Arrivederci Roma!

"Welcome to public computers" was exactly what the internet cafe administrator told me when I said that I wrote in my blog for 30 minutes and when I clicked on 'publish post' it was all lost!! Not the answer I wanted to hear, but I guess there wasn't much more he could say. So he is crediting my account and I will try to remember all of the pearls of thought that were in the first draft!

Today was a calmer day and I believe I am now caught up with my sleep! I took a long nap yesterday, slept all night and slept most of this morning and now feel like I'm on the right schedule. I had a very nice lunch in the Horizon Court, one which I haven't seen on any other ship. There was a large variety of sandwiches, hot and cold, on a variety of breads and rolls. It was a lot of fun to make my selection and I didn't have enough time to try more than one, so it was a big decision. Yes, the food on the Emerald is the best from all the ships I've been on so far.

After lunch I went out to get on the tour I had scheduled. I was going to the countryside here and then to an olive oil farm. The drive through the countryside was not like the other trips, the land was much browner and not as lush. They are in between crops right now, the tomatoes and melons have been harvested and some melons are left in the soil to fertilize it for next year. The artichokes are growing, and soon they will have the fennel and asparagus growing also. Our driver told us that there is even an artichoke festival in the spring when it is time to harvest them. It was an interesting tour, as they all are, filled with fascinating information, along with some not so fascinating information. You can make your own decisions about which is which!

Civitivecchia is the port for Rome and was built by one of the ancient popes, back in the day when they were allowed to have families. The port has a castle like structure with a crest of 6 clovers, representing his family of six. Long, long ago! This area was settled by Etruscans, who were the tie between Greeks and Romans in ancient times. There were many, many churches in the middle ages, 40 in a very small area, along with many hospitals and hospices. My first thought was that they must have had a lot of sick people. But then the guide explained that they were named for the word hospitality, and were the places where people on their pilgrimages would rest. Rome was a major destination for pilgrimages, as was Santiago de Compestella in the early times. We drove through some cypress tree lined roads that were beautiful and quite a contrast to the dry terrain. There were some eucalyptus trees and some grapevines too, although the grapes have been harvested. Olives will be harvested at the end of October and in November.

I learned how olive oil is made, not what I had thought. The olives are crushed, pits, skin and all and made into a paste. Then the paste is spread about 2 inches thick on a huge disk, and several disks are prepared this way. Then they are put into a press and pressed and what comes out is the extra virgin olive oil, the healthiest of all with almost no fat. The 2nd pressing provides the regular olive oil, not as healthy as the first press because more fat from the paste is found in it. I thought there were 3 levels of olive oil; extra virgin, virgin and regular, but today I was told there are only 2 presses. Interesting??

We took a short walking tour of Tuscania and it was a beautiful walled village. We stepped into the courtyard of a very old home, it was beautiful and had an old cement tub that was where the wash was done. I was suprised that there were several cars in there, on the old cobblestone streets. Lovely, short walk into ancient times with a magnificent view! This was because people had to be able to see all around to protect their town. After the tour of the village we drove to the olive oil farm.

I was sure this was the one that was visited by my friend in the spring but found out that there are 4 different farms that the tour goes to so there is no way for me to know if it was the same or not. We were given many samples of foods made with olive oil and had their homemade wine. I don't drink as you know, however I think I can't say that much longer. I've had sangria in Barcelona, a nice French pink blush wine at lunch in France, and a mix of merlot and chardonney today in Italy. Maybe I do drink! The food was delicious and plentiful and represented samples of Italian specialties. I found out that bruschetta is pronounced with a k sound for the ch, see, there is always something to learn on a trip! I did purchase a couple of things from this organic farm, and not the wine!

Artichokes, prepared the Roman way, have the heart cleaned out and anchovies, mint and garlic are added to the middle, it is drizzled with olive oil and cooked in a little water for a long time at a low heat. I think I will try it and see how I like that! There are other alternatives too, it is one of the favorite dishes in Italy, another fact I never knew.

Arrivederci is an interesting word and the guide was excited to tell me the exact meaning so I will pass that on. Arrive (again) veder (to see) ci (you). And when we pulled away from the docks I thought to myself, arrivederci roma, I will see you again!!

Tomorrow is a long day, a trip on the Amalfi coast and a tour of Pompei. All the years I read books and taught the children about Pompei I never, ever dreamt I would visit there in person. I am so excited to say the least!! Mt. Vesuvius, just keep sleeping!!!

Ciao! for now...