Day 26: a chill farewell to Rome

Today was our final day in Rome. I got up a few hours before S, with full intention of running. Instead, my ankle suggested I stay in. Yesterday, I slammed it into a pew in a church, and it was still smarting. Discretion being the better part of valor, I stayed in. Sarah took the morning off while I went out to do some shopping and start the day. I started off by hitting a lovely market in the nearby piazza (Campo de Fiori), but soon started wandering the streets, looking for things to photograph.

S and I met met at The Pantheon, which is one of my favorite places in Rome. She was less than thrilled, frustrated at the gross appropriation of culture and stuff that the early Christians did. Still, the building is magnificent. There's a huge open hole in the center of the roof, and if you position yourself just right, it looks like you're an angel! See:?:!!?

The rest of the building is also awesome!

After we met up, we grabbed lunch and then spent most of the afternoon shopping. Occasionally, we'd stop for a drink or a bite. Then, our last dinner in Europe! S had gnocchi with pesto (why mess with a classic?), and I had a great pasta dish with seafood (which was terrific, except for the fish bones, which seemed to be scattered throughout). Afterwards, gelato! We went back to San Crispini, the place we hit a couple of nights ago. S had chocolate again, and this time, I had a scoop of banana and a scoop of cinnamon cream. The banana was seriously the best banana ice cream or gelato or yogurt I've ever had. Wow!

At dinner, S and I had a nice talk about our favorite parts of the trip and what we would do if we found ourselves with another four weeks to travel Europe. Food for thought...

Tomorrow, we leave bright and early for Philly, then St. Louis! This has been a great trip, but we're both really looking forward to being back on home soil!

Day 25: Colosseum and churches

(short post today. S and I are both a little grumpy)

Today was our big crowds day, with a trip to the Colosseum! We managed to navigate the bus system and make our way to this huge place with huge lines. It was hot hot hot, but eventually we got inside and onto a tour:

(Smile! You're in an old place!)

After we toured the site itself, we went through a little museum on-site, which was more or less dedicated to the reign of Nero.

(the capital of a column)

After the Colosseum, we walked back into town, had some lunch (melon and prosciutto, gnocchi with swordfish, eggplant parm), and set to work on the busy task of seeing some beautiful churches!

After the churches, we went shopping and found some lovely leather bags.

For dinner, we were hoping to have Beth (one of my students) and her friend Steph over for food, but the markets were all closed. Instead, we went out for dinner and gelato.

Okay, one more full day here before we head back to the states!

Day 24: Firenze!

S and I made it to the train station and on board the 10.45 to Firenze. On the train, we met a family from DC who was just starting out their vacation: Firenze, Sorrento, Rome, and many smaller cities, all in 12 days (with two young boys!). Yikes!

(The Florentine train station: retro on the inside. fascist on the outside)

Our day in Firenze with Liz was terrific! We met her in Piazza Republica, and she took us to a yummy spot for lunch. Appetizers were melon, prosciutto, salumi, and liver/toast. The meal was ravioli. Dessert was a torte. Then, biscotti and booze.

After lunch. Liz took us to the Duomo for a little bit of history talking. She's a full-time art historian, so she knows this stuff pretty well. We talked about the outside of the church, the inside, the wool merchants, bible stories, drawing in perspective, wars, battles, balls, and foot traffic.

(The Duomo lurks in the background, like a rust-colored Stay-Pufft Marshmallow Man)

(Inside the Duomo)

(More history)

So much talking that we deserved some coffee!

Post-coffee was a time for shopping. S bought a cute pair of shoes and a scarf (I bought a silk tie earlier). We bought a couple of gifts for some people back home, sniffed inside a chocolate shop, and headed across the river for an afternoon cocktail (the sun was brutally hot today,so many breaks were in order). I had a Campari & soda, Liz had a Campari & OJ, and S had a fruit smoothie (with a whole passionfruit as a garnish!).

(John the Baptist, in one of the few modern pieces of sculpture in town)

Post-cocktail, we headed across the river to check out some more beautiful statuary and learn us some history. Liz is exceptionally knowledgeable, and she was able to answer all of our weirdo questions with (what seemed to us to be) exceptional skill.

(S rubbing the Boar's nose, ensuring another trip to Italy - this is slightly grosser than throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain)

(S and Liz enjoying the long shadows of early evening)

(This is not the real David. It is a digital reproduction of a record of light hitting a sensor, having bounced off a copy of THE David)

(I don' t know what this is, but it freaked me out)

(The Virginia Beach Neptune Festival Parade would be much more exciting if all of the King Neptunes had to be naked)

On the way back to the train station, we picked up some pizza for the rails. Back at the train station, we tried unsuccessfully to change our train reservation back to Rome (we missed our earlier train, but knew we could just rebook). Liz helped us navigate the computer system, but it failed us. Then, she tried to talk to a clerk, but the clerk office closed. Finally, she talked to the conductor of our new train, explained that both the computer kiosk and the human beings failed us. The conductor took pity on us and let us board our new train without rebooking.

The pizza was great! S had a margherita pie, and I had a siciliano pie (eggplant, tomato, cheese, and goodness). The pizza place we got takeout from apparently had part of Jersey Shore filmed at it, so keep your eye out for Pizzeria O'Vesuvio, if you like watching crap TV.

