Ultima giorno

This is it. The end of my last day in Italy. I have mixed feelings about this. But first, I'll tell you how I spent it...

I woke up early (I unfortunately seem to do that a lot) and hopped on a train to Firenze to make my 10:30 am appointment at the Uffizi Gallery. It was incredible, as can be expected. Botticelli has a certain way with eyes... the faces have expression, but the eyes themselves seem to be lost in the distance, as if they're forever looking through you to contemplate the vast sorrow of things. It's pretty spectacular.

There were a couple of paintings of Leonardo's, I really need to see more of those at some point. I'll have to negotiate some way, some day, to get to Milan, then Paris for the Louvre.

Michaelangelo and Rafael continue to awe. They also had a temporary Carvaggio exhibition, featuring a few artists from the 16-1700's, which was great, but I wish I could have spent more time in it. It's interesting to see the forms emerging and new techniques of lighting used. A lot of the subject matter was a bit brutal- more blood and decapitations and the like, but brilliant.

After that, I ducked around street corners until I found Dante Alighieri's house, which has a quaint museum inside. Again, I wish I had more time, but I did learn cool new things about merchant guilds, feudalism, the house of the Medici (I never get tired of saying "Medici") and saw some replicas of their crests that he refers to in the Inferno. I will try to finish reading it on the plane... I have such little time!

I of course, had to make time to eat at Il Latini again, and I swear it gets better every time. The restaurant just has an amazing, welcoming vibe, and the food is simple, but prepared perfectly and the ingredients are fantastic.

I had originally planned to order the caprese salad and the vitello, but the Australian guy next to me insisted "You can't come here and not eat the steak!" and his looked damn tasty, so I decided to give it a shot. Turns out that he goes to that restaurant every time he comes to Italy, about 5 times now. He was a cheesecake maker from Australia, funny old guy. The community table evokes interesting conversations.

Me: "So what kind of food should I eat in Australia? What's the national dish?"

Him: "Beef!"

Me: "I see."

Him: "Oh, and cheesecake!"

I promise if you repeat this out loud, alternating a stereotypical Australian accent it is much funnier.

Without Further ado, I present:

Bistecca alla Fiorentina. If you look in the background very carefully, this picture captures the very moment the lady behind me became exceedingly jealous that she had not ordered it.

The spinach was there merely to save my dignity. It was delicious, though.

Because LOOK AT THAT STEAK!!! They don't ask you how you want it cooked, this is how it's supposed to be, and this is how you get it. It's pretty fantastic. It was a damn kilo of grass-fed happy porterhouse perfection. Tender... fatty... perfect sear on the outside... beyond yum. Nirvana steak.

For the steer's sake, I wish I could have finished it. But he should rest happy knowing he died for my sinful ways. I'm pretty sure that gratis biscotti and Vin Santo are the norm here, and they're really into handing out a Moscato d'Asti they're proud of, and rightly so. I think they would be offended if you didn't drink- no teetotalers allowed. Note my 3 glasses of varying wine in the above pic.

I scored a shirt and a couple bottles of olive oil, then had to set out on my merry way back to Orvieto for our final dinner (not that I was hungry after that, LOOK AT THAT STEAK!)

But we got our certificates for the program, and some cool t-shirts. After that, I finished packing and hauled my HEAVY bags to the restaurant so they would be ready to go in the morning, early. I have some anxiety after the baggage debacle from the beginning of the trip, but I guess I shouldn't dwell too much.

Italy... has been a really big experience for me. I've seen and done things that I never imagined I could do, and somehow managed to travel a pretty extensive distance in a foreign country alone, and survived, prospered even. I can hang with a small but functional amount of the language, and I had some eye-opening meals.

I'm sure it will sink in later. I feel pretty changed for this, I know my cooking techniques will be changed, hopefully for the better. I really, really love the concept of seasonality here, it's not a buzzword tossed around for "foodies" sake, it the only way to eat.

