Logbook Entry

Date: 2/5/09 (Thursday)
Location: Gaeta, Italy

Part of our winter health and wellness program includes daily walks around Gaeta. Today we set out just before sunset and listened to the loudspeaker-enhanced flag lowering ceremony as we strolled past the USS Mount Whitney which arrived in port today, and we stopped in at Bar Bazzanti for a cafe macciato and to admire the signed print from the Lepanto series by American artist Cy Twombly who lives in town. He inscribed the poster with a short poem:

“By the sea, by the sea, how happy we will be, in the Bar Bazzanti.”

–Cy Twombly

Then we wound our way along the waterfront in Old Gaeta before grabbing an early dinner at our favorite pizzeria, Da Emilio. The other part of our January program is to limit our pizza indulgence to once a week, but with 150 restaurants in this town and several outstanding trattorias and pizzerias, this is pretty difficult.

Yesterday, the sun peaked out again after several more days of clouds and rain. During a break in the wintry weather last week, we joined Clive and Marilyn of s/v Gabbiana, the only other cruisers in the marina at the moment, for a wine tasting and  “mountain-style” wild boar dinner at Ristorante Re Ferdinando II in the old town. DOC Wines from the Delli Colli vineyard were paired with each course, and in our opinion, the local red wine made from the Aglianico grape and the dessert wine were very tasty. Although we have been eating mostly vegetarian of late, we enjoyed the culinary adventure as well. Of particular note was the pasta with a gravy-like (wild boar) meat sauce.