A Look Back: One Night in Barbados

(In car, en route to the airport in New York to travel to Barbados... working the "cowgirl straw hat" look.)

(David tried on the hat, too...)

David and I are back in New York after 8 days away. It has been a while since we've returned to New York from a trip that was solely for ourselves, i.e. not a work trip. This difference was nice. And while we were loathe to leave Mustique and the gorgeous white sandy beaches, we were happy to be in New York again last night in a quiet, relaxed way. We have had a vacation, indeed.

We never had the chance to post anything, photos or anecdote-wise, about Barbados, where we spent one night on our way to Mustique. So I shall step back a little and do that now.

One cannot get to Mustique without going through Barbados (well, not unless one has one's own private airplane), so we decided that we would spend one night there. We had a great time, and it turned out to be a pleasant way to break up the trip.

Barbados is not a very big country. But it's not a small island country, either, which we discovered when we arrived there and traveled through many sugar cane fields to arrive at our hotel. The Fairmont Royal Pavilion, where we spent the night, is on a strip of beach known as the Millionaire's Mile -- it's a fabulously white sandy strip of pristine blue beach, on which there are various upscale hotels. We had a gorgeous room overlooking the beach, with a little patio area. Beautiful. It was a great place to sit back, relax, unwind from our travels and get some rest.
(David with a welcome glass champagne in front of our hotel room, right on the beach.)

(David's first Caribbean tropical fruity smoothie drink.)

(Dusk, on beach just outside our room.)

On our way to the hotel, we asked our taxi driver which rum we should try in Barbados. We were instructed to drink Mount Gay Extra Old. This rum turned out to be unanimously recommended -- "You can't do better than Mount Gay Extra Old," we were told whomever we asked.

(Mount Gay Extra Old rum, on the rocks...looks and tastes more like whiskey!)

We are not rum drinkers, usually. Being culturally curious, however, we tried this Mount Gay Extra Old rum about which everyone kept telling us. When we think rum, we think sweet and fruity... but we discovered that there is a whole range of rums in this world. Mount Gay Extra Old rum is a blend of rum aged from 15 to 18 years, and does not taste at all like rum, as we think of it. It tastes more like a more aromatic whiskey. One drinks this rum as an after dinner drink, on the rocks.

(David holding his breath and taking a sip of the Mount Gay Extra Old.)

David and I don't normally drink whiskey, either, and with good reason -- it's too strong for us. Mount Gay Extra Old, which tasted like whiskey to us, had the same kind of punch, too... it took a bit of commitment to drink it on the rocks, as we were told by the locals to do...

...so how did it go?

I ended up diluting the powerful rum with my vodka martini...

...while David poured the rum into his tropical fruity drink. We did this rather stealthily, as we did not want anyone thinking we were lame American/Australian tourists. (We also had drank a bit before dinner at the welcome cocktail party, where one could order any kind of drink for free... one might imagine how we went.)

As we mentioned in an earlier blog, there was a live band that played at dinner, so David and I got to dance a bit. We weren't lame on the dance floor! I think we provided quite a "show"...

(One of numerous sugar cane fields on the island.)

David and I enjoyed Barbados, although we did not see much of it. We ate a few interesting things: We ate grilled barracuda, which I never knew one could eat -- it was delicious. And we tried a coconut bread at the airport, which was kind of reminiscent of banana bread but much more dense, hard, almost (quite heavy in its weight, could hurt someone if one flung it with enough force), not sweet but aromatic. We developed a taste for it.


We also tried a tamarind ball at the airport. This we did not care for. It's a ball of sugar granules with tamarind and other spices. Surprisingly not sweet and with an interesting, tart flavor, but we could not imagine eating a whole ball of it.

And so it went. We kicked off our Caribbean getaway with a bit of initiation into Caribbean-style treats and rum. Our rum-interest, especially, had been piqued in Barbados... which turned out to be useful, as we discovered in Mustique that rum drinks simply seem to go best on the beach, in the tropical heat!

More Snapshots of Mustique

There are these tortoises all over the island. They seem to come out at around 4:30pm and walk about the island until around 5:30pm, when they seem to go away again... interesting. One must look out for these tortoises while driving on "mules."

David found this baby tortoise on the main road and saved it from being squashed by any human vehicles.

And this is our "mule" -- we have named him "Vin Diesel" and he runs very well, climbs hills and drives through dirt roads like a champ.

