Salone del Mobile - A Design and Art Extravaganza

As a kitchen and bath designer I try to attend as many tradeshows as possible to keep abreast of new and innovative products.  In addition to KBIS which is a must for me, I also had the pleasure of attending EuroCucina, The International Kitchen Furnishings Exhibition held in Milan every two years.   Wow!  What a fabulous event!

Salone del Mobile is an international design and art venue that is comprised of five components including: EuroCucina (Kitchen Furnishings Exhibition), & Technology for the Kitchen.   I was attending this event on a double mission - kitchen/bath designer and  writer.  As a kitchen/bath designer my focus was on the kitchen and bath pavilions but there was a whole other side to this event that was just as compelling.

In an article written for the June printed edition of K+BB(Kitchen and Bath Business), I covered many of the innovative kitchen and bath products that I saw at the event.  However,  recently I wrote an article for one of my favorite online designer magazines:  DesignerCircleHq.  This article: Salone del Mobile,  A Show  Within a Show,  is not kitchen oriented but instead addresses some of the other inspiring elements of the event.  Just click on the title to read the article.

 

Italy - Part II Florence- Giovanni's Cooking Class

Giovanni"s Cooking Class

  

Florence (Firenze) may be a small city but it is culturally very rich and your choices of things to do there are limited only by your personality and your bank account.  Even walking the city streets in Florence is a treat, whether you are interested in the architecture or in buying leather.  It is best if you try to figure out what you would like to do before you go.  The city truly has allot to offer and the important things can easily get lost in the less important activities because it's all good.                     One of the best things we did was to schedule a cooking class -Giovanni's Cooking Class by Food and Wine Academy in Florence.  It was so much fun and so worth the 4 to 5 hours of time.  To start us off Giovanni took us to the Italian Market.   What a great experience!  I actually bought some cherries because they were just too good to pass up.  I ordered cherries in Italian and then used sign language for the quantity of three handfuls.  The Italians are a gracious people and will do their best to understand what you are saying.   We picked up the meat and veggies for the class here.  There were 28 in our class and we made handmade ravioli stuffed with a ricotta filling, pasta, Bologenese sauce and tiramisu.

 We did the Tiramisu first since it had to set up in the refrigerator while we made the main course. The picture on the left is showing us just how stiff the egg whites should be. On the right we have already browned the meat/pork sausage and Giovanni is adding a cup of chianti to the sauce and we realize just how hungry we are.                                                                                                  We made everything on a marble countertop. As a kitchen/bath designer  I have designed plenty of bathrooms using marble.  Marble is a fabulous material but it is soft and it does stain easily and for that reason we shy away from using it in the kitchen in the States.  Yet, here it is.  It's Carrara marble and they've been using this slab for the last thre years and it still looks beautiful.  No wine stains or anything like that.

The four hours or so in class just flew by.  We were all busy and finally got to eat our prize with a glass of Chianti.  Of course we all congratulated ourselves and ate heartily.  Giovanni and his staff did a wonderful job and if you are going to Florence I suggest you book this event before you leave home.

Our results:

Pasta and meat sauce

Ravioi



Tiramisu.  Since there were 28 of us, we had to put something on top to indentify it as ours.



  

Italy - A Trip for all Senses - - Part 1 Rome




Intersection near Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain

On a recent trip to Italy we spent a few days in Rome, several in Florence and ended our trip with two nights in the enchanting city of Venice.  It was all fabulous.
 
 Rome is a striking city where past, present and future blend naturally on the city streets. Although taking the metro is quite easy I think the best way to see Rome is to walk the city. A good strategy would be to take the Metro to a certain stop like Trevi Fountain and then walk to the Spanish Steps from Trevi.  It's imperative that you take shoes that will protect your feet from the constant pounding against the cobble, uneven stones or you will find yourself sitting more than you had planned.

Rome is a city of fountains, of which, Trevi is probably the most famous. This is a glorious fountain but it's not on a park somewhere or on a separate block, it's actually a little hard to find because there are so many big buildings around it.  You turn the corner and say, "Oh, there it is.". The past is that easily woven into the fabric of  everyday life in the Eternal City. Years ago when first went to  Rome I made a wish and sealed its fate with a toss of a coin over my shoulder at Trevi Fountain.  One belief in the coin tossing is that you will return to the city.  It is kind of amazing that  my wish came true and that I did return to the city, although I would never have believed the possibility of either at the time. 

For me there are two main avenues to explore in Rome and I did my best to indulge both of them: architecture and food.  I took over 800 pictures and  will create posting for the Vatican Museums and the Pantheon when I go through my pictures. My love for Roman architecture began in high school in Philadelphia and  intensified while studying design  in college.  As for the food, every meal I had in Rome was superb.  The pasta was magnificent. The aroma of Italian cooking permeates the air so you are often hungry as soon as you enter the restaurant.  Often upon entering you will be greeted with the word, 'Prego'.  To us that is a spaghetti sauce sold in the supermarket but it actually means 'Welcome' in Italian.  One note about the wine, when you order you have the option of a glass of wine or a mid-size bottle that is about 2/3rds of a normal bottle.  Of course, you can also get a full size bottle. 

Individual Bottles

 If you are planning to visit Rome, Florence or Venice this year please feel free to email me any questions you may have: claremarie@asyoulikeitdz.com.  I will be happy to help out a fellow traveler.  I booked our trip online through European Destinations with excellent results.  Booking online is always a risk but our trip went as planned and I would certainly book through them again.  If you plan on driving in Rome, good luck.  The names of the streets are imbedded in stone on the buildings, not on street signs.  I suggest you take a rosary, a GPS and just forget the printed map.  The maps are good for where you generally want to go, but there are no street signs. Walking the streets is a treat to the soul though.

And added bonus for me when visiting each of the cities in Italy was all the little bookstores and most of them have books in English.  I am envious of that.  I'm a book lover and when I see a book store, I am home.

Postings over the next few weeks will be about Italy. My next post will probably be the cooking class we took with Giovanni's Italian Cooking Class by Food and Wine Academy in Florence.  That's a story all in itself and a must do when you are in Florence.