I'm typing from the train home right now. iPads rock! Colosseum tomorrow!

Day 23: Trastevere, old things, new things, and weird gelato

Today I ran Villa Borghese, a park to the north of the main historical center. There were lots of trees, a lake, some boats, and plenty of stairs. It was a nice run - much nicer than the run on Circus Maximus yesterday.

S and I got a late start out the door, but we made up for lost time with a long long walk. We started with breakfast right around the corner from our hotel. From there, we ran a couple of errands (finally got those Father's Day postcards in the mail!), found a lovely art shop, and hit a shoe store before crossing the Tiber into Trastevere, a neighborhood of Rome that feels more small-town-y. we wandered there for a while, through piazzas that look like this:

and like this:
... ducking into churches and shops along the way. I wanted to see Bramante's Tempietto, which is in Trastevere, so we sought it out. It's on top of one of the seven hills of Rome, and while we were up there, we found this big old fountain:

From the top of the hill, you can see most of Rome laid out in front of you.

The Tempietto was locked away, so we weren't able to get a good shot of it, but after we descended the hill, we continued through Trastevere, where we found a tailor who hand-stitched neckties. Some of his work was truly beautiful, and he was very generous in showing it to us. He didn't speak a lick of English (nor we Italian), but that didn't stop any of us from talking neckties and stitching.

We ducked into the church of St. Cecilia, which sits on top of some Roman ruins (don't look surprised - ALL OF ROME sits on top of Roman ruins). For a few bucks, you could descend beneath the church and have a look around (apparently, one of the ruins beneath the church is St. Cecilia's house!):

After St. Cecilia, we found a little modern bar to grab a drink and a snack. I had a compari and soda (mmmmm), and we were thankful for all of the modern art books that were laying around as a balance to the excessive history that we'd been seeing during the day.

From there, we headed back across the Tiber, past some funky statuary, past the Pantheon, past the Spanish Steps, and then to a small trattoria for dinner. We split a pasta course (cannelloni with ricotta and spinach) and each had a secondi. S's veal meatballs were incredible, but I didn't really enjoy my tripe. I've had it a number of times with different preparations, and I think I can confidently say that I just don't care for it. Still, dinner was good, and it set us up nicely for gelato at Il gelato di San Crispino, which came highly recommended on the internet. It lived up to expectations. S had chocolate (natch), and I had a half-and-half of whiskey and honey. All three flavors were delicious, and a new bar has been set for gelato!

Post-gelato, we stopped off at Trevi Fountain for a photograph before heading home. We passed by The Pantheon once again:

Tomorrow, we head north to Firenze to see the city for a day. We're meeting Liz, an old friend of mine from high school. I can't remember the last time I saw her, but it's been at least 10 years!

Day 22: Recharging the Batteries

After the last few days of much physical exertion on the coast, S and I both needed a battery recharge. I slept for 9 hours last night, which is unusual for me. S, not to be outdone, slept for approximately 13. So, she wins.

I got up this morning and went for a run. We're not too far from the Tiber, so I ran down the river and then looped around Circus Maximus before headed home. Then, I got cleaned up, picked up some breakfast (why yes, that big hunk of dough DOES have an entire apple inside!), and did some photo editing. Once S woke, it became clear that she was not interested in going outside during the daytime (her batteries take longer to recharge than mine), so I left for some exploration on my own. First stop, Piazza Navona:

This was one of the first places in Rome that I connected with, so I like returning there. I tried to find the place where I had an amazing pizza stregata a few years ago, but I think the place may have closed down. Le sigh.

Leaving the piazza (it's hot, and there's no shade), I wandered some narrow streets, enjoying the shade:

And then found myself at the Pantheon:

And the Spanish Steps. I didn't hear much Spanish at the steps - mostly English.

After the Spanish Steps, I wandered across the Tiber, had a campari & soda to recharge, meandered through a street fair, and found myself looking down the street at St. Peter's basilica. Since S had expressed uninterest in it, I thought I'd take the opportunity to check it out again (it's been 10 years since my last visit). The afternoon sun shone steep:

And I found these marble-painted Bose 101 loudspeakers that are part of the reinforcement system.

I made a couple of audio recordings, then zipped on back to home to check on S.

Back at home, S was up, moving around, and had started the laundry. We chilled for a while before heading out for dinner. We wandered towards the Jewish Ghetto and passed a few kosher places (how can you not put sausage AND cheese on a pizza?) before finding a little place called Il Portico. They had an extensive menu, full of pizzas, pastas, secondis, and salads. We sat at a table in the piazza next to another American couple, Aaron & Taiya. They were from Ellicot City in Maryland, and we ended up striking up a conversation over dinner. Sarah had a sausage pizza (delish), and I had Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe, which is pasta with pecorino cheese and black pepper. Both dishes were great! We also split a cheese & pear salad, which was less than thrilling. Also, I had some house wine.

After dinner, S, Aaron, Taiya, and I wandered over to Piazza Navona for gelato and people-watching. The piazza is lovely at night - and MUCH cooler than it was during the day!

Tomorrow, we're planning on rising early, doing some outdoor things, and then spending the afternoon inside the a/c - maybe a museum? It's funny - I don't really think of Rome as a museum kind of town - I think of the whole town as being one large museum...