I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Notes about our meals in Tuscany have been posted to
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com; 10-16-2007

Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

> I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
> Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
> chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com

Some very evocative photos there. :-)

The simple pasta squares you had in Lucca are called "tacconi" and are a
Luccan speciality. The name comes from "tacco", "heel" (as in shoe),
presumably because the dried pasta is supposed to be as hard as a heel.
I have a package of Conforti brand tacconi here.

Bubba

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:14:31 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
>Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
>chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com

Tried to see them but I think too many people are too excited about
seeing them. Will wait, sigh.

aloha,
Cea
roast beans to kona to email
farmers of Pure Kona

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:14:31 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
>Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
>chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com


O God, Barb. I'm stuffed! I couldn't eat another bite. Honest.

Great pictures and charming commentary. Thanks for both.

Boron

In article >,
(Victor Sack) wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
>
> > I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
> > Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
> > chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com
>
> Some very evocative photos there. :-)
>
> The simple pasta squares you had in Lucca are called "tacconi" and are a
> Luccan speciality. The name comes from "tacco", "heel" (as in shoe),
> presumably because the dried pasta is supposed to be as hard as a heel.
> I have a package of Conforti brand tacconi here.
>
> Bubba

Thanks, Bubba Vic. Taco, como en español, también.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Notes about our meals in Tuscany have been posted to
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com; 10-16-2007

"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
...
> I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
> Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
> chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com
> --

Thanks for posting. Sounds like you enjoyed every bit!

There is no bad food in Italy, even at the Auto Grille

In article >,
Boron Elgar > wrote:

> On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:14:31 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> > wrote:
>
> >I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
> >Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
> >chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com
>
>
> O God, Barb. I'm stuffed! I couldn't eat another bite. Honest.
>
> Great pictures and charming commentary. Thanks for both.
>
> Boron

Thanks.
I figured all the walking I did might counter all the food. I may have
figured wrong. :-/
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Notes about our meals in Tuscany have been posted to
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com; 10-16-2007

Oh pshaw, on Tue 16 Oct 2007 01:14:31p, Melba's Jammin' meant to say...

> I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
> Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
> chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com

You made a lot of beautiful memories, Barb!

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Answers: $1, Short: $5, Correct: $25, dumb looks
are still free.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

> There is no bad food in Italy, even at the Auto Grille

The main thing, in the Autogrill chain-op, is to order theyr Rustichella:
smoked provolone, can't-remember-which-cold-cut and veggies, in a very good
bun. Theyr most famous is Camoglia but IMHo Rustichella is way better.
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rose'

Vilco wrote:

> Theyr most famous is Camoglia

Sorry, it should have read Camogli
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rose'

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
> Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
> chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com

You make me crazy if I think to the places I could have suggested you if
only I knew you were (goint to be) in Italy... expecially restaurants.
Very nice pictures, Barb

BTW - I see you're asking about the plural of "bruschetta": it's
"bruschette", with the final "e" as the vast majority of the feminine names
ending in "a".
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rose'

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
> Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
> chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com

I too, was impressed with the "Loot" you took home. I'm amazed that the
customs officials didn't give you a "hard time" about it? Looks like you
had a wonderful time, BTW.
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

"ChattyCathy" > wrote in message
>
> I too, was impressed with the "Loot" you took home. I'm amazed that the
> customs officials didn't give you a "hard time" about it? Looks like you
> had a wonderful time, BTW.
> --

Customs only cares if you bring above the limits or some agricultural
products. We take an extra bag with us just to bring back the loot. I've
never had a bag opened for inspection.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> "ChattyCathy" > wrote in message
>> I too, was impressed with the "Loot" you took home. I'm amazed that the
>> customs officials didn't give you a "hard time" about it? Looks like you
>> had a wonderful time, BTW.
>> --
>
> Customs only cares if you bring above the limits or some agricultural
> products. We take an extra bag with us just to bring back the loot. I've
> never had a bag opened for inspection.

