April 2022 News from Elizabeth

Where to go, what to eat and lots of fun links

Sophie’s book The Sweetness of Doing Nothing: Live Life the Italian Way with Dolce far Niente is finally coming out in the USA! I know it seems like we’ve been talking about it forever, but as you know, normal time was kind of paused over the last two years (did 2021 even happen?) but now that things are starting up again the book is officially coming out in the USA on April 26!!

As you can probably imagine I’m a very proud mamma. The book pulls together so much of the Italy we love and share. There are chapters on Family, Friends and Leisure and of course some of Sophie’s favorite recipes. But it’s mostly a very sweet book about how to incorporate the concept of Dolce Far Niente - taking the time to enjoy life - into your own routines.

Sophie has a lot of fun book related online events planned for the beginning of May. I’ll keep the Events Page on my site updated and also include all the radio and TV appearances that she’ll be doing. And of course make sure you’re following her on instagram to keep up to date.

You can pre-order The Sweetness of Doing Nothing here and it will arrive as soon as it’s out on April 26.

Cheers from Sophie:

WHAT’S NEW

Sophie and I are headed down to Puglia tomorrow, to begin our Week in Puglia tour. If you’ve ever wondered how these tours get planned, it’s usually based on itineraries that have been meticulously planned i for at least a year. We organize things WAY in advance.

Except, of course, when we don’t.

If we’ve learned anything during the last couple of years it’s been that we have to go with the flow and make the best of every situation. And in our experience things really do turn out for the best. For instance I got a heart-stopping phone call from our hotel in Lecce 2 weeks ago. ‘Hello signora, I just wanted to tell you that we have delayed opening this year due to delivery delays.’ As you can imagine I totally freaked out. But the next sentence (which of course should have been a the first thing said!) was ‘Don’t worry, we’ve upgraded the entire group to suites at our sister hotel across the street.’ See? Everything turns out for the best.

The main problem we have these days is trying to fit in all the places and people we are constantly discovering into our tours. Even this morning I woke up to about 5 messages from Sophie: ‘What if we go to the almond guy on the way to the winery?” and “What about adding a stop by the mozzarella guy?” This is just to let you know our tours are a living breathing thing, and change constantly. The only constant is that - in our humble opinion - things just get better each time. (side note: Sophie and I are thinking of giving a pair elastic wasted pants to our guests. What do you think?)

I had a great time with Melissa Clark last month, on our Week in Sicily Tour. It was the first time that I hosted this specific tour: we stayed in the countryside for 4 nights, and then the final 2 nights we spent in Ortigia. I think it was the perfect balance of country/city and Melissa and I are very much looking forward to repeating it in 2023. I’ll be announcing new dates soon, first in my Premium Newsletter and then here and on the website.

If you are already subscribed to the Premium Newsletter then you know I added a few more tours to Puglia and Parma last week:

Week in Parma with Sophie October 30 - November 5, 2022 (Sold out - wait list available)

Week in Puglia with Sophie and Angelo April 23-29, 2023 (4 spots left)

Week in Puglia with Sophie and Angelo May 7-13, 2023 (2 spots left)

We still have a few more spots left for Spring in Umbria with Robin and Elizabeth in May 2022 and Umbria with Elizabeth and Evan Kleiman in June 2022. And if you feel like making a last minute decision, Sophie still has a few spots left on her Puglia tour at the end of April.

You can find our full schedule of tours on this page. I am constantly adding more tours, which go out first to Premium Subscribers, and then to the Monthly Newsletter and the website. I’ll be adding more tours for 2023 soon, so if you’d like to know about them first, make sure you’re signed up for the Premium Newsletter.

WHERE I’VE BEEN

I know I’ve said it over and over but a day trip from Rome to Florence is just the best. At this point I’ve got it down so that going there to meet someone for lunch is almost as easy at meeting them here in Rome. I work on the train, so I get a LOT done in that undisturbed time. Then I am able to take my daily walk in Florence instead of Rome AND I get to see friends. This past week I went up for the day to see my friends Ari and Tammy who I hadn’t seen since pre-covid. We all had lunch with my friend Rolando at Cammillo. I’m planning on going up in May to see the Donatello exhibition.

My recent trip to Sicily was for a tour, but I have to mention it here in the ‘travel’ section, since I made a great discovery! There is a very small airport in the south east corner of Sicily, Comiso, and there are direct flights from Rome every day on both Ryanair and ITA. It is SO easy to get down there, and if you rent a car you can explore this corner of Sicily which includes Ragusa/Ibla, Noto, Modica and Scicli. Baglio Occhipinti makes a great home base if you want to be in the countryside. It makes a very easy short break from Rome.

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WHAT I’M READING

I generally read with the idea of escaping. So I’m not quite sure how I ended up reading Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. It traces the secret history of the Sackler family and their role in causing the opioid crisis. Light reading it’s not. But it is fascinating, and having grown up in the halls of museums which bear the Sackler name it’s disturbing/painful/horrible to see where the money came from.

Next up on my kindle: Jennifer Egan The Candy House

I’m so glad that the Times ran this story on Emily Nunn since it lead me to her wonderful newsletter The Department of Salad.

Who wants to come with me to visit this cookbook library in Rome? Sounds fascinating and I can’t believe it’s just down the street from me but I haven’t been there yet.

I can’t believe that A) Chowhound is 25 years old and that B) it’s closing. I was a big contributor to the Roman restaurant section when they first started the international sections. Thinking back, it seems like it was more like 100 years ago.

You all know how I love a good Carbonara scandal. These comments from the New York Times recipe are too funny.

A guide to the best pizzerias in Rome. In Italian, but you get the drift.

WHAT I’M WATCHING

Loved Pieces of Her. But then again, I could watch Toni Collette in anything and be happy.

What I’m not watching: The Home Edit. I can’t quite figure out the appeal of the concept of having so much stuff you need help organizing it. I do like an organized space, but a show that makes a point out of buying tons of plastic containers and celebrating unsustainable excess just seems so tone deaf. I guess I’m not the only one dissing it.

Looking forward to Season Two of Stanley Tucci. Can’t wait to see what he gets up to in Umbria.

As a die hard Law & Order fan I was SO looking forward to the reboot of the original. But I can’t be the only one falling asleep halfway through each episode. The acting is as bad as the writing. What happened? I’m kind of waiting for Mariska to come in and whup everyone into shape.

Also disappointed so far with season 2 of Bridgerton, but willing to give it a chance to get going.

AND FINALLY…

We are spending Easter in Sicily this year. I have a tour starting on Easter Sunday in Ortigia so Sophie , Domenico and I are heading down a day early to eat our weight in marzipan. Aren’t those hearts in the photo above incredible? Made of almond paste and decorated in icing, they are the prettiest Easter food I’ve ever seen. They are from one of my favorite pastry shops in Sicily, Artale

Are you finally entertaining again? If Easter is your thing, here are a few recipes for Easter brunch, (or any brunch you want it to be):

Fazzoletto or Spinach Salad with Pancetta and Eggs

Salmon and Potato Frittata

Pistacchio Pound Cake

Me? I’ll be nibbling on one of those hearts.

x,Elizabeth

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