January 5th, 2026

Good mornings folks,

     Some folks may have been wondering if I’ve dropped off the face of the Earth. Well, almost! The journey to Europe was long and arduous, but we made it and are settling in rather nicely, all things considered. The drive across central New York was a blustery January "white knuckle" affair with Julie at the wheel. We flew from Toronto to Rome with my scooter, a large clothing bag for me and Julie‘s clothes in her checked bag, which didn’t arrive until four days later! We had made reservations for New Year’s Eve dinner at the restaurant, Ci Vulia, and we were afraid we wouldn’t be able to make it on time. However, our great driver, Nino Licata, took us to a store where Julie could buy some clothes. We had been traveling for 24 hours and got to the apartment just in time to tidy up. The dinner lasted from 8:30 till 12:30 AM, and was probably the most elaborate gustatory affair that I had ever attended, and the food was beyond anything I could even have words to describe, and the champagne flowed like water. Afterwards, we walked around and watched the crowds gathering around music and fireworks. The next day I brought Julie around to some of the places I had frequented last January. At several places I was greeted with big smiles and in Italian, "you are back again" and I replied, "sì, questa volta sono tornato per tre mesi". It’s nice to be recognized and it’s nice to fit in…

       We have been shopping and stocking up our cupboards as I am going to be here for three months. Julie will be here for another week and it’s been great having her help me get things in order. Once again, I am encouraging anyone to come and visit have dinner spend some time together. There are  loads of small hotels around in the area. I’ll cook you dinner. I’ll buy you a Campari. We’ll have a great time.

With Peace

John Bernunzio 

I’m leaving behind the frozen landscape of Western New York…. just looking at the pictures kind of freezes my bones.

The New Year’s Eve dinner at Ci Vulia, started out with fresh oysters and champagne, then proceeded with a seafood trio of appetizers with an Asian flavor… that was followed by Arancini with squid ink and sea urchins, then red prawn risotto with burrata cream and a crispy leek, and then a red mullet ragu with toasted almonds and fennel, and finally fried cod and then lentils with cotechino sausage, which is a traditional New Year’s Eve combination, and of course, a panettone.
The food in this town is fresh and out of control. You can get something tasty everywhere you turn….