Ah, I see. I suppose as long as the stuff is not on some "banned goods"
list they allow it. Nice.
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

In article >,
"Edwin Pawlowski" > wrote:

> "ChattyCathy" > wrote in message
> >
> > I too, was impressed with the "Loot" you took home. I'm amazed that the
> > customs officials didn't give you a "hard time" about it? Looks like you
> > had a wonderful time, BTW.
> > --
>
> Customs only cares if you bring above the limits or some agricultural
> products. We take an extra bag with us just to bring back the loot. I've
> never had a bag opened for inspection.

<grins> HWSRN decided to fill out the Customs form for both of us.
Then gave it to me to look at. I adjusted the amount of money we spent
on goods and checked the 'brought food' box, in spite of argument from
him about it.

I'm not interested in being fined for bringing illegal goods into the
country so I don't do it and err on the side of caution on the
declaration form just in case there's something I'm not clear about. I
told the passport control agent that we were in disagreement about
declaring anything and explained why. She circled 'food' and checked
the box.

When it was time to exit the area a customs agent came to look at our
slip and we had a chat about our confusion and the form and what exactly
I'd brought back with me. She said one ALWAYS needs to declare food (I
was feeling so smug) and asked three or four times in two different ways
if we had any meat with us. We did not. Nope. No, ma'am. Uh-uh, I
know it's not allowed. And I told her what I did have. No problem. I
didn't think there would be but, as I said, I like to err on the side of
caution.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Notes about our meals in Tuscany have been posted to
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com; 10-16-2007

In article >,
"Vilco" > wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
> > I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
> > Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
> > chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com
>
> You make me crazy if I think to the places I could have suggested you if
> only I knew you were (goint to be) in Italy... expecially restaurants.
> Very nice pictures, Barb
>
> BTW - I see you're asking about the plural of "bruschetta": it's
> "bruschette", with the final "e" as the vast majority of the feminine names
> ending in "a".

Thanks, Vilco. I'd posted that we were going a bit in advance about the
trip but didn't exactly solicit information from the Italian folks who
post here. No problem. We were with a tour group so were limited to
where we would go. The pictures are a good representation of the towns
and villages and places we visited. I'll get around to the sightseeing
pics soon, I hope. I know that if I don't do them soon I never will.

I might have to take up Italian. Rob studied it a bit for when he used
to travel there on business but I'd say he's forgotten 90% of what he
ever knew. I have a good ear and the advantage of knowing a bit of
Spanish. And I can roll my r's. :-) '-) I'd like to spend a week
at one of the cooking schools.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Notes about our meals in Tuscany have been posted to
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com; 10-16-2007

In article >,
"Edwin Pawlowski" > wrote:

> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
> > Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
> > chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com
> > --
>
> Thanks for posting. Sounds like you enjoyed every bit!
>
> There is no bad food in Italy, even at the Auto Grille

LOL! That's where I bought the bottle of olive oil with the built in
handle. Wish I had another one, just for the bottle! And I bought the
ice cream spoon pasta there, too. <g>
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Notes about our meals in Tuscany have been posted to
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com; 10-16-2007

Melba's Jammin' wrote:


<snipped for space>
>
> When it was time to exit the area a customs agent came to look at our
> slip and we had a chat about our confusion and the form and what exactly
> I'd brought back with me. She said one ALWAYS needs to declare food (I
> was feeling so smug) and asked three or four times in two different ways
> if we had any meat with us. We did not. Nope. No, ma'am. Uh-uh, I
> know it's not allowed. And I told her what I did have. No problem. I
> didn't think there would be but, as I said, I like to err on the side of
> caution.

Very wise, Barb. Glad you got it all home.

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

"Vilco" > ha scritto nel messaggio
.. .
> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>
>> There is no bad food in Italy, even at the Auto Grille
>
> The main thing, in the Autogrill chain-op, is to order theyr Rustichella:
> smoked provolone, can't-remember-which-cold-cut and veggies, in a very
> good bun. Theyr most famous is Camoglia but IMHo Rustichella is way
> better.
> --
> Vilco
> Think pink, drink rose'
>
I love Rustichella too! I alwais eat it when I Am on the highway.

