Rome (July 9-12)
On the morning of July 9th we woke up early to send off Greg. He is traveling to Illinois to visit family before returning to Seattle. Seth and I spent the morning packing and finishing off all the leftover food in his fridge that we deemed would go bad in 4 days if it were not consumed. We completed this task successfully then headed off to the airport. Seth had a direct flight to Rome, but my booking (as I picked the cheapest one-way ticket) took me first to Vienna. My luggage and I successfully made it to Rome, where I was to meet Seth at our airbnb apartment. I got on the train from the airport to the city (10 minutes late), and as it was about to leave a wave of people came running onto the train from one of the other tracks. Thanks to a stroke of luck, Seth walked onto my train and found a seat in the same car as me. His train was 45 minutes late and then was deemed to have mechanical issues so it was cancelled, hence the flood of travelers. All this for a 30-minute train that is supposed to leave the airport every 15 minutes; we were no longer in Switzerland.
Seth and I slept in on the 10th before heading to the US Embassy to meet Franco and Mebrat, friends my Grandpa Hank made when he worked in Italy. They live in Naples but were staying with a friend just outside Rome, so luckily the timing worked out well for Seth and I to meet them. The four of us walked around downtown to some of the main attractions including the Trevi Fountain (under rennovation), the Spanish Steps (fountain also under rennovation here), the Pantheon, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Franco reminded me a lot of my grandpa and Mebrat reminded me a lot of Grandma Gwen--I can see how they became friends.
We then had lunch at a cafe, where Franco insisted that I wear a gigantic bright red napkin so as to not stain my shirt with my bucatini. One of the waitresses joked that she wanted to take my picture to put on Tripadvisor. Of course, the other three members of the group did not need to don bibs because they were not eating red pasta that required twirling. After finishing my bucatini, I grabbed some bread and, as my grandpa has taught me well, began to wipe up the leftover sauce on my plate. My grandpa left out part of the explanation--that this is generally not done in restaurants. Franco informed me about this practice, called "scarpetta," meaning "little shoe," saying that among friends in a restaurant such as we were in it was acceptable but making sure I knew that in fancier places it would be very impolite. I told him that I was just following my grandpa's instruction.
After lunch, Franco and Mebrat left Rome and went back to their friend's house. It was very nice to meet them and they gave me an open invite to stay with them whenever I happen to end up in Naples or Ethiopia(!). In a preview of coming attractions, Seth and I walked by the Forum to the Colusseum, then decided we were too tired to look at ruins in the sun for another couple hours, so we went back to our place and relaxed for a while. On the way back, we passed the Circus Maximus, the ancient chariot-racing stadium that could hold 100,000 spectators. I was disappointed to find out that none of the ancient stone is left, but the site is preserved as a sort of park. We went to dinner at about 8:30, still too early for Italians as we found out. We were hoping for stellar food but got good food instead. The gelato for dessert was up to snuff, as usual.
Seth and I visited the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel on the 11th. The museum had lots of cool stuff but was packed and had way too much to see in one visit. Upon reaching the Sistine Chapel, we donned our headphones and let Rick Steves teach us about the wonders of Michaelangelo. His tour transformed the Sistine Chapel from a church with better-than-average paintings into the masterpiece that it is. After seeing the chapel, we walked around the city for a while and waited as long as we could for dinner. This time we left at an appropriate dinner hour, 9:30. The restaurant was incredible; the food was simple and the flavors were subtle and delicious. The best part of the meal was our salmon appetizer, prepared with a little bit of lemon, citrus, and salt. It was the best fish I have had in a long time (but not ever--it's impossible to beat smoked salmon). I also had a great linguini dish with clams and mussels. After dinner we walked around a street fair that was taking place along the bank of the Tiber. We definitely stood out as tourists, as there were few there, but it was fun to be among the locals.
For our final day in Rome, the 12th, Seth went on a run while I walked down the Via Appia, the ancient road to Brundisium, a port city on the heel of the boot. I did not have enough time to walk down to the cool, ancient part of the road or see the catacombs, so the part of the Via Appia that I saw--lots of cars driving down a normal-looking road--was disppointing. Next time I will rent a bike and get down to the interesting part of the road. As I was contemplating, over a croissant, whether I should walk back or wait for the bus, the bus drove by. I hurriedly finished the last of my meal and sprinted to catch the bus. I did not know where it was headed, only that it was headed back in the direction of the Colusseum area. On the bus, I met two Belgian girls who also did not know where the bus was headed and were attempting to follow its progress on their map. We reached the Circus Maximus and I decided I should get off because I wasn't sure which way it was headed next.
I proceeded to listed to Rick talk about the Colusseum and Forum. I had just finished the end of my Forum tour and was quickly nearing my touring-in-the-hot-sun limit for the day when I almost walked right into the Garfield Jazz Band's tour group! I did a 180 and successfully avoided detection so as to not disturb their tour. I had been communicating earlier in the day with band members about their whereabouts, but it was a stroke of luck that I found them where I did. It was very fun to see my friends from the band, Mr. Acox (who didn't recognize me at first becasue of my beard), and the parents on the trip. I bid them farewell until the evening and went back to my apartment to finish packing my bags. Seth and I took the train out to Tivoli to see the GHS band perform the last concert of their European tour. The venue was called the Villa d'Este, a magnificent property built by a Cardinal centuries ago, and had incredible fountains, still running with their original hydraulics. Though I hate to admit it, the jazz band sounded better than we ever did when I was in the band. Multiple times I found myself as engrossed in the music as I am when really concentrating on a good recording. A great performance--and venue--for the seniors at the end their GHS careers.
