"Italian Holiday" Part 1

So I'm back home in Toronto and back to my "real" life!  Processing all my photos is causing me to suffer Italy withdrawal big time! Everyday of the trip was just so fabulous that I really don't know where to start so I guess I'll just start where it all began.... Rome!

 After a long, stressful flight (long story), we arrived late at night.  Just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat at a unremarkable restaurant close to our hotel and then off to bed.  The next morning we woke refreshed and eager to start our "Italian Holiday".  We had lunch reservations at Aroma near the Colosseum so spent the morning walking around the Monti area. After building up our appetites we headed over to the restaurant.  We had read numerous online reviews of the restaurant and were anxious to see if it lived up to its reputation. We were not disappointed! The staff did everything they could to make sure that we had an extraordinary experience. We had asked for a table on the terrace to make sure we could experience one of the most incredible features of the restaurant... the unobstructed view of the Colosseum!  We were delighted when we were led to a table right at the front of the terrace.  Check out this view!

 

It really was spectacular and so was the food!  We ordered the "Menu Degustazione" or tasting menu with wine.  If you are planning on being in Rome and want to treat yourself, I highly recommend it. It is 7 delicious courses with the appropriate wine pairings but you can also order without the wines if you prefer.  Unfortunately we were too busy ooohing and aaahing over every delicious morsel, not to mention the yummy wines, so I forgot to take photos of all the courses but the pic above is the homemade "Filine" pasta with pork and wild fennel.  Here is the complete tasting menu from their website;

 Tasting menu

Capesante arrosto profumate alla menta con fonduta di finocchi e porri fritti
Mint flavored roasted scallops on a fennel fondue with fried leeks

Magatello di vitello al punto rosa con insalatina olio e limone,
duetto di bignè e cannolo alla mela verde
Lightly cooked veal “Magatello” with baby lettuces and a duo of bignè
and green apple filled cannolo

Torciglioni con aliciotti, pinoli tostati,
filetti di pomodoro e panure di pane profumato all’aneto
Homemade “Torciglioni” pasta with anchovies, toasted pine nuts,
fresh tomato and dill flavored bread crumbs

Filini fatti da noi con costarelle di maiale e finocchiella selvatica
Homemade “Filini” pasta with pork and wild fennel

Medaglione di branzino con olive, pachino, origano
e fagottino di scarola
Medallion of sea bass with olives, “Pachino” tomato, oregano
and lettuce parcel

Sella di coniglio profumato alle erbe delle nostre terrazze
con tortino di patate al latte
Saddle of rabbit perfumed with herbs from our terraces
and potato flan

Mousse al mascarpone con gelato al pan speziato e gocce di caffè
Mascarpone mousse with “Pan speziato” ice cream and coffee drops

It was all excellent and I discovered a couple of fav new wines.  First the Weingut Niklas Sudtiroler Sauvignon 2012 which was served with the Mint flavored roasted scallops on a fennel fondue with fried leeks. It had a strong, clean mineral taste with a lovely fruity finish. 

I also discovered my fav new desert wine.  Ben Rye by Donnafugata from Scicily.  I was hooked at the first tasted.  It has lovely syrupy layers of apricots, dates, and candied citrus fruits with a tobacco tinged finish. Yum!

All in all we spent a leisurely 3 hours at Aroma thoroughly enjoying the wonderful food and wine, not to mention that wonderful view! It was the perfect indulgence to start off the perfect "Italian Holiday"!  Have you been to Aroma Restaurant in Rome?  I'd love to hear what you thought. To leave a comment please click on the individual post heading at the top of this post.

Tomorrow I'll tell you all about our next day and our trip to the Piazza Navona.

Ciao for now!
Karen

Hi from Positano!

Just a quick hello from beautiful Positano. We are enjoying the view from the terrace of our room and hope you will too!  We arrive back home in a couple of days and I will have plenty more stunning pics and stories to share with you then.

Ciao for now!

