they were just the ticket.
From the Rothorn. There are other mountains, but it is hard to not focus on the Matterhorn.
From the Rothorn. There are other mountains, but it is hard to not focus on the Matterhorn.
Thursday morning we layered up with everything we could and headed out to ride the underground funicular and two gondola lifts to the Rothorn, where one get the classic postcard view of the Matterhorn. The day could not have been more perfect!  A light dusting of snow from the night before added to the beauty.
Not wishing to hike from quite that high, we headed down to the Blauherd station and set off to hike The Marmot Trail. We wanted an easy-ish hike the first day so as not to repeat our July 6 experience. I picked The Marmot Trail as it was rated for those as young as 4-years-old. I figured a couple of anziani could manage. The 4-year-olds the writer had in mind must have been mountain goats! The first third of the downhill-bound trail was marked by rocky portions waiting to twist your ankle and slippery, gooey, clay-based, green-tinged mud that made footing even on flat portions dicey.
Black & white goats, unique to the Valais, resting in a high mountain pasture.
Black & white goats, unique to the Valais, resting in a high mountain pasture.
The only sign of marmots we saw was scat.
At Sunnegga, a lift station and restaurant, we decided to take a restorative espresso while lounging on the delightful deck in full view of the Matterhorn. Switzerland is expensive, but I was shocked when our two double-espressos came to 12.40 CHF! And I had to prepare them myself from a self-service machine. I said to Ric, “And people complain about Starbucks prices.” He quipped back, “But Starbucks doesn’t have a view of the Matterhorn.” Amen.
This little guy and his friends were hanging out trailside on our path-to-lunch.
This little guy and his friends were hanging out trailside on our path-to-lunch.
There’s a trail from Sunnegga to Zermatt called the Gourmetweg. Along this trail one encounters not only several restaurants, but several  exceptional restaurants. We are used to having good meals when we hike: freshly prepared food, ceramic plates and real glasses, good wines, and so on. (No hotdogs, burgers, nor nachos with gummy cheese for the European hiker!)
More trailside companions. But no marmots.
More trailside companions. But no marmots.
Chez Vrony takes outdoor dining while hiking or skiing to a new level. It is Michelin Guide rated and outstanding in every way. The salad ingredients (forgot to take a picture!) came from Vrony’s garden. Hard to believe it is located between two ski runs. The Matterhorn looks down on the deck, and under stunningly blue and cloudless skies, we had a hard time resisting a second glass of wine knowing we had an hour-plus hike still ahead of us. For the record, we took the short Gourmetweg. There is a cut-off that practically dropped us at our front door, near the Furi lift at the south end of Zermatt. Here are a few choice shots from our lunch. Click on any photo for a larger view and slide show.
Front view of Chez Vrony.
Ric’s choice: local sausage with creamed leeks and roesti.
My choice: a baby meatloaf wrapped in pancetta served with molten-hot cheesy polenta and vegetables.
View from lunch at Chez Vrony. It was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Another view from Chez Vrony.
Leaving Chez Vrony.
My pedometer claims the day’s walking burned over 800 calories. Yippee! But today my quads are telling me that cannot happen every day.

