I'm Marrying Dan Brown's Italian Cousin

That's right folks! A little shameless plug for my soon-to-be husband's book, Il Culto del Graal, which has just come off the presses and is now for sale. It's currently only in Italian but if I get around to it one of these days, I'd love to translate it into English, because whenever he talks to English speakers about the book, they get really excited and say they want to read it.

Basically, Ale has written a book based on prior historical research and facts, along with his own original research, putting things together to propose new ideas about the "cult" surrounding the holy grail during the time of the Templar Knights. You may remember when we went to Naples to get a photo for the cover.

Ale knew of a small church in a small town in the small middle of almost nowhere, called Bominaco. Don't get me wrong...it's a beautiful place. And the church, Ale discovered, just so happens to have the most symbols in one place relating to the holy grail and the Templar Knights than pretty much any other church of its kind in Europe. Intrigued by this, Ale started his research and made so many discoveries that there was enough for a book.

Strangely enough, in the period when he was writing this book, serendipitous events continued to happen one after the other. An example? We went to Paris last July to visit some friends who planned to take us on a day trip outside of the city. Turned out that the freeways were backed up and there was no way we could get to where we were supposed to go, so in last-minute desperation our hosts decided to take us to another place they knew. This place was Chartes, where there is an extremely important cathedral with symbolism that was valuable for Ale's manuscript, and there he found a piece that was missing in the overall puzzle of his work.

Another example: when Ale was called unexpectedly this summer to work on the movie set, the place they were filming, Trani, just so happened to have an important Templar Knights church with original examples of the symbolism Ale was researching for the book.

In making connections through various discoveries, Ale proposes an original theory as to the story surrounding why Pope Celestine V abdicated the papacy, conjecturing that he in fact had extremely close ties with the Templar Knights and this would have created serious problems for the Church. Celestine V is a leading figure in the book, and to this day remains an enigmatic figure within the Church. In fact, after he abdicated he was imprisoned by his successor, Boniface VII, and eventually died in prison. Ale even has a theory as to why there was a hole found in Celestine's skull, and it's not the typical historian's theory of him being murdered by Boniface.

On this note regarding the Church, Ale did try to consult the infamous "secret Vatican archives" for his work, but of course received no response. He was able to get in contact with another author who told him that it was impossible to try, that they don't grant access for research on these topics. So he instead worked like a detective, using all the original symbolism left behind by the actual Knights, to come up with his discoveries and theories.

It would be impossible here to go into everything presented in his book, which, by the way, is not a Dan Brown-style fiction novel but rather a quite readable non-fiction text that raises interesting questions surrounding the mystery of the actual Holy Grail (what was it? where was it? where is it?) but I will tell you one tantalizing tidbit he puts forth.

In very few churches do you find the symbol of a griffin drinking from a chalice. Ale found this symbol in both Bominaco and Chartes. He postulates that in the language of symbolism, this represents, in medieval Latin: CALIX (chalice) GRIFO (griffin).

If you take these two words as an anagram, mixing the letters up, you get GRAL OC FIXI, which in medieval Latin means "I buried the grail here."

Hmm...??

No, we aren't going on any renegade excavations or digs in places where he found this, but there's also the pesky question of a secret room that he believes he has discovered under the church at Bominaco...

Well, until there's an English translation I'll leave you in suspense, but if you speak Italian, by all means I invite you to read the book. It can be purchased directly from the editor at Idee Nuove.

Would You Let This Guy Interview You?

Ragazzi! Did anyone happen to notice an innocuous little comment left in Italian on one of my recent posts? In case not, here it is:

sono lo speaker di una radio Romana,volevo intervistarla.
mi chiamo Emanuele e la mia mail è info@ilblocco.com
il sito.
www.ilblocco.com

i miei più cordiali saluti

Basically it's someone saying he's a DJ on a local radio station and wants to interview me. At first I thought it was a joke or some comment spam, so I checked it out. I looked at his website and it seemed legit, so I went ahead and sent him an email.

He responded, telling me he wanted to interview me in studio, and that he has a radio program here in Rome from 8 am-10 am, the so-called "prime time" of radio. His name is Emanuele Artibani and he hosts a show called Artibar.

I got curious. His show is on Tele Radio Stereo, 92.7. I asked Ale about it, he said it's a famous local station. Boh. I listened to him yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. He's funny, witty, and you can see why they gave him the morning show. Have you ever noticed how radio morning show people have to be funny? I mean, nobody wants to be going to work, so their job is to cheer people up. What a job. I think it would be great. Maybe he'll give me a job as his co-host. I mean, all good morning radio shows have to have both a male and a female counterpart, no?? I could get up early to do that.

Anyway, he's funny, but not in that super over-the-top annoying way I found with a lot of American radio morning shows. No bells and whistles. He just launches some questions and asks his listeners to write in SMS messages to respond, and he reads them on air, commenting and having a sort of conversation in this way with his listeners. And in between there's music. Yesterday he even threw out the idea of having a big dinner here in Rome for all his listeners. It's like a little community...I was hooked.

