Frascati e il Nuovo Pompeii

It was still dark when we tiptoed down our dark stairs and out the door to catch the bus to Pompeii that was leaving at 7:00 am sharp. We loaded onto the bus, watched a movie, stopped for a leg-stretching break, and were told that Pompeii just wasn't going to happen. There had been an accident on the autostrada and it would be closed for the rest of the day. Our only option was to go around, a feat that would take six hours, by which time the site would be closed.

As I had a thesis paper to research on-site and others had never gotten to see the city, it was a huge disappointment to hear that it would be rescheduled for a weekend on which any number of us may have other commitments. But as it was no one's fault, we readjusted and agreed to an alternative day trip.

The buildings we saw yesterday were not covered by dust and ash, were not cement or brick structures, and did not hold pieces of the past. Rather, they were painted in bright pastel colors and held clothes, shoes, and bags. We were taken for a short trip to an outlet an hour outside Rome. It was no Freeport or Clinton, but it was cool to see the Italian equivalent of our factory outlets.

The outlets also happened to be next to a circus. That circus happened to have an elephant outside grazing. That elephant happened to make my day by walking close enough to let me pet it. It was all so random, but it put me in a great mood. (Elephants are probably my favorite animals in the world.)

We then headed to Frascati, a town in the province of Rome. It is small, but famous for its wine, porchetta, and cookies of women with three breasts. We wound through the hilly streets, ending at the edge of a hill overlooking Rome. It was a fantastic view that was topped off by a short wine tasting courtesy of the American University of Rome.

In order to truly make the most of our time there, we tried porchetta, which is similar to a kebab. Every day, they roast an entire pig and put it in a glass case, where they shave it and put the pieces between two layers of bread that is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside...blissful.

Finally, we turned our attention to the three-boobed wonders. Legend has it she is the Goddess of Plenty and that two are for milk, one is for honey (another story has the third for wine because of the regions reputation for great wine). Be warned, however, these cookie women may have more upstairs than most of us will ever have, but they do not want to be broken. I surrendered after it took 15 minutes to eat her feet. So with only pork in our tummies, we returned home, having had a day that was slightly less than we bargained for, but a good experience nonetheless.

We'll try Pompeii another day.