TOsalsa - Rose Knows Small Fat Italian Vacation

Nothing is more heavenly than having a stressful few months at work and then to get an email from a friend to say that you're welcome to meet up in Rome and tour the Italian Countryside -- who could resist? The last time I was in Europe, I took a 5 week whirlwind Contiki Tour which took me a week through Italy to see all the major cities and artifacts in Rome, Pompeii, Florence and Venice I've studied in the past; but nothing prepared me for the charm of the Italian countryside, the amazing local wines and the fabulously freshly prepared Italian foods.

And twice, I was lucky enough to tour in the Fall (September/October) when the tourist season is over and the weather is picture perfect! While I was glad to have the Indian Summer weather most of the days I was in Italy, they had almost no rain for 5 months which meant the grape and olive crops were small. So when they harvest them this season, they will produce great quality wine and olive oil, but in a smaller quantity, and therefore more expensive to buy.

Most small towns had small trattorias (restaurants) with a fabulous selection of regional Red and White Italian wines ranging from 8-16 Euros and a variety of Prima and Secondi Entrees for you to choose from -- anything and everything your Italian heart could desire in terms of food -- antipasti, meat and/or seafood pastas and main courses, and contorni (side dishes). It was interesting to sample and taste the different styles of antipasti, bruschetta, pastas and meats offered in each small town. The only time I had a bad meal was if we forgot it was siesta time and had to get a panini sandwich in a small coffee shop. Each meal, I tried to pick something I had not tried before in Italy and/or to compare it to what is served in Toronto.

Needless to say, you can get spoilt eating in Italy and almost never want to set foot in an Italian restaurant in Toronto -- there is no comparison to the freshness of the local ingredients, except for the panini sandwiches in the coffee shops! They were definitely better in Toronto!

Would I go back again? Most definitely, in a heartbeat -- and tour other parts of the countryside of Italy.


Picture Gallery	The Town of Amelia and Piazza Farrantino I stayed in the quaint little town of Amelia, just one hour outside of Rome, and stay in a beautiful little piazza bed and breakfast for 3 nights, then one night in Hotel Amelia. Most of the pics in this gallery was mainly of the Piazza which was built around 1752(?). The picture on the left was inside the main hallway of the Piazza with the original horse stairs leading up to the bedrooms. Living in a beautifully restored home from the 1700's was an experience in itself as the owner was an antique dealer who has been restoring it to its former glory in stages over the years. The main floor has the owner's own living space, and a kitchen with a separate eating area which used to be the original kitchen, but transformed into a dining area for B&B guests. Having breakfast in this room was heavenly as you felt you were transported to another page in time -- each room in the kitchen and dining area had its own wood-burning stove and high arched windows. The typical breakfast is choice of coffee (with hot milk), tea, juice, toast, croissant, yogurt and/or choice of cereals. The first night we ended up in a restaurant that was celebrating Oktoberfest and had a daily appetizer special of locally-made German Sausage and Potato. We decided to try it and it was a gastronomic surprise as it was quite tasty. On another night, we went to a local restaurant where we were the only customers. That night I decided to try their mixed grill which had sausage, beef rib, lamb chop and a pork chop cooked over the coals of a wooden stove! In Hotel Amelia, I ordered a pasta with minced rabbit sauce (Fettucini Cingale) -- which was quite simple, but tasty. What also surprised me on the last day before we left for Rome was dropping into a small boutique and picking up some reasonably-priced, fashion-forward tops for work.

Picture Gallery	The Umbrian Countryside So each day, we visited and walked through different small towns 20-30 minutes away from Amelia -- Baschi, Todi, Orvieto, Spello, Spoleto and Perugia. You can't go wrong by visiting different small towns along the highways of Italy. Many of them are built on cliffs and soar above the lush green Italian countryside. Because the roads are so small in each of the small towns, you need to park your car in the public parking area in the Centro of the city, and then you can meander (walk) through the small picture perfect residential roads. Everywhere I walked, you could find a map stand that would give you your location and a bit of history of the building behind it. And because it was so picturesque, I couldn't stop snapping pictures of anything and everything that had the beauty and charm of the past. Throughout, you'll see the typical front doors of the homes in the small towns and I also couldn't resist the various archways with stone steps. Also, most small towns had their own church/cathedral that was open for you to walk through and admire the art and architecture from another era. Perugia was the largest town I visited, and I had a few hours to shop in one area with clothes, hand bags and shoe stores. It had a mix of cheap and expensive clothing and shoes. The most amazing find was a store that sold Italian-made clothing that was probably knock-offs of the latest fashions at prices only found in H&M or Zara clothing stores in Toronto. In terms of places to eat, some towns were so small, they obviously could not support a small trattoria, but there were other towns which had a few places to choose from. Each trattoria had their own charm and it was fun trying to figure out what all the Italian dishes were as there was no English. It also helped to have a little translation guide for some of the unrecognizable names of vegetables and meats we normally don't serve or eat in Toronto. The easiest to order of course was the pasta dishes as I am a huge fan of all types of pasta; and there was so much to choose from with Italian names for various types of pasta I never heard before! Fresh Pasta Paradise... and the bonus is from all the walking you don't gain any weight!

Picture Gallery	Rome, Italy On Friday morning, we headed back to Rome and picked a hotel that was 10-20 minutes walking distance of most of the major historical sites. There was so much to see and do within walking distance that you could literally spend your whole day and night walking through different parts of Rome. Everywhere you turned, there was another piece of history restored before your eyes. The last time I was in Rome, I had seen all the major sites, including the Vatican and its museums, the Roman Forum, Pantheon, Coliseum, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps; so it was nice just to meander through the streets depending on our mood. I didn't enjoy the food or the shopping as much as in the small towns. It was difficult to find the little trattorias that had the same quality of food we had in the small towns. But they had amazing thin-crust pizza that you could buy from the store-fronts with a variety of fresh ingredients. I tried a puttanesca-style pizza with anchovies and olives; and it had pieces of the actual fish with the skin still on and the saltiest I've ever tasted. The Italian clothing stores were everywhere and were super-trendy, and reasonably priced, but it was difficult to find the type of store that had the same price tag I found in Perugia. For shoe shopping, I did get lucky and found a pair of silver-jeweled glitter high heel sandals (similar in style to Elegance Dance Shoes) for $20 Euros! On Saturday night, we ended up sitting in an outdoor restaurant close to the Coliseum that had only a few tourists. By this time I was almost an expert with the Italian menu (no English version); and ended up recommending Italian dishes to another table which just happened to be Canadians from London, Ontario; and had a pleasant evening talking with them about our mutual travelling experiences through Italy and other parts that were worth experiencing.