Eva

Valentine’s Day is almost a distant memory (please let it soon be a distant memory), which can only mean one thing here in Italy: Carnevale is on its way. I might not get “real” Halloween in this boot-shaped country, but by golly, at least I get Carnevale.

In the Catholic tradition, Carnevale is the celebration that occurs on Shrove Tuesday and punctuates the beginning of Lent; the customary 40 days of abstinence before Easter. The word carnevale is usually translated as “farewell to the flesh”, a reference to the decadence and debauchery that usually take place in that precious slice of time before all ice cream-eating, texting, Facebooking, and swearing must cease. Carnevale is the original pre-Lenten celebration, co-opted by the French, who called it Mardi Gras – “Fat Tuesday” – and made it popular throughout the world. Whatever you call it, this year, Carnevale will be celebrated on February 21st. That’s just under 2 weeks to get ready.

Unlike New Orleans and other warm places, celebrating Italian Carnevale doesn’t involve flashing your tette for strands of beads. There are, however, a set of traditions Italians follow for this most awesome of holidays.

Read More »

You’ve always longed to visit Tahiti, but that coconut-perfumed dream never includes the utter, abject misery of being stuck on a plane for close to an entire day. Don’t let fear of confined spaces, boredom or blood clots keep you from taking that exotic trip; there are things you can do to make your long-haul flight as pleasant as possible.

Read More »

Today, while browsing class projects at the Italian middle school where I teach, I wandered from the Art exhibits to the Civics display, where the theme was, “I’m proud to be Italian because….” Many students wrote things along the lines of: “… because Italy is a democratic country.” A few wrote, “… because every citizen is free.” One young lady, however, wrote: “... because the entire world is jealous of our food.”

Chiara V. from 2F, you ain’t kidding. Find me a soul who doesn’t like Italian food and well, I’ll sell you mine.

In English-speaking countries, a “typical” Italian eating establishment will feature checkered tablecloths, framed pictures of Jesus, and a little opera on the sound system to set the right mood. It will also most likely be called a “restaurant.” But “restaurants,” in the Anglo sense, merely scratch the surface of the eatery options available in Italy.

Read More »

Baby, it’s cold outside – unless you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, that is (you tanned, happy jerks). In this nose-freezing weather, you may be tempted to reach for a hot drink; in these hard times, you might be tempted to make that drink alcoholic.  But put aside that classic hot toddy or glühwein and try something with a little Latin flavor: Guatemalan rum punch.

Like many boozy hot drinks, Guatemalan rum punch – or ron ponche in Spanish – is fruit-based, with the heady additions of cinnamon sticks and cloves. The recipe makes use of the land’s natural bounty (I refer, of course, to rum). Ponche been a holiday favorite in my family for years, and has gotten plenty of my friends and acquaintances drunk as well. The best part? There’s zero skill required – all you need are a handful of ingredients, a kitchen, and time.

Full stomach recommended.

Read More »

Surprise: one of the most delicious things you can eat in Japan doesn’t even have Japanese origins. Yakiniku – Korean-style barbecue adapted to Japanese tastes – is an extremely popular food in Japan, due to the country’s high percentage of Korean immigrants. Yakiniku (焼肉) literally means “grilled meat” in Japanese. Part of yakiniku’s appeal is the campfire-like atmosphere: each diner cooks his or her own meat on the grill built right into the table.

Osaka, Japan’s second-largest city, is home to the world’s largest population of Koreans outside of Korea. The Tsuruhashi neighborhood is Osaka’s little Korea - a labyrinth of Korean food and goods vendors underneath the train station. It is quite possibly the best-smelling place in Japan.

Yakiniku isn’t the most cost-friendly cuisine, but remains a hallmark of social and business gatherings nonetheless. Birthday parties and sayonara parties are made all the more bittersweet by the tangy smell of roasting meat. It is raw, simple deliciousness on a plate. Read on for some tips to better enjoy your yakiniku dining experience.

Read More »

In its heyday, the Roman Colosseum seated up to 50,000 people and, in modern times, receives millions of visitors each year. Yet, when I recently visited the Roman monument with a disabled friend, I asked several of the staff members how many visitors in wheelchairs arrived each day. They couldn’t tell me. “Not many,” said one. “It’s very rare.”

