Rome For The Holidays: MaitaiTom's Eternal City Escapades & Christmas Caper

Oh Tom! Such an in auspicious start for you both. The next titles beckon....

ttt - I really want to follow this one!

can't wait for the gory details.

>>Ground control to Major Tom<<

ummm, that would be "Ground control to Maitai Tom".

Tom, do you like puns?

Looking forward to more.

Can't wait for more!

Can't wait for the next installment. By the way, your magic cream saved me on the last trip to Paris and I plan on stocking up this March when I return.

Well, well, well! Today just got a whole lot 'funner'!!
Thanks, Tom. Keep it comin'.
Pam

Tom & Tracy, so glad to see this report. Anxious to hear what Roma is like for Christmas and all your very interesting details!

Yay! Another great adventure to read about. Looking forward to all the details!

I am so anxious to find out what the Christmas miracle is....more!!!!

I always look forward to your trip reports. I haven't even gotten around to doing mine, and we traveled last June. I DO blog and find that "in the moment" feeling (typos and all) takes me right back. You are right though, that time tempers it all and it is sometimes good to take a step back before sharing. The trouble is, by the time I step back, my poor memory forgets too much!

Looking forward to your adventure!

Great start...cant wait for more!

ttt

More! More! (and thanks)

This report is just what I needed today! Looking forward to more.

MTT and T: Welcome home, and give us more, please. (it's all your fault for making your fans insatiable to get more of your humor during the first big northeastern chill, esp. for those home recovering from some flu like thing.)

I woke at 5:00 this morning, which is like some minor miracle, and knowing there must be a reason for that, rushed to the computer. Hallelujah, I am not disappointed, the story has begun. Now, I'm going back to bed, perchance to giggle.

So happy this report has started.

I think Alitalia pilots most like to fly when there is a challenge--a heart-stopping challenge is best!

tt

What a great report, can't wait for more! Your humor makes it even more fun to read.
After visiting Trastevere this past fall, I thought it would be an excellent area to stay in. Please let us know how you liked the area.
Also what do you think is the right amount of Paris to Rome time for someone who has visited Rome twice?
I'm looking forward to more!

Thanks all for the comments. I'll get out Act II in the morning. I'll also find out if the miracle occurs or not tomorrow or Wednesday. I like an upbeat Hollywood ending, so I'm hoping this trip report has one. By the way, for those who asked on another thread, it has nothing to do with health-type issues. It's a different kind of miracle, but certainly one that will make me very happy and would be an amazing conclusion to the story.

Gina, to be honest, I am more a Paris guy than a Rome guy, so I would give Paris more time, but everyone is different. I liked Trastevere (second time I have stayed there), although if we come back, I will probably stay in a different part of Rome.

Stay tuned!

Oh darn, I am a 50-50 Rome-Paris person. Both so wonderful, both so different. Will this report break my heart, Signor and Signora MaiTai?

And when do we get photos?

Leely2 - Will this report break my heart, Signor and Signora MaiTai?

No, it will not break your heart.

Leely2 - And when do we get photos?

That's a very good question.

Felice Anno Nuovo, Tom. Very auspicious beginning for 2010 .. a Maitaitom Trip Report. Thanks for the first chapters, looking forward to the rest.

Act II: Bad Forecast, Nice Spread, Big Balls, Via Giulia Childs Play, Numb Skulls, Where’s That Damned Enoteca, Just Look For The Elephant, Hunky Doria, Don’t Meow For Me Argentina and Taking It On The Lamb Chops

During our quick death showers the night before, we had tuned in to CNN International to find out the forecast for the following day. That nasty graphic showing darks clouds and rain appeared on the screen, so it should come as no surprise that when we awoke on Friday morning the skies were clear with bright sunshine.

Surviving another shower that included immediately pulling the shower handle away from your body as intermittent spurts of scalding, hot water came bursting out (a fun game that we played all week in an attempt to escape second degree burns), we made our way downstairs (96 stairs to be exact) to the breakfast room that was filled with delicious goodies perfect for two weary travelers. Cereal, bread, jams, cheeses, meats, pastries, cold pizza (just like college), juices and cappuccinos made for a nice breakfast. Then it was off to one of the most famous Rome monuments that I had always wanted to visit, the Castel Sant’Angelo.

I was interested in learning about its sordid and fascinating history, but alas when we picked up our Roma Pass at the entrance, we were told the bookshop people had all booked out and there were no audio guides available to avail ourselves of this knowledge. So we toured the grounds and made our way through various rooms following signs to the terrace and came upon the stairway that would take us to the top to check out those great views we had heard so much about. And great, they were. It looked like we could reach out and touch St. Peter’s. What a fantastic day (although I was still pretty bummed about the lack of audio guides)!

After wandering the premises for about 45 minutes, we happened upon the cute restaurant/bar that has outdoor seating that overlooks the Vatican. We walked around some more taking in vista after vista when out of the blue I swore I heard Tracy utter a phrase that sort of shocked me.

“Wow, what big balls!” she exclaimed. Before I could answer, “Why, thank you,” she added, “Look at all those cannon balls down there.” It was time to move on.

Exiting the structure, we walked across the famed Ponte Sant’Angelo, a bridge that dates back to the 130s AD. I was glad it was not as crowded as a day back in 1450, when during a Jubilee, the bridge gave way under the weight of all the pilgrims and many of them drowned in the Tiber.

Now it was time for our mini-Renaissance walk down the Via Giulia. We strolled through the Piazza Sant’Angelo where Beatrice Cenci and other family members were beheaded in 1599. It was a much calmer scene on this morning.

Our first stop when we reached the via Giulia, which was an early example of Renaissance Rome urban (not Pope Urban) planning, was the Chiesa di San Giovanni dei Fiorentini. Michelangelo had actually presented a design to build the Florentine church, but his design didn’t make the final cut.

As we stepped inside the church, we immediately heard the voices of dozens of little children singing a rousing chorus of Jingle Bells. It was beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. There was also a cool nativity scene, one of only a handful we witnessed in our week in Rome (most churches keep them behind curtains until Christmas Eve services).

Back on the via Giulia, in about a block, we detoured one street over to see if we could get in to see the Chiesa di San Biagio and perhaps see an interesting, if macabre, reminder of the martyred St. Biagio; a portion of his throat. The church was closed.

The via Giulia was designed to be the straightest, longest and widest street in Rome, and artists like Raphael once lived on it. The street is now home to a number of antique shops, but fortunately we contained ourselves to window-shopping as we passed by these shops, various palazzos and other buildings. We then happened upon an open church door, and when church doors are open, Maitaitom and Tracy go in.

We quickly found out that this was no ordinary church. We had stepped in to Santa Maria dell’Orazione e Morte (Saint Mary Of The Prayer and Death). This was a spot where monks collected and buried indigents (yes, they were also dead). I read somewhere that during the Renaissance, the underground chambers were filled with bodies that eventually were transferred to barges that carried the corpses away (well, most of the corpse anyway). There was a room under the church, supposedly not open to the public, which contained decorated skulls. I guess because we still looked like death after the previous day’s epic travel schedule, as we were about to pass by a closed door, a nun came over and opened it, and we descended down the stairs.

Sure enough, there were numbers of painted human skulls arranged in interesting patterns stuck inside nooks in this fairly large room. It was cold down there, not that anyone residing in it was complaining, so we made our way upstairs, left a small donation and exited the church. Two seconds after we walked out the door, the nun bolted the door behind us, making no bones about it that the church was now closed.

From the via Giulia, we wound ourselves through the Campo di Fiore (lots of produce stands surrounding the statue of Giordano Bruno, who had been burned at the stake here many centuries ago) and over to the Piazza Navona.

I remembered the Piazza Navona as incredibly striking on our first visit, thanks to its lovely fountains. On this day, the piazza looked more like an oversized flea market on speed. I tried to keep my eyes on the beautiful fountains, but was distracted by all the crap being sold at the myriad of booths lining the piazza.

Truth be told, I know many people love Christmas markets and market days in various towns, but whether here or in small towns dotting Italy, France and other European countries, they have no appeal to me and hold little, if any, charm. I’ve never been much of a trinket guy. At least the carousel in the center was cute.

We ducked into Sant’Agnes in Agone, and then made our way toward the Pantheon for our obligatory visit that we make each time we visit Rome. This building never ceases to amaze us. But while being amazed, we also had hunger pangs that superseded our quest to learn more Roman history.

My plans for the day had gone perfectly up to this point, but, of course, that quickly changed. For some reason, I thought that the Enoteca Cul de Sac was near the Pantheon, but after asking a bunch of people, I surmised I must be wrong. Now, we were really hungry.

Nearby we stepped in to a little restaurant called Antonio al Pantheon. When we arrived a little past 1 p.m. there were not many people inside. By the time we ordered, the place was packed, and we were the only English-speaking patrons to be found.

The owner (at least he acted like the owner) was carving prosciutto by hand in the middle of the room, and it looked great. We started with a glass of Prosecco, but this was no ordinary glass of the bubbly. The waitress opened the bottle and poured two huge servings into over-sized red wine glasses (always dangerous for jet-lagged tourists).

Tracy opted for an appetizer of zucchini blossoms filled with ricotta and anchovies (quite tasty), which was followed with a grilled eggplant. I had always been averse to eating eggplant, but one taste opened my eyes to what I have been missing all these years. It was very good.

It was zuppa for me; a fagioli that had white beans and tube pasta, which was good, and then ravioli filled with Pecorino and fresh tomatoes. It was much better than the previous night’s meal. Lunch cost: 41€.

Although the Prosecco made us a little tired, it was time for these Prosecco-laden California tourists to see some more of Rome. Next stop: Santa Maria sopra Minerva. For some odd reason, I just couldn’t find it, although I knew by the map that the church had to be very close to where we were standing. As it turned out, it was closer than I thought (perhaps the Prosecco was taking effect).

After walking by the church twice, Tracy pointed directly behind me and said, “See that elephant. The church is right behind it.”

