Sep 05 2016

Italy Day 4: A private Vatican tour and elegant dinner

We woke up a bit earlier than normal this morning because we needed to be at the entrance to the Vatican Museums at 09:30 for our private tour of the Vatican. This particular tour company (run by a wonderful woman named Livia) was absolutely a pleasure to work with, and our tour guide, Claudia, couldn’t have been better! Not only was she incredibly knowledgeable and able to select the highlights of the museums, she also went well out of her way to make sure that we were treated like the only people there!

After seeing one of the exhibits, we went outside the main museum entrance to the Vatican Gardens. They were very peaceful, and we sat down on a bench to look at a book. At first, we couldn’t figure out why we were sitting there looking over a book when there were so many things to see! However, perusing the book about the history of the Sistine Chapel proved to be a highly valuable experience—one that we would more greatly appreciate later when we actually got to see the Chapel.

Rome - The Vatican Gardens
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As a quick aside, the coffee at the café near the Vatican Gardens was some of the worst I’ve ever had… ever. Okay, enough of that.

Over the course of the day, we saw many different exhibits within the Vatican, and, in my opinion, some of the highlights were the Hall of Roman Statues, and the Carriage Pavilion. The Hall of Roman Statues had many different busts, but also some replicas of famous and not-so-famous Greek statues. Being intrigued by the Greek myth of Ganymede, I was excited to see a replica of the statue of him with the eagle:

Ganymede with the Eagle replica in the Vatican Museums
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The Carriage Pavilion was one of the newer additions to the museums, and contained the various carriages (read: “Popemobiles”) used by the Popes when they travel. There were some incredibly ornate ones, as well as the more modern vehicles (some of which were donated by well-known automobile manufacturers like Mercedes and Alfa Romeo).

After viewing many of the exhibits, we ended our tour of the Vatican with a visit to the Sistine Chapel and lastly St. Peter’s Basilica. The beauty of the Sistine Chapel can’t really be captured by words, and we were certainly glad that Claudia had told us some of the history behind the paintings. The only downside was that people were very rude and disrespectful in the Chapel. They were talking, and taking photographs, even though both are prohibited. Frequently, priests would proclaim “Sliencia!” in effort to quiet the masses, but it seemed of little use. St. Peter’s Basilica was remarkably beautiful as well, and the most stunning part (in my opinion) was seeing Michelangelo’s Pietà:

Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican
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We exited St. Peter’s into the main square, and looking back, the main façade was beyond grand!

Front facade of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City
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There was a near-disaster when I was told that the Vatican Museums had already closed, so they weren’t sure how I would pick up my camera bag (which had to be checked at the beginning of our tour). Fortunately, though, there was another entrance to the Museums, and I was able to get into the coat room, and grab my bag.

After quite the full day, we walked back to the hotel, changed clothes, and headed out for our dinner reservations at La Fata Ignorante. The restaurant came very highly rated, and the owner (Gianluca) was an exceptional host! He indicated that the key to a nice restaurant is balance between food, service, and ambiance. I have to agree, and say that La Fata Ignorante had a wonderful combination of all three elements! Deb and I again split three dishes. This time, they were Pappardelle (one of my all-time favourite pastas) with wild boar sauce, Risotto with saffron and mushrooms, and Carbonara. I think that both of us greatly preferred the Pappardelle, but all three dishes were quite nice.

It started pouring down rain, so we took a taxi back to the hotel. However, we stopped in at Café Friends near our hotel for one last bottle of wine before ending our stay in Rome. We headed back to the hotel, packed our bags, and prepared for our journey into the heart of Tuscany tomorrow.

Cheers,
Zach

Sep 04 2016

Italy Day 3: The Zoo, Roman Forum, and the Knights of Malta Keyhole

Today, we woke up and were greeted by another sunny (and hot) day in Rome. The schedule today was a bit more lax than yesterday, but there were still several things that I had on our “to-do” list. We started out by walking to Bioparco di Roma (Rome’s zoo), which was about 35 minutes from our hotel. As the zoo is situated in the northern portion of the beautiful Borghese Park, we took our time getting there. It ended up being much like Saint Louis in the fact that the zoo is surrounded by a nice park (in our case, Forest Park) with lots of pretty scenery.

A view of Rome from Borghese Park
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The zoo itself was a bit expensive (about €20 per person, with the aquarium passes), but it was nice to see some of the different animals that we don’t have at our zoo in Saint Louis. Also, there was a new baby monkey, and who doesn’t love baby animals? We were lucky enough to see him and his mother eating some grapes as a mid-afternoon snack:

Baby monkey eating grapes at the Rome Zoo
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After a nice relaxing morning and early afternoon at the zoo, we started walking back toward the Colosseum. Though we toured it yesterday, our ticket also included the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We didn’t have enough time to see them yesterday, and fortunately, our tickets were good for additional days. The ruins of the Roman Forum are certainly not to be missed, nor is the view from atop Palatine Hill:

The Roman Forum - ruins
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The Roman Forum - Temple of Antoninus and Faustino
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After that, we headed southwest along the River Tiber for some lesser-known sights. The first was Santa Sabina cathedral, which is situated on the top of Aventine Hill. It was a lovely church surrounded by beautifully landscaped grounds. There was an event taking place that evening, though, so it was a bit busier than I had anticipated.

