The Grill, and some uninvited guests

For me, part of vacationing at the sea means eating the freshest seafood. A few nights ago, we grilled these spigola, Italian sea bass. I bought three thinking I could easily eat one and a half, and Roman would surely like to try this mild, white fish.

While preparing them, I noticed a wasp buzzing around the kitchen. No big deal, I shooed it out and went about my business. Later when P. lit up the grill, more came. These were not just regular back yard wasps. They are more your long-legged variety. In sum, they are scavengers that eat meat and fish (shudder) and they were after ours. We quickly moved our plates, food and baby inside to finish our meal, although my appetite was largely gone just thinking of carnivore insects.

This morning we drove to the next town over, Bari Sardo, to buy fish, Tuesday being the recommended day to get the freshest and most abundant selection. I bought two of our favorites. Fresh squid and fresh sardines. I marinated them both in garlic and fruity, local olive oil. They tasted divine, but again, the wasps came, so we ate inside, luckily with a nice breeze coming through.

In Bari Sardo this morning, we were delighted to find that we can do all our shopping in town. The butcher, fishmonger, baker and a vegetable stand are all conveniently located at one intersection. We bought this beautiful, rustic bread and P. got another bottle of Cannonau, which is best consumed chilled, wasps or no wasps.