It's a new dawn, it's a new day...our last day of our "ROMAN HOLIDAY" : (

Today is a low-key easy day planned. We awoke around 7:30 - Ross and Caroline around 8:30AM and slowly had breakfast and got ready. We're planning on just roaming around places that interested us yesterday that we didn't get a chance to see, and then we're going to pick up food and have a picnic at the Borghese Gardens before touring Galleria Borghese around 1PM.

A note on yesterday's post (A Funny thing happened on the way to the Forum):
First of all, it wasn't THAT funny. But in hindsight, we wore ourselves out from dawn til dusk, and looking back on it I'm hysterical. I'd venture to say no sane travel agent or tour director would schedule the day that we had ahead, but we DID it! Based on the fact that we just weren't up to the Colosseum the day before, we had to do it yesterday. And it was amazing. To view the Roman Forum and Colosseum, where the oldest structures of the ancient city are located, was just amazing. BUT it was exhausting too - hot, lots of people, alot of history to take in etc.

 THEN - we went on a 4 hour private tour of the Vatican. Take it from me - that is a very very very long time - especially when you've walked in the dirt and sand at the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine.

But the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, where we saw Michelangelo's ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement (among the crowds). But St Peter's Square was amazing and the Basilica was incredible. We had no idea that it has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world.

And no photos were allowed in the museums, but I wanted to place one or two in the blog to remember our visit.

One more pic from yesterday - we DID the the world famous "La Pieta" inside the Vatican Church (which is the world's largest church btw):

AND (although no picture proof) the Pope was actually holding Mass inside the church right in front of us! Very cool experience.

Another photo from inside:

We picked up a lovely little lunch at Despar (market around the corner from our hotel):

and headed over the the Borghese Gardens for a picnic!

It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon. "A bottle of white..."

Then, it was on to the Galleria Borghese:

The gallery houses the world's largest private art collection - amassed by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the 17th century. It's chock full of sculptures and paintings and frescos - largely by Bernini and Caravaggio. Just beautiful.

VIA VENETO
The area where our hotel is located is stunning. It's definitely worth strolling down when in Rome - at one end is the Hotel Eden (where we're having a rooftop drink this evening, and where you can supposedly get an incredible view of the dome of St Peter's as well as the rest of Rome). Midpoint is our hotel and the American Embassy (at via Boncompagni). And at the other end are the Monk Bones - Santa Maria della Concezione - whose crypt is decorated with skulls and bones of 4000 monks buried there between 1528 and 1870.

The Hotel Excelsior has been a favorite place of ours to have a late night digestivo:

AND THIS is our new favorite drink, caipiroska (vodka, fresh lime juice and brown sugar):

We dined at La Pentolaccia (sans Caroline, who was feeling a bit puny this evening sadly), and it was fantastic:

First, MY eggplant parmegianna - the best EVER!!!!

Doug's Lobster and Fettucine Mmmmmmmmmm:

And Ross' veal with pasta - so so so good!

Note: we also enjoyed tiramisu, however, it was devoured immediately upon being placed in the center of our table, thus, no photo...

Tomorrow it's up and at em, and sadly, "Arrivederci Roma." We catch a train to Florence about 11:30AM (the train station is 1100 yards from our hotel). Rome has been a blast!

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum....

Today we got up early (Ross actually woke US up at 7:10AM!!! But we got some MUCH needed sleep!), showered etc., and we headed out on foot for the Colosseum.

And by "on foot" I mean we walked and walked and walked and walked. For miles...

We then headed to Palatine Hill and then to the Roman Forum (the sight of much Chariot racing).

And we also rested a bit - out of the sun!

And had to get our bearings (or how do we get the $*#@ out of here and get to lunch????)!

More importantly, we had such a fabulous lunch at Angelino Ai Fori - much needed and much enjoyed.

We are now resting up for our tour of the Vatican in an hour...

UPDATE:

Just returned from the Vatican...All I can say at the moment is, "Wow."

 It was vast and was a bit of a sensory overload. Amazing architecture, art, mosaics, frescos, and we were in the church as the Pope was giving Mass. But it was a 4 hour overload. Loved our guide, Mary. But, it's going to take a bit of time to digest the afternoon. We're all donning our best "tour a Catholic icon" outfits - conservative and no shoulders, midriffs (that was a hard one) or knees may be showing while in St Peter's. We tried our best...

Following the Vatican, we got a cab to Trastevere where we stopped immediately for refreshments, while we figured out our next move. We tried to discuss the jam packed day, and then we headed off to dinner. Somehow, some way, Doug found the pizza place I had wanted to go to - it's on number "best of Italy" pizza restaurant lists and for good reason. It was to die for.