Karen

Italy Starts Today

Well this is it!  Travel day!  The day I have been waiting for for the past few months.  Our flight leaves at 7:45pm and I can't wait to be on it!  Tomorrow morning I'll be having espresso and eating breakfast in Rome!  After a few days in Rome we move on to Tuscany and then the Amalfi Coast.  I will try to post from Italy every couple of days so you can share the experience with me.  Please follow along and if you have any suggestions for restaurant reccos I would love to hear them.

Ciao!

Karen

Coveting....

I'M OBSESSED!!  

All I can think about is my upcoming trip to Italy!  I leave 3 weeks tomorrow and I can't wait!  It's all I can think about! I'm constantly cruising the internet for all things Rome, Tuscany and Positano. I tell myself I'm doing research, like researching restaurants and places to see but really it's all about feeding my luxury obsession. Escaping what I'm really supposed to be doing (like cooking for blog posts and, oh ya... working!) all because I just can't wait to be there!  Everything is booked.  The planes, trains, cars and hotels are confirmed yet I find myself searching out the most beautiful, extravagant hotels there are in each place I'm staying.  Today I'm obsessed with this hotel in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast.  We are booked at the beautiful Villa Gabrisa in Positano so really I have nothing to complain about yet I find myself coveting the magnificent Hotel Caruso. 

And can you blame me!  Check out the view from the pool!  In my mind I'm there right now!

 And check out the rooms! 

Wouldn't this terrace be the perfect spot for an apertivo at sunset?!

Could you imagine arriving at the hotel in an old-fashioned car like this?  Pure luxury!

And this terrace would be the perfect spot for a romantic dinner! Sigh!

Well I've day dreamed enough for this morning so I guess it's back to work for  me for another 22 sleeps!   

At the risk of being fired, I'd love for you to feed my obsession!  Please let me know what your dream hotel in Positano or the Amalfi Coast is!

  

Ciao for now!

Karen

Dreaming about....

26 more sleeps...

... till Tuscany!  Yay!

Cheers!
Karen

Italy Here I Come!

I'm going to Italy! I can hardly wait!  Just 35 more sleeps!

The plans have been made and the tickets have been booked (finally)! After 2 long months of researching, planning and anticipating, it's finally official! In approximately 5 weeks a friend and I will be heading to the airport to board our flight to Rome.  After a few days of exploring (and eating) in Rome we will be heading north to Tuscany for 5 nights then south to the Amalfi Coast for 5 nights.  I. CAN'T. WAIT!

  

It's been 7 long months since I've been in Italy!  That's right!  A whole 7 months!  I was in beautiful La Serenissima (Venice) for New Year's for the 2nd year in a row and have been itching to go back.

I was last in Tuscany about 5 years ago but it's been far too long since I've been back to Rome or the Amalfi Coast.

The last time I was in Tuscany I was very fortunate to stay at a private villa owned by a Contessa who's family once owned the incredible Villa Vignamaggio seen below. In fact my bedroom window looked down onto the Vignamaggio estate! The villa has been around since the 14th century and is also famous because it is widely believed that the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, was born here. More recently it has been used as the location for the Kenneth Branagh film "Much Ado About Nothing" among others.

The estate is currently owned by Mr. Gianni Nunziante and is now run as a hotel as well as a vineyard that produces around 230,000 bottles of wine every year. Vignamaggio is just south of Florence near the town of Greve and a must see if you are in the area or looking for a unique place to stay.

This time we are staying at 2 different hotels in Tuscany.  The first, Villa Scacciapensieri, is a marvelous 19th century Villa set in its own large park and gardens perfectly situated on top of a little hill only 2.5 km north of the medieval walled city of Siena.

After a couple of nights there we are heading north a little back to the area just south of Florence where we will stay at Villa La Palagina overlooking the hills of Chianti.

Villa La Palagina is in the area of Figline Valdarno and is apparently right next door to Sting's villa.  Maybe we'll have cocktails!  I'm sure our invitation will be waiting for us when we check in! 

