yes, a whole month : the travel blog

Torino

2009-10-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

the single most amazing place this trip. I was there this morning, then I went shopping at the galleria across the street, but the whole time I was at the galleria, I wanted to be back here. I want to go shopping here everyday for my foodstuffs and beverages. I want every meal to be a degustazione, with care and thought put into each bite. I thought I'd find this place to be super cheesy, but it's the real deal!

Wine on tap, Cause I love some sfuso!

Gelato. People were lined up here, so I said Hells Yeah! I'm glad I did. Nothing screams Italy like una coppeta di Stracciatella.

And finally, uno spritz, con Aperol per favore! Preferably with a beautiful Piazza and a continuous stream of older gentleman in orange pants.

L'Ultimo Giorno in Canale

2009-10-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

Final day in Canale:
We took 4 trucks, full of barbera and turned them all into grapey-goo. Unload the trucks, into the de-stemer, through A giant hose, into a tank. No added yeast, unless later fermentation gets stuck. Giacomo (Roberto’s sun) showed me some ‘Noble-Rot’ on a bunch of barbera, it’s a grey moldy looking thing.
After all the grapes were in, we hosed down al the machines and made ready for a group of Norwegians, 20 or so to taste at the restaurant. I went downtown to look for a ravioli form for XTN, but couldn’t locate one (maybe Torino today). So I headed back up the hill to the winery, and when I got there, Roberto made me translate his Italian to the Norwegians. I think they were bored with Italian wine, because what they really wanted to know about were the differences between California and Europe. I think I safely scared them from ever trying any California wine....
After the tasting many of them came u to me, and thanked me and said they had been to 5 wineries, and this was the best tasting so far, most informative and entertaining. I think that's pretty good for not speaking Norwegian or Italian perfectly.

2009-10-03T02:57:00.000-07:00

No pics from yesterday, Just tired. I woke up at 6:30am, walked to the Bar to get a cafe, walked to the winery to post yesterdays blog entry, then Tadshi and I were taken to Cisterna in Asti to pick the Bonarda. Oh My God. very steep hillside, with very loose footing, in the morning all was well but as soon as the sun was out I got very tired very fast. I am really glad I id it, but also very glad its over. The Romanians picked 3 rows to every one of Tadashi and I’s. At around 10:30 we took a coffee break, and it was an amazing moment. Coffee on the side of a very steep vineyard, with the Italians and Romanians arguing about what types of cars are better.
We got back to the apartment at 1:30, I showered and changed and went back to the winery to figure out how to get to Alba to meet Lane, and go shopping. Roberto ended up taking me, and I had a wonderful afternoon in Alba, and got 2 older bottle of Marcarini Brunate.
After shopping, we went to Lane and Mollie’s house and had aperitivi and wonderful conversation. Evan from the winery came at around 8 to get me and take me to a wine maker dinner in Mango. at the dinner were many wine makers and other stages.
The theme of the dinner was ‘blind’ tasting from around the world and Piemonte. We had wonderful and weird wines from the all over the world, paired with more traditional Piemontese food. At around 11:30/midnight my body crashed, ad I actually went out the the car to sleep, like a baby.
Sorry for the ‘slice of life’ style prose but I wanted to get a post up before working today, and sooo many things happened yesterday I couldn’t pick just one event.

Racolta

2009-10-01T22:51:00.000-07:00

I made a mistake, tomorrow we pick Bonarda, in Asti. it's a very steep hillside, I oked with Roberto Damonte "come mossel?" Si! Si!. So, if you never hear from me again, I fell down a hillside in Asti. "In Boca al Lupo!". Today we recieved some old vine barbera: The pics are, barbera being brought in, destemed and the tank it is going into, also there are 10,000 Roero Arneis DOC bands

2009-09-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

The sugar levels for the various vineyards we visited yesterday

A layer of seashells, it's about 10 feet below the surface in the Roero, 'Alluvial Soils' from when this area was completely underwater.

Chickens on the Renesio Estate, for Rebecca and Angela (And myself)

More Pics:

2009-09-30T23:30:00.001-07:00

These Pics are of a carnival, that was leaving Alba. It cracks me up to think that there are 'carnies' in Italy.

2009-09-30T23:25:00.001-07:00

Una 'Grillo' di Piemonte
(a cricket)
Today I spent the day in a haze of Italian, Spanish, Japanese, and Piemontese. Do Mah is Piemontese for ‘lets go’ and go we did. First to Alba, to file 3 different sets of paper for DOC certification. I received a gift of the ‘bible’ of 2009 Langhe DOC regulations. Then to the enological school, also in Alba, to receive results from some samples. Finally we went from vineyard to vineyard to test brix, or sugar levels. we went to 5 or 6 vineyard sites all over Alba and Asti, testing sugar levels (brix) for harvest. It’s my understanding that anything above 21 is good. My main job was to walk down random rows of vines and pick grapes to be sent to the enological school as samples. The Barbera at San Michelle came in at an average of 23.8, so we’ll be picking that on friday, Exciting! Tonight’s dinner was a macaroni pasta con crema e zucca, and tagliate di manzo con peperoni e melanzane, with 2008 Malvira Renasio Arneis and 2000 Malvira Trinità, e dopo, Grappa di Barolo.

Primo Giorno

2009-09-29T22:55:00.000-07:00

The pictures above are the view from my room this morning and last night, aka Piemontese fog! live and in person! giving nebbiolo it's character. WOW!