David on Vin Diesel on an amazing look-out just above Obsidian Bay.

We have tried to visit a new beach every day, while making sure to log in plenty of snorkeling time. Our favorite beaches to snorkel off of are Endeavor Bay (right off our hotel grounds) and Gelliceaux. Macaroni Beach is great for splashing around -- it has fabulously blue and turquoise surf.

Here, David looks into a rock pool by Gelliceaux Bay.

With all the swimming, I have turned quite brown. I have also discovered that the limes here are wonderful -- more potent and lime-like than limes back in New York. The hotel makes marvelous margaritas, and the bar staff have come to know exactly how I like my margaritas (on the rocks, and lots of it).

Vamping at the entrance to the Coutinot House, in which we are staying. (There are 5 units in the house.)

One of the more exciting events since yesterday is that I HAVE LEARNED TO DRIVE. Well, okay, not exactly. I still have no drivers' license and I certainly do not know how to drive a car. But I HAVE learned to drive Vin Diesel. I have a great deal of go-cart experience, which I think has facilitated my learning process. My favorite roads to drive are EMPTY ones... empty dirt roads are great!

David has been the most patient teacher and I think he finds it all very amusing, my learning to drive for the first time.

Fun, fun.

Mustique FUN!

A few choice photos to visually chronicle our Mustique experience thus far:

A "welcome" towel bird and flowers on our bed upon our arrival.

David jumps to express his joy and delight at our own private deck with plunge pool over-looking the Caribbean...

...while Tomoko plays amongst flowers...


View from the Beach Cafe at the Cotton House.

A margarita on the beach...

...and a rum punch on the beach.

In search of a good snorkeling spot (we saw lobsters that time)... finding a secluded beach is simple here.

Postcard perfect beach (Lagoon Bay).

Jump for joy! at Macaroni Beach.

Gorgeous and Fabulous Mustique

David and I arrived in Mustique yesterday, after a night in Barbados. We will have to post some photos when we can (internet is a bit tricky)... but our holiday so far has been fabulous.

Barbados was fun and pretty -- we tried Mount Gay Extra Old rum, which everyone recommended to us. It tasted like whiskey. We stayed at the Fairmont and had a terrific room (photos to come), and we danced up a storm at dinner at our hotel, in the fancy dining room overlooking the ocean, as there was a live band. We caused a bit of a stir (none of the other predominantly British guests danced), and people came up to us with hand-scribbled signs that read, "10" and told us that is the score they gave us for our dancing... and we were thanked the next morning at breakfast by random people for "the entertainment." We were, clearly, a hit!

Now we are on Mustique, which is the most beautiful island we have ever been on. We took a small airplane from Barbados -- it was just us, a Dutch model and 2 pilots, the journey took 45 minutes and I did think that we might die as our plane seemed to descend rather fast and in almost perpendicular angle -- but we were fine. We received a warm welcome at the airport and were whisked away to our resort and given a glass of rum punch each, before being taken to our room. Our room is SPECTACULAR. Again, one must see the photos to believe it. It's like a luxury one bedroom apartment. Basically, the Cotton House (where we are staying) is more beautiful than it looks on the website. We have a sitting room, a walk-in closet, gorgeous four poster bed with netting, and a wrap-around balcony overlooking the Caribbean. We even have a patio just below the balcony, with our own private plunge pool, lounge chairs and umbrella. Last night, we sat by our plunge pool and looked at the stars -- truly incredible. I have never seen so many stars, and I even saw my very first shooting star!

The resort is extremely peaceful and quiet, which we enjoy. The grounds are well-kept and there is an elegant, airy quality to the place. The off -shore snorkeling is wonderful here -- we took a dip yesterday afternoon and saw many fish. Today, we are going to rent a "mule" for the remainder of our week -- no, not the animal, but a buggy. Mustique is hilly, so apparently the best way to get around is by this buggy, not by car. David is, as one might imagine, extremely excited at the prospect of buggying around the island!

So. Our holiday is off to an excellent start.

(And we made sure to buy a bottle of Grey Goose and a bottle Anejo Patron at the Duty Free in Barbados...brilliant.)

Temperature Rising

(A photo taken on my computer using the "thermal" effect... to express the heat wave, obviously.)

The heat wave is on and temperature in New York has risen as of yesterday. It's humid and hot in the city, and the sun beats down -- at the moment, it's 91 degrees Farenheit and 33 degrees Celcius (according to my the Accuweather widget on my computer). Air conditioning is a must, although I have had a difficult time balancing the air conditioning level to our comfort and liking at night.

