Since Evan had never been to Italy before I made it my responsibility to show him "the highlights". I think most would agree that Italy's shining stars are Venice, Florence, and Rome. I've been to all three cities multiple times and lived in Florence for a semester - my favorite! So for me, it was a nostaglic journey as well as a romantic and (what I had hoped would be) relaxing vacation.
Our Itinerary (October 26 - November 4, 2012)
Friday, October 26
We arrived at the airport in Venice around midday and took a bus to the mainland where we then picked up a boat to the San Zaccharia stop. We took some quick pictures of the San Marco area while it hadn't yet started to rain - a recurring theme during 80% of our trip.
The famous Bridge of Sighs:
And then we made our way to a payphone (yes, they still exist) to call Lorenzo, our host during our two-day stay in Venice. He met us and then led us through the winding, narrow alleyways of Venice to our B&B, Ai Tagliapietra, a 10-minute or less walk to all of the major city sights.
Lorenzo was the consummate host. He was extremely friendly, helpful, and welcoming. His home, while very basic was comfortable and cozy. Our room was pleasant and clean but again, frill-free. There was also a lot of street noise at night but we figured it came with the territory. I'd recommend this place mostly for Lorenzo's hospitality, the location of the B&B, and the very reasonable cost. This was by far, our least expensive accommodation during our trip.
After Lorenzo checked us in and got us oriented with the area we ventured out for a walk. He alerted us to the fact that there would be flooding the following day so that we should do our best to cover a lot of ground that afternoon.
First, we returned to San Marco Square, took some pictures, and peeked inside San Marco's Basilica. The mosaic work was just as beautiful as I remembered.
We also made our way to the Rialto Bridge and the surrounding market area. There were big crowds in Venice despite the inclement weather. I guess I hadn't considered how many cruise people would be around.
For lunch we just grabbed something on the go. I got a panino while Evan got a mini-pizza. We weren't very conscious about keeping track of what we were eating until later in the trip and then we documented our meals more closely. Later we followed up with some gelato at Gelato Fantasy, a recommendation from Lorenzo. I had my favorite flavor from before - bacio - but later in the trip I leaned more toward pistachio.
We spent part of our evening in the Dali Universe, which was kind of a nostalgic experience for us since we visited a similarly small and quaint Dali museum in Paris during our honeymoon. We enjoy Dali so of course, it didn't disappoint.
The weather deteriorated pretty quickly by the early evening and we were jet-lagged so we skipped dinner and went to bed.
Saturday, October 27
We were awoken (I had actually woken up several times during the night because I get jet-lagged like normal people, while Evan slept like a log) by a very weird "alarm" sometime around 6:30am. Lorenzo had fore-warned us about it but we still weren't quite prepared for the sound. It wasn't anything like you'd imagine. The sound was not jarring or even loud. It was more like something out of a sci-fi movie, like an alien syncopation summoning its crew back to the mothership. Very bizarre!
When Evan woke up a little while later he mentioned that he thought he heard sloshing in the streets and sure enough, the water was rising. We were essentially trapped inside the house until around 11:45am when the water in our area finally started to subside. Lorenzo told us that locals usually wait for the water to go down so I know we were looking at barefoot tourists walking in the water-logged streets. Lorenzo said we didn't even want to know what was in that water.
As you might imagine, the flooding put a bit of a damper on our trip. We were in Venice for a very short jaunt and the flooding definitely took away some of that time as well as opportunities to have certain explorations of the city. That being said, it was certainly an experience! I just wish Evan could have seen Venice in all of its dry glory like I had previously. I'm afraid the "experience" might have negatively colored Evan's opinion of Venice.
Some photographic evidence of our sunk trip:
Lorenzo was right to tell us to visit San Marco the afternoon before because it took several more hours for the water to subside there. Instead, we focused this day's explorations on walking around anywhere there wasn't persistent flooding water.
We returned to the Rialto area hoping to see the liveliness of the fish market but by the time the flood waters had subsided so had the excitement.
We did some window-shopping and grabbed a quick bite at a pizza/panino shop. We each got a prosciutto and cheese calzone. Delicious!
