With wonder that is!
Have you ever wished that you could time travel? Like in the old Star Trek when they had those automatic transporters? Imagine if you could just snap your fingers and a few seconds later you could find yourself in any place in the world you desired to be. How cool that would be. So I haven’t quite figured out how to time travel yet, but I’ll let you know the secret when I do. In the meantime I did find a way to escape to another country and culture right here from my home base.
As I’ve mentioned, I like to find a sense of “adventure” in every-day life, which is not a hard thing to do in my hometown of Washington, DC. Tis the season of street festivals in this eclectic urban metropolis. Every weekend for the past month has been characterized by a different street, with different smells, tastes, and sounds. It is one of the amazing things about this great city I call home and I love it. Last week was the 8th Street Festival AND Turkish Festival. I opted for Turkish Festival, and glad I did, it rocked. Doner kebab, baklava, folkloric dancing, Turkish rock, art, history, and all the rest. The week before that was the H Street Festival, which was a mere 1 block from house, and let me tell you how fun that was. It’s the epicenter for all things DC-hipster, literally! There were crazy artists painting & building their masterpieces. Rythym fusions from all around the world. Local designers sharing their wears on the runway. And the food… well I don’t know where to begin… suckling pork pops, curry mussels, Maine lobster rolls, grilled oysters, BBQ ribs – name your favorite street food and bam there it was.
This weekend was even better in some ways. It was Italian Festival! Festa Italiana! Yup, that is right. We got to “travel” to Italy for a few hours right here in DC. You enter this (what is usually sleepy) little street near Judiciary Square, in what used to be “Little Italy” and there it was before you, any Italy lovers dream come true. It was filled with mostly Italians too, most even speaking Italian. There was a stage with Italian artists, singing, and playing their instruments. Casa Italiana was filled with booths & tables showcasing Italian-inspired books, music, crafts, jewelry, and all the rest. There was even a showcase of Italian automobiles and a traditional puppet show. I must say, that Fiat 500C is likely in my future at some point…
And then there was the food… the best part of all. Food stations were set-up all throughout the street. Pizza, Pasta, Italian Sausage & Peppers, Gelato, Porcetta Sandwiches, Cannoli, Espresso…. every Italian delight your heart can possibly imagine. After eyeing all of the food stations we opted to give the homemade cannoli a try and I am glad that I did. Mama Vaccaros was out there squeezing the cannoli cream into the crispy baked shells. And at 2 bucks each, who could resist giving the sweet indulgence a try? Meanwhile my husband went over to the “adult beverage” tent to try some authentic Italian wine, also just 2 bucks a glass, to wash down all the delicious eats with. Then we went back to the Porcetta station to find that the whole suckling pig was ready to be taken off the spit and made into sandwiches. Yes indeed, a whole suckling pig on the spit ready to be sliced-up for Porcetta sandwiches. Create a vision in your mind for this one… a freshly baked Ciabatta roll is sliced open. Then it is given a generous shmear of salsa verde (an intoxicating concoction of fresh parsley, basil, garlic, salt, and olive oil). And last but not least, it is stuffed with a heap of sliced juicy pork. The flavors marry to perfection… it’s a sandwich fit for a king (or queen). And how divine it was!
Enjoying the taste of Italy alongside “everything Italian” in Washington, DC really was like “traveling” to Italy for a few hours. I may not have figured out the magic behind the automatic transporters but these little adventures in the streets of DC come pretty close! Till next Time. Ciao!
Vive Vivir Project 