Restaurant (shortlist)

For in-depth reviews, read "mangiare" under "extras."

SORRENTO Giardinello - Via Accademia 7. Read my review in a previous post.

NAPOLI *Antica Pizzeria 'Da Michele' - Via Cesare Sersal 1/3 (Angolo Via P Colleta) 80100 NaplesIt was by far the best pizza I have had in my life. Same goes for my sister. They only make 2 types of pizza: margherita and marinara, and sell drinks. Cash only. Line outside the door.

PERUGIA
***Pizzeria di Maurizio*** There is no sign on the storefront other than "Pizza al trancio" = pizza by the slice. I discovered that it is "Maurice's" by saving the receipt. Anyway, the address is Piazza Morlacchi 1, north of S. Lorenzo Cathedral.

COOP Centro Italia - Piazza Matteoti 15, Perugia.

SIENA
CONAD (supermarket) in Piazza Matteoti (take the escalators one level down.
Tel. 0577/270806. Conad Supermarket - Piazza Matteoti. Siena.

*Pizzeria il Corso - Via Banchi di Sopra 23. Siena. Tel. 0577/40144. (Across from the famous Caffe' Nannini.) Of all the thin-crispy style pizzerie in Siena, I think this one was my favorite. It tasted the best to me. They can get kind of busy at times. The service is friendly. Each slice (thin) is about 1.25 euros, which was expensive compared to what we were paying in Perugia. But still tasty!Pizzaland - Via Camollia 41/43. Siena. (Via Montanini and Via Camollia are the same streets. They change names sometime past the Bus depot, Piazza Lizza.) I think we had pizza here once or twice. The service was friendly. They had both the thin and thick pizza. Open late, and I believe pizza slices are discounted after 10 p.m. or midnight (?).Pizzeria Forzanti Paola - Via Banchi di Sotto 25. Tel. 0577/40207. We had pizzas at 3 or 4 different places in Siena. This place was ok. It was probably the cheapest, only .80 euros per slice. Their pizzas are really thin, on a square pita-like crispy bread. (I think this is something regional. It is actually very tasty and light snack! We ate like 2 each when we were hungry, compared to the full-sized pizzas of Napoli!) The reason it was so cheap was because they were having a special sale. I think their regular prices are 20-30% higher.ASSISI La Pallotta - Vicolo della Volta Pinta 06081 Assisi (Perugia) Tel. (+39) 075/812649. Closed Tuesday. They give a 10% discount to those staying in their hotel. During lunch they provide several tasting menus, which are good buys. I think my sister and I opted to splurge and do something different. We ordered different pastas and salads. The dessert on one of the tasting menus was "fruit" - but I forget what kind of fruit. What I found was funny - the waitstaff just gave people fruit unpeeled fruit with a knife. I guess here in the States, everything comes prepped all done for you. But there, it was so "raw." It just blew me away. Anyway, other than that, the food was good - I think my sister's pasta was better. The lasagna was nothing special in my honest opinion. Otherwise, everything else was good, especially the tomato salad, which was just fresh tomatoes, olive oil, and salt. Yum. Lunch cost for two, without alcohol, 50-60 euros, I think. Lunch: 12:15 to 14:30. Dinner: 19:15 to 21:30.

VENEZIA *Pizzeria Antico Panificio - S. Polo 945/A/B, 30125 Venezia. Tel. (+39) 041/277.0967. Closed Tuesday. Open 12:00-15:00, 19:00-23:00 (that's 12p.m.-3p.m., 7p.m.-11p.m.).We found this place by luck. It has pages and pages of pizza and pasta, but mostly pizza. Very friendly service. Get there early, because it gets packed. Prices are inexpensive and food is good. I think this was one of the better meals we had. Cover charge was 1.60 euro/person, water 1.90 euro bottle, and pizzas ranged from 5-7 euros/each. The total bill was about 17 euros for lunch. And we were full.

