Spring Desert Wildflowers

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It is going to be an outstanding year for desert wildflowers. All the reports say it will rival or exceed the last El Nino year, 1998. We have learned to watch the rainfall that Southern California and Arizona receives starting in October. This rainfall will help the flower germinate the following spring. It needs to had a continue supply through February along with moderate temperatures.

We usually go to Tucson to see the flowers but news reports started mentioning Death Valley. DV averages about 2 inches of rain a year but already it has received 5 inches since July 2004. The rangers are forecasting a good bloom.

We have never been to Death Valley but what a perfect complement to climbing Mt. Whitney. We can now visit the lowest point in the continugous US after having climbed to the highest point.

We’ve booked a flight into Las Vegas and reserved a car. The drive is about 2-3 hours and is actually the closest airport. Ontario is pretty close also but we really didn’t want to do that drive again.

Unfortunately, most of the accommodations at Furnace Creek are booked. Oh well, we’ll go camping. We’ve flown and camped before. We just use our ice chest as a suitcase and put all the gear in the ice chest. Of course, we can’t fly with camp stove fuel but our small backpacking stove has a detachable fuel canister so we’ll just swing by the REI before leaving Vegas. Actually, there is also a Whole Foods so we can also grab some gourmet grub before leaving.

I am actually looking forward (somewhat) to camping. I love it at night when you can see the stars. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to sleeping on the hard ground.

Of course, we hope to do a hike or two. We’re only going to have three nights so a bit of sightseeing and short hikes. We mulled over renting an SUV but we really don’t think we’ll use it in the short period. So we’ll have to stick to the paved and good gravel roads.

But we couldn’t resist the lure of Tucson. Initially, it sounded like the rains had mostly missed Tucson but the Sonora Desert Museum is also predicting a stunning show. So we booked also a quick trip to Tucson the weekend after Death Valley. An early flight out to Phoenix, two nights and then return at midnight. That will give G one day to work on his plants for the spring sales.

Dunham Cellars Three Legged Red Washington 2003

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Dunham
Wow! Is this already the 5th WBW?

Okay, I have to admit that I wasn’t crazy about the selection of wacky-named wines for Wine Blogging Wednesday 5. Too often cute named wines are some strange blend that not are … to be honest… pretty bad.

I decided one of my personal criterias for the selection was to choose a wine from Washington State. I asked my local wine expert at work for a suggestion. He thought Sinister Hand by Owen Roe might be a good choice. Yeah… try to find it. This year’s supply seems to be sold out in the Seattle area.

I spent a few days cruising the local stores. Hubby came across the Frontier Red by Fess Parker but I couldn’t get myself to buy it. Too cute. (Did you know that Frass Winery in Sideways is the Fess Parker winery? And did you know that frass means excrement produced by insects?)

But I did find my wine for the tasting; Three Legged Red 2003 by Dunham Cellars in Walla Walla. Walla Walla is an outstanding region for serious reds like Cabernet Sauvignon. I was anxious to give it a try.

The wine is named as a tribute to the winemaker’s Eric Dunham’s dog, Port.

It was a sunny day in the summer of ’94 when I met Port. Outside I heard the distinct sound of an animal in distress. It took only moments to realize what was happening across the field from my house – a very small animal had fallen into harm’s way and was being attacked by a Pit Bull. I ran to the scene, broke up the fight and found that the small animal was a puppy that was very badly injured. Instinctively, I wrapped him up and took him to the veterinarian. I agreed to pay for the emergency surgery and recovery. The puppy had lost a leg, but found a home. With only three legs, and two on the port side, I named him Port, and he is my best friend.

dunham2
Being a cat person, I didn’t realize there was such a dog following in the wine business. A little sniffing around on the web dug up this article from the SF Chronicle about the dog friendly wineries and wines named for dogs. I wonder if anyone found “Chateau La Paws Coats du Bone Rone” from Rosenblum?

Wine Spectator rated the 2002 release an 87.
“Open, generous style has a layer of floral flavors around the generous plum and berry fruit, all mingling nicely with toasty notes on the round finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2005.

