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Christmas Report

26 Dec

My intentions regarding this blog are often higher than my ability to meet my own expectations. I envisioned posting my Christmas Eve photos that night, after we arrived home. But it was midnight and I tumbled into bed.

The magnificent Church of Santa Susanna. There has been a place of worship here since 330 A.D.

The magnificent Church of Santa Susanna. There has been a place of worship here since 330 A.D.

We started La Vigilia di Natale as temporary Catholics, attending the lovely Church of Santa Susanna, seat of the American Catholic Church in Rome. We’ve been to a couple of services in churches lately where everything was in Italian (or Swedish if you saw my post about the children’s concert), so it was almost a surprise to walk through the door and hear singing in American-accented English.  Following church, about 20:30, it was already very quiet in the streets. The buses were half-empty and moving fast, the drivers enjoying freedom from the usual overwhelming auto traffic. Another Christmas miracle: a young man (French) gave me his seat on the bus. While it was a sweet gesture, I am a little sensitive to him thinking I am old and needed to sit. I prefer to think he was simply kind. And so we meandered through the streets of Rome by foot and bus, to our favorite trattoria.

We ate at this restaurant last Christmas Eve as well. In fact we have been dining here since our first trip in 2010 and go at least once a month, often more. We are regulars and warmly greeted. The feast on Christmas Eve is always fish and wine was included in the prezzo fisso menu.  Since it was looonnngg holiday meal, we managed to drain our included bottle during the first two courses.  So they opened another for us. An advantage to being regulars: no extra charge.

The antipsato course: smoked salmon, cured anchovies, seafood salad, steamed mussels and more.

The antipasto course: smoked salmon, cured anchovies, seafood salad, steamed mussels and more.

The Primi were a seafood risotto and a lovely mixed seafood pastes.

The primi were a seafood risotto and a lovely mixed seafood pasta.

The secondo was a lovely whole steamed fish, succulent and tender, accompanied by tiny fried whole fish.

The secondo was a lovely whole steamed fish, succulent and tender, accompanied by tiny fried whole fish.

My intention was to do a photo essay of my magnificent Christmas Day feast, but I forgot to take a picture of the golden, juicy turkey before carving, and failed to take a picture of our glorious table.   Our menu included an array of Mediterranean and Italian antipasti, followed by our crazy-expensive Italian turkey, stuffing with sausage & apples & raisins, sweet potato casserole, ratatouille and cranberries. For the first time in about 25 years I had to buy canned cranberries (available at the embassy’s commissary) because fresh berries were >$11.00 for a 10 ounce bag in the Italian market! We topped the meal with a homemade pear crostata. Our guest was a young man from the embassy who was highly entertaining and who has excellent taste in wine. Grazie, Ben!

Today is yet another holiday, Santo Stefano. Today we must get out and exercise. Never left the apartment yesterday except to go to the courtyard with our guest! I am a few miles behind and a few thousand calories ahead of plan.

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La festa del ringraziamento

23 Nov

This is before we had the grappa.

I’m a little drunk right now (10:30pm). It might be because of the grappa the Swedes at the next table insisted we needed to try. We decided a few weeks ago that we could not recreate the usual American holiday spent with family and friends (you know who you are: Jonnie, Veronica, Barry, Derek, John, Susan, Debbie, Eddie), so we chucked it all and decided to embrace a different sort of Thanksgiving. We decided to continue our exploration of this marvelous city. Ric has to work tomorrow, and I committed to a couple of hours on Saturday, so leaving Rome was not an option.  We embarked on an urban hike up Monte Mario.It was a lovely fall day in Rome. We can see Monte Mario from our windows in Parioli and for

The green path up Monte Mario. Only 450 feet high!

the 6 months we have lived here have said, “We need to go see what’s up there.” So today was the day. Monte Mario is officially the highest peak in Rome at 450 feet. (Yes, Oregonians, it is a lightweight. Even Minnesota has a higher peak at Eagle Mountain. People here are always asking us how we manage the “hills” of Rome. To an Oregonian this is flatland.) Monte Mario was lovely! Rome is spread out at your feet, and the hoards are left far behind as only locals make the trek, often with their dogs. There is a magnificent vista from a cafe where we indulged in espresso and croissants. (Pictures from the top were less than stellar due to haze, but it was really quite stunning in person.) In 2 1/2 hours we covered Monte Mario and the Foro Italico (site of the 1960 Olympic Games and current soccer stadium). Great exercise. Va bene. In fact, this reminded us so much of our Portland “urban hikes” it was amazing!

We could be in Portland or in Rome, at this point.

So we explored a bit of Rome we had not seen before and worked off our dinner before we ate it.

