This is Roma...

Oh my...a short two hour Alitalia flight and we were drenched in the Italian sun and accosted by the wonderfully blended aroma of scooter exhaust, pasta, sweat, and coffee.  The flight itself was mercifully uneventful given the rather worn looking Airbus aircraft. The pre-travel research proved handy as we immediately found the Leonardo Express train to Stazione Termini which is only a few blocks from Giovy Bed and Breakfast.  As an anchor for the remaining five days in Rome, it was perfect.  Giovanna and her nieces are amazing hostesses as they settled us in our second floor suite.  Baggage up the stairs? No problem with a neat little one person elevator with a folding door.   


Here is the picture of Leonardo Express at the train station...I love trains...

Our immediate goal for day one was to establish situational awareness and explore the area so we can validate our attack plan each day.  But food is always a priority and we took Giovanna's recommendation to go see Ciro at a pizzeria a few blocks from the B&B.  The pizza was unreal and not surprisingly way better than, oddly enough, the Ciro's restaurant in our neighborhood in Clifton, Virginia. You have to understand, the Virginia Ciro's sets a fairly high bar but it paled in comparison. Two pies later, we continued our day one adventure.

We wandered perhaps a bit further than expected to the Colosseum via a series of cobblestone side streets, moss covered apartments, and an engineering college.  Admittedly a bit lost and disoriented, we turned looking for the Colosseum and there it was filling the frames of our eyes.  Thousands of years of history majestically waiting as it always has for the gladiators and tourists alike. It was an amazing sight to behold and pictures or web site tours before arriving do not prepare you adequately. We resisted the temptation of purchasing tickets and decided to simply walk the grounds of the Colosseum, Palatine, and the Roman Forum -- after all it was only day one. 

Here are a few shots of the Colosseum during this exploration tour...the first picture is from a small bridge we stumbled upon.  

This second is taken as we got closer and tried to figure out how to get down to the lower street where the entrance to the grounds is located.

Being so close to the Vatican, Catholic, Jesuit, Fransiscan churches are on almost every corner. There are some very beautiful locations with intricate details, paintings, and sculptures. I'll talk a bit more about this in my next blog. Here is a photo of one of the churches -- we had to be quick since we weren't very well dressed for churches. Meaning, we had shorts on and the girls had shoulders uncovered -- we dressed better the next day...

The evening snuck up on us quickly but the heat (oh God the heat) mandated a break to the B&B. Re-energized a few hours later we headed for Trevi Fountain for an evening photo tour and dinner. It is said singles will meet the Roman of their dreams with a simple toss of the coin into the fountain and if husbands drink from the fountain they will love their wives forever. Well...there were lots of singles hanging around the fountain that was overflowing with Euros and the husbands were no where to be seen. There were a lot of bars and cafes around Trevi fountain and the water must be disgusting from all the money...I'm just saying...

We avoided the mainstream cafes and restaurants located right on a tourist site and found an alleyway with just enought light to have a sidewalk cafe and restaurant. We wanted local color and we got it in spades. The pasta dinner was amazing in a neverhaditbeforekindofway...really. We must have looked like homeless people that found a Euro because the food lasted oh about 30 seconds. Slowly we came to realize that is not the Italian way. We were supposed to order antipasta, relax, sip wine, eat a bit of bread if they gave it, sip wine, order the main course, relax, sip more wine, order the cappuccino and dessert, relax, ask for the bill (not "check"), and then pay and leave.
We instead, sat, ordered the pasta, became impatient when the bread didn't arrive in time, inhaled the pasta, asked for the bill, became impatient when the bill didn't arrive pronto, paid, annoyed the waiter didn't come to get the money so we walked it inside the restaurant, then left. I can still hear/imagine what was being said as we left..."stupid Americans." But we left with a skip and a smile having eaten the best pasta of our lives and wondering why Italians are not fatter. I think I have a clue as to why...tourist eat all the calories...the pre-travel research also paid off in finding awesome gelato at San Crispino! It too was unlike anything we have had before. To wrap up the food segment of our day...best pizza, pasta, and gelato. This week in Rome is off to a great start...