There are lots of reasons why I may never drive a car in Italy. For one thing, I’m not one of those people who “loves driving” even in the U.S., so I have no problem letting the husband - who does love driving - take the wheel when we travel. And don’t get me started on how crazy I think Italian drivers are. But even on a more basic level, I’m not sure I’d ever be able to park a car in Italy.
The streets of Milan are, like many big cities in Italy, always rife with examples of - shall we say - creative parking. Many of the sidewalks are extra wide, and fully 1/2 to 2/3 of that space is taken up by parked cars. Yes, parked cars on the sidewalk. And not half on the sidewalk, half on the street, either - they drive up onto the sidewalk at the “driveways” which are positioned periodically along the sidewalk, and then slot their little cars into their spaces. Word to the wise - if you’re walking down a sidewalk around the time folks are leaving for work or around the time they’re returning home, don’t have your head buried in a book or you might just end up doing a face-plant into a Fiat Panda.
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Mercer has just released its 2008 Quality of Living survey - it ranks cities around the world in terms of cost of living, personal safety, recreation opportunities, public transportation, and many other factors to come up with an overall ranking on “quality of living for expatriates.” Needless to say, I was curious where Italian cities had ended up.
Milan ranks 41st (up from 49th last year) on Overall Quality of Living, and that’s it. That’s the only appearance of any Italian city in the top 50 for either Quality of Living or Personal Safety. Yes, folks, that’s kind of …
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I’ve mentioned how much I love the Home Food organization before, and even wrote about attending a Home Food dinner in Milan, so with the busy summer travel season ahead of us I wanted to remind everyone who’ll be in Italy this summer of this exceptionally cool opportunity to dine in a real Italian home and eat real Italian food. I just received the calendar for Home Food’s July 2008 dinners, and here are a few of the highlights.
Rome, July 5 - In this case you get a pair of cooks (Emanuala and Carlo), and some traditionally Roman dishes. (€39.90/person)
Bologna, July 6 - In the city where Home Food began, this meal is presented by Luisina and is representative of some of Italy’s most famous food. (€39.90/person)
Rome, July 13 - Flavia is the hostess of this dinner, which is a bit of a twist on long-held food traditions. (€39.90/person)
Florence, July 13 or July 30 - Carla is your hostess here in the heart of Florence, and she’s serving up some of her mother’s recipes. (€39.90/person)
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Looking for hostels in Rome? Here are some of the ones I’ve visited personally, or stayed in. The links go to the detailed reviews I’ve done, including photographs, so you can better choose which of these hostels in Rome is best for your trip.
Alessandro Downtown Hostel
Alessandro Palace Hostel
M&J Place Hostel
Mosaic Hostel
The Yellow Hostel
Here are a few other Rome hostels you can choose from (I haven’t visited these myself, so I can’t vouch for them):
Ciao Bella
Blue Hostel
Enjoy Hostel
Hostel Vacanza
Tiber Hostel & Camping
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Flipping back through the little notebook I carried around Venice when I last visited, I found this:
After spending a day riding out to Torcello and back on the ACTV boats, even on the “solid” ground of Venice I can still feel the rocking of the water. I almost tipped over as I stood up in my hotel room. I’m taking that as a sign that Venice has gotten inside of me.
I’ve made no secret of my deep love for Venice, and am in turns both surprised and sad whenever I hear that people didn’t like their visit to the city. I understand why someone might not have a good time there, and yet even when I’m faced with some of the things people complain about - bad food, thick crowds, high prices - I’m able to accept all of those things as just the price I have to pay if I want to experience the good sides of Venice, too.
After my previous visits to Venice (all in the months of July or September), I wasn’t able to adequately explain what I loved about the city so much - I’d just gush to friends and family about how wonderful Venice is, without any concrete reasons why I felt that way. After this last visit, however, I think I’ve finally put my finger on it: Venice transports me.
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Some Italian news for your Sunday reading pleasure:
If the idea of a “Pope Casanova” seems surprising to you (as it did to me), then check out this Times Online article about the young man’s entry into Rome before his more legendary days as a, well, a Casanova.
Rick Steves writes about why he loves the Cinque Terre, even after all these over-touristed years.
If Nutella isn’t addictive enough for you already, consider that some young Italians are eating some of the hazelnut goo that’s been “enhanced” with psychedelic mushrooms.
Now that “Angels & Demons” is nearly …
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Although I was based in Milan during my last trip to Italy, I was gallivanting around the country for roughly half of the entire trip. So, although I do know Milan quite a bit better than I did before, I still feel like there are surprises waiting for me around every corner. One of those surprises was actually discovered by the husband, who pointed it out to me later. It’s a little surprise I completely fell in love with, even more so because it’s unassuming and looks like almost no one pays attention to it. It’s Milan in braille.
Tucked to one side of the grand pedestrian walkway that is the Corso Vittorio Emanuale II, leading from the Duomo to the Piazza San Babila, is a small pedestal with what looks like a miniature representation of central Milan on the top. It looks crudely done at first glance - you can recognize the Duomo, for instance, but you might think it’s a pretty half-hearted attempt at making it realistic-looking. The reason for this is clear once you get closer. Central Milan’s streets and major monuments are all marked in braille, as the whole thing is meant for blind visitors to get an “overview,” if you will, of the city.
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For this Italy photo of the week, we’re in Asolo:
Food shop windows are some of my favorites in Italy, because even the uncooked displays are mouth-watering. This is a tray of ready-made pumpkin-filled tortelloni, dusted with powder to keep from sticking to one another, and just waiting to be scooped up by someone on his or her way home from work. Note that they’re tortelloni - not tortellini. It’s one letter, but it makes a difference. Tortellini are the little ones, but these tortelloni are big - just a few on a plate would be a …
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There are so many things to keep in mind when you’re hunting down a scoop of high-quality gelato in Italy, you’d be forgiven for just giving up and choosing whichever gelateria is closest to you. But in addition to my tips on finding good Italian gelato, some folks in Florence are trying to make it even easier on you by creating the “Real Homemade Gelato” designation.
Think of this “Real Homemade Gelato” designation, which is “vero gelato artiginale” in Italian, as you might think of a verification that a certain cheese is really parmigiano reggiano and not a …
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Some Italian news for your Sunday reading pleasure:
Yay! After a disastrous start, the Italian soccer team has actually made it out of the first round at the Euro 2008 soccer tournament. They have to play Spain today, and it’s win or go home. Keep your fingers crossed…
Well, you don’t hear this everyday. A dentist in the Ligurian city of Genoa has announced that he’ll perform his dental services for free in return for sex.
Italian actress Asia Argento seems to regret having French-kissed a dog for a scene in the movie, “Go Go Tales,” and …
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