Visiting charming Castelli Romani

15th of August is a special day in Italy. Italians call it the Ferragosto and it is a holiday all throughout the country. And on this day, Cart and I decided to take the day off to visit Castelli Romani.

Literally translated, Castelli Romani means Castles of Rome. Over here, there are a group of towns and the area is unique for its volcanic crater. I was excited to explore the area after the trip to Bracciano where coincidentally, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got married. But first, Cart and I needed to fill our engines.

We stopped by this quaint little place called Trattoria Dei Cacciatori. This place was special to Cart because his family likes eating there and it was famous for its game.

The place was really crowded. We were very lucky to have an empty table. As we sat down, I looked around, there were many families having a meal together.

Having a meal in a trattoria is very interesting. Its a small family owned place where the foods served are different every day according to the season. How it works here is that the cameriere will verbally list to you what they are serving and you choose among the list. I quite like this method actually because there is no need to boggle the head with a menu. Just give me my choices and I choose one. Very simple!

We started with this pasta with funghi and romano cheese.

I will box anyone who pronounces this as funn-ghaii

Cart enjoyed his pasta very much since he’s always iffy about pasta being al dente. I like how fresh tasting the mushrooms were.

Later we had a side dish of Melanzane alla Parmigiana which I dare say is the best one that I’ve ever had. It was so soft and tasty that I gobbled it up and forgot to take a picture of it!

We ended our meal with tiramisu. The original recipe should not have alcohol in them which makes Cart wonder why there were so many restaurants that uses them in tiramisu.

In any case, one bite and I was in heaven … mmmm… it was orgasmic! I can has moar??

By the end of the meal, both Cart and I were so stuffed that we felt sleepy. And we decided to take a walk around the area. Unfortunately, being summer, it was still uncomfortably warm and I felt sticky and didn’t feel like taking a lot of pictures. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve lost my tolerance to the Singapore heat. I hope that I’d be fine when I return back to Singapore in December.

Notice that we drive on the right?

We then decided to drive through a town called Nemi which was nearby. Nemi is special because of the lake near it.

Because of the volcanic craters, Nemi is also famous for its unique strawberries. The first time I encountered it, I was curious because it was so tiny! Regardless, it was sweet and ripe and really good in my gelato!

We stopped a while by the roadside to take a look at the beautiful lake in front of us. It was really a sight to behold.

Its really gorgeous. The blue of the lake, coupled with the gentle breeze made it feel so tranquil and serene. People living around this area are so lucky!

In the distance, I could spot out a yacht going by.

My gosh, how nice it was to just go sailing and enjoy the breeze.

I also saw something in the air. Was it parachuting? Parasailing? Para-para sakura?

Regardless of what it was, it looked like a lot of fun. Gosh! I wanna do water sports! Its been such a long time. The last time that I did something like that was in Thailand with Juli and Hema some years back.

I hope that there is something like that in Italy too and hopefully, doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

In any case, as we approached the town of Nemi, it was crowded! Cart couldn’t find parking anywhere! There was no parking even some kilometers away from the town. Oh my gosh. Apparently, this was THE place to be during Ferragosto.

Reluctantly, we had to leave Nemi. Maybe we’ll be here again another day.