So yesterday after I spied on his show, I wrote to him telling him I'd be happy to do an interview, but what did he want to talk about? My blog? My experiences in Rome? I told him if he interviewed me, it would only be fair that I interviewed him too for my readers. Take a few pictures of him in the studio, ask how he got to be a Roman radio talk show host (I mean, come on, that can't possibly be easy! Aren't you curious?).

He writes back and tells me he is a big fan of the States (Yay! I love these people! They are hard to find in Europe these days!) and asks me to call him. I was busy so didn't call. But I turned the show on again this morning, and...

that's when I heard him launch an all-points-bulletin to all of his listeners:

"I'm looking for Shelley! She's an American, she has this website. She listened in yesterday. Shelley! If you're listening, send us an SMS! We want to talk to you! If anyone out there knows Shelley, call us!"

Laughing out loud. He basically did this throughout the entire morning show this morning.

"Shelley! My American almost-friend! Where are you? If you're out there, call! We want to talk to you!"

He reinvented the pronounciation of Shelley, but we'll forgive him for that, won't we? I'm leaving his listeners in suspense until I hear from you guys. It's only fair that he gives US an interview too, right?

Sulmona: Land of Candy-Coated Almonds

My dear readers, I must warn you that we are going into the home stretch as far as my wedding is concerned, so my posts will most likely be tapering off a bit in the upcoming weeks. In keeping with the wedding theme though, let's dive into an Italian wedding tradition and go directly to the place where it all happens.

Something I find almost uniquely Italian is this tradition of giving out candy-coated (jordan) almonds, called confetti, at celebrations like baptisms (pink or blue), first communions (white), graduation (red) and weddings (white). And people, let me just tell you that the Italians have some hard and fast rules and regulations regarding these things, some of which, as you will see, I was not informed of prior to embarking on my trip down confetti lane.

When I talk about rules and regulations, what I'm mainly referring to are some almost unspoken social expectations and traditions. Certain ways of doing things that many Italians will always look for and notice, but probably would never admit they actually care about and won't necessarily come right out and say you "have to" do. It's eternally frustrating for me, not only as an annoying perfectionist, but also as a foreigner in this country wanting to do things the "right" way. I'm wearily happy to say that I've reached a point now where I realize I won't ever do everything perfectly as expected, so I'm throwing my hands up and saying "Basta! Sono americana!" Enough! I'm American. I can't help it.

For example: you can't just go to any store and buy confetti. Oh, no siree. The "good" confetti for weddings (hence, the ones your guests will undoubtedly look for and expect) come from a small town called Sulmona, located in Abruzzo, almost right in the middle of the "boot" of Italy. Luckily this is one thing I already knew, so won't be making any brutte figure in that area. You can buy Sulmona confetti in other towns, but they cost a lot more than if you buy them directly in Sulmona.

Since Ale and I have lots of ties to Abruzzo, we go there often enough to have been able to stop by Sulmona directly to buy our confetti. Many brides will have the factory make up the "bomboniere" (favors) for them, but I was looking to do something a bit more personalized as well as save some money, so I bought little containers in the States when I was back visiting, brought them over, and decided to make my own.

Confetti don't come cheap: the plain white candy-coated almonds cost approximately €20 per kilo (in Sulmona directly) and I think you get about 200 per kilo. That's about 10 cents per almond. Egad!

We got our confetti from Pelino, probably the most famous of all the factories. Who knew, they even have an exclusive US distributor. I asked the shop owner for some small labels (I have to be able to prove where they come from, no?) for making my bomboniere, and once I got home I started filling my little containers. Each container was big enough for 8 confetti, so naturally, that's how many I put in.

Please raise your hand if you have already noticed my GRAVE ERROR.

No? Well, you see, I'm learning too. After I mentioned to some of my friends about how I made my own, and how I put 8 in each container, they looked at me funny and said that was weird. Why? Because you're only supposed to put FIVE in each. Why? They don't know. "Well, if you don't put five, Shelley, you at least have to make it an odd number." Why? They don't know. Then they see my look of desperation and bride-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown look and sympathetically say, "But no one really cares."

Me: "Well, if no one cares, why did you tell me?"

Them: "Well, actually, no one usually opens them until after they leave. So don't worry, because once they see there are 8 instead of 5, you won't even be around for the reaction, so who cares, right?"

Me: "Um. Thanks. I think." (Cut to single tear slowly dripping down cheek, with sad violin playing.)

I, being the curious and stubborn creature I am, decided that "boh" (who knows) wasn't a good enough answer for this whole "five" concept, so I did some research and I am now able to reveal the secret of why it's 5. Five, or in any case an odd number, is INDIVISIBLE, as should be any good marriage. Get it? Well now, isn't that just charming!? I know.

I'm hereby changing the rules and now declare that 8, being an even number, brings harmony and, oh, why not, let's throw in lots of children, too. Because there's no way I'm going back to untie and re-tie ribbon on nearly 120 containers. Although I will admit that the perfectionist in me is almost tempted.

