The Classics

There is some really delicious, carefully crafted, meticulously sourced gelato in Rome. 


But sometimes it's more about the place. The Experience, than anything else.

Palazzo del Freddo Giovanni Fassi (or Fassi for short)  is just this place.

It may not be the very best gelato you will have in Rome, but it is an authentic Roman experience.

Don't be put off by the crowds & seeming chaos. This place is aircraft hanger sized and scoops with efficiency. There are tables and benches & a small courtyard to sit.

They have something called a gelato tramazzini - really - what more could I say.

 Read about the family history with Gelato in the in-house museum filled with gelato making artifacts 

Practicalities


Via Principe Eugenio, 65
www.palazzodelfreddo.it
Closed Mondays


another great post on Fassi is here: 

New York New York - Roman Style

I recently saw a friend who has not succumbed to the pleasures of Rome.  She misses soft serve cones and friendly customer service.

It is no secret that I have fallen hard for Rome's chaotic, seductive charm, but that doesn't mean I don't still miss things from the other places I have called home.

Friends traveling back from Southern Africa haul back fynbos honey and fudge from Woolworths for me. I fill suitcases with red hots and moon pies on trips back to the US.  At home I make Korean tacos and Thai risotto as a break from traditional roman pasta dishes.

Sandwich choices here are pretty limited, and while there are some really delicious tramezini and pizza mortadella there is not much variation (the exception to this is Tricolore's swoon worthy selection) I miss New York deli sandwiches.

Particularly a New York deli pastrami sandwich

At my local, very small, grocery store last week I found, tucked in a corner, a loaf of rye bread.

Now I knew you could find pastrami.

add good strong french mustard and an almost New York deli sandwich is made.

I couldn't serve up a sandwich like this without a black and white cookie. they are super easy to make.

now if there were only a place with a barrel of crunchy dill pickles....

Life is a Bowl of Cherries

This weekend was Mother's Day. As creatures of habit we usually celebrate at our regular table at our regular beach but this year the teenager had to work so we stayed in town for the day. 


I have an oft stated rule about eating seafood only with the sea in my view


and


La Gensola in Trastevere is renowned for the freshness of it's fish.


I have been wanting to go to Osteria Gensola for years. It never. ever. works out.


So Sunday was the perfect day to break this unlucky streak and my rule and see what all our friends have been raving about.


The locally sourced seafood is prepared in traditional and creative ways.  We tried a Spigola Cheviche with cilantro and citrus that I now want to eat for lunch every day this summer.  The very traditional Spaghetti alla Vongole also met with approval. No easy feat. 


and for dessert 

The season's very first bowl of cherries.  

I might have to break my rules more often.

a crisp cold campania white

paccheri ragu di pesche

remains of the vongole

ceviche di spigola

solo oggi so dire ho bisogno di te

Piazza della Gensola 15
06 58332758
www.osterialagensola.it

Expat Writers Book and App Fair - Are you Coming?

This Saturday afternoon May 12 the super-groovy Beehive and just launched Gemelli Press are hosting a terrific event.


Here is what is happening


featuring expat writers in Italy of books, e-books and iPhone apps. This is a great opportunity to meet and chat with expat writers in the center of Rome on what we hope will be a gorgeous spring day!

Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase.

The event will take place at The Beehive hotel conveniently located near Rome's Termini train station.

The current list of writers is as follows:

Eleonora Baldwin (Frommer's Rome Day by Day, 3rd Edition)
Terry Bhola (Searching for Wild Asparagus in Umbria)
Flaminia Chapman (Rome Insider's Guide app)
Mary Jane Cryan (Etruria: Travel, History & Itineraries in Central Italy)
Erica Firpo (Rome Select)
Arlene Gibbs (The Rebirth of Mrs. Tracey Higgins; Jumping the Broom)
Linda Lappin (The Etruscan)
Mark Leslie (in absentia) (Beyond the Pasta)
Francesca Maggi (Burnt by the Tuscan Sun)
Gillian McGuire (Rome for Expats app)
Katie Parla (Rome for Foodies app and National Geographic Walking Rome)
Sara Rosso (How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy; The Unofficial Guide to Nutella)
Pamela Sheldon Johns (Cucina Povera: Tuscan Peasant Cooking)
Barbara Zaragoza (in absentia) (The Espresso Break)

We'll be raffling copies of books, promo codes to apps and the chance to win a lunch in Vetralla on 19 May with a Creative Writing instructor and authors at a private home in Vetralla a town about an hour north of Rome. An exclusive chance for one person interested in writing to enjoy some specialities of local food and meet and exchange ideas with Teresa Cutler-Broyles, a published author and instructor of Creative Writing at the University of New Mexico.

I will be there with information about my new App 

and look forward to seeing you there!

To get all the details and RSVP  - go here.

A Sweet Break

This is not a post about cupcakes. 

Every year, and only in the months of May and June, you can visit the Commune de Roma's rose garden. {Roseto Comunale}


On elegant Aventine hill, it is a perfect place to stop for a break and literally smell the roses.


The site has been dedicated to flowers since the third century as was noted by the emperor Tacito. In the 1600's it was a Jewish cemetery and then it became the site of the annual Premio Roma contest headed by American born Countess Mary Gailey Senni, in the early 30's.

Practicalities

Via di Valle Murcia, 6

More details on Hours and directions here

Closed on May 18 and 19, for the  "Premio Roma"

History {in italian}

Need something sugar sweet? 

 Cristalli di Zucchero is just around the corner and has bite sized parisian style pastries. 

Via di San Teodoro, 88

or if you really want a cupcake,  take a stroll towards Campo di Fiori to The Perfect Bun Bakery 

Piazza del Paradiso 56

ok, it was a post a little bit about cupcakes.

Rome for Expats

My new Sutro Media published App, Rome for Expats,  is now available to download for your iPhone and iPad! (Android people  - it is coming soon for you)

Wow! Number 1 for in-app purchases! 

Unfortunately, because of some changes that Apple has imposed, it is a little complicated to do.
Here is a guide to getting "The Source's Tips, Resources and Secrets for the Expat in Rome" 
1. From your desktop or device you first need to download the Sutro World App.  If you already have Sutro World you need to make sure it is the latest version.

2. On your device, open Sutro World and tap the button Explore Guides.

3. In the search window type Rome E (if you type in Rome Expats it mysteriously disappears?) 

4. Tap "purchase" (thank you) and download away! Addresses for where to find  films in english, cheddar cheese and sour cream and cupcakes await. 


5.  Work on the update is already underway.  There will be information on the best hamburgers, beaches and cocktail spots in town. I have also submitted fixes for some broken (mostly Facebook pages) links etc...which should be available to you soon.  

6. Keep in touch with links and news on Facebook and Twitter  (@RomeforExpats) too.

7. I would love to hear from you, thoughts, suggestions, additions for the next update.