Roman Dinner, Pantheon, and the Colosseum

We decided to stick around here this weekend and wait to go to Cosenza. Thursday night, one of the lawyers from Baker & Mckenzie asked Michael if we'd like to join her and her husband for dinner at a restaurant called Felice. Apparently it takes a month to get a reservation at this restaurant, so of course he said yes.

We left with plenty of time to reach the restaurant but of course the metro broke down after one stop. It even started going the wrong way on the tracks. By the time we figured out that the metro would not be fixed any time soon, we were late and had to get a cab. Oh how I wish we could afford to ride in cabs all the time, it's so nice. Luckily we arrived only 10 minutes late.

Francesa told us this restaurant is known for their cacio e pepe pasta which is one of the 4 main Roman pastas (also included in that list are carbonara, amatriciana, and gricia). So that's what we both got for our primo. It was incredible. Sooooo cheesy and delicious. When the waiter brought us the dish, the fresh shredded cheese is all over the top, so they take your spoon and fork and mix the pasta up for about a minute, making the cheese all melty. For secondo Francesca ordered us some fried meat and potatoes. They were also very delicious. Then for dolce we both got tiramisu.

Luckily Francesca speaks english very well, so she spent the night talking to us. Her nice husband John Carlo doesn't speak Italian, but he brought a friend of his, Marco, who he talked to a lot. They were all very nice and we had a great time eating dinner with them. They even gave us a ride home in their BMW. Easily our most luxurious traveling method thus far in Europe (especially when you're comparing it to dirty metros, crowded buses, and cheap night trains).

Today we both slept in super late, then headed over to our FAVORITE lunch spot, Pastificio. Then we walked over to see the Pantheon. I had downloaded Rick Steve's audio guide ahead of time. I loved hearing about all the history behind the Pantheon.

Then we walked over to the Colosseum to finally tour the inside. Again, thank you Rick for your free audio tour. It's pretty crazy walking around an amphitheater that is almost 2,000 years old. During the grand opening they had 100 days of games and slaughtered around 5,000 animals (sad). Did you know the arena floor could also be flooded for mock sea battles? That is cool.

Arch of Constantine 

Today we'll use the same ticket to see the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

Lecce

One of the reasons we are so excited to be living in Italy, is that it gives us the chance to visit a few of the cities where Michael served on his mission. Lecce is called the Florence of the south and is in the heel of the boot.

We left Friday night at about midnight and arrived in Lecce at 8:30am. We opted for the cheap seats and as a result had a rough night trying to sleep. The seats are weird, 6 in a compartment, 3 on each side facing each other. So the person you are traveling with is sitting facing you. We also got stuck right in the middle so we didn't even have a wall to lean on. The first couple hours were terrible. But then one guy got off and I could sleep across 2 seats. The last couple hours there was only 1 guy in the compartment with us, so we could sleep a bit more comfortably.

 

Lecce is a gorgeous city. Lots of beautiful churches and all the buildings are super old with that pretty yellowed stone.

Chiesa di Santa Croce, Church of the Holy Cross. I hate the scaffolding on it. The facade of this church is stunning. 

The inside was gorgeous too.

Here's Michael at the grocery store he used to always go to when he served in Lecce.

This was the old church building. It has since moved locations.

Whenever Michael talked about Lecce he would always rave about having the best mozzarella at a little shop called Gocce Di Latte. The mozzarella is made fresh. This was one of the first places he wanted to go when we walked off the train. The only bad part was he couldn't quite remember where it was... So we ventured out and hoped he would remember. Well after about 2 hours of walking around in the hot hot sun, I started making him ask people if they knew of this little cheese shop. Luckily (and by that I mean after some prayers on my part) a kind old gentleman knew exactly where it was and gave us directions.

So here's the nice Italian man stirring a huge pot with a large wooden spoon.

Not sure what kind of cheese this is that is drying out...

FINALLY! We got some mozzarella.

And in honor of how Michael did it in the old mission days, we ate the mozzarella plain. Like biting into an apple :) I've got to say, it was the BEST mozzarella I have ever eaten. So much flavor! 

