My sabbatical was winding down and we were scheduled to be in Dublin in February so we decided to piggyback the two trips. Another couple, Ed and Stacey, were going as well, and at the last minute our daughter was able to join us and bunk with Abbi Nicolella who had also booked the trip with her parents.
I was the first one to check-in at our hotel and texted the others that they failed to mention to me that our hotel had a rooftop bar. Turns out that we put that roof to good use, having happy hour there each night while watching the stars come out over our little neighborhood in Trestevere.
As soon as the gang arrived, they shook off their jet lag on a bike tour of Rome. Our guide Francesco took us through back alleys and sidewalks as he tried to keep us away from the motor vehicles. I joked that no one had time to worry about how sleepy they were…they were too busy worrying about being run over.
We covered an impressive amount of Rome during the three hour tour. We started with the Jewish Ghetto. From there we rode up a hill for an amazing view of the Roman Forum. Next was the Colosseum and Circus Maximus. We pedaled up yet another hill (we asked for it, but complained anyway) where Francesco pointed out a magical keyhole which you looked into for a perfect view of St. Peter's Basilica. The rest of the trip was thankfully downhill, but the worst traffic we encountered was the crowd of pedestrians sandwiched between Piazza Navona and Campo di Fiori.
Back at our hotel, we agreed we earned the right to eat some carbs that night. We met Jake at his favorite spot, Tony's, in Trestevere. Jake had been there before because they offer a student special. It was Friday night and we were lucky to get a table as the restaurant filled up with long tables of students. After dinner, the adults returned to the hotel lobby while the three young-adults went looking for a night club. The story is that they found one, but Casey (who speaks Italian) had a little misunderstanding with the bouncer.
Saturday was Valentine's Day and Debi booked another first for me: a tour of a vineyard in Italy. We rode out into the countryside to a castle now used as a winery. After touring the main building and chapel, we stopped for some wine tasting in the wine cellar which is also a retail shop. We saw several customers in line waiting to fill their 5 gallon jugs from the large vat. Next, we were escorted to the estate's trattoria for lunch the Italian way. First we had enough appetizers to feed an army. Next came the pasta, orecchiette with broccoli for the vegetarians in the group. At this point, we were all stuffed but the courses kept coming. Next was the second course…a platter of assorted grilled meats. Dessert was a trio of Italian specialties. Of course all of these were served with the estate wine.
On our return to Rome we all swore that we would never eat again. We hiked for hours all the way from Jake's apartment back to our hotel. People were out everywhere celebrating Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year and Carnivals all at once. By the time we got home, we worked up a thirst and needed some pizza to go along with our beer and wine. Trestevere is known for its pizza and we found a place nearby filled with locals and we marveled at the wood-fired pizza oven and the skill of the pizza makers.
Sunday was spent exploring the Trestevere street market/antique fair and then strolling the grounds of Villa Borghese. In the evening, we visited our friend Giovanni the owner of the Steelers bar in Rome. We left our hotel at 10:00 a.m. and didn't return for fourteen hours. Exhausted, we returned to our spot on the roof for star-gazing and storytelling because ….why not?
No comments:
Post a Comment