Rome - Santa Sabina church
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The second place on Aventine Hill was the Knights of Malta Keyhole, which is exactly what it sounds like—a keyhole. You may ask yourself “why would I want to see a keyhole?” and you would certainly be justified with that question. The reason is that through the keyhole is an astonishing view. It was difficult to photograph, (especially at dusk), but this will give you an idea:

View of Rome from the Knights of Malta Keyhole
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I was surprised that there was a queue leading up to the door, but I guess that the secret is out about the neat view. 😛 We didn’t have to wait very long, though, and getting to see St. Peter’s Basilica from this unique perspective was well worth it!

Our dinner reservations for the evening were not very far from the Keyhole at a restaurant named Lo Scopettaro. It is known for having simple and traditional Italian dishes, so we decided to order three different pastas and share them. We went with Tonarelli al norcino (a thicker spaghetti with sausage, onion, milk, and nutmeg), Tonarelli with tomato and basil, and Fettucine with porcini mushrooms. All three dishes were nice, but none of them jumped out at me as particularly fantastic. What did strike me, though, was a wine that I never saw coming. Lazio (the Italian region that encompasses Rome) has always been trumped in the wine world by Tuscany (its neighbour to the northwest), so when I ordered a relatively inexpensive IGT blend (of equal parts Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot), I wasn’t thinking that it would completely wow me! The 2012 Casale del Giglio Madreselva definitely changed my perspective on not only Lazio as a wine region, but also blends with such high concentrations of both Merlot and Petit Verdot. Simply outstanding!

2012 Casale del Giglio Madreselva red blend
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We caught a cab back to the hotel, and decided to make it an early evening since we have a private tour of the Vatican scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Cheers,
Zach

Sep 03 2016

Italy Day 2: Campo de’ Fiori market, the Colosseum, and nightlife

Today is a new day, and after sleeping some absurd amount of time, we were ready to get out there and see what Rome had to offer. We started off by heading to Campo de’ Fiori. There is an open-air market there in the square that is available every day except Sunday. Though the goods that are sold are not necessarily the most authentic, it is one of the most prominent markets in Rome, so we had to see it.

Entrance to Rome's Campo de Fiori market
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There were plenty of vendors selling pastas, fruits and vegetables, and various spices. We found a particular vendor who was selling lots of different dried fruits. Some of them were candied, but many of them were just dehydrated. He was nice enough to let us sample some of them, and we ended up settling on the dried melon for a small and quick breakfast. Costing us under €2 for a nice portioned bag, it was well worth it.

Spice vendor at Rome's Campo de Fiori market
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After the market, we started walking toward the Colosseum. On our way, though, we realised that we were in Rome for a very special event: the Coronation of Mother Teresa. Just like when we happened to be in Thailand for the start of the protests, we were unaware that such an event was taking place during our visit.

In Rome for the Coronation of Mother Teresa
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Fairly close to the Colosseum, we decided to stop at the Imperiale Café right outside of the Richmond Hotel for an early afternoon coffee break. It’s a rather touristy area, so I was hesitant, but it turned out to be a really nice experience. I got an Americano, and this time, they honoured my request for no sugar. Deb got iced tea with fresh peach nectar, and she loved it.

After our refreshments, it was about time for our reservations to the Colosseum. Normally, there are substantial wait times to get in, but tickets can be purchased ahead of time through Co-Op Culture, and I would strongly recommend doing so. We were able to queue up and get right in to see one of Rome’s most magnificent sites!

Rome - inside the Colosseum
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It was really impressive to see it from the inside, and witness just how enormous of a structure it truly is! Again, as to be expected, there were masses of people, but somehow, they didn’t seem to detract as much from the structure as they did at Trevi Fountain. I still preferred seeing it from the outside, though, and found the view to be even more stunning from the steps to the southwest.

Rome - the outside of the Colosseum
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After the Colosseum, we moseyed down the way to see a much lesser-known attraction called the Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth). Unfortunately, though, we were too late and had just missed the last entry time by about five minutes. It seemed like an interesting spot because of the legend that if one tells a lie with his or her hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. Alas, though, we would have just to believe the legend. 😛

Instead, we walked across the river Tiber to the neighbourhood of Trastevere for our dinner reservations at VII Coorte. We had seats on the beautiful terrace, which was even more lovely at dusk. We started with a mixed Bruschetta plate, and all the choices were great! Unfortunately, though, for me, that’s where the goodness ended. I found the pasta to be wildly overcooked, which was disappointing considering the high reviews of the restaurant.

Bruschetta appetiser at Vii Coorte restaurant in Rome
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After dinner, I returned my camera equipment to the hotel, and then we walked back to Trastevere because it is known for its great nightlife. We started out at Ombre Rosse, but it was very busy, and didn’t offer the more subdued evening that we were after. We walked west toward the Tiber, and found Niji Café instead. We had a couple perfectly-made cocktails and just enjoyed one another’s company. Interestingly, though, it confirmed to me that cocktails completely pale in comparison to the enjoyment that I get from wine.

Afterwards we stumbled upon Café Friends just a couple blocks south of our hotel. We stopped in and shared some wine before retiring for the night.

Cheers,
Zach