Month: November 2022

The God of Misrule – Farsinus

M's Adventures

When I worked in Bangladesh, there were notices about being wary of mishap. One day, a local colleague came up to me and quietly asked me about the unlucky Mr. Mish Ap, as he seemed to be most unfortunate.

Ten years later, I find myself in a completely different world — in the Roman world of bureaucracy, calamity, inanity, and farce. For this, I’ve created a god named Farsinus. Yes, sounds bit like a fart (for the purile) and that other four letter F-word. I asked a Roman if there was a god of mischief, a cousin to the Nordic Loki, Lord of Misrule. I imagined it must be Bacchus, the god of wine and debauchery. I was confusing him with Faunus, or Pan to you G(r)eeks. Apparently, the Greeks had a goddess of mischief, Ate (“Ah-tay”). According to the great oracle in the ether, Wiki, Ate was “of mischief, delusion, ruin, and blind folly, rash action and reckless impulse who led men down the path of ruin. She also led both gods and men to rash and inconsiderate actions and to suffering. Até also refers to an action performed by a hero that leads to their death or downfall.”

Well, I may not be a hero, but I’ve been trying to become a devotee of the God Farsinus. To enjoy the calamity of life… and public transportation in Italy.

The chocolate fare was mostly about shopping.

The God Farsinus came to me when I was going to the Bastia Umbria (I’m told that if I don’t add the specifier Umbria, you might think I meant Sardenia — as if anyone has heard of Bastia, either one) for the Eurochocolate frenzy. I will start out by saying that, generally, it’s not like this. But, then, some days, it is, and the day will unravel like a standup sketch by Russel Howard. Or, Karl Pilkington. On the day in question, I needed to get to Bastia Umbria, but the train to Perugia did not stop there. So I had to take the train to Perugia and then take the train back to Rome which did stop in Bastia Umbria. I am not sure why I still think there is logic, but why do people from Perugia get to stop at Bastia Umbria but people traveling from Rome do not?

There was a small stall in the actual town of Perugia.

Next week, I’ll get back to talking about nice things.

Medusa

M's Adventures
The water is so inviting in Salina.

“Help me! Help! A medusa!” The cries for help and “medusa” interrupted my hazy soporific sunny afternoon. I looked toward the sound of the cry for help. It came from the aquamarine water where bathers had been enjoying the warm water. The cries continued in a warbling plaintive and pleading cry as the swimmers splashed furiously to get out of the water.

The young woman pulled herself up on the ladder to the boat and the angry red striations were erupting across her chest, shoulders, and neck like wildfire.

Marco, the captain, on the sound of the cries for help, had raced to the back of the boat to help the jellyfish victim. While the husband of the victim dabbed her dry, Marco sprayed a medicinal tonic on the jellyfish bites. I do not have any photos of the bites as I was not taking photos of the victim. But the bites looked like long strings or red mosquito or wasp bites.

The spray that cools the sting.

This was last summer and I was enjoying the shade from inside the boat while the rest of the group were swimming off the shore of Salina island near Sicily. That’s when I learned that the Italian for jellyfish. Medusa.

Jellyfish in the Monterrey Aquarium in California.

In Search of Spicy Chinese Restaurants in Rome

M's Adventures

There are many Chinese restaurants in Rome, but I like spicy Chinese food (like food from Sichuan). I have been to about 15 Chinese restaurants at this point and I am finding that most are the “same same” — so I do not want to continue. The first three are places where one can get spicy “Sichuan” style food. The rest are where you can get okay Chinese food. ***update December 2022 — I did finally find really spicy food at the hotpot restaurant called Tianci Chongqing.***

The spicy hotpot is sure fire way to make sure you eat something spicy!

Sichuan, Via di San Martino ai Monti 33: It was supposed to be spicy but I didn’t think it was. The food was good. I took a Chinese person with me so maybe the food was better because of that.

Xiao Shenyang, Via di S. Croce in Gerusalemme 91a: On a dingy thoroughfare but if you can speak Chinese to the owner and he does the cooking, then you can get authentic spicy Chinese food.

ChongQing Impresiones, Via Vicenza 10: Near the train station with a casual cafe feel but excellent cucumber salad and other vegetables. I’ll be back. Sichuan style food but not sure about it.

Mi Cucina Cinese, Via Giovanni Botero 31: Located quite a bit out of the city (five miles is a long way in Rome) with good dishes but not worth the haul. They fried rice with beef and fried egg served on a massive iron hotplate is straight up comfort food.

These were interesting, and not bitter.

MiFang, Via Firenze 30: In Monti, and a bit fancy inside. They have excellent special fried rice but the portions are small. The sweet and sour chicken balls are worth it just because they are served in a bowl of ice… and still are hot enough to burn the roof of your mouth.

Tea & Noodles fried dumplings.
Inside Tea & Noodles.

Mandarin Chow, Via Emilia 85: Considered one of the best. I thought it was good but not sure it was the best, but maybe I have a faulty memory.

Tea and Noodles, Via Conte Verde 38. It’s comfort food when you need it. Homemade noodles and dumplings. While it is a casual cafe, the menu is extensive and even includes Peking Duck. The homemade dumplings, fried rice, chicken crunchies (not sure what they are called but that is what they were), and pork belly were probably the best things but I love the garlicky cucumber salad and the sour pickled radish.

Tea & Noodles chicken crunchies.
Sichuan – Dumplings in spicy oil, chicken with chiles, and hot and sour soup.

Apparently this plum drink is what one drinks with spicy food. It tasted a bit like ice tea.

Chinese Tea House, Via Otranto 3 in Prati: This place has an all you can eat sushi offer that one orders through a tablet at the table. But, they also have a Sichuan menu which is really more generic Chinese food. Not bad for generic. I’ll go back for the shrimp.

Online reviews say that the Tea House is hard to find but it is not. It’s covered in flowers, which you can see in the background.

T’Ang Cout, Via Filippo Turati 54: The service is nice. The place is well lit and pleasant. The food is okay.

Coconut tapioca dessert at T’ang Cout.

Oolong, Piazza di San Paola alla Regola: Very fancy with a strict Chinese owner. Outdoor seating, a vast menu, housemade noodles and dumplings, oysters, and the best part were the desserts.

This dessert at Oolong was the best thing there.

Heji.

Heji, Via Daniele Manin 61: This is a newish place and they are not finished decorating. It has a hole in the wall feel, and it located on a busy street with a tram line chunting along outside. The folks are friendly and they seem to do a massive delivery service.

Water spinach, kang kong, is very popular and is in season in the fall.

I also went to some others, like Green T, but I don’t recommend them. Green T had nice decor, too pricey, food was cold, and too fancy with no flavor.

The Most Beautiful Town in the World

M's Adventures
Castel Mole has a fantastic arrival area overlooking the bay.

Of course it is in Italy. It is a little town perched above Taormina and we accidentally went to see it when we were traveling in Sicily. I thought we were going to the outlook in Taormina but instead the taxi driver took us to the town that looks out over Taormina.

In reality, the view is much more impressive than this.

The town above Taormina is called Castel Mole.

“Belvedere” is literally “beautiful to see” but there are lots of stairs everywhere to get there.

I am not sure who votes in the competition but it seems like there are endless beautiful towns all over Italy.

One of the signs indicates the status of the town as the most beautiful.

If you are planning a trip to this area, I recommend a local car service. They also do airport transfers. I found them when I wanted a ride from Taormina to Catania. 100 euro for a van. Divided up by a group, the price was about the same as the train plus taxi. But door to door.

This is a good car service. Stefania speaks English.