Southern Italy 2008 Part 3

Day 4: We leave Palermo today. On our way out of the city, there is a seaside resort, Mondello, on the Mediterranean side of Palermo. Mental note to check out or recommend, it looks interesting.

We are on our way, driving along the Sicilian Coast to Agrigento. We stopped at a Cantine Mothia vineyard in Marsala and tasted several wines. As Americans, we basically use Marsala wine for cooking but I never realized that there are also red & white Marsala wines for drinking with dolcetti (desserts). From there we headed on to---what else?---LUNCH!!! We were along the Trapani coastline by now. We were in an area where tuna is indigenous to the area. We stopped at a wonderful restaurant, Eubes. Along with the antipasti, we had pasta and tuna with fennel, then bread-crumbed tuna fillets. Dessert was a sweet granita with Macarpone. And of course, Lemoncello! After meeting the owner & her two sons and telling her how wonderful our meal was, we took a slight walk around the area.

We arrived in Agrigento in the late afternoon at our hotel, The Colleverde Park Hotel. The service was very good. The gardens in the park behind the hotel were relaxing. They offered breathtaking views of the Valley of the Temples. They also offered free internet in the lobby to check our email. Our room was large with 2 large beds & the bathroom was large but not very well lit. The breakfast went beyond a continental breakfast & again the service was very good.

For dinner that night, we ventured down the hill from the hotel to a wine bar called Spizzulio. Since our small group eventually ended up there--even our bus driver, Liborio, & Jane were there. The owner who was not a cook, but a sommelier offered us dinner if we stayed. He saw how hungry we were. It took a long time and we discovered why........he was in the back making home-made pasta!!! We had such a memorable night as it almost reminded me of the movie ”The Big Night”. Ed found a guitar and strummed to the music. The food kept coming as it was only the owner and his waitress, who was a wreck since she never served food before. After we won their hearts, they sent with us away with a goodbye “Lemoncello”. It was a great way to end the night & our short stay in Agrigento! I would really recommend this hotel. It had good service, nice buffet breakfast and it had an amosphere of gardens delight. And Spizzulio is just down the hill.

A Charm City Afternoon

Although I love to travel, internationally, to me traveling to the all so different neighborhoods of Baltimore can be a joyful way to spend the day. I guess Baltimore got it's nickname "Charm City" from the people who live here. Moi included??? :-)

Baltimore has the most diverse population divided by neighborhoods. We all adore our own John Waters, love big hair & the "Oldies", most of us are "Hon's" in our own right. We work hard, use art to beat the stress , knit & blog!

We spent Sunday afternoon walking Hampden ("Honsville") where we always enjoy our favorite haunts on the Avenue. Love the knitting store called "Lovely Yarns". A really cheerful and artistic group is usually sitting around knitting. A small space full of energy & creativity. I always enjoy going through "The Red Tree". They have really unusual home furnishings and odds and ends. We purchased a really cool book called "Where Women Create". Then I can't miss "Mud and Metal" where everything is created by such artful people. A great place for gift givers. I have a hard time getting Nikki out of "Atomic Books" - a J.W. favorite! They have an eclectic book selection as well as some music and nifty cards and postcards.

After all of this lurking, the hunger pains take us to one of our favorite cafe's:

• Rocket To Venus - (around the corner) Best Sunday Brunch / Home of the Wimpy's
  
• Holy Frijoles - a really good Tex Mex
  
• Cafe Hon - An Avenue favorite
  
• Grano -Gino Troia goes back to his roots
  
• The Golden West Cafe - great home cooked diner food (second to "Paper Moon" which is off the beaten path.

Take a Sunday or weekday afternoon stroll down the Avenue, Hon!

Missing Roma!

While waiting for Nikki to edit Southern Italy Part 3 & 4, I thought that I would send a few thoughts about how I have this need to embrace my Italian heritage but my eating habits in Italy are horrendous. Thank goodness, it doesn't effect my wine drinking habits!!

My mom's parents Francesca Forte and Alphonso Lantieri were from Valguineri Caropepe in the farm hills beyond Enna. We did get to drive by the area and had my pix taken in front of the area sign! My father was born outside of Budapest so this may explain my Bohemian passion for my life of life!

How can anyone be half Italian & raised very Italian but not like to eat tomatoes, onions, peppers, ricotta cheese etc? I am asked that question all the time. I am a cheap date. When my friends have me over for dinner, just plain pasta please!

So as you can see, eating in Italy is not that easy for me. When in Italy, I seem to eat my prima pasta plate with aglio e olio (olive oil & garlic) every other day. But when we were in Rome we had lunch in Trastevere at Trattoria Mario. Our friend Charlie wanted to eat there & he suggested that I try Pasta Cacio e Pepe which is a nice change but straying not too far from my old faithful pasta. I thought that I would share this recipe with you!