MILANOI'm trying to recall our resplendent meal options in Milan, but right now I can only remember McDonald's, AutoGrill, and other fast food choices because we were in the mood for window shopping and shopping. Maybe we did enjoy a meal, but if we did, I can't remember it now. If it comes to mind, I'll post it later. I have been to Milan twice before and did enjoy some meals there. Once, at a restaurant in Brera, but of course I didn't write down the name of the place.

*Grand Italia Caffe' - Corso Garibaldi 9, Milano. Tel. 02/8646.2414

Getting around Monopoli

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Downtown map (viamichelin.com)

Photos: Monopoli, Puglia

Maps: Historic Center of Lecce and Italy

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Photos: Trani, Puglia

Map: Ostuni to Alberobello

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Sights in Alberobello
Trullo Sovrano
I Trulli

Photos: Alberobello, Puglia

See more photos of Alberobello here.

Butchers in Cisternino

Dinner in Cisternino,
originally uploaded by travelinghearts.

The Puglian town of Cisternino is well-regarded for its "macellerie" or butcher shops. But these butcher shops go one step further; you order how much meat you plan on eating for dinner (salumi, sausage) and then they will prepare it for you. It's best if you go with a large group because these restaurants prepare a lot of food and after drinking beer -- you get rather full quite fast. Even for the non-meat eater, you feel as if you have to join in. It was one of the best, and very simple, meals I had. It reminded me of a meal I had in Korea... sitting around the table, talking to natives and sharing in the local culture, and sharing meat and beers. How simple is that!



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Getting to Matera from Rome

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Directions: Follow the path, A-J. Note the bus did not go in alphabetical order. :/ Note how many stops the bus made. Bus was to leave at 1:30 p.m., but left at 3:30 or 4 p.m., didn't arrive into Matera until almost midnight. After my initial concern, I got settled into the bus and just adapted... this is Italy, I'm on vacation.... go with the flow, what's the use fighting?

Details:
Marozzi bus to Matera leaves a couple of times a day. Make sure you get on the right one, as there are many Marozzi buses. (Here are my notes from the bus ride.)

La vita a Matera

I received a nice e-mail from my friend, who is a native of Matera. I think that's what triggered my memories of my visit to this wonderful town, home of i sassi (cave dwellings). I was here for only a short time (2 nights?) -- I came directly from Rome, a bus ride -- a 6 hour one, that took off later than I had anticipated. Anyway, after I finally arrived in Matera (almost midnight?), I took my luggage and walked to the hotel, because it was close enough to the bus depot... I had called the hotel and asked about taxi service, but the guy said "walk." (I'm sure for most Americans it would have been "far" -- well, not really... but after walking around and feeling kind of lost, and being in the bus for so long...) Well, I think I've gotten used to the Italian mindset after having traveled there so much, and just accepted it -- but there is still that American part of me that is superanal and needs things to be on time, etc.

But once I arrived in Matera, and realized how "homely" and relatively safe it was (tourism is its main source of industry, as it's a UNESCO Heritage Site), I felt pretty secure walking to the hotel late at night -- it's nothing like walking around the Termini area in Rome, or some sketchy areas of the city.

Anyway, there are several areas to the sassi in Matera -- the old (caveoso), the new (barisano), and the really old (civita, supposedly inhabited more than 4000 years ago) (but you can't explore the really old). While I was there, I had a walking guide -- his English was so-so, and I wondered if half the time what he told me was true (he was from Bari), I forget his name (I'm sure I could dig up the receipts)... but more than the stuff he said, he did know areas of Matera pretty well, and for me I guess the content of what he said doesn't matter as much (because I have forgotten it), it's the places he took me within those hours. I was able to cover a LOT more ground, and not get lost... Matera feels like a maze, especially with the sassi.

I thought this was beautiful, to find life among all these rocks.