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But no cotton candy

23 Sep
On our way to EXPO Milano 2015 on Monday, Ric quipped that he thought it might be kind of like a state fair, “but without the cotton candy.” He was right on one count; however, it was not anything like a state fair. It was more like a trade show, but for countries instead of industry, although I guess countries are an industry of a sort.
At the entrance to EXPO, Ric thought these looked like invading hoards....
At the entrance to EXPO, Ric thought these looked like invading hoards….
The theme at EXPO is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” In other words, Food Glorious Food! Some to eat, some to look at, apparently educational and thought-provoking displays and programs about the problems of nutrition and the resources of our planet. Except we couldn’t get into very many of the pavilions and see for ourselves. The lines were beyond the patience of any sane person. They would have had to be giving away gold nuggets for me to stand in line for 2 or more hours to see what any country had to say about the topic. United Arab Emirates — 2 hours. Japan — 3 hours. France, Russia, China, Oman, Slovenia, Slovakia all overwhelmed with ridiculous lines and no Disneyworld attempts to entertain the queue. The Italian pavilion’s line must have been at least 100 meters long. Good thing it was shaded in the afternoon.
China the elegant...
China the elegant…
China the crowded.
China the crowded.
At the Hungarian pavilion we were able to go in as there were two lines: one slow one for those who wished to do a water tasting and the other a non-line for those who chose to skip the privilege. We skipped the water tasting, but as we walked past it seemed the “tasters” were getting a little cup of water out of a dispenser set in a pretty wall. Yummy. The building is supposed to reflect Noah’s Ark, but looked rather like a large water barrel. The main floor displayed Hungarian crafts and had a stage and seating. We decided not to shuffle through all three floors with the slow-moving throng. Yawn.
Kuwait looked like desert tents. Long entry line here, too.
Kuwait looked like desert tents. Long entry line here, too.
The small countries are in clusters such as Rice, Arid Zones, Coffee, Chocolate & Cocoa, Islands, Sea and Food, and so on. This allowed smaller nations (like Palestine, San Marino, Senegal, Afghanistan, Haiti, Congo, and dozens more) to have a presence without spending the capital the larger nations did. These were uncrowded when we visited late in the afternoon on a weekday. They amounted to little displays about food technology and traditions in the country with some regional cuisine served in a few of them. Palestine showed lots of religious items (Christian) for sale that were carved from olive wood, and sold hummus and other Middle Eastern specialties.  In the African pavilions one would see people in colorful costumes, some playing instruments. No one seemed to want to engage visitors. I suspect by now, near the end of the fifth month of EXPO, the employees/hosts/volunteers are weary of the crowds.
The Arid Zones cluster. Inside were small rooms for each country.
The Arid Zones cluster. Inside were small rooms for each country.
We have seldom been to something so crowded. Disneyland was a piece of cake. The worst line at Disneyworld never took more than 45 minutes when we were there, and that was rare long wait. The Minnesota State Fair I used to attend was highly accessible by comparison, and they had a cow made out of butter. No butter cows at EXPO, but there were displays in the main street of plastic produce, cheeses, fish and meat. Why? Just to fill the space I think. They did nothing to create atmosphere nor inform. I found the giant pigs (plastic or resin?) rather grotesque.
Plastice meat displays. WTF?
Plastic meat displays. WTF?
Most of the restaurants sponsored by the countries were tough to get into. In many cases you had to enter the pavilion in the long line if you wanted to try to eat in that country. There were some cafès outside as well, but much of the food offered by concessionaires was Italian. Sure, we’re in Italy, but the USA pavilion cafe served insalata caprese inside?
American cafe menu. I kid you not!
American cafe menu. I kid you not!
Outside, the USA pavilion had a water wall that changed pattern efvery few seconds.
Outside, the USA pavilion had a water wall that changed pattern every few seconds.
The USA pavilion had a number of interactive displays about food production.
The USA pavilion had a number of interactive displays about food production. They looked a little like pinball machines with screens.
Food Truck Nation. Yup, American food sold from trucks. Pretty good idea, we thought!
Food Truck Nation. Yup, American food sold from trucks. Pretty good idea, we thought!
There were exceptions. The Czech Republic was in permanent happy hour and they had easy access to beer every time we passed by between 3:00pm and 5:00pm. The USA pavilion had no line and some hands-on stations that were engaging for young people. It was kind of like a science museum in that respect. The Tree of Life “show” is cute — music, dancing fountains, a tree that blooms before your eyes — and on a nice open space where the crowd can gather and not overwhelm.
Tree of Life in full bloom, after the show.
Tree of Life in full bloom, after the show.
EXPO worked from a logistical standpoint even if the lines were long. There are plenty of bathrooms, great rest areas for the weary, and well-planned shade for the main thoroughfare. There are plenty of workers/hosts/volunteers to provide info. Everyone seemed to speak English at a minimum, and lots of French as well.  Signage and way-finding are excellent. It is clean and there was almost no smoking. Security is top-notch and entry was easy, at least at 3:00pm.
The Slow Food pavilion featured a snack of organic cheeses, corn crackers, and an Abruzzese wine called Passerina, of which we are now fans.
The Slow Food pavilion featured a snack of organic cheeses, corn crackers, and an Abruzzese wine called Passerina, of which we are now fans.

