Mambo Italiano

The Italian countdown starts today (28 days until the flight to Rome!) and Adam's almost finished with our itinerary. I made a list of all the places I wanted to visit, things I wanted to see, etc. and he was in charge of figuring out how to make it all happen without us spending the entire time rushing from one place to another. (My list went something like this: museum, church, wine, wine, museum, museum, wine, church, church, wine...you get the idea.)

We're focusing our trip on the hill towns in Tuscany. We rented an apartment in a farmhouse near Cortona (the sleepy Etruscan hill town made famous by Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun) and a car for exploring the hillside. We'll be staying a week in Tuscany and then three days in Rome before flying back to NC and I am BEYOND excited.

Which brings me to what I'm reading this week. I've spent a lot of time with the traditional travel guides (Frommers' Florence, Tuscany and Umbria and Rick Steves' Florence and Tuscany chief among them) and I've been reading travel essays (Travelers' Tales: Italy). I was hesitant but I started Under the Tuscan Sun and I'm absolutely loving it so far. There has been some criticism of Mayes' chronicle of buying and restoring a crumbling farm house outside of Cortona, mainly having to do with the dramatic increase in tourism Cortona has seen in the wake of the book's success. (Several travel agencies and websites even offer "Under the Tuscan Sun Vacation Packages.") Despite my trepidation regarding the book, (and feeling a bit of PTSD from my Eat, Pray, Love reading experience) I'm now 3/4 of the way through and thoroughly charmed. The way Mayes writes about the people and the food and the light make me feel like I'm seeing and smelling and tasting everything with her. Her language is evocative without being overdone and if it tends a little toward romanticizing her subject I can forgive her because, really, who can help from romanticizing Italy? She includes simple recipes throughout that I'm dying to try, (especially the Red Peppers or Onions Melted with Balsamic Vinegar and the Semolina Gnocchi). I haven't seen the movie with Diane Lane but I'm considering adding it to my Netflix queue as we speak. And if you haven't read the book it's a pleasant bit of "armchair traveling" and I suggest you pick it up.

Adam wants me to pick some specifics about what we'll be seeing in San Gimignano and Siena but I'm a little stuck. So far all I know I want to do is look at the towers in San Gimignano and be in Siena in the evening and eat something delicious while drinking red wine and looking out at the "Sienese Crests," but I don't think this is quite what Adam was looking for. Do you have any suggestions?

Happy Friday!

You Keep Coming Back Like a Song

So I'm going to try to come back to this whole blogging-thing. The blog-related hangups I mentioned in my very first post (why would anybody want to read this?) along with job changes and just that whole grown-up-person-life-thing combined to keep me from posting for the last 5 months. But I'm back now and I'm going to try to 1.) Say interesting things and 2.) Not disappear for another 5 months.

What's been happening...

• I quit my job at the school library and was hired as a (temporary) youth services library associate with the public library. This is better than the school job in some ways and worse in others...at the end of the day I miss my job in Chicago so much some times I want to scream and cry in frustration and sadness.
• I thought that my childhood (moving every couple of years) would have me well-prepared for the difficulties associated with being the "new kid" as an adult. I was wrong. More on that in later posts.
• We've been talking about taking this trip for years now and it's finally happening: we're going to Italy for ten days at the end of April. I'm looking forward to Tuscan hill towns, cobblestone streets, museums and lots and lots of Chianti.

The first three months of 2011 have been exciting. After spending Christmas with my family we rang-in the New Year in the Emergency Room so I could get my appendix removed (it was, of course, one of the few NYE holidays when Adam was NOT scheduled to be at the hospital), we followed up with a 10-day cruise and then went back to work. (Note to all: Always recover from surgery on a cruise ship. Especially when it's cold at home and you're cruising to a warm locale.) The remainder of January and February went by in a work-eat-sleep-repeat-blur and now we're knee-deep in March Madness and I got to watch UNC defeat Washington today with three of my favorite alums! Go Heels!

Now I'll leave you with you a promise to return soon.

Have a great Monday!

The City of New Orleans*

I'm back from my weekend in New Orleans! (Or in my mom's words, "the big...speak easy") We celebrated Anna and Lydia's birthdays, visited some of Lydia's favorite haunts from her time as a native and did some touristy-type things as it was my first visit to the city!

