The Holy Roman Empire

Day 41: May 4th, 2014

 Drive to Rome

This morning was a relaxing one. We didn't know exactly what time we were going to leave because Franccessca has been sick and nobody knew if she would be up for driving. While we waited we played Jenga some more with Gerrardo and Chinese Checkers with Filomena. It was a perfect last time with them. Around noon Anthony came and picked us up and took us to his house where we had a tour of his house, listened to Carlo play the guitar, and had a delicious meal. We then piled in Francessca's dad's car and headed to Rome!

Anna's Home

View from the roof of Anthony and Filomena's Home

The drive was uneventful until we reached Rome. It was there that we encountered 6km of traffic from an accident. We didn't want to wait in that so we got off before the slowdown happened and tried to take a side road parallel to the freeway. The problem was that this road was also blocked because of a car accident. So we made a u-turn and tried to find another way. This detour took us through the hill around Rome and it was beautiful, if not 45 minutes longer. Oh well, it was fun to see the surrounding area!

We eventually made it to Francessca's house where we were greeted with this awesome sign:

They want us to feel welcome. Francessca's parents are really nice, and welcoming. They are having us sleep in their bed and they are sleeping on the hide-a-bed in the living room. It is very comfortable, but we feel bad a little bit. We have come to learn that the Italian people are very welcoming and giving, especially with their food.

Day 42: May 5th, 2014

 Exploring the Villas outside of Rome

Francessca's family lives in one of the villages up in the hills surrounding Rome. It is beautiful to look down on the valley below every time we go out. You can technically see to the sea, but most of the time it is obscured by some form of smog. The location of these villages has its perks and drawbacks. The drawback: The winding, impossible to navigate, tiny roads the connect everything. We are glad that the locals are driving because Jeff would get lost in a heartbeat. The amazing perks: The Villas on the hills. These were built by the Princes of Rome some time ago ( there weren't any signs for Jeff to read to find out), but most likely in the 18th or 19th centuries. The perks are the beautiful gardens that came along with them,  naturally. Nowadays the gardens are public parks. They offer lots of trees and shady places to sit. The only problem is that the culturally insensitive youths in the area have taken it upon themselves to vandalize the area in their boredom. There is graffiti on the ground and walls and one of the fountains had the top broken off a few years ago and now us just a really nice hole in the ground collecting garbage and growing some weeds. The state of disrepair that the outlying area sights are in is sad. Hopefully some day there will be some money put forward to clean up the other beautiful sights of Italy.

beautiful cities covering hill tops

After that we picked up Francessca's sister Angela to take her to a tattoo place to get an appointment for the new tats she wants. It was funny because she didn't want to tell her parents because she knows they won't approve, but she is 26 so she can do what she wants. The veil of secrecy was comical. After the tattoo parlor we searched around for some henna so that Amber and Francessca could do some fake tattoos, but we quickly learned that it is not available in Italy. Bummer.

So after that we naturally went to get gelato. It was good as ususal.

We then went home and had a good dinner with the family and then turned in for the night. Surprising Italian find: Gilmore Girls. Amber loves the show and we have been watching them for a while, and to our surprise it is over here as well. It is dubbed in Italian and has a different name, but is here. It was fun to watch a little slice of American sitcom in Italy.

Day 43: May 6th, 2014

Roma!!

Today we headed to Rome! We rode the train and subway, their stations have nothing on Napoli, and ended up right outside  the Spanish Steps. Amber was particularly excited because of Audrey Hepburn's Roman Holiday and the scene on the Spanish Steps. 

We took lots of pictures and then walked down probably the most expensive road in Rome. It is not expensive because it is paved with gold or any such nonsense. It is lined with expensive stores, such as: Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, and the like. Needless to say we just walked on by.

Some other fun things along the way:

Our next stop was the Pantheon. It is amazing. The fact that 1800 years ago they built this massive dome with no scaffolding is beyond impressive. It is downright inspirational. I don't know exactly what it is inspiring me to do, but it is going to be amazing! It is still the largest unsupported dome made of stone in the world. Google it. It is amazing.

We then headed to the Trevi Fountains. These are marvelous fountains which we sat and stared at as we ate our lunch. It is just amazing the waterworks that are all over Europe. The people a couple hundred years ago really like their fountains, that is a fact.

 It is tradition to throw a coin in and make a wish!!! I made a perfect one :)

Next we hit up Venice Square or Piazza Venezia. This is where the large and imposing Altare della Patria, Alter of the Fatherland. It is a monument dedicated to the king that unified Italy. It is very large, white and imposing. It was started in the early 1900's and finished in 1925. It is a military monument with the tomb of the unknown soldier being housed there as well. We went inside and looked at the military museum and then headed down the street to the Collosuem.

Strong warrior man!

This was awesome! It was amazing to see that this massive arena was built over 2000 years ago and that it is still, mostly, standing.  We thought that the view from the upper deck was the best because we were able to see the scale of the thing. What was a wee bit unsettling, especially for Amber was the shows that were put on in this venue. The execution by wild hungry animals and the brutal Gladiator fights weren't her favorite part of the exhibit.

30 weeks!

The best part of the exhibit for some unsuspecting couple was the time Jeff split his shorts doing  a jumping picture. There were multiple attempts, and the last one proved fatal for the inseam and surrounding fabric. I guess he must have eaten too much food in Formicola.

Next, Amber did some safe acrobatics of her own outside the Colloseum. She managed to pull off a few hand stands, much to the amazement of the Asian tourists in the area. Their amazement was better than the previous couples surprise.

We then headed back to Francessca's house to relax for the evening because all the acrobatics had worn us out. 

