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Published: October 2nd 2007
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After spending the afternoon dedicated to my computer now that I have a better internet connection, it was off to meet with our Italian host for a quick birthday celebration for the office's secretary before dinner. We met in the Piazza Campo de Fiori, by the statue of the philosopher Giordano Bruno. Our host showed us the beautiful building that houses the French embassy (leave it to the French to get one of the most beautiful buildings in Rome for themselves, he said), and then we were off to meet up with everyone from the office and the friends of Maria, who was celebrating her birthday. The piazza appeared to be quite busy to my eyes, but we were assured that since it was Monday night, it was very quiet. On Fridays and Saturdays, it is so busy with tourists and young Romans, that many people avoid it all together. A lot of people were eating in the restaurants outside on the piazza, enjoying both the food and the people-watching. I was enjoying watching a golden retriever sit patiently with his owner while he dined with friends. Since everyone was Italian, it was the default language of the evening, and for
me, it became a kind of background noise - I find that when I'm away for so long, I start to tune out when someone is speaking in a language I don't understand, and when they switch into English, it always takes me a moment to get back into understanding their accents!
After joining everyone for a little while, we left with some of the partners to have dinner at Grappolo d'oro Zampano in the Piazza Cancelleria. It was a casual restaurant, but a true Roman one, and although they didn't have the ravioli I originally planned to order, I ended up having a delicious meal. I started with a mixed salad ("insalata mista") which was good, but did make me long for some iceberg lettuce. I followed that with one of their specials, the vegetable soup. It was one of those times when I ordered dinner and it turned out to be just the right thing - the soup was pureed into a thick consistency, and arrived with a number of large fresh croutons, which really made it perfect ("parfecto"). Following dinner, I did decide to have some dessert, a hazelnut semi-freddo, which was delicious, but super filling.
We enjoyed the company of our hosts again, and it was nice to relax and have a good time.
Then it was off to a meeting - believe it or not, we actually had a ten-thirty PM meeting. Only in Italy, I tell myself, where I am learning that Italians do everything in their own sweet time. That's why meals can take so long. So we're trying to keep that in mind for the meeting next year, and make sure that we have enough time between events so that no one feels rushed!
Our meeting this evening was at the Castel Sant'Angelo, which was incredible. The taxi dropped us off across the street, and walking along the cobbled path up to the Castel was stunning. The Castel is huge, serving originally as the pope's home, and then more of a fortress-type military installation. It was impressive and creates quite an impression as you walk up to it. We had the security let us in and went into the elevator to get up to the second floor, where we would be having the actual dinner. I'm tired, so you'll have to pardon my lack of a better description that
would give you a true taste of what the building and rooms are like. We walked in to a warmly lit corridor, which appeared to be almost carved into the stone of the building. In the windows were citronella candles, which provided a flickering glow, and the tables were set along in a row in the corridor. It was such a warm feeling to be in there and to see the view of the city from outside the windows - I could picture our lawyers having dinner in there, so I knew it would be a good fit. It was very inviting.
Next, we moved on to see the terrazzo, where we would be having the cocktail reception. It is on the top of the building and offers a spectacular, almost panoramic, view of Roma - in particular, of Vatican City. It is one of the closest points at which you can see St. Peter's Basilica without actually being inside of Vatican City. We walked up the service steps to get up there, and the last set of stairs suddenly open up to the roof, with St. Peter's on your left, and it's truly breathtaking (and I don't say
that because the heights actually took my breath away). I was having some trouble being up that high, with a less than waist level barrier being the only thing that stopped you from falling over the side. I may not be able to join everyone for the roof cocktail next year in Rome, but we'll see how it goes. I was only up there for ten minutes, but my palms were sweating and I was having some difficulty breathing!
Fortunately, our hosts are unbelievably polite - I always forget how lovely European men are until I travel. They are always stopping to allow you to go ahead of them, or waiting for you if you lag behind a little - so so polite. So even though it took me a moment to get my bearings to head down the steps, one of our hosts was waiting to come down behind me, which made me feel a lot better. After seeing the terrazzo, we walked through the inside of the Castel, where you could really get a feel for how old it is. I kept trying to imagine myself back in those times, running through the Castel and up and
down the stairs - I bet they were in great shape! It really is incredible though, and I mused as we were leaving on how difficult it must have been to build. Our next destination was the courtyard where we will be having after dinner drinks and dancing - it is truly ancient-looking in this courtyard, and there is something so appealing about hosting a modern party in such an ancient setting. I'm sure there were parties back when it was originally built too (maybe the pope was a big partier!), so it would be interesting to see how they would compare. It gives me a thrill to think that we could be dancing and enjoying ourselves in this beautiful, ancient building.
Finally, we headed to one last area of the Castel to see if it might be better to have the dinner in plastic tents outside, with a view of the main part of the building. The plastic smelled like new shower curtains, and although the view was lovely, it wasn't as spectacular as the view from the terrazzo. So the terrazzo it is, followed by that corridor of tables. Hopefully we can make it happen!
Although
our hosts wanted to entertain us with a drink, we begged off because of our early flight. I have had a great time in Europe, as always, but I am looking forward to getting home and seeing the dogs, as well as getting back into my regular routine. We have a lot of work to do! Ciao!
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