Pesce d’Aprile

Okay the penguin documentary - it was an April Fool's joke perpetrated by that mother of all April foolers - the BEB. Yes once again the stolid old, solid old BBC has pulled our leg - much as they did several years back with the Spaghetti Harvest. Fool us once shame on you, etc etc etc.

But its now after noon here in Italy and over at Italian Notebook, our friend GB has a more serious note on some restoration being attempted at one of the iconic sites in Roma. Its a shame for Holy Week but the sight of scaffolding and tarping has become quite common here - the Vittorio Emanuale monument has been under wraps since we arrived almost two years ago. Hopefully this newest project will bring a sparkle to the skyline.

01 aprile - Sant'Ugo di Grenoble

Skate Italia!

We're in the middle of a Tramontana (a quick click over to GB's posting at Italian Notebook will explain the term)and it's been bloody cold all week long. Okay maybe not Canada cold but cold for Rome. For the Romans and those of us who's thick Nordic blood is starting to thin it's mittens, scarf and parka weather. Perhaps this leads to a bit of over-bundling in some quarters but it does make it easier to spot the tourists. They are the ones shivering in the polo shirts, light windbreakers and - believe it or not I did see this the other day - shorts. They are also the ones with that slightly stunned "but this is Italy it's suppose to be warm" look on their faces. Surprise!
The cold weather makes it a little more authentic now for the skaters here in Roma. I may have mentioned that we do have rinks here;the two I know of, and I've been told there are a few more, are at Castel San Angelo (left) and Parco della Musica (right.) For most of the skaters what may be lacking in Olympic points for style is more than made up for by points for enthusiasm.The big surprise was when we decided to investigate the cluster of tents on the hill beside il Castel Nuovo in Napoli and found not only an artificial rink but artificial grass and pine trees. There is definitely something surreal about watching kids skating in the shadow of Vesuvius. We all know that Nero had snow brought down from the mountain to serve with syrups at diner but I'm not sure even he imagined making ice to skate on.

21 febbraio - San Eleuterio di Tournai

Dite il pomodoro ... Detto il pomodoro*

Yesterday's page from the Italian Notebook was all about my favorite food of all time - tomatoes.

Yes I love tomatoes more than I do potatoes... what is it with those "-toes" words? There's nothing as wonderful as a fresh tomato tasting of sunshine and the earth - all it needs is a sprinkling of salt or maybe at the most a light bathing of balsamic vinegar. Not one of those woody-cotton-bally things that's travelled half-way around the world in cold storage but one fresh from a local farm much like what's showing up in markets around Rome at the moment. According to GB at IN he counted 19 different types in his local market yesterday and I saw 6 or 7 in our market on Via Libia. Wikapedia lists at the least 70 different varieties, but even they admit that their compilation is incomplete.

And tomatoes are just the start at this time of year. My friend Larry over at Amoroma (that Roma sign at the top is from one of his postings) and I arrived in Roma and started writing about our lives here at roughly the same time. And one of the first things that we both noticed was the variety and the seasonality of things in the market. In April it was artichokes, May and June there were sweet dark cherries and plumb green figs and from now until October its tomatoes!!!!!

Larry's perspective on Rome is different from mine - his partner Vin is Italian and they live in an neighbourhood not often frequented by non-locals. As a result he - and his digital - often catches things that most straneri (outsiders - that would be me) miss. Recently he let us share in a few of the festivities that make their neighbourhood of Garbatella so enchanting. And he also shares his "bird walks," the trips he and Vin take around Italy as well as school outings and just random strolls around town. And last December he created a wonderful on-line Advent Calender that each day revealed another window of Rome. As early as February he was gathering windows for this year's edition.

He and Vin have just come back from a few weeks in Umbria and, I'm so envious, will be heading down to Sicily in the next week or so. Larry shared their Christmas there with us and I'm looking forward to his posts as they tour around the island. Buona vacanza ragazzi!

Meanwhile at lunch I'm heading over to the market near the office to pick up a few tomatoes and a hunk of mozzarella for lunch.


* You say tomahto and I say tomatto - oh let's call the whole thing off, some things just don't translate!

11 luglio - San Benedetto Abate

So What's New?

Not much really!

• It's been a sweltering weekend here - sunny and the temperatures hovering around 35.



• Tonight is the big quarter final game between Italy and Spain and its going to be wild around here if Italy wins - what am I saying "if," of course they're going to win!



• Our friend Brigit introduced us to La Baia Sardina, a restaurant just around the corner, last Wednesday. Their shrimp, zucchini and white truffle tagliatelle is heaven and the wild berry pana cotta is pretty fine too!



• Laurent went to a wine tasting in the Pyramide area and, and as well as drinking some intriquing wines and meeting some interesting people, he came home with the URL for Italian Notebook, a fun website with a quirky take on life in Italy. I've added it to my favorites.



• I received a comment the other day from David which then led me to his blog I'll think of something later. It's a witty, knowledgeable and intriguing look at the cultural scene in the U.K. and beyond through the eyes of an insider. And his posting on a recent production of Ralph Vaughn William's Pilgrim's Progress made me envious - oh dear Bunyon wrote about a character called Envy didn't he? And not all that flatteringly.



• I've become addicted to Crodino - one of the many non-alcoholic aperitif drinks found here. According to the label its water, sugar, a herb infusion and a few of those other things with long names that make drinks bubbly and extend shelf-life. A bottle mixed with a splash of tonic and some ice and you've got something that goes down a treat on a hot day. You can also add white wine if you're so inclined - at which point you get a Crodino sprtiz!



• There's a large and very active Seniors' Centre in the park across the street from us. They started their nightly summer tea dances this evening, so we are being serenaded by an accordian group with an Al Martinoesque singer. Its all the old favorites guaranteed to get the more mature crowd up and dancing. And I seem to know most of the tunes - so what does that say about me?

Again I am totally ignorant of the name of this particularly plant but I've found the bud formation fascinating to watch as it begins to bloom. First these small globes that open to send out a faintly phallic looking bloosom which should open - if memory serves - into a trumpet like flower.

Nothing else new that I can think of... oh there is the new look on here. I decided I wanted something to reflect the colours of Roma. The ochres of the buildings and the green of the plant strewn balconies - and besides it was time for a change.

22 giugno - San Paolino di Nola