Seriously, who doesn't love Spanish Moss? (Minus the chiggers, obviously.)

Spanish Moss dangling from a live oak** just is the south.

New Orleans Botanical Gardens

The New Orleans Botanical Gardens were a beautiful start to our trip.

In addition to the trees and flowers, the statuary throughout makes everything seem kind of magical, like a story book.

Anna and Lydia as zoo animals...or jailbirds.

I loved this tree so much. I think I took ten pictures of it from all over the gardens.

One of the cool things about the New Orleans Botanical Gardens was that you could really explore and get up close to the plants. Many of the gardens I've been to in the past require that you stay on a specific path and not wander in among the flowers. These gardens had swings dangling from the trees, benches in the middle of an explosion of flowers, trains... This sounds incredibly dumb, but it was a really interactive garden!

Lydia, Me and Anna on a yellow swing.

Lydia and Kate on a green swing.

Dinner @ Jacques-Imo's

Lydia's favorite restaurant was where we headed for dinner our first official night in town.

These pictures are of a truck parked in front of the restaurant. A table for two was set up in the flat-bed.

The front of the truck.

Jacque-Imo's mixes Creole and Cajun styles of cooking to create something that is just...delicious. The restaurant itself is decorated wildly, with framed paintings on the ceilings, mismatched patterned vinyl tablecloths and electric colors everywhere. Upon being seated the waiters bring a plate piled high with the most delicious cornbread in the world, sweet and savory and garlicky...it's fantastic. We ordered the Alligator Sausage Cheesecake as our appetizer which was pretty yummy. This is followed by a spinach salad and then our main courses. The picture is of my order, Godzilla Meets Fried Green Tomatoes aka, soft shell crab over fried green tomatoes with a spicy hollandaise sauce. It was completely amazing. We also had mini-cheesecakes and coconut bread pudding in honor of the birthday girls and pretty much had to be rolled out of there.

The French Quarter & Bourbon Street

Since I was in tourist-mode, Lydia said we should walk down Bourbon Street. I was...amazed. I saw a strip club next door to a strip club across the street from another strip club!! I have to wonder, is that really necessary?

I wanted to see a Voodoo shop. But I was too afraid to go inside. (I saw The Princess and the Frog, I know what can happen!!)

I had two objectives in the French Quarter: pralines and beignets.

After sitting on the waterfront for a while, listening to middle school-aged kids playing music on their trumpets and trombones, we wandered into Jackson Square. I wanted to buy a Christmas Ornament to commemorate the trip but couldn't find one I liked. So I got my palm read instead! Patricia, "Psychic of the Stars" did my reading.

Apparently I have a very long life line, a strong love line, good health, will have success in goals that I set over the next 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year and will have two children. Patricia, "Psychic of the Stars" asked if had any question but I'd gotten really distracted because the guy in the tent beside us started playing this Harry Chapin song that I love so I looked to Anna for suggestions. Anna asked if I was going to publish a book. Patricia, "Psychic of the Stars" looked at my palm (because that's where the answers are) and said that I would publish a book in 6 months. I think she must've meant that I would sell a book in 6 months because the whole publishing process takes about 2 years.

A trip to Cafe Du Monde for Beignets!!

So yummy! While eating we were serenaded by another brass band.

Magazine Street

After another stroll down Bourbon (at night the scary people come out), escaping our stalker, a streetcar ride and making funny faces with the little boy sitting across from me we had a final dinner for the birthday girls! We sat outside and enjoyed more live music--this time bongo drums and a keyboard. Not quite as fun as the brass band, but still better than no live music at all.

A fun trip, I'm definitely looking forward to a return visit!

*I had Arlo Guthrie's cover of this song running through my head all weekend long, hence the title of this post.

**I've always wondered why live oaks are called live oaks rather than just oaks. This weekend, thanks to Kate, I learned the answer: A live oak is a different species of tree than a regular oak. A live oak is in the evergreen family and is called "live" because it is green in winter while the regular oak is dormant in winter. (Cue "The More You Know" theme music.)