We hung out for a while in Michael's favorite park. Eating some fresh cherries we bought.

Here's a typical city street in Lecce. Gorgeous!

Piazza Sant' Oronzo. There happened to be some big concert and event going on Saturday night. So later on this Piazza was packed with people!

Near the city center they had a McDonalds with, what I like to call a "walk-thru." Just goes to show what a different life style Italians live. Walking most places instead of driving giant SUVs. 

Another random find in Lecce. The sign says "Obama Take Away." And there's a picture of Obama biting into a burger or something. We did NOT eat there :)

Michael remembered this super cool stationary/leather/paper/book binding store we had to stop by. The leather in this placed smelled amazing. 

           

Another gorgeous church. 

On Sunday we went to the Lecce branch. Michael was so excited to see a lot of the old contacts and members. There were about a dozen people that remembered him. He was really excited as one of his contacts that he had started teaching (in 2006) was blessing the sacrament for the first time the Sunday we were there. They also asked him to speak for a couple minutes. He talked about how we had been walking around all day (with me complaining about my feet hurting and being so tired) and how it reminded him of how hard it can be as a missionary but how important the work is. He went on to bear his testimony. I only understood what he was saying as I sat next to one of the Elders and made him translate it for me :)

After church a couple Michael knew from before invited us to their beach house and for lunch. Lecce is about 25 minutes from the coast. On the way they were telling us (telling Michael in Italian and he had to translate for me) all about this cool medieval town built inside a castle that his family is from and many of them still live in this town of 400 people. We stopped by and saw the castle and the tiny town. Then as we were driving to their house we passed a ton of olive trees (including some of their own they harvest to make olive oil). While she was cooking we walked across the street to the beach. Too bad it was Sunday and we didn't have bathing suits anyway because it was gorgeous.

Italian meal courses are very different, as there are many of them and the order is very different than in america. Antipasti (appetizer), primo (usually pasta), secondo (usually meats), contorni (vegetables often to go with your secondo or salads), dolce (a dessert or fruit for dessert). So we had pasta first. Then a spread of vegetables and meats, then fruit, then dessert. Too bad I don't like raw tomatoes since they were from her garden. Michael really enjoyed them. 

The beach is right on the other side of those trees. After lunch they drove us to our hostel and we grabbed our bag and hopped on the train back to Rome. 

Overall we had a great weekend in Lecce. It was so fun being in a city Michael was so familiar with. He had a great time telling me tons of stories about the different places we saw walking around. This weekend we should be visiting Cosenza, then the next weekend we are flying to Malta. We are super excited to go to Malta. 

Rome cont.

So here are a few things we've been up to recently in Rome.

Eating the best cannoli in Rome. It was soooo delicious. We will definitely be going there again.

Walking around Piazza Navona. I love those spray paint artists. They are the new age Bob Ross.

I walked around the Campo De' Fiori market. The most famous market in Rome. It was pretty fun to walk around but it's pretty touristy. The produce is probably twice as much as our local market.

This is Michael buying some fresh figs from our local market right at the end of our street. I probably go to this market every day. I typically buy figs, cherries, nectarines, peaches, tomatoes, cheese and bread. I need to start branching out more because they have tons of produce. 

 We ate the BEST tiramisu Rome has to offer. And it was divine. Pompi is famous for their tiramisu but everything looked amazing.

Michael got the classic flavor tiramisu. I decided to get the hazelnut flavor and it was incredible! They also have strawberry, banana and pistachio flavors. We will definitely be going back. 

Jogging or walking around Villa Borghese. It is like the central park of Rome. The park has some museums, gardens, fountains, statues, etc. There are people riding around on segways, pedal cars, bikes and golf carts to see the whole park. I looped the key ring through my laces so I didn't have to carry my house keys.

This is the view from a lookout point in the park. It is basically right at the top of Piazza del Popolo.

Tomorrow's post will be about our weekend in Lecce.

Rome

So we made it to Rome. It took us FOREVER to get here. We flew from SLC to NYC, NYC to Copenhagen, Copenhagen to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Rome airport, train to metro, metro to apartment. Ugh! 

