Napoli!

When you're walking up after a night of having only 3 hours of sleep because you had a P. Diddy "White" Rooftop Party with Sangria the night before, don't hesitate or think twice about it...get on the early train to Naples for a day trip. It will be worth it. I promise.

"Don't go to Naples." People say that everything you hate about Rome is heightened in Naples, about a 3 hour train ride from Rome. It's dirtier, busier, more dangerous. It is the most densely populated city in Italy. Well, after living in Rome for two months, I can handle anything! Bring it on! Being prepared with the lowest expectations certainly helps but how can you hate the birthplace of pizza? Come on!

Four Reasons Why You Should Go To Naples
1. To Eat Sfogliatelle.If you've never had sfogliatelle before, you don't know what you're missing. Naples is known for it. It's a shell shaped pastry whose name means "many leaves" because the thin, flakey layers resemble leaves stuck together. It's filled with a sweet ricotta filling and, in Naples, it has a hint of an orange flavor with tiny candied bits of orange inside. Listen to Rick Steves for once and go to Scaturchio.
2. To see the Gesù Nuovo Church.
At the Church of the "New Jesus" you'll see this on the outside......and then this on the inside...You would never guess that something so beautiful would be found inside such a harsh exterior.Famous in Napoli is St. Giuseppe Moscati. He was a doctor in Naples who died in 1927 and is known for performing miracles. There is a statue of him within the church where a line forms behind, as people wait to touch his hand while saying prayers regarding illness of a loved one. In one of the chapels, there are thousands of plaques dedicated to the miracles of St. Giuseppe Moscati. Each is framed with a red background and containing a photograph of the person and a metal carving of the physical body part to which the miracle pertained to.
3. To Walk Along The Coast.See all of the boats that will make you think of your dad's sailboat back home or take note of the teenagers tanning on the rocks of the jetty. Seeing this was like an oasis coming from the crowded streets.And finally...
4. To Eat Pizza!Go to the hole in the wall "restaurant" called Da Michele. If you can't find it, ask the woman on the street who knows exactly where you're talking about because she's going there for dinner in an hour. She will even walk to you the precise location (several blocks past where you had already walked)! At Da Michele's there's only two kinds of pizza on the menu: Marinara and Margherita. You watch them make the pizza in the tiny room that you waited almost an hour for the little old lady to mop and you'll also watch the entire staff (all 4 of them) drink their "pre-dinner shift" expresso's BUT before you know it, you're eating the most delicious giant pizza. Thicker crust than Rome and tastes more like New York. Make friends with the single female traveler at the table next to you who will tell you that this is the pizza place that Elizabeth Gilbert talks about in Eat, Pray, Love.You can be back to Rome by 9 with a full stomach after a surprisingly relaxing day in the craziest city in Italy!

Signs

On the door outside a bar in Trastevere...
No Fighting. Peace Yes.

Michael Jackson Tribute CANCELLED

Rest in Peace, Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)

Today in Rome there was supposed to be a Michael Jackson Tribute Concert at the Olympic Stadium but because of poor ticket sales, they had to cancel it. The lineup included famous musician artists such as Akon, Dionne Warwick, Joss stone, Missy Elliott, and Tito Jackson. Ticket masters were shocked by low sales because apparently Italians were completely obsessed with the film "This is It" and they thought that a tribute concert for the late MJ would easily sell out the stadium. We were going to buy our tickets for the concert on the day it was cancelled. Go figure.

Italians sure do love Michael, though. Here's some MJ I've seen while I've been here in Rome:
What's your favorite MJ song? You don't have to be a huge fan but come on, admit that you have a favorite!

How can you NOT want to dance when you hear..."Hey pretty baby with the high heels on!"

Cheers!

How to Toast in Italy
Take your glass, hold it up and say “Salute!” (pronounced SA-LOO-TAY) In Italian this means: “To your health!”

(“Salute” is also something that is said when someone sneezes. But as a young Roman stranger once told me, it is something you can only say to close friends. So when you are in Rome and someone sneezes, be silent and don’t wish them good health!)

When your glass touches your company’s glass you can say excitedly, “Ching, ching!” But make sure you make eye contact! Because as my Italian roommate said, “If you don’t look in the eye..seven years BAD SEX!”