While some of the best meals (okay, the best) I've ever eaten were in the U.S., there's something to be said for the simplicity of it all. Good raw ingredients makes good food, period. If you start with inferior product... well, you might as well not be eating, in my opinion.

I am definitely spending a lot more time at the farmer's market when I get back. And walking, everywhere, I love what it's done for my calves (he he!) and I get to eat multi-course meals twice a day and still lose weight. You can't beat that. I'm sure many more lessons will sink in later, after some reflection and introspection, but in closing, I have one overwhelming thought...

LOOK AT THAT STEAK!

~fin~

Steadfastly gnawing through Orvieto

Because someone has to do it!

After the fiasco (and how!) yesterday, the only thing I wanted to do today was sleep. And eat. Drinking water was nice as well. There... was a little bit of a bumpy start, as my roomie didn't seem to understand the sleep impetus from my point of view, but all is settled now. Anyhoo, I was unfortunately awake at noon, so I decided to get some lunch.

I should have taken pictures of the interior of this restaurant, because it is adorable, but alas, my thoughts rested with water, food, and sleep, so I forgot. Sorry. I also forgot the name, because... I am lame sometimes.

Orvieto misto- clockwise from top left: crostini with sundried tomato and spicy red pepper spread, crostini with fresh tomatoes, arugula with some kind of cured, smoked meat (beef, I'm assuming) lonza (the lighter colored cured meat) procuitto, peppered salumi, rosemary foccacia, 3 kinds of cheese, and a couple spears of pickled veggies in the center. Pretty good hangover food.

Pillowy gnocci with four cheeses. Yum, but very filling!

After lunch, there was sleep, glorious, glorious sleep.

For dinner, I heard of a restaurant in town that does a Chianina beef tasting menu, and decided to check it out. Also, it is very charming... above is the outdoor patio and the front door...

Then you take the steps down into the re-purposed Etruscan cave. I love Orvieto!

View from my table.

And a hearty selection of grappas!

More wine, and their bakery area. Note the stuffed boar's head tucked into the corner.

Everything gets cooked over wood coals, I'm sold. The plethora of wine around me doesn't hurt either.

First course: Chianina carpaccio with pecorino fricco (toasted rounds made of cheese) arugula, fresh oregano, and super-ripe cherry tomatoes.

Chianina beef ravioli, with a Chianina ragu, olive oil, and shredded carrots. These cattle taste pretty good in any form...

And tagliata with grilled vegetables (there's a cheese-stuffed roasted tomato under the veggies-I like surprises).

Coffee semifreddo (essentially a frozen dairy dessert stabilized with gelatin) which made me really happy, even though it wasn't made of Chianina beef.

Tomorrow, we are cooking a six-course meal for 40 people as our send-off from Italy. I'm on salad- no sweat, but I do have to wake up early. I also have a final exam right before dinner, but it's open-note so I am not overly concerned. However, more sleep sounds pretty nice right now.

Buona notte!

The Florentine Fiasco

Ah, Firenze. I originally meant to go to the Uffizi gallery yesterday, but the line was way too long for my tastes. I went ahead and booked an appointment for Saturday morning, the day before I leave. Seeing some Botticellis then going back to my favorite Italian restaurant seems like a good last day in Italy to me!

Since I had the morning free (two of my friends also went to Firenze, but they split off to go see David and we met back up for lunch) so I wandered around the leather market and other parts of the city, it was a nice, slow morning. I LOVE the leather market, it has one of the best smells on the planet.

The Piazza della Signiora, with all the sculptures has this gem:

One of my favorite sculptures in Italy by Giambologna. It's titled "The Rape of the Sabine Women" after the story from the beginning of the Roman empire, but the title was added after its creation when a member of the Medici family decided it should be displayed in the piazza. It is beautiful, dramatic. It was quite unique at the time because it had more than one focal point- any direction you look at it from it is dynamic and impressive. Beautiful.

