Category: Travel

Itinerary for me Ma

3 Comments

Lucky for me as a sightseeing planner, my mom has been to Rome a few times.  This means she will be excited to see things, but we don’t feel like we have to pack in every single sight.

So I have put together a sort of wish list for my mom’s stay.  As you will see, there is plenty of flexibility.

Pasta

Pizza – maybe from Gaudi?

White wine

Red wine

Gelateria Salaria, our favorite close by gelato.

Come il Latte.  Simply the best.  Better than all the rest.

Catacombs of Priscilla

Villa Borghese

Villa Ada

Walk around downtown

A market

Montepulciano

More gardens, maybe Villa d’Este in Tivoli

Hopefully I will be able to report back on successful list completion.  The weather is not on our side this week, but we’ll do what we can and hope things will look up.  Now I must away.  Somebody couldn’t be bothered to stay asleep for all of nap time and is trying to eat my arms as I type.

 

How to fight jet lag LIKE A BOSS

1 Comment

1.12_Mac collage_jet lag

Ya’ll, my mom is coming this week!  She has to eat all the pasta, drink all the wine, and spend all the time with grandkids.  I’ve discovered that I can just barely squeeze between the carseats so we have plans to visit gardens and we just booked a trip to Tuscany.  I won’t be able to feel my legs, but it is going to be legend – wait for it and grab your pizza – DARY.

All of this means she needs to hit the ground running.  Which is not easy to do when you are six time zones off your game.  Also, unfortunately, traveling east is harder to recover from.

To come up with a game plan, I took to the internets to devise a foolproof jet lag battle strategy.  Here’s the best advice I could find.

Prepare before you go.  Some suggest shifting your schedule before you go.  Others say–and I agree–that there is no point giving yourself jet lag before you leave.  My mom is a busy lady.  She doesn’t have time to mess around with schedule shifting.

But there are things she can do.  Leaving home well rested seems like a sound strategy.  Unfortunately, if I know my mom, she’ll be running around until the last minute getting things ready and taking care of loose ends.  But please try, Mom!  Get some sleep, eat decently, you know the deal.  We have a washer/dryer.  Once I figure out how to undo the child lock Henry somehow turned on this morning, I promise I’ll wash your clothes every day if you want.  No need to stress on packing!  (Except for all those things I keep asking you to bring.  OK, good talk, thanks in advance.)

On the plane.  Sleep is a good strategy.  Some suggest sleep aids, but my mom is a little crunchy and she won’t have time to test these before so drugs are out.  Busting out the noise canceling headphones and sleep mask could help.

I know your vacation starts on the plane, but avoiding caffeine and booze should help.  Drink water like it’s your job.

And jump into your new schedule on the plane.  Several sites recommend resetting your watch immediately when you board.  The jet lag is all in your head, Cricket-san.

At arrival.  My mom’s flight gets in at 8:00 AM.  That means she has a long day ahead of her.  The answer seems to be sunlight.  The internets tout sunlight as being one of the best ways to hasten your transition.  But not just indiscriminate sunlight.  For my mom, an eastbound traveler, she should avoid morning sun and get afternoon sun.  Science types even go as far to wear sunglasses on the plane and at arrival to limit morning sun.  My mom likes the sun.  And sunglasses.  If we can keep her from napping, it shouldn’t be hard to get her outside in the afternoon.  Hopefully we won’t be having another rainy day.

Some suggest faking the sun by taking melatonin.  I don’t see this being in our strategy though.  One, crunchy.  Two, if you mess up or mistime your dose, it could actually set you back on your jet lag journey.

Bringing our “A” guest game could help my mom as well.  We’ll have the room ready with the light blocking shades and comphy sheets.  When it is finally time to sleep, I’ll do everything I can to make it a good night.  Absence of crying children sadly not guaranteed.

So that’s the plan.  Hope my mom isn’t burning the candle at both ends getting ready, promise her plenty of wine in Italy if she can avoid on the plan, and run her ragged in the afternoon sun when she gets here.  I have trained minions who excel at running people ragged.  Ideally, my mom would power through Day 1 and go to bed close to a normal time.  If she’s majorly flagging, we may negotiate a short nap.  Sounds fun, right?  OK, ready, break!  Ya’ll my mom is coming!!!!

