Rome!
I took
the sleek and comfy high-speed Eurostar Italia train from Bologna’s tidy
Centrale train station to Rome’s bustling Termini station. Boom - in just under 3
hours I arrive. Rome’s frenetic
energy greeted me with the open arms of a glamorous and highly amusing old
friend. It was my third trip to
Rome but it would be my first time to just relax and enjoy the place on its own
terms. I’d seen all of the major
sites more than once, waited on the lines and endured the tourist sensory
overload and fatigue. Now I can
relax, sleep in a bit, see some friends and MAKE MORE PASTA!
A
Place to Lay Your Head – Hotel Art by the Spanish Steps
Go down a little side
street...
then down another, hang a
right at the art gallery...
and walk down the cobbled
corridor and you’ve arrived – Hotel Art is a quirky and cool little boutique
design hotel tucked away in a former chapel.
It’s
located exactly 3 minutes from the Spanish Steps, a great area right in the center
of things, right near the subway in one of the nicer parts of town. They’ve
outfitted and updated this former sacred space with every modern convenience,
giving the place a feel for the past that’s rooted very much in the present.
I was escorted to the
“orange” floor – see the photo. It
took me a minute to get my bearings when I exited the elevator (will I be able
to find my room if I had a few too many at dinner?) and I began to worry about
what my room was going to look like.
Thankfully,
my room was a small but serene oasis of muted colors, linen sheets, big smushy
duvet, a movie star bathrobe with slippers and a nice selection of yummy Etro
toiletries. And breakfast was
included!
Hotel
Art by the Spanish Steps: Via
Margutta 56; +39.06.328711
Rooms
during the low season start at 185.00 Euro per night (which I
consider a deal for what you get & the location). www.hotelart.it
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Pasta
Time with Diane Seed
"I
fell in love with an Italian, then I fell in love with Italy, and then I fell
in love with the food…and now I just stay for the food."
And thus began my evening of pasta making with
renowned cookbook author and culinary tour guide Diane Seed. Diane, who is originally from Great
Britain, has made Rome her home base for over 30 years and made a career of
translating Italian recipes and lifestyle for the English speaking world.
You
probably have a copy of her famous cookbook “The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces”
on your bookshelf and don’t even realize it. What are you waiting for? Bust it out and get cooking! Not only are her recipes authentic, they are surprisingly
easy and delicious. We spent a
relaxed evening in her kitchen, with a view of the Coliseum, making delicious
dishes that I’ve already cooked for friends a few times over back in New
York. This was also the perfect
complement to my pasta making lessons in Bologna. There, I created the pasta by hand but didn’t actually learn
how to cook it (I know, how odd).
With Diane I learned not only how to cook it but what sauces pair with
which kind of pasta best, plus a few other tips such as:
* 80% of
Italians use dried pasta, and the pasta they use is De Cecco (made from durum/semolina
wheat).
* When
using canned tomatoes, use whole San Marzano plum tomatoes (look for this on
the label).
* Italian
men love women. Some, a little too
much!
Here’s one of my favorite recipes from the lesson:
Tagliatelle
al Salmone (Tagliatelle with a Smoked Salmon
Cream Sauce)
Adapted
from Diane Seed
1 lb. Tagliatelle
2 Tbs.
unsalted butter
½ small
onion, coarsely chopped
4-5 oz.
smoked salmon (half coarsely chopped, the other half cut into strips and
reserved for garnish)
7 fl. oz.
heavy cream
Fresh
cracked black pepper, to taste
A handful
of flat leaf Italian parsley, coarsely chopped (optional; this is my personal spin to
this dish and gives it an extra fresh pop).
Fill a
large pot with water, add a healthy handful of salt (make it like the sea!) and
cook pasta according to package directions.
While the
water is boiling and pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium sized
saucepan over a low flame. Add the
onions and cook until softened (but not browned). Add half of the smoked
salmon, roughly chopped and add the cream. Cook until salmon and cream are warmed through.
Pour the
salmon mixture into a food processor and combine until smooth.
Drain the
cooked pasta and add to a large serving bowl. Add the salmon sauce, salmon strips, chopped parsley and
black pepper. Toss gently and
serve immediately. Now wasn’t that
easy?
