An Italian Culinary Journey

Some days are designed for discarding the rule book and discovering where your adventurous spirit leads you…

In our case, it was our compact rickshaw.

Situated in our accommodation in Rome, we reunited with fellow participants in the rickshaw challenge and opted to travel together for part of the route. Our companions, Giorgia and Lorenzo—an Italian couple—had previously undertaken the rickshaw challenge via a different route, but this time they planned to focus more on culinary explorations!

It does not take much persuasion for me to indulge in food! Before long, we arrived at a quaint Italian farm that seemed hidden from view off an unassuming road… (essentially, you would not realize it was there unless you were specifically searching for it).

The establishment is known as Azienda Agricola POD 469. Its official title appears to be POD 469, although the details were entirely in Italian, motivating me to learn the language posthaste. While POD 469 lacks an official website, it does maintain an active Facebook presence (view here).

We arrived during the peak lunch hour, with the oven already engaged and producing a bounty of delectable Italian dishes.

Notably, during our culinary journey, we discovered that nearly all the menus we encountered were simply printed on plain paper (some even handwritten) and solely in Italian. There were no photographs of the dishes, nor were there English translations. While this authenticity was delightful, it meant we had to depend heavily on Gabriele for extensive translations.

Lorenzo initiated our experience with wine (after all, I wasn’t the one driving, so wine limits didn’t apply).

Giorgia boldly opted for a starter of tripe stew. For those unfamiliar, tripe consists of the intestine of cows and is far more palatable than one might expect. In fact, I find it quite enjoyable!

As for me, I indulged in a succulent Florentine steak. Why? Because:

• a.) They are absolutely incredible.
• b.) The cost was less than a third of what I would pay in Florence.

The experience was extraordinary, until I reached the midpoint of the meal and realized that these steaks are truly meant for sharing. I dislike wasting food, so I powered through until every last bit was consumed.

I reminded myself that next time I will likely seek to share the experience. However, I suspect I will conveniently forget this by the next occasion I order a Florentine steak.

We concluded our meal with complimentary liquor, a gesture insisted upon by the proprietor. It certainly ignited a fire in our bellies and infused energy into our spirits.

Eventually, we hit the road once more, having enjoyed one of the best meals of our excursion!

As we navigated the countryside, we celebrated with song—each of us attempting to recall every cheesy Italian tune we could manage. Dean Martin’s That’s Amore may have been sung a few too many times during our drive.

During a fuel stop, I noticed what seemed to be a beach up ahead and insisted we explore. It turns out I was correct, although the rickshaw’s inability to traverse beach sand resulted in a rather sandy face for the unfortunate driver.

This beach was an unplanned yet welcome addition to our journey, providing a chance to recuperate from that substantial lunch. In no time, we resumed our journey towards Naples…

A critical point to note about traveling by rickshaw is its fuel efficiency—frequent refueling is a must, similar to a newborn requiring constant attention. The tank is relatively small, necessitating refills approximately every four to five hours of journey. Fortunately, a full tank comes at a cost of under €10, so it isn’t financially burdensome.

Shortly thereafter, we reached Naples, which served as a stopover before our final destination for the day—the Amalfi Coast. Naples distinguishes itself as quite a unique Italian city compared to those we had previously visited, leading me to anticipate further exploration and sharing thoughts in a subsequent post.

Until next time! Thank you for joining us on our culinary journey.