Any other jet lag fighting words of wisdom?  I’ll let you know how it goes!

One Market to Rule Them All*

1 Comment

Continuing our German vacation saga from December.  Don’t worry, I think I only have two more posts on this.  Three, tops.

Germany’s best Christmas market is in Nuremberg.  Full stop.  I have not personally visited all the cities in Germany to compare, but that has never stopped me from making sweeping pronouncements before.

I mean, if this not-at-all-doctored photo doesn’t sell you, I don’t know what will.

1.29_nurn 11

But first we had to get to Nuremberg.  For this, we turned to the ICE (fast) train with Deutsche Bahn.  We were originally going to split our time between Nuremberg and Munich, but decided to just do a day trip to Nuremberg when we realized the ICE would be a little over an hour.  (It turned out to be closer to an hour and a half.)

We ended up paying more than I hoped, but this was because we (1) bought the tickets the day of and (2) did not want to commit to a specific return train.  Trains run from Nuremberg to Munich every 30 minutes, and I didn’t want to pin us down.  If we had booked in advance and/or picked specific trains, the ticket would have been much cheaper.  I didn’t want to book in advance because we were playing the weather by ear.  It would have been nicer to get a cheaper ticket, but I figure we paid a premium for the flexibility and for not having to deal with schlepping all of our stuff to a different city for an overnight.  Twice actually because we would have had to return to Munich for the flight.

We opted for reserved seats on the way there, but we would have been OK without it.  We didn’t have any trouble getting seats on the return.

They have ticket kiosks which are very easy to use, but after having some questions, we opted to speak to a real person.  I was excited that I could have conducted the whole thing auf Deutsch!  I eventually asked the guy if we could switch because it was easier consulting with James in English without first having to translate everything.

I hoped Henry would be more jazzed about the train.  I mean, he was excited, but the countryside looked sort of drab and gray on the way there and pitch black on the way back.  He was more into making his dad walk him all over the train.

I will say, preparing to exit the train with the kids and our day trip gear was a little stressful.  The train doesn’t stop for long at each station.  This is great for speeding along on your trip, but less great when you are like CRAP-I-have-to-grab-all-the-bags-and-stuff-kids-in-coats-and-AHHH.  But it all worked out.

1.29_nurn 15

Munich Hauptbahnhof

Nuremberg on its own is an insanely cute German town.  Cobblestones, river running through it, fachwerk, pedestrian zones.  I don’t think I appreciated just how nice of a place it was on its own when I saw it ten years ago.

1.29_nurn 1

The market completely fills the main square.  There are also a few side markets.

1.29_nurn 3

1.29_nurn 2

Don’t stare directly into the eyes of the creepy children on top

We enjoyed the heidelbeer gluhwein.  We really enjoyed the nurnberger bratwurst and hazelnut strudel.

1.29_nurn 4

Here’s the famous fountain, the Schöner Brunnen.

1.29_nurn 6

Spin the golden ring for a wish to come true.

1.29_nurn 5 1.29_nurn 7

Kaiserburg, the castle, is a hike up the hill.

1.29_nurn 8 1.29_nurn 9

After hunting for some kid-friendly tips on the internets, we had an afternoon tea at Cafe Violetta.  (Nuremberg also has a train museum and toy museum that sounded pretty cool for kids, but we didn’t get to those.)  At first, I worried that we made a terrible mistake.  Downstairs is like a cross between an antique store and a fancy coffee shop. The cafe is kind of like being in your cozy Aunt’s house or maybe a common room at Hogwarts.  Plush furniture that doesn’t match, but it goes.  Nooks and alcoves.  It looked great, but not for kids.

Eventually, we found the train table upstairs.  We stalked the squashy couch beside it and eventually had a great time unwinding after being out in the cold drizzle.  Henry was obsessed with the table.  It may have been his favorite thing of the entire trip.  This is why two year olds make crappy tourists.  I could show him the Sistine Chapel and he would probably be like oooo is that a light switch?  (Mac would probably be like LUNCH.  I remember in either first or second grade, the Sistine Chapel National Geographic one was super scandalous.  It was definitely passed around the room and whispered about.)

1.29_nurn 10

And here is the market stretching as far as the eye can see.