“Elephant,” I answered. “How many glasses did you have?”

Sure enough, behind a statue of an elephant carrying an obelisk designed by Bernini was the Santa Maria sopra Minerva. This is the only Gothic church in Rome and it has a magnificent ceiling slightly reminiscent of Sainte Chapelle in Paris. Inside, under the altar, are the remains of St. Catherine of Siena (except her head, which headed straight to Siena). The church also contains the tomb of Fra Angelico and an original Michelangelo statue of Christ carrying a small cross. Tracy lit a candle for a friend’s mother who had recently passed away.

We scooted out the back door of the church and headed for our next destination, the Galleria Doria Pamphilj. This had never been on our radar, but thanks to Fodorites who have visited here and included it on their trip reports, it became a high priority. We loved our audio guide tour of this residence, but sadly the private apartments were not open, because some of the family was staying there during the Christmas holidays.

After the Doria Pamphilj, we ducked into one more nearby church, the Chiesa del Gesú, which had once been the most powerful church in the Jesuit order. We started our hike back to Trastevere, saw the huge Christmas tree in front of Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, the famous (or infamous to some) “Wedding Cake” building, and soon found ourselves at the Largo di Torre Argentina. Every time I see it, I almost forget this area has historical significance, because we always seem to focus more on the abundance of cats that call this historical area home at the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary.

The kitties were out and about on this beautiful afternoon, frolicking in the ruins, but it all gives one pause to think. Spay and Neuter! It also made us miss our cats, who were probably at that moment laughing with all the other cats at The Cat Hotel, knowing we were paying almost as much for their lodging as we were for our own. Plus, they probably had a better meal the previous evening, too.

In about ten minutes or so we were back in Trastevere and stopped in the Church Of Santa Maria in Trastevere where it was time for more Christmas carols. The kids were singing and proud parents wielding camcorders and cameras were busy chronicling the event for posterity.

By now we were pooped. Back at the hotel, we turned on CNN and saw snow was still falling heavily on Paris. Our friends, one a fellow Fodorite, were flying in to Paris on this afternoon, and we wondered whether they had made it. Little did we know at the time how integral their trip to Paris would play in the drama that unfolded at the end of our trip (God, I love foreshadowing).

That night we had dinner reservations at a Fodorite favorite, Ditirambo, which is not another Sylvester Stallone sequel. Located just off Campo Fiore, we arrived for our 8 p.m. reservations and were seated in a little alcove in between the two rooms with a perfect view of all that was happening at the restaurant. Once again no English was spoken by any of the patrons that we heard, and the restaurant filled quickly and was packed by 8:30.

I wish I could say the meal was impeccable, but it was not, although it got off to a good start. Once again we started with a refreshing glass of Prosecco, although not the gallon jug size that we had downed at lunch. Tracy’s appetizer of crispy fried potatoes with sheep cheese and black truffles was delicious, albeit a tad cold. I also enjoyed my appetizer that consisted of a mousse of pears and Gorgonzola drizzled with balsamic that was served with sliced fresh pears.

Tracy’s dinner was very good. She had a pork chop wrapped in crispy bacon (the ultimate in pigging out, I guess) with a side of cinnamon applesauce for dipping. The applesauce complemented her pork dish perfectly.

My main course on this night was off the mark. I ordered baby lamb chops with rosemary. The dish was not only overcooked but contained virtually no lamb. There were lots of chops, however. “Maybe the lamb took it on the lam,” I said sheepishly. Fortunately, when dipped in Tracy’s applesauce, the flavor was somewhat better, but it was a disappointing meal to say the least. Not to mention, I was still starving. Dinner, Prosecco and a nice bottle of red wine from the Piedmonte region cost 83€.

We skipped dessert at Ditirambo, and on the way back to our hotel we stopped in Trastevere at a place where I had eaten one of my greatest desserts (twice) back in 2005.

On that trip in 2005, the Enoteca Trastevere served up a dish called Il Saraceno, a dessert of frozen chocolate interspersed with cinnamon and some sort of hot, candied peppers (perhaps Red Hots). I had dreamed of this dish for years.

Unfortunately for me, the people working at Enoteca Trastevere had never heard of this bizarre dessert, but I was consoled by a huge piece of chocolate cake that contained pears. That and some Vin Santo put a nice exclamation point on the day.

Departing the enoteca, we found out the weather prognosticators had been just a little early with their predictions of the wet stuff. It started raining pretty heavily, and we, in our eternal (well, it is the Eternal City) optimism, had not brought our umbrellas. We were going to make a mad dash for the hotel (about a ten-minute walk), when over to the side of the alley we spied an umbrella that had been tossed because it was broken. Although broken, it was not unusable, and it kept us dry for our walk back to the Hotel San Francesco.

We gently laid it down near our hotel, hoping it would give someone else in need a chance to stay out of the rain. A long first day was now in the books.

Overnight the skies opened up and it poured. Awaking about 3 a.m., I was greeted with a sky show of lightening and some loud claps of thunder. Quickly, I got back to sleep because there would be no rest for the weary coming up in only a few hours. Little did I know at that moment, but within 18 hours I would find my new favorite dessert of all time (yes it is true, when it comes to my favorite desserts, I do have serious commitment issues).

Coming Up: History Comes Alive, Finally Finding Cul De Sac, The Church That’s Always Closed, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, More Churches, They Should Serve A Caesar Salad Here, The Zabaione Zone and The Deep Freeze

As always great to read one of your reports - it's making me want to go back to Rome. Looking forward to more...

What a treat to read this. I'm another one who is torn between Paris and Rome but I think Paris currently has the edge. A few years ago, I also had a hard time finding Enoteca Cul de Sac, which is near the Pantheon, but this past November didn't have any trouble finding it. I also discovered Antonio al Pantheon this past time thanks to a fodorite and it was wonderful.

Enjoying your writing style very much, I suspect we are in the hands of a professional (traveller, gourmand, foreshadowing-expert, etc.). Having not yet made it to Rome I'm looking forward to your piercingly honest assessment of the best and worst the ancient city has to offer.

Tagging to read under the influence

I'm offline for a few days and look what happens--Tom begins his report! Great reading as always.

Thank you for answering my questions. Act II was a thrill to read. The dessert you mentioned above sounds delicious. Maybe some others on the board can help track it down.

Ok, I'll be waiting for the Hollywood ending!

Another happy reader! What a great way to start the new year, with another fun trip report.

I'm glad to know I am not the only person who wasn't thrilled with the Christmas market in Piazza Navona. I was happy to see the place devoid of all the kitch when I was there last October...it has a completely different feel. Sorry to hear your dinner at Ditriambo was less then stellar. But I'm noting Antonio al Pantheon for a future Rome visit!

Tom & Tracy,

I'm so glad you did find the elephant and Santa Maria Sopra Minerva! It's my favorite Roman church - so far. That ceiling is so gorgeous. I purposely missed the saints' relics though! Ugh. Something I've never understood!

Do continue, looking forward to the rest!

After just tearing up on the Robespierre thread this one is a joy. Another great Mai Tai report. Thanks for the laffs. Anxiously awaiting more...

Love your threads! I didn't take to Rome (I like Paris and love London), but am willing to be converted.

Really enjoying your report! I loved Rome, was there my first time about this time last year and hope to get back someday soon. More please. And photos too. I want it all

Andiamo!

Going to Rome in a few months, and I am thrilled to see this Maitai report. Cant wait for the really good food!

oh, golly, gee... are we there yet??? Where is Chapter 3????

waiting for more!

In the mean time... I found our meal in Ditirambo to be so-so. DD's dish was excellent, mine was merely good and DH's bordered on downright bad.

I'm still regretting not making it to Armando's

I have been two times to Rome. First time I hated it and could not get out of there soon enough. Second time around I absolutely loved it. By then I had discovered Fodor's and it made a world of difference.

still waiting.......

Act III: History Comes Alive, Finally Finding Cul De Sac, The Church That’s Always Closed, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, More Churches, They Should Serve A Caesar Salad Here, The Zabaione Zone and The Deep Freeze

Awakening to menacing skies, we looked out the window, and, for the moment anyway, there was no precipitation. We scarfed down another large breakfast, hit the pavement, walked through Trastevere, over the Tiber, up a series of stairs that looked like they were going nowhere and soon we were at a museum that now ranks as one of our all-time favorites.

The Museo Capitolino (Capitoline Museum) entrance was free as our second Roma Pass venue, and the audio guides (essential in our opinion to get the most out of your visit) were 5€ each. We left our coats and backpack at the free lockers and started our tour of Roman history.

From the courtyard we climbed the stairs to see amazing three dimensional reliefs that were nearly 2,000 years old and a stunning 16th century ceiling. Tracy reminded me that most of the ceilings in this building contain art, so don’t forget to look up while passing through (but don’t run into the statues).

Speaking of statues, they abound in the various rooms at the Capitoline Museum from the Boy Extracting A Thorn to the Capitoline She-Wolf (that had to be a slightly weird childhood) to a very menacing-looking Medusa giving a very Tracy-esque “look”.

We entered a modern room with a glass ceiling and there in all its glory was the amazingly large bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback, a giant Constantine head and a statue of a club-wielding Hercules. Sadly, there was no Xena: Warrior Princess (oh, what you don’t know about me).

After going through the remnants of the foundation of the Temple of Jupiter and going upstairs to see some paintings (including one that had been stolen by Napoleon and subsequently returned from France), we traversed down a flight of stairs into the basement, walked through a long passageway, made a quick right, climbed more stairs and reached the Tabularium, which has spectacular views out onto the Roman Forum.

“How did we miss this museum on our past visits?” Tracy asked. The owner of Tuscan Tom’s Tours (see 2005 trip report) had no good answer for her. We took some nice pictures out on to the Forum that hopefully (very hopefully) we will actually be able to see in the not-to-distant future.