Figline Valdarno is near Greve where I stayed last time so I'm looking forward to heading to my favorite wine shop Le Cantine. Here you can taste over 140 wines and 20 olive oils before making your selection. They feature over 1000 labels from all over Tuscany as well as a wine museum.  We will also be making a reservation for lunch at my favorite restaurant in the Greve area.  Ristoro Di Lamole is set high up on a hill in the small town of Lamole and if you are fortunate to have a nice day and a table on the terrace you can take in the incredible views of the Chianti area right to San Gimignano. If you get there don't miss the cheese tray at the end of your meal!  It features a wonderful truffled honey made by the restaurant.  In case you become addicted like me, they also sell it at the shop!

Next it's on to Positano on the Amalfi Coast where we will be staying at the beautiful Hotel Villa Gabrisa.  After driving all through Tuscany, here I am looking forward to just relaxing and walking around the village. Not to mention eating (a lot of) the delicious food and just sitting on our hotel balcony sipping wine. And yes, this will be the view from our room! Fantastico!

There are a few restaurants that have been recommended to me that I'm dying to try such as Da Adolfo on a small cove in Positano and Il Flauto di Pan in Ravello but I'm definitely interested in finding more so if you have a fav resto on the Amalfi Coast or even Capri I'd love to hear about it so I can add it to my list. I'd also love to hear your reviews if you've stayed at any of the hotels I've mentioned.

Ciao for now!

A Weekend in Boston & Cape Cod

I apologize for not posting for a few days but I took a 3 day drive down to Boston for the weekend.  We left midday on Friday for what was supposed to be a leisurely 8 1/2 hour drive but turned out to be more like 11 1/2 hours (thanks Google Maps!). The last 2 hours were really tough but we finely pulled into the valet parking spot for the Nine Zero hotel at 11:30pm and headed straight for the nearest bar. We were dead tired but after that drive we were damn sure going to reward ourselves with a glass of wine before bed.  The Nine Zero hotel was recommended by a friend and we loved it! It's a charming little boutique hotel right in downtown Boston.  From the hotel you can walk almost anywhere in Boston. It's right across the street from Boston Common and 1 block away from the nearest T station.

The hotel has lots of wonderful amenities including wireless and yoga mats in every room. But perhaps the best feature is the complimentary wine hour they hold in their lobby lounge each day from 5 - 6pm.  You have to love a hotel that does that!  The staff is wonderful, especially the concierge Thomas, who was relentless in helping us with restaurant reservations, booking our tickets on the fast ferry to Cape Cod and with a special shopping request we had (thanks Thomas).  Sadly the only thing we were disappointed by was when we emailed them a photo of the Peasant dog "H" to have in our room when we arrived (a cute feature they offer to have a photo of a loved one or pet in your room to make your stay more enjoyable) it was not there.  We even asked the person at the front desk next time we went out but it never did arrive (:.

 We spent all the next day seeing the sights of Boston.  It was my first time and I was determined to see (and eat) as much as I could. We started off in Boston Commons, a beautiful park reminiscing Central Park in NY but not as large.  They had a festival going on with a number of musical bands, performing artists and numerous other activities for the whole family. On a whole we really loved Boston. It's a really charming and accessible city.  We loved that we could almost walk anywhere and where we couldn't there was always their great transit system. I really loved the architecture, particularly how they've integrated the old with the new.

For lunch we headed to the North End, otherwise known as the Italian district.  For the best lobster rolls in the city we were told to head to Neptune Oyster on Salem St. Sadly we never did get to try it as there was an incredibly long lineup outside and when we asked some people how long they had been waiting they said around 3 hours!!! Now I've been known to wait for good food but 3 hours was a bit much and we were already hungry.  After walking around a bit we found L'Osteria,  A cute, traditional little Italian restaurant also on Salem St.  The food was very good and the seafood was as  fresh as you would expect from a resto in a city on the water. I had the Shrimp and Scallop Linguine in a white wine sauce while my friend had the Brodetto di Pesce, an array of mussels, scallops, clams, shrimp, calamari and scrod in a light tomato sauce over linguine.  Both were excellent and of typical American portion size ie. huge!  Really we could have both shared the Brodetto and have been more than satisfied!

