Janet Ternoff, NN

Mangia!

 Food in Italy is not just fuel for the body, it is a major part of life. To live you must have people in your life and they must be shown your care, concern and admiration. Feeding them well is something instilled from birth. Family, food and festival...an Italian trinity.

Pranza is the mid-day meal that many of us, as visiters never partake. Local trattoria will have full platters of various "in season" dishes prepared and waiting for the many near by patrons with only limited time...can't get home and then back to work, etc. or they just want to be with their friends. Bar Rossana is one that we have been lucky enough to enjoy. Rossana and Cristiano make sure there is plenty and we attest to the quality! By looking at me you know that I do enjoy food!

Living in the Campo dei Fiori was a dream fulfilled. We ate out or took advantage of Grace's skills. She learned how to cook from Nonna Carmela, no one has ever complained! The prime things to know about cooking Italian start with region, as each area of the country has different climate and growing conditions. Everything must be not only fresh, but ripe. No matter how long you simmer a rock it remains a rock! Seasonal dishes abound because things mature at different times, or are available according to what is caught. Generally the north uses more butter than the south...it's a cooler climate. The south takes advantage of longer growing season so they use a lot of produce...stuffed zucchini flowers! Yum!

Wine, apertifs and Limoncello...espresso and cappachino with biscotti...gelato?

How can anyone partake of all this and not love those around you? After a gelato what type of human is mean-minded? Limoncello or Mirto to settle it all...Heaven???   Certo!!!!

Venezia

Yep, water! Still this is a small and totally enjoyable walk. Everything in glorious jewel like city is just down the road...so to speak. The water taxi is there to speed things up and get you to the other islands. Buy yourself a pretty little painting from one of the vendors, pick one you like. It will be something to remind you of a true water vacation after all the out of focus pix are forgotten.

So...now you're inside

These are a few samples of what you will find inside the free museums of Rome (chiesa). Please pick your own favorites, every writer from Ruskin to Steeves is willing to help you-for a fee. You don't need them, just ask the concierge, the clerk selling you the scarf, the taxi driver or someone buying an espresso for their favorite. Of course just walking in works too. During the period that many of these artists lived and worked the world's biggest banker was the church. Today the biggest museum operator.

Pick a church...any church!

You have already given the tour company, the airlines, the hotel and the taxi driver lots of your money. Pick a church, enter, be amazed...it's free! With nearly 400 churches Rome offers more than a spiritual uplift on every corner, inside is some of the most outrageously spectacular artwork ever created. The buildings themselves are unequalled. Bernini, Michelangelo, Borromini,Carravaggio...free!! Enter, save your cash for an espresso after. Better still a gelato. WTH, both!

A Slice of Heaven

We discovered Bar 36 in the Campo dei Fiori during our second trip to Rome. It is our little slice of heaven. From there we look out on the choreographed pandimonium everyday life in Rome.

The day starts very early for people in the Campo. Bar 36 opens at 7:00 and the vendors are already there setting up for the new day. Many of the kiosks have been in the same family for generations. What is being sold by today's merchants may have changed over the years but not the tradition.

In front our vantage point are stalls owned by; Marina and Fabrizio (Mother and son), Lina and Allesandro (Mother and son), Franca and Sonia (Mother and daughter), Capanera and Ruth (Mother and daughter, husband also) and on the end Angelo. These merchants operate from 7:00 until 2:30 plus or minus daily, monday through saturday. Holiday season sunday also. It isn't easy as everything has to be set up in the morning and then broken down and taken away(stored) until the next day.  As we became more familiar with everyone we actually began to join in and help as needed. Grace selling hats and scarves, while I helped in the set up and break downs. We did this because some times one of the owners would be unable to come...sickness,etc. The joke became that the other vendors wanted some cheap American workers too.

After the first couple of visits we began renting apartments instead of being a part of a traveling bus tour. Both methods have worked for as they serve totally different needs. But, but living in one place allows you more time to meet your neighbors. Even Edda, the owner seems confused by our staying at her table when we could be out looking at touristy things.
I think she has figured out that we no longer visit because of the city, but because of her, our friends...our Roman family. We've arrived planned and we've arrived unannounced. It doesn't matter, we are welcomed warmly, accepted and loved. You simply don't do better than that.

The Campo changes several times in the course of a day. Starting as an open air market, then a clean up period followed by early evening passigiata (promenade) and finally students on the loose (lots of American kids, unfettered, with money, ready to party). We've seen them all and the last part (kids,etc) is the worst. The normal Italian is brought up drinking wine, the normal American is brought up sneaking it. That difference is obvious at the end of the night.

The clean up time is where the choreography comes in. a battelion of sweepers and electric trucks work in sync with the vendors and shop owners to get the cobblestones clean. A little like Disney's Fantasia except the Hippos in tutus are trucks with pretty city workers wearing Armani and carrying brooms and shovels.
If you make it there...they know our names. They are good people, our friends and boy do wish we were there!!!!!!!!

Bands in the Campo

 There are some things that are just totally unexpected. We had made the decision to come home to the Campo for Christmas. Our reception had been everything we could have asked for, warm, welcoming and loving. The last weekend had arrived and we sat thinking that time was catching up to us. Tears were about to flow again and the long unhappy return to Florida was approaching in "quicktime". As we sipped our cappuchino we heard some musical notes rising from the Piazza Farnese. Nothing else sounds like an American marching band and those notes told us that we had not been the only Americans on the plane to Rome. An international cultural exchange had brought several bands to Rome for the holidays. Ranging from an older Dixieland group out of  New Orleans to a young California based High School group and other US cities represented as well, those were the sounds we were hearing.

The shiny, glistening, beautifully curved tuba served as a basis for many of these shots. During our visits to Rome and the Campo we had seen many festivals, demonstrations, etc, but this parade, more than any other demonstrated to me just what a magical location we were in.
Even Bruno seemed to enjoy the joyous noise...can't you tell?