One of the perks of living in Europe is the quick, inexpensive access to the rest of what Europe has to offer. For a few bucks and a one-hour flight, you can find yourself in a whole different country. How great is that?
As such, mes Canadiennes and I decided to book another adventure together, and we settled on Italy for the weekend. I must admit, I’d been vying for Italy for years… I just needed a good pasta fix! So the three of us arrived in Rome from three separate airports et voilà, the adventure began.
What luck to have an amazing friend that is in the know about all things food in just about any major city you can imagine going to. Elspeth planned a top du top weekend of foodie adventures that didn’t quit. She researched, read, asked her local friends and came up with a plan from when our feet hit Italian soil Friday afternoon straight through until our last coffee Monday morning.
In a nutshell: Italians know food. The beauty of Italy is they aren’t trendy; they aren’t doing anything strange or bizarre when it comes to food. They keep is simple, they keep it very local and entirely seasonal. When you have such brilliant ingredients, you don’t need to get all whizzy. Elspeth introduced us to what is now my new favourite pasta: cacio e pepe. This pasta was a perfect example of Italian simplicity, the dish included only two major ingredients: pecorino cheese and black pepper. When pasta is practically perfect with a gorgeous texture, it doesn’t need to be overloaded with thick sauces and meats. It doesn’t need to hide. When all the ingredients are outstanding, it doesn’t need much more than love.
Our weekend of course included some obligatory cultural activities (we’re not barbarians after all). So we did a tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, popped by the coliseum, checked out endless roman ruins, walked through hundreds of piazzas and drank a whole lot of coffee. There was so much beauty it was almost impossible to take it in. Everywhere you turned, there was another stunning church or exquisite building.
We managed to pack so much into this fabulous mini-break, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. We ate three pasta carbonara, four cacio e pepe, two and a half feet of pizza, several bottles of wine, 10 coffees at Sant Eustachio and covered 45km by foot. And that’s just what I can remember. I’m sure there was some gelato in there too…
Grazie mille per tutti Didi and Elspeth for yet another exceptional trip together. I hope this tradition never ceases. Baci!