Then it was on to the building that connected to the passageway, the Palazzo Nuova. In these rooms were more busts than a strip club, and some very interesting statues. Many of these were from Hadrian’s Villa. After touring around Rome, we wondered how there could be anything left at his estate, given there were so many artifacts in so many places that came from there.

The Capitoline Venus had her own room (good agent, I guess), busts of emperors and philosophers dotted other rooms, and then we were greeted by a couple of very cool looking marble sculptures, The Furietti Centaurs, in the center of another room. They were, naturally, from Hadrian’s Villa. One statue depicts a young centaur horsing around, while the other is of a weary looking old centaur whose days of hoofing it were long behind him.

I thought it must be hard to be saddled with being both a man and a horse, but didn’t tell Tracy because spending eight days in such close proximity means choosing your puns wisely.

In the last room we visited was The Dying Gaul, a really spectacular statue of a dying warrior. I’m not usually one to linger too long at a piece of art or statue, but for some reason this one captivated me, and we circled around it so see this famous piece from about the first century BC. This is one time where I could actually “feel his pain.”

We spent 2 ½ wonderful and interesting hours at the Capitoline Museum, and it gets our highest recommendation. Speaking of recommendations, I had remembered to bring along the address of the oft-recommended Enoteca Cul De Sac, so we walked toward the Piazza Navona in a slight, but persistant, drizzle in search of our afternoon meal.

By the time we reached Cul de Sac, our feet were feeling the first true effects of soreness.

We had to wait for a couple of minutes outside in the rain, but were soon led inside the narrow building and seated at a communal table with another couple who spoke no English, but buy all signs were enjoying their meal that included some fresh cut meats. Tracy and I started with our requisite glass of Prosecco (if you’re going to be in a rut, make it a good rut) and then both enjoyed a glass of delicious red wine from Montefalco with our respective lunches.

I had Rotini with Broccoli and Pecorino (very good) while Tracy had the first “Wow” dish of the trip, ravioli filled with duck ragout. She also loved the Insalata Mista. Cost for lunch was 37€.

The Enoteca Cul de Sac is set up quite efficiently. There were tables for two or four on either side of the aisle, and if you are a twosome at a table set for four, the odds are you will eventually be having a convivial gathering with others at some point during your lunch. Wine bottles are stored on the top shelves (fun to watch the waiters snatch them with their “bottle snatching thingamajigs”) and there is cargo netting above the tables where you can stash your excess clothing. They even had little umbrella holders to lend to patrons to keep the premises from getting wet. We vowed we would be back again before we left.

Very close to the Piazza Navona is a church I had wanted to visit, the Santa Maria Della Pace. After lunch, we wandered over and found that it was closed. As we were to find out throughout our stay in Rome, it was always closed when we happened to be near. Oh well, there were plenty of other churches in Rome.

It started raining pretty heavily by the time we reached Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesco (at least I think it was; church overload can happen at any time in Rome), and we were now getting pretty tired. We decided that this Prosecco and wine thing at lunch was slowing us down (not that we stopped doing that for the duration of the vacation). After going in and checking out the church, we decided it was time to rest back at the hotel.

We meandered back to Trastevere, saying hello to the soaking wet cats at the Largo as we passed by. Tracy was in nap mode, while I watched CNN World Sports and tried to decipher the game of Cricket and how a team can tie a match when the score is not really tied. Quite perplexing, and I am sure in another lifetime I will figure it out.

After showering it was time to head back on the road with our now half-broken feet for our appointed dinner reservation at a restaurant located near where a very famous event took place in the history of Rome. While we were in the room, we had opened the windows to let some air in, and I was pretty sure I had secured both windows upon leaving on this very chilly evening in Roma.

The Ristoranti Hostaria Costanza is situated underneath the tiers of the Pompeo Theatre, and is very nearby where Julius Caesar met his demise in 44 BC. For some reason, I was very cognizant of people with knives at this restaurant. Et tu, Tracy?

We were seated in the smaller of the two rooms, which I called the “Stash the Americans Room.” Our waiter was the first person in Rome to show really any overt enthusiasm. It seemed a lot the locals were just going through the motions, which was unlike our past two visits. Maybe the holidays were just taking their toll on people.

Prosecco once again preceded the meal. Tracy’s pasta combined with artichokes, shrimp and tomatoes appetizer and veal scaloppini main course was, unfortunately, not very exciting.

My fare fared much better. The smoked cheese with rocket salad and tomatoes in a balsamic sauce was wonderful, and the filet with a green peppercorn sauce, which included about two vats of butter (no wonder I liked it), was terrific. It was one of the best steaks I have had in Europe. However, it’s what awaited me for dessert that changed the course of my dining habits for the remainder of the trip.

On all our travels, it seems I always fall in love with a different dessert item. In the past, I have courted crème brulees, fallen for flourless cakes, gorged on Gelato, have had apple amore and pined for Panna Cotta. I am fickle when it comes to sweets, and on this trip, I forsook my previous loves for a new paramour that I found at the Hostaria Costanza.

My new love had all the ingredients I needed to be my sexy new partner. It contained sugar, eggs and Marsala (a perfect combo after two vats of butter). It was on this cold evening in Rome that I met and fell in love with Zabaione.

The Zabaione at the Hostaria Costanza was whipped into a mousse-like texture and whipped me into a dessert-eating frenzy. It might have gone down cold, but Zabaione was hot, baby! I must admit I felt a tinge of guilt because I didn’t even have a chance to say a proper goodbye to Panna Cotta or her sister Kremna Rezina, who I had met and romanced on our 2008 Central European trip. Oh well, we’ll always have Lake Bled.

Speaking of cold, as we left the Hostaria Costanza, we were greeted with a blast of winter. Rain, wind and cold permeated our bodies. Toto, we’re not in Pasadena anymore. Not even the silky, long johns could protect us from this wintry weather. Being so brisk outside, we obviously walked briskly back to the hotel.

Stepping into our room, immediately we realized something was amiss. I knew we hadn’t accidentally walked into a meat locker, because I saw our bed. It wasn’t hard to discern what had gone awry because the temperature was about 30 degrees in our room. Some idiot (aka me) had not latched the windows, so cold air had come to roost in our room for the past three hours. You know it’s not good when you can see your breath when you talk…and you’re inside.

We climbed under the covers. I can think of nothing more romantic than being in bed with the woman you love attired in only your long underwear, socks and down vest while covered with blankets and overcoats. At least we didn’t wear our mittens. Love, not to mention pneumonia, was in the air.

Our kiss goodnight could only have been made better had our lips not been numb. I told Tracy, “I only have ice for you.” She would have given me “the look,” but it was difficult to make any facial expressions while in this frozen state.

Lying there, trying to get some feeling back in my extremities, I was thinking that this trip was really taking a toll out on me. I’m usually the Energizer Bunny ready to go, go and go some more. I had never been this tired so early in a trip. We’d only been here for two entire days. “Was Rome this tough a city? I’m not getting old, am I?” Fortunately, I did not ponder these questions too long since we were exhausted, and soon the two giant ice cubes had drifted off to a peaceful, cryogenic-like sleep.

Unlike Ted Williams’ head, we did awake the next day, a day that we had planned to visit more museums. However, a change in the weather made for a change in our plans.

Coming Up: Car On Poo Corner, Rome’s Obligatory (And Not My Favorite) Tourist Stops, Riding On The Metro Again, Visiting The Pope Store, Grumpy Old People, Will It Snow, Majestic Mosaics, The Medusa Salad and A Heated Discussion

I've been to Rome many times (lost count), and I've still never managed to find Santa Maria della Pace open. I have found its lovely Bramante cloister open—now a cafe, bookstore, with restroom!

Santa Maria della Pace keeps very limited hours: theoretically from 9 am to noon on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

But that's generous compared to Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza, which is only open on Sunday from 9 am to noon, with a service that starts at 9:30 and lasts almost an hour.

When I saw Tom's title "The Church that's Always Closed," I expected it to be about Sant'Ivo. I've actually managed to find Sant'Ivo open twice(!), once for a special event.

Loving your report. Thanks for taking me along.

Oh, Tom, you have brought back my fondest memories of the Best Dessert from my trip to Rome in 2007 - the incredible Zabaione at Costanza. It was like a heavenly cloud of deliciousness and I can almost taste it right now. Thanks for your great (as always)report - you're a terrific storyteller an I look forward to more.

"It was like a heavenly cloud of deliciousness"

Poetry, Hazel, sheer poetry!

Hi Maitai - I'm glad you found the Enoteca Cul de Sac - I knew you would like it. It combines all of the attributes that make it a find. Great food, great wine, good ambiance and low prices. What more could you want?

I am surprised that your room had that shower problem. Ours did not. BTW how is Max?

Hours for Santa Maria della Pace - Monday, Wednesday, Saturday 9-12.
http://www.060608.it/en/content/item/area/cultura_e_svago/id/111/itm/8589

I am enjoying this report so much and am looking forward to more. I, too, love Zabaione!

Due to events of the past hour, I can now confirm there will definitely be a Hollywood ending to this trip report. Will I end up being happy? Will I end up being sad? In either case, it is an amazing story. Stay tuned.

We're ready for the amazing story. Bring it on!

>Speaking of statues, they abound in the various rooms at the Capitoline Museum from the Boy Extracting A Thorn to the Capitoline She-Wolf (that had to be a slightly weird childhood) to a very menacing-looking Medusa giving a very Tracy-esque “look”.<

This is why I love these reports--humor and good information combined.

Tom--I love a cliffhanger!

Love the report Tom, thanks for taking the time to write it so well.

The suspense is killing me!

As always, a wonderful trip report. Now that I'm home with twins I have to travel vicariously through fellow fodorites and this one is fab. Rome will forever have a special place in my heart. Hmmm...I'm now wondering how my double stroller would handle the cobblestone streets of the Eternal City?

Tracy

Ah, another convert to zabaione. Lovely, lovely stuff I once described as: "a delicate, delectable pale brown Marsala-flavored froth that any self-respecting god would be happy to call nectar". I've never been able to find it in the US, but it's pretty easy to make.