I’m a bit tired from the trek, screaming babies on planes and all. But I shouldn’t complain, cause I’m in Piemonte and it’s fall. Lovely dinner at the Villa Tiboldi restaurant, but not really at the restaurant, we ate in the garden: tajine with fresh wild mushrooms, and egg, risotto with amaretti, panna cotta and heaps of local cheese) The other stages (temporary harvest workers) are between 24 and 41, and 3 are from Japan, one from England, 2 Italians, a Spaniard and myself, L’Americana. Some are here for a week, some a month, and one a whole year. We drank some older Malvira Nebbioli as well as their 2009 tre bichierre winner, which is 05 Renesio Riserva. I’m a bit tired, but excited. All of the white grapes are harvested, the aromatic grapes as well (brachetto). Barbera is this week and possibly nebbiolo. Tomorrow we make Birbet, or as Roberto calls it “Piemontese Coca Cola”
Also, I may get a lesson in Cuneo fabrication, which will excite the whole Bar Bambino team! It’s a 9 hour process. For now, I have some Cappellao Chinato before i give in to sleep.

stagiaire

2009-09-27T00:17:00.000-07:00

Becky here, Leaving monday at 2 PM from SFO-Frankfurt-Torino. yesawholeweek, but it's not entirely a pleasure trip. I'll be learning the harvest process in Piemonte, in Roero to be specific. I'll be staying at www.villatiboldi.it and working with www.malvira.com. I am super excited about this amazing opportunity, and hope our yesawholemonth fans will accept this shorter trip.

Maggia: the footsteps of my Swiss Italian ancestry

2009-05-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

I went to Switzerland to explore the villages in the Ticinese valleys that my great-grandmother's family emigrated to California from. I always knew that we were Swiss, but in more recent years, I learned more about family history and, in fact, we're Swiss-Italian. Which, somehow was more interesting than a mere fondue eating, yodeling, Heidi ancestry. (Ticino trip pics online.)

Ticino is the Southern most region of Switzerland, in both climate and culture. The language is Italian, albeit a distinct regional dialect. My people hail from hillsides and villages in the Maggia Valley, just north of Lago Maggiore. The lake, less famous than its nearby Lake Como, does just fine without George Clooney starpower, complete with its own stunning charm and beauty. Just the tip of Lago Maggiore is in Switzerland, with most of it stretching down into Italy toward Milan.

One of the things I just had to do on this trip was visit the homeland. It's the most direct geographical tie to any lineage, and the one I know most about. After plenty of online searching, I found a vacation rental apartment in Maggia, the incredibly small town in the valley and along the river of the same name. The rental, Casa alla Cascata, was irresistible. Minutes away from one of the many Ticino waterfalls, and nestled in a town filled with old stone homes. Even more, this is the very town that Great-Grandma Hazel's grandparents were from. I had to stay there. I wanted to walk in the footsteps of my ancestors, the famiglie (families) Giacomini and Garzoli of Maggia.

In the 1880s, a huge number of Ticinese villagers, particularly from the Valle Maggia left seeking opportunity and relief from dire poverty and hunger in flung flung part of the world. The first wave of emigration, which sounds more like a population hemorrhage, went to Australia. The second, went to California, and more specifically to the dairy farms in Marin County. Dairy farming was what they did and what they knew, so tenant farming in California was a natural step. In fact, the stellar cheese culture (really, I couldn't resist the pun) of the San Francisco Bay Area has its roots in immigrant Swiss Italian and Portugese dairy farmers who arrived over a century ago. In fact, Marin's famed Point Reyes blue cheese is made by a Giacomini family. Distant relatives?

(Ticino trip pics online.)

New pics are up.

2009-04-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

Pics from Verona, the Trentino, Alto Adige, and Valtellina are up on flickr.

(plus labels on the Ischia and Napoli photos.)

back in san francisco

2009-04-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

We've made it back to San Francisco. Bex is back at work tonight, I'm back tomorrow morning.

Parting shots: Becky sipping wine above nebbiolo vineyards at Malvira, in the Roero region of Piemonte.

And, I'm a handful on a rainy day in Milano.

Pics and stories from Ticino, and other spots still to come...

last day in italy, but the blog posts keep coming

2009-04-20T12:58:00.001-07:00

Last day in Milano. Tomorrow morning we head to the notorious Malpensa airport for our flight back to San Francisco.

Milan is weird and fantastic all at the same time. Much funkier than other parts of Italy, but in many ways, it often also seems less Italian.

We've had some great finds here though. CioccolatItaliani is the most amazing gelateria and fountain (literally) of kinds of chocolate goodness. If you're in Milan, this is a must stop. Happy hour is also big here, with aperitivi bars complete with an 8 euro buffet option. Sprinkled around the cool Navigli neighborhood, they're a great way to combine evening drinks with an early light dinner.

Becky found the wine mothership and we spent a good part of the late morning there. The lovely women who work there led us through their several decades old collections of obscure and more well known wines. The woman in the shop kept getting excited talking about wine, but that meant she was talking faster and then it's, well, much harder to follow. (Specifically, she found a shelf of 1996 Produttori del Barbaresco. And for 30 euro. Apparently you can't even buy this vintage in the U.S. anymore, and this wine is a prime example of the kind of good shit the Italians keep mostly for them self. Only 4 cases of a recent Produttori (or PdB as the wine kids call it) vintage go to the U.S. So it's a big wine deal.

I still have a number of back posts written and pictures to upload, so keep checking back. The internet connection at the hotel is impossibly slow, so I'll be lucky if this post uploads, let alone pictures. All the pics will be uploaded after I'm home and back on fast WiFi.

Small towns, no wifi. Quick update.

2009-04-17T05:44:00.000-07:00

We've been in small towns around Northern Italy for the last week, and without Internet access. Really nice for getting away, but not so great for keeping a blog updated. Ah well. We're in Piemonte right now, near Alba. We're staying at a small hotel on a hill above a winery, surrounded of course by vineyards.