David and I are looking forward to getting out of the city and to the Caribbean! (Where it will also be hot, but at least there are the beaches!)

Holiday Sun Protection

No, no, it's not the Blue Spider-Man. It's David Scotchford, in his sun-protection gear.

In preparation for our holiday in Mustique, where we hope to spend much of our week swimming and snorkeling, David and I have purchased sun-protective clothing. Snorkeling exposes one's body, particularly our backs, our necks, basically, our back-sides, to sun exposure (and sun reflection on the water). As David is sun sensitive, we must go to the Caribbean and approach our water activities with caution. Enter Solumbra, a company that specializes in 30+ SPF Sun Protective Clothing and Accessories.

Here, David models the Solumbra water jacket as well as trousers (or, perhaps more accurately, leggings), as well as a balaclava and hat. The wrap-around sunglasses were a free gift. I only purchased the water jacket, as I don't need the full gear, only a good bottle of sun block (being more tan-efficient than Aussie David).

**David will wear his swim trunks OVER these leggings, in case you were wondering.

I think I shall call David in his Solumbra gear the sombrero-wearing snorkeling super-hero, SOLUMBRERO.

Here David models a sun protective shirt as he looks for crime above and beyond Central Park South.

And here are his sun-protective trousers... basically, civilian wear for Solumbrero.

(He sort of slightly looks like a bee keeper, also.)

Meeting an Idol...Richard Greenberg

(Michael, Eleanor, me and Tony Award winning playwright, Richard Greenberg, on Eleanor's balcony.)

Last Friday I had the privilege of meeting Richard Greenberg, the playwright. He is a graduate of Princeton University (before my time) and was a student of Michael Goldman, so he and Eleanor occasionally have dinners with him. I have loved Richard Greenberg's plays since I studied "Three Days of Rain" in a modern drama class at Princeton. I have seen every single one of his plays that have run in New York since I've lived here. Basically, I think he is one of the most brilliant language playwrights of our time. I had never met him before, but I finally had the opportunity to do so the other night, when he came by our office before going out to dinner with Eleanor and Michael. He was lovely and witty, and I was completely ecstatic (if a bit nervous -- I tend to get extremely shy and starstruck around people whose intellect and talent I completely admire, and I nearly left the building before Richard Greenberg arrived... I am glad I mustered to courage to stay).

P.S. Eleanor reported back to me that Richard Greenberg thought I was very pretty and very smart! Woo hoo.

28th Birthday! and a beautiful night at Degustation

Monday, July 2nd, was my official 28th birthday. I say "official" because I have been blessed to have been celebrating my birthday since Friday, June 29th, when Eleanor and Michael had a birthday dinner party for me, David, Michael, Fran and Jordie (Eleanor's sister and brother in-law), Robin and James Powell, our director who was in New York for casting purposes. And on Saturday, June 30th, James generously took me and David out for a birthday brunch at Balthazar. So by the time my official date of birth came along on Monday, I'd been toasting and toasted champagne many times over.

Couple of weeks ago, David decided he'd prefer to take me to a more formal birthday dinner on Friday instead (July 6, thereby extending my birthday celebration yet further), since Monday is the start of the week and not exactly the most romantic or partying-conducive day of the week (READ: hangovers do not go over as well). On July 2nd, my birthday proper, then, I requested that we go to a mellower dinner at Degustation, an intimate and wonderful restaurant in the East Village we have come to love (and about which I have wanted to blog for some time). Degustation is an innovative "Franco-Spanish-inspired small plates" restaurant, whose chef is young and extremely talented -- Wesley Genovart is 27-years old, but has already worked at top-rated restaurants in Spain as well as New York. Wesley is also a lovely, lovely guy, who works hard and is neurotically passionate about his food. We have come to be friendly with him, in part because his restaurant is great for striking up a friendship with the chef: the restaurant seats 18 or 19 people, counter-style, around the kitchen, where he cooks every night. He recognized us the second time we came in (we tend to be recognizable as a couple, I suppose), and since then, we have had a good rapport with him. We talk to him about our work and our travels, and he talks to us about his new dishes or restaurant experiences. Through our conversations we have discovered that there are many similarities between putting up a theater production and running a restaurant, and we enjoy sharing our ideas and thoughts. And it doesn't hurt that we love his food. He is a phenomenal talent, humble and candid (he readily tells us where to go to buy wines we love at his restaurant, cheaply), and truly wants people to eat delicious and inspired dishes. And the wine list at his restaurant is superb, and everyone else at the restaurant also friendly and lovely. (So basically, you need to get yourself there if you can.)


