Our old friend, the Appian Way!

Friday, 24 September 2010

Ciao!

Well, our last full day in Roma! Will be very sorry to leave – we’ve had such a lovely time here, and the weather has been so terrific – oh well, we’ll just have to come back again some time!

Up at the usual time this morning, and, while Mom says her throat is much better, and she really only has the cough, she decided to stay close to the apartment. (Note: the cough syrup we got last night seems to really do the trick, as I don’t think she coughed at all last night!) So, R and I were on our own for a bit more sightseeing! We had thought about several different things – but finally decided on the one closest to our heart – a stroll down the Appian Way just outside the Porto Sebastiano here in Rome.

Took the metro to Circo Maximo and caught a 118 bus. Quite a traffic jam with everybody trying to get through the same small – one lane – gate at the same time, but eventually we were through it and popped out the other side into the outskirts of Rome. Followed the road past the Quo Vadis church and several different catacombs and finally got out at the basilica of San Sebastiano. From here we had a nice, mostly no cars, walk for a mile or more. We passed the Circus Massenzio, and it was open this time, unlike other times we’ve been by here! Had a good look around the complex – remains of a temple and a house, but the best thing is the excavation of the ancient Circus! Just like Circus Maximus on the other side of the Forum, it’s a huge plot of land – but there are much better remains here than the Circus Maximus, and one is able to get a much better idea of how it must have been set up – and you can almost imagine chariot races going on there! (Go, Ben!) Just down the road from this is the huge tomb of Cecelia Matella, which was also open. We would have liked to walk further, but as time was getting on, we opted for catching the 660 bus back to the closest metro station, and training back into town and to the apartment.

Mom was ready to leave when we got here, and it was starting to rain! Looks like the weather may indeed be changing, because though it’s still nice and mild, the sky has been very overcast since noon. (Also, R reports that we may get rain in Venice!) Mom has mislaid her umbrella, so we were able to procure one for her from a street vendor – fortunately just cruising past as we were making for the bus stop. Nice albeit VERY bumpy ride into the center of town, and before we knew it, we were off near the Pantheon and to the Armando al Pantheon restaurant for our 1 p.m. lunch reservation.

I had a complete repeat of yesterday’s lunch – warned you! Bruschetta with black truffles to start with; breathtaking! And ravioli with cream sauce and truffles for a main course … heaven! So that you know I’m not the only one into ruts, Mom repeated her bruschetta with fresh tomatoes from yesterday, but this time, both she and R had the Friday special – bacala, which is salt cod in a tomato sauce with potatoes. R also had bruschetta, but this time with fresh anchovies for starters … hmmm…Mom and R had a red dessert wine to finish. I waited until we were outside to finish my lunch – great gelato at the store around the corner! YUM!

Back then, on the #62 bus, and figure we’ll in for the duration. The apartment is as clean as it can be without major cleaning supplies (we just have to leave the place “tidy”) and we just have to pack, but the plan is for us to head out tomorrow morning about 9 a.m. (I know it is WAY early for a 10:45 a.m. train, but there is a fair amount of luggage to move, and R likes to be there early, as do I!
We picked up some walk-away pizza if anyone is at all hungry tonight, but I rather have my doubts!

So – the next time I’ll be blogging will hopefully be tomorrow night from Venice! (Hard to believe that we will go from Rome to Venice in 3 hours 38 minutes! That’s really moving!) I just re-read the info about our hotel, and it looks like it’s wifi only in the lobby, but shouldn’t be a problem, just as long as we have a connection somewhere! Plan on mostly riding boats, our favorite thing to do in Venice, but we’ll see!

Lots of love,
m
x

And as always...food!

A pyramid, a keyhole and truffles!

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

And last but not least, lunch!

And a few more of St. John Lateran...

Gotta love those mini-buses!

Wednesday, 22 September, 2010

Ciao!

Another very busy and delightful day – and it’s not over yet! We still have the soccer match tonight, but as it doesn’t begin until 8:45 p.m. and there is no telling what time we’ll be back to the flat, I’ve decided to write now so that I can do the soccer game in the morning.

One of the results of having a really nice lunch is that one is not terribly hungry in the evening! Thus, last night, we decided that as no one was really enthused about going out for dinner, we would get some “walk away” pizza – pizza by the slice that is sold from little shops all over town. Visited one of them and got some very good pizza – slices of plain pizza (Marguerite – tomato sauce and cheese) and then some pizza with grilled vegetables – zucchini and eggplant. Both very good, and we went to bed very happy around 10!