--
Kisses
Pandora

Absolutely love your pictures. I fully intend to visit Italy one day.

Your marble mortar and pestle are identical in every detail to one
I've had for years. I managed to get it from a garage sale, a world
traveling neighbor had. I paid $7.00 (American) back then.

Myrl


On Oct 17, 6:17 am, Melba's Jammin' >
wrote:
> In article >,
> "Edwin Pawlowski" > wrote:
>
> > "ChattyCathy" > wrote in message
>
> > > I too, was impressed with the "Loot" you took home. I'm amazed that the
> > > customs officials didn't give you a "hard time" about it? Looks like you
> > > had a wonderful time, BTW.
> > > --
>
> > Customs only cares if you bring above the limits or some agricultural
> > products. We take an extra bag with us just to bring back the loot. I've
> > never had a bag opened for inspection.
>
> <grins> HWSRN decided to fill out the Customs form for both of us.
> Then gave it to me to look at. I adjusted the amount of money we spent
> on goods and checked the 'brought food' box, in spite of argument from
> him about it.
>
> I'm not interested in being fined for bringing illegal goods into the
> country so I don't do it and err on the side of caution on the
> declaration form just in case there's something I'm not clear about. I
> told the passport control agent that we were in disagreement about
> declaring anything and explained why. She circled 'food' and checked
> the box.
>
> When it was time to exit the area a customs agent came to look at our
> slip and we had a chat about our confusion and the form and what exactly
> I'd brought back with me. She said one ALWAYS needs to declare food (I
> was feeling so smug) and asked three or four times in two different ways
> if we had any meat with us. We did not. Nope. No, ma'am. Uh-uh, I
> know it's not allowed. And I told her what I did have. No problem. I
> didn't think there would be but, as I said, I like to err on the side of
> caution.
> --
> -Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
> Notes about our meals in Tuscany have been posted tohttp://www.jamlady.eboard.com;10-16-2007

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

> "ChattyCathy" > wrote in message
> >
> > I too, was impressed with the "Loot" you took home. I'm amazed that the
> > customs officials didn't give you a "hard time" about it? Looks like you
> > had a wonderful time, BTW.
> > --
>
> Customs only cares if you bring above the limits or some agricultural
> products. We take an extra bag with us just to bring back the loot. I've
> never had a bag opened for inspection.

Since the Paperwork Reduction Act came into effect, customs is not real
interested in nickel - and - diming tourists returning with stuff that goes
reasonably over the limit. It's simply not worth the money and effort for
them to collect a few bucks on an extra bottle of booze or whatever. Just
be sure to declare it "just in case", chances are they won't care...

They DO care, though, about food items that are on the forbidden list...

From time to time you'll read stories about the wierd food and animal
products some Third World or Caribbean idiots will try to sneak in, though.
Stuff like whole raw Halal goats, skinned pythons, etc...

--
Best
Greg

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
> I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
> Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
> chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com


Interesting pics, and I especially appreciated the comments about the
dinner in the hotel. I only had one dinner in Italy and I still remember
it for the sticker shock. Back in 1993 our meal for 3 worked out to $315.
My son had Veal Parmesan and my wife and I had seafood platters. One soft
drink for the kid, a bottle of wine for us, and one dessert between us. I
was not all that impressed with the dinner. I see that things haven't
changed..... 35 Euro for a meal of pasta and another 35 table charge. Add
that to the reasons why Italy is the one European country I have no
interest in returning to.

