If You Don't Like Reading About Food, Don't Read This Italy Trip Report
Nov 19th, 2004, 05:49 AM
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DAY 4: Friday, 22 October 2004 -- Rome
Today there is a nationwide local public transport strike. In Rome, this means no buses or metros from 8:30AM till about 5:30PM. Then there's three hours of transport, followed by nothing till the usual end of service. We plan to see sights within easy walking distance of our hotel.
Our first stop is Santa Prassede, just down the street from Santa Maria Maggiore. A big fan of mosaics, this is my top priority of new things to see on this trip. The chancel mosaics are vibrant and remind me of others I've seen in Ravenna. The small side chapel of St. Zenon is great because the ceiling is low. The 9C. mosaics are close and easy to see. Too bad they spoiled one side to add a niche for, of all things, Christ's whipping post.
We stroll to ancient Rome, taking side streets downhill to Via Cavour. Then we climb the steps and make a quick stop San Pietro in Vincoli for a look at Moses. I like to approach the Colosseum from here along the elevated Via Salvi. We stop to look at a display of typewriters and other ancient office machinery in a shop window.
At the Colosseum we decide to join a tour and I realize the leader is Roberto, a fellow who led my tour a few years ago. In between lots of information, he tells a few too many jokes. We dump Roberto before the tour ends and explore the Colosseum on our own.
For lunch, we head uphill from the Colosseum to Trattoria Taverna 40 (Via Claudia 24). I read of this place on the internet somewhere, recommended by an American expat living in Umbria. It is only 5 minutes from the Colosseum, just far enough to lose the tourist throngs and serve authentic food to locals in a sunny room. We share a salad of arugula, pignoli, walnuts, pears, and shaved parmigiano. I have the strozzapreti (my favorite pasta name - "priest stranglers"
with zucchini while P has pollo Romana, chicken in a tomatoey sauce. For food, a liter of water, no servizio included, the cost is 25.50 euro.
Over lunch P requests a nap so we decide to head back to the hotel via a slightly roundabout route. We stroll through the Forum following a self-tour, then head back along Via dei Fori Imperiali, peering down into the other excavations. We take Via Cavour hoping to find gelato and an internet point. La Dolce Vita (Via Cavour 306) has some excellent gelato choices. P = crema della Nonna Adele (pignoli)/coconut; E = lemon/strawberry. The coconut is incredibly coconutty and the lemon is incredibly tart. A number of internet points along this section of Via Cavour offer very low rates. For 15 minutes, we pay 50 centesimi and P discovers that his clients are not doing what they should be. Oh well...
After our naps, we have a few hours before dinner, so we visit two of my favorite churches, San Carlo in Quattro Fontane and Sant'Andrea in Quirinale. The two tiny churches are almost the same size, yet very different in orientation and decoration. Though Borromini's design at San Carlino looks simple and clean, P points out the turbulent wall forms when I mention Borromini's madness and suicide. We don't get a good look at Bernini's Sant'Andrea since there's a service going on when we arrive. We pause to listen to the fine singing of a pilgrimage group from Britain - this place has great acoustics. We watch the sunset from Piazza Quirinale.
We arrive at my favorite restaurant in Rome, Trattoria Monti, at 7:30PM. The gate is only half up and it is dark inside. By crouching down, I can see the staff having dinner at a table in the back. One man comes forward to tell me they open at 8:00PM but they are fully booked. I crawl under the gate, go inside, and reserve for tomorrow night at 8.
Now what do we do for dinner? There are plenty of restaurants in this neighborhood, but some seem chancey. I recall a place I spotted on a side street after we left Santa Prassede. Ristorante La Forchetta D'Oro (Via S. Martino ai Monti, 40) looks like a basic neighborhood place, with a few locals and a few tourists. I've seen this menu many times, but I have faith we will have a good basic meal. Once we sit down and order our first course, the place fills up. P has some very nice homemade ravioli with walnut sauce. I am in heaven - I chose spaghetti alle vongole veraci, one of my Italy favorites. Imagine eeny teeny clams in the shell, sauteed in oil and wine, parsley and crushed red pepper added at the end, all tossed with the spaghetti. It is so simple, yet so perfect, so delicious. And their version doesn't disappoint. I am not a big clam fan, but vongole veraci are so small, tender, and sweet...we aren't allowed to harvest them that small in the US.
After we recover a while from our pastas, P remarks, "Gee, they're taking their time with our second course." I tell him, "Actually, we never ordered it." I'd been trying to get the waiter's attention, but they were scurrying around so busily. We finally place our order and very quickly P gets his scaloppine with funghi porcini and I enjoy my simple cotoletta milanese - thin, thin breaded veal with a slice of lemon. I finish with a very good homemade tiramisu while P has tartufo nero which turns out to be gelato, but not the form he expected. For food, a liter of water, no servizio included, the cost is I don't know! (P has the receipt - it was maybe 40 euro.)
It's still hot. We've kept the automatic shutters down in the room to keep the sun and heat out. We open the shutters and windows wide to let in the breeze and happily no bugs so we can sleep comfortably.
Tomorrow: P's Last Day in Rome
Today there is a nationwide local public transport strike. In Rome, this means no buses or metros from 8:30AM till about 5:30PM. Then there's three hours of transport, followed by nothing till the usual end of service. We plan to see sights within easy walking distance of our hotel.
