A Room With A View

I nice view to wake up to...

I spent my first three weeks in Italy, in a small town just out of Trieste called Muggia. I was sleeping in a 'tower' of sorts, a little loft room at a friend's house and there was one thing that I couldn't get tired off... The view!

It's amazing how the personality of a place can change so much based on the weather. I saw the water as still and clear as glass; I saw the wind change the view completely, bringing in dark grey clouds, the water becoming brooding and sinister; I also saw some amazing sunsets...

Muggia is a cute little fishing village. Everyone's life in this area seems to revolve around the water...

Muggia Harbour

Castello di Muggia- it's actually someone's home!

In the evenings (before it started getting cold) we would have dinner outside (under an awning with a grape vine growing over it of course!) and this was the amazing view that went along with amazing home cooked meals!

Lunch with a view!

There's something about the Adriatic Sea that is unique. It's the colours and tones that the water takes on that amaze me! The following photo just doesn't do it justice, but one day when I went for a walk down to the 'harbour', the colours over the water were amazing... Pastel blues & pinks... Sometimes however, the water is like a silver blue colour and it's hard to define where the water ends and the horizon begins! I can never get sick of looking at water scenes...

Something else I really enjoyed during my stay in Muggia was the amazing garden my friends had! They were growing all kinds of fruit, herbs, vegetables and even nuts... Everything that we ate was based on their home grown produce... Not bad hey?? They also had wild lavender growing (quite wildly, at that!) all throughout their garden... Hmmm, can you smell it?!

I think Muggia will always have a place in my heart. It was a unique little spot (close to the border of Slovenia!), with a lot of character and while I was there I enjoyed many wonderful moments...

'When in Rome'...

Ciao a tutti! Greetings from Bella Roma...

Well, it's hard to believe that I am actually back here- almost one year minus a couple of days- since I was here last time!! And yes, I can confirm... Rome is still as beautiful as ever...

This visit felt a little different as I had the insider's view, getting around with some 'friends of friends' (as you do) who were true 'Romans'. All of a sudden, the city opened up to me many of it's little local hang out spots that I'd normally miss out on as a tourist searching for the main city sights...

We visited Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, which is where the Priorato di Malta stands (the guard quarters for the original guards of the Vatican- the Knights of Malta) and has a perfect view across Rome to the Vatican. In fact, this building was built so that if you look through the main key hole, the doorways and archways are all aligned so that you can see straight through the building, allowing for a perfect view of the Vatican (if that's what you're into?!)... The visual effect is pretty cool!

Through the key-hole of Priorato di Malta!

Just next to this piazza, there is a gorgeous orange grove where we enjoyed a picnic lunch, surrounded by roman pine trees (pinus pinea) and the scent of citrus under a warm summer's sky! This was one of my favourite moments in Rome...

Roman Pine Trees

When approaching the famous spots in Rome, it seemed like we always stubbled upon them from some obscure, back entrance that only a local would know. Everything of course is 'approachable' or 'normal' for the Romans but for me it was like- 'How did we just go from some random back alley to IL COLOSSEO??!!'

We arrived at the Roman Forum just as the sun was going down & Il Colosseo was glowing pink in the sun!

And after a year we are still here to talk of love... (Pretty cute!)

Piazza del Popolo

One night we were driving around trying to find a park... Guess where we scored the perfect parking spot?? In Piazza Navona!!! Such an every day thing to do in such an amazingly beautiful and somewhat spectacular place!!

Another highlight (or should I say THE highlight) was catching up with il miei belli amici, Bek & Miche!! There's nothing like a 'casual' rendezvous in a foreign city with good friends... 'So where should we meet on Saturday night?'... 'How about Piazza Navona?!'... 'Si, certo! Ci vediamo presto!!' hehe... And so it went! I found my buddies sitting in front of Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi by Bernini, soaking in the atmosphere of the beautiful Roman Baroque style piazza. Although we only had the one night to hang out, we made the most of it... Good company, amazing food, wine, gelato, architecture, history & warm weather... What more could I ask for?!

Bek & Miche

Now would be a good time to mention the (slightly) hidden away eating spots, one of which we visited on numerous occasions called 'Navona Notte', that rocked my world... A big thank you to my local guides Ana & Andrea (Ciccio) for the fantastic food tours!

Andrea & PP at 'Navona Notte' testing out the amazing cozze!

Ana & Andrea took us to Anguillara Sabazia (a town in the Roman country side near Lake Bracciano) for some deliziosa local antipasto & vino!