DAR POETA

We then went to one of the best gelato places in the city, Fior de Luna. Again, to die for.

After our gelatos (mine was dark chocolate and hazelnut if you must know), we strolled through Trastevere, which is just the most charming area of Rome.

 There are fabulous cafeS after fabulous cafes, cobblestone streets, flowers everywhere, and a square with a sort of mini amphitheater with on this night a jazz trio playing. Utterly charming and enticing, and we didn't really want to leave. But we decided to head back toward our hotel and ambled over to the River Tiber and watched the sun set - beautiful and romantic to say the least.

We're back at the hotel to shower and change and go out for a laid back evening together. So far, we love love love Rome though...

When in Rome...

Yes, we are finally here! After hooking up with Ross at the airport and catching up in the Delta Sky Club, we boarded a nonstop flight to Rome. Had a few frustrations, as Delta Airlines switched planes on us, and therefore our seat assignments changed, but we worked it out with other passengers. We actually arrived 20 minutes earlier than planned. We didn't get a whole lot of sleep on the plane, in spite of trying:

We easily got our luggage and were on our way.

A driver from our hotel (The Rose Garden Palace) picked us up, and we were off for the 30-40 minute drive to the hotel.

We arrive at the hotel at 9:45AM, checked in, and dropped our luggage since our rooms weren't quite ready, and we decided to walk to see the Spanish Steps.

Our hotel is located directly across from the impressive US Embassy:

While the fountain, steps and architecture are impressive, the area leaves a lot to be desired from Elvis-like paintings for sale, venders hawking their parasols and forcing roses on you (only to then ask for money later) to cheesy "gladiators" roaming around hoping you'll ask to take their picture (again, for a price). We went and then moved on.

There are 137 white marble steps that cascade down from the Trinita dei Monti church to Piazza di Spagna. They were completed in 1726 and got their name from the Spanish Embassy who set up shop in the piazza in the early 17th century. But it was the French who paid for the steps' construction to create a grand entrance to the French-owned Trinita dei Monti church. The fountain at the bottom of the Spanish Steps is called Fontana della Barcaccia and it was built in 1629 by Bernini's father, Pietro, in memory of the flood of 1598).

We then trekked over to Trevi Fountain (and perused fabulous shops along the way such as Gucci, Fendi, Bulgari etc.). It was beautiful (other than the thousands of people crowded around it I mean). We did the ubiquitous coin toss and photo shoot and decided we were then ready for food.

The "over the left shoulder toss" at Trevi Fountain is said to ensure your returning to Rome. The Italian government welcomes the tradition - euros stay in the city treasury and foreign currencies are donated to the Red Cross.

We then decided we were ready for food and set off to search. We stumbled into a place (Al Presidente, via in arcione) as we headed back to our hotel. They were warm and welcoming, and we quickly sat down and dined al fresco with a cool breeze to enjoy. Unfortunately we wolfed down our appetizer before I could grab a camera, but let me tell you it was delicioso!!! It consisted of a platter of freshly sliced prosciutto (best I've ever tasted), thinly sliced melon, fresh mozzerella and tomatoes drizzled with basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil AND a very thinly sliced salami covered in freshly shaved parmesan. As if that wasn't enough, we each ordered pizzas.

After stuffing ourselves silly, we hiked back to the hotel and got to our rooms, unloaded and crashed. We are going to be exploring more this afternoon (as best we can going on fumes!) and have dinner reservations at Roscioli - supposed to be great!

Later - Ciao!

UPDATE:

We slowly recuperated and headed out to explore our neighborhood. Via Veneto is just a beautiful street to stroll along. We scoped out Despara, a small grocery store, that has wines, liquors, and great looking fruit, cheeses, breads etc. - so we'll go there and stock up on things for a planned picnic on Sunday.

Then we went to Harry's Bar (whose Venice location is famed for creating the Bellini), and again we sat outside and people-watched while (this time) sipping Bellini's and Rossini's in a picture perfect setting.



Now it's off to Roscioli for dinner and then an early night - whew!

ROSCIOLI! (My new favorite restaurant in Rome)

La Burrata
Burrata from Andria with Black Pepper from Malesia
and semi-dried cherry tomatoes from Pachino

Doug's Carbonara:

Spaghettone di Gragnano with guanciale (spiced bacon) from Conero,
Three kind of peppers, the egg from Paolo Parisi, pecorino romano dop

Ross and I had:

La Matriciana o Amatriciana
Bombolotto paffuto (short maccheroni)with tomatoes ‘Miracolo di San Genna-
ro’, guanciale (spiced bacon) from Conero and pecorino romano dop

And Caroline's - Spaghetti Amatriciana with the addition of anchovies:

All so so wonderful!

