Oh, the Places You'll Go!!

As I was working on my Christmas list this year, I decided to make a picture album for two couples who are our best friends.  We have been traveling together for the past twenty years and have made memories all over the world.

Some of our favorites are the "man-on-the-street" interviews that Charlie and Jim have done from Rome to Hawaii, to Cape Cod and all over the world.  These are all spur-of-the-moment, funny interview on where we are and what we are doing.

There are so many memories - like the "I, Snorkel Bob" incident in Hawaii when the David, Charlie and Jim convinced a store clerk that they were from a television station in Chicago and wanted to interview Snorkel Bob, a Hawaiian icon.  We got out of Dodge before Snorkel Bob could get to the store. 

There are memories of the train trip through Italy where the trains went on strike three times in the ten days we were there.  And, we all will never forget our getting on the wrong train that we thought would take us to Florence, but we ended up in Naples.  Needless to say, our (Charlie's) Italian needed some work.

So, I made an album of our trips over the years.  You can see it by clicking here..  To say that we have had fun over the years is putting it mildly.  I guess what we cherish the most is the lifelong friendship that we have with these folks.  Thanks for the memories, David and Linda B and Jim and Linda T.  To quote Dr. Seuss, "Oh, the places you'll go!"

My Least Favorite Thing about Traveling

As much as i LOVE to travel - and, make no mistake, I do love to travel - I truly hate the packing and unpacking part.  In twelve days we are leaving 90 degreee plus temperatures to go to London for a Trans-atlantic cruise.  Today's high temperature in London is 72; in Dublin, which is one of our ports, the high will be 64; and in Reykjavik, Iceland, another port we will be visiting, the high today is 57.  So, the dilemma begins.

What do we pack?  We'll be cruising glaciers in Iceland and are then going to Greenland, where it will be even colder.  Do we take heavier jackets?  Or do we take clothes we can layer?  Do I take gloves and hats?  Do I take swimsuits and flip-flops for the ship's Sanctuary and Thermal Suite? 

I remember a few years ago on our first trip to Italy, the Brentwood Six thought it would be a great idea to ship our dirty clothes back home.  Each couple boxed up dirty underwear, socks and clothes and shipped them back home via UPS.  Great idea!!!  WRONG!!!  When we got the bill for our great idea, it was $189 for a box of smelly, dirty clothes that still had to be washed.  UGH!!!

The following year when we went to Germany and Switzerland, we all took our oldest underwear and socks, even old washcloths (most hotels in Europe have hand towels, but no facecloths) and threw them away as we used them each day.  You can just imagine the housekeeping staffs at our hotels when they would empty our trash cans and find dirty underwear, socks and washcloths. 

This weekend will be spent getting out warmer clothes, choosing and sorting them and trying NOT to take everything we "might" need while we are gone.  For Pete's sake, there's a laundry on the ship and we will be at sea on seven different days!!!  I think I can find my way there.....

One of the Many Reasons I Love Italy

There are so many reasons why we'd go back to Italy year after year after year that I couldn't count them all.  One of the things we love the most in Italy is the food, primarily the pastas and gelato.  We learned quickly that we prefer trattorias, little mom and pop cafes, rather than the multi-course ristorantes. 

One of our favorite restaurants is Scarpone's, located on one of the seven hills of Rome.  It's a little family place where you can sit under the grape arbors, sip some low-alcohol wine served in pitchers and have wonderful pasta dishes.  For years, I've tried to recreate the pasta we've had there and until about six months ago, I couldn't do it.  However, I've finally concocted my own version of their marinara sauce, and we both love it. 

Here's the recipe:
Olive Oil, just two or three tablespoons
Garlic (as much as you want), pressed
1 large can of petite diced tomatoes with the juice
Fresh basil, chopped
Kosher Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Pasta of your choice, al dente
Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

Saute the garlic in the olive oil until the aroma releases.  Add the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper.  Simmer on low heat.  While this is simmering, cook your pasta until almost done.  Drain and add to the sauce. Continue simmering the sauce and pasta together until the liquid is absorbed by the pasta.  Serve in pasta bowls and top with a sprig of fresh basil and the cheese.

Serve with a salad and bread with olive oil (Italian butter) and a little balsamic for dipping. This is one of those meals you can prepare in 15-20 minutes and is so good.  The secret to this recipe is allowing the pasta to soak up all the wonderful flavors of the sauce.

Now, if I could just figure out how to make gelato like we've had in Italy.....