We spent part of the afternoon at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. I had remembered really enjoying it before and I enjoyed it again, but not as much. Evan got a lot more out of her modern art collection.
A view of the Grand Canal:
By mid-afternoon the waters had receded in San Marco so we returned for more pictures.
Untouristy Venice:
Instead of venturing out too far we found a somewhat touristy but still good restaurant just a short alleyway away from our B&B. Evan got pasta with meat sauce and I had lasagna. It was all very tasty but as I mentioned, we didn't get serious about food until later in the trip.
We finished off the evening with some gelato in San Marco Square.
We talked to Lorenzo about the potential for flooding the day of our departure and decided that it would be in our best interest to leave before 8:00am despite the fact that our train didn't leave until 12:40pm. In this way, we would avoid trudging through the flood water and we could use the time in between to potentially tour the old Jewish Quarter, located right by the train station.
Sunday, October 28
Lorenzo went above and beyond our last morning. He got up early to serve us breakfast and then led us through back-streets because despite leaving early, the water had already started to accumulate. Without him, we wouldn't have been able to avoid the floodwater and get to our boat on time. He even waited to send us off. I really wish we'd had more time to talk to Lorenzo on a more casual basis but unfortunately, there was another (cruise) couple staying at the B&B and despite having been there for a week they wouldn't let us get in a word with Lorenzo. The woman, in particular, was quite insufferable.
Unfortunately, we didn't have any luck avoiding the floodwaters near the train station. We checked our bags in so we could walk around for our 4+ hour waiting time but the Jewish Quarter was almost completely submerged by the time we got there.
The only reason we were able to get far enough to see that the area was flooded was because these make-shift elevated walkways were put in place.
At least the view from the train station was nice:
In addition to the flooding, the weather was particularly biting today. It was raining off and on and it was quite windy. Because we couldn't tour the Jewish Quarter like we had wanted and the train station had limited seating (all taken) and there was only one place to eat, we got bored, cold, and grumpy very quickly.
When all was said and done, we did a fair amount of walking and general sight-seeing around Venice but we didn't necessarily accomplish all that I had hoped we would. Because of the general unpleasantness of the weather we stuck to the main island and didn't venture to Murano or Burano. Fortunately, Evan wasn't disappointed about that. We also skipped some small tourist sights here and there because we were shorter on time than expected and the weather was such that we didn't want to schlep all over the place. Either way, it was an interesting and certainly, unique experience to be in Venice during high tide. Needless to say, we won't soon forget it!
...
When we arrived in Florence mid-afternoon, I didn't really have any plans for us. I figured we'd spend the day walking around and getting our bearings. From memory alone, I was able to get us to the Duomo - a 10-minute walk from the train station. Once there, however, I was a little stumped on getting to the actual street our B&B, La Dimora degli Angeli, was on. I knew it was on or near one of the several side streets stemming off of the Duomo.
Once we found the right side street, we stepped into a building that suddenly became very familiar. It was the same building in which I had collected my mail almost 10 years before. Our Italian liaison, Accent, found our apartments, coordinated extra-curricular activities, served as the intermediary between us and our Italian language school, and provided us with any other information we would need like, where we could find an English-speaking doctor.
When we reached reception we were greeted by our concierge, Roberta. Hands-down Roberta was one of the sweetest people we met on the trip. She would bend over backwards to accommodate us, even allowing us to use her desk computer when she discovered that we didn't have a smart phone or other such device like the rest of the guests (there was free wifi). She always greeted us with a smile and we had some really nice conversations with her. She also recommended some of the best food we had during our stay. She felt like a friend by the end of our trip.
Our room (Mathilde) was so beautiful we decided to snap some pictures:
After we dropped our bags off we set out on foot. We walked through Piazza della Repubblica where there was an open-air market. Then I proceeded to take us to my old neighborhood and ultimately, my apartment building. Evan can verify that I got us there without any outside assistance!
My apartment was on the top floor, right side:
We ended our evening at Ristorante Lo Scudo. We split a half bottle of red wine and started our meal with a bowl of ribollita - Florentine vegetable soup with bread - each.
We still had a lot to learn about regional Italian food so you'll have to forgive me for having spaghetti with carbonara sauce, which I later discovered is a Roman specialty.
