Day 23: Calabria, Day 8

Day 23:  Calabria, Day 8

Twins have "graduated" to the over 2 under 3 room at day care even though it is still a week to go til their birthday...birthdays??

Lynn just beats THB and is having to figure out how to turn on the electricity

THB finds the sprinklers with no trouble as did Lynn

Quote of the Day: You have three hours of shopping time...OHHH NOOOO!

Weather: The usual: warmish and even late at night in the low 70s and no breeze

THB goes off to find the gym. Turns out that the Cardio room is just that: four different cardio machines side by side in a small room and one our tour members is the only other person there. She’s on the elliptical. THB scouts the pool area, doesn’t open until 9:30. THB does an abbreviated 7 minute workout (is there such a thing as an abbreviated abbreviated workout?).

Pool is closed 

Big spread, nothing special

Cereal, yogurt, two small croissants, fruit, NO coffee

Nothing special on breakfast buffet. There’s another tour at the hotel, very unusual for us to see this many people at any breakfast.

Not our tour

Main building at Populia

The view in daytime. The soap dispenser now works, the key works, the bags are unpacked, and the a/c worked too well

The wheels are spinning, too hard to drag the bus up the driveway

OHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOO!

We’re visiting a sausage maker, the vegetarians skip the tour. And, THB and DB have a Valley Forge moment: the bus is crossing into the driveway leading to the sausage factory when the back wheels can’t get traction and the rear of the bus is dragging on the road. The group gets out, exams the situation, and walks the 50 meters to the factory. While we’re seeing how sausage gets made, the driver excavates the bus by using a jack and blocks (no pics, THB is too busy watching sausage get made). 

Aside: On a Oakland Art Museum trip to see a corporate collection near Valley Forge, the  bus driver managed to take an awkward route both to and from the corporation. On the way out the bus took and underpass below a railway and when the bus went over a dip in the middle of the underpass it level off and this shaved off the open pop-up air vent. Same-same but different. 

This "saint" display is right next to the stranded bus. Clever way to get offerings...THB is not sure what that red offering is, we didn't see anything like it in Bhutan

Partial solution

How sausage gets made:

First you identify your lead inspector

Then the rest of the inspection team dons the same coat as the lead inspector

Viewing behind glass

After the meat is ground it is mixed with the "secret" sauce

Loading the casings

The secret sauce, deep red (think chorizo)

Traditional casings on left, raw meat ingredients on right...note fat content

Loading the mixed ingredients into the extruder

Drying racks. After much back and forth some tour members come to conclusion these are unsmoked 

YOWZA!!

Main ingredient of secret sauce: miles of local red peppers

There are two de-stemmers working diligently, THB not sure what the official job title is

Lunch is at the sausage maker’s house/restaurant, not far from the factory. The usual except this time nduja (the local name for sausage, pronounced one of five different ways) is clearly local.

Children friendly

Kipling used this toilet

THB is sure that Albert never came here

Lorca, Lorca....plays the guitar, right?

Complete with diapers

Nduja...smoked or not smoked, that is the question...W. Shakenotstirred

She's a bit old for the swings

She's multi-tasking: swinging and talking on phone at same time

Lunch is the usual with tiramisu for dessert and a freezer-kept after meal special. It grows on THB after the first sense of drinking cough syrup. Just what THB needs, an affinity for a very high alcohol, high sugar content cool-me-down.

 A deep dive into a cute seaside town, Tropea. THB and DB roam to the beach, look up at the church on an island…well, not exactly, since one side is a parking lot that never goes underwater…at least not yet as climate change will surely get this one back to the original moat.

Tropea

Seems too early for Xmas lights

We see people with snorkel and masks by their side, not anyone in water wearing gear

Tight squeeze

Our dinner location, spotted early in afternoon

Not an isola

THB and DB dip our feet in the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea

Pedal and slice contraption

Great mini travel towel, gift of Villa La Coste (?)

Gifts for twins, THB pretty sure they aren't followers yet...JASMINE: DO NOT PUSH THAT BUTTON

We have so much time to kill in Tropea that everyone ends up drinking in local cafes. Great, just what we needed, more wine and snacks. THB and DB have the local version of spritzs, joined by another couple.

Oldest member of the tour, appears to be able to hold his liquor

Is he "guiding" this tour or just following along?

Late-afternoon snack spot

4 spritzes and extra hoar do-vrays, $40 with generous tip and lots of people watching

Sunset

THB arty shot of the day

Pizza and pizza sandwiches for dinner accompanied by chilled red plonk, brewskies, a tomato and local sweet red onion salad and a salad that looks a lot like a mixed greens salad we get at home. The plonk is “unique” and our table turns to the bottled version of red for round 2.

Repeat

Actually two buildings with alley in between and tons of tables pushed together outside in alleyway

Very unique here in Calabria, trite in Bay Area

Killer pizza dough sandwich; THB really likes eggplant version

Everyone had to order an individual pizza; THB and DB finish the one with anchovies, this is a pizza too far for us (though very good also)

Everything appears to work when we return. THB has night terrors…more on that with the next post.