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May
21 - Ostia. Our last meal! After securing our bike boxes, we spent the next few
hours looking for a non-touristy (i.e. not right on the waterfront) ristorante
for lunch. It took some doing, but we found Ristorante Al Tavolaccio da Bruno,
where Philip had the best calamari he's ever eaten (he tells me) and we had dessert
of sliced strawberries with a little sugar, lemon juice and mint. We also had
an amaro we hadn't yet tried, Amaro Abruzzese, according to the waitress - it
was a good one. The very friendly propietor invited us to stay and watch the Giro
stage (one of Paolo Savoldelli's big wins.) Back at the campground, which was
a very different place just three weeks later into the season - lots of campers,
including tons of little German kids tearing around on bikes - we packed up the
bikes and our stuff, and had a final snack of bufala mozzarella and tomatoes.
A fellow camper, who had obviously never actually pitched his tent before, offered
us a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino in exchange for our help (and tent pegs)
but to our lasting regret we were just too tired, and concerned about having to
rise at 5 am, to drink more than a glassful. We felt like such ingrates! But in
the morning we were up and off before it first light, but not, fortunately, before
the local cappucino stand was open for business. And that was essentially the
end of our adventure...for the time being. Ciao!