Italian Summer Boots

Apr 08 2013

It’s almost time.  It’s almost time for il cambio di stagione.  Literally “the changing of the seasons,” but any lady worth her salt know that this is about two things: clothes and shoes.

You have to pick a day for your cambio, and then switch out all your winter clothes for the lighter spring/summer gear. With the weather finally changing, I should be seeing my first pair of summer boots any day now.

Allow me to explain. “Summer boots” are boots you wear when it is too hot to wear boots. Why would you want to wear boots when it’s too hot for boots? I. Don’t. Know.

Summer boots, however, are special. No need to worry about the heat! There are hundreds of holes in the perforated leather to allow a summer breeze through.

I must say, I particularly enjoy the crochet insert on these.

For more, see: Alla Romana

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Pizza with French Fries

Apr 06 2013

Good news! All your dreams have come true at once!

From the brand that brought you frozen supplì: pizza with french fries and hot dogs (wurtsel e patatine)!

This is not a new idea, though it is a terrible one.  You can find pizza with french fries around Rome.  I think I’ve seen someone eating it a grand total of 1 time in 3 years.

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Anyways, I am, per usual, behind on posts.  My dear sissy was in town and we’ve been traveling a bit.  But also, there’s the issue of Francis Bacon the cat.

Bacon (or Bakan or Pakon, depending on what day you catch my vet on), is obsessed with our obsession with technology.  He cannot stand when we use computers.  That means that if I try to sit down and write, I tend to see this: (notice the paw raised to swat)

Or this:

And forget about the iPad.  That is used for Cat Fishing:

Happy Caturday!

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Rome Food Tour

Mar 12 2013

You guys. I am ridiculously behind. Ri-dic-u-lous-ly.  One of the things I’ve been meaning to write about for ages (please forgive me) is an edible tour of Rome with Eating Italy Food Tours.

Are you planning a trip to Rome? Lemme tell you how it’s going to be:

It’s going to be awesome. You will see beautiful sites, you will hear beautiful language and classical music, and you will eat some good meals. Some.

That’s because you will inevitably wind up in at a place that looked good from the outside, but then delivered the dreaded tourist menu.

Kenny and his guides are here to help.

I went on the Rome Food Tour after living in Rome for years and I not only learned things, but I ate other delicious things, and also had one of the most fun days out with the boy that we still talk about.

Kenny will take you on a tour of one of Rome’s quintessential foodie ‘hoods. We hopped on the Testaccio tour and, I’m going to date myself, we saw the old market before it moved to Nuovo Mercato Testaccio.

We started with cheese. Cheese. Cheese is the way to my heart.

A man who knows his tomatoes? That doesn’t hurt one bit either!

I won’t give away all of the secrets but after the market, and a stroll around town, we stopped for supplì ::swoon::

The something sweet…

AND something savory…

After exploring a foodie paradise:

It was time. Lunch time.

If you are thinking: I couldn’t possibly eat that much! I respectfully disagree.

This is just a taste of a very tasty tour. There’s much more- from history to entertainment to eats. And eat you will.

You can book your own Rome Food Tour here!

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Non-Italian Food

Mar 11 2013

I love pasta. I love pizza.  But variety in the spice of life, and I just can’t get behind the argument that it’s possible to eat pasta every day because there are “so many kinds.”  It’s still noodles and sauce, and sometimes you want something different.

My burning desire for “not Italian” can sometimes lead me astray.  Because there is so little demand for not-Italian, there’s also very little supply, and no reason for said supply to be any good at all.

Aware of these risks, I sometimes still roll the dice and try whatever not-Italian I can get my hands on.  One such gamble did not pay off.

IN ORDER, here are three things I never want on sushi again:

  1. Sun-dried tomatoes
  2. Mayo
  3. Tabasco
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Pastificio San Lorenzo

Mar 09 2013

I love the San Lorenzo neighborhood.  It’s a bit off the beaten path and has plenty of cheap eats like Super Pizza.  With a plethora of traditional, affordable restaurants, we had long raised a wary eye brow at the modern design of Pastificio San Lorenzo. (These phone pictures won’t do it justice).

