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Out in the country

2 Jun
Rome is a wonderful city but it is, after all, a noisy, busy, annoying place. Motorini buzz up our street at all hours, buses discharging their air brakes echo in the night, and even the church across the street hums with activity as late as 11:00 PM. Seagulls sometimes screech as early as 3:30 AM, and compete with a songbird whose otherwise beautiful song is not quite so lovely at that dark hour.  So we seek to leave the city, walk without worry of careening motorini, and give our ears a rest.  Even a single day out of Rome can leave one refreshed. So it was with delight that we accepted the invitation of friends to join them at their home in a tiny town almost too small for the map.
Whenever I need to leave it all behind
Or feel the need to get away
I find a quiet place, far from the human race
Out in the country
 “Out in the Country” by Three Dog Night
As we leave Vico, heading up a rural road.

As we leave Vico, heading up a rural road.

The official town site says Vico Nel Lazio has a population of 2258. That might be true on a day that everyone who owns a home there shows up and brings the extended family. Our friend Gigi, whose family has had a house in Vico for 5 generations, says there are maybe 1000 people year-round. There are two bars, a tabaccheria, and a bakery. Everything else is down the hill a few kilometers away, except for the 8-or-so churches. Vico sits at over 700 meters above sea level. This medieval village dates back to at least the 13th century. The ancient gates are still in use and many of the original 24 towers still visible. It is not a tourist destination.
Tiny Vico Nel Lazio as seen on our ascent.

Tiny Vico Nel Lazio as seen on our ascent.

Driving about an hour and 45 minutes from Rome, we arrived late one Sunday morning to be greeted by Emanuela in the town piazza. Shortly, our group of 7 set out on a two-hour mountain hike, high above Vico. Gigi has been hiking these hills all of his life and took us meandering through grazing cows and horses with foals alongside. We could never have done this on our own. We’d be wandering there still today without his expert guiding. Along the way we shared stories with the accompanying Italian friends, picking up new vocabulary words as they willingly helped us with their language. As storm clouds threatened across the valley, we found a trough high in the hills. It must have been there for a very long time, fed by a spring. Luckily the rain arrived only as due gocce (a few drops).
Heading back to Vico we enjoyed il pranzo della Domenica (Sunday lunch) in the picture-perfect setting of Gigi and Emanuela’s garden. Following antipasti of salumi and cheese, there was homemade fettucine by the talented Maria, roasted suckling lamb and potatoes, salad, fruit, pastries and wine. It’s no wonder some of the group took to napping in the grass. Click on any photo below for a slide show.
Driving back to Rome the reality of urban life struck all too quickly as we encountered intense traffic and logistical problems in navigating our way home. But we had a lovely day in the country free from noise and traffic. Lovely. 

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Weekend Miscellany

18 May
Friday night we undertook to make dinner for some Italian friends. I am still a bit nervous about making Italian food for Italians, so we built a “Mediterranean Menu,” incorporating preparations from Sicily and the Middle East, with a left turn to France for dessert. It turned into THE GREAT GARLIC DINNER: with the exception of dessert, there was garlic in every course. I had not planned the menu to be so. Only in the implementation did I realize how much the little wonders were incorporated. Luckily each person was a garlic fiend.
Gigi, Eleonora, me and Emanuela. Why do I always forget to take pictures of the food?

Gigi, Eleonora, me and Emanuela. Why do I always forget to take pictures of the food?

