Friday, May 30, 2014

Winding up our trip — and a visit to Rome!

On our final morning at the agriturismo in Tuscany, before we left for Rome, we decided to have a nice big breakfast there at La Pietriccia. I loved the fact you could get freshly squeezed pear juice, and I can see just a bit of mine in this photo! Not realizing what other goodies awaited, I selected from the buffet thin slices of the cheese and meat so central to Italian meals, a plum, and what I thought was biscotti with some of my beloved Nutella. I soon learned that the packaged "biscotti" was melba toast, so that didn't exactly work with the Nutella!

No worries, though. Soon, to our table comes this magnificent array of breakfast breads. Alex and I just laughed, and he wondered how many guests this would feed at teatime!

Oh, I do love croissants, and I definitely ate my share of them on this trip! It's probably best I never learn to make them …

So when we finally arrived in Rome, we barely had time for another hop-on, hop-off bus tour. (Yes, we know. We tried to do too much on this trip!) At any rate, at least we can say we have seen the Colosseum!

As with so many of the major attractions in Europe, we learned we should have booked tickets online if we wanted to avoid spending several hours (in the rain!) waiting to go inside the Colosseum. We just didn't have that kind of time, and frankly, we both agreed we wouldn't have waited in line if we'd had the time. (I'm not sure there's a perfect solution for the line-averse traveler. If there is, I'd love to hear it!)

The other highlight of our time in Rome was seeing St. Peter's Square. Next time I'm watching on television as the Pope gives a speech there, I'll have a feel for what the square looks like!

The city's incredible architecture, I must say, left me with a bit of an inferiority complex about the U.S. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but … our old buildings just aren't quite as grand, are they!

I have a dear friend who is a devout Catholic, so I had to pop in a shop near the Vatican and buy her a few items while I was there. And this is out of the norm for me, but I wanted an Italian-looking cup and saucer to take home with me, so I was delighted to find this one in the gift shop. It definitely says "Italy" to me!

And since you all are devout tea lovers, I figured that one of you would enjoy this little book of Italian biscotti recipes featuring cute teatime artwork! When I Google-translated the title, here's what I got: "Small manual biscuit Italian ingredients, good and fantasy." Make of it what you will, but I just loved all the cute tea illustrations and figured it shouldn't be too hard to translate a recipe.

This one is, I believe, for Rosemary Biscotti. So to thank you for joining me on my travels, I'm giving away this little cookbook to someone who leaves a comment between now and 7 a.m. EST on Monday, June 2. Good luck — and thanks again for reading along!

23 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your trip with us. Would like to travel to Tuscany. Would love to win the Italian cookbook,
    It would be amazing to translate the wonderful recipies!

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  2. I have so enjoyed touring with you and your hubby through the eye of your camera lens. My one attempt at biscotti failed miserably...so I hope someone with mad skills wins your giveaway!

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  3. Your travels remind me of my trips to
    England and Italy (sigh!!!). We had such a wonderful time and good food to eat. I love biscotti and make it often; happily my husband doesn't like it as much as I do so there is more for me. Of course in Italy, biscotti means a cookie not necessarily what we call biscotti. Would love to win that cute little cookbook.

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  4. Thanks for the wonderful stories of your trip. Italy is one of my favorite places to visit (especially Assisi and Rome) and I'd love to have a chance at the cookbook...the rosemary biscotti sound yummy!

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  5. What a delightful and beautiful Italian Cookbook which would be ideal for my Italian daughter-in-law. Her skills are wonderful and she would love this. Your photos of this memorable vacation are treasures.

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  6. I have so enjoyed the captivating trip especially the Italy portion which is romantic and lovely. This cookbook is so unique and gorgeous. Best wishes and many more adventures.

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  7. Looks like Rome was the perfect ending to your fabulous trip [minus the rain!]. Your Italian looking teacup is lovely! You're right about American architecture, and many of the beautiful buildings that were built were demolished to make way for 'modern' structures - that's the case in my area anyway.

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  8. What an experience your trip has been! Luanne

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  9. Love the teacup you found, and the artwork in the little recipe book is wonderful, even if I can't read it! (I do have a translation app, plus a friend who lives in Italy!) I agree about waiting in line, that's not for me. HOHO bus tours would be the way I'd have to see the sights.

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  10. What a memorable birthday trip! Now you must find a reason to return!

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  11. I went on a group tour of Italy (Venice, Florence, Rome) a couple of years ago. I never thought to look for cookbooks! I started reading your blog a few months ago and have especially enjoyed your trip.

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  12. What a wonderful 50th birthday celebration you had with hubby! I love biscotti and have a great recipe - but would also enjoy this adorable cookbook - the rosemary biscotti sounds delish! Just like savory scones - I do enjoy a savory biscotti too! Thanks Angela!

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  13. I have so enjoyed seeing your photos and reading about your journey Angela. That cookbook looks tealicious and tealightful.

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  14. The cookbook would be fun to translate. Yes, the teacup does look Italian. Rick Steves travel books sometimes give tips for avoiding lines at tourist stops. Your breakfast, especially the croissants looked amazingly wonderful. Glad I don't know how to bake them either, as I also love them.

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  15. Beautiful post, beautiful cup, and beautiful book! Viva Italia, viva USA!

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  16. So glad that you had such a wonderful trip.

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  17. What a fantastic teacup! Your tea-themed travelogue has reignited my wanderlust!

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  18. Yes, that wonderful architecture would be a highlight for me (and also the food, of course). :-)

    Your Italian cup and saucer is beautiful.

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  19. Thank you for sharing your tour with us. Glad you had a great time. Thanks for a chance to win this cute book.

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  20. Thanks again for sharing another great installment in the 'Travels with Angela & Alex' series.

    I have enjoyed reading about it and seeing the beautiful photos. That teacup in Italy is gorgeous!
    Hope you have a nice weekend,
    Joanie

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  21. Thanks so much for sharing so many pictures and details of your lovely birthday trip! What memories you will have. Please enter my name in the drawing.

    Blessings,
    Tricia Farnum

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  22. I have really enjoyed your trip. Thank you for sharing it with us. I love the tea cup you purchased. It's so different and fun. I'm sure you will smile each time you use it.

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  23. I have really enjoyed traveling along with you on your European trip. My best friend is of Italian ancestry and she's going to Italy this month and she's also my teatime buddy. So if I won this cookbook I would give it to her.
    kellam.susan@yahoo.com

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Thanks so much for taking time to leave a comment! It makes my day to hear from readers!