 

Rest areas were plentiful. If you wanted to sit down, you could.
Rest areas were plentiful. If you wanted to sit down, you could.
Why the pavilion entrance times take so long, I cannot guess. What people found inside the Japanese pavilion I was unable to discover for myself, being unwilling to pay the price of a 3-hour wait. Maybe they were giving away gold nuggets. If you planned to spend 8 hours at EXPO, you could visit perhaps 3 or 4 of the big countries. That’s not a great return-on-investment of time.  It is an enormous property and we logged about 10km during our visit.
The Moroccan pavilion has a favorable spot alongside a canal and rest area. But the queue is long and slow-moving.
The Moroccan pavilion has a favorable spot alongside a canal and rest area. But the queue was long and slow-moving.
So I am not a fan. I an no doubt coming off as negative although I an trying to portray realism. I feel about EXPO the same way I felt about Croatia: I am glad we went, it was interesting, but I would not go back. The food was better in Croatia.
At least there was no cotton candy at EXPO. I hate the stuff.
The "invading hoard" turned out to be a clever set of sculptures called "Food People." Here is Mister Salami.

The “invading hoard” turned out to be a clever set of sculptures called “Food People.” Here is Mister Salami.

Carmen Miranda (Mrs. Fruit)
Carmen Miranda (Mrs. Fruit)
Signor Vino
Signor Vino

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Field trip: Eataly

19 Sep
Eataly is not on the itinerary of many who visit Roma. If you only have a few days in the city, trekking out to this distant-from-the-center-grocery-store-on-steroids is probably not how you want to spend a precious vacation day. We, however, are always on the prowl for a good field trip. (No permission slips required.) So one day this week, remembering a nice lunch we had there sometime ago, we made our fourth trip there in 3 years. No, we don’t go there often.
My lunch, Piadina "La Saporita" from La Piadina. True to its name, it was flavorful.
My lunch, Piadina “La Saporita” from La Piadina. True to its name, it was flavorful.
Eataly, to me, is not a place to do the regular shopping (for one thing it is a long way from home), although around lunch time, it gets busy with Italians who are snapping up the fresh produce and other delectables. To me, it is entertainment. Meters and meters of pastas, in shapes I have never seen accompanied by colorful produce, prime meats, abundant fish, hanging prosciutto and salumi of every kind, endless cookbooks, kitchen implements for which the use is obscure, row-upon-row of wine, a rainbow of preserved vegetables, a chocolate selection to make the Swiss jealous, and several interesting eateries. It is four floors of decadence. It is expensive. Everything sold there is Made in Italy. Bravo!
The produce area is almost unreal in its beauty and bounty. All Italian in season, of course.
The produce area is almost unreal in its beauty and bounty. All Italian in season, of course.
Tucked behind Stazione Ostiense, it can be difficult to find when arriving by Metro. The first few times we thought we should leave a breadcrumb trail as we traipsed through tunnel-after-tunnel. This time we noticed prominent signage that guided us. It was excellent, we thought. Perfect help for tourists: giant signs and arrows everywhere…until the last couple of turns where clearly the direction givers assumed “You can’t miss it.”  (This happens a lot in Italy: assumptions on way-finding.) The final leg has you traverse the entire under-track corridor at Stazione Ostiense on the hope that at the end one might emerge near the entrance to Eataly. If you decide to go, persevere.
Conservanti included these gorgeous peppers.
Conservanti included these gorgeous peppers.
There’s a new Eataly in Piazza della Repubblica.  (They took over an old MacDonald’s. Quite the change.) We have not visited yet, but certainly it is more central for most visitors. We’ll make that a future field trip.
This trip, we had a nice look around, and a fine lunch, but we did not buy much: an olive-pitter and some pretty orangey-yellow Moleskin notebooks, which I love for note-taking on trips.
Vino sfuso at a very good price. They even sell bottles in case you forgot yours.
Vino sfuso at a very good price. They even sell empty bottles in case you forgot yours.
The food outlets are called "Ristorantini" or little restaurants. They are semi-self-serve but food is made-to-order. This one empty at noon, because lunch here really does not start until 13:00.
The food outlets are called “Ristorantini” or little restaurants. They are semi-self-serve but food is made-to-order. This one, empty at noon, because lunch here really does not start until 13:00.
Long long shelves of almost everytning. Here, preserved vegetables. Not your Green Giant corn....
Long, long shelves of almost everything. Here, preserved vegetables. Not your Green Giant corn….
Riding the moving ramp down. This is a huge place, built in what was an abandoned air terminal.
Riding the moving ramp down. This is a huge place, built in what was an abandoned air terminal.
Prosciutti hang from the ceiling at the top of a moving ramp leading to the salumi department.
Prosciutti hang from the ceiling at the top of a moving ramp leading to the salumi department.