Upon further research, I have learned that baptisms and first communions merit 3 confetti, but 5 is also permissable. I'm not motivated enough to find out the why on this one. Not sure how many you get when you graduate, but please do make sure they are red, tied with red ribbon, and in a bag with the appropriate color of your major. Yes, that's right. Who knew each major had its own color?

Oh, Italians and their traditions. Numbers. Social graces dictating behavior. Once I went to a first communion lunch and saw an empty place setting. When I asked who wasn't able to make it, they told me everyone had come and that was just the "18th place." What? Well, there were 17 people at the table, so they had to add an 18th place because you can't have 17 at a table together: "porta sfortuna, porta male." It's bad luck, you see. And just in case you're curious: no, they didn't bring food to the imaginary 18th person, although I would have been amused to no end had they done so.

Well folks, God only knows what might possibly happen to me, and my future marriage, with 8 confetti instead of 5. Please pray for me.

Back to our main topic though, confetti themselves. Mine are in a simple container, but typical styles include flowers and birds. Hey, I'm not going to lie to you. This stuff can get molto gaudy, as evidenced by this rather enchanting species of red-nylon confetti peacock:

Come on now, you know you want to take him home with you!

Flowers are probably the most typical. When I approached this shop, at first I thought it was a real florist:

But only on closer inspection did I realize that these were, in fact, confetti flowers:

If you're keeping score, there are 7 (ie, odd number) confetti. I don't think the ladybug counts.

Sunflowers, anyone?

Something I find entirely charming about Sulmona is that most confetti shops and packaging haven't seemed to change since about 1900. Many shop signs and packaging have a beautiful art nouveau look and feel to them (think the "Metro" signs for the Paris subway):

It's hard to make out, but this sign reads: "La Più Antica Fabbrica di Confetti" -- the oldest confetti factory.



All in all, I'm happy to report that my confetti mission is now complete, and I will forge ahead with my 8 confetti per person containers. I know, I'll be the talk of Rome for ages to come for this brash and unusual deviant behavior, but I'm willing to take the heat.

The Limoncello is Brewing...

We finally ended up picking the lemons and now the limoncello is under construction. If you've been to Rome or especially the Amalfi Coast, and you like a little after-dinner digestivo (to help you digest, of course!) then chances are you've tasted the delights of limoncello. It's a lemon-flavored liquor served chilled, and now that we have a couple of little lemon trees, this is the second year we've made some.

It is super easy to make, so if you have lemons around, why not try it?

I call this the "1/2 Limoncello" Recipe

You'll need:

About 10-15 lemons (on the small to medium side)
1/2 kilo (500 g) zucchero (sugar)
1/2 liter acqua (water)
1/2 liter alcool (grain alcohol like Everclear...it has 95% alcohol content, ie 190 proof, no messing around here)
A container to store the limoncello while it's infusing...we're no-frills and are using a metal pasta pot covered with aluminum foil

1) Wash the lemon skins, then peel the skins off with a potato peeler.


2) God only knows what you'll do with the lemons now. You don't need them. You know what they say, when life throws you lemons, make... (sorry, couldn't resist!)

3) Mix the water and alcohol and add the sugar, stirring slowly.

4) Add the lemon peels and cover. Every few days, stir. You can taste it along the way if you want, adding water or sugar if it's too strong. It shouldn't taste super alcoholic, but lemony with a slight alcoholic "bite"--you don't want it too sweet either.

5) Keep this up, stirring briefly every few days or so, for about a month to 40 days. Then, strain the lemon peels and bottle. (Those hermetically-sealed bottles, the ones with the plastic stoppers and rubber rims, will work well, otherwise just use a clean wine bottle and cork it).

5) Chill it and serve in shot glasses. Sip, don't shoot!

Let's say a toast back here in about a month?

Buon weekend and buon limoncello-making!

Spring Has Almost Sprung in Trastevere

My other Roman cat, Pavel, was jealous that Betsy got all the attention yesterday, so he wanted to show you his private jungle of cat grass on the roof. Speaking of which, remember when Finny did a complete overhaul of my rooftop? That was back in October. Well, I am happy to report that I have managed to keep *almost* everything alive. Just the two plants that needed hand-watering went to that big greenhouse in the sky. (Sorry! Shame on me.)

Well, I'm sure you've been hearing about Europe's unseasonably warm temps this year, and next-to-no snow. Some bulbs that Finny advised me to just bury in the soil and forget about are already making their appearance. I'd say it's just about starting to feel like spring around here. So I now invite you to sit back and enjoy some shots taken during this afternoon's sunset (chilled glass of white wine helpful, but not necessary):

No, we still haven't picked them for the limoncello. It's on our list of things to do ASAP, maybe even this evening. Remember when they were green?

I love lavender, which we planted in nearly every basket (here in the foreground) and this rosemary plant (thanks, Ash, you're the best!) has just started to bloom with little purple flowers.

A newborn bulb making its way up in the world.

I can't wait until this one is fully in bloom...the scent is heavenly!