Let me be the first to say: I was wrong. I don’t know why we put off trying it for so long. It was fabulous.

Part of my new found love for Pastificio San Lorenzo is the decor.  I felt at home. Trendy and retro at the same time.  The type of decor I would expect to see in California.

But as I settled into my surroundings, and sipped an (affordable!) bottle of prosecco, the food arrived.

We had the tajarin pasta with cozze (mussels) and pecorino. I had never tried tajarin before, which is from Piedmont. Al dente, with the sauce cooked to perfection.

And the burger with chips.  For this part of the meal, you need to know two things:

1. Those are the most expensive chips I have ever purchased. 5 Euro! For that side! They were aight.

2. I haven’t had a burger in probably 15 years.

That being said, the chips were mediocre, and the burger was incredible. I only had a few bites, since red meat is still not my thing, but I am pretty sure they mix parmesan directly into the patty. So so good.

The place is packed every night, so it’s best to make a reservation.  Dinner starts at 8 pm, but you can pop in without a reservation for the aperitivo in the lounge area from 7 pm.

Pastificio San Lorenzo
Via Tiburtina 196

+39 0697273519

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sede Vacante: Benny Retires to Castel Gandolfo

Mar 03 2013

No government. No pope.  Everything is just chugging right along here in Rome.

I don’t know how you could have possibly missed this news item, but- the pope retired.  I will leave the analysis of this nearly unprecedented act to those who know their history, like Tiffany.

To summarize:

Pope: Bye.
Rome: You’ll be with us always. Thanks, Benny.

And then he got in a helicopter and peaced out to Castel Gandolfo.

Castel Gandolfo has a special place in my heart. It’s scenic, relaxing, and marks the location of my first date with an important boy.  We go visit the small village about 30 minutes outside of Rome several times a year.  I don’t blame the ex-pope for holing up there while Rome figures things out. I’d do the same.

I was at work, and missed the historic helicopter flight, so I headed down to the Vatican on Saturday, 2 days into his official retirement.

 It was… quiet.  People were lining up to go in to St. Peters and there was a small religious procession, but overall it seemed very subdued.  I’m not sure what I expected. But it was more than what I got.

But since I couldn’t witness history, I wanted a piece of it.  So I beelined for the RV parked in the middle of square that was serving as a temporary post office. May I just repeat: This was not exactly what I was expecting.

I waited and finally requested my Sede Vacante stamps.  Sede Vacante means “empty seat”.  These stamps and coins are available for only available for the few weeks between when a pope dies, or in Benny’s case retires, and when the conclave elects a new pope.

Actually, it wasn’t quite as simple as “I waited for my stamps and then I got them,” because even though dealing with the Vatican postal service is infinitely less taxing than waiting on the Italian post, there can still be hang ups.  For example: dude gave me normal 70 cent stamps. I proceeded to look at him like he was crazy, because why in the ex-pope’s name would I wait in line for those?

“No,” I insisted. “Sede vacante.” At which point I was informed that there were none.

Again, cue the looking at him like he was crazy because I can literally see a stack of 70 cent stamps two inches beyond the glass partition separating us.  Our Italian exchange went a bit like this:

Me, clarifying: “You don’t have any?”
Him: “None.”
Incredulous me: “What about these here?” (pointing to the stack)
Humorless postal worker: “We don’t have them.”
Annoyed me: “So, (trying to stay calm), you are telling me that I can’t buy these. These. Right here. These!” (At which point I reached my hand under the glass, though this is probably discouraged, and tapped the stack of 70 cent sede vacante stamps).
Power-trippin’ postman: (Looking me dead in the eye) “We don’t have any.”
Touche. 85 cent stamps it is.

I don’t really know why I trekked out there.  I am not overly interested in religion or stamps, but I got caught up in the excitement of living through history.

If you are coming to Rome and taking a Vatican tour, keep in mind that the Sistine Chapel will be closed during conclave (probably from March 11 and then continuing for less than two weeks). Estimates vary, but I would assume they’ll have a new pope in place by Easter.

If you are interested in following the story, I recommend Trisha Thomas’ Mozzarella Mamma blog. She covers the Vatican for the AP, and her personal blog is always up-to-date with the happenings around St. Peter’s.

