The obvious next question is, I am old enough? I have traveled enough, I know that things go bad. What was the worst part of the whole adventure?

It's all there, the good, the bad and the ugly. On reflection, perhaps I didn't quite capture the dampening effect that rain day after day in the beginning had on my spirits. But that's it. I had a very, very good time. Perhaps I have an unusually sunny nature. And perhaps I was just lucky,

You had me salivating over some of the dishes. If you had to pick the ultimate one, which would it be?

Oh crikey. That's a poser. I would hope that any last supper of mine would contain a helping of la salama da sugo of Ferrara. And some tonno di coniglio. Orrechiette con broccoli. A bowl of zuppa di virtu. A slice of pastiera.

I have never met an author that stops at one book. What is the next project, maybe a Vesper across the South Pole?

Not enough food in the South Pole for me. No, I am working at turning two Vespa odysseys I made around Sicily into chapters of pearly prose. Lunching with Leopoldo should be out next year.