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
>
> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>>
>> I've completed entering our meal pictures from our recent visit to
>> Tuscany and Liguria. There are 19 notes with photos in descending
>> chronological order. They are at http://www.jamlady.eboard.com
>
>
> Interesting pics, and I especially appreciated the comments about the
> dinner in the hotel. I only had one dinner in Italy and I still remember
> it for the sticker shock. Back in 1993 our meal for 3 worked out to $315.
> My son had Veal Parmesan and my wife and I had seafood platters. One soft
> drink for the kid, a bottle of wine for us, and one dessert between us. I
> was not all that impressed with the dinner. I see that things haven't
> changed..... 35 Euro for a meal of pasta and another 35 table charge. Add
> that to the reasons why Italy is the one European country I have no
> interest in returning to.


With the Euro/Dollar ratio, I wonder how anyone can get their money's worth
out of traveling to Europe. Perhaps a tour.

Our last biggie trip was to Norway/Sweden/Denmark on a bus tour in 1992. The
trip was not expensive, but if we ate off-tour; oh it made your eyes pop
out; most of the time, lunch was not included, or dinner was not included.
We stayed at the beginning of the trip in Copenhagen a couple of days and
Oslo a couple of days after our two-week bus tour. The cost was frightful;
and I'm not that fond of Scandanavian food.

Dee Dee

Dee Dee wrote:


> With the Euro/Dollar ratio, I wonder how anyone can get their money's worth
> out of traveling to Europe. Perhaps a tour.
>
> Our last biggie trip was to Norway/Sweden/Denmark on a bus tour in 1992. The
> trip was not expensive, but if we ate off-tour; oh it made your eyes pop
> out; most of the time, lunch was not included, or dinner was not included.
> We stayed at the beginning of the trip in Copenhagen a couple of days and
> Oslo a couple of days after our two-week bus tour. The cost was frightful;
> and I'm not that fond of Scandanavian food.


Tell me about it. I was in Denmark in 1999 and 2001. Beer is relatively
cheap. Everything else is much more expensive. On my first trip I was
picked up by some friends and taken for a scenic tour of Copenhagen before
they took me out to my hotel which was about 50 miles from the city. I
offered them lunch at the hotel. All we had were smoked eel smorsbrot and a
beer each and two of us had a shot of Akavit while the driver had a
Coke...... $125.

The next time I was there with my wife. We had dinner one night in a decent
restaurant and we were in a hurry. We had to gobble our dinner and go and
pick up friends to go to a concert. My wife ordered a glass of wine and I
asked for water, so she asked for a water too..... $10 each for bottles of
water. The bill for dinner was $150. Luckily we had a number of dinner
invitations so that was the only supper we had to pay for. We did go out
walking in Nyhaven one night and stopped for dessert and coffee. That was
about $40.

However..... I loved the food there.

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> Dee Dee wrote:
>
>
>> With the Euro/Dollar ratio, I wonder how anyone can get their money's
>> worth
>> out of traveling to Europe. Perhaps a tour.
>>
>> Our last biggie trip was to Norway/Sweden/Denmark on a bus tour in 1992.
>> The
>> trip was not expensive, but if we ate off-tour; oh it made your eyes pop
>> out; most of the time, lunch was not included, or dinner was not
>> included.
>> We stayed at the beginning of the trip in Copenhagen a couple of days and
>> Oslo a couple of days after our two-week bus tour. The cost was
>> frightful;
>> and I'm not that fond of Scandanavian food.
>
>
> Tell me about it. I was in Denmark in 1999 and 2001. Beer is relatively
> cheap. Everything else is much more expensive. On my first trip I was
> picked up by some friends and taken for a scenic tour of Copenhagen before
> they took me out to my hotel which was about 50 miles from the city. I
> offered them lunch at the hotel. All we had were smoked eel smorsbrot and
> a
> beer each and two of us had a shot of Akavit while the driver had a
> Coke...... $125.
>
> The next time I was there with my wife. We had dinner one night in a
> decent
> restaurant and we were in a hurry. We had to gobble our dinner and go and
> pick up friends to go to a concert. My wife ordered a glass of wine and I
> asked for water, so she asked for a water too..... $10 each for bottles of
> water. The bill for dinner was $150. Luckily we had a number of dinner
> invitations so that was the only supper we had to pay for. We did go out
> walking in Nyhaven one night and stopped for dessert and coffee. That was
> about $40.
>
> However..... I loved the food there.


