Italy trip highlights: Eating Rome

We had no specific goals for our 1.5 days in Rome, except to eat well and relax. My last several trips to Rome were on business, so it was nice to reestablish this city as a place of leisure. There wasn't any advanced planning involved beyond the hotel. It was nice. Especially the food.

All three restaurants we ate at this time came via an old copy of Fodor's Italy. I'm usually not one to rely exclusively on guidebooks, but Fodor's did us quite well on this particular trip.

Ditirambo - near Campo dei Fiori, we were a little skeptical of this cavernous locale when we arrived to find the only other patrons were a large group of old German men. Skepticism soon gave way to marvel; my appetizer of burratina (a soft cheese sort of like mozzarella) millefoglie with sundried tomato pesto was insanely amazing. I will remember that dish for a long, long time.

Arancia Blu - the first thing that struck me was the gorgeous, cozy interior; the second was the elaborate vegetarian menu. From our experience, the tasting menu is the way to go. So many delicious flavors. It was a bit of a hike from Termini, but the neighborhood was quite vibrant with nightlife.

Margutta Vegetariano - Italian vegetarian restaurants two nights in a row! Could life get any better? Margutta seemed to be having some service problems the evening we were there, given that we overheard complaints from the tables on either side of us. Although a couple of our (many) courses took a little too long to arrive, we otherwise found the meal itself to be fabulous. Each dish on the extensive tasting menus we ordered was delicate, artful, and yummy. The chic modern decor was also quite impressive. But what I really want to know is, who spends so much time and effort on a restaurant's food and presentation, but then can't be bothered to put a seat on the freakin' toilet? Seriously, people. Despite the menacing unseated peeing arrangements and slightly slow service, our overall experience at Margutta was quite stellar.

In contrast to the guidebook-recommended restaurants, the gelato we ate was chosen purely based on my gelatodar (like gaydar, but for gelato), a skill I have honed through much practice, and which almost never fails. Subtle cues such as the colors, the signage, and the number of locals in line are all part of my elaborate system for sussing out the best gelato around.

Gelateria San Crispino - if a gelateria is so cocky as to not even pile its gelato up for display, there's a good chance that the flavor speaks for itself. The shiny covered containers at Gelateria San Crispino drew us in, and the exotic flavors got us pushing to the front of the line. Flavors like honey whisky, ginger cinnamon, and pear sorbet. Mmmmm.

Fior di Luna - here I went for my old standby gelato order: chocolate and pistachio. Pistachio is a very hit-or-miss flavor. Done well, it's heavenly; done poorly, it's not even worth my time. This is why gelatodar is so important. Fior di Luna passed the pistachio test.

name unknown - on the Isola Tiberia in the middle of the Tiber river, this gelateria looked unassuming, but offered up a solid version of my all-time favorite flavor: dark chocolate chili. Mmmm again.


Did we do anything in Rome besides eat? Yes, a little. Mostly we wandered around, soaking up the atmosphere. The Pantheon was a treat as always. And given that La Dolce Vita is one of my all-time favorite movies, a swing by the (insanely tourist-overrun) Trevi Fountain was practically predestined. We considered going into St. Peter's, but given the long line we opted for people-watching in the piazza instead (easy to do when you've been inside multiple times before). I love vacations with no obligations!

Italy trip highlights: First impressions

I better get blogging about the details of our Italy trip before I start to forget them...



Let me preface this post by saying that I know Italy well. I've spent approximately two and a half years in the country. Since moving away in 2005, I've gone back many times. But still, my perspective is ever-changing. My brain constantly compares places to each other, and the reference point keeps shifting as I move about. Things that used to be normal parts of life now strike me as odd. Take my first impressions from this most recent trip...

We flew into Rome. The airport was run-down, hot, and dirty, and it took what felt like an eternity to get our luggage. It seemed like we had arrived in a 3rd-world country. Well, 2nd world, at least. The impression did not improve as we made our way through dirty corridors with broken glass where advertisements would normally be, nor when we arrived at the airport's train station and found an abandoned, graffiti-covered old train parked on one of the two functioning tracks. Having a few minutes to kill before a real train showed up, we wandered into the bar for a coffee.

The second the dark, thick espresso touched my lips, all was forgiven. So what if Swiss airports are modern and spotless? Who cares how efficient the Munich S-Bahns are? When has any other country produced anything so delicious in the history of the world? My mood was suddenly elated, and my mouth watered as I anticipated all the other flavors to come on this trip...

Munich: random thoughts for the day #4

A couple days ago we discovered three burnt-out cars in our neighborhood. Other passersby were taking pictures, too (usually in these situations, I'm the only one with a camera out). Perhaps they were set on fire as part of the May 1st demonstrations? I wasn't here that day, and I can't seem to find any news articles that would confirm this theory.


Even Munich's airport has a beer garden. Nifty, eh?


