Celebrating Your Inner Italian
Best wishes to Tiffany Wells of Macon, Georgia, the winner of a free copy of 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go by Susan Van Allen.
“I just love Italy-–learning about the culture, food and richness of the land! Hopefully, one day I will get to go,” wrote Tiffany in her comment to the original post.
We hope so, too, Tiffany!
Have you gotten in touch with your Inner Italian today?
All my gardenista friends assured me that wisteria cannot, actually will not, die.
“Sharon,” they warned, “it will take over your pergola. . . your roof. . .then your entire house. Eventually you will be trapped in a maximum security wisteria prison.”
Boy, were they wrong! The newly constructed pergola behind our sub-division home was sitting on a slab of soil as hard as concrete. Several wisteria plantings succumbed. After I had the brilliant idea to construct planter boxes for new attempts, the voles moved in to pig-out on the all-you-can-eat roots buffet.
Now, 10 years later, I am triumphant. I have not one, but two, wisteria that bloom. How I appreciate them.
Every spring when I gaze at these impossibly gorgeous pendulous blooms, I’m reminded of the film Enchanted April. It starts as Lottie the frumpy post WW I English housewife reads a newspaper advert for vacations in Italy: “To Those Who Appreciate Wisteria and Sunshine.”
This flick is quintessential posh Brit production. Lush settings and costumes showcase a tale of British hot house flowers—Lottie and three new acquaintances who share the villa rental—blossoming under the Mediterranean sun.
Italy works its fatal magic on the quartet, of course. We’d expect nothing less for those who appreciate wisteria and sunshine.
Directed by Mike Newell, this 1992 film features a stellar ensemble cast including Jim Broadbent, Miranda Richardson, Josie Lawrence, Polly Walker, Joan Plowright, Alfred Molina, and Michael Kitchen. Set in London and the Ligurian coast of Italy in 1922, this gentle comedy is love-and-life affirming. Rent the film on Netflix or purchase a copy at amazon.
Ristorante Clemente in Sulmona offers the genuine dishes of Abruzzo.
We weren’t being fair to Ristorante Clemente. We knew it . . . but we couldn’t help ourselves. We had allotted one night, one dinner in Abruzzo, a region in which neither of us had passed time. We sought to “taste Abruzzo” in that one meal. No small order.
We were in the small city of Sulmona on our way to Puglia. Our Ital’guru Fred Plotkin, author of Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, picks Sulmona as his “Classic Town” of the mountainous region east of Rome. Ristorante Clemente appears first on his “Dining List” and his description appealed to us. For insurance, we inquired of our hotelier and a local barista where we should dine. “Clemente,” they both answered. We even scouted out the restaurant location, tucked on a tiny back street, so we’d have no problem finding it later in the dark.
So it was that Walter roused me from a my nap at 7:15 p.m. so we could arrive when the doors opened for dinner service. He worried that a place this touted would fill up fast. No such problem transpired. Upon entry, we were invited to choose our own table and selected one deep in the rear of the main room under a splendid stone vaulted ceiling. Stone and gesso walls the color of cantaloupe cream, exciting food-related art work, photos of family members and a couple canvasses and prints of Sulmona created a cozy setting.
Chef Clemente Maiorano (right), son Alessandro (left), and another sous chef in the Clemente kitchen.
Chef/owner Clemente Maiorano, with warm brown eyes and salt-and-pepper Julius Caesar haircut-greeted us with a one-page menu. We asked if we could place our appetites in his able hands. He seemed pleased and disappeared through the archway into the kitchen. The waiter took over and reminded us how perfect service in Italy can be. Not obsequious, not aloof, just professional.