Evan got gnocchi with pesto sauce.
It was a very tasty meal but we got the distinct impression that we were in a very tourist-friendly place. There did seem to be locals seated in the back but our section seemed to be reserved for foreigners. We sat next to Australians, Russians, and French people at some point during the evening.
We ended our night with some gelato at Festival, which is supposed to be famous for all of its flavors. I sometimes went there twice a day during my semester abroad. Pathetic, I know. I wasn't a freshman but I definitely gained the 15. But I digress. It wasn't nearly as impressive as I had remembered. We found better gelato later.
Monday, October 29
Today we got up and headed out without breakfast. We had tickets from our B&B to eat at a local bakery, Robiglio, but we had a food date with Florence for Foodies and we wanted to make sure we had room to eat.
At 10:00am we met our guide, Nat, and our other tour participants, a honeymooning couple from Singapore, and two college friends from the Twin Cities, in front of the Church of San Lorenzo. Our group clicked immediately. We were all around the same age and had pretty similar demeanors. Our guide, Nat, was a firecracker! She was so much fun and so enthusiastic about her subject.
Our four hour tour started at a cafe where we had budino (rice cake) and marocchino. We learned that espresso is the norm and if you order anything else in Italy, you'll be judged. Harshly. We also learned that espresso comes from Venice. Back in the day, Venice traded with everyone, including the Turks. The Venetians perfected what most of us consider sludge - Turkish coffee - by adding a touch of milk.
Our next stop was the Mercato Centrale just a few steps away. Nat picked up some sandwich samples from Nerbone. She wouldn't let us try them without the super hot chili sauce. If you look closely at the picture of the counter you can see that this family business has been around since 1872. Nat told us that the market is much like the show, Dallas. There's all sorts of drama lurking beneath the salami.
Next we sampled this amazing tray of Tuscan (it's important to specify the region) salami. According to Nat, there is no "Italian" food. There is only Florentine, Roman, Venetian, etc. cuisine.
Our last stop in the Mercato Centrale was for an aged balsamic vinegar and olive oil tasting. This was probably the least appetizing segment of the tour for me. I'm what Evan calls a "super taster" so pretty much every taste of vinegar made my face pucker. It was all a little too tart for me!
When we left the Mercato Centrale we proceeded to a liquor store where we toasted with some champagne. Nat got us these really interesting mini-sandwiches. The dough was simultaneously sweet and salty. I'll be honest. I didn't really like it.
Last but not least we paid a visit to Perche No! for some samplings of gelato. Nat told us that Perche No! stayed open during WWII. Talk about perseverance! Here's a picture of one of our tastings - persimmon and pistacchio.
This was absolutely one of our favorite activities during the whole trip. We were really fortunate to be with such a nice group of people and Nat was incredible. It was 69 Euros per person but honestly, I would've paid more. It was a one-of-a-kind experience. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a tasty and interactive way to learn more about Tuscan culture.
Needless to say, we didn't need lunch after our filling food tour. We did, however, really need to walk off some of those calories so we set out to do some exploring.
Ponte Vecchio:
The iconic Duomo, Campanile, and Baptistery:
We went inside the Duomo and then paid extra to go up the Campanile or Bell Tower. It's really worth it if you want a great view of the Duomo. We only walked up to a certain point so if a lot of stairs intimidate you, don't worry, you can wimp out like we did.
View from the top:
After our walk we figured we had worked up an appetite for dinner so we headed to Ciro & Sons, recommended by Nat as having some of the best pizza in Florence.
We each ordered a glass of Brunello, which is supposed to be the #2 wine in the world.
Evan got Margherita (cheese) and I got Diavola (spicy salami and cheese).
We ended the evening with tiramisu (Evan's) and cheesecake (mine). It was an excellent meal with superior service, which is why we returned a couple of days later.
Tuesday, October 30
We spent today in the Oltrarno, which is the other side of the Arno River. The Oltrarno is a little less touristy and more residential. Still, there are plenty of sights and lots of good shopping and eating.