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Castel Gandolfo: Vatican by train

13 Sep
One of the goals we have in staying in Italy for some time to come is to continue exploring our own backyard, i.e., Roma and environs. We’ve enjoyed some less-visited sights over the past three years, and continue to look for new ones. Afterall, una vita non basta!
St. Peteràa from the inside. A view from the garden, where the Pope takes his daily walk.

St. Peter’s from the inside. A view from the garden, where the Pope takes his daily walk.

Early last week a new tour was announced in the Italian press: Vatican by Train. That got Ric’s interest pretty fast. According to the press, the tour, called “Vatican by Train Full Day” would run only on Saturdays and the first run was September 12. We could be on-board for the maiden voyage!
Here’s what the Vatican website had to say
With the exceptional opening of the Barberini Gardens and of the Museum of the Apostolic Palace, the Pontifical Residence of Castel Gandolfo welcome the public at large.
Visitors who book the Vatican by Train will have access to the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Gardens and to the botanical and architectural wonders of the Pontifical Residence, known by as the “second Vatican”.
Further exploration revealed an ambitious schedule and the likelihood of a 13 hour day away from home, but we have time…. The schedule for the day broke down like this (wording from the Vatican website)
8.00 am: Avoid the queue at the entrance. Tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with an audio guide;
10.00 am: Walking tour of the Vatican Gardens with an audio guide;
11.00 am: Departure from Train Station of the Vatican City State to Albano Laziale and transfer to the Pontifical Villas by shuttle;
12.30 pm: Tour of the Pontifical Villas (Villa Barberini) by tourist train with an audio guide;
1.30 pm: End of the tour and exit from the Pontifical Villas.
Free time
4.45 pm: Transfer from the Pontifical Villas to the train station of Albano Laziale by shuttle;
5.18pm: Departure from the Train Station of Albano Laziale to the Roma San Pietro Station
Beautiful lawns fall away toward teh train station. Hard to imagine all of this is inside Vatican City.

Beautiful lawns fall away toward the train station. Hard to imagine all of this is inside Vatican City.

Leaving home about 06:30, we arrived at the museum entrance a few minutes before 8:00, fortified by cappucino e cornetto at a nearby bar. It was clear lunch would be a long way off and we had miles to go before we ate. We were admitted quickly, as promised with our voucher. Exchanging it for tickets and an audio guide took a few minutes, but by 8:25 we were outside the Pinacoteca, which we had decided would be our focus.
There is no way one can “do” the Vatican Museums in less-then-two hours. A few people we spoke to later in the tour tried a mad dash to the highlights such as the Sistine Chapel and Hall of Maps, but everyone eventually realized this was not a best-of-the-Vatican tour.
Fountain in the Vatican Gardens, reminiscent of Villa d'Este.

Fountain in the Vatican Gardens, reminiscent of Villa d’Este.

Our decision to focus on the Pinocateca was fortuitous: We were completely alone for at least 20 minutes. Just Ric and me, fabulous works of art, and a dozen guards hunched over their smartphones. (Whatever did museum guards do before they had smartphones?) Some tour groups arrived, stopped at major works then moved quickly on. We took our time, saw the entire gallery, then had a brief rest before the garden tour. If you ever want to be alone in the Vatican Museums, head for the Pinocateca at opening.
Under clear blue skies and warm-not-hot sun we were escorted through the Vatican Gardens by a group of uniformed guides and a number of “suits” and journalists. The museum officials were shepherding the inauguration carefully, ensuring it went smoothly. And it mostly did.
Bougainvilla still in bloom, the Vatican Gardens.