Tom, I'm afraid I'm going to have to drink wine until I hear the outcome, so hurry up or I'll be...well, you've seen what I'll be.

ttt for later

Oh Tom! The boy extracting a thorn - isn't it exquisite?
We have a copy in the Botanic Gardens here in Sydney, that I stumbled across a few years ago. http://www.publicartaroundtheworld.com/Boy_Extracting_Thorn_Statue.html

Cul de Sac's eluded many of us, I'm sure. Given the tip by a guy in the QF lounge in Singapore, my friend & I then proceeded to miss it by metres in that maze of laneways surrounding Pzza Navona. We eventually gave up, starving & just a tad jetlagged after a couple of days in the air on our way in from Australia, and subsided into a place whose tourist menu outside should have warned us off. Naturally, Pzza Pasquino opened miraculously in front of us 3 minutes into our walk back to our hotel. We celebrated with a proseco, tied a mental ball of string to a table leg and returned many times during our 10 days in Rome.

Intrigue! I love it! Dang, going out of town tomorrow. Without a computer. I will highjack my husbands.

Tom, can we guess? You wrote a book and it will be published and made into a movie and.....Okay, you will have your own show on the Travel Channel and Tracy will be executive producer and you will make loads of money and invite us all to California for a really fab party and serve zabaione and prosecco. That's the one I'm going with.
Cheers,
Pam

Er, that should be 'husband's'. I only have one. Really.

Great report. We are going back to Rome (3rd time) in May. I'm taking notes. PJK

Tom,

You get to travel more than I, but I've been to Rome twice and haven't made it to the Capitoline Museums yet. Moving it up on the list for next time!

thursdaysd: I don't know where you live in the US, but my daughter often orders zabiaone. I know for sure that they have it at I Coppi, East Village, NYC.

Just so we can entertain ourselves waiting for the next episode .....

http://www.culinate.com/books/collections/all_books/Essentials+of+Classic+Italian+Cooking/zabaglione

Do any of you know the writing of Dave Barry (Miami Herald)? Does anyone's writing remind you of that funny, astute columnist,perchance?

tuscanlifeedit - I live in NC, and on the rare occasions I've seen it on a menu it's nothing like the real thing, which needs to be cooked right before serving.

My dad used to order zabaioni at a restaurant in San Francisco, every time we went there. It was called Vanessi's and I have no idea if they are even in business anymore, it's been years and years. I'm sure it's available in the states, and probably many plaes.

What luck...I have Marsala in the winerack! Thank you, Tom, for taking the time to write so well. I feel as if I just visited the Capitoline now instead of three years ago. It is certainly worth every bit of your praising prose!

--Annie

Aha, I went into Santa Maria della Pace last year. Dumb luck, I guess.

I'm sensing serious foreshadowing about photos, cameras...what could it be?

Sorry to read that the MaiTais are exhausted by Day 2. I like Rome best at a relatively relaxed pace. Cold, rainy weather doesn't help with the fatigue.

More, please.

Once again enjoying your report. I have tried making Zabaglione at home and it is tricky. The first time I ended up with fancy scrambled eggs!

I'm not surprised that you were pooped after those firt two days, Rome takes it out of your legs! Can't wait for the rest.

Two new things on my "must" list now for April trip...Zabaione at Costanza and Capitoline Museums!

Thanks, Tom. Can't WAIT to see what's up next! Fab report... as always!

Paula

worth waiting for, Tom.

I'm making notes for our february trip, especially the restaurants.

we will be 2nd time visitors too, so you take on 2nd time attractions is particularly welcome.

keep it coming,

regards, ann

I love your TR, Tom. It is hilarious!

We were in Rome shortly after you, but I am still working on the trip report, as it will be my first.

We missed the Zabaglione. We did find Cul de Sac; totally by accident and only through fodorite advice did I even recognize it. We were a bit disturbed & discombobulated after the County Fair atmosphere of Piazza Navona. Sponge Bob Balloons in Rome?????

thursdaysd, if you happen to live near East Bend, NC check out Rosselli's restaurant on the main street. It is in a building formerly used as a department store.

cmcfong - over near Winston Salem? I had to look that up on google maps, lol! I live near Research Triangle. Here, when zabaione has appeared on menus, it's turned out to be some kind of cold, custardy cake, not at all the warm, delicate foam I was expecting!

Tom, your name is high on the list of Fodorites who should be writing books if not doing so already!

Act IV: Car On Poo Corner, Rome’s Obligatory (And Not My Favorite) Tourist Stops, Riding On The Metro Again, The Pope Store, Bread Winner, Grumpy Old People, Will It Snow, Majestic Mosaics, The Medusa Salad and A Heated Discussion

Tracy and I woke to find that, thanks to the Antarctic room temperature of the previous night, we had not aged one minute in the past seven hours. I had tried to find the heat controls during the first minutes of sub-freezing temperatures the previous evening, but decided to get under the covers before the first sign of frostbite appeared.

In the morning, I found the controls that were located high up on one of the walls. I told Tracy that I would now be able to control the room temperature when we went to bed from now on.

The rain had disappeared, and we were greeted with blue, sunny skies so we decided to forego more museums and take a leisurely stroll through Rome and enjoy the sunshine, forgetting for the moment our sore, aching feet.

The breakfast room at The Hotel San Francesco on Sunday morning was nearly full, and we grabbed the last table. Extra cappuccinos and tea were in order to help our bodies climb back to their full body temperature.

We walked down the Viale Trastevere to the bridge crossing the Tiber that we had navigated on numerous occasions. Lining the street that runs parallel to the river are numerous trees where each evening it sounded like a million birds were having a huge party. Tracy had thought it was the sound of electricity, while I was pretty sure it was birds.

“Let’s walk along the river for a little bit,” I said to Tracy on this beautiful morning. As we turned to the left to walk along the Tiber, one fact became quite evident, the trees certainly contained birds. No matter what color the cars actually were in reality, every car parked alongside the Tiber had a familiar white look. Yes, we were walking along the bird poo capital of the world. Quickly Tracy and I jaywalked to the other side of the street. Unfortunately for my wife, one of the feathered fiends dropped a bomb on her hair and coat. I, of course, laughed, but as I am sure you know, it would not be the last laugh.

As we strolled toward our first destination of the day, I told Tracy that even though my feet were tired, “at least I haven’t taken a tumble in my last couple of trips to Europe.” We passed through the flea market (aka The Piazza Navona) and past the Pantheon on our way to the Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain).

I must admit we have never been huge fans of this Roman landmark. The fountain is undeniably beautiful, but no matter what time of the day we have visited, it is filled to the brim with people who seem like they have nothing better to do than hang around a fountain for hours at a time. At least, fairly early on a Sunday morning, the crowds were not overwhelming. That said, I did use this photo opportunity to take my requisite shots, and we moved on to the next place where crowds gather incessantly at all hours.

The Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti (Spanish Steps) makes the Trevi Fountain area look desolate. Even early on a Sunday morning, the place was packed with people, 75 percent of them smoking cigarettes (I will comment on Rome and smoking later in the trip report). I thought it was hazy looking up the steps toward the Trinitá dei Monti, but realized that we were just being inundated with second hand smoke. Before we contracted lung cancer, we decided it was time to move on.

We had not taken public transportation up to this point, so this started our three free days with the pass you receive when you buy the Roma Pass (validated at the first trip you take) by taking the metro to the stop nearest St. Peter’s Square. The Vatican area was bustling, and St. Peter’s glistened as we arrived in the square after the ten-minute walk from the Metro. The line to get into St. Peter’s was huge (well it was Sunday) and since we would be back in the area in a few days (when our Vatican Museum tour was scheduled), we just took in the surroundings and took some pictures in the sunshine.

There was a giant Christmas tree in the square next to an area that was under a large tarp (we assumed that had to be a giant Nativity Scene that would be uncovered for the Christmas Eve services). We meandered over to a place that sells gifts blessed by the Pontiff that we dubbed “The Pope Store” on our last trip.

I almost bought some golf balls blessed by the pope, however not even divine intervention can help my golf game. We also looked for an engagement gift. Our friends, Kim and Mary (who often travel with us) had decided to skip this trip. Obviously, it was for a reason (besides having to spend eight days with me), because the previous evening we had received an email from them telling us their son had become engaged.

We got back on the metro and headed to the Flaminio stop and the Piazza Popolo. Being such a gorgeous day, we decided to take a little stroll down the main shopping drag, the Via del Corso. We had seen a story on CNN that shopping was slow in Rome. Obviously, they forgot to focus their cameras on this street. Today, and every day were near here, Romans were opening their wallets in search of the perfect Christmas gift.

We ducked in to a couple of churches and on one of the side streets bought some mini-risottos for gifts. The risotto reminded us that we were hungry (not that we usually needed a reminder). We thought we’d try Enoteca Cul de Sac again, but there was an hour wait. Nearby was a restaurant, Paquino, where we had the best garlic bread ever in 2005.

We barely beat the after-church crowd. Up until this point, the bread we had eaten in Rome had been about as tasty as cardboard, however since we both have serious bread addiction, we ate it anyway (although they charge extra for it at most places).

Pasquino lived up to its past billing when it came to its bruschetta. Both the bruschetta pomodoro and bruschetta Bianca (bread brushed with olio and garlic then toasted in a pizza oven) were tremendous. Tracy’s lunch of Tagliatelle with Chicory, Rosemary and Pecorino was nice and spicy, the first dish we had eaten that had a nice amount of spices added. I certainly could not complain about my delicious Gorgonzola Risotto with Walnuts. Complementing (and I use that word loosely) our lunch was a carafe of della cassa rosso, which was cold, not very good and tasted like alcoholic grape juice.

Sitting nearby were a couple of groups of old people. Well, I assumed they were old people, but the way people smoked in this town they might have only been in their mid-30s. In any event, if looks could kill, they would have all been dead. Like so many other Romans we had witnessed, they were a dour looking group that never smiled and never talked amongst one another. They did, however, eat their personal (huge) pizzas faster than any other humans on earth.

