Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts
Eye Candy: Italian Swim Team for Dolce & Gabbana
World Cup Final Today: Spain v. The Netherlands
Today is the final of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Spain will be playing the Netherlands. Holland is undefeated in this year's tournament, while Spain has been one of the top 2 ranked teams in the world for the last three years (the other, Brazil was vanquished by the Dutch team in the quarterfinals).One week after I watched him win his 2nd Wimbledon title, Spaniard Rafael Nadal will be in the audience to watch his team, La Furia Roja battle for their first World Cup title. Only seven countries have won the World Cup since the quadrennial competition began in 1930 (Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina, and France) so today history will be made.
Yesterday, 2-time defending champion Spain was eliminated from the Davis Cup by France in the semifinals. Is this a harbinger of Spain's defeat in the World Cup? The world's most famous cephalopod, Paul the Octopus has chosen Spain as the winner over the Netherlands today. He has not been wrong in all of his predictions at this year's tournament. He also correctly picked Germany to defeat Uruguay in the third place (runner's up) match. Germany won with a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 victory to seal an all-European sweep.
MadProfessah's prediction: Netherlands (2-1)
Venus Loses Semi To Safina; Rises To World #3
Venus Williams lost to World #1 Dinara Safina in a tough 3-set clay court match 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 in the semifinals of the Italian Open. Despite losing, Venus will rise to World #3, right behind her sister Serena Williams at World #2.Safina will play World #6 Svetlana Kuznetsova on Sunday in the final.
Djokovic Beats Federer in Rome; Faces Nadal in Final
World #3 Novak Djokovic battled back from 4-6, 0-2 down to beat World #2 Roger Federer 4-6 6-3 6-3 in the semifinals of the Rome Masters tournament on Saturday. In the other semifinal defending champion World #1 Rafael Nadal beat Fernando Gonzalez 6-3 6-3.13-time Grand Slam champion Federer has now not won a single ATP tour title in seven months, since the 2008 U.S. Open. Djokovic has beaten him the last two times they played in 2009, in what Craig Hickman calls "awful" matches.
Eye Candy: Italian Rugby Team In D&G Underwear
Hat/tip to TowleRoad for these images of members of the Italian Rugby Team (Sergio Parisse, Denis Dallan, Ezio Galon, Andrea Masi, Gonzalo Canale) in underwear designed by Dolce & Gabbana. Ahh, this brings back good memories of my trip to Milan, Florence, Turin and Bololgna earlier this year!
ITALY TRIP: I'm baaack!
The trip back from Firenze, Italy via Frankfurt to Los Angeles was not too painful. Will try to post some pictures over the weekend...
Italy Day 12-13: The Beauty of Florence
Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence's Duomo) to the right,the 4th largest cathedral in the world, and the Campanile (Bell Tower), at night.
The "reviled" frescoes of the Duomo, painted by Vasani in 1579 (with close-up).
Note the devil sodomizing a man with a flaming pitchfork!
Statue of Achilles battling a centaur,
located in the Loggia del la Signoria, a public outdoor gallery designed in 1376.
Basilica di Santa Croce, started in 1294, completed in 1385. It is the burial place of famous men such as composer Rossini, author Macchiavelli, sculptor Michelangelo and scientist Gallileo. 
Mad Professah (left) and the Other Half, after walking up 463 steps to
reach the top of the Duomo with views of the city of Florence behind us.
ITALY: Firenze
Yesterday was a travel day. We have left Torino (Turin) and now we are in Firenze (Florence) just a few hundred feet from the Duomo, the fourth largest cathedral in the world.
Italy Day 7-9: Torino At Night
These are the Luci di Artisti, a festival of lights which is in Turin every winter. From top to bottom, these are the lights along Via Roma, Via Garibaldi, Via Lagrange and Via Barbaroux.