We've been in the Trentino-Alto Adige and Switzerland, and in the Monferrato area of Piemonte.

See, like I said, quick update. The mornings have been chilly and foggy the last couple days, but the afternoons are sunny and warm, so I've got to go enjoy some of that!

Also, I'm adding in some back posts from Naples, Ischia, Trentino, and Alto Adige. Of course there are also tales to be told from Ticino and Piemonte, so I'm working on them. Tomorrow, we head to Milano, for the last few days of the trip.

(I also uploaded a few more pics to flickr, mostly from Ischia.)

Thinking back on Naples...

2009-04-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Naples fully expecting to be ripped off. My guard was up. I clutched my bag tightly, switching it often to be on the building side rather than street side should, lest it be snatched off my shoulder as someone speeds by on a Vespa.

But day after day, I was pleasantly surprised at how nice, and how incredibly warm everyone was. Not in a hustling kind of way. Just molto simpatico. Often with a brusque edge of course, but incredibly lovely none the less.

I thoroughly expected rugged edgy attitude. Naples is gritty, no doubt. But the city itself, and its inhabitants are undeniably warm, if you just give them the tiniest chance. Speaking enough--just barely--Italian to get by was helpful. But it’s amazing how far a per favore, ciao, or grazie mille will go. In Rome, I swear, people were not impressed and really didn’t seem to care if we were trying to speak Italian. In Naples, the effort made a distinct difference.

Flying in, the airport is relatively small, much smaller than, say, Rome’s Fiumicino. And my bag, freakishly, arrived in under 10 minutes. The taxi line outside was just a few steps away and within moments I was on my way to my hotel in the Centro Storico. I’d slept enough on the plane and was feeling brave enough already to take Naples head on and try my Italian out. The cab driver and I ended up chatting all the way to my hotel--all in Italian, though sometimes broken and we had to figure out what each other were saying. There was a soccer game, calcio, that night. Italy vs. Ireland, I think. It was on the radio in the cab. There’s not much traffic tonight, the driver explained, because it’s a big national game and everyone is inside watching it.

I found the epitome of the simultaneous grit and warmth of Naples on a city bus. I need to get a bus from he massively busy and congested Via Toledo, down to the port to catch the ferry to Ischia. I kind of knew where I was going, and I had a bit of a sense of which buses might get me there. I was keeping an eye out for bus 24 or 201. Quickly enough, one arrived. I asked the driver, “Va al porto?” “Vicino” (nearby) he replied, and waved me on board. I lug my bag on, and find a seat. After a few stops, and twists and turns of the route, I asked the driver “puo dirmi la fermata per il porto” (Can you tell me which stop for the port. Or close enough to that.) Two more stops he tells me. I return to my seat. All this and the conversation to follow in Italian, and to my delight, I’m keeping up.

An old man sitting across from me asks me if I’m going to the port. Yes, I tell him. Due piu, he tells me, two more, and holds up two fingers, to make sure I understand when I need to get off the bus.

“Vado al porto,” says a woman sitting behind me, joining the conversation.

The old man across the aisle says “Segui a lei,” follow her. This is quickly becoming a quintessentially Italian moment.

At my stop, the woman motions for me to follow her, as does the old man. The bus drivers calls back to me that this is the stop. So fantastic.

The woman goes on to literally lead me to the port. She’s going to Ischia too, so I should follow her to the ferry. After exiting the bus, she leads me, of course, through the most fully Naples-style human frogger experience of crossing the busy street.

Her name is Carmelina, and we talk a bit on the way to the ferry. “Capisci italiano,” you understand Italian, she says. “Un po’.” A little. “Brava,” she says. I fully savor the compliment from this Southern Italian woman. She looks back every so often as we make our way a couple blocks to the biglietteria, ticket stand at the port.

See, the thing about Naples is that much of it is crumbling and a bit tattered, but charming in subtle yet undeniable ways. Most notably, Naples is incredibly ALIVE. The the echoes of scooters and honking bouncing through narrow streets, mixed with the expressive chatter street vendors and people going about the day. Constantly huffing diesel fumes and cigarette smoke. A rich and warm palette of colors on buildings lining the incredibly narrow but orderly streets first laid out by the Greeks, and in the apartment buildings winding up into the hills.

This is not a place that will blunt the senses. It will hit them all. And it’s lovely. Intense, but lovely.

Romping in i Dolomiti

2009-04-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

Alto Adige
Dude, it’s like we teleported to Germany. Or Austria. But this just barely feels like Italy. As soon as you cross into the Italian province of the Alto Adige, all of a sudden the street signs are in both Italian and German. And the local accent sounds like, well, imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger saying “Buon Giorno” or “Arrividerci” and there you have it. Spot on.

We stayed in the small town of Terlano. Terlan in the German, at a little hotel surrounded, yet again, by vineyards and apple orchards.

Becky visited Cantina Terlan in the afternoon. I took a nap.

Trentino
The Trentino Alto-Adige area is actually two regions in one, in Northeastern Italy. The further north you we went up the valley along the Adige River, the increasingly Germanic / Austrian like things become. In fact, this region was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until after World War I, when it became a part of Italy. Why exactly that is I don’t know, and my Internet time is limited, otherwise I’d be thoroughly looking into this. (Feel free to fact check me on this, or add more info in the comments.) But the point is that everything starts changing. This doesn’t look, sound or sometimes even taste like other parts of Italy.

