Soup!

I don't intend this to be a recipe blog, but I was proud of this home-made soup I came up with, pretty much completely on the fly and with what I had in the house (which is usually not much).



Spicy and Sour Cabbage Soup

1 L vegetable broth
10 sun dried tomato halves (packed in oil), diced finely
1 very small cabbage, chopped
1 medium red onion, sliced in small pieces
1 cup pineapple, chopped into small pieces
1 tablespoon vinegar (I used balsamic because it's what I have, but milder would be fine)
2 tablespoons honey
red pepper to taste

I like soups that are sour and sweet, like some Asian soups (such as Vietnamese Cahn Chua) and some versions of borscht. This soup heads in that same territory, veering toward the spicy. The mild spicy comes from the pepper, the sour comes from the vinegar (in Cahn Chua it comes from tamarind), and honey supplements the sweetness of the pineapple. The finely chopped tomatoes help thicken up the broth and add savory flavor along with the onions. I simmered it all on low for about 30 minutes, at which point the cabbage is softened, and the broth is thickened up. There are a lot of additions or substitutions that would be lovely, including crispy fried shallots, bean sprouts, or line juice, so work with what you have on hand. This batch size makes dinner for two.

Work In Garibaldi

They're always working on the tram and bus and train and subway system here, as in most cities. Garibaldi Metro has a sort of "permanent" construction look.



They just put up this polite chain marking off the track that's not in use right now. I feel like it's not so serious looking. In general in Italy, they don't make that much of a big deal about this sort of safety stuff. In train stations, I have seen people walk across the tracks! I mean, the signs tell you not to, but it's all pretty common sense safety.

Praskovia's B-Day Party

On Friday night, I went to Ciu's Bar near Corso Buenos Aires. I've been a few times with Christopher, he loves it there! And rightly so, they do a great aperitivo. They have the largest selection I've seen at an all-you-care-to-eat aperitivo, and it changes over the course of the evening.



Anyway, the recent occasion was Praskovia's birthday! Besides our aperitivo drinks, we ended up getting a bucket of champagne, too. That's the birthday girl in the middle, with Christopher on the right...

Fashion Night Out Swag

Here's my goodies from Vogue Fashion Night Out. They were selling the September issue (bundled with Vogue Unique, their true haute couture review, a special booklet on the story of Dolce & Gabbana, and a young designer newsletter) for 3 Euros, packed in an official Fashion Night Out sales bag. The Vespa store was also a swag hit, with Vespa magnets and little instant photos. I need to scan the one of me and Dariush, it's pretty good even if it's tiny!

Vogue Fashion Night Out

September 6th was Vogue's Fashion Night Out. I talked Daruish into going with me, and I was proven right in that it was awesome. We started off in Brera. It was amazing to see just so many people out in summer clothes. The only time I've seen all of downtown Milan milling with fashionably dressed people. The closest was the pre-holiday shopping, but then everyone is bundled up.



I think our favorite stop was the Vespa store in Brera. I was a good stop for free prosecco and not too crowded, actually!



They had some cute decorated Vespas that you could pose with!



The Mercedes store in the Galleria was also popping. Good prosecco, a fun DJ, and lots of people looking into the window.

Reflections on Germany

Rüdesheim am Rhein was our last tourist stop in Germany! The next day Esther dropped me off and I had to take the airplane home. Sad. Goodbye, Alps!



I had an awesome time in Germany and Luxembourg. Esther was a great host and did a lot of the planning, and all of the driving! In truth, it was a sort of crazy trip. I realized that I stayed in six different places in the eleven nights that I was there, and some of them I stayed at multiple times in disconnected periods, so there were actually more transitions than that. It was pretty busy!

Here are my thoughts on random Luxembourg and Germany things:

• Luxembourg is tiny, and pretty satisfying to visit. My favorite attraction was the National Mining Museum. It's easy even if you don't speak German. It's a little expensive on the whole, but not crazy. The weather was good while we were there, and it's scenic in the mountains and the little valleys. Being able to drive was a distinct advantage. A good weekend trip inside Europe.


• German food is pretty heavy. Occasionally I got some good salads and the like, but a lot of it was cheese or carbs. (If you are a meat eater, you will be getting lots of fatty meat.) The pretzels and pastries are delicious. Esther introduced me to the cola-flavored candies that are popular in Germany... Yummy, but not good on the waist-line.


• Wine. The Rhine valley is full of wine, and while the buildings look a little different, it does make me think of Italy. The taste in wines veered to the sweet side. Sure, I drank beer, but wine is a good choice there too. Also, Germans are not ashamed of making spritzers out of wine or beer. It's a summer thing, go with it.


• Women's lib is not quite it in Germany. Women with kids are expected to stay home. Usually, kids come home from school every day for lunch. My female friends who are working there say it's tough for them to connect with male co-workers and meet people outside of work.


• Company towns are a thing. Both of my friends live and work in towns that exist in their modern form because there is one large company that employs most people, with the rest in service or support jobs. The companies support the community. (Stacy works at Zeiss, in her town the little stadium is "Carl Zeiss Stadium".)


• Tourist towns are a thing. Winery inns were a frequent sight. I felt like I was in a more rustic Napa for a lot of my trip! As Esther pointed out to me and I mentioned in a previous post, Europeans have more vacation and thus need more places to visit.


• Public pools. Way more popular in Germany. I'm told that health spas with thermal baths can be "doctor prescribed" for all kinds of stuff. Taking a health holiday is common.


• Speaking of health stuff, I should just mention that Germans do in fact get pretty much infinite paid sick leave, and social support services are incredible for legal residents.


• Germany, especially these small towns we visited, can be pretty cheap to visit. Though for whatever reason, buying a soda is never cheap. Perhaps its those ridiculous bottle deposits.


• RyanAir makes EasyJet look luxurious. RyanAir flies out of really secondary airports. They don't even have seat back pockets and you have to ask for the promotional magazine!

I guess none of these are blinding insights, but if I have more of them I will let you know...

Rüdesheim am Rhein 3

More vacation photos ahead!

The chairlift puts you in Assmannshausen, another impossibly cute little town. The main street starts here, it's called Höllengasse, or "Hell Street". There were a lot of little signs alluding to this.



This was my favorite pair of decorative panels that I saw in the town.



This town got me thinking about how pretty much every small town we drove through in Germany (and I feel it's similar in Italy) has some charm and some inns. in the US, sure, OK, along the East Coast, there's something like this going on, but on the whole, many small towns have places to crash in them but not much else. I am a crazy? Or do you think this is true, too? Esther pointed out that Europeans have more vacation time, which leads to more call for places to just go. Not every vacation has to be a "trip", but just leaving town to see some countryside and drink some wine is enough, leading to their being a lot of small towns stuffed with charm and bed and breakfasts.

After exploring the town, we got on the ferry to head back to Rüdesheim proper. Esther and I grabbed chairs up on the front deck, and enjoyed the sights. This little yellow "castle" is on a small island, I think it must have been a lighthouse in days past.



We split up into smaller groups, some to head home, and me, Esther, and her mother-in-law heading into the town's Drosselgasse.



The Drosselgasse is the town's old cute street. This one was full of hotels, wine-bars, and restaurants. When we first arrived it was totally packed, but around sunset it quieted down. (Except for us, of course!)



We had dinner at the garden restaurant of Rüdesheimer Schloss. The hostesses were all wearing dirndls and there was a piano player. It seemed a little cheesy at first, but it grew on me! I had cream of chanterelle soup and a starter salad that was actually quite lovely and light.



We had to take the ferry back across the river. At night it was still a lot of fun! We made buddies with the ferry guys.