1.29_nurn 12 1.29_nurn 13 1.29_nurn 14

It was a cold and drizzly day, but I’m glad we went.  It’s funny; when I walked around Nuremberg as a student more than ten years ago, I never really thought ahead to what the future might bring.  I didn’t picture some day returning and trying to show my two kids around this market that I loved so much.  Even though I didn’t picture it, I’m glad we were able to make it happen.  Now I’ll just have to bring them back when they can actually appreciate it!

*Only meant to be a silly Lord of the Rings reference.

I crossed the river into the land of beer

Leave a comment

Don’t get me wrong.  I heart Italian wine.  Right now I’m loving all the big, meaty reds.  When it warms up outside, I’ll be ready to return to the world of whites and start a hunt for my favorite prosecco.  (Not that I haven’t gotten a head start on that.)

But I do miss beer.  Specifically, hops-for-days beers that no beer connoisseur would describe as well-balanced.  Balance, pfft.  Why have balance when you can have MORE HOPS.

We did have some luck at Open Baladin last fall.  Now we embarked on a journey across the river in hunt of more beer.

When I say “crossed the river,” I do not mean the metaphorical river.  We actually walked across it.  I mean, on a bridge of course.  This one.

1_beer 7

This was our first foray into Trastevere, an area of the city where the “Romanest of Romans live” according to my sources.  Our first trip, but definitely not the last.

But first a quick Italian pronunciation guide so you don’t go around mispronouncing Trastevere for ages *cough cough* like I did.  Two rules should apply, but alas, an exception I do not yet understand tripped me up.

First, all pieces of words are pronounced in Italian.  This means there is no silent “e” at the end of a word.  Limone (lemon) is Lee-moh-neh.

Second, words are accented on the penultimate syllable.  Carrying through our example, you pronounce lemon, lee-MOH-neh.

Good so far?  So for Trastevere, a word that is literally beyond/across/over the Tevere (Tiber), you pronounce the “e” on the end to make it Tras-teh-ver-eh.

Looking at the penultimate syllable rule, you would think it would be Tras-teh-VER-eh.  But do not be fooled!!  It is Tras-TEH-ver-eh.  Alas, I can give you no explanation.  James even asked his Italian teacher, but she couldn’t give a reason.

Point of the story, I thought I was all “hey I know Italian grammar and I can pronounce words,” when actually I sounded like a dummy.  Learn from my mistake.  #dontsoundlikeadummy Tras-TEH-ver-eh.

Trastevere was very adorable, but we didn’t poke around much.  Our destination, Bir and Fud, was just a hop, skip, and jump from the river.  We walked in and found this sleek bar.  Ah, look at that row of glorious taps.  It wasn’t crazy crowded when we were there, but friends warned us you can’t walk through at all when it fills up.  I believe it.

1_beer 3

Behind the bar is a restaurant with tightly knit tables.  I was glad we had a reservation.

The beer list was not small, but not overwhelming either.  Plenty of Italian beers, but plenty that weren’t.  All beers, 5 euro.  I ordered a Spaceman from Brewfist and wondered if I might actually have a legitimate reason to call it a Spa-CHEM-in.  See earlier pronunciation guide.  The beer was hoppy and delicious.

1_beer 6

To accompany the beer, we got garlic & pecorino chips and prosciutto & mozzarella.  All delicious, but I think my pores oozed garlic for a week.

1_beer 5

We split a pizza, which they conveniently pre-split for us.  I was glad we split.  That’s a big pizza.

For some reason, I was fascinated that James has a very methodical pizza cutting and eating technique.  For me, I usually just attack the thing with a fork and knife all willy-nilly.  Cut a random piece here, random piece there.  Pizza in mouth is the only goal.  I don’t think this will change if I eat 5000 more pizzas.  James, however, did a precision strike that you could tell was honed from practiced pizza eating.  It was sort of impressive to behold.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.  The man does love pizza.  #pizzasurgeon

1_beer 4

If I had any knock against Bir & Fud, it would simply be that they seemed to be out of a lot of things.  We tried to order an appetizer from their specials list, something involving fried mozzarella and hot sauce.  Out.  For our second round of beer, we both struck out.  I don’t know if this is typical, and it wasn’t such a big deal because they had plenty of other great things to choose from, but we did seem to be hearing that they were out of things quite a bit.

