Wishing all the best to you and yours.
No tears but after we got the pic, Henry slid off Santa’s lap, handed back the present, and bolted.
P.S. I’m taking Christmas vacation. See you back here on January 5!
Month: December 2014
To market, to market
I heart Christkindlmarkts. And Munich had some great ones. We talked about what we ate already, but let’s take a look at the markets themselves.
The heart of the market was at Marienplatz. You recognize it from its famous Glockenspiel. The market covered the whole square.
It radiated out from Marienplatz down three separate streets.
And had little side bits near Marienplatz.
There was another market Sendlinger Tor, complete with carousel.
There was also a separate Medieval Market.
As well as a market in the courtyard of the Residenz.
What does one do a Christmas market? Mostly just wander around. Eating. Drinking. Most of the shops–that aren’t selling food–peddle various tchotchkes. Christmas ornaments. Delicate wooden candle wraps. Knit hats and slippers. Toys. The markets were crowded, sometimes uncomfortably so. But wandering around, breathing the chilly air, a warm drink in hand, soaking in the sights. It just feels festive.
For an alternative market experience, you can also head out to Tollwood at Theresienwiese, the grounds for Oktoberfest. This felt sort of like if Asheville or Portland had a Christmas market. Younger. Both hipper and hippy.
We enjoyed live music and beer inside this tent. Henry danced as if no one was watching, which pretty much ensured that plenty of people were watching him.
Ah, markets. I’m already thinking about which city to hit next holiday season.
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How to make perfect popcorn
Hands down, the best thing I can make is popcorn. At first, I thought that was a little sad, but I’m ok with it. I instantly know what my best dish is. Quick: can you name yours in the next three seconds? GO.
Bet you couldn’t. Or I bet you have so many winners that you just couldn’t narrow it down. Well played.
Anyway, once upon a time, we went through some pretty serious microwave popcorn phases growing up. Like I could eat an entire bag in one sitting. Like my sister and I fought over who got to rake their nails through the possibly-cancer-linked goodness on the side of the bag. Like I did a science fair project on which brands popped better. (This was a terrible idea because I ended up sitting and counting hundreds of popped kernels of popcorn. Science projects were more of a let’s-get-this-over-with endeavor at my house; less of a trying-to-win-the-fair-and-further-science-for-mankind type of projects.)
When I did study abroad in Germany, I missed many familiar flavors. Popcorn was one of them. Alas, I could find no microwave bags of popcorn. What could I do??? Eventually, I noticed that they do have loose kernels. Like for campfires. Or pilgrims. Or something. But I remembered that one friend I had in middle school whose mom made us popcorn ON THE STOVE. I was so intrigued by this that I made a point to watch her.
So I gave it a go. And I’ve never gone back. #stovetopforlife Please keep reading if you would like to ruin any other popcorn experiences in your life and create a snack that is not at all good to have around the house with toddlers.
First up, find some kernels. I have no brand loyalty, but I do like yellow kernels over white ones. (“Kernel” is turning into one of those words for me that sounds super weird when you say it over and over. Kernel. Kernel. Kernel. Such a strange word.)
Next up, select a popcorn pot. Mine is the smallest size from my Revere Ware set. Which I think is from college. Nice.
Be prepared for this pot to possibly get a little charred. Mine is pretty much a dedicated popcorn pot which may or may not get completely cleaned in between every use. (I make a lot of popcorn.) Wow, this is pretty much the grossest tutorial ever. How hard would it have been for me to swipe a paper towel around the pot? But if that is too much, you know I’m not going to go back and reshoot these pics. Pinterest this is not.
Next, get your olive oil. I like Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I don’t add any butter at the end, and you can really taste that EVOO goodness in every bite.
Pour the oil to cover the bottom of the pot. Then pour some more. And then probably a little more for good measure. James swears he does exactly what I do when he makes popcorn, but his is undeniably not as good. I think this is the critical difference. You want at least a finger of oil in there.
Turn on your burner low to medium heat. Mine has a dial that goes to ten; I set it at four. I took a picture of this, but if you thought the pot picture is gross, you really do not want to see that one. Clean my oven. I’m on it.