Ok, slight side point... In Sydney I was attending an Italian course at Italia500 and I think the eccentric owner of the business, Giacomo, must be Roman because there were so many references to Rome in the dialogues. One of the dialogues we had to learn was 'Un tavolo per due per favore!' which incorporated many useful phrases for ordering dining out in Italy... All the dishes that were mentioned were 'piatti classici della cucina romana' (classic Roman cuisine)!! 

I had a funny moment one day when I went to see Eat, Pray, Love (Mangia, Prega, Ama) in Italian... haha! An Australian living temporarily in Italy, watching an American movie dubbed in Italian about an American in Italy... It was quite entertaining!! 

The part where she was in Rome was like reliving my Italian class! There were many great eating scenes- I love the pizza scene in Napoli- it's so true! There's another part where she orders for everyone in Italian. She orders bucatini all'amatriciana, carciofi alla giudea, coda alla vaccinara (I think) and a few other dishes... I was like, 'Julia, you're stealing my thunder. This is what I've been practising!' Anyway, here's a cute clip from the movie... It's all about the food of course!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm7E81pVsiM

It was a quick visit but a great three days... I saw parts of the city I'd never discovered before, as well as the surrounding areas of Rome (surprisingly hilly and very pretty) such as Lake Bracciano & Anguillara Sabazia. And now it's time to say...

Buona notte, buona notte cara Roma!

Piazza Venezia 'a tramonto'...

Only in Italy... Solo in Italia!

So here I am again in the land of pizza, pasta, gelato, fiat 500s, vespas, cinotto, campari, caffe, prolific hand gesturing, eccetera, eccetera!

My goals?

1. To at least get a slightly better grasp of 'la bella lingua' before I return home to Australia.
2. To find work that will enable me to stay until my 'working holiday' visa expires (end of January).
3. To soak in as much of the culture as possible during my time here in bella italia and to document the quirky little moments that make Italy, Italy... Well at least to me!

So 'watch this space' as I will try endeavour to keep you up to date on my italian adventure and share with you things that happen- Solo In Italia!

La Bella Lingua

Ironically, of my family, I am the only one of three sisters who didn't  learn any Italian during school! So this is quite an adventure and I guess in some ways, an adventure that I had not anticipated this time last year when I was travelling through Italy...

Armed with my basic Italian 'survival' phrases (thanks to crazy Giacomo at 'Italia500' in Sydney!) I have stepped into a new European experience!! When I first arrived, the first words that come to mind when in doubt seemed to be prodominantly Spanish (it didn't help going straight to Spain for 10 days!). However, slowly but surely I am combatting the little Spaniard inside (hehe) and I seem to be rewiring my lingual synapses to the Italian frequency... Over the past 8 weeks, I think that my comprehension has definately improved! Now for the speaking part... It's always so much harder but I am determined to try, even if I make a fool of myself!!

I am now staying with good friends (Rossella's family) and I am forced to speak Italian with her parents if I want to communicate with them so I would like to take advantage of my time with them and give it a go!!

I have two books at the moment that are providing a lot of assistance and inspiration...

1. My Lonely Planet Italian phrasebook (it has come in handy at the most unexpected times!)
2. La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales.

In La Bella Lingua there are some really great statements about the process of learning a language and it has made me even more determined to keep trying!!

Here are a couple of quotes that I really like:

"Learning a new language is like growing a new head... You see with new eyes, hear with new ears, speak with a new tongue."

"And so I, lacking a single drop of Italian blood, can nonetheless claim something utterly, wholly, irrevocably Italian as my own: the language hot spots that have been growing steadily within my brain for more than a quarter-century." (Taken from her introduction: My Italian Brain and How It Grew!)

"As I mulled over the words... I realised that I was unconsciously moving my hands beneath my cape in the same way I do when I speak Italian. And I was speaking Italian- to myself!... Springing to life in my brain, Italian has traveled to my fingertips and set them aflight."

And one last quote for the day... This one is for me!

"Sei io studiassi di piu l'italiano, lo parlerei meglio" (If I were to study Italian more, I would speak better)

Dot dot dot

Making Pizza With Rossana!

Last Friday Rossana was preparing for a farewell party and I was able to look on as she made the pizzas from scratch!

There's nothing like learning from the experts!! Rossana's father was a baker and so she has had experience baking bread since she was young. Add to that the fact that she worked as a massage therapist for years, those skills combined make for very yummy pizza (as you will see!)...

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3 (actually this should be- what not to do!!)

Step 4

And the result... Yummy!!