Our first stop is Santa Prassede, just down the street from Santa Maria Maggiore. A big fan of mosaics, this is my top priority of new things to see on this trip. The chancel mosaics are vibrant and remind me of others I've seen in Ravenna. The small side chapel of St. Zenon is great because the ceiling is low. The 9C. mosaics are close and easy to see. Too bad they spoiled one side to add a niche for, of all things, Christ's whipping post.
We stroll to ancient Rome, taking side streets downhill to Via Cavour. Then we climb the steps and make a quick stop San Pietro in Vincoli for a look at Moses. I like to approach the Colosseum from here along the elevated Via Salvi. We stop to look at a display of typewriters and other ancient office machinery in a shop window.
At the Colosseum we decide to join a tour and I realize the leader is Roberto, a fellow who led my tour a few years ago. In between lots of information, he tells a few too many jokes. We dump Roberto before the tour ends and explore the Colosseum on our own.
For lunch, we head uphill from the Colosseum to Trattoria Taverna 40 (Via Claudia 24). I read of this place on the internet somewhere, recommended by an American expat living in Umbria. It is only 5 minutes from the Colosseum, just far enough to lose the tourist throngs and serve authentic food to locals in a sunny room. We share a salad of arugula, pignoli, walnuts, pears, and shaved parmigiano. I have the strozzapreti (my favorite pasta name - "priest stranglers"
with zucchini while P has pollo Romana, chicken in a tomatoey sauce. For food, a liter of water, no servizio included, the cost is 25.50 euro.Over lunch P requests a nap so we decide to head back to the hotel via a slightly roundabout route. We stroll through the Forum following a self-tour, then head back along Via dei Fori Imperiali, peering down into the other excavations. We take Via Cavour hoping to find gelato and an internet point. La Dolce Vita (Via Cavour 306) has some excellent gelato choices. P = crema della Nonna Adele (pignoli)/coconut; E = lemon/strawberry. The coconut is incredibly coconutty and the lemon is incredibly tart. A number of internet points along this section of Via Cavour offer very low rates. For 15 minutes, we pay 50 centesimi and P discovers that his clients are not doing what they should be. Oh well...
After our naps, we have a few hours before dinner, so we visit two of my favorite churches, San Carlo in Quattro Fontane and Sant'Andrea in Quirinale. The two tiny churches are almost the same size, yet very different in orientation and decoration. Though Borromini's design at San Carlino looks simple and clean, P points out the turbulent wall forms when I mention Borromini's madness and suicide. We don't get a good look at Bernini's Sant'Andrea since there's a service going on when we arrive. We pause to listen to the fine singing of a pilgrimage group from Britain - this place has great acoustics. We watch the sunset from Piazza Quirinale.
We arrive at my favorite restaurant in Rome, Trattoria Monti, at 7:30PM. The gate is only half up and it is dark inside. By crouching down, I can see the staff having dinner at a table in the back. One man comes forward to tell me they open at 8:00PM but they are fully booked. I crawl under the gate, go inside, and reserve for tomorrow night at 8.
Now what do we do for dinner? There are plenty of restaurants in this neighborhood, but some seem chancey. I recall a place I spotted on a side street after we left Santa Prassede. Ristorante La Forchetta D'Oro (Via S. Martino ai Monti, 40) looks like a basic neighborhood place, with a few locals and a few tourists. I've seen this menu many times, but I have faith we will have a good basic meal. Once we sit down and order our first course, the place fills up. P has some very nice homemade ravioli with walnut sauce. I am in heaven - I chose spaghetti alle vongole veraci, one of my Italy favorites. Imagine eeny teeny clams in the shell, sauteed in oil and wine, parsley and crushed red pepper added at the end, all tossed with the spaghetti. It is so simple, yet so perfect, so delicious. And their version doesn't disappoint. I am not a big clam fan, but vongole veraci are so small, tender, and sweet...we aren't allowed to harvest them that small in the US.
After we recover a while from our pastas, P remarks, "Gee, they're taking their time with our second course." I tell him, "Actually, we never ordered it." I'd been trying to get the waiter's attention, but they were scurrying around so busily. We finally place our order and very quickly P gets his scaloppine with funghi porcini and I enjoy my simple cotoletta milanese - thin, thin breaded veal with a slice of lemon. I finish with a very good homemade tiramisu while P has tartufo nero which turns out to be gelato, but not the form he expected. For food, a liter of water, no servizio included, the cost is I don't know! (P has the receipt - it was maybe 40 euro.)
It's still hot. We've kept the automatic shutters down in the room to keep the sun and heat out. We open the shutters and windows wide to let in the breeze and happily no bugs so we can sleep comfortably.
Tomorrow: P's Last Day in Rome
Nov 19th, 2004, 07:11 AM
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Taking my food thread to the extreme, here's an actual recipe I found online for spaghetti alle vongole veraci. The translation is odd but charming (I didn't correct anything). I think the restaurant that posted this recipe on their web site just dumped the text into babelfish, hoping for the best. Clams veraci are eeny teeny.
*************
Spaghetti clams veraci
Ingredients: 600 g of fresh clams veraci, 2 segments of garlic, 10 g of prezzemolo, 5 oil spoons extravergine of olive, 2 wine glasies white, pepper.