Then, add your kernels. (Heh, kernels.) I try to aim for a single layer covering the bottom.
Put the lid on the pot. You would think this would be obvious, but you’d be surprised . . .
Now you listen for those little beauties to pop. Alton Brown recommends shaking the entire time, but I usually only do a shake or two. For me, being done is less about waiting for the kernels to die down and more about seeing when they lift the lid. But that is just because of my familiarity with my designated popcorn pot. Lid lifting coincides with near popping conclusion.
Once they start to lift the lid, I remove from heat. I usually wait ten seconds after the last pop to pour them out. You never know when there will be a diva straggler.
When you pour them in the bowl and see the unpopped kernels, you have a baseline as to whether you should add fewer next time. There will always be a few duds, but the goal is to minimize this number. #nokernelleftbehind
And now you salt. For added fanciness, I’ve been dabbling with fancy salts. Bourbon salt has paired well. Here is my truffle salt. Go wild!
But first, I like to use a base layer of regular salt. I salt once around the bowl, shake it down, salt again around the bowl, and then add a pinch of fancy salt on top. Remember, it is easier to add more salt than to remove salt.*
And then, ta da! You have a bowl of perfectly popped goodness. I think popcorn is especially great for the holidays and for cold weather. Again, sadly, not a great snack for young kids.
*Alas, I can offer you no salt removal tips. If you shake it, it may sift more to the bottom? You can’t expect this sort of kitchen magic from someone who can’t be bothered to fully clean a pot before taking pictures to put on the internets.
Do you stove top? Any popcorn tips? What’s your best dish?
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The answer is always Henry
Why is there a deflated balloon in the refrigerator?
Why is there a metal spoon in the couch cushions?
Why is the veggie steamer on my nightstand?
Henry. The answer is always Henry.
Oh, Henry. It feels not long ago that you turned two and now you are two and a quarter. You are a force of life. You are always on the go. “Mas running” is still one of your favorite games. Lately, you want to climb everything in sight. I do the best I can to spot you while wearing a baby. Thankfully no damage too serious yet, but we do call you Head-Injury-Henry for a reason.
You still love balls. Kicking is your jam and you always get comments on your skillz, but you have picked up your throwing and catching game as well. You love trains and motos and planes. Especially planes. You pore over your Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, each page exclaiming “Airplane! Airplane! Look at that airplane!” We read a lot too, which I love because reading is awesome and it is one of the only times you let me cuddle.
I can’t believe how much you talk. You can tell me what colors the airplanes are and that they are landing in the water or zooming in the sky. We really do have somewhat legitimate conversations. Very recently you started putting your “please” sentences together and can say things like “can I have my sticker book please?” Color me impressed.
You are very social. You have a circle of friends here that you seem delighted to see. Sometimes it takes you a little bit to warm up, but I’m always amazed how eager you are to seek out new playmates. You fearlessly stalked some kids at the market in Munich, and after I translated for you, you and your new buds ran around terrorizing the patrons at the gluhbier stand. (More on gluhbier later; shocking to no one, hot beer is NOT as delicious as hot wine.) You’ve been approaching Italian kids at the playgrounds too. We are working on getting you into daycare for a morning or two each week. This is less about giving me a break and more about giving you some more peeps to run around with. (Particularly until you turn three and we have to decide if we want to go the pricey private preschool route.)
I’d say you are generally mild-mannered, for a toddler, but you do have your share of meltdowns. I’m always blown away by how food-motivated you are. I can flash one M&M and you will happily climb obediently into your stroller. I don’t love bribing you and try to avoid it, but sometimes one M&M or cracker is a pretty reasonable price to pay for compliance.
I think you’ve been growing. I haven’t measured you lately, but you can reach more elevator buttons than when we got here. You certainly feel a bit heavier. And you have so much hair! I love that you have enough hair that it can get messed up. We’ll do a haircut someday. But not yet.
