Molto Beautiful!

In between mozzarella eating, gelato licking and wine drinking, Liv showed me around her neighborhood and took me to Roma's most famous sights!

We decided to climb all 551 steps (!) to the top of St. Peter's Basilica... here we are, only half way there!

Once we did get there, the view was absolutely beautiful!

On Friday, we toured the art gallery at the Borghese villa and walked around the gardens. Mom would have gushed over the foliage!

This is the accordian/cake/piano building at the Piazza Venezia, where we made the rounds a few times.

I snapped this photo of Liv, filling up at the fountain like a local, in the piazza facing the Pantheon.

That afternoon, we walked around and checked out the Trevi fountain, which was a total mob scene of course, but still very impressive.

Liv took this one on a side street off via del Corso, post-shopping expedition.

It was the perfect time of day to check out the Spanish steps... look at that light at sunset!

On Sunday, we meandered around Trastevere, a cute neighborhood filled with cobblestone streets, cozy cafes and bikers.

Our last stop was Piazza del Popolo, all the way at the end of via del Corso in the northern section of the city.

Molto Yummy!

Words cannot describe the deliciousness of my trip this past weekend to visit my baby sister Olivia in Roma... I may have gained five kilos in five days, but it was worth it!

Fresh pasta with meat and truffle ragu alongside prosciutto and melted cheese tartines on our first evening at the hostaria down the street from Liv's apartment.

Enjoying my first 'suppli', a deep fried rectangle filled with gooey mozzarella, rice, and tomato sauce.

We sipped on some Italian wine and nibbed on tartines at a wine bar near the Pantheon before dinner on our second evening.

Liv took me to Maccheroni, a well-known pasta joint near the Pantheon, where we had a crisp arugula salad to start followed by cheesy ravioli and juicy chicken cacciatore.

For dessert, we popped off the tram and headed a cafe in Liv's neighborhood to try her fave strawberry tarts. They were tiny and sweet!

The next day, Liv took me to Da Simone pizza where I picked our three varieties: prosciutto and cheese with fresh rosemary, roasted bell peppers with cheese, and eggplant and cheese with fresh parsley. I was so stuffed afterwards, I had to lie down.

Liv skipped the pizza and opted for a sandwich from her favorite panini guys! On display, we have a turkey, mozzarella and pesto sandwich on flat bread.

Much later that day, we sat down to dinner at Santo Padre, Liv's favorite restaurant. The antipasti was especially delicious! Parmesan, mozzarella, homemade meatballs, grape tomatoes in EVOO, roast chicken, and mashed carrots were available along with some crusty bread to sop it all up.

We also plowed through two pastas (fettucine with veal ragu and ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach) before moving on to dessert: panna cotta and a tasty mug full of tirasmisu.

On Saturday, we opted for salads at this cute cafe near the Pantheon, where I tasted a beer on tap.

There is NOTHING better than a gigantic bowl full of arugula! The parmesan chunks, fresh mushrooms and sliced tomatoes were tasty, too.

Of course, we had to get some gelato from the famous Giolitti near the Pantheon. Liv and I both chose coffee and chocolate, topped with fresh whipped cream. Can you believe this is a small?!

After shopping along via del Corso (how exhausting!), we stopped for cocktails at a wine bar atop the Spanish Steps. Check out my Negroni! I felt proud to actually drink one in Italy. (I think Andrew was jealous)

The next day, we found ourselves on via del Corso again and stopped for lunch at a nearby restaurant. My cacio e pepe and Liv's meat ragu were both fresh and fabulous!

Two Cooks in the Kitchen

Since our trip to Essaouira, Andrew and I have made more of a concerted effort to cook at home. Too many nights out equals just too many dirhams, and how nice is it to curl up on the couch in your pjs? We've been busy making all sorts of dishes...

