Somehow, in the trips inbetween Milan and UK last summer we lost our digital camera We have the new camcorder, but I'm not sure how we take stills from it. And, er, the chiacchiere would make a nice picture, us post asti less so!
lulu said:As I type now I am snaacking on my Sunday afternoon treat of chiacchiere and asti, the asti is just kicking in, so please excuse floridities and typos! Heaven, really really heaven. DH has said that he now feels chiacchiere are the single best thing to be produced in Italy, and I am tempted to agree. Its so hard to bypass these delights, as simple as they seem, and I am now dreading the end of them being in the shops If anyone wants a recipe I will find one and post it, these really must be tried.
lulu said:Anyway, I left Lombardia yesterday, and got on a plane for Roma! Just one brief day, but a tantalising first taste of Lazio! As a citrus tree enthusiast I was enchanted by the lemons and oranges with their boughs bent with the weight of their fruit that line the railway lines of the airport shuttle train. My enchantment multiplied when i saw that some streets in Roma are lined with orange trees too, the merry little fruits bright like Christmas decorations, I wonder if people pick them for a snack whilst shopping?.
lulu said:Anyway, we had to go pretty much straight to DH's Rome office for some thing, but the location, CASPITA, what a location! Urmaniac will understand this, that it is practically adjacent to the Spanish Steps in Piazza d'espagna! so from the window I was watching four horses and carriages lining up, we thouht about taking a quick horse drivn tour, but at 150 erous and tight for time, we decided on Shank's pony instead, and our little feet practically ran the narrow streets between the Piazza d'espagna and Via del Corso. The difference in temperature between Rome and Milan was astounding, and we were peeling layers as we ran/walked the streets!
lulu said:After the party ended we had only two hours so we ran down th ehill back into the centre of Rome, crossed the Tiber and went into Trastevere, where we looked for a restaurant a friend had said we must go to called Gioacchino's, but this we never fouynd, and feeling the clock ticking we raced into a restarant in Via Pelliccia opposite Augusto (for urmanic's benefit!) where we wolfed down some crostata, one with blak olive pate and one with artichoke and truffle oil. The truffle oil was not on the menu, and I balked as I smelt it arrive but I have to admit I liked the taste. I hae a long standing repulsion to th smell of truffle, so eating it was smething of a feat, and to be honest I could smell it all through the night, but I am so glad I tried it, and it was worth it! DH then ate coda vaccina, a plate of oxtail and tomato stew, I was dithering, we were rushed and I wanted something reminiscent of the beautiful citrus trees that had captured me as I entered Roma, and to celebrate the warmth! But the only thing I fancied was the vitello al limone. I have issues with veal, and said, in English to DH, that I was saddened to not be abke to choose that. But the waiter, who spoke beautiful lyrical english, heard me nd offered to have it made with chicken instead, and knowing we were rushing, scampered of the the kitchen. It was all divne, and I wished we could have loitered longer, but the cats waited and we were latish for the plane so we lept in to a taxi, for the safest journey I have had in Italy on the roads...all though it was 8, when the shops close, the traffic seemed to part in front of us and our taxi driver was softly spoken and angelic, chatting to me aand patient with my painfully slow Italian, unliike the Milanese whop just resort to English!!
lulu said:I LOVED Roma! I can hardly wait to go back, next time I have a friend I want to meet with though!
lulu said:DH is on my case......the book I was meqant to be working on when we decided on this mad adventure is artistic dust now...lol
Its not far on the train from Verona at all (do you fly/drive/train on holiday in Italy??) I love Italian trains...I'm back to Modena next week to pull my friend's horses manes for her, but I'm driving this time....get a different view from the train and I'm only going for the day so need to be really flexible with time.
lulu said:On the beaten track....which is most of the main part of Venice it all looks rip off tourist food...and really thick US style pizza was everywhere too, made me smile....but its tough when people eat at those places and claim knowledge of Italian cuisine....as if MacDonalds could tell you about US cuisine, or chain pubs in UK reveal much about real British food. I'm not surprised tourists are disappointed though!
lulu said:Go, go, go Charlie....write the name of the Osteria down...I'm going to get DH to scan a map in so I can post it, its just how Venice should be I think!