My favorite restaurant in Italy, Il Latini. It is packed daily from the time it opens, if you walk in and there are no tables open, they'll fit you in either at the community table by the bar, or ask patrons with an empty seat if they'll share their table with you.

Il Latini is a fiasceria, a traditional Tuscan style of restaurant with the 2 liter bottles of (very good) house wine with wicker bottoms. You drink what you like from the "fiasco" and they charge you for what you consume at the end of the meal. The whole 2 liters is only 12 euro; amazing value, especially for the quality of the wine.

In fact, these kinds of restaurants are where the English term "fiasco" originated. When gambling or playing games back in the olden days, the loser would have to buy the fiasco for the other players, hence a mistake being a "fiasco", it really just means that you're buying, but of course the colloquialism of the term has changed over time!

Procuitto di Parma, a slab of Tuscan salumi, crostini with liver, and a barley salad with cucumbers and tomatoes. The owner walks around and smiles at you as you're eating, directing the super friendly waiters to bring you something else to try, gratis. Hence, we ordered the salumi and ended up with all of this!

Clockwise from top: ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta in tomato sauce, a rustic vegetable soup with potatoes and zucchini, penne with ragu, and tomato soup. Tuscan soups are thick- you eat them with a fork if you really want, because they thicken them with leftover bread crumbs. Top it off with a liberal drizzle of olive oil and some grated parmeggiano-reggiano and you have an awesome thing going.

Prime rib. It's about 2" thick, perfectly cooked, grass-fed of course, with jus. This... was the best piece of beef I have ever had. The texture... the flavor... the yellow fat! everything about this simple slab of meat is pure, unadulterated delicious steer. I'm pretty sure its Chianina, the traditional breed from Tuscany and Umbria. They're very proud of these cattle, they're renowned for their incredible flavor.

Tender fried lamb chops, needs nothing more than a squeeze of fresh lemon to be tasty perfection.

Gratis, Vin Santo and biscotti, which is in the process of tying with tiramisu for my favorite dessert.

And just to make sure we were sloshed at lunch, (we did a number on that fiasco) they insisted that we try glasses of our waiter's favorite Moscato D'Asti. Seriously, everything I have had from this place is perfection, simple food at its finest!

After that, we grabbed some beers (shh! I don't need to hear your admonitions!) and hopped on a train to Pisa.

Strictly for these pictures, and nothing else.

From lunch on, I'm not sure any of us went for more than a few minutes without a beer in our hands, (oops) so we, er, accidentally missed the last train to Orvieto. It turned out okay- we found a hotel and drank in a my favorite Florentine dive bar, the Joshua Tree Pub. It's nice to know the good spots, we all had an excellent time, even if my brain didn't appreciate it this morning!

Ciao!

Art in many forms.

Sorry about the delay in posting, but I had to spend much of my time on a research paper that ended up being 21 pages once you count references and appendices, and then make a powerpoint of it for presentation. Not fun.

Last Saturday I finally made it to the Vatican, and it was... beyond description. I love, love, LOVE art, and the collections in their museums are absolutely priceless. Add to that the Sistine Chapel... wow. Michaelangelo showed me the true meaning of 'masterpiece'.

St. Peter's Basilica.

Wenzel Peter's "the Garden of Eden".

My man Dali is there too!

I did fortunately, find time to eat, after realizing in a panic "there's restaurants in Orvieto I haven't tried yet!!!" Sunday night I went Trattoria del Moro. Great, great food. I was lucky to get in, they're usually booked solid every night, but I came early and waited, so they found me a spot. Above is rolled pasta 'roses' filled with mozzarella and local honey, so awesome!

Tagliata (sliced beef) with a PILE of truffle sauce, and shaved truffles, and some grilled veggies on the side. The aroma... beyond me!

Of course, tiramisu, espresso, wine!

Monday night: La Volpe e L'uva ("The Fox and the Grape") run by a nice old grandma. This is simple crostini with fresh ash-rhind goat cheese and truffle sauce. I could eat this every day, seriously.

