May 2021 Newsletter
Flowers, gelato and....travel!!
Like everyone else I’m having a pretty hard time keeping track of days, and months and even years (where the hell did 2020 go?) but lately I’ve been doing something that I haven’t done in a long time. Check my calendar. I find myself having more and more ‘appointments’ as life starts to head back, slowly but surely, to normal. And I don’t mean ‘appointments’ like going to the living room to do an online yoga class. But real appointments that involve actually leaving the house to meet other people in places like restaurants and bars and museums. I’ve even been making airplane and train reservations which I barely remember how to do.
Yay!!
I’m writing this from Rome where, like the rest of Italy, things are starting to open up again. Italy is taking a staggered approach to loosening restrictions , which I think is a good thing. For instance while restaurants are now open, they only have outdoor tables or take out for now. In a few weeks they will start opening their indoor spaces as well. Similar stages are playing out for museums, theaters, cinemas and other things we used to take for granted.
For the time being though, I’m having a grand time taking advantage of one of the greatest perks of this period. Restaurants and bars are allowed to put tables outside in spaces that were formally off limits due to traffic, zoning and permits. So now I can sit at my local bar with a perfect view of the Colosseum or hang out at Cafe Greco and gaze at the Spanish Steps.
And next week? We’re actually headed down to Bari, where we haven’t been since last September. And we are going for…..Nonna’s 99th birthday!! If that isn’t reason to celebrate I don’t know what is.
WHAT’S NEW
I can’t tell you how great it has been to start planning for tours again. The vaccination rates are speeding up in Europe (I got mine!!) and travel between the EU and other countries, including the USA, is set to start by this summer. The details are being worked out now, and some sort of proof of vaccination and/or negative test results, will be a part of everyone’s packing list.
We have a seven tours planned for this fall and confirming all the hotels, restaurants, cooking classes and farm visits feels so great! I’m soooo happy to be giving our colleagues in Sicily, Puglia, Parma and Abruzzo good news instead of bad.
Our first tour in the fall is a Culinary and Craft retreat with Evan Kleiman in Abruzzo. We are basically taking over this entire hotel in a small village of Santo Stefano a Sessanio and using it as our base to learn about things like saffron, wine and grains as well as folk music, ceramics and weaving. There are still have a few spaces left. Send me an email if you’d like the details.
September is very busy, since we’re trying to make up for lost time (can you blame us?) Our Week in Umbria and our Culinary Retreat in Puglia with Melissa Clark are both currently full, but if you’d like to be put on the wait list, there may be some last minute openings since some people may change their plans. Let me know if you’d like to learn more.
In October we are off to Puglia TWICE! (sorry, all full, but email me if you’d like to be the wait list). We do, however, still have a couple of spots left for our October Week in Sicily. Write me for details.
If you’re thinking further ahead we have 9 tours planned so far for 2022 and have even confirmed 2 weeks in Puglia for 2023 (more coming….)
As you know, Sophie and I are always working to make our tours as low impact as possible. Not just sustainable, but regenerative. With this in mind we decided to retire our Week in Rome tours since we felt the city just didn’t need the extra boost in tourism that would be better aimed at other, harder to reach, destinations. After a lot of thought and planning, and talking with our friends here in Rome (shop keepers, vegetable vendors, restaurant owners, etc. ) we decided to start offering a tour to Rome that would leave a lighter footprint. “Food in Rome: A 3 Day Tour with Sophie” will take you on a short, but intense, dive into the food culture of Rome. Unlike our other Week-long tours, housing is not included. You are free to book yourself into the hotel or Airbnb that best suits your budget. And rather than spend the entire day, from breakfast until dinner, with us, you are on your own in the evenings. This means that not only is this tour more affordable for a lot of people, it also leaves you time to explore on your own. This tour is so new, that we haven’t even posted publically about it yet. You are the first to know!! Send me an email for details.
WHAT I’M WATCHING
How did I come to the series Bosch so late? I’m totally a Michael Connelly fan, so I’m not sure how I missed this. And thank god there are seven seasons because I don’t want it to end.
Thanks to my sister for recommending The Courrier, which we LOVED. You can never have too much Benedict Cumbertatch IMHO.
Promising Young Woman was as entertaining as it was disturbing. Carey Mulligan was fabulous.
Rather than watch the royal funeral we just decided to re-watch Season 1 of The Crown because this is the way I prefer to consume history.
Love this video of my friend Katie dressing up in outfits inspired by recipes from her new book Cheese, Wine, Bread. (Should I dress up as Carbonara? And Sophie can wear Amatriciana?)
WHAT I’M READING
So many great cookbooks coming out this summer!
Fun article which answers the question many of us in Italy ask: What the hell is Gabagool?
Moka comeback? It never left my kitchen!!
LOVE this story about my bagel-making friends in Rome.
I can’t believe it’s been over 15 years of no-knead bread. Seems like yesterday. This update is a fun read.
Loving Kazuo Ishiguro’s beautiful new novel Klara and the Sun
WHAT I’M EATING
Not only have I been eating pistachio gelato every day, but I even got a pistachio colored manicure.
This article makes want to make more tarts.
LOVE this movie-star-inspired, old fashioned pasta from Domenica Marchetti
Soupy greens are one of my favorite food groups. Melissa Clark adds gnocchi (which are basically dumplings) which is all kinds of brilliant.
We have Puttanesca on repeat because it is equal parts easy and delcioius.
We are having asparagus this way at least once a week.
…AND FINALLY
The biggest news of the month has been the publication of Sophie’s book!! The Sweetness of Doing Nothing has finally come out. (I say finally only because it was supposed to be published a year ago, but with travel restrictions in place the publisher decided to postpone it. ) We are both so happy and I am so proud of Sophie for having written (and photographed!) such a gorgeous book. It’s not really a travel book, but more of a game plan for incoroporating some of the best-loved Italian habits into your own life (the Spritz on the cover should be a hint). And frankly, we could all use a bit of Dolce Far Niente in our life right now, right? For now the book has been published in the UK, but you can order it through Amazon here or else Book Depository and it will be mailed to you in the States. (It’s set to come out in the USA later this year too). In the meantime thank you so much to all of you who have already been buying it over this past weekend!
x,Elizabeth