My birthday dinner at Degustation was superb. The restaurant made us feel like VIP's, with everyone from Jack Lamb (the owner) to the waiters wishing me a happy birthday. We had a fabulous time, and the food was, as usual, excellent. We hadn't been back to Degustation for a while as we've been out of New York, and so there were several dishes on the menu that were completely new to us.

(Amazing rare grilled tuna with dried black olives...)

(David expressing his delight by pretending to be a...bunny...over a dish of soft shell crab.)

(David smelling the most incredible "cheese steak" ever... rare roasted beef, thinly sliced, piled on top of grilled bread -- bruschetta-style -- with red peppers, etc. and drizzled with some sort of Spanish cheese...genius!)

(Blowing out candles in the dessert... a nice woman sitting next to David took this candle-blowing action photo for us.)

(The freshest, fruitiest version of the "millefeuille"... this one's Spanish, called "mil hojas," or "thousand leaves.")

(A glamor/arty shot of me, by David.)

It was the perfect restaurant to celebrate my birthday proper. We loved sharing each of the dishes, meticulously plated and artfully presented, full of flavor and texture. Degustation is a brilliant restaurant and we always have a gorgeous time there, full of laughter and merriment as we share food as well as thoughts and stories, and my birthday (proper) dinner did not disappoint.

TM

Fourth of July!

Last night David and I traveled to Brooklyn to celebrate the 4th of July. Our friend Susan has a great apartment there, very conducive to entertaining and hosting parties. She also has access to the roof of her apartment, from where we could look onto Manhattan and watch the fireworks. Although Susan's BBQ grilling efforts were somewhat hindered by the occasional rain, she persevered by the grill (like a star) long enough for us to have plenty of hot dogs and hamburgers to eat. We had a fantastic time. (And the fireworks were sensational.)

(Susan, our fabulous 4th-of-July Grill Master -- on the far left, with spatula.)

Our friend from Rome, Chiara, is currently in New York choreographing a piece to be performed at the Joyce. She and her assistant, Cosmo, came with us to the party, too, and were able to experience a Brooklynite 4th of July.

(David, Chiara and Cosmo, on the rooftop with plastic cups of wine.)

It was a lovely evening with friends -- our new Roman friends meeting our New York friends, and we all met more new people. Although the rainstorm eventually prompted us to take shelter indoors, the festivities went on well into the night. As parties we attend seem often to do, we found ourselves having an impromptu dance lesson: Cosmo taught David and Susan's childhood friend, Amy, how to "pop and lock." They learned an entire routine! Lots of fun was had.

And, although we drank quite a bit of vodka, we were not too bad this morning... and may go to Pink Elephant tonight with our Italian friends, should they wish... (they arrived to New York wanting to go there, as we had told Chiara about the club when we were in Rome.)

Summers in New York are fun! (When it's not oppressively hot.)

I got HIGHLIGHTS!

I tried taking photos of myself that would show that I have recently gotten HIGHLIGHTS in my hair, which I have never had done professionally. Tarlan and I once had a disastrous yet memorably funny experience at Princeton of trying to give ourselves "chunky" highlights, wherein we wore awful caps with little holes, from which we pulled out chunks of hair to bleach. We looked like two different kinds of skunks for some time.

In Rome with all its sunshine, I was inspired to get highlights in an attempt to catch more sunshine and light on my hair, which I have been trying to grow out long. I now have rather subtle yet quite intricate layers of highlights, and I really like them. I tried taking a photo of myself showcasing my first head full of professionally done highlights... but alas, it didn't really work (so far), one cannot tell in the photo (especially with flash), SO subtle as they are...

(I shall have David try to take a photo in the daytime sometime... to be continued...)

Oh, hot Toronto!

Back in Toronto -- and the heat is on! Literally. It's apparently around 34 degrees Celcius today, which is like... really hot Farenheit.

