I am leaving Italy in two days and I am very sad.

[cbayer]

It has been a great time and I want to thank this group for indulging my love fest with Italian food while I have been here.

It has been wonderful to have your kudos and thoughts and feedback as I explored the foods and ingredients of this region.

I hope for each of you that you get to come to this part of the world and experience what I have. It is heaven for those of us that love food.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear cbayer...

I hope you'll get to return someday............

My husband and I were in Italy the summer of 2013, and although I did no cooking, I did eat well and loved it. Tuscany and Rome were amazing destinations.

May your memories sustain you!

[cbayer]

3. I am so glad you had the opportunity to come here, dear CP.

It's been an amazing experience for me and I do believe that I will return very soon.

As a food lover, I have been in heaven.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Where were you or what were your favorite places?

I was there a few years ago and stayed in Forio, on Ischia and the restaurant in the hotel was wonderful. All the food was made by Mama. Here she is w/some of the veggies grown on the property.




I LOVE ITALY! However... I have a new favorite place... Provence. Talk about FOOD!

[cbayer]

5. We have been about an hour out of Rome in the Sabina region.

It is pretty undiscovered by tourists, and that has made it extra special.

I love your picture. This I have come to believe - the cooking is not what is particularly special about Italy. It is the ingredients and the attention to making the most out of what you have. It is the small places like the one with Mama that make it spectacular.

Provence is good, but imo, Italy rules.

[CurtEastPoint]

7. That is an area I have researched a bit for future trips. I'll take this as an endorsement!

[cbayer]

8. I could not recommend it highly enough.

Here is a blog I recommend if you are thinking of coming to this area.

http://lamiasabina.blogspot.it/2014/01/sabina-travelogue-2013-part-4-salisano.html

And if you do decide to come, feel free to PM me for any information.

But don't tell anyone else!

[CurtEastPoint]

12. Thank you!

[pinto]

4. Thanks for sharing a slice or two or three of your time there. The posts were a joy to read.

[cbayer]

6. Thank you my dear friend.

I hope that when we return next year, you will be able to join us for a week or two.

We will cook and do some kitchen dancing.

[pinto]

22. Wedding tarantella

[Galileo126]

9. Twas very cool reading about your experiences!

Now I'll know what to look for if I ever go that away!!

Have fun traveling to your next destination!

-g

[cbayer]

10. Thank you, Gallileo my friend.

If you ever have the opportunity to come this way, let me know and I will give you all the secrets.

Back to the states next, then to my home in Mexico.

Someone once told me that life is not about things, but about experiences. This has become my mantra.

[grasswire]

11. I see a Popeyes in your near future.

[cbayer]

13. Lol!! Yup.

Much as I love the food here, I have to admit my weakness for some american fast food.

And I will love every bite of it.

[grasswire]

19. a Popeye's is under construction in my town.

How's the shrimp?

I've never eaten at one.

[cbayer]

23. I don't like shrimp, so couldn't tell you.

But their fried chicken is outstanding and so are their sides, particularly the red beans and rice.

Quality varies outside of Louisiana though and I hope yours is good.

[japple]

20. Popeye's opened a store here in my neck of the woods a couple months ago. I like the mild

chicken. It has a crispy, flavorful crust and is (usually) moist throughout. Their biscuits are good, too, and I wish they would offer chicken biscuits for breakfast, but not here. The mashed potatoes were awful--from instant potato flakes, and even my dogs wouldn't eat them. That's all I've ordered from their menu. I do give them an "A" for fried chicken.

A "Church's" chicken restaurant opened about 6 months prior to the Popeye's and they appear to be sinking. I used to like their chicken, biscuits, corn, but this store is horrible. The chicken tastes like cardboard and the biscuits are gummy hockey pucks. They probably won't last long.

[cbayer]

24. Try the red beans and rice as a side.

And I agree completely about the biscuits. Yummy!

[greatauntoftriplets]

14. I've enjoyed reading your posts about your time there.

Sounds like it was absolutely magical.

[cbayer]

15. Thank you my friend. I hope for you to have a similar experience in Ireland.

[Granny M]

16. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

And especially, thanks for the post on gnocchi. I'm so glad to have read that and got the inspiration to try it myself.

Safe travels on the next part of your journey.

[cbayer]

17. Thanks Granny M.

Keep making that gnocchi. It just gets better and better.

I will see you when I get to my next location and hope to be inspired by something you try in the future.

[elleng]

18. I.surely.understand.your.reluctance.to.leave,cbayer.

We're.all.with.you.

[cbayer]

25. Dear elleng. I surely hope you get your keyboard fixed soon!

[japple]

21. Will miss your views from abroad. It has been so much fun to read your posts

about your adventures in Italy and I hope you will pick up in Mexico where you left off. I enjoyed those posts just as much. You are such a good writer, esp. as regards foods, cooking, eating, culture. I hope you will continue to share your culinary adventures with us. Hasta luego!

[cbayer]

26. Thanks Japple. It's been a wonderful adventure and I hope

that we will live here part of the year every year.

I do miss Mexico though, and look forward to getting back to that particularly wonderful cuisine.

I'm not really a good writer, but I hope my enthusiasm comes through.

[fizzgig]

27. i am so thrilled you had such an experience

it has been wonderful reading about it.

[cbayer]

28. It was everything I hoped for and more, fizzgig.

I hope to be back next year and make this one of my homes.

[Phentex]

29. Ditto everyone!

I have a feeling there will be many more adventures and we will share them with you again!

[cbayer]

30. I very much hope so. Thanks for the tip of the hat!