Things are never boring with you around. I have honed negotiation skills that I never dreamed I would need. (Seriously, I think “getting toddlers to do things” should be a legitimate resume bullet.) For example, in between when I started writing this and now, you had an EPIC meltdown that was solved when I eventually got you to eat and sang a spur-of-the-moment-creation “I’m a pizza monster.” (To be released next year. See you at the Grammies, suckas! That’s the awards one for music again, right?) You kept cracking up and your giggles were so sweet that it almost made up for the previous half hour of screaming and hating everything. (Haha, not even close. But it was a welcome, joyful sound.)
Life with you can be tiring, but it is very fun. It is certainly never dull.
Love, Mom
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The finest gelato in the land
(As I alluded to here,) Rome’s best gelato is Come il Latte. This place has everything: chocolate fountains, salted caramel gelato (caramello al sale), and toddler facial hair. What is toddler facial hair? It’s that thing where you let your toddler have his own cone of gelato and he comes up with inventive beard and mustache patterns.
So that could pretty much be the whole post right there, but I will expand. Now I know what you’re thinking. Melissa, you’ve only been in Rome a hot minute. Can you really say that you have found the best gelato? You haven’t posted anything else about gelato. You haven’t been on a gelato crawl. You haven’t hit the places that are touted as best in the city. How can you possibly make such an outlandish claim??
And I hear you. That’s valid. But also poppycock. Because this is the real deal. Thank goodness this place is not right by my house because that would be Trouble. (Get it, trouble with a capital T!)
First up, this place is adorable. I love the windows. The chalkboard. The way the bonus desserts are displayed. It’s super cute. They have a few seats inside so you can ogle the gelato and benches out front.
Next, did I mention the chocolate fountains? One dark chocolate and one white, which I am only mentioning in the sake of blog reportage because why on earth would you pick white over dark? Although I guess it could be good with the fruit flavors. And probably many of the others. I’ll probably never know because . . .
Did I mention that they have salted caramel??? This stuff is so good. Stupid good. When you add chocolate fountain and homemade whipped cream (which I highly recommend), it becomes a truly otherworldly experience. They do have many other yummy looking flavors. James enjoyed the coffee and I think chocolate. Maybe I’ll get there someday. But it will probably be awhile.
So there you have it. Rome’s bestest gelato. Creamy. Rich. Not crazy sweet. If you get a cone, they put chocolate in the bottom AND on top. Not smack dab in the middle of downtown, but very close. And they are open late! I think till midnight. Which makes it a perfect place to stop after your late night (or at the usual time if you are Italian) dinner.
See, and you thought this was going to become all Germany all-the-time up in here, didn’t you? Don’t worry, you’ll get sick of hearing about the trip soon enough. But as I say, there’s always room for gelato.
Come il latte | Via Silvio Spaventa, 24/26 – Roma | tel. 06.42903882
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I like to eat street meat
Granted, this post could have just been named “I like to eat” and it would be completely accurate, but inexplicably I ADORE eating while walking. Something about food while on the move just makes me happy. I sometimes joke (not really joking) that I could walk forever if you just kept feeding me things. This is why I find it so strange that the Italians generally buy gelato and then stand/sit outside the store and eat it. I supposed they would say they are savoring it. I say, don’t you know you could take that gelato on the road?? Best. walk. ever.
Christmas markets are the perfect spot to indulge in an eat-and-walk. And you can drink-and-walk too! (But we’ll cover drinks later.) It is pretty much the best thing ever. It’s like the state fair, but classier and more festive.
Up first, we had plenty of actual meat. Here, you can see me with your standard bratwurst. We pretty much avoided the traditional Munich weisswurst, as we are not huge fans. But we did have plenty of currywurst, which is a sliced bratwurst in a tomato curry sauce. James also discovered a deep love for the Nurnberger bratwurst, which are smaller and served three or five to a roll. As James will tell you, there is more surface area for more crispy skin deliciousness. I thought the Nurnberger ones tasted a tad breakfasty, but very delicious. There were fish sandwich vendors as well, but we never got around to trying it.
Up next, the baumstriezel. This was new to me, but it is not one I will soon forget. It is basically just dough that sort of looks like it is cooked on a spit and topped with deliciousness. We tried coconut, but preferred the simple sugar and cinnamon version.
Note the bundled toddler. Henry will pretty much stay in the stroller as long as he is getting food. Can’t imagine where he gets it . . .
