Will he knock

This afternoon, I heard a knock on our apartment door. Charlie, dead asleep upon his return from Crete, certainly wasn’t going to answer it, so I did. Our neighbor-cleaner’s boyfriend Federico was at the door with a big, heavy package. He looked at my surprised and asked, “Were you expecting a delivery?” No, of course now. Who even knows my physical address (ok, it’s at the bottom of most of my emails). But who even … more

A new chemical reaction

Mix one part Prosecco Valdobbiadene, a beautiful light, dry, effervescent Prosecco, with one part pepato (pecorino cheese with peppercorns); swish softly; and wait patiently but not long at all, the Prosecco molecules will meet those of the pepato in a quite remarkable holy explosion of flavor. Really, why would one ever both with brie and chardonnay? (For future reference, I am reminded to click here for a delicious brand of Presecco. And we’ve been buying the pepato at … more

I Cappuccini

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I Cappuccini

A perfect day

Hung out in the morning and worked. At 2 pm Charlie and I walked along the Tiber and through the Jewish Ghetto to the Pantheon, about 40 minutes away, with a stop for a prosciutto sandwich. We hung out at the Pantheon for a bit, found a great gelateria where Charlie enjoyed – really enjoyed – a dark chocolate gelato. We then walked back home with a lovely detour through Campo di Fiori and a … more

Roman Restaurants and Food

Rome restaurants (DeLapa reviews) Top picks Da Bucatino – Marcello and I enjoyed a wonderful meal there last night, probably the best Italian food yet. We started with carciofi alla Romana, with the artichoke smashed flat — delicious. We split a pici con pancetta pecorino e carciofi and grilled swordfish, and a carafe of unsurprisingly mediocre red house wine. After paying the bill, our waitress, who reminded me of my aunts in their somewhat younger days, … more

Rome, Italy Adventure Notes

Adventure List Andrea Baldi’s Favorite Experiences Walk through the center of Rome, everywhere. Have lunch at “da Tonino“: no reservations, tiny, crowded, steaming, cheap and authentic Roman cuisine in one of the nicest street of the center. Climb up the stairs to reach Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio (statue of Marco Aurelio), visit the Museo Capitolino if you have time, then facing the statue, walk for 100 m up the street to your right to Palazzo Caffarelli, … more

A post I would really, really prefer not to write

But I will because I’m committed to document our entire adventure, good and bad. And today was bad, very very bad. But not as bad as it might have been. Charlie and I got in a car accident. Thankfully no one – not us, nor anyone else – was hurt, but our car was totaled. Here’s what happened. We were driving north west on the Malecon about 1:30 pm, looking for an Oxxo store where … more