We started the day at the Pitti Palace. We didn't tour the actual Palace because 1) there's not much to it and 2) the real attraction is the Boboli Gardens. Based on a suggestion from Roberta we planned on walking through the Boboli Gardens to the Bardini Gardens and then from there, make our way to Piazzale Michelangelo to snap shots from the highest and best viewpoint of Florence.
Inside the Boboli Gardens/rear of Pitti Palace:
View from inside the Bardini Gardens:
We found a Florentine doppelganger for the Munich B&B cat:
In the interest of full disclosure, we didn't spend too much time in either of the gardens. I couldn't tell you whether they're worth the visit or not since we probably could've skipped them both and just gone directly to Piazzale Michelangelo to get the view we wanted. That being said, the gardens were probably at their worst because of the time of year. There wasn't much in bloom and a lot of areas were closed off. If we had known that going in we probably wouldn't have spent the money to "shortcut" through them.
When we did reach Piazzale Michelangelo after a long hike up some steep stairs, it was well-worth it. The view is free but it's also priceless.
Here's my city courtesy of Evan's camera manipulations:
We even saw a Japanese couple having their wedding photos taken with Florence as a backdrop. Can you blame them?
We grabbed a quick bite at one of the food stands nearby and then headed farther uphill to San Miniato. The legend is that the saint this church is named for was beheaded and then carried his head up the hill, where he died and a church was later built in his honor.
It's a lovely church worth visiting. Despite its proximity to such a touristy area it wasn't crowded at all.
Afterwards we made our way downhill and headed toward the Santo Spirito area, still in the Oltrarno. Roberta lives in Santo Spirito and recommended several restaurants for us to choose from. We reviewed all three options and picked the last one - Osteria Santo Spirito. For me, this was the best meal of the trip so far and certainly, one of the best meals of the trip overall.
It's a very small, cozy restaurant and despite not being the only tourists in the place that afternoon, we felt like locals. It was a truly authentic meal and experience. I wish I could walk out my door and eat there now.
We started our meal with the famous Florentine soup, ribollita. We tried it earlier in our trip but for me, this was the best rendition.
For his main dish, Evan had spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, and chili pepper. I had spinach and cheese ravioli with walnut cream sauce. Amazing!
This was such a deliciously filling and late lunch that we didn't have a proper dinner this evening. At some point while walking around we grabbed some quick sandwiches and later some gelato at Perche No!
On a final note, I love this guy. He's like, you talking to me?
Wednesday, October 31
We spent our last full day in Florence re-visiting our favorite squares/parts of town and since the weather was a little inclement we went inside a lot of churches - Santa Croce (very close to my neighborhood), San Lorenzo (near the markets), and Santa Maria Novella (right next to the train station of the same name).
"Our" square, Piazza della Repubblica:
A nearby square, Piazza della Signoria:
If you refer to my Munich post you'll see that I referenced this loggia in Florence as being the model or influence for an almost identical-looking loggia in Munich. The design of the loggia is the same but the statues the loggia houses are different. This loggia, for instance, has a great statue of Perseus holding Medusa's severed head.
There's also a replica of David in the square in case you don't want to reserve tickets to see the real one in the Accademia.
Out of convenience, a desire to get out of the rain, and reluctance to find a new place, we returned to Ciro & Sons for lunch. Evan got penne with arrabbiata, which is spicy tomato sauce and I got pasta with pesto sauce. It was very subtle and light. I found that I got a lot less full eating "real" pasta when compared with how I feel after eating pasta in the U.S. I don't know if that was my imagination or not.
We found out that the lead singer of Mumford & Sons goes to this restaurant all the time. Apparently, his parents own a home in Tuscany.
We considered shopping our last evening (Florence is a shopper's haven) but the weather was such that we didn't want to be constantly opening and closing our umbrellas. After walking all day our pant bottoms were wet and we were chilled so we warmed up inside our room before heading out again for dinner.
We headed back out to my part of town for dinner with the expectation that we would try out another of Roberta's or Nat's recommendations. Instead, we went to Antico Noe, a restaurant with a lot of personality and great food. I remembered the adjacent sandwich shop from 10 years before but didn't recall the restaurant so I assume it's newer. For me, this ranked in the top three or four meals of the trip.
