When in Rome...

We arrived in Rome on Thursday night, got on the train to the city from the airport, and then hopped on the subway. The instructions from the hotel then involved taking a bus for 3 or 6 stops (different sources) and getting off in front of our hotel. We checked it on google maps, however, and the walk from the next subway station was only 15 minutes, so we decided that we were much more likely to make it to the hotel in 15 minutes on foot than actually make it on the bus. As we walked past the spray painted metal bars over windows, alone, at 11pm, we decided that is the last time we claim to know a city better than people who live there. On the plus side, we must have made it to the hotel in about 8 minutes because we were walking so fast.

We finally made it to the Pantheon to meet our friends from home, Steph and Andy. Usually we meet in Snoqualmie or Issaquah, so it was fun to say things like, “See you at the Pantheon!” We finally found them and their bottles of wine. 

Steph and Andy had done a tour of Italy, and Rome was their last stop. On their trip they had accidentally bought too much wine, so Steph emailed me beforehand to know if we would accept the challenge to finish all of it that weekend. Challenge accepted.

After sitting outside by the Pantheon for a while, we decided to grab a to-go cup of wine and go on a walk. Apparently the best time to tour Rome is between 2 and 3am because there were no crowds. All of the sites were clear for pictures. Who knew?!

 

The next day we met Steph & Andy outside of St. Peter’s / the Vatican for lunch. We may or may not have stopped for a gelato appetizer on our way.

Probably a had to be there story, but at lunch John was really excited about his order of spaghetti and meatballs. When our meals finally came, he got clams. Not really what he was craving, but he ate it anyway. Maybe meatball in Italian means clam?

We strolled around Rome the rest of the day and then stopped at the Capuchin Crypt, a new site in Rome for John and I. I expected an underground space with bones piled on top of one another because generally that’s what a crypt or catacombs are. That is totally not what it is. They don’t know who did actually did it, but someone unearthed all of these Capuchin friar bones and displayed them very ornately and creepily. Google it. It is weird, cool, and kind of shock if that’s not what you’re expecting. The tour guide kept telling people to watch their heads and not knock down any bones in the back since now it is illegal to decorate with human remains, and all bones that fall off can’t be replaced. Not a warning you hear every day.

 

After that, we headed back to Steph and Andy’s hotel in the Pantheon square where there was a rooftop bar for a drink. We watched the sunset (and fireworks!) from the roof, played our new favorite card game, Crop Duster, and continued to work on “the challenge”.

 

Dinner that night was one of the best meals I have ever had, other than the octopus appetizer that everyone else got that I didn’t eat. My pasta was delicious, and I would consider going back to Rome just to eat at that restaurant again. And again.

The next day we met at the Colosseum, where Steph and Andy took a tour in the morning. We did the same thing as the day before as we wandered back to the hotel, stopping for a pasta lunch, and making it back to the rooftop bar. 

 

We made another bar stop on our way to dinner and then picked a restaurant in the Trastevere district of Rome. Dinner was of course delicious, and we had a celebratory tiramisu for our last night in Rome. 

And of course we won the challenge.