mi scusi: 15 Types of Antipasto, Pasta, Fish, Meat & Veg, Dessert, Fruit, and Bottomless Local Red Wine

Now that I'm sobering up, I can't believe I went swimming in that cloudy, debri-laden water. But, my judgments shrouded by the fog of a post lunch nap, a lunch that included heaps of pasta and bruscetta, two bottles of Nero d'Avela (Sicilian red wine) and a bottle of Prosecco (Italian bubbly wine) shared between four people, the pool at Vecchia Masseria seemed like a great idea.

Vecchia Masseria is an agriturismo - a strand of part-farm, part bed&breakfast, part resort (*A brief history from About.com: “Starting in the 1950s and continuing through the 1970s, small scale farming in Italy became less profitable, and, as one might predict, farmers abandoned many farms to search for work in larger towns. But Italians value highly the traditions and produce of small scale production of food, and by 1985 a law defined Agriturismo, and many abandoned buildings and estates were restored, some for vacation homes, and many for agritourismo. These agritourismi allowed the small farmer to augment the income from the farm, and for vacationers to sample the bounty of a rural life in Italy.”) So here I sit, sipping water next to a cool, refreshing pool (despite formerly mentioned short comings), hydrating away this afternoon's wines as I prepare for the delicious onslaught of dinner.

An agriturismo must produce a certain percentage of its own food, so they are nearly guaranteed to be located on a large swath of land, putting them away from the hustle and bustle of nearby cities. Vacationers come to them for good food and a chance to relax. This Memorial Day weekend, Dinosaur and I, along with our friends, Boston and CrossFit, sought out this agriturismo for a one-night getaway that included adventure (in the form of a 2-hour four-wheeler excursion), food and wine (mostly local, a delicious tease of which we experienced at lunch and the coup d’état that we will experience at dinner [described in today's title]), and indulgent relaxation (swimming in the pool, napping during the day, and overall enjoying an entire day free of agenda).

Did you click on the website link for Vecchia Messaria? This place really is as nice as it looks, possibly even nicer. The receptionist speaks respectable English, though Dinosaur and I are priding ourselves with increased Italian communication abilities.

On that note, the process of learning a new language, really learning it, is fascinating. At first vocabulary is memorized and laboriously cataloged in consciously sub-conscious files, but everything read or spoken or heard must first be mentally translated. But I began to realize recently that some Italian words have taken on meaning. When I think "cane," I picture a cane, I don't have to first tell myself "dog." The process has been, and continues to be tedious and at times frustrating, but like any other venture worth chasing, the small accomplishments along the way encourage me to keep on trucking.