Evan got spaghetti with a cheese and pepper sauce. And I got rigatoni with noe sauce, which consisted of eggplant, pine nuts, and cheese in a tomato-based sauce. They also served a complimentary starter of I presume, home-baked bread, and bologna. It was really delicious.
We ended our evening by taking the long walk back to the Oltrarno to Roberta's recommendation for gelato - Gelateria Santa Trinita. I think we both agreed that this was the best gelato we'd had in Florence. Yet another reason to love Roberta! They had some really interesting flavors, for example, black sesame. I didn't really like the taste (I sampled some) but I admired their ingenuity. I favored pistacchio for most of the rest of the trip and Evan leaned toward citrusy or minty flavors.
One last look at the view from the corner of our building/B&B:
Florence, by far, was the most relaxing part of our Italian trip. Evan had no interest in the famous Renaissance art exhibited all over the city so that put a lot of time on the table for leisure, walking around, and soaking up the culture. We spent most of our time outdoors even if the weather was dreary at times. This was a really special, memorable, and wonderful journey to the past for me. Florence hasn't changed at all since I left it 10 years ago, which is oddly comforting. I'd like to say that we'll go back before another 10 years and when we do, I'm sure it will be 99% the same as it was during this visit. Fortunately, Evan now loves Florence as much as I do. We already have tentative plans to return to Italy at some point (10th anniversary?) and when we do we'll start in Florence and then split the rest of our time between the Tuscan and Umbrian countryside.
Thursday, November 1
We got up at our leisure this morning and took our time making our way to Santa Maria Novella. I looked back at the Duomo wistfully a few times. I'm sure I'll see it again, I'm just not sure when.
The Florence train station is infinitely more bustling and efficient than the Venetian one. There's plenty of food options and there's extensive shopping in the underground. We were able to pass our short wait time without boredom.
Like the train ride from Venice to Florence, the ride from Florence to Rome was a fairly short one - two hours, give or take. As soon as we arrived in Rome we made our way to the connecting metro station and got off at the "Spagna" stop, which was a block away from our accommodations at Town House Spagna. This was without a doubt the worst B&B experience we've had in Europe and perhaps, anywhere. The concierge, Emanuele, was completely unavailable from the start.
Check-in was a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am kind of operation. He asked for our credit card and passports and once our room was paid for started to walk away while we were still getting our luggage. It would've been nice if he had offered to help. Most gentlemen would take a heavy bag away from a woman. Just saying. He showed us how to use the keys - there were five of them - and then proceeded to leave. He didn't give us a map (we ended up taking one) and he didn't recommend any restaurants. It was obvious he had more important places to be.
We didn't see him again until the next morning when he arrived 40 minutes late and then gave us an attitude as though we were unreasonable for expecting his assistance. We finally got some restaurant recommendations and then booked our cab for our flight the last day because we had no idea when this joker would show up again. Sure enough, we didn't see or talk to him again before we left three days later. We wanted to re-confirm the cab at one point but we didn't see him nor did the phone numbers he gave us work. Needless to say, we wouldn't stay there again nor would we recommend it. Now let's move onto the meat of our Roman sojourn.
...
When we ventured out the skies were a little cloudy with the occasional drizzle so we decided to save the Roman Forum for the next day when we expected better weather and go to the Vatican City instead.
We took a long walk (Rome is extremely large and spread-out) and stopped in the Piazza del Popolo.
Look at those rain clouds!
When we finally arrived at the Vatican City the line going inside St. Peter's Basilica was about one-third the size of the square. Fortunately, we discovered that it moved quickly. There are no tickets to get inside the church (entry is free) but you have to go through metal detectors first.
It's an incredible sight. I mean, the interior is so huge. It's completely unexpected the first time you see it. We took a few pictures inside but honestly, some things just can't be captured on film.
Afterwards, I had planned on going to the Sistine Chapel but apparently, I missed the memo that it's closed on All Saint's Day. Oops. Evan asked a security official, which is how we found out. He also found out that it's 20 Euros per person and the wait is about two hours. That kind of cinched it for us. I'd seen it twice before and like the David and Uffizi Museum, Evan didn't have the interest so we left and didn't come back on any of our subsequent days in Rome.
