Italian Candy: Pocket Coffee

I discovered Pocket Coffee in one of the school faculty rooms in Italy and was instantly hooked. I'm not surprised, as it comes from my friends at Ferrero, the manufacturers of my other guilty pleasure, Nutella.

From the outside, Pocket Coffee is just a small bite of semi-sweet chocolate. But the liquid center is 100% pure Italian espresso. Delicious and practical! I love it.

Here's my grandfather biting into his first Pocket Coffee. I think he liked it too.


Just a word of caution: Each bite of Pocket Coffee packs 12.5 grams of fat.

AFP: Italians flood Rome in anti-Berlusconi protest

ROME (AFP) — Italy's opposition staged a giant rally in Rome Saturday, claiming 2.5 million people had taken to the streets to protest against tycoon Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing government.

In a demonstration organised by Walter Veltroni's centre-left Democratic party (PD), left-wing activists marched to the Circus Maximus under a sea of red and green opposition flags proclaiming that "another Italy is possible."

Veltroni, whose PD is riding low in the polls after its defeat to Berlusconi's new conservative People of Freedom (PDL) in May, called the protest the biggest in recent years.

"From what I can see and from the information I am receiving, this is the biggest protest organised by a party in a number of years," said Veltroni at the rally.

"It is proof that democracy is alive and well... We could never have imagined such a large turnout," he added.

A police source later however put the number at about 200,000.

Veltroni heaped scorn on Berlusconi, a controversial self-made billionaire and media mogul, whose conservative policies and legal amendments to avoid prosecution for alleged corruption have sparked indignation.

"Democracy is not run by the board of a company," Veltroni said, swiping at Berlusconi's credentials to administer the country and saying he was "totally incompetent to face the grave social and economic crisis."

"Remember another Italy is possible," Veltroni added.

The 53-year-old who served as Rome's mayor evoked the plight of Roberto Saviano, author of a best-selling mafia expose who now fears for his life and has been living in hiding, as another example of what he called Berlusconi's incapacity.

"We are all behind Roberto Saviano," he said.

Saviano, 28, whose book "Gomorrah" has been translated into 42 languages, has lived under police protection for two years. The screen version of "Gomorrah" won second prize at the 2008 Cannes film festival and is now in the running for an Oscar.

One demonstrator warned that Berlusconi could distort the figure of the protest.

"Even if we are one million people protesting today, Berlusconi will say there was only one hundred of us. And he will be able to do that because he controls so much of the media," said Livio Giorgi.

Another protester, Maria Turri, who was demonstrating against the government's plans to cut the education budget, carried a placard saying: "Hello children... Your mother is protesting for you!"

"My children have no guarantees for the future. We do not want a US-style society where we cannot afford the schools. The government must invest more money into state schools instead of giving it to the banks," she told AFP.

Gianni Mazzoni from the northern city of Modena said while Italy needed to be modernised, Berlusconi's method was clearly all wrong.

"Italy needs to modernise certain services like schools, universities and health but not in the way that Berlusconi wants to," he said.

"He just wants to dismantle the public services, close all the schools and kick out the teachers. Eight billion euros less for education?" he thundered.

Unions allege that the government plans to do away with more than 100,000 teaching positions between now and 2012.

The protest follows a similar demonstration by left-wing activists earlier this month against Berlusconi's conservative policies and his avoiding prosecution for alleged corruption.

[Photos: AFP]

Torino: City of Lights

The New York Times wrote a beautiful article this week about the post-Olympics revitalization of Italy's one-time capitol city, Torino. I read the piece with fond sentiment remembering the first time I laid eyes on Turin, on a cold November evening in 2006.

It looked like an entire city built from lights; a real life Lite-Brite empire. Renaissance and modern facades glowed in shades of cream, antique street lamps cast orbs of warm yellow hues in the air and the full white moon dangled just above the tip of the impressive Mole.

It was my first time to Italy, and the emotion of being surrounded by such beauty was so overwhelming that I felt as weightless as the moon. The city's porticoes were the only thing keeping me from floating away like a carefree balloon at the town fair.

Could a city be this electric and elegant at the same time? New York City has the energy, but it often comes with chaos and confusion. Paris exudes elegance but doesn't share the same openness as Italian cities. But Turin; it felt like the most magical place I'd ever been.

It was a night of firsts. My first Italian cocktail. A perfectly chilled Martini Bianco with a twist of lemon, which still to this day remains my favorite pre-dinner drink.

My first taste of aperitivo. It was at La Drogheria, a funky, loungy bar in Piazza Vittorio. The crowd was as diverse and colorful as each of the different stuzzichini on display. It was the first of many times I would hear Bob Marley songs in Italy.

My first time hearing live music in a piazza, an experience that has repeatedly been one of my favorites. The band was of various ethnicities and the driving African drum beats had the entire piazza buzzing along to the rhythm.

My first visit to an Italian discoteca, La Rotonda. It felt as exclusive as any New York City nightclub with as many, if not more, "beautiful people" who all seemed to look like they were distant cousins of each other. I remember thinking how novel an idea it was to actually let people past the velvet ropes without cocky doorman politics and five-hundred dollar bottle service.

At the disco, I mingled with new friends in very broken Italian and danced until I couldn't feel my feet, and then danced some more. Later the house DJ cleared the decks for a live Italian band, and the entire club sang in raucous harmony. I mouthed the words as best I could, making sure to shout out the simpler chorus, sort of like Italians do with "YMCA."

