luxemblog: December 2012

Faced with another Christmas not at home in the US Dave and I decided we were homesick. We needed family. We wanted cozy homeyness. So, we invited ourselves to go along with our friends Margot and Alex on their trip to visit Alex's family in Rome, Italy.

And this was a GREAT decision on our part. Not much tops Rome except maybe Rome at Christmas. Why? Because the Italians really know how to do Christmas...

…and how surreal is it to see the Colosseum next to a giant Christmas tree?

The decorations were at times minimal and subtle ...

simple and elegant ...

casual but cheery...

or more grand.

Even though the Christmas decorations were everywhere, you were still reminded that it was a sunny, mediterranean climate with all the oranges peeking out from under curtains, or hanging over stone walls, telling you that some gorgeous, lush garden was hidden from full view.

Winter means fresh-squeezed orange juice with your cap and coronetto. YUM.

Orange trees just make me happy.

Here is Alex and his beautiful mother

here is Renata and her husband, Lello

And here is Alex's uncle Allessio. Allessio drove down from his home in Milan to spend Christmas with his family. He also picked us up (with Alex) in Rome to drive us to the town where Alex's mom lives.

Allesio and Alex enjoying a brief smoke break in the back yard.

Lello, Renata and Nona, Alex's beautiful grandmother. Nona is 90.

This is Lello's limoncello (aka Lellocello), before bottling.

First you strain the lemon peels.

then pour into bottles...

… then proudly display your bounty. Look at that gorgeous color!

Allessio and Margot enjoyed lots of laughs and lots of limoncello. We all enjoyed lots of limoncello. It was delicious, and smooth, and the next day none of us had any signs of a hangover. Lello only uses lemons from his friend's trees and they are grown without any pesticides and were perfectly ripe.

Nona and Margot, with one of Nona's many Ethiopian silver necklaces. Nona grew up in Ethiopia and over many years collected this kind of "tribal" jewelry. Each one was gorgeous.

Milou, Nona's very sweet and very fat cat.

It was the Christmas eve meal so Fish was on the menu. Clams being washed for pasta vongole.

Renata preparing a really nice green which was served with lemon and olive oil. I think.

Ahh, the pasta vongole! A favorite!

And salt cod with chick peas.

And a palm tree to remind us once again that we were in the Mediterranean.

Christmas Day and the family at the table watching the ...

…slicing of the giant prosciutto!

I think this may have been one of Dave's favorite moments, ever.

Under the Roman sun, and a seagull.

Only an Italian man could wear this color combo and still look tough.

pizza!

artichokes! greens!

fish head!

laundry!

One of my favorite things about Rome- the many fountains serving delicious water from the underground aquifer, from a system the Romans set up. This always amazes me that they are still functioning and that you can always get a cold, clean, glass of water or refill your bottle even on the hottest and dustiest days.

How about the Pantheon with a bit of Christmas deco thrown in?

The pantheon is my favorite bldg I have ever seen. Hands down.

A man and his dog, and his quilted navy blue coat, which I see so many older men wear in Italy.

Ahhh, ambiance.

Dave contemplating our next move while in Piazza del Popolo.

Meanwhile, back in Rome, Christmas festivities were in full swing with Piazza Navona transformed into a carnival.

Spanish Steps had its Christmas tree, and tons of tourists, as usual

Let's have a Roman sculpture break:

Walking along the Tiber

Ahhh, the sun. The SUN!

A statue of Giordano Bruno who was a mathematician, philosopher, astrologer, poet, and Dominican Friar. To mention only one of many of his contributions to science, he proposed that the sun was one of many stars in an infinite universe with many galaxies. He was burned at the stake for heresy. (here in Campo de Fiore).