It begins clearing the water of sea from the clams, leaving them to for two hours in the cold water. It pours 3 oil spoons in the hto pot with segments of garlic. You add the clams, two glasies of wine, cook for 15 minutes on medium flame. To the term, you add segments of prezzemolo and abundant pepper of whirling arm. Put into boiled water with paste. It drains it and it pours it in the frying pan of the gravy of clames, making to jump it for a few minutes to lively flame. It pours the remained oil and we serve it immediately.
*************
My translation:
Rinse the clams and soak them in the cold water for two hours. Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil in a hot frying pan and add the garlic. Add the clams, two glasses of wine, and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. Then add chopped parsley and abundant freshly ground pepper. Meanwhile, put pasta into boiling water. When pasta is done, drain it and add it to the frying pan with the clam sauce, tossing for a few minutes to coat and heat through. Add the remaining oil and serve immediately.
*************
Spaghetti clams veraci
Ingredients: 600 g of fresh clams veraci, 2 segments of garlic, 10 g of prezzemolo, 5 oil spoons extravergine of olive, 2 wine glasies white, pepper.
It begins clearing the water of sea from the clams, leaving them to for two hours in the cold water. It pours 3 oil spoons in the hto pot with segments of garlic. You add the clams, two glasies of wine, cook for 15 minutes on medium flame. To the term, you add segments of prezzemolo and abundant pepper of whirling arm. Put into boiled water with paste. It drains it and it pours it in the frying pan of the gravy of clames, making to jump it for a few minutes to lively flame. It pours the remained oil and we serve it immediately.
*************
My translation:
Rinse the clams and soak them in the cold water for two hours. Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil in a hot frying pan and add the garlic. Add the clams, two glasses of wine, and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. Then add chopped parsley and abundant freshly ground pepper. Meanwhile, put pasta into boiling water. When pasta is done, drain it and add it to the frying pan with the clam sauce, tossing for a few minutes to coat and heat through. Add the remaining oil and serve immediately.
Nov 19th, 2004, 11:36 AM
#28
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I liked the whirling arm part, too.
Next...
DAY 5: Saturday, 23 October 2004 -- Rome
Since this is often discussed, I thought I'd mention how we were sharing costs. At the beginning of the trip, I ask P how he thought we should handle it. At home we have lunch together once a week and take turns paying, figuring it will all equal out in the end. He suggests he pay for all meals and train tickets on his credit card. At the end we will split the charges. This sounded neat and simple to me. We pay individually for museum tickets.
P is in charge of the itinerary today since it's his last day. What does he choose to do?
First he wants to visit Santa Maria Maggiore, since we've passed it a number of times without stopping. His next choice: visit all the churches in Rome named for St. Andrew. (He has friends at home who attend St. Andrew?s and he has a plan for some photographs.) So first we visit St. Andrew's Scottish Church on Via XX Settembre. Too bad, it's closed. Then we return to Sant'Andrea in Quirnale, where a wedding is about to begin so, again, we don't get much time to visit. We walk down the Spanish steps to Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, where we see more works of Boromini and Bernini as well as a chapel to a Jewish Catholic saint. We continue to wander and window-shop our way past (and inside) the Pantheon finally reaching Sant'Andrea in Valle just before midday closing. The three churches are very different from one another, Quirinale so small and intimate, Fratte dusty and dark, Valle high, wide, and light.
We wander the streets around the Campo dei Fiori, and finally grab lunch at Hostaria La Danesina (Via del Governo Vecchio 125) not far from Piazza Navona. P begins with a mixed salad while I have a salad of arugula and parmigiano. Then I try the tagliolini cacio e pepe (simple pasta with cheese and black pepper) since a place down the block from my home just opened and is named for this dish. P has tagliolini with pesto. For dessert I have panna cotta while P has tiramisu. Nothing was great, nothing was awful. . For food, a liter of water, no servizio included, the cost is I don't know! (P has the receipt - it was maybe 30 euro.)
Now that we've had lunch (including dessert), P's next choice is sit-down gelato at Giolitti. We wander slowly back through the center, pausing to watch a wedding at La Maddelena. Giolliti is packed, but we press through the crowd to the fancy parlor with waiter service. It takes a while for a waiter to get to us, even though there are only a few sitting. The waiter takes your order and then goes and prepares it himself, or at least waits to bring it right back. We also enjoy watching the waiters chase away people who bought cones at the counter and then try to sit at an empty table. Tables for waiter service only! It costs twice the price of any gelato so far (5.80 euro), but we get delicious large portions with a cookie on top and a pitcher of cold water. P = champagne/pineapple; E = blackberry/black cherry. All flavors excellent, all four of them.
As we walk back along the Via del Corso we keep running into hordes of scouts, teenage boys and girls in their blue shirts, blue shorts, bandanas, and backpacks. Apparently there's a huge scouting event in town today. At the hotel we try to nap a bit but a helicopter circles overhead for almost two hours. The desk clerk says it was a peace demonstration. We shop at the Sma supermarket across from Santa Maria Maggiore, scanning the aisles like museum displays. P buys a few gifts.
