Rome

Pasta on my mind

/ Greg / 2 Comments

Without firm dinner plans on our third night in Rome, we looked at a list of interesting restaurants we had compiled that were nearby in the Monti neighbourhood, our home away from home for four nights.  With the help of our hotel staff, we booked 8:30pm reservations, unaware of the deliciousness that was ahead.  Who knew that the most delicious pasta in the world would be mere steps around the corner from our hotel in Rome?

La Carbonara was definitely a locals place.  A few visitors like us had found our way here, but there were a lot of regulars jammed in around us ordering without menus.  Everyone was ordering the pasta and as plate after plate went past to other tables there was no doubt I would be indulging in a pasta course on this night.  With a “when in Rome” mentality, we ordered a bottle of local Lazio wine (Santa Felicita, Cesanese del Piglio 2011).  It was a robust and rustic red… a little rough around the edges until it opened up a bit.  It ended up fitting perfectly with both the food and the ambiance of the restaurant.

Lazio wine

Continue reading →

A surreal visit to the Colosseum

/ Greg / 2 Comments

There were a lot of things I was excited to see in Rome, and right at the top of the list was the Colosseum.    We decided for a later afternoon visit and were rewarded with a far less crowded experience.   This site can be overrun with people, but holding off visiting until later in the day made for a very peaceful experience and plenty of room to move around.   Armed with a Rick Steves podcast for a self-guided tour, we made our way inside the amphitheater to the most prime seats reserved for royalty back in the day.  Walking into the seating section was definitely one of those “wow” life moments as the stadium opened up into full view:

Colosseum

Continue reading →

Catching a few Roman sights

/ Greg / 2 Comments

For our second full day in Rome, it was time for us to stretch out our legs a bit and explore some of the city’s main sights.   Another spectacular day (something that would be a constant through two weeks in Italy) gave us perfect wandering around weather for some exploration.   We were planning on starting with a visit to Piazza Navona but got off our bus a stop too early, made a wrong right turn somewhere and ended up on a bridge to this unexpected, stunning view of St. Peter’s Basilica.  Sometimes misreading a map is a good thing:

Tiber River, Rome

Continue reading →

Risking a lightening bolt

/ Greg / 2 Comments

Many times the best travel memories are the smaller, unexpected moments.   After visiting the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, my wife and I opted to walk up to the dome of St. Peter’s for a gorgeous view overlooking Rome.  On our way back down from the dome, I caught a glimpse of something interesting out of the corner of my eye.   There was a group of six women sitting along a wall on the roof of the Basilica and they were passing around a small glass.  I noticed a bottle with a reddish/purple liquid, and catching the eye of one of the women, I gave an approving nod and a thumbs up.  I’ve enjoyed a tipple or two in public in Europe and loved that the group was imbibing on top of a church on a beautiful afternoon.

With a smile, the woman with the bottle motioned for me to come over toward the group.  Hearing that the women were speaking German, I kept it simple and pointed at the bottle and asked, “Strong?”

“No.”   she said with a hearty laugh, then added, “Lady liquor” as she poured a shot and offered me a taste.

Never one to refuse a drink offered in a spirit of hospitality, I downed the shot.  Kind of syrupy, fruity and sweet – it tasted like something that was made in a bathtub and reminded me vaguely of cough syrup.   That I took the shot got everyone to laughing.  They continued passing the bottle around and as I wandered past again a few minutes later, it was time for a second shot, a photo and a couple more laughs.   A simple moment perhaps, but one that will bring a smile to my face whenever I think back on my visit to the Vatican.

Enjoying a drink on top of St. Peter's

Visiting the Vatican

/ Greg / 1 Comment

Our trip to Italy had started on some high notes – a Sunday soccer match and a great first meal.  After a deep, long, wonderful, jet lag induced sleep, our Monday in Rome got off to a planned later day start.  We had entrance tickets for 1pm at the Vatican Museums to give us plenty of time to sleep.  On that note, take it from me (and a host of other easily found information online) – buy your Vatican tickets in advance online.  There’s a surcharge, but it saved us from at least two hours standing in line waiting to get in.  We walked past an enormous line the likes of which I had never seen before, and right into the museum.

