Pre-trip work!

 March 13, 2025  The Mediterranean Sea and Seven Course Tuscan Dinner

We took a one hour drive to the Mediterranean to beach comb and see what there is to see. Many shops and restaurants along the water were still closed for the season. The day was cloudy and the surf was rough with big waves so we had the beach pretty much to ourselves.  The sand was very course and dark unlike Lake Michigan's fine and light colored sand.  I thought it would make a cute picture to get a shot with our feet close to the waves and we all ended up coming back to the villa with soggy socks and a little bit of the Mediterranean inside our Merrell shoes.

Before the water disaster!

Paul

Clare

Katie and Rod with epic waves crashing in the background. 

Rod, Paul, and Clare

Gollum and friend. You decide which is which!

Paul and Clare

The day hit a crescendo with Rod taking me out to dinner at a local villa, Villa Lucinda, that serves a seven course meal. Our 83 year-old chef owns the villa and lives with his cats and pet rooster, Gallo Pio. His wife died a year ago. As near as I could discover, the villa dates from the Renaissance period and Paolo Menni, our chef, has filled it with art from all over. It was WONDERFUL!

The kitchen is through that door.

It's distorted, but you get an idea of what our intimate dining room was like. We were his only guests this Thursday night. Paolo Menni had pretty good English. 

Here's the food:

This is courses 1&2. The thin tortilla-type dish on the right was drizzled with olive oil and came out right away with the wine and didn't count as a course.  The dish in the middle came 1st and was a pate tasting like a sort of seasoned meat. The dish on the left was 2nd, a cheese stuffed focaccia bread and my favorite!

Course 3 is on my plate.  It was the BEST cauliflower we have ever eaten!

Course 4 on my plate was a baked mild onion topped with pizza sauce, cheese, and capers. 

Course 5 got partway eaten before we remembered to take a picture! It was roasted mild peppers and cherry tomatoes drizzled with a mild balsamic glaze(?)

Course 6 was square noodles in white cream sauce with parmesan cheese and black pepper.

Course 7 was dessert. It tasted like tapioca pudding without the little balls in it, vanilla wafers, and candied pear, drizzled with caramel syrup. Yum!

My apologies, Paolo Menni told us all the names of the dishes, but between his limited English and our ignorance, Rod and I can't remember any of the names!  To clarify, our AirBnB host made the reservation with him for us.  You don't "order" any food.  You eat what he's cooking that night.

Here's one of his cats. He came out to say hello but wasn't a pest.

It was a magical night!