The architecture is different. The steeples of the church rise higher, and to incredibly narrow sharp points. Pedestrians tend to walk half way down the block to the crosswalk, and be somewhat mindful of traffic--a huge contrast to much of the rest of Italy, and definitely parts further south where you just step into traffic where and when ever you need to cross, and somehow it all works out, with the cars and the humans on off interweaving and unfurling in a chaos that becomes almost logical. Not so in the Sud Tirol, as this northern region is also known.

This is Dolomites country: the distinctive craggy mountain range that, from what I’ve read, is actually rockified (my word) coral from ancient seabeds. Again go for the factchecking. I tend to give the guidebooks a lot of leeway.

We picked up the rental car in Verona and Becky braved the A22 autostrada, then a smaller, more scenic (and non-toll) highway. We stopped for lunch in a super cute town off the highway SS12, Rovereto. We picked a lunch spot out of the Slow Travel guide to locande and osterie, which we’re thumbing through to find awesomely cute and small authentic local spots. In Rovereto we had lunch at this great enoteca. I had a risotto with leeks made from barley, rather than the usual arborio rice. I had a glass of Nosiola, a white wine grown nearby in the hills rolling along the east side of the Adige river. Becky had grilled tacchino, with grilled patate and cavolfiore gratino (cauliflower gratin). She was kinda sure tacchino was turkey, but not entirely. When we got back to the car, her guess was confirmed.

After lunch, we headed to Lavis, a small town surrounded by peculiarly small and tidy, trained rows of newly flowering apples trees on the valley floor. The Dolomites rising sharply to the West. And rolling hills covered in rows of grape vines for as far as you can see. Lagrein. Schiava. Nosiola. Traminer Aromatico. These are some of the grapes that are grown locally.

The Lavis winery was our host. We toured and tasted the winery, along with Sylvia, our new friend from Winnipeg.

We stayed two nights at a lovely spot nestled in the hills, as always, surrounded by vineyards and with a crystal clear view of the stunning, snow topped Dolomites.

Ischia: Like the tropics, but with cappuccino

2009-04-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

I looooove Ischia. A volcanic island in the Bay of Naples, it's a 45 minute hydrofoil ferry ride from il porto di Napoli but a whole other scene. Ischia is all views and lush green hills rippling down to the turquoise sea. Citrus trees, dogs barking, birds chirping. Wisteria perfuming the sidewalk as you pass by. It’s almost tropical. But with a cappuccino and a buon giorno. I imagine the weather can’t always be so lovely, but it was the clearest of blue skies while I was there and wonderfully warm weather. Not yet warm enough for swimming. But enough to lounge for a bit in the mildly thermal / mineral / salt water pool at the hotel. (Ischia is also know for thermal springs and spas.)

I stayed in Ischia Ponte, an old fishing village that’s picked up some of the tourists from the neighboring port town, but it’s still quaint, quiet, a real place of its own. People said, go to Capri. I wanted something a little less Dolce and Gabbana. I wanted a little bit of gritty to ease me out of Naples. Ischia Ponte is still lived in and well worn. In a good way.

The village gets its name from the hundreds of years old (of course) stone bridge that connects to the castello, a castle and former fortress carved out of a islet rock just offshore. I was excited that Vittoria Colonna had lived there for some 35 years. She was a Renaissance era poet and friend of Michelangelo. And from what I’ve read, my best guess is the he was the Will to her Grace. I don’t who exactly the Jack and Karen who be.

The views from the Castello Aragonese, as it's called, are stunning. It’s not quite high season, so there were only a handful of us wandering around the islet and weaving around the open rooms of the castle.

I was in Ischia on Good Friday. I think. The days blend together, and I don’t remember all the Easter related religious days. But the bells of the small church by the water were ringing off the hook. At the hour. Half hour. Quarter after. 7 minutes till. Who knows. Bells all day, but it’s a sound I love.

During passegiata in this part of Ischia, the town comes out to eat gelato and walk through the two main streets, and out along the ponte (bridge). Sitting on the edge of old stone, eating pistachio gelato, bells ringing, water lapping up against the rocks, watching the sunset over Mount Epomeo (the dormant volanco that is the highest point of the island.) It was all charm. Like ridiculously out of control how do they let one place be so frigging charming. Like, why did they film Il Postino the next island over and not here charming.

il terremoto - earthquake

2009-04-07T14:01:00.001-07:00

There was a major earthquake in the Abruzzo region of Italy the other day.

I was nowhere near this area, and neither was Becky, so we didn't even feel it. I heard about it yesterday morning while watching RAI Uno news on the ferry from Ischia back to Napoli. The pictures and video are so awful and, from the latest reports, over 150 people have been killed. Very sad...

Pics from Napoli

2009-04-05T10:50:00.001-07:00

Pics from Napoli now posted to flickr.

At the top one of Naples hills, Montesanto, I believe. Basking in the sun and taking in the amazing view from a Carthusian monastery, called San Martino. Also, check out my new shades. They're nearly identical to the cheap but much-loved pair I had bought in Venice two years ago. These, I bought from a street vendor outside a church on Spaccanapoli. They're "Ray Bans." Totally fake. 5 euro. I love them.

Mirrored bar sign on Spaccanapli, down the street from the Chiesa Gesù, outside of which I haggled for the aforementioned sunglasses.

In case you were wondering, yes there is laundry hanging from the balconies around Naples.

Also, I made it to Ischia. I spent today walking around along il mare near Ischia Ponte and Ischia Porto. More on that and pictures later. Tomorrow, I head to Verona to meet up with Bex.

The best pizza in Naples

2009-04-05T00:42:00.000-07:00

Da Michele Pizzeria, by all accounts in the best pizza in Naples. I made my way there the other day. And, in true fashion in a city with narrow streets that are sometimes well marked, other times not, the adventure was finding the place. At last, after realized I'd walked several blocks past Via Sersale, I found my way to the pizza mothership.

