[This post follows the previous post in the series of our Summer "Friendship Tour" and picks up as we'd just left our European landing pad, Ireland.]
A quick flight from Dublin to Rome on AerLingus, and courtesy of our brilliant Roman friend Monica, we arrived to find a driver waiting for us at the airport with our name on a sign. We were super dorky/excited about it, and it was nice to have a van to ourselves to get into the city.
Despite the fact that Rome was no where near where we were headed to in France for the wedding (the main reason for our trip to Europe), we had the time and really wanted to visit our dear friends (see where I'm going with the Friendship Tour theme?) The kids were genuinely excited to see Rome, as we hadn't been since 2012 maybe, and truly they didn't remember it much.
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| A welcome walk in the Villa Borghese with longtime friends. |
We had so many amazing meals on our trip this Summer, and of course Rome did not disappoint! We're all in agreement that our favorite meals in Rome were the ones around Monica & Gaetano's table...beautiful fresh burrata and tomatoes, pastas, fresh ripe fruit. (The grilled feast at Simona & Massimo's in Lucignano is at the top of the list too, along with a meal we had in Bordeaux.) Btw, when we did eat out, I ate ALL the caccio e pepe, all the burrata & tomatoes, the prosciutto, pizza and the gelato...and somehow I lost weight! (It turns out it's fairly common - must be a combination of better food and more walking?) My fave thing to drink in Rome other than prosecco, coffee drinks (Italy is where I fell in love with my breakfast cappuccino & afternoon espresso) and liters of mineral water, is the peach iced tea. It just hits differently there. You thought I was going to say wine, right? Or maybe an Aperol spritz? Nope, it's the peach iced tea!
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| Cooling down in the extreme heat - always find the shade! |
Of course Rome is rich in so many things besides food, such as culture, history, art, fashion, and for us, great friends. Quick backstory as to why we have friends in Rome: when Scott was 19 he was backpacking through Italy and ended up working at a Summer camp in Tuscany owned by Monica's family. He ended up going back every Summer for 10 years (including the Summer I came along and spent 2 weeks there, before doing my study abroad program in Urbino) and now 35 years later, these friends are still like family, and we sometimes meet up in other cities/countries to get together (last time was in Prague a few years back!) Monica & Gaetano are amazing hosts, and we were thrilled to also spend time with Gabriele, and that Guglielmo came to share a prosecco with us.
While we spent some time out with the kids on our own, it was so lovely to have our favorite Romans as tour guides, showing us things we never would have found on our own, and sneaking us into spaces to see a few things that were absolutely fabulous. It was great to revisit some of the classic places for the kids, and it was fun to see so many sights we hadn't seen before - there is just so much to see and do. The kids went off on their own a few times. Some of my friends think that's pretty wild to let them go off in a city they don't know, but they're older now (16 & 18) and they're resourceful and experienced. One of their outings was renting bikes in Villa Borghese and then going shopping at the local market to stock their room with snacks.
I wasn't prepared for how hot it was in Rome this visit. I've been 4 (?) times before, always in the Summer, but it's never been this hot. Unlike Barcelona, with it's tree-lined streets, there's not much shade in Rome. Still, we ventured out early, and visited dark churches, air-conditioned museums, catacombs, walked and rode e-bikes & e-scooters in the shade of Villa Borghese, and stopped to drink peach iced teas in historic cafés when we got too hot, before heading back for a siesta. We strolled our favorite piazze, and fountains, cooled off with gelatos we searched for in narrow streets away from the tourists, and found the alchemist's magic portal. We walked to a local restaurant for fabulous dinners and met new friends. One night we visited an exhibition that had the most incredible historic mosaics and sculptures. If you've never had the experience of an emotional reaction to art, I hope that one day you do.
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| Many walks with Monica to show us beauty we would not have found on our own. |
Travel Tip: Buy European sunscreen, and use it! It's better than what we get here in the states. Also, ask the locals what they use for insect repellent. I had over 20 mosquito bites by the time we left Rome.
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| This is my "we're about to have another amazing meal at Monica & Gaetano's table" happy glow! |
"Un sogno di un viaggio" ~ A dream of a trip. Even after 25 years of visiting Italy, I still have that feeling. Our time in Rome went by too quickly, and it was time to head to Tuscany on the next leg of our journey.
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| Packing up our car for the next several weeks of cruising around Europe. I missed them instantly! |
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