After lunch we headed over to another famous Bostonian landmark, Mike's Pastry. While we were both still stuffed from lunch, we were determined to try their Cannoli. I do consider myself a Cannoli connoisseur so we waited in the long line up which actually moved quite fast.

Ten minutes later we had our precious prize in hand!

Sadly seeing that we were both still full from lunch the Cannoli went straight into the fridge back at our hotel until breakfast the next morning (don't judge)! I'd like to give you a review of Mike's Pastry's Cannoli but as it sat in the fridge overnight I really don't think it would be fair.  While not like eating freshly made Cannoli it was still very, very good! Yum!

For dinner that night we tried out an Italian seafood restaurant in the North district called Mare Oyster Bar. We both agreed this was our fav resto of the trip! Probably the freshest seafood we've ever had!  I started off with their Trio of Crudo; yellowfin tuna, salmon, and kampachi with seaweed salad and soy ginger sauce which was amazing! My friend started off with the Oysters and said they were the best Oysters she'd ever had.  We then shared the Grilled Whole Mediterranean Seabass for our main which was also amazing! Sadly I did not bring my camera out for dinner so have no pics but I can assure you it was a great meal and I highly recommend this restaurant! And no I do not get any deals for mentioning our recommending anything on this blog!

The next day we caught the fast ferry over to Cape Cod.  A beautiful 90 minute ride that leaves from Boston's Harbour a few times a day. It was our first time there and arriving by boat was a wonderful way to visit!

Such a pretty and scenic place!  There was a photo opportunity every where I looked! I loved the little boats, the colorful buoys and this boat house with photos of women we saw when arriving at the dock!  I would love to know more about it so if you know the history please do email me!

On Cape Cod we had lunch at The Squealing Pig (love that name) where we thoroughly enjoyed the Tuscan Fries (Fries with Parmesan and Truffle Oil)! Sorry again no pics (:. I promise I'll try to get better at taking photos when I'm at restaurants.  We then walked 2 miles of Commercial street (love P-town!) where we checked out the art galleries, shops and even bought some bling!  A Cape Cod bracelet and necklace for me and a ring for my friend!

After a stop at The Harbor Lounge, a great little bar right on the ocean front, for a quick gin & tonic we headed back to get in the long line up to catch the ferry back to Boston where we stood on the stern and waved goodbye to the Cape over the boat's wake and wished for a day when we could return for a longer stay. 

Have you tried any of these Boston Restaurants?  What's your fav restaurant in Boston?  I'd love to hear from you.

A not so "peasant" week in Cabo, Mexico

Every now and then I get to step out of my "peasant" lifestyle and enjoy a little luxury! Thanks to a good friend I was recently invited to Cabo, Mexico for a week's stay in a private villa at Esperanza Resort.  The grounds at Esperanza are exquisitely beautiful.The landscaping and views are perfection!

Everything about the resort was perfection! The villa, the views, the food.  It was all perfect and just what this peasant girl needed after going through a trying few months. Every day our housekeeper/cook (that's right I said cook!) made us fresh tortilla chips with guacamole and different salsas to snack on.

 One afternoon we ventured out of our private villa and walked over to one the resort's restaurants overlooking the ocean.

The margarita's were fantastic as were the ceviche and the fish tacos! Once back at our villa we took a dip in our private pool.  This is the view from our pool & hot tub where we did a lot of whale watching! Does it get any better?!

This is one of the pools at the resort (there are a few). 

But who needs the resort pools when your private pool looks like this?!

Yes it was quite a luxurious week!  One that was far more exclusive than this peasant girl usually indulges in but sometimes the extravagant can be comforting too, non?

Thank you J. for a fabulous week!

What was your most luxurious vacation?