My art and painting interests lie more toward the modern end of the spectrum, so the trip through the Vatican Museums was more about seeing a few of the high points and not getting too bogged down in the details (of some truly amazing art… just not my particular cup of tea).  One of the first stops was these three Raffaelo works, in particular, the middle one – “Transfiguration”:

Inside Vatican Museums

Continue reading →

Rome: Let the eating begin

/ Greg / 4 Comments

Our Italy trip was, of course, going to be about eating and drinking well for two weeks.   We got that kicked off right away on our first night in Rome.  Knowing we would be jet lagged and coming from a soccer match earlier that afternoon, we planned ahead and made reservations at a restaurant near St. Peter’s Basilica.   If there’s one thing I’ve learned from a decade of serious traveling, it’s that you should plan your first meal post-arrival.  There’s nothing more frustrating as being in a new place, tired and hungry.

Armed with great recommendations from some gluten-free bloggers (thanks!), we arrived at La Soffitta Renovatio about forty five minutes after leaving Stadio Olimpico.   Not personally in need of their gluten free menu, I opted for an Italian beer, a Peroni rossa, to quench my thirst from sitting in the sun all afternoon:

First beer in Rome

Continue reading →

Sunday in Rome means football

/ Greg / 7 Comments

After a long day traveling and an overnight flight from Montreal to Rome, my body’s natural inclination was to get to the hotel and lay down for a nap.  But on this trip to Italy, there was one and only one chance to participate in the most Italian of traditions.  A tradition bordering on religion to many Italians was to take place at 3pm on this Sunday afternoon.

Calcio.  Football.  Soccer.   It was something I wasn’t going to miss.   After a remarkable cultural experience watching my first European soccer match last year in Prague, weary body and mind wouldn’t keep me away from joining 30,000 others for the afternoon’s Lazio-Sassuolo match.  From touchdown of our plane through train and subway to our hotel, then subway and tram to Stadio Olimpico, we made it just minutes before the match was to start.   The Lazio supporters and ultras had already taken up their traditional place in the Curva Nord and were warming up their voices as the players were introduced:

Stadio Olimpico in Rome for a Lazio match

Continue reading →

Looking ahead to Italy

/ Greg / Leave a comment

My wife and I each keep  a “top 10” list of the places we most want to visit.  It’s a list of destinations that is the answer to the question, “If you could only make ten more trips in your life, where would they be?”  Once or twice a year, usually fueled by a bottle of red wine, we pull out scraps of paper, recreate our lists, then compare them.   Where they intersect is usually where we focus some planning for an upcoming travel adventure.  A couple of years ago, it’s how we ended up touring Scandinavia for two weeks.  It’s here I have to make a confession – although our big trip this fall is to Italy, that country or any of its charms has never made any of my previous top ten lists.

Flying in and out of Rome, this trip will combine the Eternal City, a quick stop in Naples, and a stretch of time based in Sorrento to explore the Amalfi Coast as well as Mount Vesuvius, the ruins of Pompeii and the island of Capri.  As I’ve been planning this trip, I’ve come to realize the error of my earlier thinking.  I’m giddy at the thought of visits to the Roman Forum, Colosseum and Vatican as much as I am for simply exploring Rome’s neighbourhoods and piazzas.  I have starting creating what seems like a never ending list of food and wine to sample and am wondering how much pizza a man can eat in 24 hours in Naples (I can almost assure you it will be one too many).    I’m practically trembling with anticipation for the Lazio football match on the Sunday afternoon we arrive as a novel way to work through the effects of a red eye flight.  In my mind, I am imagining sitting on patios high up above the Amalfi Coast and Gulf of Naples sipping limoncello and local wines while looking out to sea without a care in the world.

So Italy, I’m sorry you hadn’t made my previous top ten lists.   But I’m coming to visit you anyway and couldn’t be more excited for the experiences I’m about to have.  Here’s to seeing you in October and to a couple of weeks of la dolce vita!