Off to Barcelona on the 13th.
I am currently in London, but (as you can see) am two cities behind on my blog posts. Back to Seattle on the 22nd!
Seth and I slept in on the 10th before heading to the US Embassy to meet Franco and Mebrat, friends my Grandpa Hank made when he worked in Italy. They live in Naples but were staying with a friend just outside Rome, so luckily the timing worked out well for Seth and I to meet them. The four of us walked around downtown to some of the main attractions including the Trevi Fountain (under rennovation), the Spanish Steps (fountain also under rennovation here), the Pantheon, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Franco reminded me a lot of my grandpa and Mebrat reminded me a lot of Grandma Gwen--I can see how they became friends.
We then had lunch at a cafe, where Franco insisted that I wear a gigantic bright red napkin so as to not stain my shirt with my bucatini. One of the waitresses joked that she wanted to take my picture to put on Tripadvisor. Of course, the other three members of the group did not need to don bibs because they were not eating red pasta that required twirling. After finishing my bucatini, I grabbed some bread and, as my grandpa has taught me well, began to wipe up the leftover sauce on my plate. My grandpa left out part of the explanation--that this is generally not done in restaurants. Franco informed me about this practice, called "scarpetta," meaning "little shoe," saying that among friends in a restaurant such as we were in it was acceptable but making sure I knew that in fancier places it would be very impolite. I told him that I was just following my grandpa's instruction.
After lunch, Franco and Mebrat left Rome and went back to their friend's house. It was very nice to meet them and they gave me an open invite to stay with them whenever I happen to end up in Naples or Ethiopia(!). In a preview of coming attractions, Seth and I walked by the Forum to the Colusseum, then decided we were too tired to look at ruins in the sun for another couple hours, so we went back to our place and relaxed for a while. On the way back, we passed the Circus Maximus, the ancient chariot-racing stadium that could hold 100,000 spectators. I was disappointed to find out that none of the ancient stone is left, but the site is preserved as a sort of park. We went to dinner at about 8:30, still too early for Italians as we found out. We were hoping for stellar food but got good food instead. The gelato for dessert was up to snuff, as usual.
Seth and I visited the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel on the 11th. The museum had lots of cool stuff but was packed and had way too much to see in one visit. Upon reaching the Sistine Chapel, we donned our headphones and let Rick Steves teach us about the wonders of Michaelangelo. His tour transformed the Sistine Chapel from a church with better-than-average paintings into the masterpiece that it is. After seeing the chapel, we walked around the city for a while and waited as long as we could for dinner. This time we left at an appropriate dinner hour, 9:30. The restaurant was incredible; the food was simple and the flavors were subtle and delicious. The best part of the meal was our salmon appetizer, prepared with a little bit of lemon, citrus, and salt. It was the best fish I have had in a long time (but not ever--it's impossible to beat smoked salmon). I also had a great linguini dish with clams and mussels. After dinner we walked around a street fair that was taking place along the bank of the Tiber. We definitely stood out as tourists, as there were few there, but it was fun to be among the locals.
For our final day in Rome, the 12th, Seth went on a run while I walked down the Via Appia, the ancient road to Brundisium, a port city on the heel of the boot. I did not have enough time to walk down to the cool, ancient part of the road or see the catacombs, so the part of the Via Appia that I saw--lots of cars driving down a normal-looking road--was disppointing. Next time I will rent a bike and get down to the interesting part of the road. As I was contemplating, over a croissant, whether I should walk back or wait for the bus, the bus drove by. I hurriedly finished the last of my meal and sprinted to catch the bus. I did not know where it was headed, only that it was headed back in the direction of the Colusseum area. On the bus, I met two Belgian girls who also did not know where the bus was headed and were attempting to follow its progress on their map. We reached the Circus Maximus and I decided I should get off because I wasn't sure which way it was headed next.
I proceeded to listed to Rick talk about the Colusseum and Forum. I had just finished the end of my Forum tour and was quickly nearing my touring-in-the-hot-sun limit for the day when I almost walked right into the Garfield Jazz Band's tour group! I did a 180 and successfully avoided detection so as to not disturb their tour. I had been communicating earlier in the day with band members about their whereabouts, but it was a stroke of luck that I found them where I did. It was very fun to see my friends from the band, Mr. Acox (who didn't recognize me at first becasue of my beard), and the parents on the trip. I bid them farewell until the evening and went back to my apartment to finish packing my bags. Seth and I took the train out to Tivoli to see the GHS band perform the last concert of their European tour. The venue was called the Villa d'Este, a magnificent property built by a Cardinal centuries ago, and had incredible fountains, still running with their original hydraulics. Though I hate to admit it, the jazz band sounded better than we ever did when I was in the band. Multiple times I found myself as engrossed in the music as I am when really concentrating on a good recording. A great performance--and venue--for the seniors at the end their GHS careers.
Off to Barcelona on the 13th.
I am currently in London, but (as you can see) am two cities behind on my blog posts. Back to Seattle on the 22nd!
Comments
Post a Comment