We are at the door of Trattoria Monti (Via San Vito 13a) precisely at 8:00PM. I notice the Slow Food certificate in the window. I've been coming to this restaurant since 1993 and have never been disappointed. We get both the English and Italian menus since sometimes the Italian is more clear to me than the odd English. (I'm not sure I want to know what "skilled brains" might mean.) The Camerucci family is from the Marche region, so the menu is different from the usual Roman fare. We listen as the waiter lists the specials, speaking very careful English for another table. When he gets to us, he doesn't mention some of them, so we remind him, especially since they sounded so good. He is the son of the owner and I tell him I came to Rome just to eat here.
For antipasti, there are a number of tortinos, translated as flans. They look like tall muffins but are a mixure of a main ingredient (eggplant, asparagus, spinach) and egg custard to hold it together. We share the tortino of red onions in parmigiano sauce. It is not as eggy as a flan, mostly onions barely glued together with egg. P puts the first bite in his mouth and sits back. "This is the best thing I've had since we arrived," he says reverently. It is delicious. What is it about sautéed onions that makes them so delicious? The sauce doesn't hurt either. What next?
For pasta P has the millerighe (wider rigatoni) with sausage, black pepper, and pecorino. I try the ravioli with butter and sage. I love these simple preparations that taste so good. The meal is paced nicely, not too fast, not too slow. Next P has squab with black truffle stuffing and roasted potatoes. I have a dish I've enjoyed before: involtini of ham and radicchio with bechamel sauce. The ham slices are rolled around the sauteed radicchio, then topped with the sauce and baked briefly. All flavors at once - salty, creamy, bitter.
Now we take a breather since I know the desserts here are excellent. Eventually P orders the persimmon jelly with pistachio. (The waiter has trouble explaining this, but I know the word cacchi [persimmon]. He fetches a pen and paper so we can write it for him.) I choose the apple torte with zabaione. The persimmon is like loose jello, with very pistachioey sauce. The apple torte (it's called a pie I think in the English menu - totally wrong) is warm and delicious, sitting in a puddle of the best zabaione ever. Mr. Dessert is incredibly pleased. I have a coffee. It does not appear on the bill. We leave three hours after we arrived. For food, a liter of water, no servizio included, the cost is 62.00 euro. An amazing meal, really truly. A great last meal for P!
We must be up at 6:00AM to wash, pack and get P to the Leonardo Express for his 10:00AM flight. We pay the hotel bill (157 euro per night) before packing. I spoke to R earlier and I will catch an 8:30AM ES to Bologna (then IR to Cesena) after sending P on his way.
This is the end of part one of my trip. Seems pretty good, no? I'm having a great time.
Tomorrow: Real Italian Life in Cesena
Next...
DAY 5: Saturday, 23 October 2004 -- Rome
Since this is often discussed, I thought I'd mention how we were sharing costs. At the beginning of the trip, I ask P how he thought we should handle it. At home we have lunch together once a week and take turns paying, figuring it will all equal out in the end. He suggests he pay for all meals and train tickets on his credit card. At the end we will split the charges. This sounded neat and simple to me. We pay individually for museum tickets.
P is in charge of the itinerary today since it's his last day. What does he choose to do?
First he wants to visit Santa Maria Maggiore, since we've passed it a number of times without stopping. His next choice: visit all the churches in Rome named for St. Andrew. (He has friends at home who attend St. Andrew?s and he has a plan for some photographs.) So first we visit St. Andrew's Scottish Church on Via XX Settembre. Too bad, it's closed. Then we return to Sant'Andrea in Quirnale, where a wedding is about to begin so, again, we don't get much time to visit. We walk down the Spanish steps to Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, where we see more works of Boromini and Bernini as well as a chapel to a Jewish Catholic saint. We continue to wander and window-shop our way past (and inside) the Pantheon finally reaching Sant'Andrea in Valle just before midday closing. The three churches are very different from one another, Quirinale so small and intimate, Fratte dusty and dark, Valle high, wide, and light.
We wander the streets around the Campo dei Fiori, and finally grab lunch at Hostaria La Danesina (Via del Governo Vecchio 125) not far from Piazza Navona. P begins with a mixed salad while I have a salad of arugula and parmigiano. Then I try the tagliolini cacio e pepe (simple pasta with cheese and black pepper) since a place down the block from my home just opened and is named for this dish. P has tagliolini with pesto. For dessert I have panna cotta while P has tiramisu. Nothing was great, nothing was awful. . For food, a liter of water, no servizio included, the cost is I don't know! (P has the receipt - it was maybe 30 euro.)
Now that we've had lunch (including dessert), P's next choice is sit-down gelato at Giolitti. We wander slowly back through the center, pausing to watch a wedding at La Maddelena. Giolliti is packed, but we press through the crowd to the fancy parlor with waiter service. It takes a while for a waiter to get to us, even though there are only a few sitting. The waiter takes your order and then goes and prepares it himself, or at least waits to bring it right back. We also enjoy watching the waiters chase away people who bought cones at the counter and then try to sit at an empty table. Tables for waiter service only! It costs twice the price of any gelato so far (5.80 euro), but we get delicious large portions with a cookie on top and a pitcher of cold water. P = champagne/pineapple; E = blackberry/black cherry. All flavors excellent, all four of them.
