March 27, 2016

40 in forty: Always keep a few good meals in the freezer

March 27, 2016/ Em-i-lis

People, not only did the Italians spring forward with their own daylight savings on Saturday night, but also our flight home left at 7am on Sunday. What that means is that we were robbed of an hour of sleep and have been up since 3:30am Italy time on Easter.

We flew home via London, and the children did not sleep for one minute. Not one single minute of the 9+ hours en route to DC. Mon dieu. My body does not even know where it is or what it should be doing.

Let me tell you that the best welcome home gift was having a bag of homemade chili waiting for us in the freezer. A good, hearty meal just a thaw-and-heat away. 40 in forty tip of the day: always keep a few good meals in your freezer for days such as this.

I'm sure glad I did. For those who celebrate, I hope you had a happy Easter. And now, to bed.

March 26, 2016

40 in forty: talk to some strangers; they might become friends!

March 26, 2016/ Em-i-lis

Just about two years ago, I saw I had a new subscriber to Em-i-lis. It was a beautiful Italian name, so I assumed she was a friend of my sister and had heard about my blog through Elia.

But Elia had no idea who Elisa Valentina was. Hmm. Several months later, Elisa V started leaving comments after some of my posts, and we began to know each other as I replied and she did too.

Last year, I sent Elisa a birthday card, and also a bottle of jam via Elia as we crossed paths in London.

Elisa and I exchanged Christmas cards in December, and as we share a mad love of shoes and shopping, have emailed pictures to each other of favorite finds as well as pics of our families.

We very much wanted to meet in person this year, and I was sad to tell her that our plans were taking us not to Florence but to Rome. Would she want to come, I asked hesitantly.

She said YES! She and her partner would love to come to Rome and spend a day with us.

As if in a movie, we arranged to meet at the Trevi Fountain at 10:30 this morning. Eli and I recognized each other immediately and hugged like old friends. She hugged Tom, I hugged Markus, the boys shook hands, and there you have it.

We walked all around together, chatting away about a delightful variety of topics, before heading to Grappolo D'oro, the slow food "ristorante romana" where they'd made a reservation.

Markus, who is a wine and olive oil journalist (you all want to be that now too, right?!), chose a lovely Prosecco with which we began and a delicious Cesanese to follow.

The food was scrumptious! One of our two best meals in Rome. Dessert, coffee, more walking and then Tom took the boys home to pack while I got some alone time with my lovely friends.

As we walked, I kept thinking how small the world in some ways becomes by virtue of the Internet. A Florentine woman looks on Food52 for a muffin recipe, sees my handle, clicks on it, discovers that I write a blog, tries it out and likes what she reads.

I'm so thrilled that because she started commenting, I have gotten the chance to know this marvelous woman and her partner, who is really wonderful too. I know that we will all see each other again, and I look forward to it so much.

We're never too old to make new friends, to learn from others, to be inspired. Sometimes, all you need do is put yourself out there; the outcomes can be unbelievably rewarding and happy.

What a perfect, happy last day of a very special trip! Grazie mille, Eli e Markus!

PS- We also made friends with the owner of and a waitress at Brassai, the cafe where we had breakfast every morning. This morning was a delicious, delightful goodbye.

March 26, 2016

Make a dream come true

March 26, 2016/ Em-i-lis

For yourself or for someone else. Take a class or learn something you've always wanted to. Help a loved one or a stranger do the same.

This trip came to be after eight months of Oliver expressing an ardent desire to visit Pompeii. He's listened to The Magic Treehouse story, Vacation Under the Volcano, countless times and the ruins and still-alive Mt. Vesuvius had captured his imagination.

It helps that visiting Italy likely means seeing my sister and her family. It helps that we found good ticket prices and are so very fortunate to be able to take trips like this. And it helps that spring break started on Oliver's birthday which felt awfully special and auspicious.

In any case, we decided to make a dream come true for our little boy, and I'm so glad we did. What a joy to see him take Pompeii in yesterday.

I think he was overwhelmed at first, couldn't believe has was there, couldn't quite grasp the enormity of it. Plus, he's 7. He walked for hours, scampering up anything he could, learning the difference between the marble thresholds of the homes and the notched stone ones of the shops.

He delighted in the fact that Pompeiians fixed dyes with urine, and Jack went nuts when the guide mentioned three separate elements: Mercury (sulfide) in the red fresco paint, copper in the blue, and lead, as in the original lead pipes we saw. I adore the nerdy bits of my boys.

Some pictures of a beautiful, memorable day.