Knitting in Rome: Not Just for Le Nonne Anymore

Yes, that's one of my two Roman cats, Betsy, enjoying the spectacle of me cleaning out my knitting basket, which for the past 4 years or so has served as nothing more than an occasional cat bed for her. No, this isn’t a crafting blog and I’m not converting it into one. However, I do knit and for a while I’ve been itching to do a post that combines my love of knitting with my love of Rome. So indulge me, will you, just this once? Or, all you non-knitters out there can join me back on my next post.

Truth of the matter is that should you find yourself living in Rome for any extended period of time, and should you be interesting in knitting during said time, you’re not really too much in luck. Knitting, although popular in the States with twenty/thirty-somethings and up, here in Italy is still seen as a sport only for le nonne, the grannies. Which is fine, unless you are one of those non-granny people of any age who has the urge to knit.

A couple things to know about Rome and knitting:
1) Yarn shops aren't that easy to find.
2) The few shops that I’ve managed to find generally don’t display their yarns like you find in other countries (my personal examples are the US and a shop I visited in Sweden where the yarns and projects are on display for customers to browse). No, here in Rome you probably have to stand in front of a counter to look at yarns displayed on the wall behind, and ask for each individual ball of yarn. Perhaps if you're lucky you can see a sample strand or ball of yarn, but nearly always under very close supervision. Pretty tedious.

I learned how to knit through a class I took when I lived in Phoenix about six years ago. Once I started my life here though, things were so hectic I had no time, and certainly no money, for hobbies. I put away the knitting stash and there it stayed for years, half-finished projects becoming no more than a cozy bed for Betsy (the only one of my two cats still "small" enough to squeeze into the knitting basket). Yes, it's clear from the photo that she was heartbroken by this sudden destruction of one of her many sleeping spots.

Just in case you're wondering what I unearthed in my little operation:

A forlorn sock, the first I ever attempted, whose mate was never completed. And now I can't find the pattern I used for it.

A miniature “sweater for your head” project with lots of cables: I finished the first “sleeve” of the hat and it had four cables which ended up being so incredibly time-consuming for something so tiny that I never started the second sleeve. So now we have the rare prototype of a one-sleeved sweater hat.

While I haven’t gotten around to completing either of these projects, I did make a regular "dumb roll-brim hat" for someone as a Christmas present with some angora yarn I bought in Stockholm. I ran out of it about 3/4 of the way through, and was faced with the dilemma of buying yarn here in Rome to finish the project.

I went to “Lana Gatto,” a beautiful yarn boutique, but I ended up feeling like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when she goes shopping for her fancy-shmancy clothes. There were three severe-looking shop assistants dressed all in black, staring me down as I looked at the yarns. Way too nerve-wracking. I asked for the yarn I needed, tried to browse for a while but eventually just bought my yarn and left. They made me feel so uncomfortable! It’s a shame, because they have a pretty nice selection.

Check out the two women dressed in black with their arms crossed. And this is before I even entered the shop. I've never seen any other customers in here. Hmmm, wonder why.

The second shop I can advise you of is called “Lana della Vecchia” near Campo de' Fiori. The photo below is from Unraveling.



I've stopped in here once, and while small, it has a good selection and there were so many other women at the counter that the saleslady didn't have time to stare me down or make me feel uneasy. I think I'd go back here if I needed some yarn. At Unraveling she mentions their sign which says “wholesale prices” and bought 100 grams of cashmere for €53, which must be a good price although I'm no expert on these things. It’s the equivalent of nearly $70 USD.

Thanks to another traveling knitter named Yuvee, I can add to our list a shop called Filati Filpucci, in her words, “… run by men and looked more like a hardware store than a yarn shop.” Interesting, no? Stop by her post to discover other shops in Italy, as her travels took her to Florence as well. I've been lurking on her blog for a while now..she's a very proficient knitter. I’m molto impressed by her skill in seeking out gorgeous yarns, braving the shop owners, and without any Italian to boot. Brava! She encountered the same thing I describe though, the whole “look but don’t touch” phenomenon and the insistence on one-on-one service. Not what we knitters are generally used to.

I personally visited Filpucci after reading about it on Yuvee's blog. Yikes. She wasn't kidding, folks. It was so bizarre. You enter and there's a looooong counter with two young (late 20ish) guys who look like they would be just as at home in a mechanic's garage, but yet are dealing with all these grannies buying yarn. They've got a ton of stuff, but I was really put off by the signs all over the place, literally in front of every single type of yarn, saying that you absolutely, positively couldn't touch anything. Lame. Won't be going back. Although I salute Yuvee doubly now, because I even speak Italian and didn't want to brave that madness.

Knitters visiting Italy, I have a secret to tell you about, and most unfortunately it is not in Rome. When visiting my friend Eugenio a couple weekends ago, I mentioned that I like to knit and was informed that Biella, where he lives, is pretty much the yarn and textile capital of Italy. What? I didn't believe it until he called up his mom for advice on where to get yarn, and then took me to a store that seemed from outside like an anonymous little hole-in-the-wall. Turns out it was none other than the factory store of Lana Gatto--remember the place with the scary sales ladies?