As we walk back along the Via del Corso we keep running into hordes of scouts, teenage boys and girls in their blue shirts, blue shorts, bandanas, and backpacks. Apparently there's a huge scouting event in town today. At the hotel we try to nap a bit but a helicopter circles overhead for almost two hours. The desk clerk says it was a peace demonstration. We shop at the Sma supermarket across from Santa Maria Maggiore, scanning the aisles like museum displays. P buys a few gifts.
We are at the door of Trattoria Monti (Via San Vito 13a) precisely at 8:00PM. I notice the Slow Food certificate in the window. I've been coming to this restaurant since 1993 and have never been disappointed. We get both the English and Italian menus since sometimes the Italian is more clear to me than the odd English. (I'm not sure I want to know what "skilled brains" might mean.) The Camerucci family is from the Marche region, so the menu is different from the usual Roman fare. We listen as the waiter lists the specials, speaking very careful English for another table. When he gets to us, he doesn't mention some of them, so we remind him, especially since they sounded so good. He is the son of the owner and I tell him I came to Rome just to eat here.
For antipasti, there are a number of tortinos, translated as flans. They look like tall muffins but are a mixure of a main ingredient (eggplant, asparagus, spinach) and egg custard to hold it together. We share the tortino of red onions in parmigiano sauce. It is not as eggy as a flan, mostly onions barely glued together with egg. P puts the first bite in his mouth and sits back. "This is the best thing I've had since we arrived," he says reverently. It is delicious. What is it about sautéed onions that makes them so delicious? The sauce doesn't hurt either. What next?
For pasta P has the millerighe (wider rigatoni) with sausage, black pepper, and pecorino. I try the ravioli with butter and sage. I love these simple preparations that taste so good. The meal is paced nicely, not too fast, not too slow. Next P has squab with black truffle stuffing and roasted potatoes. I have a dish I've enjoyed before: involtini of ham and radicchio with bechamel sauce. The ham slices are rolled around the sauteed radicchio, then topped with the sauce and baked briefly. All flavors at once - salty, creamy, bitter.
Now we take a breather since I know the desserts here are excellent. Eventually P orders the persimmon jelly with pistachio. (The waiter has trouble explaining this, but I know the word cacchi [persimmon]. He fetches a pen and paper so we can write it for him.) I choose the apple torte with zabaione. The persimmon is like loose jello, with very pistachioey sauce. The apple torte (it's called a pie I think in the English menu - totally wrong) is warm and delicious, sitting in a puddle of the best zabaione ever. Mr. Dessert is incredibly pleased. I have a coffee. It does not appear on the bill. We leave three hours after we arrived. For food, a liter of water, no servizio included, the cost is 62.00 euro. An amazing meal, really truly. A great last meal for P!
We must be up at 6:00AM to wash, pack and get P to the Leonardo Express for his 10:00AM flight. We pay the hotel bill (157 euro per night) before packing. I spoke to R earlier and I will catch an 8:30AM ES to Bologna (then IR to Cesena) after sending P on his way.
This is the end of part one of my trip. Seems pretty good, no? I'm having a great time.
Tomorrow: Real Italian Life in Cesena
Nov 19th, 2004, 06:29 PM
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I am really enjoying your report,it's yummy. One thing,however catches my attentions. You keep saying No Servizio included. I believe service is almost always included,whether it says so or not ,it's included on the menu price. If you wish,you can leave an additional tip,but it's factored into the price.
Nov 20th, 2004, 05:03 PM
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Yes, I understand the servizo issue. The fact of the matter is that prices are set high enough and wages are generous enough so that tips are unnecessary. I've been traveling to Italy for 20 years and it's only in recent years that servizio has been shown as a separate line item on the bill. When I dined at some of these restaurants in the past, the prices were similar (taking into consideration inflation), yet now servizio has been added. I note it in my report because I think it is a recent trend worth noting.
Nov 21st, 2004, 09:59 AM
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Don't stop - keep the report coming.
Besides drooling over the lovely food descriptions, I was totally amazed at the weather , as we will be there for 2 weeks next October and we were expecting coolish weather.
I'm cutting and pasting and plan to follow in your culinary footsteps a LOT in October.
Thanks for your time.
Carol
Besides drooling over the lovely food descriptions, I was totally amazed at the weather , as we will be there for 2 weeks next October and we were expecting coolish weather.
I'm cutting and pasting and plan to follow in your culinary footsteps a LOT in October.
Thanks for your time.
Carol
Nov 22nd, 2004, 06:19 AM
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Yes, Carol, the weather in Rome and Florence was mid- to upper-70s during the entire trip, which ended November 3. This report is about to take a turn since I'm reporting on visiting in private homes, less restaurant eating, more everyday life.
DAY 6: Sunday, 24 October 2004 -- Cesena
I forgot to mention one nice feature of the Hotel Colosseum: a panoramic roof terrace. Since the hotel is on a hill, the roof offers nice views of Rome in all directions. One could use the roof phone to order drinks from the bar in the lobby, relaxing at the tables provided.
We are up before sunrise to pack and leave the hotel. We drag our suitcases across the cobblestones in front of Santa Maria Maggiore. No need to watch for traffic before 7:00AM on a Sunday. I make the long walk to the Leonardo Express with P and we make our goodbyes. His adventure is almost done, but I feel as if mine is just beginning.