This is me in the NYC airport. I was still smiling at this point. 

Our apartment is very tiny, but in a nice residential area. It is a studio-loft layout with our bed up in the air on top of the bathroom. We have to turn the broiler on for an hour before we can have a hot shower :) This is the front door to our apartment. 

We arrived late on Tuesday and Michael was up early to start his internship. He looked very handsome in his custom suit from dresscode. We walked over to his office (not the door pictured here), stopping on the way at Mizzica to buy some delicious cornetti. 

I started my day off by heading down to the Nuovo Mercato Esquilino. I walked around the market for about an hour looking at all of the fresh produce, meats, and ethnic foods (mostly rice, lentils, and spices). Then I finally bought some nectarines and peaches. 

From there I walked over to the colosseum to marvel at its grandeur for a while. Then I headed home and crashed for a few hours. I'm still suffering a bit from jet lag. After Michael got off work we took the metro over to the colosseum so he could see it. 

Then we walked from there passed the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II and all the way up to the Piazza del Popolo. From there we went to dinner at Al Forno della Soffitta. We started off with some fritto (fried stuff) and then we both had Margerita pizza. It was sooooo delicious! Then after dinner we walked over to Gelateria I Caruso (supposedly one of the best gelato places in Rome) and 
got some gelato. It was a pretty great first night out.

Friday, I spent a few hours working (planning our upcoming trips) in an internet cafe with a view of the Colosseum. It was so neat sitting there with my macbook staring out the window at a structure that is around 2,000 years old.

Friday night Michael and I went over to the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps.

Saturday Michael and I started the day off at the Circus Maximus market. This market is only open Saturdays and Sunday, and they only sell local produce and goods. We ate LOTS of delicious samples. Cheeses, meats, bread, gourmet hazelnut spread... Mmm! We bought some fresh cherries, cured meat, and fresh ricotta, yum.

After dropping off our goodies we headed over to the Spanish steps to get lunch at Pastificio. Everyday from 1-2pm this restaurant does a pasta tasting. They make 2 different kinds of FRESH pasta for the evening but serve a sampling for lunch. So you get a plate of fresh made pasta with water for 4 Euros. They serve it on paper plates with plastic cups. There is no where to sit really and it was a zoo. The pasta was amazing! My first time eating fresh pasta. It had such a great chewy texture. We will be going back here often.

Piazza del Popolo

We finish almost every night with some delicious gelato. There is a great place about a 1 minute walk from our apartment. I always get coconut and then a different flavor to try. Nothing has beaten the coconut for me so far. 

Church today. And then probably the Pantheon in the afternoon. 

If you're still reading, I'll finish with some things I've discovered in the short time I've been here: 

1. Romans are ballsy when it comes to crossing the street- I expected the drivers to be crazy but I didn't expect the pedestrians to be just as nuts! They just start walking out into traffic even when cars are speeding towards them. The cars do stop (obviously, as there are not dead people everywhere) but it freaks me out. So when I'm crossing the street alone, I have to wait FOREVER for a break in traffic. But when there are other people crossing I let them lead the way. 

2. Romans are confused about how to dress during the summer- I'm not sure why Romans choose to wear three layers, jeans and shoes when it is summer. Granted, in the mornings it is around 68 and a little breezy. But by the time the sun is up it is HOT! I mean, I am sweating in my sun dress if I don't find some shade. Apparently it's called Colpa d'aria, which has something to do with not letting the cool  breeze on your neck or they think you'll get sick.  

3. The architecture here is gorgeous. And its looks like that (almost) everywhere- I knew Rome would be beautiful, with its archaic buildings and picturesque streets. But what I didn't realize is that it would look like that everywhere! All the time while I'm out walking, I have to stop and marvel at the beauty that is all around me. Everywhere. For example, Thursday I was walking towards Piazza Navona and accidentally found this beautiful court yard with a gorgeous church at the end. No one was in there so I walked around and took some pictures. All the time I'm looking down side streets and it looks like a movie set of what you would think Rome should look like. I love it. 

I think we'll be heading to Lecce next weekend to visit one of Michael's mission cities. Should be great!