Three Reasons Why Clinton Won New Hampshire
Even in Turin, Italy the news of "Frontrunner" Hillary Clinton's astonishing win of the New Hampshire primary election on Tuesday has been jaw-dropping. On MyDD alumni Chris Bowers and Matt Stoller's new project OpenLeft, I posited these three reasons for her victory:
I think Clinton's win was due to (in order of relative importance on her making up the deficit)Last time I checked the upcoming primary schedule Clinton was expected to do well in the Nevada caucuses (Jan 19), Obama should win South Carolina (Jan 26). Clinton should win the two states who have had their delgates stripped (Michigan Jan 15 and Florida Jan 26) and who knows what the heck will happen on "Tsunami Tuesday" February 5th. It is doubtful that Edwards will win everywhere, but he should have enough delegates to deny a majority to eith Clinton or Obama! One thing is clear, the race will very much still be alive by the time I get back to the United States on Friday January 18th.
3) Absentee ballots (some fraction of voters had voted for Clinton when he NH lead was huge prior to the Obama bounce from Iowa).
2) Lying white voters telling pollsters they would vote for Obama and then not being able to do it when they got to the polling booth. Heck, they even lied when they came out of the booth! (exit polls put the vote split at 39-39--Obama got 2 percentage points less--that's your lying deficit.)
1) Too Much (Polling) Info: all the polls saying that Clinton was going to lose big made NH voters (especially women and white voters) who would have voted for Obama decide that they could risk voting for Hillary. I think if we lived in a country (i.e. France) where publication of polling data within 72 hours of the election is illegal, Obama would have won.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Peck Italian Bar (Milano, Italia)
Mad Professah visited Peck Italian Bar in Milan, Italy last week and took the following pictures:
When MadProfessah and the other half ate at his restaurant a few weeks ago, the owner of Terroni restaurant in Los Angeles had suggested we eat at Peck's when we get to Milan. Unfortunately, the signature restaurant Cracco-Peck was closed for three weeks between Christmas and Epiphany so we went to the sister restaurant, Peck Italian Bar instead.
We started with the lightly smoked salmon appetizer, which although pricey (€20=$29) was absolutely delicious. The pumpkin risotto was amazingly rich and a stunning yellow color the picture does not do justice to the intense color of the dish and definitel does not allow you to experience the creamy cheesy goodness that was riso mantecato alla zucca. We then both had traditional Milanese meat dishes: I had the Milanese veal cutlet (which was the inspiration for the Austrian wienerschnitzel) while the other half had roasted veal with baked potatoes.
The true standout of the meal was dessert. I never order the tiramisu at Italian restaurants because it can be so completely different at different Italian restaurants. However, the tiramisu at Peck's Italian Bar was incredible. The top layer is a thick layer of pure cocoa dust. In fact, the dish was almost dangerous because as one ate the tiramisu it was very easy to inhale the cocoa dust and have one's airway feel full of cocoa instead of oxygen. The custard filling was also excellent; very very creamy and light. At the very bottom of the creamy custard were amaretto-soaked still-crunchy madeleines. A nearly perfect dessert. The gelato flavors we chose were strawberry, lemon and "cream." The lemon was extremely flavorful--like a stiff blow to the head, but in a good way, mostly. The strawberry and cream were also very smooth, with a more balanced flavor.
The ambiance of the restaurant was very nice. It is a very well-lit, modern-looking space. The service was attentive and gave us an English menu almost immediately. It is officially a bar, which also serves food at lunch and dinner time (it closes at 8pm). Usually I imagine most people go over to the Cracco-Peck restaurant next door. Although it would have been nice to experience the superlative food that is rumored to be available at Cracco-Peck, Peck Italian Bar was a very enjoyable and satisfying dining experience as well.
OVERALL GRADE: A-.
FOOD: A.
VALUE: B+.
SERVICE: A-.
AMBIANCE: A-.
 |  |
| The place settings at Peck Italian Bar. Very sleek and modern looking. |
|
 |  |
| Salmone marinato, leggermente affumicato (marinated salmon, lightly smoked) | Riso mantecato alla zucca (pumpkin risotto with manteca cheese) |
 |  |
| Cotoletta di lonza alla Milanese con patate rosolate (Traditional Milanese breaded cutlet with roasted potatoes) | Arrosto di vitello con patate al forno (Roasted veal with baked potatoes) |
 |
|
| Tiramisu | Gelati |
When MadProfessah and the other half ate at his restaurant a few weeks ago, the owner of Terroni restaurant in Los Angeles had suggested we eat at Peck's when we get to Milan. Unfortunately, the signature restaurant Cracco-Peck was closed for three weeks between Christmas and Epiphany so we went to the sister restaurant, Peck Italian Bar instead.
