BRHornet45
02-15-2012, 11:13 PM
http://media.nola.com/living/travel_impact/photo/marco-belinelli-flowersjpg-0d585c008f1ed56c.jpg
http://www.nola.com/travel/index.ssf/2012/02/new_orleans_hornets_marco_beli.html
New Orleans Hornets shooting guard Marco Belinelli is a native of San Giovanni in Persiceto, outside Bologna. He has been with the Hornets since August 2010 and has played in the NBA since 2007, but he retains a great love of his native Italy.
As Italy celebrates the 150th anniversary of unification, and just in time for Valentine's Day, Belinelli offers up his favorite destinations, and even a few romantic suggestions that may help make the love of your life forget her Abita-soaked mother.
I sat on the Hornets bench with him before a recent game and asked where in Italy he would take a visitor from New Orleans. We do the interview in English, as my Italian is only good for ordering wine and apologizing.
"I love Italy," he says "Every city is nice. Bologna, Milan, Rome. Every city is different."
"Bologna is famous for food. Maybe I will bring them to Bologna."
Bologna is the capital of one of the most overlooked regions of Italy, Emilia-Romagna. Sandwiched between its more famous neighbors of Tuscany, home of Florence, and the Veneto, home of Venice, the region is often unwisely skipped by visitors. The area gave the world Pavarotti, Fellini, and Armani and, of course, Belinelli.
And Marco is right about the food. Most Italians will tell you the best food comes from this region, where the dishes tend to be richer in butter than in olive oil. This being pig country, it produces some of the world's best pork dishes. And the pastas are heartier because they're made with eggs, unlike their southern counterparts.
Of course, like all good Italians, Marco has the right answer when it comes to the best place to eat in Bologna: Mom's.
"My mom is one of the best cooks I ever seen. Mom is the mom."
Milano Marittima
If you and your companion are still able to fit into bathing suits after dining in Bologna, head over to Marco's favorite getaway, the laid-back beach on the Adriatic coast just south of Ravenna.
"During the summer, when I get some time, I love to be on the beach. I go to Milano Marittima. It's near to Bologna. It's something cool. It's not like Las Vegas or something crazy."
(The overdeveloped, Vegas-like resorts are located around Rimini, to the south.)
If you want to take a break from the beach, some of the most breath-taking Byzantine-era mosaics in the world can be found in Ravenna, an ancient, seaside town of winding streets and vibrant piazzas.
You can even visit the tomb of the poet Dante, and perhaps discover which circle of Hell you will end up in for the dog/salsa incident.
Venice
But this is Valentine's Day! We also must seek romantic advice from our genuine Italian, whose people, after all, are the Michael Jordans of romance.
Like Americans, Marco says Italians like to take dates to movies or out to dinner. But where do they go for a romantic weekend?
"Everybody, they like and they love to go to Venice because it's something very romantic."
Not Rome? Throwing coins into Trevi Fountain? Walking hand-in-hand through Piazza Navona? Sitting for hours in a dress shop on Via Nazionale while she spends you blind?
"Rome is a very nice city, but I think Venice is more romantic," Marco says
True, a gondola ride through the back canals of Venice can be romantic, provided paddling past houses doesn't give you a Katrina flashback like it does me. You can even retrace the footsteps of Casanova, grabbing a drink at the Cantina do Spade where he'd meet his paramours, or tour the dungeons of the Doge's Palace, where he was imprisoned for his excesses before escaping.
After a day of wooing in Venice, you might want to end the evening with a nice bottle of wine. Unfortunately, Marco is out of his element here: "I'm not really a good wine professional. I like to drink some wine, but it depends what. When I eat some steak, I like red wine."
To be fair, it is hard to get a bad bottle of wine in Italy; the best habit is to buy a bottle from the region where you are, as the shopkeepers tend to be proud of the local products and will guide you to better vintages.
Florence
What about food for your romantic evenings? Marco loves steak. Assuming we can't go to Marco's mom's house, the best steak in Italy is Florentine steak. Plus, you get an excuse to go to Florence.
When asked about it, Marco gives a smile: "The Florentine steak is really good. I love steak in the USA, too."
Florentine steak, or bistecca alla Florentine, is a dish of legend, sold by the kilo and shared by the table. It comes from Tuscany's Chianina cows and is aged over a year, then cooked over a wood fire.
If you need to work off some calories after dinner, Florence is one of the best walking cities in the world. It's another favorite spot of Marco's: "I like Florence. It's very nice. They have everything. People love it there."
If you're feeling especially energetic, you can, as Marco has done, climb to the top of the Duomo, Brunelleschi's masterpiece that crowns the church of Santa Maria del Fiore.
I'm not sure how Marco, who's 6-foot-5, managed the climb. I'm three inches shorter and several times have gotten stuck in the narrow passageways to the top like the Grinch in that chimney. Of course, the close quarters you share as a couple can make that beer-soaked mother-in-law a distant memory.