We also had a pretty epic strudel experience in Nuremberg. Here is James with the hazelnut strudel. When I ordered, the lady asked “apple or hazelnut?” We opted for hazelnut, but when I went back, the strudel was all gone. The moral of this story is that if a nice German lady asks “apple or hazelnut,” you should say “yes please!”
We didn’t seem to take any pictures, but we also enjoyed french fries, crepes, and roasted almonds (both traditional and nutella-flavored). And probably other things I’m forgetting. You can ask James; I was constantly darting off, a few euro in my pocket and returning with something to eat. It was awesome.
Some honorable mentions that we didn’t eat but looked fascinating.
Here, we have the schoko doner. Instead of meat, you can see the pillar of chocolate that was shaved off into various things.
And here, middle, you can see the marzipan potatoes. Zee Germans are a little obsessed with marzipan and a lot obsessed with potatoes so I suppose this was inevitable. I like marzipan as a sort of condiment to a dessert item. This is a lot of marzipan.
And a special note on lebkuchen. Because you can’t mention a Christmas market and not talk about lebkuchen. You can see some of them dangling in the photo above. They are everywhere. We did try an iced one. They are sort of like gingerbread, but I like them less. James seemed to enjoy it. He brought some for his office and one of his colleagues who lived in Germany before said it took her back. This is true. Love it or hate it, lebkuchen = Christmas market.
Do you like a walk and eat? I say it’s like a Sorkin walk and talk, only better!
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Designing smarter
I am fascinated by small space designs. I don’t know that I want to live in a microhouse, but I love the idea of having a smaller space that is designed in the best possible way so that it feels bigger than it really is.
We stayed at the Hotel Blauer Bock in Munich. Blauer Bock was in a terrific location, had a very friendly staff, and the room price included breakfast and internet. It was definitely a bit of a splurge, but we were stymied on where else to get a room with two cribs. We received polite responses to inquiries that stated the hotel did have two cribs, but we would not be able to fit two of them in a room. We almost booked adjoining rooms at the Pension am Jakobsplatz, but we were cautioned about ongoing construction noise there and thought that might not be ideal for nap time.
Our room had some thoughtful design touches. I was impressed with the cutouts above the bathroom that added light to a darker area. It was also nice to have a coat rack right by the front door.
The nightstand with reading light was also nice. After spending many years sleeping with my kindle under my pillow or on the floor, I value a good nightstand. I’m not sure why I didn’t take the plunge at our old house and fasten something to the wall, as they did here. I guess it just feels so permanent. Hope you like where the bed is because your nightstand ain’t moving! I operate under the (misguided) belief that there is a perfect furniture arrangement that can be found if you just keep trying. What if I nightstood before it was achieved?? (I know, I know, it could move. But if you are too lazy to attach a nightstand in the first place, you are probably too lazy to move it.)
The hotel room also had some great features for a stay with kids. After fearing that we would be sandwiched with cribs touching the bed, I was pleasantly surprised to find that we had a sitting room separated by a door that was a perfect spot for the kids. Well, it was perfect for the first three nights. After that Mac got unexplainedly ragey when you tried to put him down. Then, once you finally rocked him to sleep and set him down, Henry screamed, “MACKLES” from across the room, starting the screaming all over again. At this point, Mac was removed and placed in the corner of the main room.
Unfortunately, the bathroom was not ideal for two littles. No tub. We had a corner shower with two curtains. Why do people do this? Maybe it looks nicer to have curtains instead of a door? Maybe it is just easier to clean? But it sure was a pain for showering. The space shrunk by half as the ghost curtains horned in on you once you started the water. Let’s just say the kids did get cleaned, but not as often as at home.
Henry was thrilled to have two TVs to play with. He either didn’t notice or didn’t care that all programming was in German.
Anways, I’ll file the good design ideas away for now. I have this vision that maybe someday we’ll get to design a space of our own and use all these bits of inspiration to make an amazing space. The YoungHouseLove-rs always advocated living in a space for awhile before making any major changes so that you really know what you want. I like to think that we’ll have some thoughts from our previous locales if we ever get to design a space of our own.
