The end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020

It is the time of the year to look back on 2019 and to also look forward to 2020. No ten bests here but these are some the memorable places, meals and events for me in 2019.

Maui -Wailea to stay (hotels and condos)and for beaches (Wailea, Keawakapu, Ulua, Mokapu); Monkeypod and Paia FishMarket Kihei https://paiafishmarket.com/southside-kihei/, Upcountry farmers market Saturdays 8- 11AM http://www.upcountryfarmersmarket.com/, Tin Roof for food (lunch)

Paso Robles, California- wineries --- Denner, Torrin, Tablas Creek, McPrice Myers, Daou

Napa Valley , California --Cliff Lede Vineyard for special events and their wine; try their Sauvignon Blanc; Domaine Carneros for their Sparkling wines.

NJ and NY wines- Turdo, Cape May, NJ and Tomasello,( Palmiris) Hammonton, NJ and Anthony Road (upstate NY)

Kensington Quarters https://www.kensingtonquarters.com/  in Fishtown, Philadelphia -great meats and ambiance.

Hudson Yards, NYC- check it out, good place to walk around in the winter, Lots of food - Mercado Little Spain, Fuku, Maison Kayser etc.

Oklahoma, the musical. Broadway. Closes January 19, 2020.
Ain't So Proud, musical on Broadway.
White Noise at the Public Theater, NYC (closed);
 Delacorte Theater, Central Park ,NYC -- Much Ado About Nothing (closed)

Florence, Italy but not in the summer. Michelangelo's David

• Grape Tours  https://www.tuscan-wine-tours.com/for trips to wineries; Tuscan wineries - La Massa, Vecchie Terre di Montefili and Podere Poggio Scalette;
•  La Massa's  2016 La Massa is my wine of the year, about $20 and it is widely available.Typical blend of Sangiovese, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, , and alicante b. The blend changes yearly.
• 
• Cibreo Caffe  http://www.cibreo.com/caffe/in Florence

Farmers markets:
Union Square, NYC, (Vendors -Anthony Road winery)
Summit and Montclair, NJ -(Vendors - Shore Catch for fish, Vacciano Farm https://www.vacchianofarm.com/product for meat (lamb,chicken, beef and pork) and produce.)

Sebastian Brecht (Obsessive Chocolate Disorder) OCD https://www.ocdchocolate.com/shop Chocolates at East 4th St, East Village, Manhattan for distinctive chocolates.
Teuschers Chocolates, Zurich and NYC (truffles)

Crab House at Two Mile Landing https://www.twomilelanding.com/explore in Wildwood Crest, NJ for their crabs and sunsets. It gets busy but the place is huge. Closed in the winter.

Atlantic City-- Borgata food weekend in November, Wolfgang Puck and his restaurant in the
Borgata; Free beaches in AC.

Bakeries --The Bread Stand, Maplewood ,NJ;  https://www.thebreadstandnj.com/  Liv Breads, Millburn, NJ; Maison Kayser, various locations, NYC: Ferrara Bakery NYC (Rainbow cookies). Delicious Orchards, Colts Neck ,NJ--- Pies and apple cider donuts,

Wine Columnist - Lettie Teague (WSJ) Saturdays; Eric Asimov, NY Times (Wednesdays)

Recipes: Salmon Cakes, Chinese beef, Fricassee de coquillages Le Bernadin (Fish Stew/soup); Recipe of the year, Tuscan steak - 2 lb plus porterhouse steak, grilled rare, with rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Have a great New Year.

Rome, Italy part 4

We took the train from Florence to Rome and a taxi from the Rome airport to our hotel. The train was quick and comfortable.  We stayed at the Le Meridian https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/rommd-le-m%C3%A9ridien-visconti-rome/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2 via Federico Cesi 37
  in Rome which is now under the Marriott umbrella. The room was modern, comfortable and small. It was in a nice neighborhood. The hotel has a roof top bar and lounge which was very low key and nice. I don't know Rome that well but we were in the Prati section.

Rome is an interesting city. It never clicked  for us but we were only there 2  nights. We actually left a day early. United was very accommodating. The metro is not that convenient and the buses were tough to navigate. We took one bus and it stopped at a stop and did not move. People left the bus. Apparently a women sat down on the floor of the bus. It was unclear if she was sick but no one did anything and no announcement was made. We waited at least 15 minutes for something to happen or another bus to come but nothing. We took a cab instead.

We found interesting food and did the usual tourist thing. When we arrived the hotel recommended a local old fashioned Italian restaurant for a late lunch that was very good. Prices were reasonable. For dinner we asked the concierge for a recommendation. I then checked it out online and went back to him for another recommendation. He gave us another place in the Trastevere section.

We took a cab to the restaurant and walked in to the bar section. There was food on the bar and an inebriated customer told us to sit down and eat.
The bartender was very nice and explained that the food on the bar was free with a glass of wine. We ordered a bottle of sparkling wine from Italy that was from an obscure location and it was very good. It was 35 E but food was 3E person with a bottle. We splurged for some prosciutto for 6E and had a great meal. We took a cab back to the hotel and amazingly the cabdriver remembered that he had picked up at the train station earlier. Wow.






The bar and bartender.

Trevi fountain.

Sites in Rome were ridiculously crowded. The Trevi fountain was packed 8 deep with people. It is pretty.

The Spanish Steps.

A couple got married on the Spanish Steps.

The crowds around the Spanish Steps.

The Vatican.

We took a tour arranged  by the Vatican. We were able to skip the lines out side and pick up our tickets inside. You can book at the Vatican website. There were about 20 in our group and we had a very good tour guide.She gave us a lengthy lecture on the Sistine Chapel.  Once inside the crowds became overwhelming. It was tough to stay with our group. The art work was amazing but it was hard to appreciate it with the crowds.

The map room. It dazzles with paintings of maps of the entire world.

I can't remember all that we saw but is famous.

The tour ended at St Peters Basilica. The Pieta by Michelangelo. 

Sublime.

The Coliseum. It was interesting to see but for about 10 minutes.

The Roman Forum which is an excavated town near the Coliseum. It was great. No crowds and you can walk around and take in the ruins and views. You can imagine yourself in ancient Rome.

We had another dinner at a brew pub restaurant. L'Osteria di Birro del Borgo http://osteria.birradelborgo.it/#osteria We had a l' antifocaccia which was great. Cheese and roast porchetta. They had good beers and tap and the ambiance was great; a big warehouse space. Everyone was very friendly and it was very reasonable.

They poured us some after dinner drinks to try. Good stuff.

Our trip to Italy was fun but the crowds in Florence were overwhelming. Our Tuscan wine tour was great.

Next time I think we go off the beaten track in Italy as I am sure there are many places to visit that have not been written up by Rick Steves.

Ciao!