We started with pancetta-wrapped garlic, which must be tried to be believed. Our guests had never seen garlic nor pancetta treated this way. Even our vegetarian guest downed several of the savory cloves. Of course olives were present, also in a garlicky/spicy treatment. Antipasti included balsamic-roasted red-peppers, hummus, and Ric’s very wonderful Sicilian caponata, also with an adequate amount of the pungent bulbs. Served with hot, crispy-crusted-tender-inside focaccia we probably could have quit eating at this point. Ma è non finisce qui! (But wait, there’s more!) The garlic-fest continued with garlic-crusted rombo and rosemary potatoes with olives and –  you guessed it – garlic!
Rombo

Rombo

The rombo is a type of flat-fish, a member of the turbot family. I used to make this recipe with halibut in Portland. In fact it is a recipe our son taught me. Although Italian has a word for halibut, ippoglosso, you cannot get the fish fresh. So I asked at the pescheria what type of fish might work as a substitute and the rombo was the considered decision.  I was quite flattered at the fish shop to be asked how I would prepare scallops. There was another customer there contemplating scallops as they were on special and according to the fishmonger Italians only have one way of making them: baked with breadcrumbs, a sort of Coquilles St. Jacques. He knew an American (between my accent and my marginal Italian it’s easy to tell that I am) would have other preparations so we had quite a 3-way conversation about pan-frying, in cream-sauce with mushrooms, stir-fried in an Asian style, etc. This is constant conversation in Italy wherever food is sold: How are you going to prepare that? Everyone has an idea and the exchange is quite interesting and informative. I am glad my Italian is now at a level where I can participate. But I digress…. The fish is spread with roasted garlic, then sprinkled with herb-seasoned panko, and broiled for a very few minutes. Yum!
The potato recipe came from my friend Heather’s aunt, and is a real winner, perfect with this fish. New potatoes, two kinds of chopped olives, roasted garlic, herbs and olive oil = fantastic! No ketchup required.
We finished the evening with a very French pots di crème served with fresh whipped cream,the intense chocolate being a fine counter-point to the savory dinner.
At the very elegant Villa Taverna gardens. I was so wrapped up in the auction, wine and food, I forgot to take pictures. This was the cake-topper.

At the very elegant Villa Taverna gardens. I was so wrapped up in the auction, wine and food that I forgot to take pictures. This was the cake-topper.

Of course that was only Friday. The gastro-fest continued at the annual embassy auction at the ambassador’s residence, Villa Taverna.  Because U.S. government procurement law does not allow taxpayer money to be spent on employee functions, each year the Community Liaison Office holds an auction to raise funds to allow a couple of parties for staff, morale-boosting efforts for the Marine Security Guard, such as visits by their parents, and so on. The auction is a big deal, with great food and an opportunity to spend money. So of course we did. It looks like we have a couple of weekend trips ahead, including 3 nights at an agriturismo in the Brunello di Montalcino region.
Ric and me in our little risciò, perfect for touring the park. V.B. is the largest public park in Rome.

Ric and me in our little risciò, perfect for touring the park. V.B. is the largest public park in Rome.

Sunday we decided it was finally time to rent a risciò in Villa Borghese. A risciò is a pedal-cart for two-to-four adults and two little ones. It is power-assisted so you don’t kill yourself pedaling, but it does take some thigh power to get around. We have a mind to take our young great-nephew and great-niece for an outing when they are here in August, so we thought a trial run would be a good idea. What a fun way to see the park! We walk through V.B. almost daily, but there are parts of the park we never get to see. So Susan and John, when you two are off seeing the Vatican Museums, we may be cycling your kids through the park.
Anyone who knows Ric knows that pizza is a weekly menu item, usually on Friday night. Since we had company Friday and the auction Saturday, we had to push pizza to Sunday night, so very shortly we’ll be off our local pizzeria to feed the need. Great way to wrap up the weekend!
The lake in Villa Borghese. Very small, but quite sweet.

The lake in Villa Borghese. Very small, but quite sweet.

Hope you all had fun this weekend too!

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On the 5th day we rested

19 Feb

Day five (Monday) I had hoped to return to St. Peter’s and climb the dome, but we awoke feeling a bit lazy after 4 days of tearing about. The last two days were long ones and travel intensive. Plus we’d missed the gym all weekend, so we took a different path.

As it was a beautiful spring-like morning we headed off at 7:15AM on a journey we usually take on Saturdays. We headed down through our quartiere of Parioli to our favorite Sicilian cafè for a  quick shot of espresso, where i ragazzi were surprised to see us on a Monday, necessitating an explanation of il giorno dei presidenti, including clarification that it was not just a day for Mr. Obama, but a day to honor all U.S. presidents. 