Hotel Blauer Bock • Sebastiansplatz 9 • 80331 München • Telefon: +49(0)89 23 17 80 • e-Mail: info@hotelblauerbock.de
Any design features you are itching to change on your current abode? Any that you love? Have your dream space all planned out?
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Do SAHMs have higher rates of skin cancer?
And we’re back! We got back from five nights in Munich last week. There were definitely some lows (like Henry causing 50 euro of damage at the hotel breakfast), but plenty of fun moments and the Christmas markets were amazing. You guys will be hearing plenty over the next few weeks, I’m sure.
After a week of meat, sugar, and beer, I’m looking forward to getting back to cooking real food. This is a bit of an exaggeration, but I almost feel like I haven’t cooked since Thanksgiving. The holidays are here which makes it tough, but it is time.
I’ve been thinking about this article: How I Gained and Lost 60 Pounds as an Entrepreneur — and So Can You! Even though I’m not an entrepreneur or working outside the home right now, many points here really resonated. I try very hard not to, but it is easy to put yourself last.
Overall, I’d say my new lifestyle is less healthy than my old in several ways. I drink less water. When sitting at a desk, I had my Nalgene bottle right in front of me and I drank water all day long. I am excellent at drinking things put right in front of me. This is a great skill for staying hydrated, a less great one for trying not to get sloppy at a party. Now because we are on the move, I don’t have water in front of me. I feel like I take two sips and then we are off to something else and cups just end up all over the house. It is not ideal.
There is less incidental movement. Before, I did a good bit of walking on my commute. I would often walk to lunch. Even walking around a large office building built in some exercise. I thought here, we’d be constantly on the go and would really rack up those steps, but it is surprisingly easy not to move far at all. The grocery store is only a few blocks away. I have playgrounds steps from the front door. I want to walk more, but the sidewalks here can really be a pain for the stroller. And the toddler doesn’t really want to sit in the stroller anyway.
One of the best bonuses about working at home is making your lunch. It is easy to throw together a real salad or even just grab leftovers without having to lug them to work in a giant Tupperware. But even though I’m at home, I haven’t been taking advantage. Lunch is usually a scramble. An afterthought. Not good.
I’ve been noticing more freckles. Freckles I haven’t seen this bright since I was a kid. Small wonder, I’m spending much more time outside now. Usually just standing at a playground with the baby strapped to me, but it adds up. My mom has had precancerous things removed from her skin. Why am I not doing better?
Looking over this list objectively, I admit that there seem to be easy solutions to many of these issues. A little more effort. A little more planning. But it is easy to get really caught up in the day-to-day kid spiral survival mode and the last thing I want to do is walk across the city or even walk to my kitchen to get a glass of water. And even typing that sentence, I know it doesn’t make sense, but that is honestly the way it feels sometimes. I’m tired. And even though I know that making an effort on some of these things would make me less tired, it is hard to do.
As the Entrepreneur article says, the answer is inevitably to “Plan the work, work the plan.“ I get it. I need to do this. I’m working on it.
In the meantime, at the suggestion of my cosmetologist friend here, I have switched to wearing real sunscreen on my face. SPF 55. Formulated for babies actually so I think it stinks less. (I hate smelling like I’m going to the beach all day.) My Oil of Olay with SPF 15 advertised continuous moisture all day long, but if you read the fine print, stated that you needed to reapply every two hours for sun protection. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
Anyone have any tips or tricks? I know, I know, there are no easy solutions. Grr.
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A day in the life
This is not the most glamorous, but I present for your consideration a typical day around here. In many ways it is not “typical,” (we don’t always go to tree lightings), but is there actually a typical day? As you will see, it is not all cappuccino wishes and fettuccine dreams.
| 7:06 am | James’s alarm goes off. Holy tootknockers, that means Mac slept through the night! This has only happened a handful of times and is big doin’s. Of course, he stirred right when James got in the shower, but settled back down. |
| 7:06 – 7:30 | Reading. Most days this is spent dozing fitfully, thinking about the day, and yelling at myself that this would be the perfect time to get up and do some pilates. Sigh, some day. |
| 7:30 – 7:55 | Shower, get dressed, makeup. Mac is stirring so James gets him up and changes the dipe. We say goodbye to James. |
| 7:55 – 8:36 | Henry is stirring. I grab Mac and head into Henry’s room, giving Henry a couple books. Henry reads while I feed Mac. Eventually, Henry is ready to leave the crib. He gets the new diaper, fresh clothes treatment. We hang out on the bed for a bit.