After dinner, we went across the street to Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa, which my sources tell me translates to “But what did you come here for?” or “What the hell did you come here for?”  This was a cozy, wood-paneled hole in the wall with an impressive tap selection.  Beers were 6 euro to drink inside or 4 euro to drink outside in a plastic cup.  I chose an Italian IPA that was a little too balanced for my taste, but not bad.

1_beer 1 1_beer 2

All in all, I considered it a most successful first foray across the river.  It felt like–for just a few hours at least–we were back with our people.  Beer people.  I’ll just have to console myself with incredible Italian wines that are a fraction of the cost of what you can get them for stateside.  Poor me.  (Winking angel face.)

 

Goals for 2015

4 Comments

Well, I looked back on 2014, but I forgot to mention my favorite song:

You’re welcome.  And now on to 2015!  Instead of resolutions, I’m trying for some goals.  You may be getting quarterly updates on these.  You know, just to keep me honest.

Blogging/Writing Goals

Stockpile some posts.  A lot of my blogging is done in real time.  Nap time rolls around, I sit at the computer and share with you immediately.  Sometimes this is fine, but it is not always ideal.  Some topics I’d like to think about a little more.  Sometimes we travel and I can’t write a post.  I like to vary the content so you don’t get just kids or just food on any given week.  This would all be easier to do if I built up some post reserves.  The goal is to have some posts that I can choose from instead of feeling pressure to get a finished product out every day.

Make the blog look prettier.  You may have noticed some site updates.  I am hoping to continue to upgrade.  Until now, my goal has been content, content, content.  I wanted to get on a regular posting schedule, and I generally have.  Creating posts was more of a priority than having a slick-looking platform.  Now I’d like to make the whole thing a little easier on the eyes and easier to use.

Group blog content in a more helpful way.  I’m working on creating a travel resources page.  I’ll also try to work on other ways to organize content so that it may be of use to you.

Read 4 books on writing.  I’ve read Bird by Bird, but I really haven’t read much else on writing.  I love to read.  Getting through a book on writing each quarter should not be a hardship.

Read more about blogging.  I’ve been down a rabbit hole on Blog Tyrant over the last few days.  There is so much I know nothing about.  I’m sort of shocked that I figured out a “.com” way to blog.  This goal is a bit loosey goosey, but I want to get better.

Submit a piece of writing to another platform.  The goal is not necessarily to have the writing published somewhere (something I can’t really control) or to be paid for writing.  I just want to make myself send something somewhere.

Kid Goals

Potty train the toddler.  He turns 3 this fall.  I’m not pushing the potty agenda yet.  I’ve heard that boys generally train later.  But I’d love to cut down our diaper consumption at some point this year.

Get the baby sleeping through the night.  Mac generally still gets up once a night.  Some mights it is closer to 6:00; not really complaining about those.  Some nights it is more like 4:00 am.  Not cool.  I get that a lot of this goal is outside of my control, but I’d like to keep working on it.

Get some childcare.  I mentioned before that we’d like to get some baby parking for Henry a morning or two each week.  Mostly because I think he will love it and it will be good to get some Italian language exposure.  I’m not in a rush on Mac, but later this year I’d like to have some system for some kid-free time for me.  It would be good to have some time to take a language class, exercise, do more writing, wander the city, etc.

Be braver on morning outings.  Up to now, we’ve stuck closer to home so that Mac could get a good morning nap in his crib.  He still naps, but he is starting to be a little more of a pill about it.  I think we may start to venture more far flung and Mac can nap on the go if he needs it.  Morning adventure should get easier as it warms up this year.  I’d like to get zoo annual passes, check out the children’s museum, get comfortable with the kids on public transportation, and more.

Health Goals

Build exercise into my routine.  My real goal is to lose the last few pounds from the last baby, but I’m trying to work on process goals instead of the end result.  I still haven’t made exercise a priority, and I need to.  The goal is to try to figure out a time when I can run and to make myself get up earlier for other exercise, like pilates.

Build a paleo(ish) meal plan.  I don’t mind repetition in food.  We end up eating a lot of the same things anyway.  My goal is to have a week or two of meals all planned out so that I can have a ready-to-go grocery list that will equal a meal game plan for the week.  I say paleo-ish because I’m ok with some beans and cheese.  If I get this one figured out, I’ll be sure to share!

