Next Up — Abruzzo (via Rome)
After 5 nights in Pisa I headed south to Rome for my transportation pick-up to Abruzzo. I tried to figure out how to get there by train but it was too round-a-bout for my liking. The providers do offer transportation but only from the Rome airport. So I headed south to Rome to meet up with my ride and eventually head further south and then then east to Abruzzo.
I spent 3 nights in Rome as I needed a haircut and wanted to meet up with a colleague from Temple Rome to hear all about her new job. Once again, congratulations to you Serena! Well deserved! I took some time to sit on the hotel roof top and relax as well. Finally, for all you TUR colleagues, Rome is torn up getting ready for the Jubilee. We made a wise decision to postpone our reunion until the following year.
A small bus picked us up at the airport and we headed to Abruzzo with one pit stop at an AutoGrill on the way. Travel time was nearly 3 hours as we traveled through the beautiful Abruzzo countryside.
The experience takes place at Palazzo Tour D’Eau in the town of Carunchio in Abruzzo. Carunchio is perched on a hilltop at an elevation of about 2,000 feet. In 1951, the population there was 1,800; today, there are less than 600 inhabitants. Same old story where younger people leave for employment, leaving an aging and older population.
The Palazzo Tour D’Eau (formerly Palazzo Turdò) sits at the highest point in the town and is an old fortified palace dating back to the early 1700s. It was fully restored in 2002. There are still 4 turrets and a water cistern on site. There is a very long uphill street leading to the palazzo that make for a great morning walk with spectacular views. The views from the outdoor area of the palazzo are quite grand as well.
The rooms are nice (but no air conditioning so I’m not sure I’d come during the summer) but nothing special. No elevator; one first floor that I saw.
As I said in an earlier post, Abruzzo Cibus would have to climb a tall ladder to surpass Cooking with Rita…from my perspective, it fell short. Although the facility itself was a grade up, there were several things that I found bothersome.
First, with the exception of the wine, coffee and water and coffee at meals, everything else to drink throughout the day costs extra. A bottle of water cost extra, a mid-day cup of tea or coffee costs extra. I don’t recall any disclosure of this in the online or emailed literature. After the hospitality at Rita’s, this didn’t sit well with me; especially since this experience was more costly.
Secondly, the tours were not thoughtful, for lack of a better term. We went to an olive farm where nothing was happening; all of the machinery was dismantled. The “tour” was a talk about what would occur and how the machinery fit together and worked during olive harvest season. Meh!
Another tour was on an Italian national holiday to the town of Vasto…because it was a holiday, everything was closed down. Obviously the provider would know this. Minimally it seems they could have swapped the day with the “olive farm tour” so we could at least have spent some time shopping. Instead, we had a bit of a walking tour given by the provider’s staff where we had to fight the crowds that were there for some race events. Then we were given “time to shop” when there was no place open to shop; meanwhile the provider spent time with his family in one of the piazzas.
We also went to a cheese factory tour and a bell foundry tour. Both of which were lacking (e.g. only time to view a film at the bell foundry but no time to visit the museum). All of these tours could have been made better with a bit more thoughtfulness.
Classes were held in a nice demonstration kitchen. Truth told there was not nearly as much hands on opportunity as at Rita’s where we usually cooked 2 times a day. I do think most of the folks enjoyed this experience but they didn’t have Rita’s to compare it with. Okay, enough of my comparisons.
Classes began with our places at the tables all set up to work on one or maybe two items that were a part of our lunch for the day. Usually, there would be one major thing for one or two people to participate in. Funny how there are always people who try to wiggle their way into being the one to do the separate activity.
Dinner Was Provided Each Night
A Grand Fish Feast
On the afternoon of the Italian holiday we left Vasto and went to a grand fish feast. The restaurant was lovely, the food was plentiful (frankly too much) but our long table was set up right in front of a very loud band that blasted out the ear drums of our folks sitting at the far end of the table. The music was so loud we couldn’t have any conversation without shouting. Again, thoughtlessness as there were areas in the restaurant where we could have been relocated if the provider would have been proactive.
Abruzzo is Lovely…I’d Love to Return…but not to Abruzzo Cibus
Sue & Eric's Adventures 
Your entries are so thorough and chipper with tempting and beautiful photos mixed in. And you’re cute as a button! … being a bolognese donna, have you visited the Cinecitta di Bologna? I think they had something to do with Visconti’s “death in Venice.” These notes aren’t going on your post, are they? They’re so blah blah. Rock on!
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