We enjoyed a slow-paced walk back to our part of town.
We were kind of stumped about where to eat for dinner. The Spanish Steps area is a very busy, crowded part of town but who am I kidding? Rome is crowded. Period. Anyway, we didn't want a touristy meal but because our concierge had failed to assist us we didn't really know where to look for authentic Roman fare.
Out of pure exhaustion and frustration we stumbled into the worst food experience of our trip. We walked into Difronte a, which had battleship-themed paper place-mats. That should have been a clue. Oddly enough, the food wasn't entirely bad. I mean, picture bad Italian food in America. Olive Garden, right? Well, this pasta was at least cooked correctly - al dente or firm. But the ambiance of the place was completely lacking. We couldn't even relax with our usual accompaniment of red wine because in an almost completely empty seating plan the host had to put a raucous, large French (Canadian?) family next to us. Seriously? We were pissed. So we ate like Americans do - fast - and then asked for the check and left.
Friday, November 2
Fortunately, today proved to have the best weather of the trip. It was almost too hot! After we got the only "helpful" information Emanuele was able to offer we set out for the metro, but not before we snapped a shot of the Spanish Steps.
Look at that blue sky! Such a contrast from the day before.
Once we reached the "Colosseo" stop we followed Rick Steves' directions and got really confused. We bought two "Roma Passes", which would get us into the Roman Forum, Colosseum, and other related sites and then we got ourselves all turned around trying to reach the starting point of his guided walk. He's not always clear.
Some of our first glimpses of the Colosseum:
Look at that line! But more on that later.
Once inside the Forum Rick Steves' walk was easier to follow and the information was interesting. Like a majority of the trip (minus the Foodie tour) we traveled/toured independently so we either read the material Rick Steves provided or we googled it later.
For me, the Roman Forum is one of the most incredible sights in all of Italy. It's the remnants of a 2,000 year old empire. How could it get any cooler than that? I mean, walking through the Forum you can actually say that you're walking in Julius Caesar's footsteps. Incredible.
Some photographic highlights:
Next up we got in line to go inside the Colosseum. As I mentioned before, this line was extremely long and it wasn't moving as quickly as the one at the Vatican. I think this was mostly due to people merging. As you might imagine, there wasn't much enforcement so we waited with the rest of the people that know how to get in the back of the line.
We were in this line because according to Rick Steves, even if you have a ticket there's a line to go through a metal detector. Sound familiar? Kind of like the Vatican, right? Well, after waiting for 45 minutes we finally got to the front of the line and do you know what we found out? We were in the line for people waiting to buy tickets. People with Roma Passes were going straight through. Oh! And don't let me forget, there was no metal detector. It was in that moment that Evan and I came dangerously close to severing all ties with the Steves.
I'll be frank. I'm not sure it's really worth the wait/cost to go inside the Colosseum. I mean, you kind of get the gist from the outside. That being said, I think they've expanded upon it since the last time I was there. There are little exhibits that you can read through. The wait had us feeling agitated so we skipped the reading material and got down to the nitty gritty.
By the time we were done we were starving! It was already 2:00pm and we had a long way to walk before we reached Emanuele's restaurant recommendation. Let me paint a picture. We were hot, hungry, and our feet were killing us after walking around old, cracked Roman streets and waiting in line. We walked about 45 minutes to get to this restaurant that Emanuele said served the best burgers with mozzarella cheese. I had been fantasizing about this burger pretty much all day so when we found the place, Roscioli, we were pretty pissed to discover that we needed reservations. We were essentially turned away. Thanks for nothing, Emanuele!
Fortunately, we were able to find a suitable replacement in the same general area and they accepted us, warts and all!
Trattoria Moderna was just what the doctor ordered. Their lunch crowd had pretty much cleared out by then - it was around 3:00pm when we were seated - so it was nice and quiet. We started out with a salmon, tomato, and cheese crostini.
Evan again had pasta with cheese and pepper sauce and I had risotto for the first and only time during the trip. It was flavored with sausage, pears, and radicchio. The blend of savory and sweet was a revelation.
On the long walk back to our part of town we hit some known tourist spots.