Recipes, Ceramics, & Paintings

Day 38: May 1st, 2014

Today was the Italian equivalent of Labor Day here in the states. It meant that nothing was open and we ate lots more good food. It wasn't  much of an all day affair as Liberation Day was, but that does not mean that there was not good food. And plenty of it.

We slept in, of course, and then around noon we headed over to Carlo and Sara's parent's house to have lunch. It consisted of multiple courses of meat, bread, pasta,vegetables, milk, Coke, and Gelato. It was delicious as usual! 

After the food we came back to Anna's and rested and played games with Gerrardo and Filomena. It was lots of fun and I think that Gerrardo is addicted to Jenga. Jeff taught him how to play. He got a game set with many different games in it, and one was Jenga. The problem is that the blocks are small and of varying size, which proves tricky for the game. All in all it was a fun night, especially because Jeff never lost Jenga and Amber won Chinese Checkers.

Day 39: May 2nd, 2014

Today was another relaxing day. Those seem to be the status quo these days, and we are not complaining. We got up at 11am, maybe noon, and proceeded to not do much. Later in the afternoon, Filomena asked us if we wanted to go for a walk and take 11 year old cousin Filomena to her dance class and then meet up with Anna at the salon where she was getting her hair done. It was fun to sit there and see how the ladies interacted and how the children of the hair dressers ran around. Even though we couldn't understand anything it was still fun. After a while we decided to brave the rain (it seems like a constant fixture in Formicola, which we are assured is NOT normal) and go for a walk. The rain was pretty steady for our 10 minute walk around the majority of the town, but we had a trusty umbrella so we weren't worse for the wear.

Later that evening Anna started making dinner, and she decided to make gnocci. The best part is that she let us help! As you can see in these pictures we didn't screw it up and it was good as usual!

Gnocci

Mound of Flour- About as big as my hand and mound it

Make Crater- Fill with about 2 Tbs. of oil and about 1-1.5 Tbs of salt

Add warm water to Crater and start to incorporate the water, oil, salt and flour, keeping the crater intact.

Once middle is mostly solid start kneading in the sides.

Knead for about 5 mins or until the dough is solid, malleable, and smooth. It should not be wet or dry.

If wet, add flour. If dry add a tiny bit of water.

Cut into small pieces about the size of an egg

Roll into strands with the thickness of your index finger.

Cut those into tootsie roll size pieces.

Roll over a grooved board or fork to make the ball.

Let dry for 5-6 hours (shorter time is fine, the longer you wait the better).

Add to boiling water until the right consistency

VARIATIONS: Use half boiled and mashed potatoes, half flour. Add spinach or pumpkin to boiling water

Anna also gave us some other great recipes:

Tomato Sauce

Wash lots of tomatoes

Put in boiling water and cook until they are very soft

Put in strainer and push out insides (or use machine). Skin will stay in strainer.

Put insides in to a canning Jar (medium to large canning jar)- Add spoonful of salt

Seal can closed by wrapping in a little towel and boil for 30 mins

Put in dark cupboard for at least one day.

Use within the year.

Carbonara

In stock pot- add fresh garlic, a little onion and EVOO

Cook till soft and brown

Add finely chopped meat (Bacon, chicken. . .) cook for 3 mins

In separate pot cook desired pasta- Cook and strain water

To pasta pot add mixture from first pot and 3 scrambled eggs

Cook on med-low heat till eggs are cooked.

Optional: Add cheese, salt and/or pepper

Bolognaise

Ground Hamburger

EVOO

Fresh chopped onion

Cook till meat and onion are brown

Add cooked noodles and tomato sauces 

Day 40: May 3rd, 2014 

Amalfi Coast!

When we woke up today we didn't have any definite plans because the forecast on the coast was bad the night before, but we were in for a surprise. Carlo called and said that the weather on the coast was supposed to be good that morning and that in the afternoon it would get bad. We quickly got ready and headed out.

On the drive we were finally able to see most of Vesuvius.

It is kind of terrifying how close it is to the city of Napoli. Carlo was talking to us and saying that the geologists are saying that there is a good chance that it could erupt again very soon, even within the next year. We shall see how good their prediction skills are, we guess. But what that means is that if you want to see Pompeii you better head out soon because it will probably take them a while to dig it out again!

We eventually got to the first city which was a iconic little village set on the hill above the bay. It was beautiful and full of little shops. Amber has wanted to go the Amalfi coast for a long time and she was so happy be there because we were able to make our only souvenir purchases of the trip: A clay nativity and a painting. It is a beautiful hand painted picture, exactly what we wanted, and we are excited to get it home and hang in our future home. 

We then continued down the winding road along the coast to the next town. While were driving we spotted a small tornado that was forming off the coast. Jeff thought it was awesome. Amber was a little terrified. It came close to the mountain, but we don't know if it ever made contact or caused any serious damage.

This was only the beginning of the storm though. As we got lunch from a supermarket and proceeded to eat it on the pier, the horizon and sky got darker and darker and the wind got stronger.  

When the wind really stared to pick up we decided that it was time to go and we started heading to the car. We were too late. It started to rain, and rain hard.

It was reminiscent of the rain we experienced in Pompeii. Carlo and Fabio both wanted to get out of the rain and were worried for us, but both of us were kind of enjoying the rain. Jeff really wanted to run around and get soaked. I guess the 4 year old in him was alive and well that day.

We then proceeded to drive back for Formicola through the rain, and again the rain stopped once we left Napoli. In the evening we had more good food and jenga playing! All in all it was a great day and we are happy with our purchases!