Binge eating and generous hospitality in the south of Italy!

Ciao all! I've arrived back in Rome after spending 3 days in the south of Italy (Sant'Arsenio to be exact) with Angela's family. I'm going to try and make this entry as short as possible, but it's going to be hard b/c there's so much to tell everyone!!!

Let me just start off by saying that my visit there was one of the most humbling experiences I can remember. Never before in my life have I witnessed such incredible and generous hospitality, and never before have I been treated in the regard I was during my visit. From the moment I arrived, I felt as though I was "royalty" and I was literally doted on every waking moment.

To clarify things, we went to Sant'Arsenio (4 hours south of Rome on the coast) to visit both Angelo's family (who is Aunt Karol's friend back in Texas) as well as Angela's family (who is Angelo's cousin and the girl I've been staying with in Rome). To complicate things even MORE, Angelo's mother is ALSO named Angela so for purposes of blog entries I will refer to Angelo's mother as Angela Senior and will refer to Angelo's cousin (that I've been staying with in Rome) as Angela Junior. Whew...it was very confusing!

All of the family members I met were just so wonderful to me and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous as well! The town is situated in a HUGE valley, surrounded by green wooded mountains on all sides and is exactly what you think of when you think of a typical Italian town in the country, untouched by many of the impersonalities of modern technology. The majority of the people there aren't chained to technology and do not have computers, high-speed internet access or a multitude of other modern conveniences (other than TV sets with cable of course), but instead the result is a more relaxed atmosphere where the focus is on the family, the home, and the land. Their homes are IMMACULATE and very well taken care of. I stayed at Angelo's parents home and Angela Senior had a half dozen roses in a vase waiting for me, and gave up the bathroom closest to her bedroom so I could have it instead, even though I begged her to follow her normal routine. She literally changed the towels after each shower (no comments from everyone on how many showers I take and that she must have been quite busy!) and would empty the trash can after I'd put one piece of garbage into the can. It was like staying at a 5-star hotel on steroids!!! I kept telling her to just act naturally and she'd say, "No! No! You came all the way from America and you are our special guest!"

Each of the family members that I was introduced to, owns land on which they have some of the greatest produce gardens! Crops ranged from lettuce, zucchini, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and olives to cherries and apples as well. Being the "city girl" that I am, I was amazed as I've never seen such a sight! Angelo's Mom and Dad grow enough tomatoes to make tomato sauce for an entire year off of one crop, and they also make all of their own olive oil! They also have a crop of grapes and make their own wines....delicious!

It was just so strange for everything to be SO FRESH as I'm used to the produce you buy down at the grocery store. I had a good time asking Angelo's parents what they thought about produce in grocery stores, as I got some pretty interesting faces and expressions! HA! The fresh cherries and tomatoes were my two faves. I was eating cherries by the fistful by the end of my stay.



Speaking of eating....let's just say that I'm physically and emotionally EXHAUSTED from all of the eating we did in Sant'Arsenio. It was HILARIOUS!!! Every meal literally had at LEAST 4 courses to it and many had more. However, it was some of the freshest and most delicious food ever! And not at all like anything we non-Italians think of when we think of traditional Italian food. I only had pizza and/or pasta once. The rest of the time it was fish, meats, cheeses, breads, and TONS of fruits and vegetables!

I was quite adventurous in my food choices, and tried many new things. The highlights of the new things I tried included eggplant, the leaves and stems of the zucchini plant, raw oysters, and octopus! I loved everything with the exception of the raw oysters...I thought they were kinda slimey and too "fishy" tasting. I'll have to try cooked oysters and see if I still feel the same way.

Long story short...I feel as though I've been on a 4 day binge eating spree and my poor stomach is begging me to stop - HA! I'm coming back home with many recipes though, and hopefully I'll be able to find the ingredients in regular grocery stores. The Italian stereotype of eating all the time is literally true though (at least in the Italian countryside). If I so much as sat down and looked the slightest bit tired, Angela senior or Angela Junior's mother took that as a sign that I was growing weary and low on strength and needed to eat. Needless to say, I tried to look as busy as possible - HA!

Anyway, I had a marvelous time and thoroughly enjoyed my time in the south of Italy. I got a realistic portrayal of life in the Italian countryside and I'm so thankful that I was able to escape the typical "touristy" side of traveling. It was truly an amazing experience that I will never forget!

In the following posting, I'll share a few photos of our activities during the day (other than eating of course!).