We arrived right on time, though some serious turbulence over the Atlantic almost did Derek in. He managed about two hours of broken sleep here and there, but I can’t sleep vertically. Fortunately, I had provided myself with scintillating airplane reading–Twilight. It was not as bad as I had expected–I actually didn’t mind the first half–and I feel culturally aware now.
Once we got checked in to our hotel and washed our faces (!), we headed out to the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill. We took a Rick Steves recommendation for lunch and ordered antipasti at Nerundi something or other. I was thinking it would be a little different–I got a plate with two slices of proscuitto, a small fish, several mushrooms, an artichoke heart, three tiny slices of sausage, and 4 olives. Not quite the lunch I’d been hoping for. Rick recommended that we just get antipasti at this place to save money, but I don’t think we’ll go that route again. Sandwiches are cheaper and more filling!
We shared my ipod as we listened to the RS tour of the Colosseum and Forum (smirking that our Roma pass, purchased at a tobacco shop, got us past the hundreds of sucker tourists standing in line to buy tickets). It’s pretty incredible. As we walked past these two thousand year old ruins with all this history, I felt very surreal. Or maybe it was the jet lag.
The best part of the day was the evening, however…after experiencing a truly horrific day getting locked out of her apartment without money, food, or phone, Amy Gaetano cooked up a delicious Italian meal for us in a kitchen about the size of a church nursery toy kitchen. Bruschetta Chicken that I have to recreate at home, yummy pasta and salad and bread, and a great strawberry dessert. She and Matt had helpful suggestions for the rest of our time here–they’re pros after being here for months! They took us out to the Piazza del Populi where the kids ran around (making us wish ours were there to join the fun) and we chatted and people watched and tried to realize we were really in Rome! A quick metro ride, and we happily got off at the Termini neighborhood (the side streets of which are not nearly as urine soaked as Regina had led me to believe) for nice hot showers and SLEEP!
I can’t believe you read Twilight!!!!! lol I’m jealous of your Italy adventure- how do you know the family you had dinner with? Sounds delish and you need to bring back recipes to share 🙂