It was a night that sparked something in me. It was the night I fell in love with Italy.

Ombralonga: An Italian "Wine Crawl"

Each October, wine lovers pour into the sleepy city of Treviso by the tens of thousands for one of Italy's most festive enogastronomic events, the Ombralonga.

Ombra literally means shadow but in Venetian dialect an ombra is a glass of wine, and there isn't a shadow of doubt that Ombralonga's partiers are serious about their vino. But they have good reason to be. The Veneto region is brimming with incredible vineyards that produce Prosecco, Soave and Veneto's biggest red, Amarone, from the Valley of Valpolicella.

Le Ombre

This year, the Ombralonga is at 10am on Sunday, October 19. Upon arrival you'll pay €10 for all the day's essentials: a cup, a cup-holder that you wear around your neck, a map of the historic city center, an apron, and a spork. Yes, a spork.

And you're off. Go at your own pace as you meander in and out of the city's osterie and enoteche which all offer local wines paired with typical Trevigano dishes, including polenta and risotto with radicchio and porchetta trevigiana.

Piazza dei Signori

Piazza Borsa and Piazza dei Signori will likely be the best places to mingle with other young revelers, listen to music, and witness the true (and often drunken) spectacle of Ombralonga. From Piazza dei Signori follow the crowds down the narrow Vicolo Barberia to Osteria dalla Gigia for the best mozzarella in carozza you've ever tasted. Gooey mozzarella cheese deep-fried between two pieces of oily bread and served piping hot. It complements any wine buzz and is the perfect way to complete this traditional and tasty tour of Treviso.

[Photos: La Tribuna di Treviso]

Favorite Place

A solitary rock in the crystal blue Mediterranean. I swam to it every morning of my mother- daughter vacation, let the waves crash over me and the rough barnicles tickle my feet. A place to think, to sing, to smile. My dream come true.

Home Sweet Home?

I thought if I continued writing about Italy I would feel like I was still there. Some may say that's denial. Maybe it is. But America, New York in particular, has a not-so-subtle way of reminding me that I am indeed here, in The City that Never Sleeps. And how can we with all this racket? Was it this noisy in 2007? Horns, jackhammers, helicopters, sirens, music, and the most obnoxious...television! Not having a TV for so long has really turned me off to it, except for the occasional Katie Couric/Sarah Palin interview. But who had time to watch TV in September? It was prime wedding season and I had three to attend. Three chances to drink fancy cocktails while eating cocktail franks and partner dancing barefoot on a parkay floor. Ooopa!

Heather and Brian at Love Park, Philadelphia

Last weekend I was a bridesmaid in my friend Heather's wedding in Philadelphia, a city that I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I've never been to. Every detail of the weekend had Heather's signature mark; girly, elegant, and pink. A cool touch was the trolley she hired to transport her 20-person wedding party around Philly. Very vintage. The day's events culminated with a glam reception at a fairytale venue, the Ballroom at the Ben.

Bridesmaids at the rehearsal dinner, Davio's restaurant Playing dress-up

Ode to Abby Road

While I was in Philly I made one other important stop. The city's very own Italian Market on 9th and Washington. Although it's no Porta Palazzo, the small street is peppered with authentic specialty shops that pack big flavor. Giordano's Fresh Fruits & Vegetables, Cannuli's House of Pork, Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheeses, and the list goes on.

Provolone piccante

The main piazza in Philly's Italian Market

Sausages galore

But the fun doesn't stop at food. In a typical Italian market you can find anything under the sun, from socks, to door knobs to handcrafted miniature Madonnas and everything in between. In Philly I stopped at a vendor selling your typical everyday items: mop heads, belt buckles, tin foil and Sharpies. Except they weren't Sharpies, they were Skerples. "Super Skerples" to be exact.

Sharpie knock-offs

Typical market in Cirie, Italy

I was so amused by the branding that I started photographing the merchandise, at which point the vendor (who wasn't Italian) became irate and demanded that I stop taking photos of his counterfeit goods. I obliged and hurriedly moved on before he took a rhinestone-studded belt buckle to my head. Geez, if this is what they mean by "Brotherly Love" I'm going back to my insomniac of a city. We may not get much sleep but at least we're a friendly bunch.

Home Sweet Home!

Truffle-Mania

The elusive white truffle. Hunted by wild pigs and sought-after by international chefs. And the best place to find this rare delicacy is in Alba, the picturesque Northern Italian hill town about three hours from Turin.

Tartufo biano, or white truffle, is a veritable celebrity in Alba and this week kicks off a month-long autumn festival devoted to the famous fungus, the Fiera Internazionle del Tartufo Bianco. It’s a must see if you’re travelling to Piedmont.

Events kick off on Saturday, October 4th with the opening of the Alba White Truffle World Market where, for a €3 entrance fee, you can shop for the perfect truffle to your heart’s content (and until your wallet’s empty). But make sure you hit the market on a weekend; it’s closed from Monday to Friday.

The fanfare continues at the opening ceremonies on October 10th where Prince Albert of Monaco is scheduled to make a royal appearance. For a full schedule of events, truffle history and information about Alba visit the festival’s official website at http://www.blogger.com/www.fieradeltartufo.org.

[Photo: winecountry.it]