Piazza Navona:
We passed through the Pantheon and then stopped at the Trevi Fountain with everyone else in Rome.
There were so many people that we didn't have the opportunity to throw coins in like the legend suggests.
We capped off the evening with a lovely meal at Le Sorelle. I had seen the sign our first night in Rome because it was on an off-shoot street near our B&B. What I noticed and liked is that it didn't have outdoor seating like a lot of the other touristy places nearby. It seemed more subdued and serious, like they weren't trying hard to attract customers. It seemed like a privilege to eat there but not in a snobby kind of way. We made reservations after our terrible dinner experience the night before and we were not disappointed.
We enjoyed Le Sorelle so much that we made reservations for two nights later for my 30th birthday dinner. I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a well-prepared and delicious meal with a wonderfully soothing ambiance, but I would also warn that it's a bit pricey!
Our first night there we had two starters. Evan got the Catalan chicken (I tried to explain that was a Spanish dish and not Italian but Evan persisted) and I got scrambled eggs with black truffle. White and black truffles were in season so I thought I'd be a sport and try something different. The eggs were great but truffles aren't really my thing.
For our main meal Evan got pasta with mixed vegetables and I had the Roman classic rigatoni with carbonara sauce. It IS as good as it looks. Compare it to the same style dish I had in Florence. The bacon is much crispier and I would guess the sauce much eggier.
We planned on having dessert, one each, but my choice was taken away from me - in a good way. Evan ordered a baked pear with amaretto gelato. Our server decided I should be surprised! Well, what a surprise it was. He brought me multiple flavors of sorbet. It was a beautiful presentation.
I almost forgot to mention that there was an organized dinner for fifteen or so priests in the restaurant that night. You know it's a good place because God chose it. We felt very blessed (ha!) to be there.
Saturday, November 3
The sun was up again today so it was the perfect opportunity to take our day-trip to Naples/Pompeii.
It was a heavy commuting day. We took the metro to the main train station and then took a train to Naples. Once there we hopped on a regional line, which took us to Pompeii. It's our fault for not getting up at the crack of dawn but with all of the travel time and a few missteps here and there we didn't enter the ruins until around 1:00pm. It would've been preferable to get there early so we could have spent the mid-to-late afternoon exploring Naples and eating pizza. You know what they say, the best laid plans...
Pompeii was so much bigger than I had remembered. We ended up spending three hours exploring the vast city and we didn't even cover all of it. We followed Rick Steves' guided walk but he only referenced key points of the city. The most disappointing part of the experience was that the brothel was closed. I distinctly remember the experience of going in there and being amazed at the preservation of the kama sutra depictions on the wall. I suppose the clients just pointed at the preferred position or service and that's what they got. Despite that, I probably saw more of the city during this visit than in the past.
We took lots of pictures. Lots.
By the time we got back to Naples it was already 5:00 and dark outside. We considered a pizza place near the train station but we only had an hour to work with and we couldn't be sure of how long the service would take. Even if the pizza came out fast there was no telling when we'd get the bill. I haven't mentioned this yet but you pretty much have to ask for the bill 2-3 times before you get it. Standard procedure.
Today was a bust in terms of food. It was all fast and low quality. Nothing to write home about.
Sunday, November 4
We had considered several options for my birthday. We thought about going to Ostia Antica, a ruined town about 20-30 minutes outside the city center. At some point we were pretty sure that we would go to Tivoli and tinker around Hadrian's Villa. At the last minute, I threw both ideas out the window because the Singaporean couple we met on our Florence foodie tour highly recommended their food tour in Rome. I was pretty sold on that until I found out that they didn't offer tours on Sundays. Bummer.
Ultimately, we decided that what I needed for my birthday was some much-needed relaxation time in the bustling city of Rome. We settled on a day in Trastevere, the "Left Bank" of Rome. As it turned out, it was exactly what I needed.
For the most part, our two previous days in Rome and our day-trip to Pompeii were riddled with stress for me. All my coordinated efforts seemed to go wrong. I guess I learned a valuable lesson. Rome and the South are not good for control freaks who crave organization. I think I put so much pressure on myself to get everything right because it was Evan's first time in Italy. I felt it was my responsibility to make sure things went perfectly. Instead of letting go when I realized things were chaotic and beyond my control, I tried even harder to get matters to go my way. Silly me.
