You are what you Eataly: Batali & Bastianich slow food mecca

Fifty-thousand square feet of food heaven could be the best way to describe the latest addition to NY's already vast foodcentric culture.

Located in the Flatiron district, Eataly, (200 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10003, 646.398.5100) the ambitious Italian slow food emporium opened three weeks ago. 

Plans include a 300-seat partially covered rooftop biergarten to open in November as well as a cooking school headed by master chef Lidia Bastianich. 

Choose from more than a dozen restaurants and food stalls for meals and takeaway and shop for everything from housewares to provisions and wines - even a vegetable butcher

Eataly New York is the project of chef Mario Batali and restaurateur and vineyard owner Joe Bastianich,

Eater has the Early Word on the Eataly experience.

You are what you Eataly: Batali and Bastianich slow food mecca

Fifty-thousand square feet of food heaven could be the best way to describe the latest addition to NY's already vast foodcentric culture.

Located in the Flatiron district, Eataly, (200 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10003, 646.398.5100) the ambitious Italian slow food emporium opened three weeks ago. 

Plans include a 300-seat partially covered rooftop biergarten to open in November as well as a cooking school headed by master chef Lidia Bastianich. 

Choose from more than a dozen restaurants and food stalls for meals and takeaway and shop for everything from housewares to provisions and wines - even a vegetable butcher

Eataly New York is the project of chef Mario Batali and restaurateur and vineyard owner Joe Bastianich,

Eater has the Early Word on the Eataly experience.

2010 Peace March to Assisi

The 2010 Peace March from Perugia to Assisi is planned for Sunday, May 16.

The March for Peace starts in the center of Perugia, capital city of Umbria, and proceeds to Assisi, the City of Peace, about 18 miles away.

People of all ages and nationalities, lay and religious representatives and organizations from all over Italy and around the world walk side by side to the highest point in Assisi for a peaceful demonstration at the Rocca Maggiore, the ruined castle that overlooks the Basilica of St. Francis and the city below.

Read more at Italian Notebook.

Italian Notebook brings the best of Italy for holidays

We at Eat. Drink. Memory. love Italian Notebook, the daily scoop on all things fabulously Italian for the holidays and every day.

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Meanwhile, check out what Italian Notebook has to say about the tradition of the Christkindlmarkt.

Bolzano/Bozen, Alto-Adige - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Bolzano/Bozen as tourists arrive from all over Italy for our traditional Christmas market, the Christkindlmarkt, a German-style Christmas market that isn’t typical elsewhere in Italy.

Towering above the market stalls is a giant Christmas tree with plenty of twinkling lights. There's a diverse selection of holiday ornaments to buy, including stars, gnomes and even some skiing reindeer as a little reminder that we’re in the Alps.

And then there are the sweets. There’s plenty to munch: cookies, lebkuchen (chocolate-covered gingerbread), Christmas stollen, and the local Bozner cake, dark and moist with nuts and candied fruit. Additional flavors of the local strudel make an appearance, too — try some tasty apricot along with the always-reliable apple.

To keep warm when the snow starts falling, sample the glühwein (mulled wine) or the Tyrolean hot orange punch (a personal favorite!), with or without added rum. The festivities run until December 23rd.

Buon Natale and Fröhliche Weihnachten from Bolzano/Bozen!

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-- Contributed by Lee McIntyre (see bio), Freelance writer and photographer. Author of the book A Year of One a Days.