On Honeymooning, Part Two
On Morruzze:
Morruzze has 55 people. No commercial business. One old castle. One well. And enough charm to steal anyone's heart. The only directions we had for our villa, was to turn Left into the village of Morruzze. Turn Left at the well. And follow the road behind the castle. And as it turned out, that was all the directions it took. The 5 nights that we spent in this tiny village, were 5 of the most special. Morruzze is in the middle of the Umbrian countryside, up on a hill, surrounded by a cluster of other small Umbrian villages. The remoteness was exactly what we wanted to begin our honeymoon with. And remote it was.
Such mixed feelings rise in my heart and my stomach when I reflect on this topic. Let's make a list:
-Romantic Views. Check.
-Cute little Fiats to drive. Check.
-Crazy maniac drivers with no regard for speed limits, lanes, or other vehicles on the road. Check.
-Google directions that were written by someone who has clearly never been to Italy. Check.
-Lack of Street signs or otherwise helpful indicators of where the heck you are. Check.
-Curvy roads that people seem to think are raceways. Check.
-The impossibility of navigating well, but the magic to somehow always pop out where you need to be. Check.
Everyone says to avoid driving in Italy if at all possible when you are vacationing. To which I would answer: Try staying in a remote village in the middle of nowhere, with no commercial businesses, and not having a car. Impossibile! Plus, Adam has never had so much fun driving when we were out in the countryside. He threatened countless times to steal the little Fiat and bring it home with us. Along with all of the roads and scenery. Call it The Italian Job part II.
However, DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE IN ITALIAN CITIES. EVER!!!!
We returned our car in the first major city we went to and depended on our feet and trains from there on. But, we had to drive into the city to return it. Most stressful 2 hours of the trip. End of story.
On Italian Food:
Eat it. As much as you can. As often as you can. Do not be ashamed to order an Antipasti, a Primo, a Secondo, a Dolce, and an Espresso. Oh, and of course a litre of the house wine. There is nothing so simple, and yet, so sensational as the Italian's method of combining flavors and creating food. Il cibo. Il cibo delizioso. We ate. And ate. And ATE. And when Adam ordered delicious things that were not Elise friendly (Um, pizza, pasta, panini, bread...), I would close my eyes and he would describe the taste of it to me in great detail. He even let me smell it. And when I opened, I somehow felt a little more satisfied and a little less bitter toward my completely pathetic digestive system. But despite my dietary limitations, you better believe I still ate well. And often. And much. (See next topic).
On The Appropriateness of Eating Gelato:
Breakfast time.
Lunch time.
Dinner time.
Dessert time.
Snack time.
There is never a wrong time to eat gelato. And there is no wrong flavor. The only wrong flavor is to order only one flavor. Even if you are ordering a piccolo. Adam almost always chose something chocolatey and paired it with either caramel or something fruity. Stracciatella paired with either Coffee or Coconut was my delight. Except when I was eating it before 10 AM--in which case I got strawberry and lemon. Mmmm.
Can you taste it yet? If Adam were here he would let you close your eyes and he'd describe it to you. And you'd almost be able to taste it's goodness. But honestly, just go to Italy and try it for yourself. Really. Nothing compares.
Do you feel like you've been on our honeymoon yet? Well, I'm pretty sure there is still more to come...
