Rome

Noi arriviamo en Roma! We arrived in Rome! 2 uneventful plane flights on USAir featured seats that reclined by maybe 2 inches, a video monitor that only got the teen movie channels, and charges for headphones. But on time! Customs in Rome could not have been easier with no questions, no scanning of passport, no paperwork, and no passport stamp! Are we officially here?

Anyway, we took the train from the airport to Stazione Terminali and walked a few blocks to our hotel, Luxury Le Griffe, which is conveniently located on a main street that goes down to the historic center. We couldn't check in until 2pm, so we took a walk down Av. Nazionale to the see some of the Roman ruins. Also took in the Trevi fountain which was packed with tourists (see photo) and then found a nice Ristorante/Pizzeria off of the main fountain area for a leisurely lunch on a patio. The restaurant was named Sancto y Profano, “sacred and profane”. We started with the house antipasti featuring hot and cold dishes like eggplant parmesan, salami, olives, artichoke hearts, crepes stuffed with sausage and a spicy red pepper and olive spread. As we anticipated our main courses, the fungi delivery van arrived with wooden trays of fresh porcini and chanterelles. I expressed interest in the mushrooms and our waiter took us inside for a closeup view. Jake got pumpkin and sausage ravioli as his main course and I had the swordfish in lemon and bay leaf sauce, both excellent. A ½ liter of white wine washed it down. Back to the hotel for a 2 hour nap!

Feeling somewhat revived, we went to the nearest bar for an expresso and capuccino and a little cinnamon hazlenut flaky pastry. This energized us enough to go see the Parthenon, an elephant by some famous sculptor, a jesuit cathedral, and the Navaro and Fiori plazas. Rome is beautiful at sunset, in fact the light all day seemed soft and glowing. From Fiori plaza we strolled across the Ponti Sisto to the Trastavere neighborhood, the old Jewish quarter. This was our favorite area so far with narrow winding streets and lots of shops and restaurants. We had a salad and pizza at Pizzeria Scaletti near the main church plaza. On the way home we took a few wrong turns so it was a long walk home. On the other hand, it took us by some more ruins that were quite impressive all lit up (see photo). And now, here's hoping for a good night's sleep!

Jake Says: You all know that one acquires certain expectations about foreign cities. I expected that Rome would have a lot of old buildings in a terrible state of disrepair and piles of architectural rubble. I just didn't expect so much!