Bougainvilla still in bloom, the Vatican Gardens.

Our garden tour was also audio-guided, and we had a wee map with audio points described, but it was difficult to know where our group of about 100 people was and when we should punch up each number. Still it was beautiful, not at all what I expected, and while not encompassing the entire tour (which according to the website is 2 hours long) it was a good overview.
We ended at the Vatican train station, a seldom-used and closed-to-the-public relic of a prior era. Thanks to Papa Francesco, more of the Vatican properties are being opened to mere mortals and the chance to take the train out of this station was a strong motivator for us.
Not the steam train the media portrayed....

Not the steam train the media portrayed….

We expected a steam train. All the news media featured a vintage train, but on arrival we found a modern Trenitalia train of the type used on the FR lines. It was fine, comfortable and air-conditioned, but not the historic experience expected. I have to wonder if there was another train that day, but all of the articles I’ve found were written before the 12th and so I think the pictures are “file photos” and certainly not from the event we attended.
We had a nice ride to the station at Albano Laziale, where buses met us and ferried us through narrow streets and up the hill to the entrance to the gardens. There, we boarded a trenino to tour the estate, again with audio guide. Absolutely stunning is all I can say. I had no idea Domitian had a summer palace here, but then why wouldn’t he? The history is, as with almost any grand villa in Italy, long and complex. What remains is a place of beauty comparable to Versailles. Some is wooded, some planted in formal gardens, and there is a farm. Did you know the Pope has a farm? Chickens, white goats, cows, bees: everything one needs in a self-sustaining estate.
Click on any photo to enlarge it or for a slideshow.
The trenino that ferried us through the Pope’s gardens at Albano.
Gardens at Albano-Castel Gandolfo. Confusion on the location but not the beauty.
Papa Francesco’s coat of arms, gardens at Albano.
Formal gardens, Lazio Albano, the Papal Gardens
Cathedral-like lane.
The Pope’s chickens.
The Pope’s cows, Papal Gardens.
Wrapping up about 14:40, we had three hours of free time. We set off to find a restaurant along the lake, where we had lunched a couple of years ago. But wait, where the hell was the lake? Pulling up Googlemaps we found we were in Albano Laziale, not Castel Gandolfo. Duh! Not close to the lake, we started wandering the town, which was mostly closed for la pausa. Not a lot of restaurant options we could see, but peeking down a little alley Ric spotted a trattoria. From where we stood it looked closed, although someone was inside sweeping up. “Siete aperti?” I asked. “Sí! Accommodatevi!” We took a cute table on the patio just as a group of Americans we knew trooped in. They, too, had been surprised by ending in Albano Laziale. They had a reservation for lunch 3 km away in Castle Gandolfo! Feeling slightly less stupid for misunderstanding, we relaxed and prepared to enjoy lunch. We were fortunate to have a little family from the U.K. join us at a neighboring table and engaging in conversation we discovered they had expected to end the tour at the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo. Surprise!  Perhaps all of the English-speakers misunderstood? Maybe the Vatican website was less-than-clear? Nonetheless, I can highly recommend Trattoria Rosmarino should you make the trip to Albano.
Cin cin! At Trattoria Rosmarino. Highly recommend!

Cin cin! At Trattoria Rosmarino. Highly recommend!

A long lunch ate up the free time (pun intended). There are a number of ruins and sites in Albano for the more industrious tourist, but we had been on-the-go since dawn with not much energy left, so a luxurious lunch was perfect. Back on the shuttle bus before 16:30, we arrived at San Pietro Station just in time to get a train to the tram to go back home, another adventure in public transportation for us.
Isaac, our dining partner at Rosmarino.

Isaac, our dining partner at Rosmarino.

