Thursday, 23 September 2010
Ciao!
The soccer game was TERRIFIC! Unfortunately we only allowed ourselves 1 ½ hours to get there, and it wasn’t enough time – we were probably 5 minutes late. It took us a succession of 3 buses to get across town – with the final bus being stopped by the traffic and crowds getting to the stadium. So off we went, with still a ways to walk, across traffic, up alleys, etc. Got to the stadium and then had to find our entrance – you are only allowed through into your particular area. Mom had taken her little water bottle, which was promptly confiscated; she is definitely the hooligan type! So, purchased another bottle inside – which they physically poured into a paper cup – NO bottles! They were popping popcorn! It’s the first time I’ve ever had anything to eat at a soccer game – and even though they were making something called “hot dogs” which looked very familiar, I was able to manage on popcorn alone! Our seats – up 37 rows and across to our seats, were really good; very good sight lines! AC Milan scored at the beginning of the second half, and Lazio (one of the two teams from Rome) tied it up very near the end of the game. All in all, a very exciting game – it moves so quickly; made me wonder what the Italians must think of baseball! The smoke was an issue, but not a terrible one – didn’t come out smelling as badly as we have on other occasions. Certainly do wish they would ban it altogether at soccer games… Getting home after the game wasn’t too bad. This time we took a local bus to the Otaviano metro station, and from there it was clear sailing back to Bologna. (Again, GREAT location!)
Woke up this morning, and unfortunately Mom reported getting a sore throat. We are traveling with antibiotics, but if this is a cold coming on, we don’t want to over-react…so we’ll see.
Mom and I went over to the grocery store as we were running out of cheese and cold cuts for breakfast – and I just remembered that I forgot the O.J. so may take another run in that direction now! (Note: Just got back with cough syrup for Mom’s cough, as well as sharp provolone cheese and more orange juice for breakfast!)
Mom decided that she’d rather rest this morning than see sights, so R and I headed out, promising to come back and pick her up for lunch. We took the metro over to Piramide to see the pyramid of Caius Cestius, from the 12th century. It was built out of brick and then covered with marble, and is in very good shape! It is proportionately taller than the Egyptian pyramids, and looks quite odd standing out on the street corner!
From there we wanted to head to the Piazza of the Knights of Malta, where neither of us has been before. We located it on the map, but unfortunately, as R pointed out, the map is flat with no relief given – and we were at the bottom of the hill, next to the Tevere, and the desired piazza was way UP on the hill! As we were by then close to the Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) of “Roman Holiday” and “Only You” fame, we stopped for a look. Unfortuantely, WAY too many tourists for us to get a good picture! We did photograph the fountain across the street and one of the Roman temples there.
R’s map reading then directed us to find the bus which went UP in the direction of the Piazza of the Knights, and a lovely bus ride it was! Up past the American Embassy and into one of the loveliest residential neighborhoods we’ve seen yet in Rome! Some stunningly beautiful houses, as well as one or two small hotels which we may investigate for future use. (Except for the fact that this is WAY off the transportation grid of buses or metro!)
Followed the map as best we could, until we came to a piazza that included armed military guards! Decided to ask anyway, and the nice man pointed us to – the keyhole! I’m not joking, all this walking up and down was to get the view through a door’s keyhole! (Granted, a largish keyhole – maybe an inch wide?!) The view is first through the wooden door, then down a long avenue of closely trimmed trees joined together at the top – and then perfectly situated, as though by prior planning – voila, the dome of St. Peter’s! It’s incredible! Neither of us was sure what to expect – but boy, what a view! R tried to capture it with the camera; don’t know exactly what we’ve got. Walked down in the direction of the Circus Maximus, and found a lovely park, again with great views. From there we headed to the Circus Maximus metro station, and a few minutes later, we were back at Piazza Bologna!
One of the articles we brought with us about Rome talked about some great “local” places for lunch, and we decided to try one. We picked Armando di Pantheon, located on a street right next to the Pantheon. Gathered Mom and hopped on the #62 bus. Got off on Via Emanuale Due and walked the two blocks or so to the Pantheon, and found the restaurant with no problem. As it was 1:30, I figured we wouldn’t have a problem getting in, but we were really lucky and got the last free table (as we hadn’t reserved). So – another heavenly meal!
Mom started out with bruschetta with tomatoes – and it tasted like the tomatoes just came out of the garden; absolutely delicious! R had a plate of grilled vegetables which he raved about – and I had bruschetta with olive oil and shaved black truffles on top. Yes, folks, this is going to be another one of those “truffle” kind of meals … can you tell why we picked this particular place? For mains, Mom had a plate of linguine with fish and tomatoes, and R and I both had the cheese ravioli with a cream sauce topped by – you guessed it! – black truffles! YUM!!!! Talk about pig heaven! I was there!! For dessert, we opted for vin santo (a sweet dessert wine) and a plate of Roman cookies – all delicious … but not as delicious as the truffles. I know everyone will be surprised by the fact that we’ve booked in for lunch there tomorrow…which may make the report redundant, but when once I find something I LOVE – I can be pretty repetitious! I had gelato for the walk back to the bus, and we were back in Piazza Bologna by 4 p.m. Yes, it was a long lunch, but we did start rather late…
Naps followed. Up again around 6 and R and I went out to get cough syrup and O.J. Hope the cough syrup works, so that Mom can get a good night’s sleep tonight! Fortunately, this is coming toward the end of the trip, but we do want her to be OK to enjoy some of Venice for the short time we’re there!
More later!
Love,
m
x
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