Selfies in Rome

We had many wonderful experiences in Rome.  We saw a large assortment of the major tourist destinations, many of which involved great art.  Rome was hot, and crowded with tourists.  Most of the tourists were busy standing in front of me taking selfies.  As a matter of fact, we noticed that the sculptures were even taking selfies.

Borghese Gallery, Rome

Coffee with Alice

Before we left Rome, Taylor and I stopped for coffee with Alice.

Roma Ostiense Train Station.

Eating in Rome

I think we all had the idea that eating in Italy was going to be exceptional.  Well, eating has been more of a chore and the food so-so.

We get up early in the morning, go to a local coffee bar and then head out into the day to pursue seeing and learning everything we can about Rome.  We've tried several, but this one is our favorite coffee bar.

Sciascia Caffe is our favorite.

Margit always has espresso, Taylor always has Americano, Jamar has Cappucino.  We all have cornetto with different fillings.

 Keep in mind that we are doing our sightseeing in the extreme heat. By the time we are ready for lunch our standards are very simple:  Does the restaurant have chairs? Occasionally we stumble onto a good meal, but most have been mediocre.

Mimi and Coco Wine Bar is in a cute neighborhood near the Pantheon.  The best part of the meal was the limoncello that came at the end.

Our dinners have been varied, often a repeat of lunch - the three of us share salad, pizza, maybe pasta. We are trying to behave like the Romans do and have our final dinner after our normal bedtime.  Because it is cooler out, it has actually worked out to eat after 8 pm. Some nights we get food from the bakery across the street and eat at home.  We always have our meal with a good bottle of wine.

Aperol spritz is another option and refreshing after a long hot day.

Today was a game changer.  We started at our favorite coffee shop then walked along the Tiber toward Trastevere.  We found a kiosk at the end of the Ponte Cestio Bridge making shaved ice. We went right up to the window and each ordered our dream fruit concoction.  Finally, amazing food in Rome!

Hand shaved ice.

Taylor's choice.

I chose kiwi lemon.

Margit loved her watermelon.

Feeling happy with wonderful Italian shaved ice in our stomachs, we enjoyed strolling through Trastevere, and then crossed the Ponte Cestio to the Jewish Ghetto where Taylor had read about a good restaurant.  It took quite a bit of work using our maps, and Google maps but we finally found the restaurant.

Soro Margherita is in a deserted square.  When we found it we thought we might be at the rear entrance, but this is the front door.

It was minuscule, but they had one table left out of the six tables in the restaurant.  We tried to order, but the waitress told us that we would have the surprise dishes.  We agreed because she was a little bossy.  Actually she was very bossy.  But, when the food started coming we realized we didn't care about her attitude, because the food was the best we've experienced all week.

We started with fried artichokes. Amazing.  Farfelle with tomatoes and olives.  The most fragrant and flavorful frittata that any of us has ever had.  We kind of wanted one more dish, so the commandant waitress brought us two.  Homemade fettuccine with pesto, and a bucatini with a bolognese sauce. Equally fabulous.

The dishes were all so exquisite that there was no time to take photos before we ate.

We were finally done. We couldn't eat all of the last two dishes.  However, the commandant waitress would not allow it.  She grabbed our bread and started sopping up the left over sauces and shoving it in our mouths.  Yikes.

This waitress was a little crazed as she tried to convince us to clean our plates.

Thinking over our wonderful meal with the crazy waitress, we wondered if she was attempting humor, or if she hated tourists - especially Americans.  We decided that we didn't care because the food was what we dreamed of having in Italy. Perfetto!

Call Me Alice

Those of you who are in touch with me regularly are aware I have of late been disgruntled by my name. Without knowing me, people often assume I am a man.  As a matter of fact, when the barista at Starbucks asks my name I always say, "Alice."

The worst thing that has happened recently is that my bank froze my account, including credit card, because they were sure that I am a man, and the real me is a fraudster trying to hack my own account.  I actually had to send proof that I am female before I was able to access my account that I have used for almost twenty years.  Even, Taylor, by being married to me, was locked out of our money.