Several people recommended Da Michele, and you have to eat pizza in Naples, so I had to go. (Several Eat Pray Love fans had asked me, are you going to the pizza place the author goes to? Yes, this is the spot.)

I arrived at 1pm, the height of lunchtime, and was expecting a lengthy wait for a table. But, the bonus of going di solito, is that it's easy to squeeze you in to a table. In light of the new(ish) SF restaurant trend of the communal table, let me just say that I think Italy invented it. I was seated a 4-top table, next to two girls who were just finishing up. (Who wished me Buon Appetito as they left, knowing the gastronomic treat I was in for). Soon after, an old man was seated across from me. And after him, an older couple. This is just the wait the seating goes.

Da Michele only serves 2 kinds of pizza. I had the margherita. And a Nastro Azzuro. (Which is marketed simply as Peroni in the U.S.) Because really, you must only drink birra with your pizza.

The pizza was definitely amazing. Yes, you order a whole pizza for yourself. Salsa di pomodoro, mozzarella di bufala, and two leaves of basil. The dough is thin and perfectly salty. Until that lunch, it never quite occurred to me that a pizza dough just be salty. Not overly salty, but perfectly seasoned. The sauce tastes not like sauce, but actually like tomato. So delicious.

I learned how to eat pizza like an Italian by watching the Romans at a pizzeria Monte Carlo on my first night in Rome, two years ago. Always with a fork and knife. Cut, fold, fold, and pop it in your mouth. Repeat.

Siamo come il sole al mezzogiorno...

2009-04-03T01:52:00.000-07:00

Full day numero 2 in Naples.

(post title is from the Jovanotti song, Mezzogiorno)

Parlo in italiano
Getting from the airport was incredibly easy, molto facile. I got a cab right outside the airport, and talked in Italian was the super nice cab driver. Got my first "parli bene l'italiano" from the driver. Only one so far, but that's ok. However, this morning at breakfast at the hotel, the British guy sitting next to me said, "oh you speak English" when I asked where he was from, because I had talked a little bit with Carmen, who works at the hotel, in italiano.

Exploring Napoli
I didn't obsessively plan out all the things I could do here. Actually, I didn't plan out anything, so I spent yesterday wandering and exploring around the Centro Storico, the historic center. My hotel is right off Via Toledo, a major street (by Italian standards, still narrow, but busy) with shops, bars and such. It runs past il Quartiere Spagnoli and down to the water. I walked along the Lungomare, at the edge of the incredibly turquoise Bay of Naples.

Mangio e bevo
I had a huge slice of pizza for lunch near the Piazza Plebescito, eating it out in the warm sunshine of the piazza under perfect blue skies. I'm constantly seeking heating and sun, so the weather right now is making me very happy. I need to get back out and enjoy after I finish this post!

I had a cool glass of white wine yesterday evening at Caffe Letterario in Piazza Bellini, a super lush oasis of a piazza filled with potted plants and outdoor tables, and lined with trees. Almost set back from the street enough to absorb the constant buzz of Vespas that nearly, but never actually, run you over. (I've slipped back easily into navigating the ribbons of traffic in incredibly narrow streets, where pedestrians, cars, and scooters manage to coexist.) The ever present bar snacks at Caffe Letterario were these small biscuits, almost spicy with tons of black pepper. Like little round pretzel nuggets.

Ieri sera, last night, I had dinner in the Spaccanapoli section of the centro storico, at Trattoria da Carmine on Via dei Tribunali. One of the dishes I wanted to be sure to eat in Naples was spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams). So that was my dinner last night. Super simple, super delicious. And of course, I had a quarto litro of vino biano, and a mezzo litro of acqua frizzante. 1 euro each. Awesome. Oh, also, for my digestivo, a little after dinner amaro, I had my beloved Montenegro. Kind of bitter, kind of sweet. All yum.

Il Mezzogiorno: Sunshine! Blue sky!
The weather is so lovely. Warm warm warm with sunshine and blue skies. Were this San Francisco, people would be sprawled out in Dolores Park in bikinis. Even though it's probably only around 70 degrees. But here, the Italians are still wrapped up in their jackets (even the ubiquitous puffy ones) and scarves. Me, I've got my scarf, eyeliner and bright lipstick to blend in. Maybe. And today I'm even rockin' the tight jeans and cute new green sneakers.

Back to Italy

2009-03-31T16:46:00.000-07:00

We're going back to Italy! (Not actually for a whole month this time, but 3 weeks, so close.) Becky left this morning, headed for VinItaly, a big Italian wine expo in Verona. I leave tonight. First up for me, Naples. While Becky is wine-ing it up, I'll be hanging in Campania. Two days in Naples, and then two days on Ischia, an island in the Bay of Naples.

I'll meet up with Bex in Verona, and we'll jaunt around Northern Italy, and spend a few days in Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland that my grandmother's family is from.

Here's a map of where we're going.
(I even impressed myself with the Google Maps action.)
- Verona / Naples - Ischia
- Bolzano, in the Dolomites
- Sondrio, in the Valtellina
- Maggia, in Ticino, Switzerland
- A couple little towns in Piemonte
- Milano

Check back for pics and travel tales.
I'm also planning to post photos on flickr.
Ciao...

Uno piu (one more)

2007-04-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our last full day here, so this will probably be the last blog post from Italy, though there will likely be some follow up trip report of some sort after our return.