We thought briefly about cooking a turkey. Very briefly. It’s a lot of work for only two people.  Once we discarded that idea of cooking, it was easy to decide what to do. This evening

Best melanzane al forno anywhere. If you come to visit I will take you here, blindfolded, I don’t want everyone going here.

we ventured to our favorite trattoria, where we were warmly greeted by the staff as we go here often (and have for two years now). With Australians on one side and Swedes on the other, we feasted on mussels, melanzane al forno (eggplant parmesan), and trippa. (Ric ate the trippa. I’m not having any part of that!) The mussels here are sweet and delicious. I could eat them all night. We also indulged in dessert and the Swedes insisted we needed to try the “good” grappa. My it was good! But it was also a good thing we weren’t driving! Every time we go to this restaurant we end up in conversation with wonderful people: Italians, Aussies, Swedes, French. (Not often Americans.) There were toasts to our American holiday, and reminiscing about favorite holidays in our respective countries. How lucky we are to have this experience in international living!Much love to you, our American friends and family. We’ll “do” turkey and all the trimmings with you again one day, but for 2012 this was our celebration. Hope yours was festive and that you were surrounded by love.

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Election night in Rome

7 Nov
Prior to coming to Rome, it did not occur to me that our American election would be of such great interest to the Italians. Even more surprising to me was the phenomenon of the Election Night Party held by American embassies worldwide. I was fortunate to attend the event last night and (ahem) work. (Grazie il capo mio!)

There is passionate interest in the election on the part of our Italian friends. Had Italy voted, I daresay the popular vote would be for President Obama.

The event started at 22:00 and by 23:00 there were about 2000 people in attendance. There a was Tex-Mex buffet (yum!), trays of donuts were passed by tuxedo-clad waiters, wine flowed freely, and I was almost trampled in the rush of people clambering for the 1000 hamburgers MacDonalds delivered. (All donations, my tax-paying friends. The U.S. Government does not foot the bill.) Here are a few shots taken with my phone.

Ambassador Thorne addresses the jubilant crowd. Election results were broadcast throughout the venue.

Mr. Romney stands alone as Mr. Obama attracts a fan.

An attendee strikes a pose with Mr. Obama’s cut-out.

What an opportunity this was! I voted by mail weeks ago and was able to celebrate the American democratic process in a way I never have in the U.S.

What do I miss and Independence Day, Italian-style

4 Jul

A friend recently asked “Is there anything you really miss here?” (“Here” being the U.S., Portland, or my former office depending on context.) He got me to pondering…. After almost 7 weeks in Rome what do I “miss?” The adventure is still new: so much to explore, to learn, to see. But I do miss

  1. People, of course. I used to see my son every day, now niente, although we did “Skype” recently. Dinners with Voyageur Femmes. The great people at my place-of-work in Portland: devoted, smart, fun, challenging (in a good way). V & B, our best pals, dining out together, exploring Portland, big holidays. “Dates” with Jonnie seeing oddball plays and artsy movies. While our family is spread about the country, certainly picking up the phone to chat is not as likely to happen, if only because the 6 to 9 hour time difference makes it tougher.
  2. Cool Portland June. Sometimes called “June-uary,” this Roman heat makes me long for the days I had to use the fireplace in June in Portland. (July is promising more of the same.)
  3. Familiarity. We get lost in Rome. I never got lost in Portland (at least not after the first year or two). Sometimes we head out and never get to our intended destination. All part of the adventure, but tiring when it is 90 degrees.
  4. A large cup of American coffee once-in-awhile so I can sit with my husband for half-an-hour and chit-chat to start the day. But we’ve replaced that with aperitivi. Not a bad substitute.
  5. My furniture. Should come any day now….
  6. The Oregon Zoo, a big part of our lives or so many years. We will miss ZooLaLa this month for the first time in 10 years!

That’s about it. I love my job, love the people I work with, and the location is amazing. Food to die for, markets to dream about, and don’t get me started on the pork salumi! Good thing we walk several miles a day. I do not miss Starbucks as much as some would conjecture. The coffee here is damn fine, and we have our amazing Nespresso machine at home.

As to Independence Day, we were fêted at the Ambassador’s last night, along with 3000 or so others, including Premier Mario Monti.

The crowd gathers in the garden at Villa Taverna

It was definitely a unique 4th-of-July party in an Italy-meets-America sort of way.

La Porchetta, artfully done and oh-so-delizioso!

The menu ranged from hotdogs and hamburgers to porchetta and parmigiano reggiano.I especially enjoyed the Virginia baked ham, which many Italians eyed with suspicion as if thinking “why would you do that to a prosciutto?” There was watermelon, ice cream, and corn-on-the-cob, but also pizza, pasta, and the most impressive cheese table I have ever eaten my way through laid eyes on. Italian wine flowed along with Miller beer. (If you can lay your hands on a bottle of Brachetto d’Acqui, do it. A fine summer red for aperitivi!)  The National Anthem was sung by one of our Marines, and the musical entertainment was 100% American jazz/swing/pop. The party is a hot ticket for Italians: Efforts to secure an invitation endured until the last moment. Italian guests out-numbered Americans by a huge majority. In fact, Ambassador Thorne gave his speech entirely in Italian. Lest you think the U.S. Government spent taxpayer dollars on this largesse, be assured corporate America and L’Italia delle imprese (Italian business) made the evening possible through sponsorships. Crowning the evening, an impressive fireworks display. Happy #236 America!

Fireworks above the carefully trimmed trees of Villa Taverna.  Bravissimo!

Quite a show in the middle of Rome.

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