Photo by Andres Sandoval

I may never have been all that great at Math, but “very rare” out of “millions” seems to be a rather low figure, if not altogether surprising. After all, ancient cities and monuments aren’t known for being especially wheelchair-friendly, what with their cobblestone-paved streets and crumbling steps. But the Colosseum in Rome has taken steps to welcome all visitors, and is actually quite accessible to tourists with limited movement.

Read More »

If you were a very good boy or girl this year, your Sugar Santa might just have brought you a plane ticket. But Sugar Santa never thinks about how being trapped in an aluminum tube with recycled air will affect your looks, darling. By the time your plane touches tarmac, you will be rumpled. You will smell like wet puppy. Your airport pick-up will shrink in horror.

Photo by Eva Sandoval

I’m guessing you’d rather step off the plane looking refreshed and – dare I even say – attractive. Here, a handful of tips on making sure you look good when your plane lands.

Read More »

On his eponymous TV show, Jerry Seinfeld once exclaimed: “Florida is where people come to die!” Catching sight of his retired parents’ horrified faces, he quickly backpedaled: “Not you!” Well, not you, either – Florida, despite its fame as a haven for drunken co-eds (Palm Beach), families (Orlando), and retirees (anywhere), has plenty of things to offer any traveler who doesn’t fit in those demographics.

Photo by Eva Sandoval

As I’ve written several times on this blog, I grew up in Citrus County, Florida.  You will notice several themes to this Top Ten – wildlife (Florida is home to a great percentage of the world’s endangered manatees), history, and, of course, Things to Put in Your Mouth.  Read on for a list of things to do in Florida that don’t include the cartoon mouse or senior citizens in thongs.

Read More »

I live in a small town in Italy that’s older than Rome; has a Roman temple up high on a hill; has an ochre-tinted ancient quarter; has a mythological sea hugging its coast line. Yet, whenever I meet anyone new and they ask me where I’m from, I get: But why would you leave a place like New York City to come to this hell hole?

And I tell them what I’ve been saying ever since I left: I love New York City but right now, I love being in other places more. Right now, my heart wants to haggle over the price of pancetta at the weekly street market, stroll through the piazza, get duck eggs from my friend’s farm, and collect sea glass along the Tyrrhenian Sea. Every day, I fall more and more in love with the weird little Italian town I live in and feel my roots sinking in deep. But sometimes, when I’m back home – for a wedding, for the holidays – I look around and think: Dang, I ♥ being in NY. Here are ten reasons why….

Read More »

Are you a traveler or are you a tourist?: the tired old eternal debate rages on.

Be a tourist: Take a little time away from work; turn your brain off; relax; be yourself; enjoy the view; speak your native language without fear; bond with other tourists; forge unbreakable bonds with your travel companions; come home armed with fantastic pictures and humorous yet wildly inaccurate judgments about the culture you just experienced.

Be a traveler: Quit your secure job; map out a dazzling dream route; learn to live from a suitcase; experience mortifying moments learning a new language; forge unbreakable bonds with locals; make some roots, break them; get used to eating with chopsticks; catch yourself using Arabic hand gestures unconsciously; feel superior to tourists; come home enriched, enlightened, the envy of your friends, dirty, and completely broke.

Photo by Eva Sandoval

Who’s got the better idea – the relaxed vacationer or the dreamy wanderer? Which experience is more valid? Who’s more worthy of calling themselves well-traveled? Before you get out the ol’ boxing gloves, consider this: travel doesn’t have to be black and white.

I tend towards being a traveler myself – nothing gets me going like cracking a new cultural code – but sometimes you simply can’t take the time away to get down and dirty in a new culture. And sometimes, it’s just plain nice to be a tourist. A mental release from the daily pressures of trying to adapt to a culture that isn’t mine, an appreciated opportunity to speak my own language and see beautiful historic buildings from the inside. And as I tramped around city streets, it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, I could pack a little “authentic” cultural enrichment in my scant 4 day vacation. Who says you have to choose one or the other? Here, my best tips on how to be a traveler while you’re a tourist:

Read More »