After our street food tour, we took care of some final errands this afternoon.
While in Molise, we bought 24 liters of olive to bring home. So, 5 liters of oil equals 1.1 gallons. Um, yeah. We bought some olive oil. If you don’t know what 24 liters of olive oil looks like, here’s a photo of 17 liters.
17 liters of olive oil – three 5-liter boxes and two 1-liter cans
Why a photo of only 17 liters? Because 7 liters are already on their way back to Atlanta via FedEx, as of Tuesday. Yesterday, we bought roller bags so that, at the airport, we can check boxes and cans of olive oil (plus some other things) that we can’t take as carry-on. Today, we packed up the last 5-liter box of oil that wouldn’t fit in the luggage and took it to Mailboxes Etc to ship it back via FedEx.
brand-new roller bags with olive oil and clothes
And this is why we needed four days in Rome. In addition to some sightseeing, we had to figure out logistics for shipping all sorts of crazy stuff home – olive oil, pasta, marmalade, rapini sauce, cookies, gifts, and other extra things that we accumulated along the way.
After our trip to ship stuff, we wandered through the Trastevere neighborhood for one last look. (Aside from our honeymoon, we have always stayed in the Trastevere.) We stopped at our favorite little wine bar which is away from the tourist area so it is easy to get a table at happy hour time, and there is a good wine list. We each had a glass.
our go-to enoteca in Trastevere
one last happy hour
Before heading home, we stopped at our favorite Trastevere deli and picked up some things for a dinner at home. In the deli, Chad told the owners (in Italian), “we were here 5 years ago and I bought some mortadella from you, and it was the best mortadella I’ve ever had.” The proprietress said, “Well, it’s still the same.” And then she smiled. As we exited the shop, Chad said, “If we stayed here for a month, I would be on a first-name basis with those people.” I have no doubt.
the deli case with cheese and meat
the refrigerated section with more cheese and meat
the shop also sells wine, pasta, crackers and cookies, jams and marmalade
Tonight we packed up our things and stuffed our new roller bags full. We just need to make a final trash/recycle run to the neighborhood bins, and we are done with our errands for the evening. We will leave the apartment around 6:30 am to go to the taxi stand two blocks away and then head to the airport. I imagine we’ll get coffees and pastries at the airport and then have a long flight back to Atlanta. I’ve downloaded some books to my Kindle for the flight, and I will also finish watching the Stanley Tucci travel series in Italy. And if I don’t have too many tears, I might draft some final reflections about this Italian experience.
It’s been real, Italy! I’ve learned a lot about the country and a potential life here, and I’ve learned a lot about myself along the way. Win-win!
our sampler platter for dinner at home tonight – artichokes, eggplant, cheeses, pizza, olives, mortadella, beer and red wine, and an apple