April Book

So I said I wanted to keep reading a book a month (at least) as my New Year's Resolution again this year. I read Little Women in January and then I was too distracted in February and March to accomplish reading a whole book. I bought The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo to read on the plane rides to and from Italy.

I didn't end up reading it on the plane. I was trying to sleep on the overnight flight there and on the way back I was too tempted to watch Black Swan and True Grit. Both were awesome. I was blown away by Black Swan. We recently watched 127 Hours. I had to pause it when the inevitable scene comes and take some deep breaths to avoid passing out. As far as the Oscar nominees for Best Picture I think all I have left to see is The Fighter. I'm really impressed by all the films that were nominated this year. Now I will return to my reason for writing this post.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a book that you can't put down once you get a couple hundred pages into it. Michael was feeling under the weather Easter weekend so I sat and read the second half of the book in one day. The subject material is definitely disturbing, but not enough for me to sit around and think about it. If that makes any sense... I watched the movie upon finishing the book. I think the movie would be more disturbing if it was in English (they're actually making an English version to come out in December). If I have to read subtitles I kind of lose focus on the creepiness of the film. For example, I saw the Japanese version of The Ring and it just wasn't that scary.

Anyway after watching the movie I decided that I'm most likely not going to continue reading the series. I feel that there are too many books that I want to read that are about more pleasant things than violent sexual assaults on women. My friend let me borrow E.M. Forster's A Room With a View which takes place in Florence. This is exactly what I wanted to read before my trip, but I am loving being able to picture the scenes in my head since I've been there!

Cashmere Kitty

When Michael's parents were here for Match Day his mom helped me start sewing a stuffed animal. I found a cashmere sweater at the SPCA Rummage for $3.50. The pattern called for wool felt but I figured the sweater would be fine. The sweater was a size large and I only used the sleeves so I'll be able to make another stuffed animal out of it. The kitty turned out so incredibly soft and snuggly. The pattern is from Wee Wonderfuls, a book that I got for Christmas and I cannot wait to make every cute little doll and animal in it.

Nothing else crafty has been going on. As the weather warms up I stop knitting. Now that I'll be living on the Gulf Coast I'll have to branch out and try other fibers besides wool. Since we're starting to pack up our apartment we've gone through closets and shelves and downsized. I was starting to pack of my craft supplies when I remembered that I wanted to get rid of some yarn by crocheting granny squares to send to Australia to Sarah London who is collecting them to make blankets for the flood victims. She is still collecting them so I sat down and made a square. This is a good project to have around while things are a bit hectic.

I also remembered that I'm supposed to be remaking my little brother's hat from two Christmas' ago. I remembered in time to take it to the knit night that I attend on Tuesdays.

Now to tell you what my fingers can't wait to start stitching. It's an ABC Sampler from my favorite blogger! (I don't know if it's ok to copy her photo to put on my blog so you'll have to go to the link.) She has been working on it and she finally posted the finished project. I immediately ordered the kit when I saw it was only $25. For $25 you get the screen printed cotton and all the wool yarn needed. I was expecting it to be like $40. Is it weird to have an ABC Sampler with no kid? Maybe I'll just keep holding out hope that Theo will talk one day.

Arrivederci Roma: Day 8

We took the metro to the Circo Massimo stop to see the Bocca della Verita, another must see for fans of Roman Holiday. We had to wait in line, but the line moved quickly. Neither of us lost our hands so that is good news. Men used to bring their wives to see if their wives were truthful. We wandered to Piazza Navona to have lunch at La Foccacia which I briefly mentioned in my first Rome post. We had a starter of fried zucchini and I had gnocchi with tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella. It was here that I fell in love with gnocchi. Michael had a spicy salami pizza and we split a 1/2 liter of chianti, which we had learned makes the roaming around much more delightful.

We walked to the Vatican. Unfortunately you can't go into St. Peter's wearing shorts. Maybe my bermuda's would have been passable but we didn't try. I really would have liked to go in again. I wonder if they let you in on Sundays if you're just touring. Anyway we headed to Old Bridge gelateria which I heard was one of the best in Rome. It didn't open until 3 so we sat around and waited. When it did open there was a line. It's a tiny gelateria and people pack in to the counter. I made my way in but  couldn't really see all the flavors. I went with strawberry which was so yummy and French vanilla which was not really my cup of tea. We strolled back to the hotel along Via Cola di Rienzo. The trees had little purple flowers on them. There were a lot of stores along this street and it was pretty clean. I guess it is a nice part of town.



