After breakfast at the hotel, we walked up to the place to catch the van up to Mt. Vesuvius. A long winding road to get there, climbing higher and higher. As we climbed, there was snow and ice and we were in and out of clouds. It was rainy and overcast. When we got as far as the van could go, I decided not to go on the 1000 meter climb to the crater. It was cold and there was a lot of snow and ice, and it was a steep hike. I was afraid of a fall. So I waited in the van and sewed on my little quilt blocks. Andy and a French family came back after awhile. She said it would have been a difficult climb for me and they got rained on. I’ll climb it later this year when we go back. When it isn’t snowy, icy and raining. Since I was sitting up front with the driver, Pasquale, we carried on a good conversation all the way down to the town…in Italian. I’m getting better. He dropped us off at the train station and we went back to Naples and then on in to Rome. We decided we would go to Isole di Pizza where we had eaten with my friend, Bea last week. We had such a wonderful Mozzarella Bufala there…cheese made from buffalo milk…I guess. Not sure, but it sure is good. When we got there at 6:40… The place was closed. It was a Sunday night. We were disappointed, but went across the street to a place that was open. We were looking at the menu outside when a big teddy bear of a man wearing a big apron came out and insisted we come right on in and sit down. So we did. He showed us a whole page article about him and his restaurant from the Los Angeles Times. It was framed and right over our table. Vito, the owner brought us delicious bruschetta…toasted bread with chopped tomatoes, olive oil and spices. He is going around to each table making sure we are all enjoying the food…in between going outside and encouraging folks to come on in and eat. What a showman! By 7pm, the place is packed…and as a table comes available, Vito is back on the front sidewalk roping people in. American ingenuity at its best! He goes out and rolls up his awning, and I see that Isola di Pizza – across the street is open. At 7 pm…and there can’t be too many people there, because Vito has them all at his place! We ended up having mussels in tomato broth with big toasted chunks of bread for sopping. After dinner, he presented us with a little complimentary glass of lemoncello…a lemon liquor. The man knows his business! We will be back.
The restaurant is called Da Vito & Dina. We felt like we had found a treasure…in the restaurant and in Vito!
Now, for an Italian lesson…how to pronounce bruschetta. Is isn’t Bru-Shetta like people in America say. It is Bru-skate-ah. In Italian, the ch together is a K sound. Like Chianti wine. You don’t say she-anti. It’s Key-anti… So now, you know how to properly pronounce bruschetta.
Last week, I heard a waiter ask if we wanted bru-Shetta. I asked ” bru-shetta or bru-skate-a?” He said, “Bru-skate-a in Italiano!” He knew we were Americans and pronounced it how most Americans pronounce -or mispronounce – it. So now you know.