On a final note, current rumors are that our next pope might be Austrian…

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Amatriciana PIZZA

Feb 21 2013

It’s been a rough week, for both personal and political reasons.  I don’t want to think about bad things, like Berlusconi trying to bribe the electorate. I want to think about nice things, like amatriciana pizza.

Amatriciana is a quintessential Roman dish. Well, it’s not from Rome, but it is from Lazio (the region Rome is in).  It’s a dish that deserves a post of its own. In short, it’s a tomato sauce with bacon and cheese. Yeah. That just happened.

Anyways, after running around to exchange boyfriend shoes and buy special (read: expensive) cat food for a sick kitty, I was getting home too late to contemplate cooking anything for lunch myself.  Like I said, it’s been a rough week.

So, here’s where you cue a detour into any of the ubiquitous pizza al taglio shops that dot Rome.  Pizza al taglio is pizza sold by weight.  You indicate how much you want via facial expression, hand gestures, and the occasional “più” (more) or “meno” (less).

When I got there at 3 pm on a Saturday, there were huge sheets of different flavors, except for this lone saucy looking little piece:

“Cos’è?” (What’s that?)

“L’amatriciana”

This is where my brain did a couple of cartwheels trying to process bacon sauce + pizza.  I’ve tried cacio e pepe pizza before, which is also based on a Roman pasta dish, but I had never heard of amatriciana pizza!

I bought all that was left. Salty, salty goodness.

This is from Super Pizza at Via dei Volsci, 67, which is nothing special but consistently acceptable and highly unlikely to have amatriciana pizza on a regular basis. (Sorry).

Correction: They do have Amatriciana quite often- lucky you! Thanks to Dario, for correcting my blatantly wrong generalization, and suggesting the cacio e pepe supplì.

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Election Time in Italy

Feb 19 2013

Between the pope retiring, and the upcoming elections, Rome is all a flutter.

The Pope may be stealing the international spot light, but walk down any street in Rome and all you will see are miles of campaign posters.

In my humble, not-at-all eligible to vote opinion, this one is the best:

C’mon, you guys! With such a winning, trustworthy smile… With such a understated, natural tan… Who wouldn’t vote for his party?!

The man is 76.

Hot damn, Photoshop is a beautiful thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pitigliano: Tuscany’s City Built of Tufo

Jan 29 2013

We had stopped by Saturnia and Sovana, but our final destination was the village of Pitigliano.

Perched on a rather perilous seeming cliff, the town is sometimes referred to as Italy’s Little Jerusalem. Though the synagoge is rarely in use, it has been turned into a lovely historical landmark.

The rocky village is worth a visit, full of twisting alleys, dark passage ways, friendly locals and delicious Tuscan home cooking to keep you warm even on rainy January days.

Plus, planters filled with kitties which is always sure to be a hit with me.

And an Ape in every shade!

If you want to book a trip, we stayed at Il Tufo Rosa, a comfortable home base with the bonus of delicious organic olive oil for sale downstairs. (Tufo is the kind of rock the city is built of).

We left Rome Saturday morning and were back by Sunday at 6 pm.  It was a brief road trip and possibly too short a time in Pitigliano, but it’s doable in two days.

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Saturnia Hot Springs

Jan 16 2013

After a great lunch in Sovana, we had earned a little R&R.  We piled back into our cinque cento, clown car style, and set off for the nearby village of Saturnia.

Exploring another Tuscan town was not the priority. Instead, we were on the hunt for thermal hot springs.

The Saturnia hot springs are in an idyllic little valley.  The source is located slightly farther upstream and a fancy spa has been built around it.  We were going for the eco-chic experience and headed for the outdoor pools.

The natural pools are gorgeous and located just below a little waterfall.

Unfortunately, the waterfall and the distance from the source, mean that in mid-January the water is not-so-hot.  More like the tepid terme, rather than hot springs.  Next time we might spring for the spa.

But the view really couldn’t be beat…

Just follow the signs to Saturnia, and then the brown signs with the spring icon.  There is free parking heading down hill towards the springs.

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