The StatemanJournal from Salem Oregon recently wrote up an article on second labels and says the following on the wine:

“Dunham Cellars of Walla Walla, Wash., purveyors of high end wines, mostly cabernet sauvignon, first created a mid-level tier of wines with Trey Marie.

And then they dug a little lower to find this winner, Dunham Cellars, 2003 Three Legged Red, $15. It’s a tough little thing, almost as tough as the three-legged dog on the label (if you have 150 or higher reading glasses, you might want to read the heart-wrenching — or heart-warming — story on the back label). Aromas start with earth, ash, and high-pitched berry aromas, leading to flavors of raspberry, blackberry and spice. Substantial tannins.”

The winemaker, Eric Dunham, pedigree is also pretty good. He interned at Hogue Cellars and then was assistant winemaker at L’Ecole No 41 for four years. He has been producing award winning Cabernet Sauvignons including a “Best of Show”! Dunham Syrahs are also showing promise.

Dunham’s Three Legged Red is quite good. It is a blend of Cabernet, merlot and syrah. I can definitely taste the syrah spicing up the blend and the merlot softening it. Hubby felt it was good but not complex. It definitely has a strong berry flavor but there is another taste that I can’t definitely identify. Several of the reviews mention items like ash and smoke. That might be it. At $16, it also a great value.

I served it with a spicy puttanesca style pasta and my favorite winter salad; Oranges, radishes, onions, olives and avocado served on a bed of lettuce with a light sherry vinagrette. A nice way to spend a mild NW winter night. Ruff!

Sonoma Getaway

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God, I’m getting old. We spent the weekend in Sonoma with friends and I’m exhausted.

We flew down to the Bay Area this weekend for an extended getaway. It all started when Ramkins published their Winter schedule and Judy Witts Francini aka Divina Cucina was teaching a Winter Tuscan Dinner class. Several of us on SlowTrav had said we would take the class. I signed up right way which was a good thing since it sold out.

We also hadn’t seen our friends in Bay Area for a while so we made arrangements to stay with them and we would spend the weekend in Sonoma.

Pauline fron SlowTrav found an outstanding rental, Cottage Sonoma. She said it would be big enough for two couples so we wented it. It was outstanding. I loved the Asian/Island style decor. It has two bedrooms, two baths, hard wood floors, a large open modern kitchen, patio, BBQ and hot tub. It was foggy and cold so we didn’t take advantage of the hot tub, but the deck and tub would be great in the Spring.

We flew into Oakland. We decided to tour a few of the gardens on the East Bay. Our first stop was the Lakeside Garden at Lake Merritt in Oakland. It has a metal lath house for Vireya Rhododendrons. Many of them were in bloom. It was kinda run down but nice vireya. Great for plant geeks.

Next we headed up to Berkeley and the Fourth Street shopping area. Our destination, Tacubaya, an upscale taqueria. Yummy. G had a mushroom-cheese chile rellano and a fish taco. I had a pork tamale and a beef taco. All was outstanding. I loved the chile aioli on the fish taco and the mole sauce on the tamale was a perfect blend of sweet/bitter chocolate and hot spices. We’ll go to Tacubaya again.

Next door is the Pasta Company. I picked up some porcini ravioli, sauce and a piece of Selle sur Cher goat cheese for dinner. At the wine store, we picked up a yummy Chianti from a producer I hadn’t heard of but was located in Panzano.

On the way back to the car, I ran into a former co-worker who had moved back to Bay Area several years ago. It was so strange to run into someone you know.

Our dinner that night was fun. We spent the evening talking politics and wondering about the future.

Friday, we lounged around while B worked from home. We did take in back to back viewing of Kill Bill and Kill Bill 2. Tarantino is not one of my favorites. I also don’t care lots of violence even over the top stylised violence.