The Swiss are at it again, selling better stuff abroad than they do at home, possibly as some sort of plot to take over the world via chocolaty goodness. Latest proof: Mövenpick Chocolate Picante ice cream, found in Munich (but never seen in Zurich).

Bayern atmet durch my ass

After suffering through the ridiculously smoky bars and restaurants of Zurich for two years, we were delighted to learn that Bavaria was planning to go smoke-free a few days before our arrival in January. Hooray for going out without coming home smelling like an ashtray!

Our initial excitement is wearing thin, though, given the number of locales which have decided to become 'smoking clubs.' A loophole in the Bavarian law allows smoking in establishments that aren't open to the public, such as members-only clubs. It seems quite easy for a place to transform itself into a private club, though - apparently all that is required is a 'membership list' which includes all of the guests present in the establishment. Enter a bar or restaurant which allows smoking, and you will be asked to provide your personal details in exchange for the privilege of staying and being smoked at. From what I've seen, nobody's taking these 'membership lists' very seriously - in fact, I don't think I've ever witnessed anyone provide their real name. A lot of restaurants are choosing to be smoke-free until about 8 or 9 PM, and then turning into a smoking club for the after-dinner crowd.

What's so bad about simply sending smokers outside, especially now that the weather is nice? One reason is the noise. Whereas in Italy (which has a very successful no-smoking law) a group of folks smoking and chatting on a street corner at midnight is no big deal, the Germans (and Swiss, for that matter) take their right to after-hours silence very seriously. Establishments are very wary of noisy customers outside that might garner complaints to the police from the neighbors.

The other night we wandered into a bar that had a 'Bayern atmet durch' ('Bavaria breathes free') poster on the door, only to find that it too had become a private smoking club, and a really stinky one at that. After we ordered our drinks, we were presented with a sheet of notebook paper to sign in order to 'join the club.' Despite the humble decor, the bar was obviously quite hip - the membership list contained everyone from Paris Hilton to Barack Obama.

Auer Dult

Who knew Munich had so many festivals without 'Oktober' in the name? Today we hit the modestly-sized Auer Dult, a festival and market which takes place three times per year at Mariahilfplatz, a big square in the neighborhood of Au. There were a couple of carnival rides and a whole lot of carnival food, and even a beer garden or two, but the main claim to fame of the Auer Dult is the large kitchenware market involved. A friend told us that it's even the largest kitchenware market in Europe. Impressed now, aren't you?

While nothing to plan a vacation around, the Auer Dult was a fun way to spend a sunny afternoon. Plus we picked up a new spatula for the low low price of two euros.



Today is the last day of the 'Spring Dult', but if you missed it this time around don't worry - the Summer Dult is right around the corner at the end of July.

Let's hear it for the queen

Just got back from a quick trip to Amsterdam to celebrate Queen's Day, an annual day of revelry, commerce, and orange-wearing all over the Netherlands. On the evening before Queen's Day, DJs and bands play on stages set up all over the city until late in the night. Then the next morning, folks get up super early to buy and sell a whole bunch of junk. Anyone is allowed to set up shop, and people reserve their selling spots (with tape or chalk) days in advance. The city looks like one big festive garage sale. The selling and the partying continue throughout the day.

Shunning sleep, my friends and I were on board for the late-night Queen's Day Eve partying as well as the crack-of-dawn crap selling. Check out our fabulous stand:


We hawked stuff from 6 AM to about noon, with all items priced to move. Our stand was set up on a main route very close to my friends' apartment. J provided us with fresh-made grilled cheese sandwiches and copious amounts of coffee to get us through the early hours. Overall our stand brought in well over 100 euros, but mostly we were in it for the fun. I contributed the decorated sleep masks, which made a cool 10 euros, as well as a particularly hideous wedding present (which will remain anonymous).

After we closed up shop, it was time to walk around and soak up some atmosphere. The whole city felt pretty crowded, although I hear it was much less so than last year. The canals were full of boats which were full of people wearing orange. I'm not sure why orange and Queen's Day go together, but I'm guessing it's the queen's favorite color. Makes sense, no?



The weather was changeable, going from sunny to windy to cloudy to sprinkles for most of the day, ending with a gloriously dramatic sunset. The photos don't begin to do it justice.

A taste of Italy

Whee, what a fabulous week in Italy we had. Where to begin with the stories? Every meal could be the subject of its own post. We squeezed a ridiculous amount into our 8 days, from Rome to Tuscany to Venice, with a few other stops in between. Normally I wouldn't advocate such a ridiculously quick travel schedule, but somehow it managed to work out crazy well.



The highlights of the trip were definitely the Tarot Garden and the days we spent in the Tuscan countryside. Indeed, the entire trip was planned around the idea of visiting Niki de St. Phalle's sculptural masterpiece, which is located pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I had never even heard of this garden when we were living in Italy. I think it was at the Espace Jean Tinguely – Niki de Saint Phalle in Fribourg that I saw a video about her constructing the garden, and I've wanted to go see it in person ever since.