Lana Gatto is based in Tollegno, about a 6-7 hour drive from Rome. To go there you'd have to make a pilgrimage specifically. The factory store was piled high with every kind of yarn they make, and *surprise, surprise!* very sweet and helpful ladies. Try to guess how much I spent for this bag of eight 50-gram balls of wool:

Need a hint? Well, consider that at Lana Gatto in Rome, I paid €6 for two. In Tollegno I paid €11 for the whole bag. It's not factory seconds, either. It's just that buying at the source is cheaper. They sell by weight, and the price is displayed like prosciutto: € X per 1000 gr. They had boxes upon boxes of precious cashmere stacked high to the ceiling, and it was €330 or so per 1000 gr. When you think back to Unraveled's purchase, well, you can see that it's really something. Her 100 grams here would have cost just about roughly €33, about $43 USD.

Last but not least, any keen observers spot the new badge on my sidebar? Yes, I have joined in Stranded: The Colorwork Challenge, in an effort to free myself from irrational hesitancy regarding fair isle knitting. Well, I started this Bea Ellis Knitwear Nordic Hat project in the car on the way up to Biella, and before we even made it back down to Rome, it was finished! I am here to tell you that fair isle is definitely not as complicated as it may look:

Here's my new hat making a recent appearance in a self-portrait with Ale at Stonehenge:

Knitters in Rome and knitters visiting Rome and Italy, unite! If you have any shops to add to the list, or shops in other cities, please add them in the comments.

Lana Gatto (Rome)
Piazza Di S. Lorenzo In Lucina, 38

Lana della Vecchia
Via Baullari, 3

Filati Filpucci
Via Principe Amedeo, 87-89

Lana Gatto (factory store)
Via Roma 9
13818 Tollegno (Biella)

Buon Martedì Grasso!

That would be Happy Mardi Gras for all you non-Italian but pseudo-French speakers...

Carnevale is about to end, that celebration of excess before the 40 days of Lent. Here in Rome you may see little children parading around in costumes and blowing noisemaker horns in the days and even weeks leading up to today. It's the closest approximation to Halloween that I've seen here, and I think it's so funny because it's completely random. It's just a regular day in Feburary and suddenly you see a parent holding their kid's hand, and the kid is dressed up as a little witch or goblin or something. It's cute. Less cute in my opinion is the multi-colored paper confetti that the kids throw all over the ground, and I'm talking in mass quantities, not a "light dusting," which must be supremely irritating for the street sweepers yet extremely gratifying if you usually aren't allowed to litter. And, as Italian as it may sound, confetti isn't called confetti here in Italy. Actually, confetti are the white Jordan almonds you get at a wedding, which I will chat with you about in post coming to a blog near you soon (as yours truly is still planning to get married next month), but confetti confetti is called coriandoli (cor-ee-AHN-doh-lee).

Of course, Venice is the real hot spot for Carnevale revelers. I've never been, just like I've never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but one of these days it might be fun to see what it's like. Another good place to check out Carnevale festivities and a famous parade of floats is in Viareggio. The float parade continues even after the 20th (there is another parade on the 25th).

Personally, my favorite part of Carnevale is seen in the photo at the beginning of this post. Frappe. MMMM. Strips of dough fried up light and crispy and then sprinkled with powdered sugar. It's like getting fresh fruit in season: you can only get frappe around Carnevale time, then they disappear from the bakeries until next year.

Have you ever done anything to celebrate Carnevale?

The Five Things I Miss About Gli Stati Uniti

I've been sort of quasi-tagged for a meme by Mr. Diego, a "just over thirty-something" Roman journalist with a blog that, IMHO, would be worth learning Italian for, because it is just plain hilarious. Mr. Diego, being a journalist, has a real way with words. His intelligent and quirky outlook on things includes an occasional glance and questioning look at daily life in Rome. In fact, I made his virtual acquaintance when I bumped into him while doing some research for my knife-sharpener post. Definitely one of our quirkier aspects of life here. And in terms of his keen eye for the strange (hence the "Dr. StranoWeb" name): I mean, people, one of his most recent posts was part of his running series on "strange jobs," profiling the profession, if we can even call it that, of "armpit smellers." And yes, much to your dismay, there is photographic evidence. Comic gold, no?

But I digress. Mr. Diego has abandoned his faithful Italian-language readers for just one post by writing about this meme in English. He spent considerable time in the US as an expat and as such decided to share the five things he misses most about his time in the States. Not one to shy away from a friendly invitation, I now bring you mine. I invite any and all other expats to participate as well, and feel free to shamelessly promote your posts for this meme in the comments section.

So, let's begin, shall we?

In position number 1, we have the faithful Kenmore dryer.

Oh, how I miss you, Mr. Kenmore! You do realize that the lack of your presence in my Roman life means I am reduced to draping my thicker clothing items over the radiators in my house? Disgraceful. And I have also been forced to become much more calculated in my clothes laundering habits. I.e., need those jeans for Friday night? Ok, must wash them on Tuesday. Aarrgh. I'll never forget when I was learning Italian and I asked Ale something about a dryer. Probably never having actually seen one, or perhaps even heard about one, he didn't know the word for it off-hand in Italian. I had to describe the appliance in my pidgin Italian. "You know, like a big box that blows hot air, like a hair dryer, but for clothes?" Mystery solved: asciugatrice. It's a luxury item. How you measure when you've "arrived." Expensive electricity.

