Our place in Rome

3 Oct

Our household goods and furniture arrived in July, 7 weeks after we did, but it took a little time to get all the pictures hung and acquire some new storage pieces to replace built-in shelves, cupboards, and closets that we have in our Portland condo.  So here, at last, is a peek at our furnished digs in Roma. The “before” pictures are with embassy-provided temporary IKEA furniture. I have to say, although the temporary furniture was spartan, it was great to move right into our apartment, and not have to spend 7 weeks in a hotel room.

Living Room “before.” IKEA temporary furniture: no TV, rugs, nor accoutrement. Bed pillows and a throw added for color. 🙂

Pictures hung, the new TV that is seldom used: it feels like “home.”

Another living room view, looking toward the hallway and kitchen, with the lovely Libby passing through.

Dining Room “before.” This was our multi-purpose eating space and office.

Dining Room “after.” Still partly used as a home office. My desk is in the corner to the right. Ric’s desk is in his train room, but he hangs out with his laptop at the table so we are together.

Kitchen “before.” This is really a nice space but we needed more storage. Note the long empty wall on the right which we filled with…

… a nice wood-topped cabinet. From IKEA, of course!

Our IKEA cabinet. IKEA wanted €200 to assemble, so we scheduled a do-it-ourselves day. It was a very satisfying project. No one was injured.

Forgot to take a “before” picture of the bedroom. It was quite spartan, to say the least. Libby makes another rare appearance and models one of her favorite locations.

We still have some things to do. Perhaps acquire some local artwork for the bedroom, and I plan to hang some draperies before cold weather sets in. But we are “at home” here in every way. So are the cats, who have traded our small garden in Portland for a window sill 4 stories above the street in Rome.

Dare-devil Janie on the (very wide) window sill. The metal braces are part of the shutter assembly. Libby watches from the cat tower. Window screens are a rarity.

Risotto alla Zucca

17 Sep

The cooler weather means changes in the market and squash has appeared in Campo dei Fiori, plus I finally feel like cooking again.  I don’t know the specific name for the type of squash in the left in the picture below, but it made a lovely pumpkin risotto!

Fresh squash from Campo dei Fiori. That’s butternut on the right, but unknown pumpkin-like orb on the left. Would not make a good jack-o-lantern, but made great risotto.

Risotto all zucca

The finished product.

Chianti Weekend

12 Sep

ImageI am told to be a successful blogger you have to post at least twice a week. Clearly I am not successful. This “thing” can take over your life. I am always looking at a cultural tidbit, beautiful view, piece of art, or an incident with an eye toward a blog entry. But somehow life gets in the way of actually making that entry.

Since last I wrote, I have been immersed in Italian lessons 4 or 5 days each week (an hour at a time), plus homework. Ric has started lessons too, 2 or 3 times each week. We have continued to enrich our understanding of this grand city seeing more museums, historical sites, and of course expanding our culinary knowledge.  And some extraordinary events have led to bus trips to previously unexplored sections of the city. I entered the Italian medical system (just minor!) which is a lengthy story in itself of interesting contrasts with the North American medical culture. In between events we actually manage to go to work.

We have also had guests, and this past weekend our nephew Eddie invited us along on a trip to the Chianti Region, where he had rented a house. This is the early morning view from the deck.

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What a lovely way to wake up! Sipping stong Italian coffee while the sun creeps over the valley. The occasional bark of a dog or crow of a cock is all you hear.

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Lovely setting: quaint, practical, with a drop-dead gorgeous view.

We passed briefly through Firenze, then headed out to the countryside. Our family had discovered a sagre (festival centered on an agricultural specialty) in Grevè in Chianti, where for €10.00 you could taste up to 7 wines. (Or if they “forgot” to punch your ticket, maybe 10, or 14.) We met lovely people from all over the world helping out with the sagre and intent on the upcoming harvest. We spent the evening at our Tuscan retreat grilling Bistecca alla Fiorentina and enjoying some local wines.

The next day we ventured to San Gimignano, followed by a visit to Villa Vignamaggio, famous not only for its wine, but as the home of the woman who posed for DaVinci’s Mona Lisa. It was also the site of the 1993 movie Much Ado About Nothing. They were kind enough to not only show us the cellars (which date back over 500 years), but to share some product.  There is a B&B at Villa Vignamaggio, which begs a return visit.

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Wine tasting and Tuscan specialities at Vignamaggio. A bit more formal than our Oregon experiences.

I can hardly describe the peacefulness of this place. Eddie’s rented villa was one of the quietest places we have ever stayed. The deck looked out over a lovely valley with village lights in the distance. We heard only the occasional barking dog. While star-gazing an enormous “shooting star” lit up the sky in a way you never experience in a city.

Clearly I’ve been much too busy to write.

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The lovely Helen poses with a Tuscan wild boar. This shop and its delightful owner were the source of our hand cut bistecca alla fiorentina.

Summertime and the city is deserted

18 Aug

Everywhere you go, businesses are closed. Some are closed for the whole month, some for a week or two.