We were very confused about the relationship between the estate we toured in Albano and the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo. A little map-based research showed they are on the same property, but the gardens are accessed by the public through Albano, and the Apostolic Palace is at the other end, the north end, closer to the lake. One can visit the Apostolic Palace, any day but Sunday, and only in the morning, and apparently only through the month of October, presumably to be revived in the spring.
I suspect another day trip to the area is in our near future.
For more information on all of the tours, go to the Vatican’s Online Ticket Office. 

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Il rientro

8 Sep
Il rientro is the period when the Italians come back from their August vacations. Back from the beach, from the mountains, or from wherever they have traveled. During il reintro people talk about where they’ve been, when they got back, what a state of stress they are in! Yesterday at the grocery store the woman in front of me queried: “O cielo! Di chi e’ questo carrello?”  (Heavens! Whose cart is this?) She had grabbed the wrong grocery cart and was unloading someone else’s merchandise. “Ehi! Il stress dopo vacanza!” she exclaimed. (Ah! The stress after vacation!) Yup, life is rough for an Italian mamma who spent the month of August at the beach.
Stores and restaurants that were closed for August are reopening, new merchandise for fall is arriving, and the streets are full again with no place to park except in pedestrian crossings and in doppia fila. It is SRO again on the buses.
Only in Roma would this be news. A car belonging to teh Ministry of the Interior was parked illegally and held up a bus for half-an-hour.
Only in Roma would this be news. Yesterday a car belonging to the Internal Ministry — which includes the State Police — was parked illegally and held up a bus for half-an-hour.
We are in our own re-entry, just back from the U.S. on August 28. We were fortunate to enjoy a few days of quietude in Roma before the hoards returned. Each day last week, piano piano it got busier in the streets. 
We had huge thunderstorms last Friday and Saturday, clearing the air and lowering the temperatures. We have not had to turn the apartment into a cave during the day, nor use any fans, for three days now. It is heavenly to sleep in the cool with the windows open and no fan. Unfortunately, the motorini still buzz by at all hours. The skies have some clouds most days, a pleasant change after the heat. We’ll still get many warm days (today is about 80 degrees Fahrenheit/27 Celsius), but the long stretches of hot hot hot days with nights barely dipping to 75F/24C should be over.
Roma is in the process of trying to clean up for the Jubilee Year that starts December 8. Proclaimed by Papa Francesco, the Jubilee is expected to draw huge crowds to Roma and the rest of Italy. Roma needs to look good for this. While there is an official effort with increased street cleaners having been hired, there is also a grass-roots movement, “I am Rome.” I do think the city seems a little cleaner than it was 6 weeks ago, although apparently people still do not know how to pick up dog poop.
Just today the mayor announced fine or 150-200 Euro for throwing cigarette butts on the ground. A bold move and welcome! No longer can smokers do the famous lancia where they pinch the butt between thumb and forefinger and hurl it at the street. I am not sure who will have time for writing tickets for butts, but today I saw a policewoman with Polizia Roma Capitale actually writing parking tickets. Miracles happen!
It’s good to be back home in the land of fabulous food and coffee. We had a lot of good meals in the U.S., but the food is fresher here and requires less seasoning. Pizza in Italy is simply THE BEST, and it doesn’t cost as much to eat out at a pizzeria in Roma as it did a couple of places we ate in the U.S. Wine in Italy is far cheaper too.
Now that's a pizza! Ric Barton displays a work-of-art in Roma.
Now that’s a pizza! Ric Barton displays a work-of-art in Roma.
Regarding wine, my brother had an excellent observation for those pursuing the best selection of wine in the world. In France, one finds French wines; in Italy, Italian. Where can you find wines from everywhere? Yup, Stati Uniti. The selection wines available in the U.S. outnumbers the variety of pasta in Italy, but oh, Lord, the wine is inexpensive in Italy!
For most Italian kids, school starts Thursday. In Italy, they get the whole summer off, from early June to early September, like we used to. Why do so many American schools start in August? That’s when families should be getting in a final camping trip, swimming at the shore, having picnics. I think they do that right in Italy. Il rientro in September is for everyone.
We plan to enjoy more local outings in the area now that temperatures are moderate. There is much to Roma that we have not seen. After all, una vita non basta! (One lifetime is not enough!)
Enjoy your own rientro, wherever you may be!
bentornati

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