We continued on our way, across Villa Borghese, through Piazza del Popolo, then meandered through some of the myriad alleys we seldom travel, watching our city wake up and workers prepare for the week, down to Campo dei Fiori where again some of the vendors we patronize were surprised to see us on a Monday. More explanations.

On to the gym. The embassy was quiet except for the landscaping crew doing the annual trimming of the palm trees. It was nice to have the gym to ourselves! 

Now what became the highlight of the day, and a fitting end to the Valentine’s Day weekend: we bought Ric a new wedding ring. In 1989 he lost his while snorkeling in Hawaii. What with one thing or another, we never replaced it, but have been talking about doing so. Today was the day! We visited a little jeweler (complete with a protective man-trap entry) and made a selection. If he loses this one, the next one goes through his nose. :=)

Dinner of Ric’s homemade caponata, a Skype call with my brother and SIL, and some fine Sicilian vino bianco put a cap on the day. 

Did I say lazy? We accomplished 19,000 steps according to my pedometer, more than each of the prior two days! 

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Day Two: Not all according to plan

14 Feb

For almost four years I have wanted to climb the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. When we traveled here in 2010 and 2011, we were not in good enough physical shape to take it on. Even the 67-or-so stairs to our Cinque Terre apartment killed us that trip! Imagine 320-something to climb the dome of St. Peter’s. Now we are in good shape and today was to be the day! It dawned sunny and bright, cloudless, almost trending to spring-like weather. (Sorry East Coast U.S., I couldn’t resist!)  

10,000 young engaged couple begin to arrive at St. Peter's, Feb 14 2014.

10,000 young engaged couples begin to arrive at St. Peter’s, Feb 14 2014. Have you ever seen a bluer sky?

We headed over to Vatican City and found Piazza San Pietro filled with thousands of chairs and the basilica closed. Throngs of young people were arriving in couples. I asked a guard of the Gendarmerie Corps, “Cosa succede qui oggi?” (What’s going on here today?)  It seems Papa Francesco invited 10,000 engaged couples to meet here on St. Valentine’s Day to consider their upcoming marriages with the theme “The Joy of ‘Yes’ Forever.” Sweet, but it meant we couldn’t climb the dome.

You would think the St. Peter’s website would have information about an event like this, but no. A few days ago I checked and double-checked the hours for the basilica and the cupola. No word of 20,000 special invitees. Upon returning home, only with a Google search using “Vatican Events 2014” did I find mention of the event, and no mention of the closure. In fact the Basilica website insists it is open every day.  Also, clicking on a link entitled Vatican Calendar of Papal Celebrations led me to the year 2008.  Unfortunately this is what we often find in Italy: websites that are so out-of-date as to be useless. Perhaps I will write about Interweb Woes sometime in the future. It’s quite strange.

A handsome Swiss Guard redirects those who were clearly not meant to be a part of the Papal celebration.

A handsome Swiss Guard redirects those who were clearly not meant to be a part of the Papal celebration.

We were amused to find our Italian-ness taken for granted. Anyone who looked particularly non-Italian, as well as those who were clearly not in a couple, were quizzed by an English-speaking Swiss Guard about their intentions to see the Vatican Museums, then redirected to the museum entrance. We were assumed to know what we were doing, I guess, because no one challenged us to walking about in the crowd. We probably could have stayed and attended if we’d wanted to wait 3 hours. I am really curious as to how the 20,000 people knew about this event. I don’t read the Italian paper everyday, and I can only watch so much news before the politics make my head spin, but how did 20,000 innamorati from all over the world (says the Vatican) find out about this gathering? Perhaps word went out to parishes?