We went back to the hotel to rest. Then we went to Piazzale Napoleone (I think) which overlooks Piazza del Popolo to see the sunset. The hotel has bikes that guests can use for free. I really wish we would have ridden bikes in the Villa Borghese. Alas we were too tired.

We headed to Gusto Pizzeria for dinner. The Gusto complex has an enoteca, a ristorante, and a pizzeria. I had read that it's best to stick with the Pizzeria. Maybe we didn't order the right pizza because I wasn't that impressed. I did enjoy the hip atmosphere.

The next morning we had our breakfast, hopped on the metro to Termini train station and navigated our way to the Leonardo Express which took us to the airport. This was very easy to do, and cost us 30 euros for the metro and the train tickets. Much cheaper than a car ride. We had bought our tickets the day before at a kiosk in Termini station. Just make sure you keep your train ticket on hand and get it validated in the little yellow box before you get on the train.

There were even pigeons in the airport to wish us well on our journey.

Rome on our own: Day 7

Our last hotel on the tour was much closer to the airport than our first one. It was about half a mile from the beginning of the Metro. We decided to walk with our luggage instead of trying to find a tabacchi to purchase a ticket for the bus (you can't buy a ticket on the bus). I had mapped out how to get to the Metro by car but I forgot to print it. Despite my innate sense of direction and the feeling that we were, in fact, going the right way I decided to be frazzled and complain the whole way. Then we saw the M sign for the metro and all was fine. The stop we needed to get to our hotel was very close to our hotel so this journey was no problem. We are pros at navigating subways.

We stayed at the Hotel Locarno Dependance Anahi . If you click on any link I ever post you should definitely click on that one and check out the Hotel Locarno. We stayed at the annex across the street which is cheaper and not as fancy but it was still really nice. We were able to enjoy all the amenities of the hotel. The staff were very nice and the cappuccinos for breakfast were delicious. It's definitely more expensive to stay in the center of Rome but it's definitely worth not having to use the transportation system. We were within walking distance of the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.



Since we got to the hotel really early our room wasn't ready so we checked our bags. We headed to Pizza ZaZa. I will dream about the perfect deliciousness of this pizza until the end of time. Seriously. Then we headed to the Pantheon. I knew the Christians had turned pretty much every pagan temple into a Christian church but I wasn't expecting the Pantheon to be set up for mass. There was an altar and pews.

After the Pantheon we headed to Gelateria Giolitti where Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant had gelato in Roman Holiday. We had eaten lunch early so we beat the crowd at Giolitti. I had chocolate fondant, amaretto, and coffee flavors with fresh whipped cream (panna) on top. Then I died and went to heaven.



After I came back to reality we walked to the Trevi Fountain and sat for a little while. We were waiting for two churches to open. The first was Chiesa di Santa Maria della Concezione. We went here to see the crypt where monks used the bones of their deceased brothers to decorate for lack of a better description. A donation of 1 euro was recommended. I couldn't take pictures so if you want to see it check out the link. It was definitely creepy.

The second church was Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria which houses the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa  by Bernini. The church is small and easy to overlook. It's breathtaking on the inside.



We went back to Pizza ZaZa even though it was out of the way, but it was SO worth it. Then we went to the hotel to rest. I took a nap then got ready for dinner. We wanted to eat at La Buca di Ripetta but we hadn't made a reservation. The plan was to eat early in which case we wouldn't have needed one, but since we ate lunch twice and I napped we found ourselves on Italian time. We had to wait 30 minutes for a table so we walked to Piazza del Popolo a couple of blocks away and sat and watched a Michael Jackson impersonator.

I didn't take pictures of the food but I'll tell you the marvelous things we ate. We started with a fried buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich. This sounds weird but let me assure you it was delicious. Michael's pasta dish was carbonara and I had pear ravioli with orange cream sauce and coriander. I am so happy I was feeling adventurous and ordered it because it was delightful. Michael's oven roasted lamb was wonderful. I had the grilled lamb and it didn't blow me away. Even though I was full I had to get the tiramisu. I had lost all faith in having good tiramisu on the trip. I had already had it twice and I was deeply disappointed. Fortunately their tiramisu was phenomenal. The layer of cream was a lot softer than mine usually is so I'm thinking I'll modify my recipe.

I think I'll be nice and schedule this post for the afternoon so that you've hopefully already had lunch. One more day and then it's back to reality.

Siena and the end of the tour in Rome: Day 6

We stopped about halfway back to Rome in Siena . On our walk from the bus to the Piazza del Campo where they have a famous horse race, the Palio di Siena , Michael spotted a yarn shop! After reading about yarn shops in Italy I didn't really want to go in. As is what I observed to be the custom in a lot of shops, you aren't supposed to touch anything. This is probably a good policy for most stores but in a yarn shop it's kind of strange.

