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La Dolce Dent
  • Amy DB
  • Amy DB

La Dolce Dent

Tracing Roots, Faith, and Family through Italy: This journey combines our family roots, beautiful towns, and slow-paced exploration - honoring the Campoli and Di Pietro heritage while savoring the best of Rome. Read more
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  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler
    Showing off her handmade items from cinematic reels from the studio she worked forLooking back at Alatri

    Fumone

    April 10 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    We could see another hill town in the distance, and decided to drive on over (because I'm a glutton for punishment, haha).

    Fumone would translate to English as Smoke - this town at 3000 ft above sea level was charged with watching for invaders from the south and lighting the fires to alert Rome should any be sighted. Yes - light the beacons! Gondor calls for aid! (I regret not making a video saying this while in the town).

    Slightly less than 2000 people live here, parking was surprisingly easy, and everyone was SO nice. There were hardly any other tourists around, so the streets were very peaceful as we walked up and up and up.    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Longhi Castle Gardens

    April 10 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    We were the only ones here, along with our awesome guide, John-Marco.

    This was the top of the mountain. They basically ground it down, then got dirt from a nearby town to create the garden because the soil was better for the cypress trees.

    There's one rock that is the "top of the mountain" that we all made sure to touch.    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Dinner in Alatri

    April 10 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    We walked back up (found some stairs rather than the scary narrow street, and went to a steakhouse. It's owned by a lovely Englishwoman (I asked if she was British and was quickly corrected that she was English) who has lived her for over 20 years. She was shocked we could hear her accent! :)

    She encouraged us to try the supple (sup-lay) rice balls as they are a very common recipe for the area. They were delicious - fried rice, cheese, herbs. My steak was just what I wanted.

    After dinner, we enjoyed the town all lit up. We also wondered if Al Capone had any relatives in the area!    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Hill Town Driving

    April 11 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    I just drove down a street so narrow I wasn't sure it was actually a street (it was) and we had to fold the side-view mirrors in.

    No one was coming behind us so we commemorated my feat by reenacting my face the entire time.

    I went on to do similar roads in Palombara Sabina as well. I would highly recommend never getting a car any bigger than this in Italy, and smaller if possible...    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Tivoli Villa d'Este

    April 11 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Wow! This was the home of a d'Este Cardinal in the 16th century. The villa is amazing, but the gardens are the main attraction.

    Many of the pieces that are in the Vatican were found in this area, as Emperor Hadrian also had a villa here.

    Important note: If you want to visit Tivoli (and you should)...TAKE A TOUR BUS. This was hands down the hardest place to navigate and drive in. It's nuts.

    Another important note: In most Italian parking structures, you have to pay for your parking at a machine, then use the validated ticket provided to get out. Otherwise you have to back out of the exit... :)    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Palombara Sabina

    April 11 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Off to another hill town in the Sabine Hills! Before our pasta making class, we had a small tour of this little hill town with our wonderful guide and translator, Roberta. She was so excited to hear that we had visited Alatri, as that's the area she's from. She said Campoli was a very common surname and decided we are distant relatives. :)

    Hill towns are typically very circular, and I missed the tiny street that did not look like a street that our lodging was on the first time around. No problem, just another loop!

    Olive oil and cherries are two of their main things, and each year there's a competition to make the best traditional cherry festival dress. Usually a nonna wins (because the younger generations don't know how to sew) and they take a bowl of the best cherries to present to the Pope in Rome.

    On our tour, we met another one of the Pasta Nonnas hosting another dinner along one of the little streets.    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Pasta with Nonna Patrizia

    April 11 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    So the Pasta Grandmas have become a really big deal since Éowyn and I went, apparently. This is one of my favorite experiences, so I can see why this tiny idea has grown into something huge! They've been on TV, are on Celebrity Cruises, have some French nonnas in Paris for baking, etc. Some of others in our group were fangirling hardcore. :)

    We had so much fun making farfalle, ravioli, and fettucine followed by a delicious meal.    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler
    1Let's just compare...

    Final Prep and Enjoying the Fruits of our Labors

    April 11 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Nonna comes around to check your work, and I was told my were so good that it must be because of my Italian blood. :) #minewerebetterthanmoms

    After we finished it was time to enjoy some fantastic food and delightful conversation.

    As we left, we could enjoy the twinkling of the lightsof the nearby sister hilltowns in the distance.    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Colosseum

    April 13 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    This is such a thrill every time. It was so exciting to show this to Mom & Dad.

    The day was overcast and the sun was coming through the clouds in a really spectacular way right over the far side of the arena.

    I was able to snag tickets for the arena as well, so we were able to go down there after the regular entrance and stand right next to the underground, and by the best seats in the house (in white, right above the arena floor).    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Temple of Romulus

    April 13 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    The green doors were open and whatever ticket we had seemed to let us in! We could see through the gate to the church on the other side. There are various ideas about what this building was for, but it's neither the founder of Rome, Romulus, nor the son of an emperor. Amazing to think something like this has survived for so long that we can't remember what it was for sure!Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Flying Dress Photoshoot

    April 14 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    I'm SO happy with how my flying dress photoshoot with Eidos Photography turned out! This was my anniversary present from Sean. Not too shabby for my 50th year!

    Between this and the family photoshoot, I highly recommend Eidos to any of my clients traveling to Rome this summer - make some great memories!Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Rome Photoshoot - Mom & Dad

    April 14 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    I know I'm jumping ahead on getting caught up on posts, but I'm just so thrilled with these pics.

    Sean got me a flying dress photoshoot in front of the Colosseum as an anniversary present, and the photographer was kind enough to also do a family session with the three of us as well after. There's a great new terrace that just opened up that provides really spectacular views of the Colosseum and Forum down Via dei Fori Imperiali.

    The flying dress photos take longer to edit, they'll be coming soon!    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Crazy Storm!

    April 15 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Glad we came back early in the day - thunder, lightning, and heavy rain for two hours this afternoon! Good day to sit inside a cozy apartment steps from the Colosseum and watch Gladiator. :) The video didn't catch the thunder very well, but it was practically non-stop.

    Later, I saw that someone braved the Forum and they were the only ones there. Water was running in the streets up to their ankles (and I really hope they showered after).    Read more

  • Amy DBLa Dolce DentTraveler

    Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica

    April 16 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    We had a very nice Vatican employee who let us go to the Sistine Chapel first when it was less crowded.

    As expected, we spent a lot of time in the Egyptian Rooms while Dad read everything. :)

    There was some sort of practice going on in St. Peter's which was lovely, and we got a good view of the Swiss Guard as we left.Read more

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