All was not lost… Rome really is small and we knew a bus from the Vatican area to the Centro Storico would drop us near the Ara Pacis, so we headed to an Impressionism exhibit there. This exhibit is on loan from Washington, D.C., and I’ve meant to see it for the past 4 months it has been in Rome. It closes February 23, so time was short. It turns out a Friday morning was the perfect time to go. Imagine having an almost-private showing of Renoir, Monet, Cèzanne, Degas, Van Gogh, Seurat and more?  Not once did I have to wait for someone to move out of the way so I could study a painting.  The works were so intimately displayed I was tempted to reach out and touch the works. I had to put my hands in my pockets.

Second stop was to be an obscure museum called La Sala Santa Rita where there is an exhibit about the Nazi occupation of Rome in WWII. A few days ago I checked and double-checked the days and times. We were good to go… until we arrived. There was a lecture going on, wall-to-wall people, no chance to see anything. Did I miss it on the website? Back home I checked: The English-language website says “no upcoming events.” The Italian-language site lists one for February 14: “Un incontro con Ray Caesar.” Figurati! See notes above about Italian websites. Humph!

It was a beautiful sunny day, it was Valentine’s Day, we didn’t have to work, and we are together. We had a nice walk, saw great art, and tonight we will dine at the home of Italian friends we have been trying to set a dinner with for several months. Not bad for a day that didn’t go entirely according to plan!

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Day One of Five

13 Feb

Facing another long holiday weekend (the last until Easter) we decided to extend it even more and take five days to explore Rome. We have done so much traveling that the list of things to see and do in Rome continues to grow and we don’t have enough daylight hours to be tourists in our own town. So begins what I like to call i cinque giorni del compleanno di Laurel (the five days of Laurel’s birthday).

Iconic EUR "Square Coliseum", unoccupied but rumored to be destined as Fendi headquarters.

Iconic EUR “Square Coliseum”, unoccupied but rumored to be destined as Fendi headquarters.

There are a lot of mega-sites in Rome: the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, Vatican Museums, Borghese Gallery, the Pantheon. The list goes on and on. And there are so many places the average tourist does not see unless she returns to Rome multiple times. We haven’t even managed to get to all of the neighborhoods yet.

The obelisk and colonnades on buildings, along with wide boulevards, reminded me of Washington, D.C.

The obelisk and colonnades on buildings, along with wide boulevards, reminded me of Washington, D.C.

So today we ventured south to the E.U. R., Mussolini’s site for a planned 1942 world’s fair, the Esposizione Universale Roma, which obviously didn’t happen. Today it is described as a residential and business area. We felt like we had left Rome and traveled to another realm.

The architecture is interesting if cold, distant, and rather lacking in charm. The streets are straight, which is unsettling after so long in Rome. If you took in a certain view, it felt in places a little like Washington, D.C., but not nearly as pretty. Washington, D.C., for all its issues, has beauty. Still we were happy to have seen it as the weather was glorious for the first time in weeks.

San Paolo Fuori le Mura (Ric in foreground).

San Paolo Fuori le Mura (Ric in foreground).

After the E.U.R., we stopped by the Basilica Papale di San Paolo Fuori le Mura, or St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. This is the fourth of four papal basilicas for us, and it has taken more than 3 years to get to all of them. Way off the track for most tourists, no exceptional art such as Raphael, Caravaggio, Michelangelo, or Bernini, but with lovely mosaics and peaceful. Of course since my hometown is named for this saint, it seemed fitting to visit.

This uber-serious saint is the namesake of my home town.

This uber-serious saint is the namesake of my home town.

Alter canopy over the tomb of St, Paul.

Alter canopy over the tomb of St, Paul.

Lunch at Eataly, an afternoon on the couch watching a movie, and shortly dinner at my favorite fancy restaurant in Rome, QuarantaQuattro, where I know Sergio will make a fuss.

When I hovered my mouse over this doodle, my name showed up. Strano!

When I hovered my mouse over this doodle, my name showed up. Strano!

On another note, I was shocked to pull up Google this morning and find my birthday was a Google-Doodle. A Big-Brother moment; I assume they pulled the date from Facebook or Google+. Weird. 

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