Chapel of Love

Our friends Beth and Akshay got married this past weekend (on my birthday to be exact) and the whole Walnut Hills gang + significant-others came back to Cincinnati to celebrate. This was the second Adam's-high-school-friend-wedding of the summer and since we're all so far-flung now it's been really nice to get to see each other without so much time in between visits. The ceremony and reception were really beautiful, held at the French House and French Park in Cincinnati. There were some weather-related issues to deal with but everything came off beautifully and we all had SUCH a good time! Beth and Akshay tried to combine their respective family and cultural traditions and the result was lovely and very "them." My favorite part was that for dinner they had an Indian station, a pasta station and a "Fun Fusion" station. (The Indian station was easily the tastiest.)

Adam had to work on Friday and was taking his boards on Monday so we drove from NC to Cincinnati Friday after work, got in late Friday night, spent Saturday hanging out and bowling with friends, attended the wedding that night and then drove back to NC on Sunday. Adam's parents made me a birthday brunch on Sunday morning complete with candles in the french toast and both of them singing "Happy Birthday." It was very thoughtful (and delicious) and I appreciated it!

It was a really busy weekend but we managed to cram family, friends, Skyline and Graeters all into less than three days...it was impressive. On the drive home I quizzed Adam for the boards (when I wasn't sleeping). I hope the next time we get to see all these friends it won't be quite so rushed!

From left: Alison & Elliot (whose wedding in Atlanta we attended back in June), Adam & I, Jacob and Ben.

The happy couple! This was actually Beth & Akshay's second wedding, they got married in a ceremony in India last month. The pictures were gorgeous!

My favorite photo of the night except that we're missing Paige!!

Special thanks to Alison for the pictures as my camera stayed in Adam's pocket all night!

Pour Some Sugar On Me

This week I visited a Carolina Beach institution, Britt's Donuts. My mom told me all about Britt's after her visit last year but this was my first time at the venerable establishment. We left the condo and headed over on Sunday morning around 9AM to taste the doughnuts that my mom says, "make Krispy Kreme taste like Dunkin Donuts."*

The line was ridiculous.

After waiting in the heat and humidity we ordered a dozen donuts. All of Britt's donuts are made to order, there's no conveyor belt here and no baskets of stale donuts. Every donut is fresh from the fryer to your mouth. Don't walk in here looking for sprinkles or jelly or chocolate-cream-filling. The only flavor is glazed and the recipe hasn't changed since the shop opened in 1939. In fact, the current owners are still using many of the original kitchen implements and utensils.

The taste is fantastic!! It's soft and gooey but hot and crispy all at the same time. You end up with sugary glaze all over your fingers and crumbs sprinkled all over the counter. And I dare you to eat just one!

*For the record, I like Dunkin Donuts and am not a huge fan of Krispy Kreme. My favorite donut of all time is a chocolate cake donut with chocolate icing from Reuter's Bakery in Chicago.

Girl and the Sea

I'm at Carolina Beach with my parents for a few days. Mom & Daddy bought a timeshare here the summer I turned 13 and have been coming here most summers ever since. For a few years when I was in high school we traded the week for a condo somewhere else, one year we visited Savannah, GA (I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil on the drive to get ready for our trip), another year we went to a tiny town near Dillard, GA (we went white water rafting on the Nantahala Falls). Most years we stuck with Carolina Beach, a small beach town near Wilmington, NC. It's a pretty quiet area, lots of seafood restaurants, plenty of fishing (for those so inclined) and an old-fashioned boardwalk.

When I arrived this afternoon my parents ordered a pizza and then we took a walk on the beach. We watched a wedding (my second observed-beach-wedding of the summer), tried to avoid being run over by the surfers and laughed at each other (me running in and out of the waves, my mom trying to avoid getting wet). Then we played several hands of hearts. Now my Dad's watching an Errol Flynn movie and I'm watching the lights of the pier reflect off the ocean. (I tried to take a picture for you but it's too dark.)

Tomorrow will be filled with my favorite beach activity: I place a low sand chair in the waves and spend hours just sitting, reading a book or talking with my mom and letting the water lap at my legs. When I get hot I dive into the ocean and swim out for a while, then flip over and float on my back, staring up at the sky. Later in the day I'll stretch out in the sand and let the sounds of the ocean put me to to sleep. Adam hates it but, to me, this is summer.

My sister and her boyfriend arrive tomorrow.