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| 8:36 – 9:10 | Breakfast time. I’m irked because the dishwasher was not run last night and walking into a messy kitchen is a pain. Less shenanigans today than usual from the boys though, likely because I told Henry that if he eats his eggs than he can have leftover banana bread. The boys sit while I cook. Henry and I have eggs, as we do most days, and Mac has the rest of a jar of prunes baby food. I throw more in the dishwasher and start it on the way out.
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| 9:10 – 9:32 | We head to the living room to play. New outfit for Mac. Henry is super into the nativity scenes here. So far, I’ve seen cows eating grass, wise men marching, angels dive-bombing shepherds, and sheep eating Baby Jesus. I slip out for two minutes to throw in a load of laundry at some point.
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| 9:32 – 9:37 | Prepping Mac for his nap and putting him down. |
| 9:37 – 9:48 | Confirm that Henry is occupied and clean the two bathrooms. Henry comes in when I’m finishing up the tub in the second bathroom. |
| 9:48 – 9:50 | Refill waters and sippy cups. |
| 9:50 – 10:15 | Henry and I read. Lion King and a book on military aircraft today. It’s all toddler’s choice around here. |
| 10:15 – 10:25 | Henry and I play basketball. |
| 10:25 – 10:45 | Mac wakes up. New diapers for everyone! (Bathroom break for me.) Locating shoes, socks, and jackets for everyone and stuffing shoes, socks, and jackets onto everyone. Two meltdowns result which is not a terrible track record. |
| 10:45 – 11:55 | We head outside. I thought about heading to a farther park like Villa Borghese, but the clouds are still looking ominous and decide it is better to stay close. I thought we’d hit the playground out front, but we ended up on a “toddler walk.” This is a walk where the toddler sets the pace and we stop where he wants. Henry kicked trash.
Climbed on window grates.
And kicked columns.
For the record, the Italians approve of none of this. Italian kids generally sit in strollers bundled up to their eyeballs. Nobody said anything though, except the one lady who commented that Henry should be wearing a hat because of the wind, but she was pretty nice about it. |
| 11:55 – 12:25 | We head inside to watch one episode of Winnie the Pooh, aka the only way I could convince Henry to come inside. I can’t just scoop him up because I’m wearing Mac. I feed Mac while Henry watches. Mac and I play. I throw Henry’s wet shoes in the dryer. Henry has a meltdown that he only gets one episode and then gets a timeout because he repeatedly shoved his brother. He is uninterested in lunch and tells me it is time for nap. |
| 12:25 – 12:38 | Naptime is usually at 1:00, but who am I to question a screaming toddler? New diapers and story time. Kids are down for naps. |
| 12:38 – 12:50 | I switch that laundry from earlier and make myself lunch. I start to unload the dishwasher, but double naptime is sacred and must not be squandered on chores. Lunch today is some seriously past its prime arugula with oil and salt/pepper (I end up abandoning about a quarter of the way through), apple, cheese, three leftover pieces of coppa, and a heated mug of turkey broth. |
| 12:50 – 1:01 | Read some blogs. I’m in the bad habit of associating food with internet break time. Too many lunches eaten at my desk at the law firm. |
| 1:01 – 1:15 | Read some sites on what to do in Nuremberg for upcoming trip. |
| 1:15 – 2:25 | Write 1.5 blog posts. Post the day’s post. |
| 2:25 – 2:55 | Take dishes back to kitchen, grab a small piece of banana bread and nutella spoon, respond to email, check a few more blogs. |
| 2:55 – 3:15 | Text with my neighbor about walking to Christmas tree lighting. Read guide book on Munich. |
| 3:15 – 3:18 | When I hear the kids start to stir, hit the bathroom and go on a blitz gathering up stuff for our outing. |
| 3:18 – 3:45 | Feed Mac, change diapers, get Henry yogurt, put on shoes, socks, coats, etc. |
| 3:45 – 4:25 | Walk to James’s work for Christmas tree lighting. |
| 4:25 – 5:30 | Enjoy tree lighting and reception.