A parting tip before you start booking your trip. If you want to avoid crowds in any Italian city, plan to go during a soccer final because, as Marco says, "nobody is outside. The street is free; you can do whatever you want. Everybody wants to stay home and watch the game, just like when the Saints when they play."
http://www.nola.com/travel/index.ssf/2012/02/new_orleans_hornets_marco_beli.html
New Orleans Hornets shooting guard Marco Belinelli is a native of San Giovanni in Persiceto, outside Bologna. He has been with the Hornets since August 2010 and has played in the NBA since 2007, but he retains a great love of his native Italy.
As Italy celebrates the 150th anniversary of unification, and just in time for Valentine's Day, Belinelli offers up his favorite destinations, and even a few romantic suggestions that may help make the love of your life forget her Abita-soaked mother.
I sat on the Hornets bench with him before a recent game and asked where in Italy he would take a visitor from New Orleans. We do the interview in English, as my Italian is only good for ordering wine and apologizing.
"I love Italy," he says "Every city is nice. Bologna, Milan, Rome. Every city is different."
"Bologna is famous for food. Maybe I will bring them to Bologna."
Bologna is the capital of one of the most overlooked regions of Italy, Emilia-Romagna. Sandwiched between its more famous neighbors of Tuscany, home of Florence, and the Veneto, home of Venice, the region is often unwisely skipped by visitors. The area gave the world Pavarotti, Fellini, and Armani and, of course, Belinelli.
And Marco is right about the food. Most Italians will tell you the best food comes from this region, where the dishes tend to be richer in butter than in olive oil. This being pig country, it produces some of the world's best pork dishes. And the pastas are heartier because they're made with eggs, unlike their southern counterparts.
Of course, like all good Italians, Marco has the right answer when it comes to the best place to eat in Bologna: Mom's.
"My mom is one of the best cooks I ever seen. Mom is the mom."
Milano Marittima
If you and your companion are still able to fit into bathing suits after dining in Bologna, head over to Marco's favorite getaway, the laid-back beach on the Adriatic coast just south of Ravenna.
"During the summer, when I get some time, I love to be on the beach. I go to Milano Marittima. It's near to Bologna. It's something cool. It's not like Las Vegas or something crazy."
(The overdeveloped, Vegas-like resorts are located around Rimini, to the south.)
If you want to take a break from the beach, some of the most breath-taking Byzantine-era mosaics in the world can be found in Ravenna, an ancient, seaside town of winding streets and vibrant piazzas.
You can even visit the tomb of the poet Dante, and perhaps discover which circle of Hell you will end up in for the dog/salsa incident.
Venice
But this is Valentine's Day! We also must seek romantic advice from our genuine Italian, whose people, after all, are the Michael Jordans of romance.
Like Americans, Marco says Italians like to take dates to movies or out to dinner. But where do they go for a romantic weekend?
"Everybody, they like and they love to go to Venice because it's something very romantic."
Not Rome? Throwing coins into Trevi Fountain? Walking hand-in-hand through Piazza Navona? Sitting for hours in a dress shop on Via Nazionale while she spends you blind?
"Rome is a very nice city, but I think Venice is more romantic," Marco says
True, a gondola ride through the back canals of Venice can be romantic, provided paddling past houses doesn't give you a Katrina flashback like it does me. You can even retrace the footsteps of Casanova, grabbing a drink at the Cantina do Spade where he'd meet his paramours, or tour the dungeons of the Doge's Palace, where he was imprisoned for his excesses before escaping.
After a day of wooing in Venice, you might want to end the evening with a nice bottle of wine. Unfortunately, Marco is out of his element here: "I'm not really a good wine professional. I like to drink some wine, but it depends what. When I eat some steak, I like red wine."
To be fair, it is hard to get a bad bottle of wine in Italy; the best habit is to buy a bottle from the region where you are, as the shopkeepers tend to be proud of the local products and will guide you to better vintages.
Florence
What about food for your romantic evenings? Marco loves steak. Assuming we can't go to Marco's mom's house, the best steak in Italy is Florentine steak. Plus, you get an excuse to go to Florence.
When asked about it, Marco gives a smile: "The Florentine steak is really good. I love steak in the USA, too."
Florentine steak, or bistecca alla Florentine, is a dish of legend, sold by the kilo and shared by the table. It comes from Tuscany's Chianina cows and is aged over a year, then cooked over a wood fire.
If you need to work off some calories after dinner, Florence is one of the best walking cities in the world. It's another favorite spot of Marco's: "I like Florence. It's very nice. They have everything. People love it there."
If you're feeling especially energetic, you can, as Marco has done, climb to the top of the Duomo, Brunelleschi's masterpiece that crowns the church of Santa Maria del Fiore.
I'm not sure how Marco, who's 6-foot-5, managed the climb. I'm three inches shorter and several times have gotten stuck in the narrow passageways to the top like the Grinch in that chimney. Of course, the close quarters you share as a couple can make that beer-soaked mother-in-law a distant memory.
A parting tip before you start booking your trip. If you want to avoid crowds in any Italian city, plan to go during a soccer final because, as Marco says, "nobody is outside. The street is free; you can do whatever you want. Everybody wants to stay home and watch the game, just like when the Saints when they play."