We tried to figure out the bus for the Colosseum, or a taxi, but we started to run out of time, so we opted to walk it again. We knew it was about a 30-minute walk. Bella and I walked a bit faster than the rest so that we could at least get to the meeting spot and let Pete know that we were running late (though a text message worked too). We met Pete near the water dispenser at the Colosseum. He had a guide friend named Luciana who was going to be doing our tour. We said goodbye to Pete and headed inside the Colosseum, through the metal detectors. It was crowded, as I knew it would be, but not that big of a deal. It helped to have a guide shepherd us through, so we didn’t have to try to figure out where to go.
The Colosseum was more impressive than I thought it would be. Luciana did a great job of explaining things, including with visual examples she’d flip to in a binder she carried. “This is what it looks like now, but this [flip page] is what it used to look like.” Another advantage of having a guided tour is that it is more focused. It has a definite beginning and end. Unlike when you are browsing on your own and it can go on forever. Since some people like to linger and read every placard, and others prefer to graze, the self-tour can be draggy. But Luciana swept us through briskly, but with plenty of time for photos and selfies.
That said, especially after the previous night and the 30-minute walk, it was tiring. When we finished, we headed over to the Roman Forum, which is basically a massive archaeological ruin of the Roman town center from antiquity. It was cool, but the day was so incredibly hot and sunny that halfway through, I was wilting. We all were. Luciana did a great job of explaining things, but the last hour was kind of lost on me. I just wanted to get out of the sun.
We said goodbye to Luciana, filled out water bottles, and looked for a place to eat lunch. There is no shortage of outdoor cafes and restaurants in Rome, and from our limited Italian, the menus all looked somewhat similar. We picked one and got a table inside. Our first sit-down meal in Italy. Most of us got some form of pasta, and it was all delicious. As an appetizer, we got bruschetta with ricotta and honey. It was different and tasty. The menus in Italy don't always have English translations, but it’s fun to take a chance on something instead of googling it and knowing exactly what you’re getting. My pasta was a kind I don’t think I have tried before. It was like spaghetti, but hollow. In other words, it was like long straws of pasta, but not much bigger than spaghetti.
Pete had told us a good place to get a cheap hat for Cristina, so after lunch we found a gift shop and she got a hat. She thinks it’s a little gaudy, but it keeps the sun at bay, and that’s ultimately what matters. She also bought a new fan to replace the one she brought from Florida but lost.
We walked to the metro station and bought 24-hour passes. Pete said as long as you use it more than twice, it’s a better deal to get the 24-hour. We rode the metro back to Re di Roma and walked back to the apartment. Back in Ireland, Bella had introduced Cristina to an app called Seek that identifies plants and flowers when you take pics of them. So it quickly became common for Cristina to drop behind everyone because she’s busy taking photos of plants in her Seek app. This time, she was lagging because there was a vendor selling miscellaneous junk, including fans for 1 euro (at the hat shop they were 3 euros). We left her behind. Back at home, we crashed in the glorious coolness of our rooms where we had left the AC running. Cristina messaged me from a mini-market and asked about getting stuff for breakfast. She came home with eggs, peaches, bananas, yogurt, jam, and bread.
Pete met us around 6 for our food/drink tour, and we took the bus (24-hour pass use #2) to the bohemian area called Trastevere. And so began our food/drink tour, which consisted of Pete walking us to different places and him ordering/buying a specific thing for us to try. The area is very quirky and attractive, so it was a fun walk.
Here’s what we sampled on our tour:
First we went to a coffee place that specializes in an espresso made with sugar (not the norm for the sugar to be in the coffee during the brewing process). That kicked us off. The espresso was okay, but too sweet for my liking.
The night before, I had asked Pete what all the bright orange drinks we saw everyone drinking were, and he had explained Aperol spritzes to us: Aperol (an Italian bitter apéritif made of gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona, among other ingredients. It has a vibrant orange hue. Its name comes from the Italian slang word for aperitivo, which is apero) mixed with prosecco, digestive bitters, soda water, and an orange slice. It’s very much an Italian thing (like I said, as we passed outdoor cafes, everyone seemed to be drinking them). Pete was going to do wine next, but since I had asked about the Aperol spritzes, we did those. And strangely enough, he felt that the best spritzes were poured at an Irish pub. It was bizarre stepping into an Irish pub in the heart of Rome after spending a week in Ireland. We finally got to taste the icy orange drink that everyone was drinking. I understood why, as it is quite refreshing in the hot Italian summer. Again, a bit too sweet for my preference. I think if it was mixed with some extra soda water it could be delicious, but I didn’t feel like I could ask for that kind of modification so I just dealt with it. I think Bella finished hers and Cristina’s. And maybe even some of Jacoby’s.
Next, time for some food. Pete got us a plate of suppli (pronounced SOUP-lee) which are an Italian street food. Deep fried rice balls. Delicious. He served them to us with some cold Ichnusa, an unfiltered Italian beer. There were four kinds of suppli, each one with different seasonings and fillings. I don’t remember what they all were, but they were all great, as street food usually is.
Our next stop was pizza. And more Italian beer. By this point, the weariness in our backs and feet was starting to decrease.
 |
| Pizza is often cut with shears here |
The next stop was grappa, a spirit distilled from the leftover parts of the wine-making process. Basically, all the skins, seeds, and stems that are leftover (pomace) get turned into a strong brandy. Very Italian. In fact, it has to be produced in Italy to be called grappa. This is a sipping spirit, not a shot. Bella wasn’t crazy about the taste, but she wanted her feet to stop hurting, so she drank hers in a few big sips. Then she finished Cristina’s. She wanted to finish Jacoby’s, but we cut her off. Needless to say, for the rest of the evening, she walked holding my arm.
The second to last stop was for fried cod, a very Roman street food. It was super hot and very salty. But yummy. The kids didn't care for it.
The final stop on our food tour was gelato. Everyone got a cup of three flavors. I don’t think there is such a thing as bad gelato, but I am up to the challenge to test that theory.
By this point it was after 10, and we were exhausted and a little drunk. Pete walked us to the bus stop, but for some reason, our bus didn’t show up at the scheduled time, so we waited till the next one, which meant we didn't get on the bus still close to midnight. We said our final goodbye to Pete and got off at Re di Roma and walked home. Long day!
No comments:
Post a Comment