January 2018 Newsletter from Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

january 2018 newsletter

I’ve just come out of 10 days of pure vacation. My sister and her family were in town and we took trips to both Naples (Pizza, Nativity Scenes and Ruins) and Venice (Dinners, Museums and Lunches).And for 10 days I didn’t even turn on my computer which is - I admit - a first for me. That’s not to say I was completely disconnected. I always have my iPhone and I never really turn off social media. But if I can even begin to separate my work from my life, the dividing line is my desktop and laptop computers. It’s where I write, where I email, where I edit photos and videos. It is my ‘office’ and turning it off for 10 days was my version of taking time off.

And I did need a break. 2017 was an amazingly productive year for me, with two books written and photographed and sent off the publisher. But that means that 2017 was also a incredibly busy time. While I prayed for more hours in the day, more days in the week, I realized more than ever that time is indeed limited and work can’t take up every minute. With this in mind I’ve decided to outline some of my strategy for 2018.

Yes, resolutions.

But don’t worry, it’s not going to be all diet and gym (although I WILL be doing that). It’s a more philosophical, optimistic and hopeful look at the things I hope to accomplish this year, both on the work side as well as the play side of things.

See more of my friends in real life: With pounding deadlines for the last year, I sadly let time with friends slip to the back burner. I plan on putting time with friends front and center. And virtual contact via Instagram and Facebook doesn’t count. More dinner parties at home, more lunches out, and more trips to visit friends in other cities.

Travel more outside of Italy: This last year took me all over the place in Italy, which was great. But I realized that I have a long list of places I want to visit in Europe. I’ve already booked a trip to Norway in June and hope to visit Berlin and Lisbon too. Between low cost airlines and home exchange sites, it's become incredibly affordable.

Learn more skills: I’ve always loved studying, and I’m a huge consumer of online tutorials. I would like to become a better videographer and video editor. I would also love to regain my formally fluent French. And one thing that I know will make Domenico very happy is that I’d love to perfect my pasta making skills.

But the scariest thing by far in my ‘to do’ list for 2018 is…..clean out my office! Mamma mia! If you don’t hear from me by February 1, come look for me under a pile of books/bills/files.

what's new

My longest ‘to do’ list is always about the tours I have planned. This is the time of year that I look at what I’ve done, and see how to improve things. I also like to plan completely new itineraries and tours because doing the same thing over and over get’s repetitive.

Expand the areas of our Week in Italy trips. I know I’ve been promising Puglia. This is the year it’s going to happen. I'll be heading down later this month, with Sophie, to finalize the details. I desperately want to add Sicily, Emilia Romagna and Piedmonte too, what do you think?

I’ve been tweaking the Week in Rome and Week in Umbria tours too, adding things. I’m very excited about our first Week in Umbria May tour, which will be completely different from our recent Fall trip. I can’t wait to take our guests foraging for wild asparagus! (We still have a few spots left). And I”m also changing our Week in Rome trip a bit, to include more of my current obsessions (small batch vermouth cocktails; pop up dining; Roman street food). Let me know if you’d like to join us.

videos

I realized I have gaping holes in my classic movie knowledge. On New Year’s Eve we watched Separate Tables, which I’d never even heard of! I would love to just go from start to finish watching everything Billy Wilder directed, wrote or produced and then move on from there. There are huge lacuna in my Italian movie watching as well, and I think that involves giving Toto another chance. And maybe watching old movies in French will help with that resolution about improving my French? Let me know your favorites, I’m open to suggestions.

I also vow to start making more videos of my own this year. As I travelled all over Italy in 2017, working on my books, I took tons of footage which will be making it's way to you soon. In the meantime, I've been looking at some of my older videos. They are very rough (compared to what I do these day) but still fun to watch! This one is one of my first from 7 years ago! And my favorite Cappuccino being made here. And I can't believe this video from 6 years ago has gotten a half million views! For future videos ( which I promise will be much better!) make sure you're signed up to my YouTube channel.

what I'm reading

History and Biographies. Last year my reading was mostly about escape. Escape from reading the news and escape from my own writing. This year there are a few areas of history I’d like to catch up on, mostly Italian. Never having formally studied Italian history of the last 150 years I think that is a good starting point. Any suggestions?

But in the meantime I’m quite enjoying just sinking into novels. I absolutely LOVED Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan and just started Paul Auster’s new 4 3 2 1.

I love seeing what people are reading. I always forget about Goodreads, and am going to try to start using it more. Do you? If so, connect with me there.

I love the idea of starting a Cookbook Club!

and finally....

On the more practical front - or rather technical - I’m about to change up my website. It’s been quite a while since the last re-design and it’s looking a bit dated I think. Also? I want to use the new logo my sister designed! That should be launching anytime now.

I’m also doing a big redesign of my app Eat Italy. I’ll be adding new cities and regions (all of which will be free!), but there will also be huge behind-the-scenes work as well, so the app should work better, especially in terms of mapping. And also….Android version is finally arriving! So many of you asked for it, that it seems like a good idea. This should all be done by May. If you already have the app, then don't worry, it will magically appear as an update. 6

In case you missed it, here is the list of the places I ate at in New York during my trip there last month.

And I also wanted to thank all of you so much for your advice about book tour venues. TONS of great ideas!!! Stay tuned…

And thank you all for the incredibly warm wishes you sent on Facebook and Instagram for my birthday! Although I didn't have a cake, my day started with a candle in my breakfast cornetto and ended with a candle in my tirimisu, both of which I much prefer to traditional cake thank you very much.


x,Elizabeth

My newest book, Eating My Way Through Italy, is available for pre-order.

The book, which recounts my food focussed travels up and down Italy will be published by St. Martins Press May 22, 2018.

You can pre-order it here.