Taking up spot number 2, we have the phenomenon of 24/7.

I'll admit, this one is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the lack of being able to get almost any retail item at any hour is part of the charm of Italy. Less consumeristic culture means more of a focus on the "important things in life." Or does it? I miss being able to just hop in my car and run to the store whenever I need something, instead of having permanent anxiety about planning my shopping so it doesn't coincide with the hours of about noon to 4 pm. I'll admit it, I do miss super stores with everything under one roof. I miss convenience, yes, indeedy I do. But, I have learned the virtue of patience and weened myself off the credit cards, so it has been a positive trade-off.

Numero tres, cocina mexicana:

I love me some Mexican food. There are a couple Mexican restaurants I know of here in Rome, but they are mucho expensive and just not the same as the mammoth-sized plates you see here, that, let's be honest, are really the hallmark of all US cuisine nowadays, not just Mexican. More chips and salsa? Yes, please! Did you know that here in Italy it is none other than Uncle Ben who produces salsa and tortillas? That's right, Mr. Rice King himself. And of course I would be amiss if I didn't add 3a., like many fellow expats: cheddar cheese. I tried making a taco dinner here once and when I said I needed cheddar cheese (before I knew it doesn't really exist in Italy unless you find a rare specialty shop), and described what it was like, I was accosted by the response: "Orange-colored cheese cannot POSSIBLY be found in nature." So? It's good.

Numero quattro, the bird:
Thanksgiving was definitely a holiday I took for granted when I lived in the States. Once I realized that my move away from the States had become more or less permanent for the time being, Thanksgiving became a symbol for all my family and friends that I missed. When I used to work with US university study abroad students here in Rome, we would organize an authentic-as-possible Thanksgiving Dinner each year. Can't tell you the looks we used to get from the waiters when they'd bring out "the bird" (complimenti, by the way, to the Italians for humoring us on this one) and all the students broke out their cameras and started taking pictures. With all those flashbulbs going off on Tom the Turkey, I was thinking I should be saying something to him, like, "Work it, work it... good! Now, show me ANGER! You've been cooked for Thanksgiving dinner, you're mad... fabulous! Now, give me sexy!" It was really too much, but I had to smile because it's one of those traditions that is truly American.

And, of course number 5, last but certainly not least, is obviously for me my friends and family! Don't really have any blogging relatives that I can steer you towards, but I hope you have all checked in on African Kelli and Finny Knits, my best gal pals who I miss dearly but thanks to technology am able to keep up with.

Well folks, there it is, I did it. It was inevitable, sooner or later you're asked to share these things.

What do you miss about your home country, if you're an expat? If you're not, what things from your home country do you think you couldn't live without if you moved to another country?

Roman "Telephone Style" Fried Rice Balls

Otherwise known as Supplì al Telefono. Yes, today's lesson is "How to Make Supplì." Supplì (soo-PLEE) are a traditional Roman appetizer and snack, a fried rice ball stuffed with mozzarella. Why are they often known as "al telefono"? Because legend has it that when you bite into a good supplì, the mozzarella strings out like a telephone line. Personally, that very rarely happens to me, but it's still a creative name, no?

Now, don't confuse the supplì with their southern cousins known as arancini (ah-rahn-CHEE-nee). What's the diff? Roman supplì are fried tomato-flavored rice balls filled with mozzarella, while arancini hail from Sicily and are often a larger, almost pyramid shape, with saffron-flavored rice, meat, mushrooms, and peas.

I'm certainly not the authority on either of these, but here I'll share how we make them in our house. Everyone has their own variations, but ours are pretty simple: rice and mozzarella. No formal recipe here. I'll just show you what we do:

What you’ll need:

Rice
Tomato puree
Mozzarella
2-3 Eggs, beaten
Breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

1. Make the sauce and rice

We use arborio or carnaroli rice—cook it and drain it. At the same time, cook the tomato sauce in another pan using "passata di pomodoro," a tomato concentrate/puree. We don’t do anything fancy for the sauce; we just put some olive oil in the pan, add a bit of onion and sauté it, then add the tomato sauce and let it simmer.

2. Combine sauce and rice

When the rice is cooked, add it to the sauce mixture. You shouldn’t have a soupy texture, you want just enough sauce to coat the rice. Mix it all together and let it cool so that it becomes sticky.

3. Prepare other ingredients: mozzarella, egg mixture, breadcrumbs

Cut the mozzarella into small cubes. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Pour the breadcrumbs into another bowl.

4. Make the rice balls

When the rice has cooled, form small egg-shaped rice balls, making a small indention in the center where you’ll add a bit of mozzarella. In this photo you'll see the rice ball is already covered with breadcrumbs which was a mistake we learned from—too much breadcrumbs means the supplì comes out too dry, so don't be tempted to roll it in breadcrumbs first in order to make it more manageable. If the rice has cooled sufficiently, you shouldn't have problems getting it to form the right shape.