Today we took the vaporetto no. 1 all the way out to the Lido... to hang out on the beach along the Adriatic coast. It was a beautiful day...hot. People were in there swimsuits and we're both nursing bits of a sunburn. Mine will peel, Becky's will just tan.

We're off to plot a sunset viewing spot for this evening and then to figure out where dinner tonight and tomorrow night will be. Early on Tuesday, siamo in partenza.

No dice ultima

2007-04-14T02:14:00.000-07:00

So, we're on to our final 3 days of the super awesome Italian vacation, and I think neither of us are actually saying 'final few days'. But some funny stuff....

Last night, we're having spritz before dinner.... and I decide I want the glass mine came in as a souviner. Of course my history of pilfering bar glasses is pretty extensive, I have an entire cupboard of loot (ok, like 6 glasses really). I once stole an ashtray from an Amsterdam bar, etc etc etc... Of course I don't have my bag with me, so it has to go in rebecca's borsa. She is very much not into it, but somehow I charm her into it. So we make the plan. I go into pay while she slips the loot into the bag. after paying 8 euro for 2 drinks (tooooo much for this dive) I feel slightly vindicated in my choice of target. So everything is going as planned, rebecca's face is guilty white and we're off down the calle. The bartender buses the table immediately (he hadn't bussed a table in the entire time we were there) and hollers after us 'maestre, maestre' or something like that. Rebecca looks at me, I look at her, we both go white and I say 'walk faster'. Soon the other Italians are hollering at us 'aspetto, aspetto, maestre'. We cross a bridge, nearly jogging and a clown is tooting a whistle in time with our feet, yes folks, it really is that surreal.

I look back at the bartender trying to gauge my response and he is waving Rebecca's jacket in the air.

Relief, or is it bait?

She runs back to retrieve it, and we go the wrong way to dinner and have to backtrack down new streets to get to the dinner spot, because we're in fear of the barman.

If you're ever at a cocktail party at my house, Rebecca gets first claim on that glass.

ps. New pictures uploaded from Venice and the small nearby islands of Murano and Burano.

Cichetti

2007-04-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

Cichetti are Venetian bar snacks basically. But not like just a bowl of peanuts or something. Here it's a whole range of choices of yum. We just had 2 glasses of wine (ombre in Venetian speak, I believe) and a couple snackies each for 4 euro at a place called Ai Promessi Sposi (right near Campo Apostoli and hidden on a little side street off of a big main shopping street). A way better deal than yesterday's cichetti and aperitivo over in the San Polo area for more than twice the price. Also fantastic about the new cichetti bar is that way found an Internet place two doors down from it for 3 euro per hour. (It's on Calle dell'Oca for interested parties.)

Today was yet another beautiful day, thanks to the heat wave Italy is having (or so we think we gleaned from Italian TV news... yay RAI). So, we woke up early (for me) to do some food market shopping before heading to the nearby island of Murano.

In looking for a shortcut back to our apartment that avoids as much as possible of what we call 'big shopping street' we happened upon Venetian market street. And by Venetian I mean there are really no tourists there. It's awesome... there's a sfuso place (where you fill up your old liter sized water bottle with vino for like 2 euro). And there's a formaggio & salame shop. We got a bunch of good cheese, salame and a couple of rolls for a little over 5 euro this morning.

We also stopped at a pasticceria (sweets shops with amazingly good pastries and cookies that are all over Venice) and I got a bunch of what turned out to be the best amaretti ever (small, airy super sugary almond cookies).

After packing lunches (and by this I mean that Becky packed lunches while I futzed around doing whatever) we walked to the Madonna dell Orto vaporetto stop kinda near us for the water bus to Murano. A bonus of our new money saving lunch-packing is that we get to plop down by a canal whenever we're hungry and eat with a better view than most ristoranti.

Murano is a quieter little island that is famous for its artisan glassmaking. Of course most of the shops featured displays that included glass smurfs for the ever-encroaching tourist masses. And apparently a lot of what's sold there is made in Taiwan and shipped over. Only the FedEx and DHL boats can know for sure which are the authentic local shops. However, we did find one of the artistan shops (Davide Pesco, or something like that)... staffed by the glassmaker himself... and bought a few necklaces.

Tonight we're off to dinner at a place called Osteria Antica Adelaide that we happened upon while wandering and then read good things about in a guidebook.

€8 blog post

2007-04-09T03:28:00.000-07:00

Internet access in Venice is a huge rip off. Each place we went to got more and more expensive. So this one is 8 euro, or maybe it's 9, for one hour. Needless to say, I won't be uploading many pictures. But I did just post a few from Florence and a few from Venice to keep everyone happy.

Venice is soooo beautiful. The weather has been amazingly warm so even I have been able to walk around in short sleeves. Venice is also packed with more hordes of tourists than the Vatican or Florence. The good news is that there are lots of quiet side streets to explore where only the occasional tourist will walk by and most of the 'traffic' is an elderly Venetian or two strolling slowly, and I mean slowly, along a canal.

Yesterday we took a ride down the Grand Canal in a vaporetto, a water bus. We stood near the back vying for the few coveted seats with the best view, but mostly had to stand. Still, great views and completely beautiful.

Now I know what limoncello means

2007-04-04T03:47:00.000-07:00

It seems that the way to tell if an Italian waiter is schmoozing or flirting with you is whether he brings you glasses of limoncello at the end of your meal. (And if it doesn't also arrive at neighboring tables.)

