Rome Day 3: Heart of Rome Walk

On our third and final day in Rome, we got to enjoy a more leisurely morning and spend some time chatting with our lovely hosts before heading out to explore. The first item on our agenda was to visit the Mamertine Prison: the place where the apostle Paul was imprisoned in the first century A.D. It blew my mind to think of seeing the actual place where he wrote some of his letters!

Sadly, we walked around the outside only to discover that the interior was closed for renovations. Oh well, I guess that means we have to go back, right?!

We at least got a nice view of the Forum from here:

From there we followed an itinerary from Rick Steves' Pocket Rome called the Heart of Rome walk. It began at Campo de' Fiori, a big open-air market. We had fun perusing the stalls and giggling over a particular shape of dried pasta we saw several times...

We grabbed some gelato and made our way to Piazza Navona, the site of a racetrack built by the emperor Domitian around 80 A.D. One of the things we were really struck by in Italy was the prevalence of public spaces. The cities were filled with piazzas where people could go and be together--it had such a different feel culturally than American life with its emphasis on private spaces.

Our next stop was the Pantheon, which was every bit as impressive and amazing as you expect. I absolutely could not get over marveling at how in the world the ancients built such structures without modern tools and technology.

Both Rick Steves and Smitten Kitchen recommended a pit stop at Tazza d'Oro for a specialty called granita di caffe con panna--an espresso slushie with whipped cream. It was fantastic. Cool and refreshing and just the right amount of sweet. We both loved it.

We continued walking past Italy's Parliament building to Piazza Colonna, which features a column from the second century with reliefs depicting Marcus Aurelius' victories over the barbarians.

Along the way we saw all kinds of beauty, from this colorful display of liquor...

...to this building with its unique facade:

We grabbed panini to go near the Trevi Fountain, then walked around the corner only to find that the fountain, too, was shut down for restorations. I got a photo of the top part of it that wasn't covered with scaffolding.

Then it was on to the Spanish Steps, which got their name because of the Spanish Embassy here. The 138 steps were incredibly crowded; Rick Steves points out that "the main sight here is not the steps but the people who gather around them."

Our view from the top of the steps:

We arrived at the end of this tour just in time for our reservation at Villa Borghese--coming up next!

Gelato for Days

I have this thing about ice cream on vacation. I'm not sure why, but it feels like an integral part of the vacation experience to me. I have a ridiculous sweet tooth and love ice cream all the time, but I guess vacation gives me a perfect excuse to indulge repeatedly.

All that to say, when multiple people told me that eating gelato every day in Italy was a requirement...well, I had zero trouble signing on. 

Just like with the regular food, I researched gelato to death before we left. First was the matter of how to spot a good gelateria. Several bloggers shared the same types of tips, including:

• Be wary of colors. Banana flavor should be grayish; pistachio should be a dull green-gray. When these flavors are neon-yellow or bright green instead, it's a good indication that the gelato is full of sketchy ingredients and additives.
• Be wary of showy displays. This rule didn't always hold true, but in general, the places with gravity-defying piles of gelato in the display case are probably inferior quality and appealing to tourists. The legit places often keep their gelato in metal tubs with lids. 

Photo credit: Flickr/michellerlee

Photo credit: Flickr/echadwick

 

The other unusual thing is that often the ordering process is the exact opposite of what you'd expect in the U.S. Here, it's common to order your ice cream, then take your cone to the cashier and pay. In Italy, sometimes that's the case, but just as often, you go to the cashier first. This especially seemed to hold true in bigger, busier places. Once you've paid, you take your receipt to the counter and order the flavors you want.

The portion sizes are also, unsurprisingly, the opposite of the American way. And while I typically go for multiple large scoops of ice cream (I've always wanted to know: what joker thinks 1/2 cup is an appropriate serving size for ice cream?!?), I enjoyed savoring small cups of gelato like the Italians. They give you these tiny spoons (like the kind used for samples) and itty-bitty cups. The downside of this is that if you want to try 2-3 flavors, as I almost always did, you end up with only a few bites of each. The upside is that you savor it more...and also, you can totally justify stopping for gelato more than once in a day :)

Sadly, I hardly got any photos of our gelato, in spite of the fact that we really did have it every day except one. I was so careful to take pictures of every restaurant and all the courses of all our meals, but I guess I was too excited about eating my gelato to stop and take a picture of it.

A couple of other quick notes: first, this website was really helpful for decoding common flavors. I was surprised to find that almost all the flavors seemed milder or more subtle than I expect from American ice cream. Also, interestingly, the fruit flavors are actually sorbetti, not gelati, because they are made without dairy. Part of me was disappointed with this--I'd never think of ordering sorbet instead of ice cream here at home--but the fruit flavors were SO rich and smooth and delicious that I didn't really miss the dairy.