At least that was somewhat of a relief! :-))))
Dee Dee

Dee Dee wrote:

> With the Euro/Dollar ratio, I wonder how anyone can get their money's
worth
> out of traveling to Europe. Perhaps a tour.


Do your homework...

Germany is often overlooked, it's not cheap but it offers very good value
for money, better than, say, the UK (and London in particular)...hotel rates
in particular are attractive. You can stay in a big city like Berlin and
it's not too bad, go to eastern Germany and it's even better.

Also "Go East", although places like Prague are now approaching Western
price levels. The Czech countryside is glorious and still good value, as is
Slovakia, Poland, much of Hungary and Slovenia...Croatia (Dubrovnik...) is
having a tourism renaissance...the Baltic states are still good value.

The watchword used to be "Go South", but now places like Italy, Spain,
Greece, are fully as expensive as the North...

Or if you are considering the UK consider flying into a place like
Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, they are better value than London. You can
go into London for a day or so at a time to visit the sights...

You can still get good deals on some websites such as Hotels.com,
Priceline.com, etc. A friend just got back from Paris, she snagged a good
deal at a Hilton in central Paris for a bit over $150.00 per night...rack
rate was about three times that.

--
Best
Greg

"Gregory Morrow" > wrote in message
...
>
> Dee Dee wrote:
>
>> With the Euro/Dollar ratio, I wonder how anyone can get their money's
> worth
>> out of traveling to Europe. Perhaps a tour.
>
>
> Do your homework...
>
> Germany is often overlooked, it's not cheap but it offers very good value
> for money, better than, say, the UK (and London in particular)...hotel
> rates
> in particular are attractive. You can stay in a big city like Berlin and
> it's not too bad, go to eastern Germany and it's even better.
>
> Also "Go East", although places like Prague are now approaching Western
> price levels. The Czech countryside is glorious and still good value, as
> is
> Slovakia, Poland, much of Hungary and Slovenia...Croatia (Dubrovnik...)
> is
> having a tourism renaissance...the Baltic states are still good value.
>
> The watchword used to be "Go South", but now places like Italy, Spain,
> Greece, are fully as expensive as the North...
>
> Or if you are considering the UK consider flying into a place like
> Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, they are better value than London. You
> can
> go into London for a day or so at a time to visit the sights...
>
> You can still get good deals on some websites such as Hotels.com,
> Priceline.com, etc. A friend just got back from Paris, she snagged a good
> deal at a Hilton in central Paris for a bit over $150.00 per night...rack
> rate was about three times that.
>
> --
> Best
> Greg
>
You're a wealth of information, Greg.

I wouldn't mind seeing Italy again, but due to health problems, I will
never get there. No fear, as my money will be spent on wine and travel-food
books and videos. Not the same, I know, but at least I've been there.

We've used Priceline here in the U.S. a few times and like it. DH tried to
get something in NY last month (not in NYC) but was unable to get anything
at $100, his cut-off point for using Priceline, so he stayed at a place that
he said was OK for $85.

Dee Dee

Gregory Morrow wrote:

> Do your homework...
>
> Germany is often overlooked, it's not cheap but it offers very good value
> for money, better than, say, the UK (and London in particular)...hotel rates
> in particular are attractive. You can stay in a big city like Berlin and
> it's not too bad, go to eastern Germany and it's even better.

I have stayed in a number of towns and small cities in German and always
found them to be very good value. Prices tended be a little more than I am
used to paying at home but much better quality. There are no bargoon
prices but you would pay a lot more for the same quality here.


> You can still get good deals on some websites such as Hotels.com,
> Priceline.com, etc. A friend just got back from Paris, she snagged a good
> deal at a Hilton in central Paris for a bit over $150.00 per night...rack
> rate was about three times that.

When dining in Paris it is a good idea to avoid the most popular tourist
venues and immediate vicinity. Wander a few blocks and you will find great
food for half the price or even less.