We left shortly before 4pm and made it to Sonoma just around 5:30pm. We dumped our bags and headed out to Cafe La Haye for dinner. Boy oh boy was it good. G had a wild greens salad and taglattini with clams. It was spicy but good. A had mussels in a pernod-fennel sauce and a filet mignon spiced with pepper and lavendar. B had a green salad and the filet mignon. I had the endive, golden beet, dry jack cheese salad. It was great but unfortunately, the pale belgian endive and white cheese ended up not being very appetizing in appearance. My entree was a lamb shank in a great sauce. It was a red wine, broth, and tomate based and was the perfect sweetness to go with the lamb. But was the best was the mustard cooked cabbage. It was wonderful. Along with this we had a bottle of Flora Springs 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon.

We skipped dessert and headed back to the cottage. They had Trivial Pursuit 6. We always play TP when we are together. We play men against women. Several years ago, the women would always win but again is taking its toll. The women were ahead but we didn’t finish it so who knows who would have won. We opened a bottle of Robert Craig Affinity and had it with Fran’s chocolate truffles. Oh that was good.

– more to follow –

Getting in the Spirit in the NW

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It can be so tough here in the far corner of the US to get in the holiday spirit. It is cold, drizzly and dark. The sun comes up around 8am and sets shortly after 4pm. Eight hours but it can feel even shorter when the day is dark and cloudy.

We are not giving gifts this year so we don’t have the pressure of running around finding the perfect something. We have gone downtown for breakfast and to look around. It is great not having to be obligated to make purchases.

We also do not have a Christmas Tree. We got out of having one when our kitties were little. We didn’t want them to terrorize it while we were at work. We just didn’t get back into having one.

But we do like to have a lot of light during this time and do as much as we can outdoors. We have strung lights around the living room and on our fig tree. I purchased a wreath and have a nice bouquet of white flowers, seasonal evergreens and holly. I also pull out a lot of candles to add a warm glow to the room.

This year has also been very mild. It has not snowed this year and there have been few frosts. And we have had several warm sunny days. We have been able to get out on the trail on Saturday. Last Saturday, we went to Tiger Mountain. It had rained heavily the day before and the lower part of the trail was almost a stream. Fortunately, the trail is well constructed so the water is directed off and you can get around the it. It was cool at the top but not freezing.

This Saturday we went to Rattlesnake Ledge. It was so warm that I hiked in just a polypro top. I started out with my wool sweater but got too warm. It was busy. From the view at the top towards Snoqualmie Pass, there was very little snow.

But what else has been nice this year is the mild weather has allowed us to attend several of the outdoor seasonal events. Last Saturday, we went to the Pathway of Lights. We got back from Tiger and remembered it. It has been rainy the past several years so we couldn’t pass up the chance to see it without the rain.

We got there shortly after 6pm and they were just finishing lighting the 4,000 luminaries. We parked at the Bathhouse and headed out. It was already crowded. Most people were walking without lights. It was kinda spooky since you really couldn’t see if you were about to walk into someone. But it was also so cool. A few people had on short strands of Christmas lights. Several of the dogs had blinking lights on their collars. Around 7pm, the several lighted canoes launched from the Aquatheater. They glided along reflecting from the lake.

On Tuesday, the Christmas Ship sailed from Edmonds to Richmond Beach. The Christmas Ship is pretty commercial but there was a planned bon fire at Richmond Beach. That sounded really cool. Again, it was a rain free night. The ship left Edmonds at 7:00pm and was supposed to arrive at Richmond Beach around 8:10. We ate dinner and headed out around 7:30. It was already quite crowded when we arrived. I didn’t even attempt to try to park in the lot but parked a block or so away. You could see the fires from the top and the ships were just coming into view. We walked down the stairs and onto the beach. It was a great fire. It was stacked high and roaring in the breeze. You couldn’t stay very long facing it.

The boat arrived and the choir started. They were okay. We walked down along the water to cool off as they sang. We walked back up to the second bon fire as they finished. Looking up the hill, you could already see the cars streaming out and a traffic jam. We decided to stick around and let everyone leave. There is just something about standing around a bon fire on a cold winter night. We went home and had a hot chocolate.

DecMarta
Happy Holidays From Rattlesnake Ledge!

Art Walk

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Last Thursday we went downtown for the art walk. It has been a while since we visited the galleries. It was the perfect way to spend the evening.