The Italian Gourmet - Diane Seed's Cookery School: www.italiangourmet.com
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Other
Treats & Eats
La
Terrazza Bar at Hotel Eden
Even
though actually staying at The Hotel Eden this time around wasn’t in the budget for moi, I
sure as heck could afford a nice glass of wine in their fabulous and glamorous
Terrazza Bar! Go at cocktail time
and watch the sun set slowly over the eternal city with a view of St. Peter's
Basilica in the distance (click here to see what I’m talking about). With the
price of the wine you get a very nice side bonus of some canapé, olives, chips
and nuts, plus a floor show in the form of fashionable Italians and assorted
international men of mystery.
La
Terrazza Bar at Hotel Eden: Via
Ludovisi, 49; +39 06 478 121
La
Buvette
I had one
night when I dined alone in Rome and I had no idea where to go. I asked the helpful concierge at the
hotel to recommend a place and was directed to La Buvette, which was a short
walk from my hotel. My expectations
were very low and I anticipated a tourist trap where I’d be seated next to the
kitchen, ignored by the wait staff and served drab food. I soon discovered my
fears were unwarranted and I ended up having a terrific meal. The gracious staff escorted me to their
subterranean dining lair, sat me at a great table right in the center of the
room and the meal procession began.
I swooned over a dish of baked tender baby eggplant stuffed with
mozzarella, black olives, grape tomatoes and toasted pine nuts. The baby lamb chops had a crispy, salty
crust and were gnaw-to-the-bone scrumptious, served with a lush fava bean
puree. And for dessert, a
voluptuous vanilla semi-freddo studded with nougat and Gianduja chocolate. Oh
baby.
La
Buvette: Via
Vittoria, 47; +39
066 790383
Palatium
Enoteca Regionale
Palatium
is a chic and modern wine bar located near the Spanish Steps that highlights
the region of Lazio, the area of Italy that calls Rome its capital. Great for a
nice glass of robust wine and a plate of Rome’s famous fried artichokes.
Palatium
Enoteca Regionale: Via Frattina, 94; +39 066 9202132
Granita
Caffe from Tazza D’Oro
Take a
break from sight seeing and add a turbo twist to your afternoon espresso with a
Granita Caffe, a frosty coffee slushy served with a dollop of lightly sweetened
whipped cream on top. Starbucks has nothing on this!
Tazza
D’Oro: Via degli Orfani, 84 (near the
Pantheon); +39 06 6789792
Pizza
Bianca from Forno Campo de' Fiori
Pizza
Bianca. Think of the best, most chewy, crusty pizza you’ve ever had and take
away the sauce and cheese. Add fresh rosemary, olive oil and salt and you are
about to eat one of the truly most delicious, straight forward Italian treats
known to man. Grab a few slices, lean against the nearby fountain and savor
each bite with the sun on your face and the market bustling around you.

Forno
Campo De' Fiori, 22 - Vicolo del Gallo, 14 ; +39 06.68806662
The Pantheon
Hands
down the oldest man-made thing I’ve ever seen and my favorite Roman site. The Pantheon is also a source of wisdom,
a reminder to me to relax, have a gelato, savor it and be in the moment
because this too shall pass. The
Pantheon, like the dude, abides.
-
Traveling
alone in Italy is a snap, even with a shaky command of the language, as the
people there are generally warm and generous. To ease your way, don’t dress like a slob, mind your manners
and learn a few key phrases, such as:
“Please” = Per favore
“Thank
you” = Grazie
“Excuse
me” = Scusi
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand, do you
speak English?” = Mi dispiace, non
capisco, parla inglese?
“Don’t
touch me.” = Non mi tocchi
“Help!” =
Aiuto!
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Getting
There & Getting Around
I flew to
Italy round-trip via KLM (with a stop in Amsterdam each way; $650 coach class
from New York/JFK). Hint: I lurked all of the travel
search engines until the right configuration of price & layover time (no
more than 2 hours) appeared, finally pressing the button at 12:30am on a
weeknight approximately 6 weeks before my trip. In Bologna I walked and took a taxi around town as-needed.
In Rome, I walked, took the subway and occasionally took a taxi. Easy-breezy
and affordable.
Buon viaggio!
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(photo credits: all photos by Mary Connolly)