Saturday, May 4, 2013

Sto cucinando

The weather the last couple of weeks has been nothing short of spectacular. The sun has been shining, not a cloud in the sky, and a slight breeze to cut the heat. And yet, I have found myself in the kitchen lately. 

Perhaps I've been inspired by the amazing produce that the spring has produced, who knows why I've been in a cooking mood, but I just am. So, here's what I've made: fresh tomato sauce from tomatoes...so good!!, roasted eggplant, roasted asparagus, and today: a fresh strawberry pie. I have been spoiled over the last four years with the incredible produce that Rome and Italy has to offer. And I want to take full advantage of it while I'm here....


                             



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A day by the sea

Spring has finally sprung here in Rome. It's been warm and sunny--just like I like it. And when the weather's this good, you must take advantage of it. So, Sean, Joy, and I decided to take advantage of it in Sperlonga along the ocean where my RA had taken the rest of my students for his last event.

For the last four years, my students have found themselves at some point at the beach in Sperlonga and yet, I had never visited the seaside town. I'm not a beach person myself, but I do like be by the water and explore quaint Italian towns. So, to Sperlonga we went.

The actual centro storico, historic center, of Sperlonga sits high atop a hill above the water. The walk up to the top isn't a bad walk and one is treated with peekaboo views of the gorgeous Mediterranean Sea...so you can't complain. Once at the top, you realize that the old center is just a maze of narrow cobblestone streets leading to small-ish piazzas. It's really a lovely little town. And I mean little. As in, there's not a whole lot to do. So, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch at a lovely restaurant that overlooked the ocean (I had calamari and fried shrimp---yuummm), explored the town, sat and watched our students down on the sand below us---sadly, we were able to see their sunburnt skin from high atop the hill. Did nobody listen to me when I reminded them to bring sunscreen!? All in all, we just enjoyed the sun, surf, and company.

It was a beautiful day and a great way to get away from hectic Roma....especially considering that it was Friday and students were leaving on Monday. One last hoorah before the close of the semester. A great way to go out indeed...
   

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