Journey to Rome

Well, so we're actually in frigid Moscow right now, but due to a lack of reliable internet in Italy, I will start from the beginning of our trip. We departed November 25 - Austin to DC to Rome, overnight, arriving at 7:45am on the 26th. Jetlagged and exhausted, we managed to get on the train without validating our tickets, got on the tram going the wrong way, stepped in dog poo on the sidewalk (apparently Italians have not yet discovered the concept of "dog poo bags"), pissed off 2 Italian women by asking directions, and finally arrived at our B&B in the Trastevere neighborhood after about 2 hours of being lost! But at least we avoided having to take a cab and being ripped off by an Italian cab driver, which happened in the next segment of our trip.

After dropping off our luggage, we headed off for lunch, where we discovered that 1 kg of pizza is a whole helluva lot! (It's ordered by weight in Italy.) Then we took a guided tour of the Vatican, which is now selling billboard space around the main plaza to fund renovations. There is one billboard visible in the picture (Italian Telecom), but there are more around the sides that are even more gaudy. Don't worry though, they're all God-sanctioned. :) The Sistine Chapel was fantastic - I've wanted to see it ever since reading "The Agony and the Ecstasy" in high school - but of course, no photos were allowed.

The next day we went out exploring historical Rome, visiting Largo Argentina (with thousands of cats that take sanctuary in the ruins), the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and Capuchin Crypt, which is made from bones of over 4000 monks donated between the 1500s and 1800s (see picture). In the evening, we wandered around our neighborhood (Trastevere) - it's a fantastic local neighborhood with shops, restaurants, and lively activity. The weather was great too - 60s every day.

The following day we took a guided tour of the Colosseum (see pic), Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. We had lunch in the Jewish Ghetto at a local place called Sora Margherita - no English was spoken, and we had to become "members" to eat there. They chuckled at Brian's name when we got on the list, and kept referring to him as "Life of Brian". :) We had a fantastic meal that included the famous fried artichokes (see pic). It was later this evening that I fell in love with Merengue con Panna (2 meringue "buns" with creme in between) from a local pastry shop... these proved to be my downfall at pretty much every pastry shop we passed from then on out in Italy! I wanted to get a picture, but they always disappeared into my belly by the time I remembered.

The next day we got up early and took the train out to Toffia, Italy, about 1.5 hours north of Rome, where we met Sally and Guido in the old medieval village for a cooking class with Convivio Rome. This is olive country, and the village is on a hill surrounded by olive groves in every direction (see pic). We made pumpkin risotto, melanzane alla Parmagiana, and Guido's award-winning apple cake, using local produce and cheeses. After the meal, we headed to the Annual Olive Oil Festival at the monastery in Farfa, where we sampled local olive oils, breads, and cheeses. We pretty much had to roll back to Rome that evening!

I guess I'll stop here for now... maybe tomorrow I will post some pictures of some of the stranger things we've seen in Italy, including the conveyor belt toilet, and then continue our travel tales as we ventured south to Sorrento.