I am back in Canada for more auditions -- got in last night, here 2 nights, returning to New York tomorrow night. The staff at Le Germain Hotel knows me at this point, and I have a stash of office supplies left in their closet (printers, file racks, papers, etc.). It's a nice, chic hotel, with super duper comfy bed and pillows (so much so that David and I bought pillows for our home here on one trip) -- but I really have had just enough of casting for the time being, thinking about casting, trying to work out casting, keeping multiple shows in my head. My brain is about to burst! It has been so much traveling and so much casting, we are approaching the "creatives' holiday" period (where we are allowed holidays and are not expected to travel or be called upon to do so), and I must confess, it comes at the right time. I miss being at home in New York, seeing my friends, catching up, and I miss David and our non-work life in New York, even if we are only apart for a couple of nights. (Incidentally, this is David's first experience being in New York by himself and he is doing very well, eating left over melanzane alla parmigiana and tonight, he is having Robin over for a dinner of organic chicken sausages, salad and organic cider).

Toronto is summer hot, but it is nice here like this. There is a big "patio culture" -- drinking outside, on rooftops, mingling outdoors is a big thing, and there is a general buzz with the heat and the extended daylight. I have come to know this city and am fond of it, the people are nice. I am hoping that my New York friends will come visit me up here while I reside in this city (crossing fingers that the apartment they find for me is nice!). Tonight, Eleanor and I will go to Lee's, one of my favorite restaurants in Toronto, for a meal, which I hope will be delicious. And then one more day of auditions, then back to New York! There will be more auditions in New York (2 days), but at least I can go to them having woken up in my own bed, in my own apartment, next to my husband, and have a closet full of clothes from which to dress myself for the day. And then I will at least have the possibility, even if not realized, of seeing my friends in the evening, after work.

And this makes a whole lot of difference.

New Parmigiana Deliciana

Hi there - David here - yes Father Blogger I have sinned... it has been three months since my last post.
What has brought you out of your misery to blog again child?
It was... da da daan. Tomoko's Melanzane alla Parmigiana.
At first glance a simple, possibly slightly underwhelming (only on a dinner menu - NEVER if Tomoko is making it) mix of eggplant, cheeses, tomato, egg and herbs - but in the hands of a culinary poet (like my wife) it can transform into something truly surprising and yes, beautiful and extremely tasty.

Tomoko was cooking for three and a half hours to bring this particular masterpiece into life - but here it is - and boy am I glad to be alive!

Until next time,
DavidXXXX

Melanzane alla Parmigiana

(My first melanzane alla parmigiana -- not the best photo as it is taken quickly with my mobile, but you get the idea...)

I decided to attempt to cook my first melanzane alla parmigiana this evening, using mostly organic products (except for the cheeses). I had an image of myself very domestic goddess-like, cooking up the warm and homey dish as David returned home from his work trip to Toronto.

Unfortunately, my course of true domestic goddess-ness ne'er ran so smooth: (1) The dish took a lot longer to make than I anticipated. I began at 8:30PM and, now at 11:30PM, the dish is finally in the oven cooking. While it is smelling lovely and the apartment has filled with that gorgeous home-cooked-meal-in-the-making aroma, it is nearly midnight and really the dish might no longer be considered a "dinner" so much as a "late night meal." (2) David's flight has been re-routed, so he is still on his way home as I type. Apparently, there was some brake problem with his air craft -- fortunately, the plane landed safely, in Newark instead of La Guardia. So his journey home had more thrill than expected.

Alas, things don't always go as impeccably as one imagines. But I do have high hopes for my melanzane alla parmigiana and David is sure to be hungry, having traveled much of the evening. And I discovered our new favorite white wine at our local wine store, so that bottle is chilling in the fridge (the wine is called Conundrum - a Californian wine, a blend, gorgeous and usually very expensive in restaurants...it was $30 at our neighborhood wine store, still not cheap but far cheaper than if consumed at a restaurant). So hopefully all will turn out fine in the end -- perhaps an evening that is a little later in kicking off than we wished, but nice nonetheless.

(I shall now go make a salad of organic mache...ha! I am so domestic goddess-like :)

Photoshoot with champagne bottles

Today we drafted the invitation for my impending 28th birthday. To this end we took a series of silly photos of ourselves with champagne bottles using Mac PhotoBooth (the "Warhol" effect) -- we hope to use one of the pics in the final invitation. We took quite a few and of them there were some solidly silly and perhaps campy/theatrical ones, so we thought we'd post some of our faves here.

Note that I tend to hit my "model mark" (ha ha) pretty consistently while David, being the less predictable and more experimental performer of the two, tries a few poses:

Back in NY and on the traveling merry-go-round again

David and I returned to New York Wednesday night. It's great to be back and become re-acquainted with our very own apartment and our very own clutter of the-rest-of-our-things-we-don't-travel-with.