We started the evening with dinner at a rather new restaurant called Crow. It is located on lower Queen Anne. It was fun. They have gotten several good reviews and the restaurant was listed in the Seattle Times Sunday Magazine as one of the hot bistros in town.

We went early (5:30 pm) and we were a bit surprised to find that it was going to be difficult to get a table. There were only one or two tables taken. They usually allow 2 hours for each seatting and had full seattings at 6:30-7:00pm. I explained that we were planning on a quick meal because we were heading out to the Pioneer Square galleries. Perfect. As long as we were out by 6:30 or so, they could seat us.

I don’t remember what used to be there. The room is large and open. You can see from the bar through to the kitchen. They have seating around the kitchen which look really fun. You can watch them prepare dinner. I’ve got to try that.

We looked over the menu. G doesn’t eat meat but does want fish on the menu. They only had the fish of the day which was seared scallops with bacon. I know… we could request them to make the dish without the meat. We’d probably do that but we have had a very bad experience at another restaurant where we requested that they not include the meat. The waitperson brought the dish and immediately grabbed it back and said that it was prepared with the meat! So there I sat eating my dish while we waited for them to correctly prepare G’s dish. Plus it made us feel so awkward when they quickly grabbed the plate back after sitting it down. It has made us very reluctant to try it again.

Okay, end of long story. We decided instead to order a couple of the small plates along with salads. I ordered the iceburg lettuce wedge with blue cheese. Nicely prepared with an ascertive blue. It came with a half of hard boiled egg and a crinkle cut raw carrot. G had the greens with blue cheese, pear and walnuts. I had a taste and it was nicely done. The vinagrette had a touch of tarragon.

For the small plates, we ordered the curried mussels, Brandade fritters. Both were wonderful but I really liked the curried mussels. We sopped up the broth with the crusty bread. Along with this we each had a glass of wine; G had a glass of Fairview Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa and I had a glass of Kris Pinot Grigio from Alto Adigo area of Italy. We have had both wines before and they were good. My only small complaint is the small pour they do for the glass of wine.

Off we went to the galleries. Our favorites ended up being the two we first visited; Linda Hodges and Global Art Venue. We were amazed at the watercolors by a Polish artist at Global Art Venue. There was also some nice glass.

It was a nice way to spend a Thursday evening.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #4

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Amity

Riesling, one of my favorites. It is such a great wine to pair with food especially seafood. Riesling grows well here in the Northwest but for a long time it has not been well done. It was often an over powering sweet wine.

But recently, there has an effort to improve the Riesling produced in the Pacific Northwest and make it more ‘serious’. And it has been very successful. The most well known is Eroica made by St Michele and Ernst Loosen from Bernkastel in Mosel valley Germany. It has been highly rated and is excellent. There is also a group of winemakers which has been formed to promote Oregon Rieslings. Dave McIntyre’s WineLine describes their efforts and the unfortunate recent death of winemaker Jim Brooks of Maysara who also made some very interesting Rieslings.

So I went in search of a Riesling from the Pacific Northwest and found the Amity 2001 Oregon Dry Riesling. The label says:

Our Riesling is made in a clean, crisp style that is excellent for sipping or with a meal. It is the perfect match with fresh crab, scallops, shrimp and ham. Although excellent now, it benefits from bottle aging. Vineyard profile: 59% Amity, Amity, 40% at Sunnyside, Salem and 1% at Bois Jolie, Amity. The 958 Cases of 750-ml bottles and 130 cases of 375-ml bottles were bottled in May 2002. The alcohol is 10.5%, the acidity is 7.7 g/L, the pH is 2.98 and the residual sugar is 1.05g/l.

Further notes

The 2001 Dry Riesling is a pretty, delicate wine. The nose has hints of peach, apple and honey, while the palette starts with tart apple that leads into honeyed peach.

It was perfect with our Sunday dinner of a fresh cracked Dunguness crab, sourdough bread and green salad. It had a good balance with some sweetness. You could also tell had been aged and mellowed. There were flavors of citrus and honey with mineral undertones. The color was golden. I would definitely purchase this one again ($14).