Finally, they and some other grumpy people left and a few families with kids came in and the place livened up with smiles and laughing taking over for what had been a Christmas negativity scene.

The next place on the day’s agenda was not in close proximity, so we piled in a taxi and took a death-defying ride through Roman traffic to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. People on vespas and motorcycles along with pedestrians of all creeds and colors never knew how close they were to imminent death as our cab weaved his way up to the church.

Santa Maria Maggiore was built on the spot where (as the story goes), in August of 352 AD, the Virgin Mary supposedly made a cameo appearance and told the Pope it would snow despite the heat. It seems she wished for a church to be built on this spot. Sure enough, a patch of snow was found the next day. Although it seemed cold enough to snow on this day, we were out of luck.

Tracy and I were quite impressed by the Basilica that contains a piece of the original nativity scene. There are also beautiful mosaics and a ceiling “gilded with gold.” I believe the church we read somewhere that the church also contained Bernini’s tomb, but we never found it.

Our next stop was a 15-minute straight shot down the street from the Santa Maria Maggiore. We thought the neighborhood we walked through was quite charming. This was a tree-lined street (criss-crossed with Christmas lights) that was much nicer than the tree-lined avenue we had seen hours before along the Tiber.

The Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano was originally built in the 300s by Constantine (well, I’m sure he had others build it), and had gone through a number of renovations, but still is quite an imposing church. There is a statue of Constantine and in the canopy over the altar are silver statues of Saints Peter and Paul that may or may not contain pieces of their heads. It’s always amazing to me the amount of body parts spread over this part of the world.

Next, we went across the street to a very holy place, the Santuario della Scala Santa (Palace of the Holy Stairs). These are supposedly the stairs that Christ climbed on the day he was brought before Pontius Pilate. There were a number of pilgrims who were climbing the 28 stairs on their knees. It was quite a sight.

We doubled back toward Santa Maria Maggiore because we had missed a church on the way because it was closed, but was now open. The Santa Pressede also had some great mosaics (put in a coin to illuminate them better), but by now we were once again churched-out (a common malady at the end of the day).

I was very excited about our dinner choice for this evening because of the many fantastic comments I read about it. It was also in our “hood,” so we didn’t have a long walk. I had read such rave reviews as “Da Fabrizio is the best restaurant in Rome.” “The lamb chops are so hot they’ll burn your lips off.”

To be as European as possible, we made our reservations at 8:30. As usual, we were ready to eat by 7:30. We walked through Trastevere, and the back streets were very colorful. By 8:25 we had malingered as long as anyone could malinger, and we walked inside what looked like a real neighborhood joint.

We sat down next to two German guys trying to decipher the menu. It was all in Italian, and this gave me the opportunity to do what I do on every European trip; order something off a menu that is completely foreign to me (both in print and reality). Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t (like the time in Normandy when it looked like my brains were handed to me on a plate).

I made the bold choice of having a dish called “Puntarelle something or other.” The waiter pointed at something across the room and said, “Good choice.” Figuring he was not pointing at the woman in the corner, I said, Si.” I believe I might now discontinue my tradition.

Soon, staring me in the face was a salad with Medusa-like tentacles of green taunting me with a few dollops of an unknown substance. “Isn’t this the statue I saw at the Capitoline Museum?” I asked Tracy, who for some reason was now laughing at me.

The unknown substance turned out to be anchovies, and although we enjoyed the zucchini blossoms with anchovies earlier in this trip, these anchovies actually tasted like, well, anchovies. I hoped my main course would be better.

Since my lamb chops had been so bad a few nights earlier, I opted for the lamb chops at Da Fabrizio that reviewers promised “would burn your lips off.” Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Obviously lambs in Rome are not fed very well, because for the second time in three nights my dish was full of chops, but virtually no lamb. I’m all for portion control, but this was ridiculous.

Tracy’s dishes of a potato soup and then pasta in a red pepper sauce were nothing to write home about either, so Da Fabrizio up to this point was incredibly disappointing. Thank heaven for the relatively inexpensive bottle of Azienda Agricole 2007 Petit Verdot.

Now, without going into too much detail, sometimes my dates in my single years started off pretty badly, yet the night turned out to be really good (please use your imagination because Tracy sometimes reads these trips reports). Tonight was one of those dates. On the dessert menu was my new love, Zabaione. Could it save the evening?

This Zabaione had a completely different texture from the one the previous evening, yet it satisfied me in a unique way that made me…please, remember this a family website.

This Zabaione was reminiscent of a Crème Anglaise, but added to this delicious portion of calories was an abundance of fresh, ripe strawberries. I savored each and every bite, and I believe Tracy was actually jealous of my new love until I gave her a taste. She also succumbed to its infinite charms. Within minutes, the Medusa salad was only a distant memory and the lamb chops…well the lamb chops still sucked, but I was happy.

As we walked back to the hotel, I started coughing. At the time, I thought it was only the three or four packs of smoke I had been forced to inhale throughout the day.

Back in our room, I told Tracy I would put the heater on so we wouldn’t freeze like we had the previous evening. There was one small problem with the thermostat I had discovered that morning. I couldn’t really tell what temperature I was setting it at, but I thought I had deftly moved the dial gently to a temperature that would make us comfortable as we slept through the night.

At about 2 a.m., we both awoke at about the same time. One reason was my constant hacking that had now gone way beyond smoker’s cough. The other reason; the temperature in the room had risen to what I’m sure the Sahara desert feels like in the dead of summer. “Don’t worry, I’ll figure out the thermostat before we leave,” I whispered (and coughed) to Tracy. At least, long underwear and socks were not needed.

We had talked about going to Orvieto on Monday, but since I wasn’t feeling so hot (figuratively, not literally) and there was still a lot to be seen in Rome, we concluded that Orvieto could wait for another trip. That turned out to be the best decision of our trip. Yet, as good as that choice turned out to be, Monday would also provide a Tom faux pas that could have proved disastrous (although in hindsight is pretty hilarious) and another magic drug that ultimately saved the vacation.

Coming Up: The Invisible Villa, Sheer Ecstasy, Purple Reigns, Finding An Old Friend, Revenge Of The Poo, Down Goes Frazier, Shutting It Down For The Day, Pass The Pringles & Panettone Please and The Magic Elixer

I am so enjoying your report, Tom. I sit here laughing aloud at your puns and wishing that someone were here (other than the cat) with whom I could share these jewels of writing.

Many thanks!

I had a fly-by pigeon poop IN my glass of vino while sitting on a table outside the nice little bar in front of Santa Maria della Pace. The splatter was minimal so I thought it was hilarious. The waitress was horrified.

Tom, I couldn't help but catch the "Pass the Pringles and Panettone" part of your teaser.

This immediately brought to mind my very first trip out of the US of A.

I was on a trip to Ireland with my then-16-yr-old daughter and her H.S. band. We discovered relatively quickly why Irish cuisine is not really world-famous.

After 8 mornings of eating (not eating, in the case of my daughter) a "group breakfast" and the ubiquitous (water-thin) "vegetable soup", my daughter had lost 7 lbs. Trust me when I tell you, she couldn't afford to lose any.

So, on the 8th day (God created... no, wait) we ended up in Limerick and at a mini-mall. The band director gave us an hour to "cruise the mall". Fortunately, the Irish have grocery stores and butcher shops in their malls.

I will never forget my daughter's first words in the middle of this grocery store... "Thank God! Real food! Look- Pringles!"

hahaha (I must confess she also bought bananas, as fruit seemed a rarity at meals also.)

Looking forward to the next installation...

"Tom, I couldn't help but catch the "Pass the Pringles and Panettone" part of your teaser."

sarge, yes, this will be the first day of any trip report, I believe, that will include the three P's - "Poo, Panettone and Pringles."

marigross, a little pigeon poop might have helped my house wine

and

irishface - at my house, the cats are the ONLY ones that laugh at my puns

"our lunch was a carafe of della cassa rosso, which was cold, not very good and tasted like alcoholic grape juice...."

My kind of wine! May be why DH and I like Italy so much! Great read!

Intermission: Thoughts About The Hotel San Francesco

After taking this trip, I am kind of changing my philosophy about hotels where we stay, although that should not be a direct reflection upon the Hotel San Francesco in Trastevere.

The hotel was only 72 euros a night, which in Rome is more than a bargain. It was clean, the breakfast (and the breakfast room) was fantastic and it was quiet at night. The location in Trastevere is fine (next to a monastery) and if you don’t mind a good walk, Rome’s major venues are within striking distance. The closest metro is about a 25 minute walk, but there are tram and bus connections nearby, and you can always take a taxi.

There is free Internet in a small room off the lobby. They have a different code each day that guests can use to log on.

The people working the desk are cordial, but not overly helpful or friendly. They will call and get you a dinner reservation, although, as you will see later in my trip report, I think they screwed that up one evening, although everything turned out ok. They will also arrange your transporation to and from the airport that is very convenient.

Here is my thought about my change in philosophy. This is my 15th trip to the European continent (yes, I am a lucky guy), and on previous trips we have always joked about the various bathrooms we have encountered. It has been a running joke on what type of shower we receive and how we can contort our bodies to fit the various types of showers we have had.

At 57+ years balance becomes a little more of an issue (and not just after a bottle of wine). It was a little difficult navigating in and out of the tub/shower at the Hotel San Francesco and to say it was slippery is an understatement. Even the young Tracy (I married well) felt a little unstable at times. I think in the future I am going to have to put more of an emphasis of finding hotels that have showers that don’t have “broken bones” written on them.

As for the Hotel San Francesco, if you are on a budget or just don’t feel like spending a lot for a hotel, I certainly give it a thumbs up.

I have seen your blogs of your other trips and I am shocked (shocked!!!) that you are 57, though not surprised that Tracy is much, much younger.