Cook for leftovers.  I’ve written before that I struggle on making healthy and tasty lunches.  Leftovers would really help on this front.  For some reason, I struggle on making more for dinner the night before.  I aim to fix this.  I’m eying recipes for soups, frittatas, and slow cooker meals that should result in a better lunch than yogurt.

Cut down on added sugar and gluten at home.  If I can ever get the holiday sweets out of the house, I’m going to try to adhere to a “treats are for outside the house” mentality.  Same for gluten.  Pasta and pizza are OK for when we are out, but we will try to avoid at home.  The Italians make better pasta and pizza than I ever could anyway.  This goal will never reach 100% compliance, but I do want it to be the goal.

Other Goals

Hang up the rest of the pictures.  The goal was to hang up everything before our friends visited at the end of the year.  We have been making excellent progress, but a few left.  Maybe can finish before my mom gets here next month?

Behold my frame wall!

Behold my frame wall!

Make more time for email.  Being away from people is hard.  But in a way it has been good because I’m emailing with some people more than we got to talk when living in the same country.  And then I drop the ball.  Some days life just feels like kids and blog.  I need to carve out time for my correspondence.

Do a big trip each quarter.  That list isn’t going to see itself.

Tackle those neglected corners of the house.  Most things are put away, but a few spots need some work.

The corner of my bedroom where things go to die.

The corner of my bedroom where things go to die.

Make a photo book for 2014.  I actually need to make photo books for every year except 2007, but this seems like a more realistic goal.

Well, that should keep me busy.  Do you have goals?  Resolutions?  Resolutions still intact?  How is it already Jan. 20!

 

When to push it?

3 Comments

When to push it_

We were all set to go away this weekend.  Take advantage of the holiday.  Get out of town.  Check something else off the list.  It was gonna be great.

We found an amazing looking airbnb.  I plotted an itinerary I thought would work with our family’s rhythms.  I had a game plan to eat out and cook at home.  It was gonna be great.

Then the airbnb host responded and said that property wasn’t available only for two days even though it says that NOWHERE on the listing.

Then the forecast looked bleak.  Like rain all weekend all the time.  After having a stretch of dry days, I’d almost forgotten how much of a bummer the rain here can be.

We searched for another airbnb, but we couldn’t find anything that looked as nice.  Definitely not anywhere I’d want to be stuck if it rained nonstop.

We looked at the lovingly crafted itinerary.  Literally everything on the list we want to do is outside.  EVERYTHING.

Laura Vanderkam has mentioned recently about the do it anyway approach.  Yeah, you’re tired and your sweatpants are giving you that come hither look, but just do it.  You’ll probably have fun once you do and you’ll have the fun memories to look back on.

I’ve mentioned, less recently, the struggle on when to go for it.  When do you see the thing, even though doing it could push your kids past the point of enjoying being around them?

We pulled the plug.  After much deliberation, we will not be on a jaunt to Tuscany this weekend.  I hated doing it.  I hope it is the right call.

It’s just that rain with the kids is not fun.  Rain in the winter–cold, chills you to the bone rain–is downright miserable.  Kids + cold rain = not a fun weekend.  These are sights I want to actually see.  Not to just survive and endure.

So what is the answer for this bummer of a fail on the go-for-it attempt?  I am determined to have the best weekend in Rome ever.  Fun will be planned.  We will see things here.  We will see friends.  We will adventure!  And we’ll start working on planning another trip soon.  (My mom is coming in less than three weeks.  W00t!  Look out Rome.)

Do you get a three-day weekend?  Any big plans?  I wish you fun and adventure!

 

Want to make eleventy billion dollars in Rome?

4 Comments

If I had buckets of money, patience to figure out Roman building permits, and know how on Italian labor laws, I would open a Waffle House in downtown Rome.  Or a Waffle House like restaurant.  It would make a killing.  Lemme ‘splain.

Italians don’t really do breakfast.  Nick Kroll was not too far from the truth when he said breakfast would be a cigarette and a bar of chocolate for Europeans.

