Kate's Fantastic Italian Adventure started in Rome on March 25. Everyone had made the overnight flight from Seattle to Europe and we all arrived in the early evening. It was 9 o'clock before we checked into our hotel near Piazza del Popolo, washed up and headed out to find dinner. The weather was quite warm and there were several interesting restaurants within a few blocks. We chose one and had a good meal. The highlights were deep fried artichoke pieces and a good plate of spaghetti carbonara. Afterwards we walked towards the Trevi Fountain where we planned to have gelato. Along the way we stumbled across a restaurant call Gusto that Cherie's Italian teacher recommended. It was very trendy with tables and loveseats in a covered area out front. The latter screamed for a photo op--one of the first of many!
We continued on to the Trevi Fountain which is always a beautiful location at night. At nearly 11 pm it was far less crowded than it is during the day. There are several gelaterias on the piazza so we enjoyed the first of many cups of the best of Italy's oh-so-delicious version of "ice cream." Somehow gelato is always tastier though it is difficult to know if it is the product itself or the Italian ambiance.
Everyone except me took the opportunity to throw a coin in the fountain. As most people know, this is supposed to ensure a return visit to Italy, Rome and the Trevi Fountain. Since I am fairly certain I will be back regardless, I saved my coins for other purposes.
In the lower left of this photo you can see Cindy and Kate admiring the fountain up close.
It is appropriate that this photo of Cherie and Emily was taken in front of a shop selling shoes and bags. They were on a mission the entire trip to stock up on both. However, at this point they were probably focused more on returning to the hotel and collapsing with jet lag.
The next morning we set off to explore Rome's
Centro Storico (historic center) and ancient Rome. Our stops included Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Venezia, the Campidoglio, the ruins of ancient Rome and the Colosseum. Cindy, Kate and I are pictured here in the winding, Medieval streets of the
Centro Storico.
I did not take a lot of photos but here is one of many obelisks or carved columns that dot Rome. Kate took one look at it and declared it to be a "Roman Totem Pole."
At one of the stalls at the market in Campo dei Fiori, this gentleman was doing an excellent job of selling interesting tools for cutting vegetables in culicues and other shapes. He had quite the patter going--all in Italian--that managed to hold his audience spellbound, even those that did not speak Italian. He did such a good job that a few of his interesting tools made there way into the luggage headed back to Seattle.
The vegetable tool man also had a number of photos showing him with all sorts of famous world figures including Obama, Bush and the Pope!
We continued on to the ruins of Ancient Rome and walked the same streets as the caesars and vestal virgins.
Here we all are at the Colosseum thanks to the kindness of another tourist. As you can see by our short sleaves, the weather was beautiful. By the time we finished here it was early afternoon and definitely time for lunch. Not far past the Colosseum we found a restaurant and were able to get a table outside.
We had pizza at the restaurant and in spite of some initial misgivings, everyone managed to eat most of their individual pie. Here is Kate making a good job of eating her pizza with a knife and fork as the Italians do.
After lunch we headed to the Colosseo subway stop and too the Rome Metro back to our hotel. After late afternoon naps (and shopping on the part of Emily and Cherie) we all went to dinner at Gusto. Rather than have a full meal, we shared a variety of
antipasti (salami, cheese, fried nibbles and salad). It was a delicious meal.
We were all exhausted by then so it was back to the hotel for a not too late night.
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