Since visiting the garden required renting a car, it made sense to also spend a couple days driving around Tuscany - something we had never done before since we didn't own a car when we lived in Milan. Observing the driving situation in Milan, neither of us was particularly eager to get behind the wheel in Italy at the time. But the Tarot Garden and tiny Tuscan hill towns definitely proved themselves worthy of the effort.

I'll end this post with some of the questions that kept running through my mind during this trip:

• How did the Italians manage to construct so many buildings that look more and more beautiful the older and more run-down they get?
• Why is espresso (and gelato and pizza and pretty much everything else) so much yummier in Italy than in other countries?
• Why don't we live here anymore?

More blogging from the road: Tuscany

Yes, we're in Tuscany. It sounds so trite - don't a gazillion American tourists come here every second? But damn, this area is worth every dollar and drop of ink spent on it. My eyes and my taste buds are having the times of their lives. My little camera is way out of its league. My Italian language skills are happy to be of use.



Tuscany is so improbably perfect I can't stand it. A couple more pictures here. You'll have to wait for the rest.

Where in the world am I today? Hint #2

This one should tip off many of you at least to the artist(s) involved, if not the exact location.

Edited to add: We have a winner! It is indeed the Giardino dei Tarrochi in Italy, an enchanting garden designed by Niki de Saint Phalle (the artist who created the angel sculpture in Zurich's main train station). I'll blog more about this trip soon, but if you can't wait, you can see more photos on my Flickr.

Where in the world am I today?

Any guesses?

Edited to add: you can find the answer in the following post.

I move to Munich, it becomes Germany's Hot Spot

Coincidence? I think not.

Munich Redux: Germany’s Hot Spot of the Moment

Thank you to the many, many folks who brought this article to my attention. I'd like to also point out that I've already reviewed Saf, the restaurant from the NY Times article, too.

Dear restaurateurs of Munich,

Please stop using Flash on your websites. It's a pain in the ass. I come to your site to check out your menu and find out where you're located, not to watch a multimedia presentation extravaganza that bogs down my computer. And if it takes me more than one click to get to your address, you're doing something very, very wrong.

Otherwise, keep up the good work. I'm especially impressed by the number of vegetarian offerings you have that involve actual vegetables, rather than just potatoes and cheese.

Love,

Jul

(photo: super yummy vegetarian sushi at Prinz Myshkin, which is one of my favorite restaurants ever despite their website)

Save the date: expat fun in Regensburg this summer

I've been trying to come up with a good title for Christina, organizer of many a get-together for the Bavarian expat blogger crowd. Social coordinator? Den mother? Cruise director?

Anyway, she's at it again, this time with a whole weekend full of Regensburg-style fun. There'll be food, a city tour, baseball(!?!), and if you're lucky, some beer, too. So if you'll be in this area, mark your calendars for June 21-22 and join in on all the expat revelry.

The finest in German teen Europop

Introducing... Jimi Blue! Mr. Blue would like to inform all the ladies out there that he is only capable of romancing those of you sporting pants of the little, red, and hot variety. Tokio Hotel doesn't have anything on this Justin Timberlake clone.

Munich: the first quarterly report

Our first three months in Munich have flown by. Well, on one hand it has felt fast, and on the other it feels like we've been here forever. Since I've lived in Germany before and speak passable German, it was a pretty soft landing. It also helped that we were able to move into our permanent apartment right away, and for once there were no delays in receiving our belongings. The immigration process involved a couple of ridiculous hoops, but luckily we had company lawyers to assist us in jumping through them. And overall the process was much closer to the über-efficiency of Switzerland than the clusterfuck of Italy.

Although I feel quite at home in Munich already, there are still plenty of things I don't know about the city. When people try to describe where certain things are, I often stare blankly, not having a clue where the mentioned streets or landmarks are. I've never been particularly good at street names, anyway, and if you consider that my brain is already full of mental maps of about 20 previous cities of residence, it's a wonder I can even remember my own address (which I do, most of the time, except for the zip code, which sounds kind of lame, but can I impress you with the fact that I still know my zip code from when I lived in Bologna 12 years ago? No? I didn't think so.). I wonder how long I can get away with this before the "I'm new here" excuse wears off and I start to sound like a scary recluse who never leaves her house.

We still don't know very many people here, but we have met some great folks and started to make some friends. Meeting other expats is pretty easy (even though I tend to dread large happy-hour-type get-togethers), but I wish we had more social contact with locals. This is one of the perpetual challenges that foreigners seem to face all over the world, to varying degrees. (I have much more to say on this topic, but I think I'll leave that for a post of its own.)

Munich has a lot going for it in terms of livability: safety, cleanliness, good public transport, good & affordable restaurants, good beer, good pubs, green areas, nice architecture, and so on and so on. Not to mention the cheesy pretzels. So far I'm really liking it here. And with beer garden season around the corner, I'm thinking it can only get better.