My 8:30AM ES train will reach Bologna around 12:30PM where I will catch an IR train to Cesena, hopefully arriving around 12:45PM. R intends to meet that train - and every successive one until I show up. I told her I would get a cab, but she insisted on meeting me. She is elated to see me step off the first train since she felt she'd given me poor schedule information. (Learn to read schedules! Three different trains at the same departure time, but running on different days and making different stops along the same route!) Though we haven't seen each other in three years, we pick up where we left off. R's brother is there to drive us home. R doesn't drive and her brother has been staying with her temporarily since his marriage broke up (three years ago!). Cesena is foggy, drizzly, and cool. I'm am wearing the correct clothes for the first time in a week.
Some people ask what gifts to bring people when they visit in a foreign land. It's hard to know. R had requested one thing and one thing only: mounting putty! (Fun Tak, that sticky stuff you can use and reuse to stick things on the wall) I obeyed her instructions but bought a few different brands, wrapping them nicely. She was excited to unwrap them and we spent quite a few minutes discussing the merits of this 20th century wonder product.
R's apartment is the typical apartment I've seen in Italy, with a hallway from which you access each room. Each room has a door that closes. Aside from the kitchen and bathroom, the other three rooms are all the same size and could be used for almost any purpose. Each room gives access through tall french doors to long terraces. Built in the late 1960s, the building of six apartments is on the outskirts of Cesena in a neighborhood of similar buildings. There are a few different bus stops nearby that serve Cesena and other towns, but the bus service stops after about 8:00PM.
Cesena is a nice sized town set at the foot of a hill with an interesting historic center. The Romagna region is prosperous and the area is growing. Known for fruit production, other industries are moving in, so the edge of town is spreading farther out of the center. On my last visit we had the Italian-only guided tour of the Biblioteca Malatestiana, the town's most famous attraction. The 500-year-old library was built to be climate controlled to protect the books and has not been changed in any way - a real time capsule.
R prepares a delicious lunch of fettucine with tomato sauce, and squid with peas. We discuss our plan: we will stay in Cesena for a few days to visit Rimini and run some errands, replacing objects R lost when her purse was snatched in Prague a few days before. Then we will train to Molfetta and stay in R's great-grandfather's apartment. From there we can daytrip to Bari and Trani. I've never been so far south in Italy before, and I'm interested to see Puglia and R's ancestral home. She keeps warning me: "There's no hot water."
We have a lazy, homey afternoon. R keeps apologizing for the bad weather and I keep telling her I love it. I do some laundry, which takes three days to dry because of the fog that never goes away for my entire visit to Cesena.
We head into town for what R promises will be the best gelato in all of Italy. if you ever wondered if all the gelaterie in Rome and Florence are just for the tourists, I can tell you that in all untouristy places I visited on this trip, the gelaterie were still packed. Here in Cesena it may just be true that I had the best gelato ever at Tutto Gelato. They make all new gelato every day, making just enough fresh to last the day, selling it at a discount in the late hours. (R informs me that there is never any left to sell at discount.) Incredibly fresh, incredibly creamy, it never really has a chance to freeze very solid before it is gone. R = chocolate and croccante; E = pistachio and croccante. I have discovered a new favorite flavor: croccante is crema with just enough but not too many chopped pralines mixed in - creamy and slightly crunchy. Really, really good.
We stroll through the center of town, past familiar sights from my last visit. We stop at the train station to check schedules and buy tickets for some of our trips over the next few days. It's nice to relax and chat and not have an agenda, not that the agenda P and I had in Florence and Rome was all that vigorous. I enjoy this opportunity to come someplace and just be.
R won't let me do a thing or pay for a thing (except my tickets and restaurant meals). I will owe her a great visit when she stays with me in NYC next year. After a nice dinner of sausage, string beans, stracchetti (cheese!), and fruit, I fall asleep happy after a long day.
Tomorrow: Rimini and the Ravages of War
DAY 7: Monday, 25 October 2004 -- Cesena
I will never understand how a tub with a hose sprayer is better than a shower. In R's bathroom, there is an interesting addition to this unweildy method of washing: her apartment is on the ground floor and the large, uncurtained windows have a nice view of the communal garden - and vice versa. I'm surprised a few times by one of her neighbors who is a particularly avid gardener.
After a leisurely breakfast of biscotti, cheese, and fruit, we head for Rimini. R comments that we should be able to see the mountains from the train, but it is still foggy and visibility is low, not a mountain in sight. R grew up in Rimini and her mother lived in Rimini till her death last year, so she has much to share about the area. Rimini was a major city during ancient times, on the direct route between Rome and the north. It is also on the main east-west route to a natural pass through the Appenine Mountains. Still important for these geographical reasons, much of Rimini was destroyed during World War II. R was born in the countryside near Cesena where her family took refuge during the war. She recalls visiting Rimini in the early 1950s when it was still much in rubble before they moved back. The town does not have much of the visible charm of other towns because so much was built or repaired during the past 50 years. Even now, there are signs of the destruction: the opera house is little more than a lobby. The auditorium was destroyed during the war and they are still raising money and planning to rebuild.
