THE ETRNAL CITY – AMONG THE RUINS

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(this entry is on a 1-day delay, writing it the day after, so I apologize if I switch from present to past tense).

The day started with breakfast at the hotel. It was a bit larger spread than what is normally included with the room. There was the standard, cereal, rolls, meats, cheeses and yogurt, but there was also a nice frittata (room temp), scrambled eggs, bacon and boiled eggs. The big plus is freshly made cappuccino or espresso. After a quick breakfast we meet Christina at her hotel and began our day. Most of the day was dedicated to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, but we started at the Campo di Fiori Market. We were going to take the bus but given the parade planning there are some significant delays. We ended up walking part of the way then caught a bus on a different street. Busses are typical but few are air conditioned.

Transportation Aside – The busses are better than the metro. There are currently only two metro lines and they are not very useful other than to get you to Vatican City or outside the city center, but for in city transportation not very helpful. The busses are better but crowded and can be hot. They all so have a light-rail/street car system, but again, you really have to know where you are going to make good use of them. We still managed to get around but walked more than in most cities.

We managed to take the correct bus and then walked a few blocks to the market. This is a year-round market selling both food items and clothing, purses, etc. We were there mostly for the food. The fruits and vegetables all looked so much better than what you can buy in US markets, including Whole Foods. The tomatoes were beautiful and ripe. The strawberries were even acceptable, not Oregon, but better than most. We got a pint for lunch latter on. We spent quite a bit of time in the Market, Christina was in shopping heaven. I bought some nice pasta herb blends to use when we get home and a couple of jars of various truffle spreads. I spent a good 10 minutes sampling the truffle spreads, you have to have just the right one.

Before we left the market, we went to a Salumeria to buy our picnic lunch later in the day. There was a nice on right on the corner of the piazza of the market Ruggeri. We each bought panni and some water. I had purchased a tote earlier so we had something to carry our treasures and lunch. With a successfully trip to the market behind us we were off to the Roman Forum. Hopped back on a bus to Venezia Piazza, Jerry and Christina headed to the Forum and I made a quick trip to the ATM for a Euro refresh.

The Roman Forum

There isn’t much to really say here, the pictures speak for themselves. It was the center of the world at one time and it is a bit overwhelming to walk among ruins that date back to 500 BC (or the new vernacular, before the common era). It is amazing that as much of something so old even still exists. It was a beautiful sunny day, not really hot, some humidity, but a cool breeze. Most of the forum gets sun all day and there is little if any shade, so even with nice weather, you take a good beating from the sun. We strolled among the crowds winding our way towards each landmark. Finally beginning our ascent to the top of Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome.

Palatine Hill

We took the easier way up the hill, we could have gone up numerous steps, but we deiced to come down that way, and took the gradual incline up the hill and in to the Palace section. By the time we got to the top it was time to have our picnic, we found a nice shaded area with benches (which you had to fight for, ok not really, but if you got up for a second someone took your spot, even if the rest of your party was still sitting there) but what can you do? Tourists!! We had a leisurely lunch and finished with our strawberries. After lunch we spent about 90 minutes strolling the area. There are some great view of the City from atop Palatine Hill, you can see all the way to Vatican City. We finally came to the stairs we could have taken up and made our assent down and back toward the Colosseum.

Roman Baths

The Romans were famous for their public baths. Every city had at least one. Perhaps one of the largest was Terme di Caracalla (Bath of Caracalla). There were opened by the emperor Caracalla in 217 AD. All that remains is the building shell, but back in the day, they must have been magnificent. Some of the original tile work is still present, none of the pools remain. Christina opted out and relaxed in the shade while Jerry and I toured the site. While we strolled along there were works about doing some restoration. One woman was on her hands and needs painstakingly cleaning and restoring some of the tile work. She was working in the blazing sun with no hat and bare arms using something that looked like a tool your dental hygienists uses on your teeth.

I do need to mention that everything we saw today was on the Roman Pass. This card is not as good as other city passes we have purchased in Paris or London, but it does get you into two archeological sites and several museums (not that we went to any museums as the city is a living museum) we purchased ours in combination with the Omni Pass, which basically gets you into the Vatican and several churches around Rome (more on that tomorrow).

