We had a wonderful week at Grandma’s apartment! It was perfect for the four of us old retired folks. The very spacious and well appointed bedrooms, living area and kitchen made it feel like home! The location was ideal for exploring the surrounding towns and scenic sights and being in the hills overlooking the Mediterranean was a big plus. We especially liked the garden area where we could relax in the evening with a good bottle of wine and some special Hors d’oeuvres (thank you so much for the peppers stuffed with anchovies, what a treat!…). But the highlight of our stay was the cooking lesson, because it was so much more than that. I had asked Lucia before we came if she could give us a cooking lesson. Lucia asked what we wanted to cook and we told her we’d like to try some mussels in a red sauce. We expected a short lesson on sauce preparation, steaming mussels and some tasting as we went along. What we got was totally unexpected. We came downstairs to Lucia’s home around 4 PM and were greeted by the entire family including their Aunt who was toting a three foot rolling pin! After meeting Lucia’s family (and Duna the dog) she showed us the fresh mussels she purchased…3 Kilos! This was getting interesting. Between the wine, the conversation and the laughing we managed to make Homemade Pasta, Stuffed Mussels, Bolognese Sauce and Steamed Mussels, sampling the offerings as we went along. We all had a fun and laughter filled dinner together, again, totally unexpected but very much appreciated. We came down for a simple cooking lesson and left four and one half hours later with a realization that we had just experienced a very special evening in Italy with a very special Italian family.
Thank you Lucia, Giulia and Family for your hospitality, spontaneity and friendship.
John, Barb, John and Sue