But it won't be long before we're traveling again, and the next month and a bit looks like a whirlwind. This Saturday David will go up to Toronto for the day to work with a Johnny candidate; Sunday night I will go up to Toronto for 2 nights, come back to New York Tuesday night -- Sunday through Tuesday will be the first time David has home-sat in New York by himself! Starting Wednesday, we will have casting sessions in New York, joined by members of our team from London.

After these sessions, we should (crossing our fingers) have some downtime enough to party a bit for my 28th birthday coming up. Then David and I will have our much anticipated holiday in the Caribbean: one night in Barbados, then a week in Mustique. We can't wait!

Then the real whirlwind begins: it's unclear if I need to go back to London in late July, it's likely...then Amsterdam again for a couple of days...then to Hamburg for a couple of days... We have shows all over that are nearly cast but not quite, which makes these trips probable and necessary: London re-cast, Utrecht (hence auditions in Amsterdam), Toronto, and a possible Stuttgart production (hence Hamburg and David's most recent casting tour to see if there were enough talent to might support another German production in addition to Hamburg). While it is good to travel, these days I feel I am hardly home and, in some way, parts of my life are sort of passing by in all this traveling. Then, of course, David goes to London for 8 weeks for the re-cast rehearsals, and I hope to tag along with him for almost a week before I have to relocate to Toronto for the rehearsal process through opening night...

...so lots more traveling ahead. I am trying to take a deep breath, make the most of each day I have at home in New York. Today we went to Whole Foods and picked up a few groceries, muddling over this organic produce or that. This kind of domestic activity was nice. Sometimes, such activity is what keeps us sane.

Agata e Romeo

For our final dinner in Rome, we went to Agata e Romeo. Agata e Romeo is listed as one of the top 10 Rome restaurants in numerous books and foodie websites, but we never got around to going to it last year as we either had other plans or the restaurant was fully booked. On our last evening in Rome, we committed to going to it.

To be honest, I wasn't sure about the restaurant, which is probably why we didn't try harder to go last November. In various reviews I read Agata was touted as being a well-known "TV chef," and that sounded suspicious and potentially unappealing to me -- which is stupid, really, since I love Mario Batali and Jamie Oliver and they are TV chefs of a sort, too. Fortunately, my suspicions turned out to be totally silly. Agata e Romeo uses beautiful, seasonally fresh produce in a wide ranging menu, and its reputation is well-deserved. The restaurant is cozy and specific while being romantic and elegant, run by a wife (Agata) and husband (Romeo) team. Romeo greets you at the door and acts as the warm host and Agata is in the kitchen. At the end of the evening, when we were the only people left in the restaurant (as usual), we had the chance to meet them both and express our delight with the food. Agata and Romeo were both lovely and gracious, and seemed truly pleased that we had a fabulous time.

David and I shared a starter of stuffed zucchini flowers that had NOT been battered and fried, but baked, stuffed with ricotta cheese and placed over a cheesy soup flavored with saffron. For our first courses, David had a "timbale of hollow pasta stuffed with eggplant and smoked scamorza" (pictured above) -- basically, a pasta "log" with eggplant and a soft smoked cheese sauce. This dish was delicious. I, in turn, had grilled scallops wrapped in prosciutto with a garlic and leak sauce. For our mains, I had wonderful breaded loin of tuna and David ate quail. Agata's millefeuille is well-mentioned in various reviews, so this is what we had -- and it was a terrific sweet finish. Agata e Romeo has an extensive wine list, too, and we had a bottle of 1997 Traminer that went fabulously with our food and for our tastes. With dessert David had a liqueur made of hazelnuts and I had a proper absinthe, which was powerful but nice. We had a wonderfully romantic evening, and were pleased with our final dinner choice.

(Agata's millefeuille)

Rome is a wonderful city -- great for foodies like us. It was the perfect few days' holiday after grueling casting weeks in various cities in Europe. In Rome, we got a city holiday with a beach-and-sun-holiday attitude (as well as beach and sun), with plenty of delicious food. Next time we visit Italy, we hope to do a little bit more driving and touring through various places... and learn a bit more Italian.

(In the mean time, I think David has gained back the weight he lost while on his casting tour... and I may have gained some, too... but alas, that is a holiday in Rome!)