Italians are crazy for coffee.  I’ll see people come in, order an espresso, down it at the bar, and leave before I can even figure out how to get my stroller through the door.  Cappuccinos are for morning; never for afternoon.  It is my understanding that Italians believe milk interferes with digestion.

9.13_first cappiciono

You may see someone get a pastry.  A cornetto is an Italian croissant.  I like them quite a bit, but they are different than French croissants.  A cornetto is denser and less flaky.  They do come with fillings.  Nutella and apricot jam seem to be particularly popular.

Mmmm...nutella croissant

Mmmm…nutella croissant

I can’t say what Romans do in the comfort of their own homes, but this seems to be the standard breakfast.  Some combination of espresso beverage and cigarettes.

I miss American breakfasts.  Big plates of pancakes with syrup streaming down the sides.  Cheesy omelets.  Crispy bacon.  Toast with jam AND butter. Back home, we usually had breakfast out on Saturday or Sunday.  It was awesome.  Breakfast food is thankfully pretty easy to make at home, but sometimes it isn’t just the same.

You will see places that advertise brunch here.  I accompanied some friends to a brunch buffet not too long ago.  They had sushi, pasta, salad, meats and cheeses.  It was nice.  But there wasn’t anything particularly breakfasty about it.  I’ve heard from others that many other “brunch” places are similar.

Enter my brilliant idea.  A breakfast joint in Rome.  Even if it was just a greasy spoon, I think it would make a killing.  First you get the ex-pats, then you get the tourists, then maybe, just maybe, you get the Italians.  Probably not for breakfast, but possibly at 9:00 pm.

Hot drinks for cold days

7 Comments

Now we’re in it.  January and February are pretty bleak.  Christmas cheer has been packed up.  Things can be a bit dreary.  Back home, March is usually just as bad, which is even worse for me because I stubbornly continue to think it should be warm.  March, that should be spring, right?  WRONG, YOU GET A SNOWSTORM.  Hope that parka goes with your Easter ensem!

Things in Rome have been downright balmy compared to DC.  The weather claims the highs are close to 60.  I guess I can’t argue with the weather reporting professionals, but it doesn’t feel like 60.  40s and 50s, yes.  It is a damp cold, but the teens it is not.  Huzzah.

In case you are experiencing mega-cold let’s-build-a-fire type weather, consider these toasty Christmas market inspired drinks to warm you right up.  These drinks were great for walking the markets in Germany.  I think they would also be awesome on a chilly evening tucked up with a blanket.  You don’t even have to worry about paying extra for your cup deposit (pfand) and remembering to get your money back!

Gluhwein

Mulled wine is a staple at Christmas markets.  You can find both white and red, but I’m all about that red.  There are about a million recipes online and I can’t claim to have found the best one, but you are probably looking at some combo of wine, cloves, sugar, and orange.

1.14_drinks 1

If you like your gluhwein with a little more flair, consider trying a . . .

Feuerzangenbowle

With a little help from wikipedia, I can tell you that this fun-to-pronounce drink involves a run-soaked sugar loaf being set on fire and dripped into gluhwein.  The main difference in the markets seems to be that feuerzangenbowle, aka fire-tongs punch, stands are usually covered with flames and fire.

1.14_drinks 2

We tried it.  It was tasty.  I didn’t notice a huge difference from traditional gluhwein.  I was disappointed that nothing was lit on fire in front of me.

1.14_drinks 3

The problem with gluhwein is that it can feel a little too Christmas-y.  If you want to mix up your flavors, allow me to recommend . . .

Fruity Gluhwein

In Nuremberg, we enjoyed some heidelbeer gluhwein.  Heidelbeer doesn’t exactly translate to something in the U.S.; it seems to basically be a European blueberry.  James and I ended up liking this a lot.  You could really taste the fruit.  I think this could be great with blueberry wine, strawberry wine, or any wine your grandmother would probably be really into.  I’m looking at you Manischewitz.

12.17_meat 5

If you are over hot wine, why not try a . . .

Hot Coconut

We got this on our trip to Tollwood.  I’m not translating here.  We literally ordered the “hot coconut.”  It was served in a half coconut bowl that I forgot to take a picture of.  I’m pretty sure it was just rum and coconut milk heated.  I’ve tried googling to confirm, but all sorts of delicious and more complicated recipes come up.  These sound pretty incredible if you have the time and inclination, but I’m pretty sure hot run and coconut milk together would be a simple win.