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| 5:30 – 6:25 | Walk to and enjoy best gelato ever at Come il Latte. More on this soon.
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| 6:25 – 7:00 | See someone we know. Walk home with friend, chatting all the way. |
| 7:00 – 7:40 | Peel off shoes, socks, coats; hanging out and chillin’ as a fam.
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| 7:40 – 8:00 | Get kids ready for bed. |
| 8:00 – 8:45 | Make soup from the turkey stock we made previously. Empty the dishwasher, reload the dishwasher, and do other kitchen cleaning tasks with James. In theory, we would do more chatting about our days here, but we were both kind of out of it and cranky. |
| 8:45 – 9:30 | Eat soup and do some plotting with James on Munich trip. |
| 9:30 – 9:50 | Watch an episode of Brooklyn 99 with James. (If you aren’t watching this show, you really should be watching this show.) |
| 9:50 – 10:00 | Get ready for bed. |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Read in bed. I really need to get better here. In my mind, I only read for like 15 minutes. Clearly, that is NOT the case. |
So there you have it. A typical-ish weekday in December. Some days we see friends. Some days we go to the store. Most days we feed the kids a real dinner. But if you can’t have gelato for dinner every now and then, what’s the point of living in Italy?
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Rain rain, go away (Restaurant Review: Cul de Sac Wine Bar)
You guys, will it ever stop raining?? I know, I know. It isn’t snow. It is still pretty warm here. But it is starting to feel like it rains every day.
And it is a sneaky rain. You never know when it is coming. I can look out the window in one direction and there is blue sky with happy clouds. The other direction looks like a gray sheet of doom. I have been at the playground and had a single individual cloud rain on me and then pass.
I’m always surprised by the quantities of thunder and lightening as well. These aren’t just sheets of gray. They crackle with electricity.
It seems to rain more often than not on date night. One evening looked suspiciously dry. We hopped into a cab to go stroll by the Forum before dinner. On the way, the skies opened up. We should have told the cab driver to change location, but we were too busy being amused by him. He hated everything. The traffic in Rome. The food in Rome. The people in Rome. And I was hopelessly hoping that the rain might stop before we got there.
We stood on the corner sharing an umbrella (mine) and set off on a very truncated walk. It was not a romantic stroll in the rain. It was cold and wet. I immediately headed to a cab stand to get to the restaurant. I can’t find it now, but someone had a travel tip that stuck with me: if it costs less than $10 but makes your life much better, you should do it. For example, if you are starving, go ahead and get that overpriced airport sandwich. I’m not traveling, but I think this is an excellent rule to live by generally.
Our destination that evening was Cul de Sac, a wine bar tucked away behind Piazza Navona. A friend recommended as a fun place to try wines by the glass and local meats and cheeses.
When we rolled up around 2100 (I know, I’m a baller), the place was hopping. After a few minutes, we were able to get a table in the back. The space is very narrow with the wines up front and center on display. Let’s just say that this is not the place you’d like to be during an earthquake.
You could get bottles, but they did have a nice selection of wines by the glass, I think mostly in the 6-10 euro range. We got a mixed meat and cheese plate as well. Although it was quite tasty, I wish we had just ordered individual things. There was a large selection of cured meats and cheeses, with the region of Italy noted. I’d definitely recommend as a place to stop in if you didn’t want to pay Piazza prices around the corner.
After some enjoyable glasses, we did take a look at the rain-drenched Piazza Navona, one of my faves.
I also had the tartufo from Tre Scalini in my sights. This was eaten crowded by the covered outdoor heater where I technically shouldn’t have been because I only paid for a takeaway.
It wasn’t the date night I had planned, but at least it had a sweet ending. Hehe. 🙂
Cul de Sac, Piazza Pasquino 73 (Piazza Navona) 00186, Tel. +39.06.68801094
Tre Scalini, Piazza Navona 28 00186, Tel. +39.06.68801996
Roman Reboot 