For what it's worth, I went to Rome last year with my mom, aunt and cousin, left Dec. 26 came back the 4th or something. My mother loves Rome and had only been there once before. She was sick by Day 2, had pink-eye on top of her terrible cold by Day 4, and only went out to dinner with us 3 times. I felt really terrible for her. And now I'm starting to worry about you and Tracy.

Waiting anxiously for the Hollywood ending!

Tom, you had me laughing out loud at the Medusa salad. So what WAS it (besides anchovies)? I had a belgian waffle bird bomb incident once when I lived near South Coast Plaza. They did replace my waffle...

"So what WAS it (besides anchovies)?"

It looked like a green Calamari (on meth). We think it might have been a wild Chicory. I believe my face did turn to stone, if only for a moment.

Puntarelle is a type of chicory. For the salad, just the stalks are used. Served with anchovy dressing, it is a standard Roman dish. This link shows a reasonable picture.

http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--2762/puntarelle-salad.asp

Great report- I miss Rome.

I also had a puntarelle salad in Rome. My salad was a crunchy delicious pile of ringlets.
I miss Rome too.

Act V: The Invisible Villa, Sheer Ecstasy, Purple Reigns, Finding An Old Friend, Revenge Of The Poo, Down Goes Frazier, Shutting It Down For The Day, Pass The Pringles & Panettone Please and The Magic Elixir

Orvieto was out, and a nasty, hacking cough was in. I sucked down some cough drops so people munching their breakfast did not fear getting a case of Swine Flu.

Tracy and I strolled through Trastevere in search of our day’s first quest, the Villa Farnesina, a Renaissance villa built in the early 1500s and belonging once to one of the richest men in Europe, Agostino Chigi. It was rumored that at his lavish dinner parties, he would order his guests to throw silver and gold plates into the Tiber River. However, he wasn’t a complete spendthrift. Chigi had put nets underwater so he was assured of never losing his dinnerware.

Finding the villa turned out to be harder than finding his plates. We kept walking by where we thought the villa should be, but there was no sign. However, a friendly local pointed us in the right direction and through the open gate we went to the villa. The price tag to view the four rooms (only three on this day) was 5€. It was a nice 30-minute diversion, the rooms were very colorful (one room was painted by Raphael and his crew) and soon we were on our way to our next destination.

We hopped in a taxi to go see Tom Hanks. Well, we had just seen Angels and Demons (not as bad as everybody said it was, by the way), and we were on our way to Santa Maria della Vittoria and another Bernini masterpiece (man, did this guy ever get to sleep?), the Ecstasy Of St. Teresa. Although “churched-out” yesterday, we still had some of the biggies left to see before departing Rome, so there would be no losing my religion today.

The statue of the angel that stabs Teresa’s heart with a golden shaft is quite something to behold, although I liked it more than Tracy. Across the street was the Santa Susanna Church, which is sometimes used for papal visits.

I was beginning to cough even more by now, so we left before the nuns told me to be quiet. We strolled down a lovely street with orange trees on our way to the Barberini metro station and ducked into a Pharmacia. We bought some cough syrup that I was sure would be useless, and tucked it into our daypack.

As we got close to the Metro station, I said to Tracy, “Isn’t this near where we had that great meal on our last night in 2001?”

“Yes,” she answered. “I think it is off of a nearby alley.”

Sure enough, we hadn’t killed as many brain cells as we had thought in the past eight years, because within five minutes we were standing at the entrance of Colline Emiliane, where in 2001 Kim, Mary, Tracy and I celebrated our last night in Italy with one of our favorite meals. As we stood outside the restaurant, a very nice man came out from a little produce stall to tell us that Colline Emiliane was closed today, but would reopen Tuesday and Wednesday for lunch and dinner before taking off for the holiday. We decided that we would return on Tuesday to see if the restaurant was as good as we had remembered.

At that moment, the skies opened up so we ducked into a nearby store that had lots of goodies. They must have known our M.O., because they offered us samples of a limoncello cream and meloncello cream liquor. That was better than any cough syrup and also encouraged us to dip into our wallets for a small buying spree.

We bought a couple of mini panettones, a bottle of olive oil, and, of course, a couple of small bottles of the aforementioned potent potables. These were all supposed to be presents for friends upon our arrival back home. Are you taking odds yet?

Soon we were back on the Via del Corso and something struck Tracy (a thought, not an Italian). “Have you noticed,” she said, “that nearly every clothing store has a preponderance of purple in their windows?”

While I pondered the use of preponderance, Tracy pointed at the myriad of colored scarves, sweaters and ties in many windows, and lo and behold, they all seemed to contain the color purple. Yes, I know I could have said to Tracy, “This is such an Oprah Winfrey moment,” but that would have been…oh wait, that’s exactly what I said. For the rest of the trip, I couldn’t help notice all the purple worn in Rome.

As we walked down one of the narrow corridors off the Via del Corso, Tracy got sucked in by a street vendor; a very nice lady who was selling watercolors. Obviously, the limoncello/meloncello combo was still in effect, and we bought a small painting of The Spanish Steps (they look a lot better in watercolor, with flowers blooming near the steps and without carcinogens flying into the air).

I was feeling kind of run down, but the thought of lasagna at Cul de Sac brought me back to life. It was quiet on this Monday afternoon, and my lasagna was terrific. Tracy’s onion soup and Insalata Mista with “fabulous olio dressing” was also a hit. We had some Rossi de Montefalco Lungarotti to go with the meal.

I wasn’t really still hungry, but then I saw something on the menu that looked vaguely familiar. “Excuse me,” I said to the waiter. “What is Sambayon?”

“Oh, that is Zabaione. It’s a.” That’s all he had to say. Soon, I was enjoying my third incarnation of Zabaoine, this time in ice cream form. As I sat there savoring every bite of this delectable dessert, I was unaware that within minutes I would be in danger.

Over the Tiber we walked, ostensibly to head back to the hotel and drop off the “groceries” that we had purchased before heading back out. It looked like it had rained pretty heavily in Trastevere, although at the moment it was just a fine mist. As we walked on the Viale Trastevere, we came upon a tourist kiosk that was selling Roma Passes. Since we had three more days and the Borghese was on our agenda for the following day, I went in to pick up two as Tracy waited on the sidewalk.

Picking up my pace, I was nearly back by her side when the world suddenly went upside down. Faster than you can say “Old man Maitai,” I took a swift and rather violent tumble on the very slick (and as it turned out), incredibly hard pavement.

Most normal people in this situation might utter simple words like, “Ow” or even “Damnit.” As we all know by now, normal does not define me. Sprawled out like a chalk outline on the streets of Trastevere, I started yelling, “Down Goes Frazier! Down Goes Frazier.” Tracy, not being a sports fan, had no idea what I meant, but she did have a comment for me.

“Tom, you’re full of crap,” she said. Now, she is not the first person to ever verbalize that thought in my presence, but I will admit she is the first one to use it in the literal sense, because in an almost surreal Alfred Hitchcock meets Mel Brooks moment, I had slipped in a massive drop zone of bird poo.

Quickly (or as quickly as a 57-year old klutz can), I stood up. The left side of my body looked suspiciously like the car I had photographed along the Tiber the previous day. I was, for lack of a better term, a poo depository.

Tracy used an entire pack of “Handy Wipes” to make me presentable enough to show my face in the hotel lobby. Of course, the caked-on bird poo sticking to my pants and overcoat were a dead giveaway that something was just not quite right.

By the time I had gimped back to the hotel, it was about 4 o’clock. I was feeling tired, my left wrist was banged up and now my swine flu cough was accompanied by bird flu poo. We decided to take it easy for the remainder of the afternoon, but I was concerned that I was getting really sick, because the cough seemed to becoming persistently worse. That would not have been good thing, because we had three full days left.

After talking it over, at about 6 p.m. we decided to remain inside on this rainy evening and get a lot of rest to see if I could defeat whatever bug was trying to ruin our trip.

Although exhausted, we were by this time now also hungry. This impromptu dinner didn’t turn out to be our best meal in Rome, but it did give me more nourishment than my two lamb chop dinners combined. First, Tracy peered inside the mini bar to see what they had to eat. “Looks like a can of Pringles is all they have,” Tracy said.

“Perfect,” I answered. “Let’s eat those, and then we can open the panettones for dessert.” The orange/chocoloate and pear/chocolate panettones made for a nice combination with a small glass of meloncello. Zagat does not have a rating for this meal, however.

So as we laid in bed and watched Romania’s Nicolae Ceauşescu get executed for the sixth time this week on CNN (it was the 20th anniversary of the overthrow of the Communists), I decided I would try some of the cough syrup I had bought earlier in the day. Since cough syrups are usually useless, I at least hoped it would make me sleep peacefully for some of the night.

I opened up the bottle of Brochenolo Tosse (the name sounded like one of Clint Eastwood’s co-stars in those old Spaghetti westerns). Not being able to understand the directions, I took a large swig.

“Do you think that was a smart idea to take cough medicine after drinking melon liqueur?” Tracy asked.

Knowing we had trip insurance, which I believe provides free transportation for the body to be flown back to the United States, I told Tracy not to worry.

By 8 p.m., I was dead to the world (not really dead or you wouldn’t be reading this). Tracy followed suit soon after. In the middle of the night, I woke up and only had a semblance of the cough I’d had earlier. I took a small sip of the “magic elixir” and laid back down hoping that we could be back on a full schedule the next day, because we had reservations at one of our favorite museums in the morning.

Coming Up: Cough Cured, Tiber Treasure, Hold The Bacon, Turned Into A Tree, Lunch With The Family, Outside The Walls, Under The Church and Reconciling With Panna Cotta

Oh, what a relief. I saw pneumonia written all over. Did the magic elixir contain codeine?

On our first Rome visit, our waiter wouldn't let DH order a rocket salad! "You won't like it!"

Wonder if he would have allowed the punterelle...

More than one Bernini "ecstasy" in Rome BTW. But the one you saw is the most flamboyant, eh?