We've each been hit on by waiters, two nights in a row. Once in Rome, once in Florence. Stefan, a waiter at Da Francesco in Rome, loooved Becky. Seriously. I was coming out of the bathroom as he was washing his hands. I said "Ciao" and he said to me, "Mi piace la tua amica." (I like your friend.) I was like, "Um, come?" (Say what?) So he says it again, so I just smiled and went back to the table completely giggling to myself. When dear Stefan comes to bring us the check, he's been standing there for a while writing what seems to be a dissertation of a check. But the check literally only says 42 euro. But then... He hands a folded up note to Becky and says, "This is for you." I wish I could scan and post the note. It basically says "Hi, I'm Stefan. I like you? (yes, with a question mark.) I am finished at the 1 o'clock. I like going to bar with you." And, I should note, this comes after he's given us two glasses of limoncello. Which we didnt' order and which don't figure into the check.

So awesome and hilarious.

That was the last night in Rome. And at the restaurant for our first night in Florence, there was Alessandro. When I asked him where the bathroom was (in the quite large restaurant), he says to me, I will take you there because it's the only time I have to spend with you." I return to the table totally laughing because now it's my turn. And I relay the story to Becky and Chris, the guy we befriended sitting at the table next to us. As we get closer to the end of our meal, Chris tells the waiter he'd like to buy Becky and I a glass of wine. The waiter says Chris can buy himself and Becky a glass and the waiter will buy a glass for me. Wine arrives, and it's quite good. And then two glasses of limoncello arrive. And then Alessandro refills them.

More on this later... Running out of time on the computer and we have to go have lunch at Cibreino...

Siamo in partenza

2007-04-02T00:21:00.000-07:00

We're leaving Rome this morning, heading to Florence. We had our last cappucino at our regular caffe. The woman who runs the place, Rossana, was surly and grumpy at the beginning of our time here, but as we kept coming in and trying trying trying to perfect our order in Italian, we slowly kinda won her over. Today as I was paying, I told her (in Italian, and a phrase I rehearsed as we walked down the street) that today is our last day in Rome. She said No, no dice 'ultimo.' Dice 'Siamo in partenza.' And then she came out from behind the cash register and gave us each a kiss on each cheek.

Siamo in partenza. Direct translation, we are in departure.

Ciao, Roma.

Trastevere...

2007-04-01T03:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Rebecca went to the Borghese museum, and I treked around Trastevere... It's so much quieter over there. I stopped and ate a tangerine in a quiet square (actually it was triangle shapped)... No hordes of tourists, no vendors, just me, a tangerine and a trickling roman spring of fresh water.

Today, the opposite. We went to the big flea market, and gasp, Rebecca bought a fake gucci purse. I would have never guessed she had it in her. The bargaining was great fun, and i feel like she got a deal (15 euro, from 45). This is our last night in rome, and we have a fancy meal planned on a small small side street. Then tomorrow, either another scary bus ride (I caught a pick-pocket with his hand in my pocket the other day) or a rip off cab-ride.....

Quick update... Orvieto & the Vatican

2007-03-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

It's just about aperitivo time so I'm doing just a quick update and uploading some pictures from the last couple of days before I go have a Campari and soda. Or maybe a limoncello.

Yesterday we went to Orvieto, a medieval walled city on top of a hill in Umbria. Only an hour train ride from Rome and a quick jaunt up the funicular to the top of the hill and we were there. It was so quiet there. And had amazing views. We wandered through winding centuries old streets for hours, stopping to take in views and doing our best to stay off the main tourist drag. There's a 13th or 14th century duomo (cathedral) in the center of town, which was gorgeous. We also came across a tiny old church, dedicated to San Lorenzo, and also from the 14th century. It was on one of the back streets and was completely empty. There was something completely amazing about walking in total silence and looking at old frescoes on the walls without the hordes of people everywhere else.

Day before yesterday we went to the Vatican. We got there too late to do a tour of the Sistine Chapel, but we did walk through St. Peter's Basilica for quite some time. We also took the elevator up into the cupola (dome) and then walked the 300ish winding narrow stairs to the top of the dome... and you arrive out on an outdoor platform circling the top of the dome with views of Rome and the surrouding areas in every direction.

On Roman peddlers

2007-03-29T00:50:00.000-07:00

We started studying the Italian language back in August of 2006, we knew we were't going to master the launguage but we were hoping to have passable conversations regarding bathrooms, menus, and directions. Throw that all out the window....

I'll purchase 'un cafè' and politely ask 'dovè il bagno?'... 9 times out of 10 i get 'down the hall, to the left' as a response.

Somehow our english is visible even when we're not speaking, as the other day at the top of the Spanish Steps.... 'Hey, big american boss, hey, big boss, hey Ray-Ban' (my sunglasses)

Or, there are other times when I have no idea what is going on conversationally.... Like when we walked into Obika, http://www.obika.it/ And asked 'avete un tavolo per due?' The guy behind the counter replied 'Hamburger?'.

The best one is the annoying guy outside the Forum (something funny happened on the way to the forum?) He was trying to sell Rebecca some sparkly knock off bracelets, we said 'Va Via' (you go away). He stormed off, swearing in italian, then at the end added 'I am fucking!'

But, on a happier note conversationally.... The first day we were here I actually had a wrong-number conversation on the telephone with an Italian, and it went just like the lesson plan! The other day in the laundromat I shared a carefully rehearsed conversation with the proprieter (when in doubt, throw in, 'e vero'). The aforementioned barista (Rossana) and I had a pleasant and simple exchange the other day. And yesterday, in Orvieto I sucessfully purchased stamps without miming or using a single word of english. The shop keeper looked so pleased with me. Actually Orvieto was a very socially pleasant experience...