Cacio e Pepe

Cook your pasta al dente (I prefer 1 lb.of #8 or rigatoni), save 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
After draining, add 1 cup Pecorino cheese & 1-2 TBsp freshly ground pepper.
Slowly add your water to mix. - Some people add a swirl of olive oil.

DO NOT use fresh pasta. It's quick and easy & perfect with a nice salad and Quatro Mani red wine!

Try it as it is surprising flavorful.

Southern Italy 2008 Part 2

Day 3: We had an early morning tour of Palermo & Monreale. Jane was our fabulous tour guide for the entire trip. She said that we were the only group she's had in all her years of touring, who enjoyed sleeping in! She's an expat from England who came to Italy for love. She's mostly Italian in nature now, except for her British penchant for early mornings and punctuality.

We toured Palermo which I must say that I always thought of as a layover city. This is the first time that we spent more than one night in Palermo. We really enjoyed our visit. The restaurants were excellent and shopping was fun although the euro was a killer! You must spend 2-3 nights there to experience the city.

Our guide, Roberta, took us around Palermo & Monreale. She was into religious history, but thankfully had a wonderful sense of humor. Monreale is a small mountain community about 15 or 20 minutes outside of Palermo.

Later we drove along the Tyrrhenian Sea to spent several hours in Cefalu. A few of us found a little café in which we had Panini sandwiches and wine. Afterwards we walked across the way for a refreshing gelato, mine being pistachio and nocciola.

Coming back into Palermo we got caught in a major traffic snag. Of all things, it was largely due to the fact that of the 8 lanes on hand----only 2 could be used!!! The rest were filled with cars parked all over the place while they ran in for their midday gelato---and it wasn't even that hot out!!!

On our return to Palermo, Fabio had prepared some antipasti for us to enjoy before dinner. He introduced us to caperberries. These are not to be confused with capers. Caperberries were not as tart and pickled as capers. We had dinner with more antipasto-- oh, my! Of course we were hooked on a Sicilian white, thanks to Fabio, bianco d'alcamo. One really interesting dish we had was pumpkin chunks that were marinated in roasted garlic and vinegar. By day 2, we were ceci fritter addicts. I know when we go home that chickpea flour will go on the grocery list. I hope we can find caperberries somewhere.

Southern Italy -2008 Part 1

We took a small group of 18 and had a delightful journey together. Our group blended well. Occasionally we all had some free independent time. It was not a slow journey, we were constantly on the go --- so we did get to see much of this spectacular region.

Day 1: We left Dulles International Airport for a non stop flight to Rome via United Airlines. The flight was smooth, the seats were awfully close together and both my husband and myself had front seat mates who decided to recline and almost be in our laps. We had to ask them to please put their seats up so we could use the restrooms, move about the cabin on the 8 hour flight. I watched “No Country for Old Men” and “Elizabeth, The Queen”.

Day 2: We arrived in Rome close to 8 AM and had a 4 hour layover until our flight to Palermo. The layover really drained us. We celebrated arriving at the airport with our first espresso, "un cafe," of the trip. We went against my own rule and upon settling in our hotel, we took a siesta. And that was without some Prosecco!

In Palermo, we stayed in the Grand Alberge Sole which was in a great central location. We were given a large, clean room, very warm tones. It even included a lovely teapot with teabags etc. The room had a view overlooking the central city church. My bathroom had a Jacuzzi tub. I enjoyed the personal service from check in to check out. We had a wonderful time meeting before and after dinner in the upstairs bar. Fabio, our bartender went out of his way to make our evenings enjoyable with everything from nuts, figs to cheeses and an assortment of appetizers. He wanted to enjoy what was typically Sicilian in flavor.

Matteo, from the reception desk suggested that we dine at Le Delizie di Cagliostra and it was delightful. We had a 4 course dinner at $35 euros per person. The dinner started with sautéed eggplant (yum!), rice balls stuffed with spinach and cheese in marinara sauce, Pasta al' oglia with eggplant, veal picatta & roasted small potatoes, and for dessert, canolli & cassata. We also had fizzy & natural water, bianco d'alcamo & nero d'avola bottled wine, and café. Of course we were served Limoncello afterwards. It was a wonderful first night in Sicily!

LA LAW

Book: Living in a Foreign Language

I just finished reading this book and could not believe how many memories it brought back! I kept thinking, "that happened to us too" or "we had conversations like that too". It was a book about a new life, love of food and interesting new relationships. I almost didn't want it to end. When I really enjoy a book, I usually will not finish the last few chapters for a few days as to me, it is like losing old friends. Michael Tucker and his wife, Jill Eikenberry, former TV stars from L.A. LAW, bought an older "rustico" in Umbria and this is Michael's funny and realistic story! I highly recommend this for any one who has dreamed of buying a place in Italy. I think I partically enjoyed this book because we always say that we love to eat and drink our way through Italy.

Soon, we will post our journal from our March 2008 travels to Southern Italy!