Notes from a week in Rome, the Maremma and the Amalfi coast
We started our weekend in and around Rome eating ‘pasta cacio e pepe’ – pasta with cheese and pepper – in the traditional old Roman trattoria ‘da Carlone’ in the famous Trastevere district of Rome. The pasta was delicious, just look at the photo, it needs no introduction!
Saturday morning we left Rome and drove to Montemerano, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy (part of the network “I borghi piú belli d’Italia”), right in the heart of the Tuscan Maremma, an unspoilt wild coastal region of Tuscany. Our friend Enrica and her little dog Betty live there. Enrica is a real artist, she runs the Atelier Rouge, where she makes decorative flowers of stunning beauty.
We also met up with a few friends that we met on a trip to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. I have many “travel-friends” around Italy. They are very dear to me as we experienced together a different corner of the world and this is something which stays with you forever. Travelling is a lifestyle and when you can go home enriched with precious memories and new friends, this is really special! Even when we don’t see each other for a long time, it’s always as if we had met the day before.
For our reunion, we dined on a few typical Tuscan dishes (vegetarian version): ‘acqua cotta’ (a hot broth-based bread soup); ‘crostini toscani’ (chicken pate on toast); ‘pici all’aglione’ (pasta with garlic sauce). We also enjoyed lots of Morellino di Scanzano, a Doc wine, ruby red, warm and dry, slightly tannic and perfect for meat dishes, but also roasted fish.
Then back to Rome, in time for our first concert during Covid. We went to see Daniele Silvestri, a well-known Roman singer, after eating ‘trapizzini’, a sort of pizza pocket and a typical Roman street food.
After the concert, we went for three days to the Amalfi coast, to visit some friends from Berlin. We were really looking forward to seeing the world-famous Costiera Amalfitana (Amalfi Coast) and it lived up to its reputation. It was stunning, the pictures speak for themselves! It seems time has stood still here….donkeys are still a form of transport!
And here again we enjoyed pizza, ‘fritti’ (deep-fried morsels of meat and veg) and mozzarella. My favourite local wine is Falanghina del Sannio DOC ‘Serrocielo’ 2019 from the Feudi di San Gregorio winery. A fresh white wine, with notes of the citrus of the area – a perfect wine for pasta! The popular liqueur Limoncello, made using the local juicy lemons, is also from this region. I love it!
…. to be continued! Next stop Puglia.
“There is no man more complete than the one who traveled, who changed the shape of his thought and his life twenty times” Alphonse de Lamartine