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Published: April 19th 2012
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Shelly's Gravestone
This is in a non-catholic cemetery close to the Piramide Metro stop in the southern district of Roma. It is a beautiful place to visit. Work, Work, Work... Debra still does it - It's a pain but bills get paid and we get to travel so I'm not gonna complain too much - not for a little while anyway.
On the heels of our wonderful trip to Dublin and Edinburgh Debra had a buisness trip scheduled in Rome so I went along. It is hard not to find something about Rome that makes you fall in love with the place and for us there are several things that make us come back. We also keep finding new things to add to that list. It is just a wonderful place.
I will be uploading a bunch of photos most taken this trip but some shot on previous visits. So I hope you enjoy.
We arrived by train on Sunday, April 15th. We took the FrecciaRossa (Red Arrow) bullet train from Porta Susa - left at qround 0800 and got into Roma Termini around 1230. As always it was a joy. We headed to the Marriot Gran Flora (a top Via Veneto) checked in - went to one of our fav places, Pomodorino, for lunch. Stayed for a couple of relaxing hours over Carciofo alla
Shelly's Friend
This stone id next to Shelly's monument Romano (atrichokes Roman style), vino rosso del casa, a wonderful made to order lasagna and spagetti di vongole (clams). Feeling very satisfied we headed across the street to Galleria Borghese where we had reservations for a 2 hour viewing starting at 1500. It was drizzling just before we were allowed in but we didn't care. Once inside we spent that 2 hours basking in the art filled glory of one of our favorite museums in the world. Although prohibited (vietato) I snuck some photos in so you might get a inkling of what it is about this place that keeps us coming back for more. In one word (although it is much more than this) Bernini is the main event. His David, Apollo and Daphne and a host of others are jaw-droppingly beautiful but unfortunately you really have to see them from every angle to truely appreciate the mastery - the pictures are the next best thing.
After that it was back to the hotel until diner at about 2000. We tried Hard Rock, because it is always good and easy - however it was Sunday night and it was packed so we opted not to wait the 45
Quite walk
Along the eastern most wall of the cemetery minutes for a table and we headed toward another one of our regular eateries, Bacco on Via Lombardy back up Via Veneto toward the Marriott. However, just before reaching it Debra convinced me that we should try this Chinese place called, of all things, the Manderine. She had been there for a quick lunch some time ago and seemed to remember it was good. So we headed to it, one block over, and got a table.
Not gonna spend too much time on it because it was crap. Steamed dumplings weren't bad but they didn't come with any dipping sauce (we think they forgot because other tables had various sauces) and the chicken with black bean sauce we shared was all there except there was no sauce. It was white rice, chicken (cooked well enough), and some dried black bean curd mixed in with a few strips of sqash. Debra's Coka Zero and the Astra Nazzura birre were quite good though. Regretfully, not good enough to save this experience. So we headed back to the hotel after dissapointing diner and hoped for a better experience on the morrow.
Over the next couple of days we traveled around Roma
searching for (and finding) a hidden Bernini sculpture (we found a replica in Edinburgh that alluded to its location in a church in Roma), I walked to Vatican City and back to the hotel area visiting many out of the way spots along the way and we found a new great resturauant (called Moma) where we had the best Carciofi alla Romano so far, and I spent some quality time at Hard Rock Rome where I am becoming a regular and we are becoming friends with the American manager as well.
All in all it was a great trip and we will no doubt be back soon enough to chronicle more adventures in the months to come. Right now, back in Torino, we are hosting our first American visitor and friend of Debra's who will be using our apartment as a home base for a few days as she travels around various sites in eastern Europe. Next week we head to Budapest for another trip that I will be reporting on in the weeks to come.
So Arrivederci for now my friends!!
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