Red beans and rice with pork sausage (thank you, pork lady, I love you)




Homemade pasta sauce to last a week (or a few days for A) with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic and pork


Gnocci pasta with sauteed garlic, zucchini ribbons and fava topped with fresh mozzarella


Curried chicken salad with almonds and raisins over a fresh veggie salad (the textures in this are phenomenal)


The obligatory peanut butter and jelly on a loaf from Paul (oh, how I will miss that bakery)


And finally, some blueberry muffins (thank you Monica!)

Living the Good Life

Yet again, I find it's been a month since I posted. Just last night Andrew was bumbling around on his blog, and reminded me that once upon a time my own blog received an average of 200 visitors per week! That number is now down to a measly 70. Shame on me.

So what have I been up to over the past few weeks? Aside from obsessively and compulsively (and likely annoyingly to Andrew) checking my law school status online (why do they allow us to do this?), I've been doing a lot of research (reading, taking notes, more reading, handing out surveys, more notes), and yes, some traveling.


Andrew and I took yet another "last" trip to Fes a few weeks ago. We spent two nights with our awesome British pals Jon and Jen, bargained for souvenirs and checked out a few recently renovated medina sights (including the Attarine Madrasa). We also ate a savory lunch at Bouchra and Abdesalaam's and on Sunday ... we went horseback riding! Yes, Andrew really did ride a horse. His own account is rather amusing.



Jon and Jen accompanied us out to Meknes where we spent an hour or so traversing the nearby countryside. The views were gorgeous and our Club Farah guide was rather patient with us novices, though he kept encouraging us to try "le gallop". No thank you!


The following weekend, we celebrated Andrew's 25th birthday by heading down to Essaouira for the weekend. I had gone twice before, once with my cousin Carolyn and again with the whole Fulbright crowd to check out the annual Gnaoua festival. But this time I was looking forward to a romantic and relaxing weekend.



Though our original plan to stay at Dar Adul went awry (the owner had booked a big group at the dar and tried to give us a room at his nearby, bigger and definitely less romantique riad), we ended up enjoying our two nights in the 'chambre du roi' at the Maison des Artistes. Centrally located in the medina, I loved the funky decor of the place, romantic layout of our room (which included a real bathtub!) and also the yummy breakfast on the rooftop, where we could watch the waves crash.


Andrew and I had dinner on our first night by the fireplace at Dar Adul, which the owner was kind enough to arrange for us. We started with smoked salmon and fresh goat cheese on a bed of veggies (I loved how they included radishes). For our entrees, Andrew had a local fish marinated in butter and herbs that he claims was delicious. By the way he was scraping his fork on the foil to get the last bits, it had to be true! The owner knew I wasn't a fan of seafood, so he had the kitchen prepare me some lamb chops. They were perfectly cooked medium rare and served with a big drizzle of honey. Divine. The staff was incredible, too... they even baked him a brownie cake!


After getting some sleep that evening, Andrew and I spent Saturday morning strolling around the medina.


We found ourselves in a rug bazaar ... OK, I led us there... but we finally purchased two carpets! Buying them took well over an hour, and involved many cups of tea, but the effort was worth it. I am very happy with the two we picked out and Andrew is now called "that berber guy" in honor of his tough bargaining skills. One is rectangular and salmon-colored (photos would be great, but they are all wrapped up for the plane ride home next month), and the other is a long runner composed of browns, light pinks and white. Andrew and I are crossing our fingers they'll look good in our next apartment. Kind of hard to tell when you have no idea where you'll be living...


On Saturday afternoon we took the car and drove to Cooperative Marjana, an argan oil cooperative started and run by women! Carolyn and I had visited back in June, and I loved the friendly women there as well as the quality argan products. Andrew and I took a tour, observed the ladies at work and even gave a hand in the argan process (six steps!), and eventually made our way to the "store" where we picked up some goodies for family and friends back home.



I also got up the nerve to ask the two salesladies if they would mind filling out my research survey. They were more than willing to do so, and within five minutes there was a group of about six women and one guy huddled around the counter, giggling and talking as they completed the surveys. I wish I had snapped a photo to capture their enthusiasm.