The gelato we ate...

Rome:

• Hedera, Borgo Pio 179 - The first authentic-looking (metal tubs with lids) place we found, tucked in a corner of the most charming, Italian-looking side street near Castel Sant'Angelo. So of course it holds a special place in my heart. I can't remember the second flavor I ordered, but stracciatella (similar to chocolate chip) was the first. My first impression was that the flavors--I sampled four or five--didn't knock my socks off.
• Panna & Co, Via Marmorata 115 -  We stopped in this Testaccio gelateria for an after-dinner treat on our way across the river. The combination of cioccolato (chocolate) + fragola (strawberry) was spectacular.
• Flor, Piazza Campo de’ Fiori 51 - Some of my very favorite gelato of the trip. The caffe (coffee), fior di latte (literally "flower of milk"--a basic sweet cream), and frutti di bosco ("fruits of the forest"--mixed berry) were all amazing. 

 

Campania:

• Pompeii - Just so I could get my daily gelato in, we stopped at a little stand on our way out of the ruins, near the train station, for a cone of caramello + caffe.  
• Fantasia Gelati, Via Cilea 80, Napoli -  Here I discovered this flavor I'm pretty sure they called duplo; it was essentially Nutella in gelato form—the gelato itself wasn't chocolate, or was only a mild chocolate (like chocolate mixed into a cream base), but it had whole hazelnuts and pieces of chocolate. It might have been my very favorite flavor of all the gelato I tried in Italy. I also tried cocco (coconut) for the first time here and loved it. Plus some caffe for Steve--pretty much the only kind he ever wanted. My husband does *not* have a sweet tooth and is decidedly not a gelato fiend, but he sweetly humored me :)
• Covo Dei Saraceni, Via Regina Giovanni 5, Positano - This hotel on the waterfront had a yummy cocco plus a flavor called delizia al limone--lemon with, if I recall correctly, cookie/cake pieces or something in it.

Firenze:

• Vivoli, Via dell’Isola delle Stinche 7/r - After discovering in the Napoli train station that gianduia essentially meant "Nutella" (chocolate hazelnut), I had to try this flavor when I spotted it. Great choice. 
• Grom, Via del Campanile 2 - We had been told this was THE gelato to have in Firenze; it did not disappoint. The crema di Grom was not quite what I expected (the cookies were cornmeal-based!), but good. I especially liked the pesca (peach) and lampone (raspberry)--and they were great together. The caffe was very strong and not very sweet, which Steve loved (not my favorite).

Peach + raspberry. See how teensy the cup and the spoon are?

• Festival del Gelato, Via del Corso 75 - This one breaks all the rules: crazy displays, neon sign, dozens of flavors--it's definitely not an out-of-the-way place you're going to discover--but it's definitely worth a visit. It had lots more flavors than other places, beyond the Italian classics we'd come to expect. I tried Snickers and strawberry cheesecake, and both were fabulous; I also had a bit of what I thought was going to be like Fantasia's duplo, but it wasn't what I expected.

Ahh...I miss my daily gelato.

Rome Day 2, Continued: Castel Sant'Angelo, the Tiber and My First Gelato

Let's go back to Italy, shall we?

After our morning at the Vatican, we looked for a lunch spot that didn't seem too touristy and settled on a sidewalk cafe near Castel Sant'Angelo. Overwhelmed with the panini options, we asked the waitress what she would recommend and she suggested bresaola, a cured beef cold cut. It was fantastic.

My pizza was delicious, but not awesome. Smitten Kitchen had actually offered some advice about Roman pizza that I intended to take seriously:

During the day, Romans don’t eat round pizzas, but pizza al taglio [pizza by the slice], which are long, rectangular “pies” are made with various toppings. You indicate how much you’d like cut off and they heat up just that for you. This came to be because it’s illegal to fire up wood-burning pizza ovens before 7 p.m. (although we definitely saw a few places that did so at 6:30, but never earlier.) Places with round pizza before then are said to be making “tourist pizzas,” baked in (gasp!) regular ovens. I know you would never participate in such a thing.

Unfortunately, we never could find pizza al taglio at lunchtime! I only ever saw it a few times, and not when we were actually looking for a place to eat. So, sadly, we participated in "tourist pizza." 

I have to confess--this would probably get me permanently banned from Italy--but I don't think I ate any pizza in Italy that was really better than Mafiaoza's in Nashville. We had good pizza, for sure, but nothing that totally blew my mind. Maybe we just didn't hit the right places...or maybe Mafiaoza's just really is that good.

One little delightful thing about Rome was the free water fountains everywhere. It was so nice to be able to fill up our water bottle conveniently! And odd, too, that water was free all over the place on the street...but 2-3 euros for a large bottle in restaurants. No such thing as free water, anywhere we ate.

