Oh wow, thanks for the beautiful photos during what is a very difficult time for my family! I think I can smell the ocean and the food, which is gorgeous. We buy taralli from our neighborhood pasta maker, who is Argentinian/Italian/American. Some are good, some are kind of stale. You are eating fresh-made from the source.
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Wow, that is a beautiful combo of nature and architecture!
And tarallini, too!
LOL!
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It’s one of the funnest parts of stopping for a drink in Italy - free snacks! The most amazing assortment I’ve had was in Catania. I’ll se if I can find the photo.
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I’m so sorry to hear you’re having a tough time. Big hugs to you Madrid.
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I’d probably fill myself up on those and then regret not having enough room for dinner!
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Tarallini are addictive little things. It is probably a good thing that trattorias only serve small bowls of them or it WOULD be easy to over-indulge before you eat. I have found that they replace snack chips and are way less filling, but they do add up.
I like the fennel and rosemary ones the best.
I get them on Amazon. Tarall’Oro is the brand I buy and they are pretty good. Though they are not quite as fresh as the really good ones, they are still pretty tasty. A variety 6 pack is around $28.
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Are those arancini, “little oranges”, the stuffed arborio rice balls? Our neighborhood Italian-American restaurant in Somerville, MA, is owned by Sicilians and they serve arancini. Tapas in Spain used to be free with drinks, and there is of course a huge interaction historically between regions in the countries now known as Spain and Italy.
I’m really enjoying your reports and photos. Thank you!
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Thank you so much.
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apertivo time? Its a great custom, those snacks. get you through the passegiata and on to your late dinner. Arancini, yum!
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Yesss! When we visited our friends in Lucca a few years ago (same folks we met up with in Palermo this year) I was blown away by the abundance and array of free munchies with HH. More often than not we really had to control ourselves, as we (naturally) had dinner plans every night.
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Yes, they gave me chips, olives, tiny pizzas, and small (for Sicily) arancini, all with one glass of wine!
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Last night’s dinner was at Cantinando, recommended on another recent Ischia thread. Very cozy, charming place with warm service. Had a very nice meal. The amuse was a bite of bread with soft garlic butter and anchovy. I loved it.
My pasta course was spaghetti with a sea bass ragout with lemon and pistachios. Delicious. I would love to make this at home, probably add chilies, because I love heat.
next up was rabbit! I got a half order and it was still enormous. Very tasty, but hard to eat with all those bones. If I could have picked it up and eaten it with my hands I would have eaten more, but I did my best, and left happy. And I finally tried the local red wine with this dish, and was impressed. I had read something uncomplimentary about it, but I really liked it!
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The breakfast at the hotel is wonderful, as Italian breakfasts often are. They have bean salad! (I am crazy about beans.) And of course lots of fruit and various cakes each day. Today I had caprese torte - chocolate and almonds. Adding my breakfast view.
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I’m sure no one would have batted an eye if you used your hands to eat it 
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I wish I had known. I didn’t see anyone else doing so, so I figured it was taboo.
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The europeans are much better than we in eating difficult food with knife and fork. I would have picked it up, I am sure, if there was a chance of good bits being uneaten. Certainly have done in the past!
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Exactly! I’m spending good money for good food, and if they’re not going to put the effort into deboning it, that’s when my hands come into play A bit of decorum and discretion is called for though 
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Then I’m probably not your girl 
I waited tables in my 20s, and Europeans would eat their burgers with a knife and fork. Kind of blew my mind, and has made me a bit on edge about not standing out with food habits.
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My husband’s parents are British and he eats pizza with a knife and fork (and of course points out that this is how Italians do it). But Lulu and I do give him a bit of grief about it at home.
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