Several years ago I visited their winery located south of McMinnville in the Eola hills of Yamhill Valley. It is a great location with wonderful vistas over the surrounding hillside. I highly recommend stopping by the winery if you are touring the Yamhill Valley.

Vatican

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Perfect Satisfaction. That was dinner last night. We decided to cook in the apartment and picked up veal from Il Fiorentino. It was so tender and tasty. And the smoked mozzerella. Both E and I woke up this morning wanting more. But tonight we will dine at Monti. Natalie made reservations for us.

The Vatican and St. Peters was on our agenda today. The museum opened at 8:45 and would close around 1:00pm so we tried to get an early start. Off to the Metro. We both took a double-take when the train arrived. It was crammed full. Oh my – how would we fit in. We squeezed in. It was so packed. I held my camera and purse while we jerked back and forth between the stops.

We got off at the Vatican Museum stop and followed the signs. We arrived just before 8:45. The line extended down around the corned. We got to the corner and the line kept going… and going… finally about 3-4 blocks we got to the end of the line. It moved and finally by 10:00am we entered the museum.

The collection is amazing. We started with the Egyptian collection. It was on par with the King Tut exhibit. Next was the statuary. It got more crowded as we headed to the map room. It was one of my favorite rooms. I loved the perspective and the ceiling. Next was the Raphael Rooms. Stunning. We decided to escape the crowds for a bit and went through the Borgia Rooms. Finally, the Sistine Chapel. Crowded by so inspiring. Slowly as you absorb the painting, the crowds fall away and you are alone with the paintings.

By this time it was after 1pm and we needed food. We decided to grab a quick lunch at one of the restaurants between the museum and St. Peters. Hostaria Dei Bastioni was in the Cheap Eats so we gave it a try. It was actually just what we needed. I had a pasta and salad. They were very friendly owners with a mixed international crowd. The table next to us was a group from France.

On to St. Peters. Again, another line. This time to go through the metal detectors. We decided to climb to the dome. We got tickets for the stairs instead of the elevator and headed up. We were in condition and it went quickly. We took a quick view out over the floor of St. Peters before heading up the final narrow corkscrew stairs. But what vistas. And crowds.

A quick trip down and into the St. Peters. Michaelangelos Pieta was stunning. E and I were speechless and moved.

We decided to walk back to the apartment. It took about hour to go from the Vatican to beyond the Colosseum. We had some time to rest before our 8:30 dinner reservation.

We had high expectations of Monti. Several of the past guest had written highly of the restaurant. It also has some rave reviews on Fodors. It was good but we were a bit disappointed. The staff was excellent. They gave us a menu in English. It had just a bit of description of the dishes. We started by sharing an appetizer dish of deep fried breaded olives with lightly breaded and deep fried zuchini. Next we split the pasta of the day which was a fettucini with a vegetable cream sauce of zucchini, zuchini flowers and pureed carrot. Very nice. For a main entry, E had the lamb cutlets. This was the major disappoint of the night. We expected to get lamb chops but instead she got a rib lamb chop that had been breaded and deep fried. I had the rabbit stuffed with sausage and roasted potatoes. Our wine was a bottle of Montiano by Falesco. It was 70€. Although disappointed with E’s main entry, we would recommend Monti’s.

Soggy Rome

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Our luck the weather changed when we arrived. The first day was sunny but windy and very cold. The rain moved in and we have had rain off and on most of the days. It definitely makes it challenging walking on the narrow sidewalks and dodging each others umbrellas. The streets are not too slippery and fortunately, the motos take care not to splash.

November 10

We made our first trip on the Metro. We took the line from San Giovanni which is near our apartment to the Spanish Steps. We were headed to the Villa Borghese. We had reserved a ticket for 11 and gave ourselves an hour to get there. The Metro was still crowded even after 10am. Accelerate and stop – accelerate and stop. It took a bit to get my footing. After leaving the metro station, we wandered a bit in the park trying to find our way. I am always disoriented getting off the Metro.