Needless to say, my birthday was the perfect opportunity to shut off my brain and just enjoy myself. We had no real schedule. Our only plans were for a nice stroll in the area, some lunch, and then dinner at Le Sorelle.
Trastevere is an area of Rome I'd never been to prior to this trip. I'm so glad it was something Evan and I could share. I only wish I had known about it sooner because if I had I would have researched B&Bs there and we could've had a much more pleasant experience accommodation-wise.
This area is very different from the rest of Rome in the sense that it feels like a close-knit neighborhood and you don't feel like you're going to be stampeded by the masses always filling the city streets. There are adorable boutique shops and great restaurants. It's like a little enclave of artists and free spirits.
We had a pretty remarkable lunch at Dar Poeta Pizzeria. This place came recommended by Rick Steves - sometimes he gets it right! The place was packed when we got there and after we had already been seated a line started to form outside. I guess the secret is out.
Evan got the Dar Poeta pizza with zucchini, sausage, cheese, and chili pepper while I got Amatriciana, which consisted of bacon and cheese on a tomato sauce base.
It was surprisingly filling for me. We ended up taking half to-go and Evan handed it off to a woman in need.
Despite being too full to finish my pizza I was able to find room for some gelato at Gelateria alla Scala. And what do you know? Rick Steves was two for two today. For the first and only time during our trip we were able to sample some cinnamon gelato and it was delicious!
We continued to stroll around the area with off and on rain.
It was a long walk from our B&B to Trastevere, probably 45 minutes to an hour and we had to make the same walk back.
We relaxed in the room for a little while and then made our way to Le Sorelle for my birthday meal.
Unfortunately, the ambiance wasn't as nice this time around. A Russian couple and their two children were seated nearby and they brought a lot of commotion with them. Their toddler kept running out into the street while the dad sat idly by and the mom's reaction-time was suspect. It really took the focus off our evening.
We went all out tonight. We got starters, first courses, split a second course, and split another "surprise" dessert.
Evan got caprese and I got something similar with the added bonus of fried eggplant.
Evan got my dish from the other night - carbonara - and I got pasta with lamb ragu or meat sauce with a hint of mint. It was fabulous.
For our split second course we got "Roman chicken" with mixed vegetables. We didn't take a picture because it wasn't very exciting looks-wise or otherwise. It just wasn't on par with the rest of the meal.
I got my sorbet dessert for the second time. Our server offered another surprise so I was hoping for something different but I think he might've forgotten we'd already had it.
We made it an early night because we had a cab to catch at 3:00am the next morning. We had to get some sleep or we'd be zombies when we arrived in Amsterdam. Thankfully, the cab did show up so we didn't have to resort to any contingency plans. We'll let Emanuele off the hook on that count.
...
Despite disappointing weather conditions throughout most of the trip, we had a really grand time. I think I can speak for both of us when I say that Florence was the most enjoyable and relaxing segment of the trip. Regardless of the flooding, Venice came second. Rome is one of those cities that will eat you alive if you're unprepared so for that reason, I'd rate it last.
I've evolved to prefer small to medium-sized cities and dislike big, chaotic cities. Ten years ago I would've said Rome was one of my favorite cities of all time. Today I'd rate cities like Florence, Munich, and Amsterdam as my favorites because they're walkable, easy to get around, accessible to quiet and green places to sit and watch the world go by - just easy to feel at home. There's not a mad dash to get anywhere nor are there swarms of people. Rome is a mega-metropolis. I think I'd feel lost living in a city like that. Florence was my home years ago and it could be my home again.
We'd definitely return to Italy if for no other reason than to experience some of the best cuisine Europe or even the world has to offer. We would, however, have a completely different objective next time. This trip was more about showing Evan the must-sees. Unfortunately, down-time was less of a priority. Now that those must-sees have been checked off the list we would go back with the intent to rejuvenate and relax. As a result, I think we would spend less time in the city and more time in the countryside.
Final analysis: We ate like pigs, drank wine and espresso like it was water, and walked until our feet felt like they were going to fall off.
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