We started with the lightly smoked salmon appetizer, which although pricey (€20=$29) was absolutely delicious. The pumpkin risotto was amazingly rich and a stunning yellow color the picture does not do justice to the intense color of the dish and definitel does not allow you to experience the creamy cheesy goodness that was riso mantecato alla zucca. We then both had traditional Milanese meat dishes: I had the Milanese veal cutlet (which was the inspiration for the Austrian wienerschnitzel) while the other half had roasted veal with baked potatoes.
The true standout of the meal was dessert. I never order the tiramisu at Italian restaurants because it can be so completely different at different Italian restaurants. However, the tiramisu at Peck's Italian Bar was incredible. The top layer is a thick layer of pure cocoa dust. In fact, the dish was almost dangerous because as one ate the tiramisu it was very easy to inhale the cocoa dust and have one's airway feel full of cocoa instead of oxygen. The custard filling was also excellent; very very creamy and light. At the very bottom of the creamy custard were amaretto-soaked still-crunchy madeleines. A nearly perfect dessert. The gelato flavors we chose were strawberry, lemon and "cream." The lemon was extremely flavorful--like a stiff blow to the head, but in a good way, mostly. The strawberry and cream were also very smooth, with a more balanced flavor.
The ambiance of the restaurant was very nice. It is a very well-lit, modern-looking space. The service was attentive and gave us an English menu almost immediately. It is officially a bar, which also serves food at lunch and dinner time (it closes at 8pm). Usually I imagine most people go over to the Cracco-Peck restaurant next door. Although it would have been nice to experience the superlative food that is rumored to be available at Cracco-Peck, Peck Italian Bar was a very enjoyable and satisfying dining experience as well.
OVERALL GRADE: A-.
FOOD: A.
VALUE: B+.
SERVICE: A-.
AMBIANCE: A-.
Italy Day 5 & 6: Scenes from Torino
Mole Antonelliana,a 545 foot tower which is the central landmark of Turin.
The building houses the National Museum of Cinema.
Palazzo Reale,the Royal Palace
Palazzo di Citta,Town Hall
Il Duomo di San Giovanni,which contains the the Shroud of Turin.
Stazione Porto Nuova,one of the two main train stations in Turin. This one
is right across the street from our hotel.
Ponte Umberto Ia bridge over Fiume Po (Po River) which
Italy Day 3 & 4: Scenes from Milano
Metro San Babila
Il Duomo
Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle II 
Castello SforzescoSome pictures from the last two days spent in Milano, Italia. From the top the Metro Station at San Babila, in northeast Milan, on the way back from dinner on Thursday January 3. Next is Il Duomo, the beautiful cathedral at night a few blocks from our hotel Friday January 4. Adjacent to Piazza Duomo (the square in front of The Duomo) is a fabulous indoor mall called Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II that opened in 1867 and is the location of the very first Prada store at it's center. Last is Castello Sforzesco a huge castle first constructed in the 14th century and restored in the 15th. It contains a huge number of museums brimming with ancient paintings, sculptures and historical artifacts.
Day 5 January 5th is a travel day, from Milano to Turino by train.
Italy Day 2: It Duomo (Milano,Italy)
Il Duomo, the 3rd largest church in the worldMadProfessah is currently in Italy, accesing the internet from Milano (Milan) using an inordinately expensive Internet connection (€22 for 24 hours which is equivalent to 32 U.S. dollars!). We are staying in the Centro Historico district, just about 2 blocks away from The Duomo, the 3rd largest cathedral in the world, which took nearly 500 years to build (starting in 1391).
On Saturday January 5th we go to Turin (Torino) for 8 days.
Trip to Northern Italy Jan 1 to Jan 17
Mad Professah and the other half are going to be spending the first two weeks of 2008 in northern Italy. We'll be spending 3 nights in Milan, 8 nights in Turin and 4 nights in Florence.
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