It all starts with 2 cappucini

2007-03-26T01:56:00.000-07:00

Every day here begins with a trip to the caffe down the street for due cappucini (2 cappucinos). Which cost 1 euro each. And they're amazingly good, of course. Yesterday was huge step because the woman who runs the place said Ciao, bella, I think, as we left. She was so surly before and completely embodies the frenetic chaos of Rome. Now, she's totally warming up to us. This morning she yelled Buon giorno to us as we walked in. And smiled. Completely huge. Surly east coasters in the U.S. have nothing on Romans.

After cappucino and pastries we walked toward the Spanish steps. It was chilly in the narrow streets of the Centro Storico, but bright and warm when we reached the Piazza di Spagna.

After hanging out on the steps, basking in the sun for a little while, we walked down the Via Condotti to the nearby Caffe Greco. It's been in business since something like 1762 and is where 18th century British poets Byron, Keats and Shelley hung out when they were in Rome. So it was English major heaven to have caffe there.

Around that time hunger was setting in so we headed towards the river for lunch at Gusto, across the street from the mausoleum of Emperor Augustus. Lunch was an awesome Italian buffet. Amazing colorful food. It's also worth noting that here in Rome, buffet is not like at Sizzler where you go back as much as you want. Here (qua) you load up once or, like at Gusto, pay per gram and etto for what you load on your plate.

Gusto is right by the Tiber, so we walked along the river for a while, catching glimpses of Castel Sant'Angelo and the dome of St. Peter's from just a couple of bridges away.

Somehow we took a shortcut back toward our apartment and ended up at the Piazza Navona. A church on the piazza was open (St. Agnes something or other), so we went in. And wow. It was so incredibly beautiful and ornate inside. No pictures allowed though. I put 50 cents in the offertory and lit a candle for Aunt Sue, who I think would have really loved this church.

It was late afternoon and prime gelato time so we headed to Giolotti near the Pantheon. Apparently everyone else thought it was prime gelato time to and the place was insanely packed so we opted to go elsewhere for a drink. The bar we wanted to try, Cul de Sac, wasn't open yet (cause it wasn't yet 6pm) so we just headed back to the apartment to relax for a while before going on the hunt for dinner.

...

I posted a bunch of other pics on my flickr page too.

First days...

2007-03-24T02:17:00.000-07:00

We're here, in Roma, getting adjusted and somehow managing to navigate the winding streets in the Centro Storico. Our apartment is super centrally located and all the major sites are within a really short walking distance.

Yesterday was una bella giornata, a beautiful sunny day. Mostly warm. After our morning cappucino, we went for a walk along the Tiber river, over to Trastevere (across the river), and back. After resting our feet a tiny bit back at the apartment, we headed toward the Roman Forum and Coloseum to take in antiquities while it was warm out.

So many adjectives and expressions along the lines of Wow, to describe the Forum. It's just kind of overwhelming to take it all in. But beautiful. Massive. Incredible. Awe inspiring. And such. In spite of the hordes of tourists.

After a snack at a restaurant in view of the Colosseum (a little over priced and touristy, yes, but still an awesome view), we headed into il Colosseo.

....

I read somewhere that Rome is magnificent and brutal. Yeah, I can see that. But not in a horrible way at all. Just little things that take some getting used to. Sidewalks for example. We celebrate them when we find them. Because most of the streets are narrow and cobblestone paved with vespas and cars barrelling through them. So, you learn to step out of your apartment very cautiously.

...

Today is grey and cold with thunderstorms expected later in the day. And that means, yes, shopping. But we're going to try to make it to the Palatine Hill before the rain starts in.

I'll also try to post some pictures later today, when it's pouring rain and after I've shopped and maybe draped myself in new clothes.

at the frankfurt airport

2007-03-21T03:27:00.000-07:00

so we´re almost there. currently at an internet stand in the frankfurt airport waiting for our flight to roma. the keyboard is different enough to make typing amusing at best. a guy standing next to us had to help me out when he overheard me saying where the @!§&%$ is the y on this thing. and becky bought a lighter because apparently germans arent scared of incendiary devices on planes. and they don´t make you take off your shoes going thru security. bye.

and we're off...

2007-03-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

After a long gloating away bash last night we're three hours from heading to the airport. Six hours from take off.
I'm going to do my best to update this blog from Italy, but I'm not sure what kind of Internet access we'll have. Or how much I'll wanted to be camped in front of a computer. I'll also try to post pictures on flickr.

Packing status part 2

2007-03-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not known for my packing. Or my preparation. Or my desire to make anything tidy, neat, and finished well ahead of time.

But, more than 48 hours before departure, I'm packed. And in one suitcase even.

Over-Under on Luggage

2007-03-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here is everything I'll be taking for the month long voyage. You can't really see in the picture, but the larger black bag is quite at capacity. Luckily I'll be pulling a couple things out to put into Rebecca's bag, and I have a fold up duffle inside for purchases. So it should be emptier upon departure. Still, I'm looking at this bag thinking, is it enough?

The Facts: I got the packing plan from http://www.onebag.com/
And the bag is one I love and paid dearly for: Tough Traveler

three days till...

2007-03-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

Everyone wants details, so:

We leave SFO Tuesday at 3pm. Grazie mille to AC who is driving us to the airport. We've got a direct flight to Frankfurt, where we change planes to Fiumicino airport outside Rome.

We rented an apartment in the centro storico of Rome, right near the Campo dei Fiori, on a little old street called Via dei Chiavari. Somehow, I managed to find a 360 degree camera of the street online. Yeah, I know, so cute!

We'll be in Rome for 12 days. Then we head to Florence for 4 days. Following that, we're heading to Venice for 12 days. We'll have an apartment there too, in the Cannaregio sestiere (section).

quattro giorni

2007-03-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

Countdown to departure: 4 days. Or, if you want to get really specific, 3 days and 23 hours.