Gloss Wine Bar is a tiny joint on a hidden street and you won't know it's there unless you're looking for it. Just a small room with a bar, a few seats available but the thing to do is go outside on the street and enjoy your glass of wine. (Drinking out on the streets is thee thing to do.) I sampled a couple of sweet biancos from the older woman behind the bar before settling on Müller-Thurgau. This bar is perfect for people getting off work on a Friday afternoon and are in need of a cheap but high quality glass of wine. The atmosphere is so laid back and I felt like I was just invited over to an Italian family's place for a nice glass of wine.
I found The Bench Bar & Grill's Italian equivalent when I stumbled into Open: Baladin. There are over 40 beers on tap (alla spina) of Italian artisanal beers and another 100 different kinds in bottles (in bottiglia). They were happy to let me sample a few different kinds, including an Italy Blue Moon twin called, "Nuova Luna." The Brune stout was splendid. They also have imported beers and I got the chance to say hello to my good friend Mr. Brooklyn Lager. Mi piace la buona birra! I like the good beer! As for food, the cheeseburger that I saw them serve looked out of this world. In August, they are opening a bar in NYC and the same Italian beer will be available for thirsty New Yorkers.

Festival of Flowers

Every year in the nearby small medieval town of Genzano, the annual Infiorata takes place. For this "Festival of Flowers" a whole street is beautifully carpeted with an elaborate display of flowers in honor of the Catholic holiday of Corpus Christus. Each festival has a theme where different artists are invited to recreate masterpieces using only flower petals and other natural materials such as seeds and soils. Past themes have included the colors of Michelangelo and the designs of Bernini but the theme this year was the work of the Italian artist Caravaggio ("The most famous painter in Rome"), in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the artist's death. Despite the difficult Baroque aspects of dark shadows, the artists made wonderful translations of Caravaggio's paintings. Still a mystery is how they get the flowers to stay in place, although there was a man spraying water from a hose in order to keep the petals from drying out, perhaps also weighing them down.Along the side streets are art galleries and other art show displays. There are food stands around every corner where you can sample cannoli, formaggi, or roasted corn, have tastings of wine from the local regions or stop into the local gelaterias for some gelato.
And on the subject of flowers...
Reasons why you should become friendly with the sweet Bangledesh man who owns the beautiful flower stand outside your apartment: Free flowers on your walk home every night!

Funny Fotos!

Reasons why you should shake out your towel before trying to hang it on the clothes line outside your window: Your underwear will be lost forever to your downstairs neighbors.
At the bookstore, you can clearly see what is important and what is NOT important to the Italians by looking to see what they offer as free.
Who needs clothes when playing football?

Saint of the Impossible

Exploring my apartment last month, I found this "Italian Still Life." An empty box of Peroni and this statuette.
Meet Santa Rita.
Patron Saint of the Italian region of Umbria, Saint Rita is famous here in Rome.

Her story goes like this: When she was on her deathbed, her cousin visited her at the convent and asked her if she wanted anything from her home. Rita responded that all she wanted was a rose. Her cousin returned to Umbria, where it was January and snowing, knowing that it was impossible to find a rose. But when she went to the garden, she found a single blooming rose. The rose bush still exists today in Umbria.

That is why...Saint Rita is the patron saint of impossible or lost causes. She is also the Patron saint of loneliness, baseball, illness, difficult marriages, and infertility.

And no, she does not have a red dot on her forehead because she is secretly Hindu. One day Santa Rita asked God to have her suffer like Christ suffered. At that very moment, a thorn from a cruxifixtion of Christ, fell and landed on her forehead leaving her with a permanant scar. (A little "Ask and you shall receive!")And so, after hearing this story...I stumbled into the nearest gift shop and said to the shopkeeper, "Ho bisogno di Santa Rita!" I need Santa Rita! Now, as I wander around Rome, my own personal Saint Rita comes with me, reminding me that, "Impossible is nothing."

So, the next time you're presented with a task that seems impossible, ask for Santa Rita's help and you just might get the help that you're looking for.

The World Cup!

The 2010 World Cup kicked off strong in Rome on Friday June 11th. Although the first match with Italy against Paraguay is not until Monday, that does not stop the Italians from watching their favorite sport of Football. Venues all over the city cater to crazed football fans. One of these is the International FIFA Fan Fest, a festival also taking place in Berlin, Paris, Mexico City, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro. Set up in Villa Borghese and free to the public, there is a giant screen playing each of the World Cup games. An open area for sitting on the ground but also stadium rows with individual seating complete bars for purchasing beers and wine, restaurants for some game-time grub. But why not "Do as the Romans Do" and bring your own!(The group sitting in front of us brought an entire suitcase filled with a variety of beverages!) Face-painting for diehard fans is available. Sony had a building set up to preview their new 3D televisions, "Sony Global." With 3D glasses, watching the football game on a flatscreen TV was quite the experience. Maybe a little too intense for everyday cable.
More Rome World Cup updates to come!