With the help of some other lost Americans, we found our way and made our viewing time. I didn’t realize I would have to check my large purse/bag and forgot my glasses. E had to read all guide book aloud to me. I felt so helpless!

shoes After the museum, we made our way to the Spanish Steps. We found a cafeteria recommended in Slow Eats, Pasticceria D’Angelo and it wasn’t too bad. I had pasta with ham, peas and cream and E had a composed salad. It fueled us for some serious window shopping. Gorgeous clothes along Via Condotti. Lots of sharp pointed toed boots. I just dont see how anyone can walk in those. I felt so dowdy with my stubby toe shoes and slightly high water slacks. The other style is some seriously flared pants. I do like those. Nice ones in the Max Mara.

trevi We cruised back up the apartment. Along the way we stopped at the Trevi Fountain to throw a coin in the fountain. Now we will return to Rome. E also wanted to look for the Hotel Trevi. She visited Rome when she was 7 and she remembers her mother talking about how she would wake when the fountain turned off. We looked up and down the streets but could not find it. We had given up. I saw a sign to the Pasta Museum and headed to check it out. Around a corner suddenly we saw… Hotel Trevi! We found it.

Another long walk back to the apartment. We were tired. But got inspired after deciding to eat at Da Giggetto in the Jewish Quarter. We love the fried artichokes and we each had one as a starter. We split a fettucini with funghi. E had the tongue and I had the Saltimbocca. We split a chestnut pastry. After a nice Chianti, we were totally satisfied even with the long walk. Total cost 70 €.

November 11

maria Today, we took in the Pantheon and two churches near by. Santa Maria sopre Minerva and San Luigi dei Francesi with a gorgeous Carvaggio painting. It was raining so Piazza Navona was deserted. We had a quick lunch in Campo di Fiori at Hostaria Romanesea before discovering Roscioli on Via dei Giubbonari just off the Campo. We got a bottle of Querciabella Chianti, pesto, San Martino pasta and the most awesome smoked buffalo mozzerella. We also went to Il Fiorentino butcher shop which was also recommended by Arthur Schwartz. We got some veal. We didn’t get the T-Bone but another cut that looked like a spencer steak (rib).

We headed off and took time to tour the Cat Santuary in Torre Argentina. It was inspiring to hear the volunteers talked about the efforts they made to save the cats.

Time for dinner. Our veal and pesto is calling.

Roma

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colosseum How strange it was. It took almost two days of touring the ancient city to finally feel like we have arrived! It may be that there is not a singular site that defines Roma for us. Finally today after eating at a small restaurant where everyone spoke Italian did we finally feel like we are in Rome.

Nov 7

We had a lazy day in our apartment in Voorshoten. We did a bit of cleaning before the owner Nina arrive to inspect the apartment and finalize the bill. I had an 18 € phone bill. All the surfing. 🙂 She gave us a ride to Schiphol. It was an easy check in and we had a chance to pickup some chocolate (Leonidas of course) before leaving. The flight was fine although it was filled with Dutch high school kids on a trip to Rome. They were so loud!

We were picked up by Maximillian for a quick trip into Rome. We were introduced to the type of driving done in Rome; often he flashed his headlights to get the slower cars to pull over and often straddled the white line.

About 35 minutes later, we arrived at our apartment. Natalia met us at the door and showed us up to the first floor. Our new home for a week; Colosseum View 1 from Dolce Roma. It was much larger than we expected and very tastefully decorated. She even had painted the walls. We also met her husband Walter. She took time to tell us what to see and recommend several places for dinner. What is best about the apartment is how well stocked it is with items to make the stay more comfortable. Amble plush large towels, everything you need for breakfast including coffee and milk and other little touches like hairdryer.

