Rome

In the seven years since I was last here, Rome hasn't changed one bit. It's still full of overcrowded buses, angry sweaty Italians, drivers who don't have any idea how to stay in a lane, gelato shops on every corner, people who are never on time, and mom and pop restaurants serving up the best pasta you've ever had all making the Eternal City weirdly and chaotically wonderful. 

Since I've already seen most of the main sites of Rome, this trip was more of a refresher and more about just sitting back and enjoying the city rather than trying to check off all the major attractions. Of course I still had to see some of my favorite sites from last time such as St. Peter's Basilica, St. John Lateran, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon...the list goes on.

I did check off a couple of new sites however that I didn't get to last time. I never actually went into the Colosseum or the Roman Forum last time, I just saw each from the outside. I thought both were great to see if you are interested in Roman history (you should be if you aren't - it's fascinating).

Another site I checked out that I never made it to last time was Castel Sant'Angelo which is an old fortress dating back to the emperor Hadrian and was later used as a fortress for the pope. Unless you are dying to see it, I think that the best part of it is viewing it from the outside.

Last time I was in Rome I was young and stupid and didn't have the experience to really appreciate the culinary wonders of the Italian kitchen. I'm now old and slightly less stupid so during this trip to Rome I really tried to get my fill of knowledge about Italian cooking. As you all know, the heart and soul of Italian cooking is pasta, so what better way to learn more about Italian food than through a pasta making course!

What really struck me about this class and during most of my other meals in Italy is the simplicity of it all. Italian food really focuses on making a small number of very high quality ingredients shine. Contrast this to the other powerhouse of the culinary world, French cooking, where the focus is more on the technique than trying to focus on one ingredient. It is more about the years it takes to craft the perfect terrine or rillette or bake the perfectly flaky croissant or get a souffle to rise just right, regardless of how many ingredients it takes to achieve success. Italian cooking on the other hand still involves technique (have to have al dente pasta), however I feel like this cooking is more from the heart and the love of the individual ingredient.

To complement the pasta I also had to take another Italian wine tasting course because you can never have too much Italian wine. I won't miss the heat of Italian public transportation but Rome will forever have a special place in my heart and stomach.