I guess since I fell not too long after seeing it, one of my titles should have been "The Ecstasy and The Agony."

Wow, can't believe in all your travels you had never encountered Zabaoine, it's quite popular in Italian restaurants in NY. My favorite way is when they spoon it over those strawberries, at least you feel like you're having some kind of healthy dessert

Again, very much enjoying this read.

I'm glad you enjoyed Cul de Sac. On a recent trip to Rome, we ate there twice - and really enjoyed the food and the wine. The first time we ate inside - which was cramped and the second time we ate outside which was nice. It's a popular place - people lined up waiting to get in for dinner. For dinner we had pasta with broccoli and pecorino, rolled beef with vegetables, oxtail (to die for) along with a Rosso di Montepulciano (fabulous). Also, the mixed salad is excellent. We're headed back to Rome in April - can't wait!

Thanks for your highly entertaining trip report!

Tom, thank you for being such an entertaining writer. Rome is not in our itinerary this year but you are making me question that decision.

Next time you have zabaglione, drop a couple of amaretti cookies inside, it is heavenly!

My week ends happily: Tom is still reporting. I am laughing out loud, and DH wants to know what in the hell is so funny. I tell him, no problem, I am just making plans for things to do in Roma in the spring.

Tom, you are the best! But bird poo in you wine glass, what's up with that!.

My favorite memory of last trip to Rome was Santa Maria in Trestavere and an American choir singing gospel songs.

Can't wait for more!

Cheryl, marigross had bird poo in her wine glass. I just fell in it (the poo, not the wine glass).

Tom,

You've so vindicated me. Now I can tell my daughter that even cool people have fallen in Rome.

Hey, at least you landed face up, and you hadn't just been blessed by the Pope!

Glad you broke nothing important and are home safe!

Paula

it's cold and snowing here but with my wine and your trip report, so amusing, I'm warmed up

>>>meloncello cream liquor.<<<

DD loves this stuff. I usually don't like the sweeter drinks, but I even liked it. Much better than limoncello.

Marigross: Bird poo in your wine glass: what's the matter with your aim! Need more information!

Add me to the list of those who are thoroughly enjoying your trip report, Tom. I laughed out loud at "Down goes Frazier!" - although I will admit my first thought was that I didn't remember that happening on the TV show "Frazier" . . .

This has been so entertaining. Thank you for posting! I have been getting some great laughs and have added some ideas for our next trip to Rome! I'll be looking forward to more.

I love this post.

Tom - you are in my dreams now. We're going to Tuscany next June, and I keep having these visions of your trip there. Now I'm dreaming about going to Rome to have Zabaglione at Cul de Sac, and DH keeps saying "when are you coming to bed?" - but I'm afraid I'll just dream on if I don't finish reading each posting. Where did you get the weird sense of humor?

And is there a Saint Tracy on the saints roster? (maybe there's a church in Rome.)

More, please!!

Tom, I recently traveled with my aunt who is a sprightly 81 years young. I arrived at our London hotel before she did and was concerned that she wouldn't be able to easily navigate the shower/tub as it looked perilous at best. Anyway, I quickly contacted the desk and asked if there was a room with a more accessible bathroom. Lo and behold, such a room existed. I then emailed ahead to our Paris and Prague hotels and they were able to provide such rooms as well (these were mid-range. small. independent hotels.) I never did let her know I did this as she does not want to be thought of as needing any special treatment due to her age.

Anyway, for my future trips I think I'm going to try and ask for these types of accommodations as well even though I consider myself in fairly good shape. No sense in risking life and limb when there's Zabaione to be enjoyed!)

Oops, I thought I used commas, not periods, in my sentence about our hotels!

I really enjoyed Villa Farnesina but I'm a Renaissance buff.

I hope that 'Turned into a Tree' refers to Dafne at the Borghese, one of my all-time favorites.

I loved Theresa. I had seen many pictures of her over the years nothing compares to seeing her in 'person'. Most pictures focus on her face, eyes closed and lips parted, but I think that what really takes it over the edge into full sensuality is the foot that she dangles over the cloud with her toes curled.

Aren't those European drugs magic? There must be a conspiracy to hold their distribution in the US. 99.9% of all currently available OTC medications would sink into oblivion.

____________

Cheryl, the incident is described in detail in my trip report (its titled Ciao Bella!). We were sitting innocently sipping wine when suddenly there was a big 'plop' and a warm sensation on my hand. Pigeon bomb perfectly centered inside the glass. It was hilarious since (a) the splatter was minimal, extending only to my hand (yuk!) which was immediately washed and sanitized and (b) the waitress replaced the (half empty) glass at no charge.

Thanks for all the funny comments. Working diligently to get this all finished in next few days (including the Hollywood ending).

Meanwhile, your thread has reminded me that zabaione used to be one of my favorite desserts to make--quick and easy with the right tools. Time to get a new bottle of marsala. . .

As I sit in the Florida cold, with my warm, fuzzy slippers on, sipping my tasty red in a safe place out of the way of pigeons and poo, I eagerly await another installment of "As Maitai's World Turns". The suspense is killing me!

Oh Tom,

Thanks for the best laugh I've had in a long time! I'm sitting here with my excellent Nebbiolo enjoying this so much. I'm making note of the street name where you slipped...thanks for the walking tip.

Tom, thank you again for writing this. My cat is now giving me funny looks for giggling and laughing apparently at random. I'm so glad that I'm not the only person who falls and can't seem to work up proper embarrassment about it so instead must make random comments at the time.

Act VI: Cough Cured, Tiber Treasure, Hold The Bacon, Turned Into A Tree, Lunch With The Family, Outside The Walls, Under The Church and Reconciling With Panna Cotta At Armando

I have no idea what the hell they put in the Brochenolo Tosse, but on this morning I am a believer. Miracoli, the cough was 100% gone and, outside of a slightly sore wrist thanks to the slippery poo, I was back in action.

The rain was coming down pretty hard, so we took a taxi to the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace, unless you were an animal that got sacrificed here). Consecrated in 9BC, the altar is now housed in a new, temperature-controlled building. The entry fee is 6.50€ and another 3.50€ for the audio guide, which we thought pretty useless. Actually, you can see the altar from the outside, so personally I would save that 10€ apiece to purchase a bottle of wine later in the day at Cul de Sac.

We were only in there about 25 minutes, because next on our agenda was one of our favorite museums in the world, the Galleria Borghese. We had 11 a.m. reservations and with our new Roma Passes (purchased only seconds before the “Fall Of The Maitai Empire”), the entry fee was free. The 5€ audio guides here are very much worth the purchase price.

The last time we had been here we entered into the gorgeous Main Entry Hall, but because of the rain, we were led up the stairs to the paintings that, frankly, we were not interested in seeing again.

Tracy and I were looking forward to seeing and hearing about that spectacular main entry hall again, so we hurried back down the stairs, through some rooms and came upon the main entry hall that was (gasp) cluttered up by a bunch of paintings. In the hall was an exhibition of paintings by Caravaggio and perhaps the worst artist in history, Francis Bacon. We were here for the sculptures.

At this moment we experienced a “Bad Art” flashback. It reminded me of the time in 2006 that we were forced to endure the huge “Sperm Exhibit” at the Paris Pantheon (I have no idea what the hell that was, except that it reminded me of a Woody Allen movie). We were also transported back to the completely tacky 2005 Valentino dress exhibit that turned the Medici Palace in Florence into Macy’s Women’s Department. Hey, I’m all for art exhibits, but don’t clutter up the places I want to see, dammit!

The Caravaggio paintings were fine to look at (although I would have much rather seen the lovely entry hall left uncluttered), but when I gazed at the first Bacon painting I thought I was having a stroke. As it turned out, it was just the figures he painted that looked like they were having a stroke. This guy’s paintings make some of Picasso’s pieces almost palatable. So instead of our beautiful, remarkable main hall, I was instead staring at faces of what people must look like to folks who smoke crystal meth.

Since returning home I have read all the reviews of the exhibit, and how Bacon was a tortured soul after his lover killed himself. My headline would have read, “Bacon Lays An Egg.”

Oh well, we were able to enjoy the commentary and could sort of envision what this magnificent entry hall looked like from our last visit in 2005. Then it was on to many of the sculptures that we had been dying to revisit.

Pauline Bonaparte by Canova and a David by Bernini are both spectacular, but then it was time for our favorite, Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, which has been mentioned many times on this board. This is another of those sculptures that we spent a lot of time looking at from all angles as Daphne is transformed into a tree. My assumption is that Apollo never really got to the root of the problem.

We spent a little over an hour with the statues and then back out in the rain, through the Borghese Forest to a long walkway that heads to the Metro Station at the Spanish Steps. After yesterday’s Pringles and panettone dinner, we were famished, so we headed back to the Barberini station and the Colline Emiliane.
Eight years later, and the family-run place does not disappoint.

It opened at 12:45 and we were there at 12:46. It’s lucky we were, because with no reservations we got a table. We sat at a table near the front, and the place filled up quickly with people with reservations. Any who didn’t was put on the waiting list.

Of course, we had our Prosecco to start. Tracy had an insalata mista with carrots, tomatoes and watercress, while my salami platter was devoured (the salami, not the platter) quickly. I had a “wow” dish, a delicious tortellini with pumpkin and ricotta. Tracy’s mushroom risotto was also very good. We washed this down with a 22€ bottle of 2007 Casale del Giglio Petit Verdot Lazio. I doubt you would be surprised if I told you I had a wonderful zabaione for dessert. Total cost for lunch was 76€.

When we left at 1:45 the place was packed with a number of people waiting. I would highly recommend this place as a lunch or dinner spot (make reservations).

Hopping on the metro, our goal for the afternoon was to visit a couple of places that we somehow missed on our previous trips. First up was Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le Mura (St. Paul Outside the Walls). It is a couple of blocks walk from the San Paolo Basilica metro stop, and it is quite an imposing church (the second largest in Rome after St. Peter’s).