But! My question to you is this:
Why is it that Americans aren't into soccer as much as the rest of the world?

And while watching the game, don't forget to wear your lucky World Cup boxers!

David Lebovitz

Once upon a time (or last summer), I read a book called "The Sweet Life in Paris," a memoir of an American living in Paris. It was enough to convince me that I did not belong in Paris for a long period of time. I could never hack it with the Parisians! Fashionistas who are fast-paced, hard around the edges, notorious for not liking Americans- they would eat me alive.

Still, I became a fan of the author David Lebovitz. His resume is impressive-an extremely experienced pastry chef, author of several dessert cookbooks, and appearances in countless magazines and on television. I'll never forget turning to "Bizarre Foods" on the Travel Channel and seeing him show Andrew Zimmern how to make bacon and eggs ice cream. (Yeah, I know...sounds disgusting. But it looked GOOD!) So when I heard he was coming to Rome to run a series of "Gelato Tours" and to promote his new book, Ready for Dessert, I knew I had to go meet him.

I looked online to find the location where he would be having his book signing, but what I really found was that it was only until 8pm. My clock read 8:01. So there I go, sprinting through the middle of Viale di Trastevere trying to catch the tram at each stop, only to have the doors close on me each time. After the 3rd time, I just keep running. Convinced I'm too late, I finally stumble into what was more like a private party than a book signing. I was expecting David to be sitting there in a bookstore, similar to Giada de Laurentiis' book signing at the Border's back in March. I instead found myself in a small, quant courtyard with about 15 people all in the middle of conversations. I certainly felt like I did not belong there. In my lateness, there weren't even any more books. BUT! There WAS wine, cheese, and of course, desserts- an array of cookies from a bakery in Trastevere. Rosé, pizza bianca, ginger cookies, and David Lebovitz.I introduce myself and awkwardly tell him I'm a fan. We talk for a little bit. One of the first things he asks me is if I have an Italian boyfriend. (Is that so crazy for an American to be living in Rome and NOT be interested in finding an Italian to marry?!) He talks of Paris and how the women there don't smile because they want people to fear them. Which makes me afraid to go to Paris. There were so many things I wanted to ask him about his life and his books and food but it just simply wasn't the time and place for that. I respect his strict "No Flash" rule when I ask to take a picture, which turns into us playing with flash functions on our cameras. Of course, he takes a picture of my hideous flip-flops (my Rome fashion "faux pas") and my tired feet. He's right. Flash is NO good.The moral of the story is that I will be purchasing my copy of David's book online. I didn't get it signed, but I did get to meet Mr. Lebovitz and gained some advice. Life advice from David Lebovitz: Wear sunscreen. Don't quit your day job.

Said to the girl who is apple red from the sun and HAS no day job. I guess there's always gelato!

Parks In Rome

Last weekend: Museums. This weekend: Parks!

Villa Ada
Located at the northeast area of Rome, this is the largest park. Less touristy than the park at Villa Borghese which is easiest to get to and closer to the center. This park was oriented around sports and physical activities. Running, biking, football playing, volleyball, which got me thinking, "Are you crazy!? Do you not feel how HOT it is outside?!" There were several fitness stations set up where young Italian men showed off their muscles by doing pull-ups. Tempted to try the monkey bars, I realized this would only end in injury. (The exercising part of my life is on a hiatus.) Not found at this park: concession stands! There were no places to buy something to cool you off. Villa Ada made me feel lazy and want to get on a bike! Next time, Callie, AT LEAST pack a picnic.
Villa Doria Pamphili
Walking through the grass of these fields, I thought, "I think I might be in Heaven now." Rome's Refuge. With more of a leisure atmosphere, it was quiet and I couldn't believe that somewhere so peaceful could be so close to the craziness of the city. Get a blanket and just lay underneath the shade of one of the giant trees. One section of the park was like a party that I felt I hadn't been invited to! On a Sunday afternoon with everyone off from work, families congregated underneath the trees with drinks and food. Little bambini running all over the place playing! This park made me crave my family more than ever. (The Brennan family could have thrown one mean party in this park!) I did seriously consider simply joining one of the other families because they certainly all seemed friendly enough. Next time, Callie, don't forget to bring a sheet. (Don't think you can get away with just laying on the ground. There are these things that exist called ants.) There was also a yoga festival going on that weekend, with tents set up everywhere and different activities planned. No, I did not participate.