Then cover the mozzarella with some more rice and carefully dip the rice ball in the egg mixture, then carefully roll it in the breadcrumbs.

Really, folks, that’s pretty much all there is to it—all that’s left is to fry them. If you have a fryer you can use that:

If not, you can create your own fryer by filling a large pot with oil and frying them in that. Here's the crispy, golden-brown finished product, which I like to call "Dinner al Supplì":

Ok, I realize that I’m not that good at recipes. The reason is that Ale never uses measurements so I either have to guess or just be generic like I am here. If you want a more professional opinion, check out the recipe from Mario Batali of the Food Network or Kyle Phillips’s from About.com’s Italian Food site. One tip I liked about the About.com recipe is the idea to roll the rice balls in flour before the egg mixture, to keep them from falling apart and help keep your hands from getting too sticky.

Try these out, they really aren't that difficult and make great snacks. We made a bunch of them and froze them so they are ready to pop in the ol' fryer whenever we want. In Rome they cost about 80 euro-cents each and you'll find them at places that sell pizza al taglio (fast-food pizza) or in pizzerie as an appetizer. Buon appetito!

I'm Cheating on You

I have to take the day off from the ol' blog. Actually, I have a confession to make: I've been cheating on you with Viator.com and their travel blog. They asked me to do a series of freelance articles on Rome and I have to get moving on my next one: Rome for Families/Children (by the way, do you have any ideas or must-see, must-do for kids and families?)

Meanwhile, take a look at my 3-day suggested itinerary for Rome. I've thrown in some tips, restaurants and sights there that I haven't mentioned here on the blog, and Viator has added in some of their tours and extras as well.

A domani!

Ode to Poste Italiane

I now interrupt my regularly-scheduled post to bring you this late-breaking bulletin.

Oh, Italian Postal Service. Poste Italiane. PT, if you will. How do I love thee? Yesterday you gave me one more reason to heart you. As if eating one of my Godiva chocolates wasn't already enough, you just keep coming back for more.

Anyone out there remember the Great International City Swap? Since we ended up with an odd number, I took two buddies and therefore was due for two packages. The deadline to send out the packages was December 1. You may remember one of them arrived in December. The other, sadly enough, was nowhere to be found. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I wasn't the only one who didn't receive a package (ahem, Kelli, has it arrived yet? I was assured that it was sent!), so I just figured that's part of the deal when you organize a swap. But there in the back of my mind was that little voice saying, "You know, just blame it on the Italian postal service...it's probably all their fault." But, not wanting to always use them as the scapegoat, I resisted.

You see, I try not to be so hard on them, but, it's hard not to. They just do such a good job of not doing a good job.

Yesterday afternoon, and just for the record that would be Tuesday, February 13, i.e., over two months after the swap deadline, I received a package from the lovely Lori, a.k.a. Mingaling in Atlanta. Not just sunshine and ponies, indeed! After Poste Italiane FINALLY got their act together and delivered it (yes, the postmark was rubbed off but I was able to read at least "02, 2006," which tells me that at the max it was sent Dec. 02, 2006, ie, right at the Swap deadline), I was treated to a great swap package of typical Atlanta delights.

The first and probably most entertaining of the Atlanta gems was a poster declaring "Baton Bob, the Ambassador of Mirth!" Hailed as one of Atlanta's most colorful street characters, and I think you'll agree...

He looks simply FAHBULOUS and my swap buddy Mingaling assures me that he is one of the reasons her commute is less awful. Ming, next time you see Bob, please tell him that he is welcome in Rome anytime. IMHO, our street performers haven't quite reached this level of fabulousness. I mean, why didn't I see that dress when I was wedding dress shopping?

Wait. I think one local performer does qualify for this level of entertainment value, and that's my neighborhood mago in his spangly red suit and top hat. But I still haven't managed to catch him in action, so until then, Baton Bob from Atlanta takes the cake.

Of course it surely wouldn't be "Down South" without some of that famous southern cookin' and who am I to go against 101 Things To Do With Grits?

I haven't studied it yet in-depth, but I am hoping it is limited to cooking.

There was also a CD from local legend Cat Power which I can assure you is quite beautiful and slightly reminiscent of The Cranberries, and a wonderful B&W print of the Atlanta skyline that I intend to frame, and that, let's give the PT a little credit here, did arrive in one piece. Luckily Mingaling detailed every article in a little note to me, so I can be sure that nothing went missing this time. Then again, there wasn't anything edible in the package so that probably helped.

And so alas, yet another black mark in Poste Italiane's book but at the same time a fun surprise from the International City Swap crew.

Does anyone have a really GOOD Italian postal horror story? I know they're out there. I like to troll the web in search of goodies to go with my posts, and for this one I ran into an article from 1998 entitled Can Bill Gates save the Italian Postal System? (The answer, I can assure you nearly 10 years later, is decidedly NO.) And to think that I forgot to mention to you that, in fact, Poste Italiane was actually WORSE before it went the route of privatization. That was before my time, but I have good informants who can vouch for this.