Imagine my dismay when I encountered this a few blocks from my apartment near the Vatican:

                             

I am accepting other suggestions of new names.

Waiting your advice.

The Colosseum is Colossal, and Other Sights

I wasn't all that keen to visit the Colosseum or the Forum while in Rome.  I had heard that they are tourist traps and I would have to stand in long lines with huge crowds. I also heard the Colosseum is full of feral cats. None of this proved true and I really enjoyed my time at both sites.

We bought our tickets on line at home.  In spite of what the touts said, we only stood in line for about 40 minutes.  That was enough time to read the guide book and enjoy details.

Margit captured these columns as we waited.  The pock marks are from bronze poachers throughout the ages.

The Colosseum is colossal.  It's not hard to imagine bloody games in this venue with crazed fans cheering on the bedlam. For me it's hard to believe that this was built in A.D 80.

As you look at the Colosseum photo above, imagine the platform toward the bottom of the photo extending over the maze of alleys below.  That is the staging areas for the Gladiators, criminals, slaves and wild animals who were preparing to enter the arena to kill or to be killed.

I know that gladiators, slaves and criminals got killed in the arena, but there were a few peaceful sights looking out the windows.

After leaving the Colosseum, the home of ancient sports, we walked over to the Forum, the home of Rome's politics, religion and commerce.

Interesting photo by Margit, looking down at the Forum buildings

We rounded off our visit to the classics by going to the Pantheon.  It was originally a Roman temple, and is now a Christian church.

Lots of people, but we didn't stand in line, we just walked in.

The open air oculus caught my attention as soon as I walked into the Pantheon. Photo by Margit.

Through chance, I looked to the side and saw the sun shining through the oculus.

A Little Uncertainty

Taylor and I started planning a trip to Italy one year ago with our friend Margit Beerli.  We  plotted and planned a month of touring to a fair thee well. We will spend a week in Rome, then travel north to Tuscany to meet with our friends John and Bruce.  After almost 2 weeks in Tuscany we move on to Florence and have a grand finale in Venice.

No matter how well planned, travel always involves some uncertainty.  About a week before departure, I learned that our Airbnb hostess, Virginia, is not the kind of person who likes to communicate. After not responding to my attempts to make contact with her she insisted her sister Francesca, who is not mentioned on the Airbnb site, had organized our reservation. Learning that someone I had never heard of was in charge of my reservation got me worrying about the status of our apartment in Rome. I never heard further from Virginia, or Francesca.  I guess we'll just go to Rome and hope things turn out.

Then, the day before departure we discovered that bad weather in New York City would impact our flight plans.  Less than 24 hours before take off and we were suddenly on high alert, trying to change airline flights booked last January.  Our hours of waiting to speak to Delta representatives paid off.  We are re booked through Atlanta and are ready to go. Here's hoping we also have an apartment to stay in.

The night before take off, re booking our tickets to Rome.  We are still smiling.

At the airport in Atlanta and still in a good mood.  Both Taylor and Margit are plugged into their devices.  Taylor shares Alison Kraus singing "Atlanta" with Jamar.  Once we get on the plane it's only 9 more hours to Rome.

We made it.  We landed in Rome.  Our driver was not at the airport to pick us up, but after a phone call he appeared.  Neither Virginia nor Francesca showed up to let us into the apartment.  Barbara welcomed us instead. What's important is we have an apartment, even though we've never seen the hostess listed on Airbnb. It's all highly irregular, but we are not about to start asking questions.  What is important is WE ARE HERE.

After recovering a bit from travelling, we strolled to the Vatican from our apartment.  Here is St Peter's Square.

Shopping near the Vatican for religious gear. Wooden Pinocchio puppets are right behind Mary.

Bridge over the Tiber.

Castello Sant'Angelo.

We ended our evening stroll with dinner at a cafe sidewalk (I still can't believe we ate dinner after 8 p.m.) and a good bottle of Chardonnay.

Calamari, mussels and shrimp.

Now, all we have to do is return to our apartment and sleep off the jet lag.  I think we can do it.