This weekend we made it out to Caserta, to see the Royal Palace, and the old town...
The palace was as expected. Old, interesting frescoes, crazy-looking furniture... a theatre, which was not open, and an expansive garden. I look forward to finding an event to attend at the theatre, and bringing a picnic lunch for an afternoon exploring the gardens.
Caserta Vecchia is one of those ancient tiny towns on a hill...
With mind-blowing architecture...
A requisite torre...
Or two...
And a gorgeous little church....
With at least one more-or-less disturbing relic...
I am in love with the large imposing doors...
And creative openings...
Some with a forbidden past...
You can just feel the history seeping through the stones...
I imagine a world where there are no cars...
Work is done by hand...
We are drawn into a cafe where the display of treats gives us pause for difficult decisions...
The most stressful part of the trip complete, we took our treasure on the road...
Since we were out in that direction, we pressed on a bit further to find a chestnut festival.
Chestnuts are a well known product of this area, and we figured that we should learn about some of the typical ways the little nuggets are prepared.
I have to be honest.
I am not particularly a fan of the chestnut.
But I try to have an open mind.
In usual Italian style, I found them to be delicious.
Perhaps it was the enchanting atmosphere of the festival, set against hills flocked with autumnal trees...
Or the warmth of the open fires decking the walking paths...
But in one short afternoon I became quite fond of the nutty treats.
It's difficult to count the varieties presented - everything from fresh off the tree...
To roasted,
and baked...
Some were masking in other forms... (that's chestnut formed into mushrooms)...
To candied and dried... oh, and of course... alcoholic...
And then there were the complimentary foods...
Including the illustrious truffle.
Ah tartufo... you mischievous devil...
This little black mushroom (there are white ones too, but I prefer the black) has a unique taste and smell that you will never forget once you experience it...
I celebrated the chestnut festival by dining on what amounted to an open-face grilled cheese
Yes people, that is caciocavallo cheese, roasting over a fire.
With truffle shavings on top.
Heavenly...
I was completely transported to this foreign land of festivity when I see a familiar face...
Smalls is completely nonplussed. Her Switzerland response seems to indicate that she too thinks these characters are ever-so-slightly out of place...
We wind our way out of town, through the hills, and towards the sunset over the Mediterranean, our stomachs full from our adventurous journey.
At home we use the small truffle we bought at the festival to make a pasta dish.
The animal print interior of the little stinky prize made it ever more delightful.
We marvel that Smalls is developing quite the expensive taste in food.
She licks the pasta clean.
