Ancient Rome

Thursday in Rome was our day to see the ancient Roman ruins. We started out by walking towards the Colosseum from our hotel, stopping at some of the ruins on the way. First stop, Trajan's Column and the adjacent ruins.

Then on to the Colosseum itself. After pondering the long-lasting popularity of spectator sports and the insatiable human desire for rubber-necking, witnessing action and getting swept up in violence, we decided we need a philosophical and physical break for lunch. We encountered the usual phenomenon of tourist attractions surrounded by horrendously overpriced restaurants with so-so food, but eventually settled for a place with that most essential of all items: chairs. (I know, our standards are going way up....).

Then we went to the ruins at Palatine Hill- the ancient equivalent of Bel Air, where Rome's elite lived in posh luxury.

After Palatine Hill, we went to the Roman Forum. Megan is standing under the arch that the Romans forced the Jews to build after Jerusalem was conquered, to celebrate the Roman victory.

After our ancient extravaganza, we followed a familiar theme of our trip: Ditchings the well-worn tourist path so Karen could take Megan on a wild goose chase in search of delicious food she read about in some guide, blog or app. One of the upsides to visiting Rome in August is that it is relatively quiet. A lot of the locals have left for the beach so it is comparatively mellow and you are much less likely to get run over by a Vespa. The downside (aside from the obvious heat) is that TONS of stores and restaurants are closed. We experienced the same phenomenon in Paris: we would go searching for a restaurant only to find out when we got there (after roaming up and down streets searching for the right address) that it was closed for the month of August.

In this case we wandered around the charming streets of the Monti district in Rome.

We eventually found whate we were looking for: Gelataria Fatamorgana. I think it roughly means "mirage," but luckily in this case, we actually found it and--even better-- it was open. They had lots of artsy, interesting flavors that would even compete with Salt and Straw in Portland: Basil, Nuts and Honey, Ricotta with Citrus or Baklava anyone?

We headed back to our hotel and then to the Campo de Fiori for dinner and a little bit of night strolling around Rome. Unfortunately, I forgot that it was Ferragosto- the national holiday in Italy that celebrates the assumption of the Virgin Mary. (How silly of me!) The restaurant we were headed for (which I had checked specifically to make sure it was open in August) was closed that day for the national holiday. Grrr. We were hungry so we ended up going to an Americanized but yummy touristy place in the lovely Campo de Fiori and people-watching.

They had huge salads which, after several days of gorging on pasta, sounded perfect. The first hint that that they catered to Americans when their water cups (WAY larger than usual). The dead giveaway came when the waitress checked back halfway through the meal to ask us how everything was. Huh? A waiter in Europe who checks back with you instead of hurling your food at you and then forcing you to chase them to get the bill or tackle them to request more water (which never comes)? Unheard of!

Aside from the obvious signs, do local-geared Italian restaurants have large signs advertising "Massive Salads" in English. I think not. No matter. Massive salads were exactly what we wanted and needed and Americanized can be a good thing sometimes, especially if you are thirsty.

After dinner we headed to the Piazza Navona, which ended up being our absolute favorite Roman hangout. There is a large piazza with beautiful fountains backed by a church. It hosts a bustling night scene including street musicians, dozens of artists selling their wares, caricature sketchers and portrait sketchers who will draw you on the spot, and, of course, lots of happy tourists like us, milling around and enjoying the scene.

There was a group playing gypsy music-- complete with a zither, clarinet, fiddle and bass-- that was fantastic. We could have spent (and did spend) hours just browsing all of the artwork for sale and watching the artists sketching portraits of people. Some of them were really good. It was like magic: watching lines on a paper turn into a picture of a human being. We finally tore ourselves away from the beautiful floodlit fountains and church to head back to our hotel.

La strada per Roma (The Road to Rome)

On Tuesday night we actually did not finish our day with a relaxing dinner on the waterfront. We then went home and I tried to cram as many souvenirs and excess items as possible into Dave's extra suitcase for him to take home. Dave left on a 5:00 am train out of Vernazza to make his flight out of Rome. Later that morning, Megan and I packed our bags and made the perilous journey down our insanely steep stairs with our bags.

Our train out of Vernazza didn't leave until after noon, so we had plenty of time to shop for souvenirs and buy a lunch of foccacia bread, fontina cheese and freshly sliced prosciutto to take on the train with us. Then we said one last tearful farewell to the beautiful Vernazza waterfront.

As it was, we still rushed to the train station, struggled to figure out which train was heading to La Spezia and manage to hop on board just before it left (a few minutes before it was scheduled to!). We switched trains in La Spezia and then thoroughly enjoyed the chance to sit and do nothing for a few hours besides eat foccacia and prosciutto while watching the Italian countryside roll by.

We arrived in Rome and took a cab to our hotel, which was perfectly located right in the historical center, across the square from the Pantheon.

The Piazza della Rotunda was typically filled with people (day or night), including the usual street performers, couples snapping pictures, American travelers sitting in the outdoor cafe seating eating overpriced pasta, and tourists with their noses jammed in a map or a Rick Steves guidebook, trying to figure out which direction it was to the Campo dei Fiori (yes, that would be me).

We visited the Pantheon first, starting close to home. The current building was built in roughly 126 A.D. Almost two thousand years later it is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.

One side has the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.

