Making Limoncello

Limoncello is a delicious aperitif, but it is not for everyone. When I first tried it in Naples, I was surpised by how alcoholic it tasted and how refreshing it was in spite of that. I was more than willing to shell out ten euros for the bottle you see below in Herculaneum, but I was blown away when I found out how easy it is to make. I took the bottle home filled it with my own batch, which I’m now enjoying.

I celebrated the fact that I can now legally purchase a bottle of Everclear (you need a really high proof vodka) with Dr. Fankhauser’s awesome limoncello recipe. This recipe is really straightforward and easy and all you need is vodka, sugar, lemons, and water. Drink limoncello in freezer-frosted shot or aperitif glasses and savor the Vesuviana flavor.

Chump-less Checklist to Doing Rome: The Nitty Gritty

And now the Nitty Gritty, continuing from the Generalities:

One of my favorite places in the city is the Jewish Ghetto, which I already wrote a bit about in my post about the synagogue. But this little four block quadrant has a lot of genuine charm. For one, it has restaurants that serve the excellent “carciofi alla guidea” or Jewish style artichokes. There are also small delis to bop into for lunch, and because pork is not so kosher, they have cured beef similar to prosciutto that is amazing. Also, it has a lot of really awesome stenciled street art by c215 (above).

By all means, go see the Trevi Fountain; it’s beautiful. But listen, even in the non-tourist season, seeing it can be uncomfortable because of the mobs that gather around it. If you follow one piece of my advice about seeing Rome, take this one to heart: Go to it late at night. After midnight, there are only a few people around and it is beautifully lit. Throw in your coin over your shoulder and guarantee your eventual return to Rome. More golden nuggets of advice after the jump.

Chump-less Checklist to Doing Rome: Generalities

Personally, I’m sick of travel guides. I love Let’s Go, but their accommodation advice is useless to me and restaurants can be hit or miss sometimes. I have a guide of Rome that seems to have been written in the mid-fifties and that might be my favorite because of its tone. There are so many things that guide books are not going to be able to tell you, and that’s understandable, but as my semester here draws to a close I thought I’d put together my own brief guide for those coming to Rome for a few days. Of course do the touristy stuff, but keep my sentiments in mind (after the jump).

McDonald’s at the Spanish Steps

In Italy, there isn’t a lot of fast food, but McDonald’s is fairly common in Rome. However, one McDonald’s in particular is tied to something much larger. Just about every article about Slow Food mentions that the organization got its start after unsuccessfully campaigning to prevent McDonald’s from moving into Piazza di Spagna, where the Spanish Steps are. Supposedly, founder Carlo Petrini goes into the campaign in great detail in a book of his. Anyways, I couldn’t help but wonder why Petrini and his friends were so embroiled against this single McDonald’s franchise that it inspired them to found what would turn into an international movement with over 80,000 in 122 countries.

So yeah, I did it. I went to McDonald’s. I got a McCrispy or something, and it was gross. I don’t eat McDonald’s at home, mainly because of the way I have come to think about food (which is in term informed by Slow Foods), but I imagine the food was actually similar. The reason I disliked the experience so much was that it was so un-Italian: bad-tasting food, made with bad ingredients, sold in a hostile environment as quickly as possible. And the customers were mostly Italians! One of the defining characteristics of Italian dining is that it is leisurely. I’ve never had an Italian waiter bring me the check without me asking. Here, that would be rudeness on par with throwing a customer out. In that McDonald’s, I felt like I was still out on street, being mobbed by crowds of tourists. And there, that atmosphere is becoming part of Italian culture. I didn’t like, and I can see why Petrini didn’t either.

photo courtesy of flickr user phototram

Napoli, Capitale del Sud

Not this last weekend, but the weekend before, I went to Naples with my friend Mike. It is a beautiful city, although I will say that Naples has more spark and character and imagination in one fingernail than any hill town has in its entire body, to paraphrase a favorite movie of mine. I think of the lemon I brought home as a metaphor for the city. Bigger than most, ruddy, more flavorful, more colorful, bumpy, a bit dirty, etc. The task of writing about it is daunting, and I have made a simple list.

The Two Colosseums

I went back to the Colosseum this weekend with friends, and the light was magical. I deleted every picture I took the first time. It is surely the most famous building of ancient Rome, possibly the world. Walking around inside, it’s hard to imagine it housing 50,000 people or quickly flooding to accommodate water battles. It has gone through innumerable changes, especially during the 500 or so years it was in use. It’s pretty great.

However, there’s another colosseum in Rome, and I may like it even more. Below is Mussolini’s Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. In Italian, that means the Palace of Italian Civilization, but it is often referred to as the Square Colosseum, for obvious reasons. Italy was supposed to host a World Fair in 1942, and the Fascists began building accordingly in 1935. Because of the war, the Exposition never happened, but the neighborhood built to accommodate it — Esposizione Universale Roma (or EUR) — still stands in all of its Rationalist glory. I know all of things that Italian Fascism means, but that doesn’t prevent me from being extremely compelled and impressed by this architecture.

bottom photo courtesy of flickr user hidden side