Rome
August 29th, we headed to Rome, past orchards, fields of sorghum and Arborio rice (I guess they still call them rice paddies here) growing. The Autostratta took us through The Apennines which were very windy with heaps of tunnels and tall bridges through the mountains. A number of us complained about the speed Antonio was travelling at and he reduced it. I worked for a bus lines for 2 years and have never gone so fast!!! A lot of people were getting very green around the gills. Still it was nice to see the hills and mountains and the leaves starting to turn colour for autumn.
I almost cried though as we raced through Tuscany with its olive trees, vineyards and villas sitting in the hillsides-it’s somewhere I’ve always longed to visit. I’d love to rent a villa and shop and cook like a local. Anyway, it whizzed by us on the Autostratta and was gone.
We arrived in Rome just before 4pm. Most of the others on the bus raced up to their rooms to get ready for dinner out. Russ and I strolled down and walked right around the Coliseum and Caesar’s Palace then back through the cobbled streets to pick our restaurant for dinner.
Back to our room, and after a glass of wine we headed down for dinner. We had picked a restaurant Clementine’s which turned out to be a great choice. We had bruscetta with beautiful fresh tomatoes, stuffed zucchini flowers and a small antipasto plate. I should tell you I have never seen more beautiful small goods anywhere. I just go into the delis and supermarkets and inhale the beautiful smells of the parma and coppa hams and the cheeses we have bought are unbelievable. Anyway, back to dinner-then Russ had spaghetti with Mussels and goats cheese and after deliberating between rabbit Cacciatore or veal saltimbocca, I settled on the latter. The waiter told me I was in Rome and it was a traditional roman dish so I should eat it! It was great. Then we shared a green salad with lovely olive oil and balsamic vinegar (mopped the seasonings up with our bread. Last we shared traditional tiramisu (wonderful) and an orange, limoncello and almond syrup sorbet. (I asked for the recipe, it was SO good). We had water and lots of wine for 49 Euros.
August 30th we got up bright and early and went on one of the few extra organized tours we have signed on for. We arrived at the gates of the Vatican at 7.30am, got in by 8.30 and were herded through the museum and on to the Sistine Chapel for half an hour “free time”. It is really quite beautiful, but hard to appreciate with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of other people there too. We had to have a local guide today, and by the time we escaped her, I was really sick of her little girl voice. Also, she took people to buy special books at very chosen stands and you knew she was getting a kick back. St Peter’s Basilica is the biggest Catholic church in the world, and is awesome with its statues and mosaics. It’s beautiful. We should have just taken the included tour there and skipped the Vatican. The extra tour cost 36 Euros, but the actual tickets only cost 12.
Enjoying a Caffe and Caffe Fredo Near The Vatican
Once again we gave the group the slip and went off on a Hop on Hop Off tour on open double decker buses for 13 Euros each and managed to see all the things they have paid lots of money for as extras. We had a lovely pasta lunch near the Trevi Fountain 18th century). We did a lot of walking around Rome (through the shopping areas, visiting a supermarket and ending up at the Spanish Steps) before arriving home at the hotel around 5.30 when we went for drinks on the roof with a heap of the other tour members. From the roof, we have a wonderful view over the Coliseum and Rome.
"The Wedding Cake"
The Wedding Cake is just a huge monument, there's no museum, no offices-nothing-it's just a really huge empty monument!
I almost cried though as we raced through Tuscany with its olive trees, vineyards and villas sitting in the hillsides-it’s somewhere I’ve always longed to visit. I’d love to rent a villa and shop and cook like a local. Anyway, it whizzed by us on the Autostratta and was gone.
We arrived in Rome just before 4pm. Most of the others on the bus raced up to their rooms to get ready for dinner out. Russ and I strolled down and walked right around the Coliseum and Caesar’s Palace then back through the cobbled streets to pick our restaurant for dinner.
Back to our room, and after a glass of wine we headed down for dinner. We had picked a restaurant Clementine’s which turned out to be a great choice. We had bruscetta with beautiful fresh tomatoes, stuffed zucchini flowers and a small antipasto plate. I should tell you I have never seen more beautiful small goods anywhere. I just go into the delis and supermarkets and inhale the beautiful smells of the parma and coppa hams and the cheeses we have bought are unbelievable. Anyway, back to dinner-then Russ had spaghetti with Mussels and goats cheese and after deliberating between rabbit Cacciatore or veal saltimbocca, I settled on the latter. The waiter told me I was in Rome and it was a traditional roman dish so I should eat it! It was great. Then we shared a green salad with lovely olive oil and balsamic vinegar (mopped the seasonings up with our bread. Last we shared traditional tiramisu (wonderful) and an orange, limoncello and almond syrup sorbet. (I asked for the recipe, it was SO good). We had water and lots of wine for 49 Euros.
August 30th we got up bright and early and went on one of the few extra organized tours we have signed on for. We arrived at the gates of the Vatican at 7.30am, got in by 8.30 and were herded through the museum and on to the Sistine Chapel for half an hour “free time”. It is really quite beautiful, but hard to appreciate with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of other people there too. We had to have a local guide today, and by the time we escaped her, I was really sick of her little girl voice. Also, she took people to buy special books at very chosen stands and you knew she was getting a kick back. St Peter’s Basilica is the biggest Catholic church in the world, and is awesome with its statues and mosaics. It’s beautiful. We should have just taken the included tour there and skipped the Vatican. The extra tour cost 36 Euros, but the actual tickets only cost 12.
Enjoying a Caffe and Caffe Fredo Near The Vatican
Once again we gave the group the slip and went off on a Hop on Hop Off tour on open double decker buses for 13 Euros each and managed to see all the things they have paid lots of money for as extras. We had a lovely pasta lunch near the Trevi Fountain 18th century). We did a lot of walking around Rome (through the shopping areas, visiting a supermarket and ending up at the Spanish Steps) before arriving home at the hotel around 5.30 when we went for drinks on the roof with a heap of the other tour members. From the roof, we have a wonderful view over the Coliseum and Rome.
"The Wedding Cake"
The Wedding Cake is just a huge monument, there's no museum, no offices-nothing-it's just a really huge empty monument!
posted by janandruss at
6:38 a.m.
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