Samantha Mailer » Rome, Italy

I cibi! (the food!)

samjoseph88 — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:56:27 +0000

And now, as promised: my favourite places to eat in Rome…!
In no particular order:
- Insalata Ricca: a restaurant chain, but don’t let that deter you. It is famous for their (very very big) salads (€7-10), but also do incredible croquette di patate (fried potato dumplings) and fritte miste (mixed fried platter- best of all fried olives!!)
- Pizza Re’: a pizzeria next to Insalata Ricca behind the Campo de’ Fiori, had the best marinara pizza (€7) I tried in Rome… Big call I know!
- Mercato in the Campo de’ Fiori had consistently good food all round, but late one night I particularly enjoyed the salad with pear, rocket, walnuts and mozzarella drizzled with honey..
- La Buffetta (dangerously close to the front door of my hotel, Albergo di Sole): This little gem is also recommended in the Lonely Planet guide to Italy. Don’t leave without trying the four cheese and zucchini flower calzone (€8). Baked fresh in their woodfire oven and the paper thin crust lightly burnt around the edges, despite the size you are sure to eat the entire serving. And the (cute) waiters are sure to flirt with you so make sure you wear something nice!
- Bar Farnese was also just 3 steps away from my hotel door, and luckily too as for almost every day of the three weeks I was in Rome I began my morning here with their renowned cappuccino and a cornetto con marmellata or crema (€1.60 for caffe’ e cornetto). Family owned, and to top it off the nonno in this bar remembered my order after just my first visit!
- Ok, now for just two quick tips: the 90c carton wine from Despar supermercato goes down a treat!! (Unlike if you bought wine this cheap in Australia… You wouldn’t use it to clean your coins), and I have not had bad gelato anywhere – so if you see one you like at any store or cornershop then go for it!! (€2-2.50 for a piccolo coppa)
Saving the best for last: the two dessert diamonds of Rome in my opinion, and not publicly known to tourists so keep this just for yourselves:
- Pompi: THE place in Rome for tiranisu’. Recommended to me by locals on many separate occasions, I decided I had to go (tough life I know!). The flavours are classico (caffe’), cioccolato, fragole (strawberry) or pistacchio you have to try them all – so several visits are necessary as you will not want to readily share your serving!
- Alba Dolce pasticceria cornetteria: a few streets away from Pompi, once upon a time it only served cornetti (croissants) to restaurants and bars around Rome, but now makes a side business selling their cornetti throughout the night to locals, fresh as their pastry chefs are making them for the next morning. So as my new friend Mauro (an oboe player in Rome) drove myself and my other new friend Angela (another oboe player from America) to Alba Dolce at 1am one night we were understandably excited to try these cornetti. With incredible self restraint I bought just one cornetto con crema (vanilla and lemon cream) and kept it until morning. I was rewarded for my patience with the most sublime beginning to a day I have ever had in my life. Heaven and hell in a cornetto (it’s cruel to let the experience end). I don’t need to say any more – just go to Alba Dolce if you are ever in Rome.
You can thank me later…

Arrivederci (per adesso) Roma!

samjoseph88 — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:04:43 +0000

Goodbye (for now) Rome!
First of all, sorry for not having posted sooner, but the Internet connection in the hotels around here is DODGY! Which is to be expected I guess if you are only paying one euro for limitless Internet usage!
Secondly, a big shout out to all the musicians, dancers, singers and especially the backstage helpers of the Rome Festival: somehow we have all (just!) survived an insane schedule of long rehearsals outdoors in 36* heat and above, and concerts every night for 3 weeks. The last concert went off without a hitch (Brahms’ Fourth Symphony, Ravel’s La Valse, selected Carmen Suites and Handel’s Messiah as the Encore) and I made sure to celebrate in proper Italian style afterwards- Peroni at the pub, followed by a scooter ride around Rome at night (Grazie Luca!). So, congrazulazioni to all for having helped produce a wonderul summer festival of classical music, I have had an incredibly fun and rewarding time playing and laughing with all of you. I hope to see all of you again very soon, in Italy or Australia! Now everyone take their 90c carton wine from the Despar supermercato and celebrate! Salute!

Relaxing with friends from the Rome Festival Opera and Orchestra at Villa Borghese.

Falstaff, Oh how I (now) love thee

samjoseph88 — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:12:02 +0000

This is a quick post just to mention how I have grown to enjoy Verdi’s Falstaff. After an exciting two nights of rehearsal and performances of Falstaff, I thought I would quickly mention we are performing the entire opera for the last time tomorrow night!! After getting off to a rocky start (sight reading the piccolo music for our first rehearsal, and lighting troubles during the first Act in our opening night – trying to read the wonderful pages of notes from hell of Verdi’s Falstaff is not an easy feat in the dark), we have now performed this show to a full house twice. Audiences have loved the crazy plot and exciting music, and I too have grown to love this music. In fact, I think I will be slightly sad to finish up tomorrow night.. I will try and cheer up by visiting Rome’s most famous Tiramisu cafe!

Watch out for the next post – a summary of my favourite places to eat so far!!

Una Notte a Vienna

samjoseph88 — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:39:57 +0000

Quick note to say we’re all still buzzing from a great concert last night – Starting with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (I was on piccolo/ottavino) followed by Mozart duets from Le Nozze di Figaro and Il Magico Flauto, and ending with Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier and An der schonen blauen Danau. Loved it!

Don Giovanni, L'Elisir D'Amore and more!

samjoseph88 — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:56:09 +0000

So we had our first chamber orchestra rehearsal last night and it was hectic! Sightreading some suites from Don Giovanni (Mozart), followed by L’Elisir D’Amore (Donizetti) and finishing with a rehearsal of Die Zauberflote (Mozart). Everything went really well for a first sightread through, although since the concert venue/rehearsal venue is outside in a cortile (courtyard) it can get very windy!! Clothes pegs are a necessity at the moment to hold the music together. We have a busy schedule ahead with rehearsals starting very soon on other opera suites: Verdi’s Falstaff, The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart, Verdi’s La Traviata and Carmen by Bizet. Off to a rehearsal for a Haydn Trio! Ciao!

Saluti dall'Italia! (Hello from Italy!)

samjoseph88 — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:42:27 +0000

Hello to everyone from Italy! I have now been in Italy for a week – visiting family in Pordenone. I have already seen so much – Trieste, Cortina, The Dolomite mountains and driven a boat around the lake in Austria!!

I arrived in Rome last night, and already the schedule has been changed so that I have my first concert tonight! I’ve been thrown right into the craziness of rehearsals, but am loving every minute. My hotel is Albergo di Sole and it is situated right inbetween the Campo dei Fiori and Piazza Navona so I have many wonderful restaurants to choose from. There are food markets held every morning in Campo dei Fiori and I have just come back to the hotel with bags of cherries, baby strawberries and fresh peaches! Now to rehearsals…

Ok so just a quick message to say hello from Italy, and during my three weeks here in Rome I will be posting new concert updates on the Concert page.

Ciao for now!

Sam