I would NOT, however, recommend that you try . . .

Gluhbier

That’s right.  I tried hot beer.  The descriptions sounded amazing.  Beer with additions of vanilla and caramel flavors.  Beer with orange.  James and I both got a different flavor.

Yeeaah, it was still hot beer.  It is not something I would recommend.  I like the concept.  Hated the execution.

1.14_drinks 4

We also tried the Stachelbier.  For this one, they put a hot poker into a cold beer, with the goal of creating hot foam.  The point is then to enjoy the hot foam with cold beer.  It was. . . interesting?  There was definitely hot foam on the beer.  I would not say it created any sort of unique flavor experience, but I’m glad we tried it.

And for the kiddos . . .

Kinderpunsch

That’s right, zee Germans serve a hot punch for kids that looks like they are swigging hot wine along with everyone else.  We only got this once for Henry because it was HOT and there was the mess factor.  Henry can report that he really enjoys french fries dipped in his kinderpunsch.  Also, this is not a hot one, but Henry put a hurting on some apfelschorle, a carbonated apple drink, during the trip.

1.14_drinks 5

Want to elevate your market-inspired drink experience?  Try these authentic market munchies.

Is it super cold where you are?  Do you have any favorite drinks to warm up by the fireside?  Do you have a fireside?  If so, I am definitely jealous!

The city that time forgot

4 Comments

We took advantage of a recent sunny Saturday to visit Civita di Bagnoregio (which I will now refer to as CdB for the remainder of the post).  CdB was a little over an hour from Rome.  You have to drive straight through the town of Bagnoregio to get there.

Check this out.

1_cbr 2

I know.  It’s pretty ridiculous, right?  CdB used to be bigger, but pieces have been falling off the cliffs for centuries.  It is known as il paese che muore or “the town that is dying.”  Now you can only reach the town by bridge.  This means by foot, motorcycle, or Ape are your only choices up.  There is ramp all the way so you could take a stroller or wheelchair if you wanted.  I did not, but we saw people that did.  I can report that an ambitious toddler can walk or run almost all the way up on his own.

1_cbr 20

Before we set off up the bridge, we did a little parking shuffle.  The first pay lot we hit is close to Caffe Belvedere.  (Belvedere seemed to have some nice outdoor seating with a tiny playground nearby.)  But we weren’t there for the food.  We were there for this:

1_cbr 3

And then we realized that we would have to hike down before hiking up again.  We saw some perilous looking stairs.  This was not what the guidebook told us.  James noticed another lot down under the bridge.  We had been directed into the upper lot, but maybe we could try again?  At least we got some great views.

I think they are trying to limit the lower lot to people with mobility issues or bambini, but you could probably just do it.  For this lot, take a right immediately before the parking lot.  It turns out, most people in the upper lot walk on the road to access the city.  I’m not sure if people actually use the stairs.

We parked again (pay lot) and bought tickets for CdB.  Tickets were 1.50 euro for adults.

1_cbr 4

The walk up wasn’t too bad, even while wearing a baby.  The town itself was incredible to see.  Even though it is probably about as old as Volterra and San Gimignano, it felt older.  Stately, but a little crumbly.  The town was also full of cats, an unexpected bonus for Henry.

1_cbr 5

1_cbr 19

Note the daylight behind those windows. A palace used to be there until it fell off in an earthquake.

Note the daylight behind those windows. A palace used to be there until it fell off in an earthquake.

1_cbr 17

This is the main piazza with the church.  The town has a live Nativity scene during the holidays, but it was not happening when we were there.  We did see a large rabbit and chickens in a cage that may or may not have been a part of the scene.

1_cbr 10 1_cbr 9 1_cbr 8 1_cbr 12

We ate at L’Antico Frantoio Bruschetteria, famous for its 1500 year old olive press, which we sat right beside.  The restaurant seemed practically hewn out of the rock.  Seriously, it felt like you were entering a cave.  All in all, it was a decent meal.  We had a prosciutto plate and bruschetta.  It was just cold.  So very cold.  Not the food, the restaurant. The unremarkable quarter liter of red wine we got was colder than most white wines you find.  I only realized on the way out that they were cooking everything on a very small open fire at the front.