18 August 2012

Every blogger seems to be writing about Ferragosto, the heat, and the Italians fleeing the city. Lacking a family casa al mare (house by the sea) we are, of course, here working. And this city is indeed a strange place this month!  Ferragosto is the Italian late-summer holiday introduced by Emperor Augustus, now a big family day (think beach, lunch with Grandma) and also a religious day, The Feast of the Assumption. Many people build a vacation around it, much as Americans would do around Independence Day.

7:00AM – There should be trams, a bus or two, several motorini, and dozens of cars. Niente this week!

There’s little or no street construction, so noise is  reduced considerably. Many apartments are empty and we hardly see any lights on at night in the neighborhood. Portieri (building superintendents) are on duty all month to provide extra security for vacant apartments.

At lunch, you might have to hunt around for a small cafe to even find a sandwich. Some grocery stores shorten their hours or close for a couple of weeks to remodel. We also hear evidence of some indoor remodeling work as apartment owners have projects addressed while they are on vacation.

Piazza Fiume, major bus plaza, deserted

5:15PM Friday – This piazza is usually a chaotic mix of cars, motorscooters, buses, taxis and pedestrians. Not yesterday during my “rush hour.”

At the office the phone doesn’t ring, there’s less mail, few visitors, and meetings are cancelled for lack of attendees.

In the evening, there’s a sense of desertion. It’s eerie in a Zombie-Apocalypse sort of way. Buses still run, but some are less frequent. One part of the Metro is shut down for renovation.  Why not? Ridership is down. So what if tourists are confused?  It will reopen in time for back-to-school-and-work.

Summertime and the parking is easy! Usually filling up with commuters when I walk through, this street is in Villa Borghese. The dogs playing in the park have disappeared and the joggers are few.

Except for major tourist areas, the buses are almost deserted and on schedule.

Poor Man's Limo - Alone on the bus

Usually I have to stand on the way home, at least until the last few stops. This week, I not only get a seat, but I am the last one on the bus for almost half the trip.

We were kind of dreading August: the heat, the stories about closures and inconvenience. However, I think I am going to like August here.

  • My morning commute (walk) is serene and I don’t have to dodge traffic
  • I have time to catch up on projects at work
  • We avoid cooking as much as possible  and go out to the restaurants that remain open

And sometimes we get marvelous thunderstorms!

We grew up in thunderstorm country and missed them while in Portland, where they are neither frequent nor intense. In Rome they are intense, if not frequent. Monday we were treated to a two-hour show! (Although I did get soaked on the way home.)

Pizza night

12 Aug

Every Friday night is pizza night for us. Last Friday night we set off for a new place, about a 25 minute walk from our apartment, only to arrive and find a sign Chiuso for ferie (Closed for the holidays) until late August!  Yes folks, it is Ferragosto an ancient Roman tradition started by Emperor Augustus (it is his month after all), and co-opted by the Catholic Church as the “Feast of the Assumption.”  Ferragosto is a one-day holiday on August 15 that can be expanded up to a full month for small businesses that choose to shut down. What makes our experience worse, Ric had walked by on Thursday to make sure they were open: they were and no sign about ferie. I  had called for reservations and was successful. But there are two restaurants with the same name and I had called the one across town. Upon arrival, we found the sign, hastily posted that very day. Chiuso. We salvaged Friday night with a nice little dinner in a cafe across from our targeted establishment and had a fine experience. But we hadn’t had our weekly pizza!

So Saturday  we ventured far across Rome to Trastevere (literally “across the Tiber”) and wound our way through alleys to find once again Dar Poeta.

Dar Poeta – Absolutely worth the wait! The expediter did a great job. Tables cleared quickly and we were seated in about 20 minutes.

We had eaten lunch here in October 2010. No crowds at lunch as Romans don’t eat pizza for lunch.  Despite the crowd last night, we waited only about 20 minutes.

From their English language webpage: Our pizza isn’t neither roman pizza (low and thin), nor neopolitan pizza (thick on the edge and spongy), our pizza is . . . DAR POETA. We remembered it being good from our 2010 visit, but it really is the best we’ve had in Rome so far.

Ric had a zippy lingua di fuoco (tongue of fire: hot salami and peppers), while I sought out the non-traditional salmone e fiori di zucca (salmon and zucchini flowers). So happy! Sorry, but I ate about a third of it before thinking of all of you in the Pacific NW who would love to see salmon on a pizza.

Starring lox and zucchini flowers, by American standards, not a “normal” pizza, but my was it delicious!

No red sauce, lots of cheese, a sprinkling of parsley dress up lox and zucchini flowers. Hop on down to Papa Murphy’s and see if they can whip one up for you. Oh, and for the uninitiated, in Italy you get a whole pizza to yourself (about the size of a dinner plate) and it arrives uncut. That’s why we have to walk so much. (That and the wine.)

We will continue our search for the best pizza so when you come to Rome to visit, the work will be done for you. We don’t mind helping out. You can thank us later.

BTW, we get Wednesday off as a paid holiday. Rome is already a ghost town as so many people are on vacation, so we’ll see what it’s like on the actual holiday. Buon Ferragosto!

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