Later that evening back in Essaouira, Andrew and I had a tasty and very filling dinner at Earth Cafe. Run by a Moroccan guy who has lived and traveled the world, and who now runs a couple of these joints in Morocco and abroad, Earth Cafe is an all vegetarian-vegan-organic-fair trade affair. I thought it might take some convincing to get Andrew to try it ("Vegetables for dinner?"), but he ended up rather satisfied after his phyllo-stuffed ricotta and spinach pastry topped with fig jam over a bed of roasted veggies. I also enjoyed my dish, a salad of roasted root vegetables (including beets, my fave), fresh goat cheese and some diced tomatoes and cucumbers. We rounded off the night with drinks at Taros Cafe, which now holds a dear place in Andrew's heart as the bar where he discovered his favorite cocktail: the Negroni.


Now I won't go on forever about the Negroni, but let's just say it's become a good friend of ours before (and sometimes during) dinner. To make it at home, mix equal parts campari, gin, and sweet vermouth. Stir them together with some ice, pop in a few lemon rinds, and you're good to go. I'm still partial to my vodka tonics, but the Negroni is 'pretty damn good', as Andrew likes to point out.

Nostalgia and Pleasant Surprises

After spending three weeks in the U.S., I arrived back in Morocco last week feeling a bit glum. I had been home, in America, for three whole weeks. How could I not miss it?

I had watched my little brother compete in a triathalon (where he snagged 3rd place, go Will!). Mom and I went down to the city for a walk in Central Park and afternoon tea at Lady Mendl's. We sailed one Sunday from Larchmont to New Rochelle. We collected armfuls of apples at a farm, snacked on fresh sugar donuts and baked an apple crisp. We hosted a potluck birthday dinner for my grandmother, a pizza party for my 87-year-old twin great-aunts, and another pizza celebration for my Mom's 50th birthday.

I also feted during my trip by catching up with dear friends near (NYC and DC) and far (Michigan); my visits to them conveniently arranged around law school tours and one fabulous wedding (congrats Aram & Anoush!). Perhaps best of all, I gorged over my three weeks. I devoured sizzling bacon and eggs, fresh bagels with scallion cream cheese, dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant, a Belgian waffle topped with syrup from my Mom's new shop, a bacon cheeseburger and mug of Blue Moon from the Tombs, homemade chicken curry, and numerous tall-skim-no foam-lattes from Starbucks. 'Does it get any better than that?', I contemplated on my plane ride to Paris.

To top off my nostalgia for all things American, which set in the minute we landed on the tarmac, I was also jet-lagged. My efforts to sleep on the floor at Charles de Gaulle and later on the train from Casablanca to Rabat were thwarted by strangers, conductors and loudspeakers. With my sleeping pill still working its magic, I arrived home, kissed Andrew and promptly fell asleep for a solid twelve hours.

When I awoke, Andrew informed me that he had to spend the weekend away. "I just got home!" I pouted. But he was determined. Our visit to the US helped him realize how little time there is left (two months) to see all that Morocco offers.

I gathered my energy and our guidebooks, and I hunted. If we were going away, the least I could do was choose where. I combed the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide until I discovered the ideal location: Asilah. Only about four hours away by train, this beachside town on the northern Atlantic coast (just south of Tangiers) would be the perfect hideaway. We could poke into art galleries, eat fresh seafood, photograph the medina and spend the evening playing an absurdly competitive round of rummy. And we did just that.










Despite the lack of air conditioning on our train ride home (ahh, Morocco), Asilah was indeed all we had hoped: clean, pretty and relaxing. Read more about our visit on Andrew's blog.

And now back to the Moroccan life, Rabatiya style. Next up, a weekend that my friend Gabi promises will include wine-tasting, yoga-ing, barbecuing, and feting at a mansion. Oh, and we might get to swim in a luxurious pool as well. I guess you never know where you'll end up in Morocco...