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!