The typical pasta of Umbria, umbrichelli, with... truffles. Also very, very yum.

And a hearty, rustic stew of wild boar with red wine, cherries, and rosemary.

And a lemon and almond torta. Yum time!

Tonight, heading to another local restaurant to school myself in Umbrian cuisine, my favorite regional cuisine- it's the truffles! They get me, every time...

Arrivaderci!

Hi there, Duke!

Sorry, but I have to keep this one short. I have to wake up at 4:45 am tomorrow to catch a train to Roma to finally go to Vatican City. I booked my ticket ahead so I won't have to wait in line, and I bought my train ticket earlier today.

This morning I rented a Fiat (a dirty one- the rental car standards here are pretty low.) and drove to Urbino, a city in the heart of Marche. It would have been worth the rental fee just for the drive out there; amazing scenery. Took a little longer than anticipated to get there, as I kept having to stop and take pictures. My brother would really have loved it.

But I wanted to see the Palazzo Ducale, I was a little worried about finding it, until I looked to my left:
Can't miss that. The palazzo contains one of the world's most important collections of Renaissance art and is a UNESCO world heritage site. You can't take pictures inside, but really, if you go to Italy, make time for it. The wood inlay work inside is enough to warrant a trip, without even taking into consideration the other art within. It's... fabulous, in every sense of the word.

A google image search for "wood inlay, palazzo ducale, italy" (copy/paste, it won't let me post the link) turns up one image. The walls in the room are flat- the sense of depth comes from the mastery of perspective. It is very beautiful.

But I did sneak a pic of this hand-written and drawn Latin Bible in one case. That's the first page of Genesis.

And the Duke's veiw. Lucky bastard.

Another veiw of the Palace. Awesome.

Buona notte!

Things I will never quite "get".

Sometimes, Roma, you really push my buttons. You delay my trains, even though you know my time is limited. You soak me in rain, for the fun of it, I assume.

Even your stray dogs want my change. Unashamedly you toss in front of me scenes of depravity, force me to confront elements of humanity I often forget about in my naivety.

And some of your quirkier... eccentricities I could never hope to understand.

In fact, sometimes I am downright disgusted by you, Roma. You're a gritty mess, with awful traffic, pickpockets, swindlers, and crap tourist food.

You know I can't resist your grandeur. You know that I will come in any weather, change my best laid plans, and fret over you, and you exploit that. You tempt me with history and art, then around the next corner you attempt to take my money and humiliate me in your downpours.

But I can't stay mad at you, Roma. On some level I understand that the dirty parts, the grungy corners, add to the pure, unadulterated humanity you exude. I get it, and while at times I frown upon you for sitting back, for allowing it...

for resting on your stately laurels, you have earned it. You purport to be a modern city, to be relevant, but your past is where your relevance lies, and there's nothing wrong with that. I even understand why you will never admit to it.

It's a damn glorious past. You possess more earthly treasures than you could ever hope to know what to do with, and you sell me tickets at a premium, and I feel honored to pay it.

Because you know you're unique. You hold... the archetype of my own culture. You hold the key to the knowledge we take for granted. You destroy your treasures, if only to create new ones. You adapt, but somehow you do it without changing your character, and I admire that in you.

And your lifetime of sights hold the power to stop me in my tracks at every corner. You have no idea, what you do to me, Roma.

I take that back, I'm pretty sure you're aware. I'm pretty sure at some level you have life of your own. I don't even think I'm anthropomorphizing, here. You radiate with life. You shine with all the beauty inherent in mankind, all the art, music, elements of hope and justice, charity and goodness. Simultaneously you unabashedly shove our dirtier side to the forefront, make us all to aware of the follies that have plagued our kind since you were the center of all things, and before.

You truly are the eternal city. I'm truly honored and humbled to have scratched your surface.

P.S. Roma; I will be making it to Vatican City. You won't stop me next time. Nice try, though.