1_cbr 14

When we emerged, the sky was grayer and moodier.  We poked around a little more and then started the trek back to the car.  We blew up nap time, which the kids made us pay for over the next few days.  But I would definitely call this a town that was worth it.

1_cbr 15 1_cbr 7 1_cbr 6 1_cbr 1

Happy weekend everyone!

Our Christmas in Italy

11 Comments

This was our first Christmas in Italy.  Our first Christmas away from family.  We missed everyone very much, but we did have some fun here.

Henry and I made a pomander.  One of his new Christmas books talks about making one, and I thought it could be a fun craft to do together.  I was wrong.  Stabbing those cloves in was hard for me.  There was no way Henry could do it.  Martha’s it is not, but at least it looked a little better than my usual Pinterest fails.

1.5_xmas

This pomander is now in the rubbish. I don’t really get how you are supposed to keep this in your sock drawer and not have it mold.

We visited an exhibition on Nativity Scenes near Piazza del Popolo.   There were sets from around the world, which reminded me of the (free!) display at the Mormon Temple outside DC, elaborate sets made in Italy, which seemed to feature Jesus nestled in your local town amongst the trattorias, and sets made of unconventional materials, which included sets made from shoe horns and various types of pasta.  It was pretty impressive.  Only mildly extremely crowded.  Henry enjoyed it.  Sadly, no pictures allowed.

Our building had a very fun and awesome holiday house crawl.  I love that it feels like college here sometimes when you could just go see people without leaving the building.  On the crawl, I discovered the “Dirty Girl Scout” which is now one of my new favorite cocktails.  I’m a sucker for peppermint at the holidays.  Or any other time of year really.

I used the opportunity to bust out an awesome gift from my MIL, her own blazer from her own pre-kids era.  This now vintage blazer is so well-made and beautiful that it really deserves more play, but I at least make sure it sees the light for the holidays.  And I promise that if I continue to take mirror selfies, I will find a better pose.  (Yup, still wearing that shirt.)

1.5_xmas 2

We heard that Romans don’t really “do Christmas.”  This seemed strange considering the location, and I thought it was unfair.  Granted, we didn’t see as many lights as in Germany, but most shops put out festive garlands and lights.

1.5_xmas 7

1.5_xmas 8

Downtown had tons of awesome lights.  Via del Corso was lined with lights showing flag from every country, which I’m told is to celebrate the upcoming World’s Fair in Milan.  The tree at Piazza Venezia was ridic.

1.5_xmas 5

James bet I wouldn't put this photo on the internets. It's like he doesn't even know me.

James bet I wouldn’t put this photo on the internets. It’s like he doesn’t even know me.

1.5_xmas 11

The grocery stores also filled up with lots of holiday treats.  There were literally stacks of panettone and pandoro, panettone’s more buttery cousin.  Henry and I had a very Italian moment when we skipped down the street with our carby goodness.

1.5_xmas 3

They were pretty good.  They were even better as french toast.  That’s right, we just can’t stop french toasting leftovers, but I can’t claim credit for the idea this time.

1.5_xmas 9

We were very excited to receive a Christmas dinner invitation from some new friends.  Not cooking was great.  Enjoying delicious food with friends was even better.  James made this cake.  It is easily the best cake he has ever made in his entire life.  I won the no limit hold ’em tournament, a family tradition of theirs.  (This is another tradition I can definitely get behind.)

1.5_xmas 12

We had our first visitors!  Our dear dear friends, who are also the boys’ godparents, came for three jam-packed days.  We rode bikes at Borghese–which will almost certainly be more enjoyable when the cold wind isn’t blowing in your face, ate pasta, and enjoyed catching up.  It was very special to see them and it means a lot that they made the trip.

The boys have some exciting new toys.  Henry is in car heaven.  Mac has new things to chew on, which is pretty much his jam.  We have some very wonderful family and friends, who not only sent things halfway across the world but wrapped them as well!  I’m beyond touched and can’t thank them enough.

1.5_xmas 10

That’s right. BE jealous of our Christmas jammies.

It was a full and fun festive season.  How about you?  I hope you enjoyed all of your holidays!