Lets See, So It's Some Steps...and the Best Meal Ever

doppio caffe

Ravioli

Eggplant

The only time we drank a wine other than chianti..so delicious that we documented the label for future enjoyment

Spanish Steps and a fountain in the square

I am totally ignorant of the significance of the Spanish Steps, so all I can say is the architecture in this area was beautiful and typical of what we saw throughout Rome. There were also very upscale shops here,and many sidewalk cafes, which were packed with diners, so we decided to eat INSIDE, what a concept. Here we were served the best meal that Dennis and I ate on this trip.

Rome: Day Three: The Museum isn't Built Yet

Sadly this neighborhood pub was closed.
Dennis was warned by machine gun toting guards not to photograph this lovely building, but he had already snapped the shot.

Graffiti was everywhere in Rome, especially on the subway

On Saturday morning we set off to find the Modern Art Museum, only to find it was still under construction, which our trusty guide book failed to mention. Still, we got to stroll through a residential neighborhood that was not filled with sightseers. Devon was pleased to see Roman mothers with young children, which we had not seen in the tourist parts of town. Before getting back on the Metro and heading for the Spanish Steps, we enjoyed browsing through an upscale furniture store filled with ultra modern furnishings.

Rome:Day Two: Ready Steady Rock and Roll

The walk from Termini to the hotel

Say cheese!Stay Rebel?? What the heck does that mean?

Night in the city looks pretty to me..

On our second night in Rome, we decided to go to a little jazz club just a short Metro ride away. So we went off into the night, onto the subway, and up into the streets of Rome which never varied much, lovely older buildings, never over six or seven stories, cafes on the sidewalks everywhere, people in the streets at all hours. We arrived at the club but it didn't open until eleven PM, so we decided to grab a bite at a unique restaurant we had walked past, a place called, in English, "Stay Rebel." Over the somewhat western looking bar were the words "ready steady rock and roll." What a fun time we had there, a kitschy empty place trying to be an American steakhouse, perhaps like Longhorn. There was a poster of Elvis on one wall, the front end of a 57 Chevy on another, license plates from various states incorporated into the decor. The menu included something called a "cheeseburger," which we all ordered (well, maybe Ray ordered a pizza, I can't remember). Our waitress was an adorable girl from Romania who spoke a lot of English and put up with our incessant questions and almost total lack of Italian. When our cheeseburgers came, they were bunless and strangely un-beef- like. We asked where the buns were and she told us that was different, that was a"sandwich," which we apparently had not ordered. When we asked if the meat was beef, she said it was "little beef"...that is, veal. We ended up spending the entire evening there, almost the only customers, laughing and drinking and eating little beef. Oh, and there was the mustard incident...we tried to get some mustard for our bunless veal cheeseburgers, and suceeded with ketchup and mayo, but mustard seemed beyond our limited communication ability. Finally our determined waitress consulted the bartender and came back with little plastic packets of.........SENAPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Senape" became our buzzword for the rest of the trip. We skipped the jazz club all together and ended our evening on the rooftop terrace of the hotel.

Rome Day Two:Scenes from Termini

With our Roma passes in hand, we road the subways everywhere. We returned from the Colosseum to find a political protest tasking place at Termini, with crowds chanting in unison and carrying a banner saying Medicina. Outside , the Carabinieri, or state police , were standing by. At no time did we feel threatened despite the crowds and noise, and the demonstration seemed pretty orderly. We explored the station, which was similar to Grand Central or Union Station, with shops and restaurants on three levels, and took pictures of the trains. Later, we saw a woman, middleaged, accosted by the police while taking pictures in the Metro station. Apparently, it is not allowed, picture taking. We were a little more aware of the threat of terrorism in Europe.

Rome Day Two:The Colosseum

Rome: the Second Day

A familiar sight

Street scenes

Breakfast

Every morning we enjoyed the hotel breakfast on the rooftop. I became quite accustomed to croissants and coldcuts and cheeses with my coffee American every morning. Yoghurt, fresh and canned fruit, cereals and pastries were also on the buffet. Several English and Indian families sitting near us ordered bacon and/or eggs from the menu, but I did not miss the traditional English breakfast. It was so lovely being waited on every morning. Usually when we vacation I still end up cooking breakfast, so this was quite a treat.

We headed off this AM on foot to the Colosseum, which just seemed to appear around a corner. It constantly amazed me, the sudden revelation of breathtaking antiquities that were just an everyday part of life in this gorgeous city. We bought a Roma pass outside the Colosseum and Ray adopted his tour guide persona, copied from the many aggressive tour guides lurking around all the tourist spots. He would hold his arm above his head and we followed after him like ducklings. The Colosseum was magnificent but frightening. The image of the horrors that took place in this huge arena still hung in the air about the place. Boomers would call this aura "bad vibes."

Enjoying the rooftop terrace

Cathedral across the street viewed from the roof of the hotel

Gelato at Trevi

Ray the photog

We wound up day one eating gelato, the first of many, at Trevi Fountain. We strolled back to the hotel, retrieved a bottle of wine from our room that had been purchased earlier at a corner market, and enjoyed a glass on the rooftop terrace of the hotel. The cathedral across from the hotel was beautiful bathed in soft lights. Our first day in Rome was complete.

More Day One in Rome

Trevi Fountain

First pizza rustica

Our hotel

The door to Rome

Our hotel, which Ray found for us last January, was in the heart of the historic district and within walking distance of Trevi Fountain, the Colloseum, Termini (the train station), Upim, a dept store, many restaurants, and many grocers, which sold hard liquor as well as fresh produce. Dennis and I got the larger room, we later found was in deference to our age. The hotel had a rooftop terrace where you could bring your own bottle of wine and view the city, as well as the beautiful church, Santa Maria Maggiore, across the street.