We all have our stories: Madeline here, Claudia here. There's really never a shortage of good material. So, thank you again to Mingaling for your fantastic swap present and grazie mille a Poste Italiane for giving me one more reason to trust my mail to the Pope.

But he sure does have bags under his eyes...

Sorry folks, I am just getting carried away in Roman random-ness. Hot on the tail of yesterday's weird sign, I bring you this poster that I've seen on a few buildings around my neighborhood for several months now:

I promise you that my neighborhood is not super-infested with both graffiti AND random posters. At least not any more so than any other Roman neighborhood. It's just that I tend to have an eye for these things, and I've noticed a phenomenon in many big cities that I can only refer to as something like "urban inside jokes," and Rome is certainly no exception. You'll find weird posters, stenciled-on symbols, pictures, and messages on random buildings, street corners, lamp posts, etc., and unless you're in on it, well, you're left to wonder. Maybe that's part of the thing--you're supposed to wonder, and then go discover what it all means for yourself. BOH.

So, here I'm wondering: Just WHO is Untho? And WHY is he never tired? What's his secret? I mean, he looks kind of grumpy if you ask me, maybe he does need a little sleep after all. Maybe he just needs to eat a good, old-fashioned Roman supplì. Hint, hint... have I got a post for you...

And "the chocolate is not strawberry"

A big GRAZIE goes out to "I Gelati di Joe" for clearing this mystery up for all of us.

For his heroic efforts in the world of gelato flavoring and clarification, I hereby award Joe my "random sign of the week." Heck, why not make it random sign of the month, for that matter. It's in Campo de' Fiori if you care to drop in. See what they give you when you ask for cream and chocolate...I'm curious. Maybe they'll get all confused and start pointing to the sign.

World Nutella Day Round-Up

Here it is, folks! Now is your chance to go and visit all the wonderful Nutella devotees who participated in yesterday's first-ever WORLD NUTELLA DAY Celebration.

I have some, and Sara over at Ms. Adventures in Italy has the others, so be sure to stop by and visit her today as well so you can see ALL the participants!

Take a peek at our Flickr photo pool too. Lots of good shots there.

Still want to get in on the fun? Send your entry to: nutelladay (AT) nutelladay (DOT) com. We will be adding last-minute entries for a little while still, and you can go down in online history as one of the original participants in the first-ever WND.

We'll be listing participants on our website as well.

A super special GRAZIE GRAZIE to Sara, our fearless leader! It was a pleasure co-hosting this event with you and thanks for your wonderful initiative and tireless work in organizing and promoting this NEW WORLD HOLIDAY that we are all now a part of.

And a big, huge, Nutella-filled GRAZIE to all of you wonderful participants out there. Let's make this a yearly celebration, shall we?

So, without further ado, I encourage you to go and check out each and every one of these stunning and creative entries. I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I was!







Alyce at Mantia's Musings made Pain Perdu: Nutella Lost Bread







Aria at Passionate Nonchalance brings us Yoshi, the talking rabbit, enjoying Nutella rolls

Arlene, a.k.a. NYC/Caribbean Ragazza brings us Michael Chiarello's recipe for Banana Nutella Crepes







Ashleigh from Stitched in Holland made Chocolate Orange Nutella Cake







Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas made Banana and Nutella pitas and Nutella Cookies







Chelsea at Bon Vivant made Nutella Baci Cookies







Chris at Mele Cotte went on a quest to create Nutella Baci Candy







And also from Mele Cotte, these Nutella Biscotti







Christina at Mausi is takin' a break with Nutella







Cin at A Few of My Favorite Things reminisces with Memories of Nutella

Cyn at Reboot: A New Life in Italy gives us Nutella Hot Chocolate







Huphtur over at The Hot Crew found a sad, sad state of Nutella affairs







Indah at Food Scribbles made Nutella Banana Cake

Jen at A Thousand Times No had a World Nutella Day camera malfunction and reveals the difference between American and Italian Nutella







Jessica at Finny Knits is on the road with Nutella and came up with a Nutella party hors d'oeuvre idea







Karla at Chaosküche shares her childhood Nutella memories







Loulou of Chez Loulou brings us Nutella Mousse

Liam at Panorama of the Mountains gives his tips about where to find the best Nutella combinations







Maria at Country Hopping made Chocolate-Hazelnut Nutella Cookies

Mel at Hecticium wrote a Nutella-inspired poem







Michelle, a.k.a. Sognatrice created a Nutella breakfast treat







Molly at Somewhat Refined whipped up some Nutella cream puffs







Rachel at Rachel's Bite made Nutella Profiteroles







Sierra at Moon Martini brings us an elegant Nutella treat







Shelley of At Home in Rome made Nutella Ravioli







Stacy at Texas Espresso made Nutella Sour Cream Pound Cake







S. Worthen of Owlfish brings us Nutella cookies







Valerie from Due Baci in a Pinon Tree offers up a Nutella Birthday Cake







Vicki at I Need Orange gives us a straightforward Nutella solution







Zorra at 1x umruehren bitte a.k.a. Kochtopf (say that five times fast!) came up with Brioche Cornetti Filled with Nutella

HAPPY NUTELLA DAY 2007!
Until next year...