We had one more day before the Last Day, the 8th Day, that great day of the Feast. It could either be hectic and memorable, or relaxed and memorable. We chose the latter. A final walk into downtown Sabaudia was in order. Our goal was to find some local pizza to taste just to make sure we could say that the pizza in Italy was good, and we weren't just amazed by being in Rome. We set out around lunch time, foregoing our usual four course meal for a lighter, not yet paid for meal like the locals do. Joe, José, Michael, Lauren, Lena, and I set off on another rainy day adventure in the calm of the Italian afternoon.

Right around the corner from the large Catholic church in town was a small bakery filled with all sorts of giant loaves of bread, pre-made pizza ready to be sliced, weighed, and heated up in an oven, and also any other small snack or meal items you might find at a corner store: coffee, wine, beer, pasta, etc. We strolled in and chose our slices, aided by José's Spanish/Italian skills. We picked out a cheap, sweet Italian sparkling red wine, Italian beer of some sort, and a splash of water just in case. We had all sorts of toppings between the six of us. There was a pizza with potatoes and gorgonzola cheese, Margherita pizza, and probably a few more. We were not disappointed whatsoever!

Here's a description of the history of the Pizza Margherita, not to be confused with margarita pizza which is essentially the same, but not accurately named:

In June 1889, to honor the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, the Neapolitan chef Raffaele Esposito created the "Pizza Margherita," a pizza garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil, to represent the colors of the Italian flag. He was the first baker ever to add cheese. So thank you Naples, Italians, Chef Esposito and my sincere apologies for calling your well thought out and constructed bread after a tequila drink.

(http://erecipecards.blogspot.com/2012/ 02/its-pizza-margherita-not-pizza.html)

Shops and cafes filled the rest of our afternoon. As we were about to leave town we wandered past the local street market that people had told us about a few days before. We heard it was only open in the early morning on certain days, but it may have been different on the weekends. There were all sorts of trinkets, antiques, local wares, tools, guns, and even an assortment of Native American style art and jewelry. We bought Lena a new hat to keep her warmer in Stockholm. None of the more masculine hats would fit my head.

That night we sat up late and enjoyed a few extra hours of fellowship since some of us would be leaving the next day soon after services were over. What a wonderful end to a wonderful Feast!