Tag Archives: Christmas

Panettone: How to pronounce (and then serve) Italy’s favorite Christmas cake

Italian christmas cake known as panettone

Panettone. Pa-neht-tohn-ney panetˈtoːne However, you say it, panettone is Italy’s ubiquitous Christmas cake. Yes, there are other holiday treats but it is the panettone that reigns supreme. During the holiday season (which runs through 6 January), the stores and bakeries are piled high with the sweet cake. If you are visiting someone’s home or throwing […]

Merry Christmas from Rome! (2016)

The Christmas decorations are quite understated in Rome this year. Gone is the Christmas fair in Piazza Navona, but the carousel spins on. It is an austerity Christmas, thanks for the most part to Rome’s newish mayor. And the Romans, who will tolerate quite a bit, are not. having. it. It has brought me much […]

Pope Socks: A Favorite Roman Souvenir

Updated: October 2023 Deep in my heart I still believe that the best gift ever given to anyone in the history of the world was given by me, to my sister. She was the lucky recipient of a combination bottle opener/toe-nail clipper in the shape of Pope John Paul II’s face. I procured it at […]

Christmas Tea in Rome: Babington’s Tea Shop

Babingtons at Spanish Steps

I have walked by Babington’s many times.  If you have been to Rome, so have you. With an unimaginably good location, Babington’s offers tea and light bites right at the base of the Spanish Steps.  You know. Right there. Yep. There. The tea rooms were established in 1893, with the aim of catering to the […]

Trolling Trastevere

I sometimes hate on Trastevere. It is easy to see why it is popular: charming, central and well looked after. However, its strength is its weakness, and these virtues also means it is packed with hawkers of knickknacks, over-salted aperitivo buffets and throngs of international explorers. Sometimes Rome feels like it is divided into two […]