We visit the older part of town, away from the seaside resort. R explains the reign of Sigimundo Malatesta, his humanist outlook, and his resulting trouble with the papacy. The Tempio Malatestiana is the important church which contains his tomb, an older church remodeled by Alberti in the 15th century. The interior decoration by Duccio is unlike any I've seen, carving everywhere especially interesting reliefs of playful cherubs. We stroll through town visiting two Roman arches, both older than those in Rome, and also a Roman bridge still in full use. Not much is open because it's Monday, but we find a pizzeria and have a margherita and quattro stagione. OK - not great. We visit a neighborhood across the river of teeny cute houses that are becoming gentrified and therefore very pricey for very little space. Just like NYC. The houses are painted bright colors and many feature murals on the front. Some are more interesting than others. (I doubt I would choose a mural of three Yorkshire terriers as one homeowner did.)
On the way through Cesena we pick up R's new eyeglasses (purse-snatching replacements!) and train tickets for our trip south and my return to Rome. I will travel to Rome on November 1, a major holiday in Italy when many Italians travel by train to their hometowns, so we reserve well ahead.
Fortunately for me, R's English is excellent. Before she retired four years ago, she was a professor of international law in Florence, a subject studied in English. She always begs me to correct her, but I find her mistakes few and charming, so I'm not very diligent. Tonight a dinner of fresh tagliatelle with sausage and tomatoes, beans, salad, and cheese. More cheese. Always more delicious cheese. I'm not complaining. Chatting, chatting, chatting, catching up on three years.
Tomorrow: A Bus Trip to Forlí
DAY 6: Sunday, 24 October 2004 -- Cesena
I forgot to mention one nice feature of the Hotel Colosseum: a panoramic roof terrace. Since the hotel is on a hill, the roof offers nice views of Rome in all directions. One could use the roof phone to order drinks from the bar in the lobby, relaxing at the tables provided.
We are up before sunrise to pack and leave the hotel. We drag our suitcases across the cobblestones in front of Santa Maria Maggiore. No need to watch for traffic before 7:00AM on a Sunday. I make the long walk to the Leonardo Express with P and we make our goodbyes. His adventure is almost done, but I feel as if mine is just beginning.
My 8:30AM ES train will reach Bologna around 12:30PM where I will catch an IR train to Cesena, hopefully arriving around 12:45PM. R intends to meet that train - and every successive one until I show up. I told her I would get a cab, but she insisted on meeting me. She is elated to see me step off the first train since she felt she'd given me poor schedule information. (Learn to read schedules! Three different trains at the same departure time, but running on different days and making different stops along the same route!) Though we haven't seen each other in three years, we pick up where we left off. R's brother is there to drive us home. R doesn't drive and her brother has been staying with her temporarily since his marriage broke up (three years ago!). Cesena is foggy, drizzly, and cool. I'm am wearing the correct clothes for the first time in a week.
Some people ask what gifts to bring people when they visit in a foreign land. It's hard to know. R had requested one thing and one thing only: mounting putty! (Fun Tak, that sticky stuff you can use and reuse to stick things on the wall) I obeyed her instructions but bought a few different brands, wrapping them nicely. She was excited to unwrap them and we spent quite a few minutes discussing the merits of this 20th century wonder product.
R's apartment is the typical apartment I've seen in Italy, with a hallway from which you access each room. Each room has a door that closes. Aside from the kitchen and bathroom, the other three rooms are all the same size and could be used for almost any purpose. Each room gives access through tall french doors to long terraces. Built in the late 1960s, the building of six apartments is on the outskirts of Cesena in a neighborhood of similar buildings. There are a few different bus stops nearby that serve Cesena and other towns, but the bus service stops after about 8:00PM.
Cesena is a nice sized town set at the foot of a hill with an interesting historic center. The Romagna region is prosperous and the area is growing. Known for fruit production, other industries are moving in, so the edge of town is spreading farther out of the center. On my last visit we had the Italian-only guided tour of the Biblioteca Malatestiana, the town's most famous attraction. The 500-year-old library was built to be climate controlled to protect the books and has not been changed in any way - a real time capsule.
R prepares a delicious lunch of fettucine with tomato sauce, and squid with peas. We discuss our plan: we will stay in Cesena for a few days to visit Rimini and run some errands, replacing objects R lost when her purse was snatched in Prague a few days before. Then we will train to Molfetta and stay in R's great-grandfather's apartment. From there we can daytrip to Bari and Trani. I've never been so far south in Italy before, and I'm interested to see Puglia and R's ancestral home. She keeps warning me: "There's no hot water."
We have a lazy, homey afternoon. R keeps apologizing for the bad weather and I keep telling her I love it. I do some laundry, which takes three days to dry because of the fog that never goes away for my entire visit to Cesena.
We head into town for what R promises will be the best gelato in all of Italy. if you ever wondered if all the gelaterie in Rome and Florence are just for the tourists, I can tell you that in all untouristy places I visited on this trip, the gelaterie were still packed. Here in Cesena it may just be true that I had the best gelato ever at Tutto Gelato. They make all new gelato every day, making just enough fresh to last the day, selling it at a discount in the late hours. (R informs me that there is never any left to sell at discount.) Incredibly fresh, incredibly creamy, it never really has a chance to freeze very solid before it is gone. R = chocolate and croccante; E = pistachio and croccante. I have discovered a new favorite flavor: croccante is crema with just enough but not too many chopped pralines mixed in - creamy and slightly crunchy. Really, really good.