After lunch, we finally found an authentic-looking gelateria and I got to try gelato at long last! Of course I will be devoting an entire post to gelato, so stay tuned for that :)

 

We walked along the Tiber River to Castel Sant'Angelo, originally built as a mausoleum for the emperor Hadrian in the second century AD.  

More walking, more steps, and a nice view of St. Peter's Basilica, where we'd just been:

After that, we headed back to our B&B for a siesta before finding dinner in Testaccio. And that was Day 2!

Multitude Monday, Take 354

"God says to give thanks, to do this in remembrance of Him — because in the remembering to give thanks, it’s our broken places that are re-membered — and we are the ones made whole.

A joyful heart is good medicine and our broken bones can be re-memembered when we remember to thank a good God."

--Ann Voskamp

Thanking God these last few weeks for...

7569. finally getting to explore Mammoth Cave during fall break

7570. the way a single tiny light can penetrate the blackest, thickest darkness
7571. hard but good conversations
7572. circumstances that force me to die to self and serve without immediate payoff
7573. having my laziness and self-centeredness exposed and worked on
7574. episodes of Wild Kratts on PBSKids.org

7575. these cowlicks

7576. the prize of surpassing worth: knowing HIM
7577. getting to snuggle other people's babies

 7578. Elijah reading to Jude and a friend's little boy

7579. the promise that Christ will return
7580. a friend's powerful, vulnerable blog posts during 31 Days
7581. windows open + heavy blankets on cool autumn nights
7582. grace to notice and celebrate small progress
7583. reassurance of His love and patience in my brokenness

7584. a visit from my BIL/SIL and nieces/nephew
7585. hearing my SIL's heart about her background, passions, work
7586. indoor obstacle course for the kiddos AND the adults...hilarity ensued
7587. a "Super J" cape made from an old bridesmaid dress
7588. Jude introducing one of his best friends to his cousin

7589. my niece pulling her tooth when she found out our Tooth Fairy pays better than the one at home
7590. our church's beautiful process of selecting leaders
7591. Steve's being voted in as a deacon
7592. the countless ways he is a servant at home, not just in public
7593. realization/affirmation that His grace really is at work and evident in Steve and me

7594. a hike at Warner Park with friends, kids running ahead while we adults walked + talked
7595. being able to rest in His sovereignty in the midst of disappointing complications to our plans
7596. a friend here for coffee, long overdue visit
7597. pumpkin spice scones on fancy plates

7598. leftover half and half + leftover spiced glaze for my coffee
7599. His growing, teaching, transforming a friend; her pursuing Him
7600. time to sit and marvel at my big FIVE year old
7601. a whole bushel of my very favorite apples (Cameos)

 7602. gorgeous fall morning at Cheekwood with Jude and my parents

7603. pumpkins in all shapes, sizes and colors, including orange lace on white

7604. date night with Steve while Grammy and Pops babysat
7605. my first time trying sushi

7606. the ability to buy a new washing machine when ours wore out--unbelievable privilege, wealth, grace
7607. fantastic sermons/lessons from other men in our church besides our pastors
7608. growing pains - good problems to have
7609. the way church has felt so refreshing and restorative lately
7610. Steve helping Jude make a doghouse for Clifford

7611. a visit from one of my dearest college friends
7612. finally getting to try Mas Tacos Por Favor, her treat

7613. openness, honesty, vulnerability, empathy, laughter
7614. getting to hear her sing in an Army Voices concert

7615. the smell of fresh nutmeg, and how cool it looks on the inside

 7616. pile of spices in a bowl of flour

 7617. pumpkin apple streusel muffins

7618. a quiet evening to reconnect with Steve
7619. long overdue evening catching up with a dear friend

7620. upholding the universe by the word of His power

7621. twelve women from my church registered for the Gospel Coalition women's conference next summer

7622. additional discounts since we got a big group together

7623. heart-shaped leaves

 

7624. boys playing in the leaves and helping Daddy with yardwork

 7625. another date night: party to celebrate friends' 30th anniversary

7626. evening of uninterrupted conversations with friends
7627. generous friend who babysat for the boys
7628. my adorable astronaut and fierce Ironman

 

7629. His throne is forever and ever
7630. He anoints with the oil of gladness
7631. He is not ashamed to call me sister

NaBloPoMo: 31 Days of Italy Reboot

Here we go again...

The sad fact remains that I cannot seem to sustain consistent blog posting without some sort of externally imposed structure/deadline. Well, it is what it is, and we'll go with it.

I still have lots and lots to say about Italy, and since it didn't work out for me to get it all out during October's 31 Days, I'm trying for a NaBloPoMo reboot. I don't expect this month to be all Italy all the time, though; I'll mix it up with some of the standard gratitude posts and whatever else strikes my fancy.

As always--thanks for reading!