After the baths, which I wish still existed would have love to take a nice soak, we headed back towards Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus). This was a quick photo op of what was the place where the chariot races were held. Palatine Hill looms overhead. At the far end of Circo Massimo was what looked like an actual circus, there were tents everywhere, turns out it was the start and end of the Rome Race for The Cure which is Sunday.

That concluded the history lesson for the day. We hopped back on the Metro and back to the hotel to relax with some chilled wine and prepare for dinner. This is a good point to discuss the room. We haven’t seen Christina’s but she does have a tub shower combination, we have a very small shower that I can barely fit through the doors, even with losing 35 pounds before we came on this trip. The hotel is called Fori Imperiali Cavalieri, it is conveniently located close to the Colosseo metro stop and across from the Roman Forum. We are a short three blocks from Christina’s hotel. Our hotel is a standard 3-star, breakfast included in the price of the room. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The room is actually large for European standards. The bed, almost a king, is firm and comfortable. We have been sleeping pretty soundly, but then again after a full day of sightseeing we are exhausted. A large street, Cavour, is just around the corner and a small market where we can get our water and wine is only 2 blocks away. I would recommend the hotel for the budget minded traveler, but certainly not if you’re looking for luxury, this is a hotel designed for the do-it-yourself traveler.

Dinner – Ristorante Piperno

I specifically chose this restaurant because it was located in the Jewish Quarter and a Fodor’s pick. It also was well reviewed on such sites as Trip Advisor and Yelp. It turned out to be a bit of a disappointment and unlike the night before this establishment fell below expectations. Main problem, everything was just over salted (or as the cooking shows say over seasoned), Salt is part of the overall seasoning it is not the main seasoning, hate to disagree with you Gordon Ramsey, and every other celebrity chef, especially Marcus. When I bite in to a dish salt just shouldn’t be the first thing I taste. I want the flavor of what I ordered to come through not so much salt I need a glass of water.

That being said, it was an ok meal. The place is very hard to find as you have to take several small winding streets to get there. Google Maps is not much help here. It was a very pleasant night and we would have preferred to eat outside but, that was clearly reserved for locals not us lowly tourists,

The Meal

We did not do the sharing of appetizers and primi’s as the night before, Christina wanted to indulge, turned out your eyes were a bit bigger then her stomach. The best part of the meal was probably the primi’s the appetizers while good were either over salted or just lacked any real flavor. I am just going to run down what was had not who had what.

Appetizers:


• Fritto Piperno - Mixed plate of fried appetizers: artichoke, zucchini blossoms, mozzarella, potato croquette, arancini (Christina had this)
• Porz Carciofi – Fried artichoke (way to salty)
• Porzione Fiori – zucchini blossoms stuffed with cheese and anchovies

Primi:

• Pasta Carbonara - good rendition, bucatini was al dente and the sauce pretty decent.
• Gnocchi Amatricia – Same sauce as the night before, not nearly has good but the gnocchi were light and fluffy

Entrees

• Straccetti - sliced beef in white wine sauce with arugula
• Abbacchio Scotta – lamb chops, worst ever. They were over cooked, more gristle than you could shake a stick at and the main flavor was salt.
• Pesce in Crosta - Dorado wrapped in potatoes. Great presentation and concept, but lacked any real flavor and fish was overcooked.


We did have a decent, not great, but decent Cabernet from the region. Overall, it was just disappointing.

After dinner we walked back to the street car, but first stopped at a pharmacy to get some aloe for our over exposed faces. We have had some interesting experiences in pharmacies in other countries, but this was very easy as in Rome, everyone speaks English.

The night at an end, we went back to our hotels. I was to tired to blog so had a glass of wine and passed out.

The step count for today was 164, and there is just no dish of the day, nothing we had was really worthy of the title.

Saturday off to the Holy City.

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Photos

Artichokes
Hurry the season is all most over

Fritto Piperno
The works