Matera at night

San Pietro Caveoso

Sassi Hotel

Some of my favorite memories from Matera are wandering around the town... it gets really hot in the summer, because there aren't many places to catch a shade/ombra... most of the town escapes indoors -- think, this town is known for the cave dwellings and stone, so the pavement is HOT HOT HOT in the summer. It was extremely dry, and you see cats lazzzzzzzying around, and you want to desperately join them and pump up the A/C, or take a long lunch. It's really popular to take dinner and drinks in the sassi in the evening, but it doesn't start until late at night, when the evening has cooled (I didn't go because I was too pooped from all the walking around -- and I was usually doing laundry and showering and ready to sleeep).

One of my favorite sites was this church in Matera that had two distinct styles: St. Maria de Idris -- what I liked about this church is the Byzantine art, but it was different from the art I saw in Ravenna and in Venice.

I would suggest going to Matera... but in the Spring or Fall... when it's not so frickin' hot!

Matera Websites

http://www.sassidimatera.it/

Italian Fat Cats

Hey Kitty Kitty... or whatever you say in Italy!

Cats in Matera

Cat in Tuscany

Golden Ravenna

For some reason, I have Ravenna on my mind... and I'd like to share it with you... or at least the bright wonderful photos I was able to capture while I was there last summer.


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Next time I'm there,
I'm gonna rent a bike and look like a local!


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At Moti Mahal

Where are we?

Looking for a pub in front of Moti Mahal

Posh Indian food at Moti Mahal, in Convent Garden, London

At the Tate Modern

We went to the Tate Modern and rather enjoyed Shibboleth. I didn't fall into the crack, but I guess I could understand how people would fall into the crack. . . but to sue the museum? Hmnh. After reading the news and to see that the museum has sealed the exhibition, I wonder how the artist feels? I wonder if a part of her is angry -- but then a part of her probably is excited that her exhibition caused such consternation, no?


Anyway, this day we spent walking along the embankment, which was quite a joy. We watched huskers and walked into stores. Ah, to be in London!

St. Paul's (background), Millenium Bridge

Don't fall in!

There's word that the installation will be sealed because it has caused too much injury (and probably due to the legal suits the museum has faced). Here's the official information from the Museum's website (nothing about it being sealed or the legal suits though):

(From the museum's website)

Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth is the first work to intervene directly in the fabric of the Turbine Hall. Rather than fill this iconic space with a conventional sculpture or installation, Salcedo has created a subterranean chasm that stretches the length of the Turbine Hall. The concrete walls of the crevice are ruptured by a steel mesh fence, creating a tension between these elements that resist yet depend on one another. By making the floor the principal focus of her project, Salcedo dramatically shifts our perception of the Turbine Hall’s architecture, subtly subverting its claims to monumentality and grandeur. Shibboleth asks questions about the interaction of sculpture and space, about architecture and the values it enshrines, and about the shaky ideological foundations on which Western notions of modernity are built.

In particular, Salcedo is addressing a long legacy of racism and colonialism that underlies the modern world. A ‘shibboleth’ is a custom, phrase or use of language that acts as a test of belonging to a particular social group or class. By definition, it is used to exclude those deemed unsuitable to join this group.

‘The history of racism’, Salcedo writes, ‘runs parallel to the history of modernity, and is its untold dark side’. For hundreds of years, Western ideas of progress and prosperity have been underpinned by colonial exploitation and the withdrawal of basic rights from others. Our own time, Salcedo is keen to remind us, remains defined by the existence of a huge socially excluded underclass, in Western as well as post-colonial societies.

In breaking open the floor of the museum, Salcedo is exposing a fracture in modernity itself. Her work encourages us to confront uncomfortable truths about our history and about ourselves with absolute candidness, and without self-deception.

Doris Salcedo was born in 1958 in Bogotá, Colombia, where she lives and works. A monographic display of her work can be seen on Level 3 as part of the Poetry and Dream collection displays.

You can also see Shibboleth on Youtube.