Anyway, we sampled ricciarelli then headed to the Duomo di Siena. The cathedral was indeed beautiful. There were a lot of repairs going on in here as well. The art work on the floor is amazing. Also, check out the pulpit. We slipped into a library within the church to find this beautifully painted room housing huge books of what I guess are gregorian chants. Again, tourists with their flashes. This is so harmful!

After the Duomo we headed back to the Piazza del Campo and split a pizza at a pretty touristy kind of place. Then I went back to the enoteca where we sampled the ricciarelli, which had a crumbly texture and a yummy almond flavor, so I could buy a couple pieces. Yum.

We went straight to the restaurant where we would have our farewell dinner in Rome. It was very near Castel Sant'Angelo. An accordian player and an opera singer entertained us. Here's a photo of us and our tour guide, Alberto.



This was the end of the tour, but as I mentioned in the beginning we added two extra days onto our trip. Our adventures in Rome continue in the next post.

Venice: Day 5

We arrived in Venice after 3 1/2 hours on the bus. The bus rotation system had us in the front of the bus this time. We went straight to our private motor launch. This took us a few bridges from Piazza San Marco. We toured a glass blowing facility and storeroom. 

I was pretty tired, it was a little warm, and it was crowded. I don't really know what I was expecting. Maybe some kind of chic James Bond type stuff. There was no option of going to the hotel to rest since it was on the mainland. We skipped the optional tour which seemed pricey for a ride down the Grand Canal to the Rialto Bridge and then some walking around. We wandered by ourselves to the Rialto Bridge which was a lot like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

Then we wandered around to find food. I was really grumpy because I was really hungry. Make sure you know where to eat- away from the tourist traps. We found a little restaurant called Zorzi (I think). Our waitress didn't speak much English but I was able to communicate with her and I even understood when she was explaining to Michael that they make their own gnocchi. Thanks again, Rosetta Stone! I had tagliatelle with  asparagus and my world was complete at that moment. Michael's gnocchi was the bomb. I think this was the first time either of us have had it. Our main courses weren't much to speak of, but our bellies were full. We also ordered 1/2 liter of chianti. So that made the rest of the walking and waiting much more bearable.

We went inside St. Mark's Basilica. There were a lot of repairs being done and ignorant tourists snapping pictures with their flashes on. That drives me crazy. Anyway, the church was very impressive and worth seeing, plus it's free. Be warned that you cannot bring in bags the size of a backpack.

We found some neat etchings from an artist on the sidewalk. Then we waited around and watched people until our optional tour gondola ride. The price for this one ended up being cut in half since we didn't have time to do the whole tour. I wanted to ride in the gondola as cheesy as it might be, but the optional tour was originally a bit much and doing it on your own would have been about the same. Something like 60 euros each! So we got a sweet deal and I really enjoyed floating along and sipping Prosecco after a hot day of walking and waiting.

I fell asleep as soon as we got to the hotel. We went down for our dinner at the hotel. It was certainly not as good as the previous night's meal, but what can you expect of mass prepared hotel food? I will also say for anyone who may be reading this and planning a trip that there were ants on the floor in the dining area and the carpet in the room was quite worn and dingy. The bed was clean and I slept like a baby.

The next day we had to go all the way back to Rome.

Florence: Day 4, Part 2

We went on the optional tour to San Gimignano . It was a lovely ride through Tuscany. Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed there. It's very well taken care of and it was cool to see. The actual tour didn't last too long. We had a caffe at the bar like the locals do. I bought a super cute leather purse. That was about all. I think this optional tour was worth it, but I also think I would have loved to see more in Florence that I left without seeing.

That night we had a "Be Our Guest" dinner where Trafalgar sets up a dinner at a vineyard or someone's house that might also be a Bed and Breakfast. I can't seem to find a site for the place where we went. I wrote it down after quite a few glasses of chianti. Agriturismo means that you are vacationing on a farm and the food you are eating is produced by that farm. We had a welcome drink of prosecco in the garden and enjoyed the view of the Tuscan countryside. Then we toured the house. It is a villa that's been in the family for many generations. The first woman in the house was Austrian and wanted one room to be traditional. This was the dining room with it's colored glass chandelier and leather on the walls.



I shamelessly took pictures of the food. We started with a sampling of bruschetta. Then we had pasta with a bolognese sauce. Next was salad and chicken cooked in chianti. For dessert we had a fruit torte. it was the best meal that we had with the group.



The next post takes us to Venice.