  

 Another side has the tomb of the great artist Rafael.

After the Pantheon, we headed to the nearby Largo di Torre Argentina, some Roman ruins that are adjacent to a cat sanctuary (forever after dubbed "the cat ruins" by us). We walked a little bit further to see the King Victor Emmanuel monument.

Then we headed to the grocery store in search of that most vital of all items: laundry detergent. This probably sounds silly, but I love browsing grocery stores in foreign countries. I think it is really interesting to see what everyday people buy and the differences in what is available versus what we have here in the U.S. One thing that they carry in Italy is McDonald's brand mayonnaise, in handy squirt bottle, ready to go on your french fries.

They have Top Ramen at the grovery store in Rome, but instead of being dirt cheap, it is 1.58 Euros for a single package. You really have to love your ramen at that price.

We finally found the cleaners aisle and managed to use my toddler Italian skills (and reading the pictures) to find a cleaner that seemed to have a good chance of being used for clothes (pictures of clothes on the back, etc.).

We also picked up a "Tronky" bar, made by the Ferrerro Rocher company. It became our new favorite. Aside from having the best name ever, it is a wafer-like filled with hazelnut creme. What's not to love?

We stopped at a trattoria near the Pantheon for dinner on the way home.

 Then we enjoyed the amazing view of the floodlit Pantheon at night as we walked back to our hotel. Bella!

Hiking to Monterosso

Tuesday morning we wanted to hike some of the trails between the five towns in the Cinque Terre. Being the gluttons for punishment that we are, we decided to do the most challenging segment: from Vernazza, the town where we were staying, to Monterrosso, the resort-y town with the biggest beach.

The trail to Monterrosso started within a few yards of our front door. There was just an arrow pointing up an alley off the main street of Via Roma. Just like that and you were on your way.

Thankfully, there was a sign posted on the trail warning us not to wear high heels for the hike. (Phew! Close one.)


We started out by going up a narrow alleyway and then up stairs, more stairs and even more stairs. Before long, we could see beautiful views of the Vernazza waterfront behind us.

Then the trail wound upward even more--with stairs, more stairs and even more stairs, interspersed with some some steep hills for variety. Vernazza became smaller and smaller beneath us and we saw more sweeping views of the Ligurian coastline.

 

Oddly enough, there were several little houses we passed on the trail. You couldn't argue with the beauty of the location, but wow, that would add a whole new level of difficulty to grocery shopping. You'd have to reaaallly want something badly to carry it up the trail to your house.

We were treated to some amazing views, as long as we could wipe the sweat out of our eyes enough to see them. It was a brutally hot day, even with hats, shorts and any other heat-repellent device we could think of. We tried to focus on the scent of the rosemary and Meditteranean foliage instead of, well, us.

When we finally started descending the hill (which amazingly, still required us to go UP stairs), we were counting the minutes and then the seconds until we could try out the beach at Monterrosso. In true European form, it was jam-packed with beach umbrellas and people of all ages sunning themselves.

Beachwear was a bit different in Italy. Out of all the women we saw, there were maybe two in a one-piece swimsuit. Bikinis were definitely de rigeur, from the youngest to the oldest. I never thought I would see so many old pudgy ladies letting it all hang out in bikinis. It was a little bit disturbing but also refreshing, (after all- you can't have anything interfere with your 60-year-old tanline, you know). It was often difficult to tell girls from boys among small children, since either would usually only be wearing speedo-style swim bottoms. There was even one adult woman contentedly sunning herself sans top in the wall-to-wall crowd of people. People seemed most concerned about absorbing maximum sun and minimum tanlines. Apparently sunblock and skin cancer aren't hot topics in Italy (yes, I'm defending my glow-in-the-dark whiteness). Speaking of speedos, the only men who weren't wearing them were foreign tourists. I am sure they are practical attire for swimming, but they still are not generally attractive.

After our sweaty hike to Monterrosso, the water felt amazing! The "beach" was actually a shoreline of rocks and gravel. At first this seemed pretty lame, but the upside was that the water was crystal clear-- and you didn't get dirty and sandy. I could become a fan of that, especially with kids. We swam from the beach through the lake-like calm waters to a rocky shorebreak. I should say Dave and I swam out there while Megan took about 10 years to get in the water. (I can say this because I took about a year to get in myself but as long as there is someone slower than you then you seem fast. Right, Meg? ;) Eventually Megan caught up with us and we sat out there and chatted until we felt like swimming back. Which unfortunately meant having to get back in the water after drying off and warming up. But there wasn't really any gradual way to get off the rocks, so Megan and I were forced to abandon our habit of getting in as slowly and painfully as possible and just jump.

After a break for lunch, gelato and wandering around the town, we took a boat from Monterrosso, the northenmost town, to Riomaggiore, the southernmost town of the five.

 As we stopped at each port on the way we enjoyed vistas of the tiny towns snaking their way up the rocky hillsides.

We walked around Riomaggiore and had more gelato (surprise!), then we took a train back to Vernazza.

We finished the day with dinner at one of the little restaurants lining the waterfront. We even decided to sample the local specialty of tegame alla Vernazza- a dish of potatoes, tomatoes and fresh anchovies. I have never been a fan of anchovies, but they actually weren't half bad. We ate our meal under the stars, sitting at one of the umbrella-covered outdoor tables on the waterfront.