This morning, we decided to explore the Piazza del Popolo and surrounding area, as we had yet to even see the Spanish Steps. Took the trusty #62 down to Via Del Corso and caught a cute little 117 bus. (One of the little electric buses like we took yesterday. I saw today, though, that it says it can hold 8 people seating, and 22 people standing! Right! Talk about sardines in a can or clowns coming out of a car!) This took us to the end of Via del Babuino, where we got off and headed to Santa Maria del Popolo. Lovely church; (featured in “Angels and Demons”). From there we recrossed the piazza to Santa Maria del Mirocoli, one of the twin churches at that end of the piazza. We then walked down Via Del Corso toward the Spanish Steps, looking in some really lovely store windows. It’s rather odd, as the stores are putting out all their winter things – wool, sweaters, and of course lots of fur – made me wish for cooler weather in Tucson, and a chance to wear things like that – only for a few minutes, though!

The Spanish Steps were beginning to fill up for the day (not many kids, as I’m thinking most of them are in school, but definitely with tour groups!). We used the opportunity of our knowledge of Rome to good advantage – there is a lovely McDonald’s right there – clean bathrooms and all! Took the opportunity for a sit-down, and Mom had her first cup of café Americano (American coffee) in days! She said it was wonderful!

Having still quite a bit of time before lunch, we decided to take the 116 mini-bus out to the basilica of San Giovanni Lateran. It’s a bit past the Coliseum, and we had a nice albeit bumpy ride out. We hadn’t been to St. John Lateran in years, and to be honest, I had forgotten what an incredibly impressive church it is! The ceilings are truly incredible – in several places, they have more than full-size statues that are gilded and attached to the ceiling in such a way that they look like they are standing up! We spent quite a time inside, including the cloister and the treasury – very, very impressive, and I would put it only second to St. Peter’s Basilica in grandeur. In fact, for hundreds of years, it was the traditional Catholic residence of the Popes – which I suppose explains the impressiveness! Across the street from the Basilica is a separate building that contains the alleged steps from the house of Pontius Pilate up which Christ walked on his way to being condemned. There is a long story on how they got to Rome, but they can be seen now (even though they are covered in wood, with the stone peaking out) and even mounted, as long as it is done on the knees. We didn’t avail ourselves of that opportunity.
We got a little cross-wise on our return to Rome – R getting caught up by the world’s longest traffic light, and Mom and I reaching the little 117 first … on we went, and off the 117 went – still leaving R at the traffic light! Oh my!! Mom and I took the bus back to Via Del Corso, where we got off – and the next 117 was just a minute or so behind – and there was Robert, so what was lost was found! (Good thing, though, as I didn’t have my cell phone with me…)

On to lunch! The only thing that Mom said she wanted to do in Rome was to eat in one of the glassed-in restaurants on the Via Veneto that she remembers so fondly. So, today was that day! We picked Café Alex, right in front of the Hotel Alexandra where we had stayed once. Almost had the place to ourselves! We wanted to eat a good lunch, as no telling what/if/when dinner might be. Mom had eggplant parmigiana to start, followed by a large mixed salad with lettuce, hard boiled eggs, cheese, carrots, tomatoes and corn. R had a caponata of grilled eggplant, celery, onion and olives (very similar to one he makes at home, but this was served warm and was terrific!) to start, followed by a lovely seebass (I’m using the spelling on the menu!) with an olive tapenade. I had a plate of spaghetti alla Norma (red sauce with eggplant and goat cheese) to start, followed by a grilled chicken breast with balsamic vinegar, fresh cherry tomatoes and mixed lettuce. It was GREAT! For dessert, R had a dish of mixed fresh fruit, and Mom had a bowl of strawberries and vanilla ice cream. I passed on dessert, requesting gelato on the way home. Washed everything down with another great bottle of Frascati (I know it’s becoming monotonous, but it’s wonderful wine that doesn’t really travel well – but we are SO close to Frascati that you can see it from Rome!)

Back on the #62 and to Piazza Bologna. Really, we are in such a terrific transportation hub! Stopped and got a chocolate and stratciatella cone – yummy!

Then upstairs for wonderful naps – a solid two hours, minimum, for all – (Mom still sleeping!) – which I’m sure we’re going to need to get through tonight’s soccer game – which is already presenting problems, as we are in Rome, and the home team is Lazio – but I’ll be rooting for AC Milan! I’ll just have to do it very quietly…

Much love!
m
x

And last but not least...