Roving IQ: Recipe for a Roman Lunch

A little hungry and a lot heart broken, we arrived in Rome for our last night in Italy before our return trip home. Lunch was on the immediate menu and we set out to find a suitable spot. Seated in a sidewalk cafe, my eyes wandered to the next table where a Scandinavian couple was enjoying a simple salad comprised of a combination of ingredients that could only equal perfection. One lunch order later, I learned I was right.

My last afternoon meal in Italy has translated into a small obsession for me. Since coming home, I've prepared my new favorite "recipe" no less that 7 times - 75% because I love how the flavors and textures combine together, 20% because it's so darn easy and 5% out of wistfulness. 

Here it is, modified slightly from the above photo:

• 4-5 slices of prosciutto
• Fresh arugula
• Shaved Parmesan cheese 
• Cherry tomatoes
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Cracked black pepper

Layer a dinner plate with prosciutto slices. Pile with arugula. Top with shaved Parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pepper to taste. Enjoy!


Do you have a favorite recipe that you brought back from a trip? 

Roving Pic: Roman Intersection

Photo: Scott Clark
July 2, 2011

When we reached this worn yet wonderfully colorful intersection, we went left and discovered an ancient modern city built on centuries of tradition and pride. Thousands of yesterdays were elegantly and elaborately entwined with today down every grand pedestrian street, cobblestone sidewalk and dimly-lit alley. With the past partially revealed, the present was suddenly more powerful. 


I wonder what we would've found had we gone right. 

Roving I Recap: Italy Itinerary

Us, in Siena

I'm kicking off a series of Roving I Recaps about our Italy trip with a brief overview of where we went and how long we stayed in each location. While the recap posts ahead will focus more on specific aspects of each location and the unique moments we experienced throughout Italy, today's post is a big picture look at our travel plan.

June 26-27: 2 Planes, 2 Trains and a Very Small Automobile
After zipping up the luggage, obsessively checking and rechecking appliances, doors and windows and catching our first flight from St. Louis to Chicago, we boarded our 9 hour flight to Rome. Upon arrival, we shifted into true transportation mode, taking the Leonardo Express local train to Rome Termini where we caught a second train to Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence. In Florence, we took a cab to the airport to pick up our beyond tiny and extremely under powered Fiat 500 (more to come on its vices and virtues later in the week). One painfully expensive wrong turn on the Autostrada A1 later, we were finally on the last leg of our lengthy journey to Greve in Chianti, Tuscany. Despite being drowsy, hungry and frustrated with the Italian highway system, the Tuscan view out the window as we sped away from Florence was the perfect reward to our almost 24 hours straight of travel. 


June 27-July 2: Chianti Country Charm 
I've never been so in love with a vacation location. Seriously. I knew it would be good but never expected this level of sheer admiration. Days were spent enjoying time with family (we stayed in a fantastic villa with my cousins from New Jersey), driving the Chiantigana, visiting nearby hill towns (more to come about specific locales), eating extraordinary local food and drinking famous Chianti Classico wine every chance I got. (I could devote a week's worth of posts to this beautiful burgundy beverage.)


July 2- July 4: Roving About Rome
We were typical tourists, but active ones. After being pushed, shoved and stepped on by the flag/flower/ridiculous hat following tour groups at the Vatican Museums, we ventured out on foot for day 2. Walking from the Vatican area to Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, back up to the Spanish Steps, down Via Condotti, we made it back over to Ponte Sant'Angelo area in time for dinner. Legs thoroughly stretched, we left Rome by car for southern Italy on the 4th of July.

And one more of us, in Rome

July 4-7: Pompeii, Positano and Amalfi Coast Amazingness
Pompeii wowed us, an accidental drive through Naples shocked us and Positano welcomed us with warm Italian arms. A world away from Rome, we settled into a leisurely lifestyle amongst the steep hills, hidden beaches and stellar views of the Amalfi Coast. 

July 7-9: Celebrating on Capri
After hauling our growing luggage collection through Sorrento, and arriving by Hydrofoil to the island of Capri, Casa Mariontonia appeared as a stylish, lemon-scented paradise. A private boat ride, some shopping and a very special ceremony capped off our Capri time.


July 9: Rome, Again
Arriving by train from Naples for our last day in Italy was beyond bittersweet. Walking shoes reinstated, we wandered from our hotel near Termini to Galleria Borghese to Trevi Fountain, proving that the coin toss tradition really does work. 


July 10: Home, Again
A wonderful whirlwind came to an end, until the next trip. 


Another Italy trip recap next week. More tomorrow and thanks for reading!

Roving Pic: Roving Rome

Me, jumping in front of the Colosseum

We are just back from spending two weeks in Italy! And it was amazing. I have lots to share about our experiences - from the locations we visited to the food and wine to the people we met to the individual moments that will stand out in my memory for the rest of my life.

So today, I'm kicking off my Italy recap with a picture of me jumping in front of the Colosseum. It's kind of my "thing" to jump in front of landmarks and our visit to ancient Rome provided a perfect opportunity. I may get some strange looks from people in the area while attempting this but the resulting photos are usually keepers. 

Over the coming weeks and months, I'll try to somehow encapsulate our trip through posts here and get back to the established blog schedule. (I realized very quickly how traveling straight for 15 days poses a challenge to any blog.) 

And finally, a very BIG "Thank You" to my dear friend Iron Stef for her awesome guests posts while I was away. I owe you one (or three)! 

More tomorrow and thanks so much for reading! 

Web Rove of the Week: Andrew McCarthy's Rome

Maybe it's because we'll be visiting Rome for the first time in 36 days. Or maybe it's because I've seen the movies Pretty in Pink and Mannequin a combined total of 786* times. Whatever the reason, I'm thrilled to have discovered Andrew McCarthy, the award-winning Travel Writer, and this beautiful article on three ways to experience Rome. Below is one of my favorite excerpts:

"In Trastevere my world becomes small in a way that delights me. Here details of life I rarely allow myself to focus on back home reveal a pattern of human behavior that connects me to the broader world. I find identification with nearly all, no matter how unlikely. Early in the morning, with no one yet loitering by the square's fountain,I watch a priest with a briefcase and a nun clutching a folded copy of the Repubblica newspaper cross paths without acknowledging each other. Next, a woman wearing a purple dress and sporting a pronounced black eye sneaks by on a Vespa. I spot an elderly man at a table near mine savoring a bowl of vanilla ice cream for breakfast. I look at him and hope that my children will do the same themselves when they reach his age." -- Andrew McCarthy, from the article "Three Faces of Rome," January/February 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler

Really, read the rest. It's all this good. 
*Estimated, could be more.