Il Dolce Far Niente?

To be honest, the Dolce Far Niente, or the Sweetness of Doing Nothing, is wearing a little thin. Whoever coined that phrase must have been a trust-fund baby or something because who has the money to to wander here and there aimlessly as I have been doing? Besides, that is not really what life is about. As I expected, I am actually looking forward to going back to work and contributing, whether it is as a cashier or as something more "professional" (though I really really want the Embassy job). Working here is a part of Italian life that I have explored very little and so of course I am anxious to dive right in!

Of course, another part of Italian life I will never desert is food and drink. This weekend, I enjoyed a seemingly endless flow of prosecco - beginning at the American Academy of Rome's gallery opening (a show of posters), and then the following night at the First Annual ASTA for Italian prosecco and spumante, right here in Rome. Even Ferrari was represented, and it was excellent. They even give you this funky pouch to hold your wine glass throughout your tasting adventure:

At a wine tasting Saturday night, I picked a favorite Barbera, "Fava'" by the Tenuta Garetto.

Then I got into my third argument about immigration and "which country is better, Italy or the USA" since I've been here, so I called it a night!

Sunday I took myself to see The Devil Wears Prada (or more accurately, Il Diavolo Veste Prada!), which was cute- of course Meryl steals the show, but Stanley Tucci was also a welcome and enjoyable surprise! I then checked out Sant'Andrea del Quirinale (a church Bernini had complete control over and which therefore is quite stunning) before arriving at a food and wine tasting featuring products from the region of Terni, so close to Todi - a town very close to my heart! My favorites were the prosciuttos (less fatty than normal) and the olive oils. The wines were a bit disappointing.

I know you are asking yourself so I will oblige - all these tastings are completely FREE.

The spumante tasting provided small snacks, including this Dark Chocolate with peperoncino inside. It wasn't as spicy as I'd expected, but did provide a pleasant warmth in my throat as it went down!