We stopped for a gelato for dessert, and then we went to the Hotel Excelsior for a digestivo!

Then it was back to our hotel for an early bedtime! Not a bad first day!

 Tomorrow is a packed full day beginning with a long trek to the Colosseum.

 The Colosseum is the prototype for every modern sports arena. In ancient Rome it was THE spot for gladiator contests, chariot fights and wild beast shows (lions, bears, tigers etc. would emerge and be slaughtered by "beast slayers" - fun huh?). Apparently emperors gained power and prestige from the shows they offered up to the crowds - the more bloody the better. The word "arena" is Latin for "sand" which is what was spread over the bottom to soak up the blood.

Emperor Vespasian started construction in AD 72.

 Amazing....See you tomorrow!

TOMORROW: ITALY (or in other words---bring on the CARBS)!!!!

Well, after 5-6 months of reserving, planning, itinerary honing, booking, researching and low-carbing(!), departure day is about to arrive. We're packed, prepped with passports, travel-size essentials, walking shoes, phrase books, tickets, vouchers, lists, light-weight luggage, laptops, ipods/ipads and sunscreen and ready to hit Rome tomorrow (well actually we don't arrive until the following day, Friday, July 15th). It's a 9+ hour direct flight to Rome from Atlanta, and we hope to hit the ground running when we get there - at 8:25AM!

A few mundane housekeeping items left to cross off today, and then we are good to go!

Then, as of noon Thursday: Doug, Caroline and I meet Ross at the Atlanta airport (who is flying in from Chicago), and then it's Arrivederchi USA and Buon Giorno Italia!

My goal is to blog along the way, but I'm not 100% sure about the wi-fi availability, so I'll do the best I can during our 2 weeks abroad - should be interesting to say the least. Until my next post....ciao!!!!

Oh yes....

Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome: caffe shakerato: "There are so many ways to order coffee in Rome. I think someone told me that there are over forty ways Romans ask for their coffee in a bar...."

From Elizabeth:
My go-to treat is of course a granita di cafe. But it is a treat, more of a dessert than a post meal pick me up.

Domenico comes home most days for lunch, and after we eat we walk Pico towards Via dei Serpenti or Via Boschetto for a coffee. That would be an espresso. We alternate between The Pope’s Coffee and Er Baretto. Both make perfect espressos, served in pre-heated cups. Hot hot hot.

But they also serve the summertime alternative: caffe shakerato. Don’t you love it when English words are used to create completely new Italian words by adding on an ‘ino’ or ‘ato’? In this case you’ve probably already guessed what this drink is. It’s a caffe that’s been shaken. Shakerato. Literally.

I’m not sure when this drink started turning up in Italian bars. I suspect it migrated from Greece, where Nescafe is added to ice and water and then shaken to create a luscious and sweet version of ice coffee.

The Italian Shakerato is a much more minimal and intense affair. A freshly pulled espresso, poured in a cocktail shaker with a bit of sugar. Abundant ice, a thirty second hard shake. And then poured ever so elegantly into a stemmed glass.

Perfect.

But remember I said the temperature has climbed into oven territory? The other day we couldn’t even face the block long walk under the midday sun to go get a cold coffee. So I decided to make us each one at home. As per instructions I added just a bit of sugar, which would insure I got a nice foamy head. Then I pulled out the martini glasses about six hours ahead of cocktail time.

All very elegant. And very cool. And enough caffeine to get us both through the few hours left to a sultry Roman work day.




Yes, we leave in >3 days...

Need pics????

Gladly ---

How about this??? Amatriciana please....

More from Elizabeth:

Perilli.

This old fashioned Testaccio trattoria has been going strong since 1911. And even if they recently spruced up the place, the important things remain the same. Certainly the food, and - I suspect - even some of the waiters, haven’t changed in decades.

I guess some people are a bit put off by the fact that it feels like an insider’s only-Roman place to go. And in fact, you’ll find few tourists there (especially at Sunday lunch). It always has been, and remains, a place frequented by regulars.

While I love the waiters, and the slightly frumpy over-lit, mural-covered dining room, of course what keeps me coming back is the food. My favorite dish: hands down the carbonara. This is (and you heard it here) the best carbonara in Rome. Al dente rigatoni bathed in a wet gooey coating of egg and cheese, studded with huge chewy chunks of guanciale. I could eat it three times a day, every day.

My daughter Sophie prefers (although prefers is putting it lightly - rather ‘would kill for’) the Amatriciana. This is her obsession and if she could stop by on the airport on her way back to London and fill up her suitcase with Perilli’s Amatriciana she would do so.

One word (not sure it's a word?) --- YUM!

And check out this little gem near where we're staying:

http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com/2011/07/neighborhood-bar-lotti.html