We stroll through the center of town, past familiar sights from my last visit. We stop at the train station to check schedules and buy tickets for some of our trips over the next few days. It's nice to relax and chat and not have an agenda, not that the agenda P and I had in Florence and Rome was all that vigorous. I enjoy this opportunity to come someplace and just be.
R won't let me do a thing or pay for a thing (except my tickets and restaurant meals). I will owe her a great visit when she stays with me in NYC next year. After a nice dinner of sausage, string beans, stracchetti (cheese!), and fruit, I fall asleep happy after a long day.
Tomorrow: Rimini and the Ravages of War
DAY 7: Monday, 25 October 2004 -- Cesena
I will never understand how a tub with a hose sprayer is better than a shower. In R's bathroom, there is an interesting addition to this unweildy method of washing: her apartment is on the ground floor and the large, uncurtained windows have a nice view of the communal garden - and vice versa. I'm surprised a few times by one of her neighbors who is a particularly avid gardener.
After a leisurely breakfast of biscotti, cheese, and fruit, we head for Rimini. R comments that we should be able to see the mountains from the train, but it is still foggy and visibility is low, not a mountain in sight. R grew up in Rimini and her mother lived in Rimini till her death last year, so she has much to share about the area. Rimini was a major city during ancient times, on the direct route between Rome and the north. It is also on the main east-west route to a natural pass through the Appenine Mountains. Still important for these geographical reasons, much of Rimini was destroyed during World War II. R was born in the countryside near Cesena where her family took refuge during the war. She recalls visiting Rimini in the early 1950s when it was still much in rubble before they moved back. The town does not have much of the visible charm of other towns because so much was built or repaired during the past 50 years. Even now, there are signs of the destruction: the opera house is little more than a lobby. The auditorium was destroyed during the war and they are still raising money and planning to rebuild.
We visit the older part of town, away from the seaside resort. R explains the reign of Sigimundo Malatesta, his humanist outlook, and his resulting trouble with the papacy. The Tempio Malatestiana is the important church which contains his tomb, an older church remodeled by Alberti in the 15th century. The interior decoration by Duccio is unlike any I've seen, carving everywhere especially interesting reliefs of playful cherubs. We stroll through town visiting two Roman arches, both older than those in Rome, and also a Roman bridge still in full use. Not much is open because it's Monday, but we find a pizzeria and have a margherita and quattro stagione. OK - not great. We visit a neighborhood across the river of teeny cute houses that are becoming gentrified and therefore very pricey for very little space. Just like NYC. The houses are painted bright colors and many feature murals on the front. Some are more interesting than others. (I doubt I would choose a mural of three Yorkshire terriers as one homeowner did.)
On the way through Cesena we pick up R's new eyeglasses (purse-snatching replacements!) and train tickets for our trip south and my return to Rome. I will travel to Rome on November 1, a major holiday in Italy when many Italians travel by train to their hometowns, so we reserve well ahead.
Fortunately for me, R's English is excellent. Before she retired four years ago, she was a professor of international law in Florence, a subject studied in English. She always begs me to correct her, but I find her mistakes few and charming, so I'm not very diligent. Tonight a dinner of fresh tagliatelle with sausage and tomatoes, beans, salad, and cheese. More cheese. Always more delicious cheese. I'm not complaining. Chatting, chatting, chatting, catching up on three years.
Tomorrow: A Bus Trip to Forlí
Nov 26th, 2004, 08:57 AM
#36
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Dear ellenem,
I hope you aren't having a problem posting "A Bus Trip to Forlí" as I'm looking forward to reading it.
I am recovering from Gastronomical Overdose from yesterday and was so disappointed not to find an addition to your post, but then, I hadn't been on for a couple of days and there have been a multitude of postings since then.
Cheers,
Carol
I hope you aren't having a problem posting "A Bus Trip to Forlí" as I'm looking forward to reading it.
I am recovering from Gastronomical Overdose from yesterday and was so disappointed not to find an addition to your post, but then, I hadn't been on for a couple of days and there have been a multitude of postings since then.
Cheers,
Carol
Nov 27th, 2004, 09:45 AM
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Brahmama,
Thanks for your kind words and interest. It's nice to know someone's listening.
Work and the holiday have caught up with me, so I haven't had time for posting.
Coming soon: passport and pastries in Forlí, a long train ride, sleeping with saints in Molfetta, amazing cheese, churches in Bari and Trani, and final days in Rome.
Thanks for your kind words and interest. It's nice to know someone's listening.
Work and the holiday have caught up with me, so I haven't had time for posting.
Coming soon: passport and pastries in Forlí, a long train ride, sleeping with saints in Molfetta, amazing cheese, churches in Bari and Trani, and final days in Rome.
Nov 27th, 2004, 06:44 PM
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Ellenm - I'm curious about the resturant you mentioned near your home in NYC - is it Cacio and Pepe? Friends have been raving about it for the last few months - have you been there? - after your wonderful descriptions of Florence and Rome, I'd really respect your opions about NYC Italian! Oh - and thanks for your terrific report - very enjoyable reading!