It was time for dinner so we make a short walk down the street to Trattoria Luzzo. They had a section setup outside under cover and heated and we decided to spend our first dinner outside. It was enjoyable and not too expensive. We split an antipasto mixta. I had spaghetti all’amatriciana and E had roasted veal. We split a insalada mixta. Of course, we also had a bottle of Chianti red wine. At the table next to us were another American couple. They had tiramisu and I couldn’t resist and order it also. Total bill was 29 €

Nov 8
colosseum2
A good night sleep and up for our first chore. After coffee, we made a trip to the local supermarket Dia a Dia for eggs, snacks, and water. Back to the apartment and the hunt for a cash machine. The first one did not work but I finally found one. It was noon and time for lunch. We made a quick trip around the outside of the Colosseum before going to Cafe Cafe, a wine bar. We each had a salad and a glass of wine. My salad was a mixture of Breaola, arugula, buffalo mozzerella and pear. E’s salad was Prosciutto, arugula, cheese, mushrooms and walnuts.

forum We headed out to tour the Colosseum. Such an amazing building. I really wanted the sound track to Gladiator to walk along the aisles. It wasn’t too crowded. Next we headed out to the Palatine. It was sunny but the wind was very cold and strong. Neither of us had bundled up expecting it to be warmer. But it was almost as cold as Amsterdam. We later saw on the TV that the temperatures were 6 degrees below normal and on Sunday the temperature had dropped 7 degrees in one day. Just our luck. From here we headed to the forum. We struggled to read sections from the guide book with our numb hands in the wind. We left to see a view point and the forum closed so we did not get to finish our visit. Oh well another day.

We went back to the apartment after making a quick stop at the grocery store for a bottle of wine and a couple more cheeses. We warmed up with some Scilian wine and cheese. About 8:30 we mosied out for dinner. We choose a restaurant closer by, Hosteria Isidoro. This was not as good as the night before and was geared at tourists. It was a disappointment. We split an antipasti. E had chicken gorgonzola and I had lamb spedini. We both had mixed salads with walnuts. And a liter of the house wine. It was 37€. They tried to charge us for a tiramisu that we didn’t eat. Fortunately, we noticed it.

Nov 9

Today was church day. We walked to Santa Maria Maggiori. It was an interesting church with some fascinating mosaics. Several inlaid with gold. We completely forgot to bring binoculars so we couldn’t see the details. We did get to see a relic – A holy crib.

From here we walked up by Termini to find the wine store Il Trimani. It had a wonderful selection of wines. The prices did not look extremely good. Several wines that I recognized were priced similar to Seattle once I took the 30% euro conversion into factor. But there were several nice Chianti. E picked up a price list of the Barolos.

It was time for lunch so we walked back down Via Cavour and turned on a side street to locate La Carbonara. It was mentioned on a list given to us by Natalia. It has been in existence since 1906 and made fresh pasta. We split a carciofi alla giudia (deep fried artichoke) which was really yummy. A great mixture of nutty flavor with salt. I had to have pasta and ordered Spaghetti alla carbonara. What else could I order! E had a plate of straccetti (thin sliced beef) sauteed with onions, herbs and carciofi (artichokes).

We wanted to go back and finish the forum so we headed to Piazza Venezia. We got distracted by Trajans forum and column. I think it is finally starting to hit me that I am looking at 2000 year old works. The column is in wonderful condition for the age and has some stellar carvings. We also meandered through the forum and Augustus’s Foro. By now, it had started to sprinkle. I didn’t have a raincoat or umbrella this time so we started back around the Colosseum and back to the apartment. By time we got to our street, we remembered that St Clement church was along the way and we dropped in to warm up and dry off.

stclementsThere are the remains of three places of worship on the site. One pagan from the 1st century, built on top of this in the 4th century is a church to St. Clements with some interesting frescos. Above that built around the 12th century (?) is the most recent. I loved the frescos and painting in the alter. This was the most interesting church this far. It was very cool in the lowest level where the pagan worship was done and the 1st century roman condos. We kept thinking that 2000 years ago people walked the same paths and lived there.

Now we feel like we are in Rome!

Wrapping up

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E arrived yesterday. She did so well and made it through the day at the office. We went back to the apartment early and had a light dinner before she crashed from jet lag.

Today is pretty slow. The weather is very cloudy. We met up with another former co-worker who is living here in Holland and had a nice lunch at an eetcafe along the canal.

Tonight, we are going to dinner at a co-worker. He is Italian so we hope to get some tips on our trip. Tomorrow we will spend the day exploring Amsterdam and then it is off. It went so quickly