From the alabaster windows and mosaics, St. Paul’s was everything I had thought it would be. The gorgeous mosaics on the facade overlooking the garden are really something to behold.

We were then back on the metro headed to the Colosseo stop. We walked a few blocks to San Clemente. First, we went into the upper church constructed in the 12th century, but San Clemente is two churches in one, and the best part still awaited us.

We paid our 5€ at the church bookshop and headed down another eight centuries into Rome’s past and the ruins of the old church from the 4th century. We had visited the ruins of Nero’s Palace on our last trip, and we found this to be much more interesting. There are frescoes that tell the story of St. Clement and a shrine to the god Mithras, who supposedly was born in a cave and hung around with some all-male cult eating meals on stone couches. I wonder if they ever had a Pringles and panettone dinner.

San Clemente was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

Outside, the rain was coming down hard, so we grabbed a taxi (big error). Traffic was horrendous and as we sat and sat the meter went up and up. We finally had him dump us off wherever he could near the Tiber. We walked across the bridge and soon we were back at the booth where I had bought the Roma Passes the previous day. To say that I walked a leisurely (and careful pace) would be an understatement. Today, the poo was no match for Maitai, but I did feel that some birds were looking down at me laughing their beaks off.

To make up for last night’s fiasco of a meal, we had already had a wonderful lunch, and we were looking forward to dinner, because we had 8:30 reservations at Armando da Pantheon, who I guess is the cousin of Antonio al Pantheon where we had lunch a few days previously.

It had been only about two hours since we had come back from our day’s adventures, but exiting the hotel, we noticed something different. It actually felt warm outside. In a Paris Hilton minute we were back in the hotel jettisoning some clothing and shortly thereafter we set off for the Pantheon area.

Armando da Pantheon was packed throughout the evening, and sad-faced, would-be guests without reservations were turned away in droves that evening, so reservations for this popular dining place are a must.

The restaurant is good, but once again the meal was a little uneven, but I can’t complain because I received the best of the dishes. Tracy started with the Brushetta alla Romaine (a tad overpriced at 4€ for one piece of toast). Tracy then had her own “lamb-chop” moment when she ordered duck with prunes as her main course. The duck consisted of two legs only, and the duck must have been a Super Model, because there was not a lot of meat.

I, on the other, could not complain about my Gnocchi with blue cheese followed by beef with green peppercorns. But the “wow” dish came at dessert, and I am happy to inform you that I rekindled my affair with a former lover, Panna Cotta. The Armando da Pantheon’s Caramel Panna Cotta with Pistachios made me realize how much I had missed my former partner. I now had two mistresses, Zabaione and Panna Cotta. It was like being the star of Big Love, only with desserts as my wives.

Outside, it was like being in Southern California, only with old buildings and no drive-by shootings. The weather was downright balmy (well, the 50s felt balmy after so many nights of freezing our butts off). We walked through the flea market to get some night fountain pictures, and people everywhere seemed to have an extra bounce in their step.

Perhaps the cold weather had put a damper on everyone’s spirits. Perhaps it was the knowledge that within three days it would be Christmas Day or maybe, just maybe, they knew we would be leaving in three days, and the Roman civilization, as we know it, could get back to a sense of normalcy.

In any event, we needed to get our sleep, because first up on the agenda for Wednesday would be exploring the treasures at the Musei Vaticani. We would also be crisscrossing Rome as our time in the Eternal City was winding down to a precious two days.

Coming Up: Let’s Get A Tan, Where Is Everybody, Yes We’re With The Television Crew, On Top Of The World, The Scene Of The Crime, Seeing Rome In A Different Light, What Dinner Reservations and The Best Dinner Of The Entire Trip

"Tracy pointed at the myriad of colored scarves, sweaters and ties in many windows, and lo and behold, they all seemed to contain the color purple."

We noticed how many Italians were wearing purple when we visited Italy in June (no trip report from me yet). Men EVERYWHERE, as well as women in pale shades of lavender.

Keep up the great report!

I'm sitting here laughing and nodding my head in agreement. I visited the Borghese in October and was so excited to be going back and showing my friend who had never been the (IMO) greatest sculputres ever only to find so much of the museum covered in Bacon's art...oh well, just another reason for me to return to Roma!

I like Francis Bacon. But I also like this trip report. More please.

How nice to get a weekend update! Glad the weather finally improved and that you reconnected with your old flame, ummm, I mean dessert.

I remember a visit to the Guggenheim in Bilbao, it was covered with Central American artifacts. I thought it was very off putting.

Rome: Smoke Gets In You Eyes – A Digression

In 2006, we joked about how the clouds formed an “Impressionist Haze” that hovered above the city of Paris during our Christmas trip. On our recent journey to Rome, we renamed that phenomenon “Smoker’s Haze,” due to the number of smokers in the Eternal City. I guess the reports regarding smoking being dangerous to one’s health somehow bypassed the citizenry of Rome.

Of all our recent visits to the European continent, nowhere have we seen more people lighting up than in Rome, and that includes Poland, which had held the unofficial record up until this trip. Of course, being from California, where you see someone smoking about as often as a Halley’s Comet or San Diego Chargers’ Super Bowl appearance (I do have hope, however), this was quite a departure from our norm.

Whether it was storekeepers huddling inches outside the entrance to their shops, people walking around town or just hanging in the piazza, it seems that cancer sticks still enjoy a popular spot in the hearts (and lungs) of many Romans.

As we would walk down the streets, puffs of smoke would emanate from people we walked behind. It was like strolling behind Pigpen from the Peanuts’ cartoons.

As mentioned in my report, the Spanish Steps area was like a Smokers’ Nirvana, where it seemed everyone had a cigarette dangling from their mouth. Nothing says suave and debonair like a cigarette protruding precariously from someone’s lips.

Fortunately, there is not smoking in restaurants or shops, so we were really never affected by it. I just thought it was interesting to observe the amount of smokers in Rome versus some of the other cities we have visited in the past decade or so. Friends, Romans, Countrymen: Lend me your lighters!

I was more aware of smokers in Paris than Rome. However, we did visit Paris during the heat wave of 2003 so with heavy humid stifling air, the smoke may have been more evident than during our trips to Rome which were during the September/October timeframe with crisp, cool weather and enough breeze to waft away the smoke.

When the "no smoking indoors" regulations came into law in NYC, I think smoking was already on the wane, so you see smokers huddled outside places, but not as many as if this had happened 5 or 10 years before. In Italy the regulations came into law with smoking still incredibly popular, so now that smokers must all be outside it is very noticeable.

Moving to Rome for the cough medicine! Keep the report coming, please.

I expected to be bothered by smoking much more than I was while in Rome but maybe that's because of
1. rain
2. we live in the US tobacco belt where many people still smoke ... or dip snuff and spit!
3. rain

"Tracy pointed at the myriad of colored scarves, sweaters and ties in many windows, and lo and behold, they all seemed to contain the color purple."

Orange was the color of the season in Feb 2006. I needed a scarf to replace the red one (Paris 2001) that I forgot in the airplane overhead bin, so even though it is not a color I like very much, I bought orange because there was no escaping it (I did get a darker shade, not a neon hue). I remember Rome each time I wear it with my olive green raincoat.

"and something struck Tracy (a thought, not an Italian)"

Thanks, Tom, that really is the best line in a trip report EVER!

I am loving this trip report and taking copious notes for our upcoming trip. I can't wait to see what happens in this great adventure next.

I am so glad to hear that I was not the only Fodorite that was disgusted by the Bacon paintings! We were there on our honeymoon from this past December 7th-19th.

The area of the "bird poo" you described along the river was near my apartment. From 4:30-5:30 each evening we could not leave our apartment nor come back to our apartment if we were out in the city because of "Birdagedon" as I call it. God forbid if you actually tried to walk down bird $hit alley! We were slipping and sliding the entire way before we finally grew a brain and turned down a side street! We were both pooped on three times each.....still waiting on that good luck!

I have been trying to write my trip report but honestly after reading yours....there is no comparison!

I am following your fabulous trip report and enjoying each and every entry. I have always read and enjoyed your trip reports. I dare say you must have some kind of literary gift to be able to write so amusingly, wonderfully, and articulately. I swear I have never enjoyed a report more. Thanks so much.

We recently returned from yet another trip to Italy, 3 days in Rome at the end. Although we did not have any of the experiences you write about, it was still a nice reminder of how great our own trip was.

Act VII: Let’s Get A Tan, Where Is Everybody, Yes We’re With The Television Crew, On Top Of The World, The Scene Of The Crime, Seeing Rome In A Different Light, What Dinner Reservations and The Best Dinner Of The Entire Trip

We were up early, looked outside and saw blue sky, plenty of sunshine and, it was even warm. This is more like it. I didn’t even need a sweater or coat. We were so invigorated that we passed on breakfast…for now.

It was on to the Vatican, where we had reservations for 10 a.m. Arriving about nine and expecting to see huge throngs, we were surprised that only about 15 people were waiting in line. Since we already had reservations, we bypassed the 15, stepped inside, and by 9:05 we were touring the Musei Vaticani with our audio guides helping us along the way.

The last time we had visited the Vatican Museum, it was difficult to maneuver through the mass of humanity, but today there would be no such problem. Crowds were light, and it was more pleasant than our first trip here.

The museum really is overwhelming, and audio guides or a guided tour are a must, I would think. Our favorite area, once again, was the Map Gallery, a long hallway with various maps of Italy throughout. The ceilings are stupendous.

The Raphael rooms are also spectacular, and it was interesting to hear the stories behind the paintings in the relative quiet of the museum on this morning. One could spend an entire day here, but we have the “2 ½ hour rule” that makes museum overload virtually impossible.

Last stop, of course, is the Sistine Chapel, and truthfully after seeing so many incredible churches on this trip, it is just not as awe-inspiring to me as it is to many, but it is still a great way to end the tour. After walking back through the museum to deposit our audio guides, we grabbed a quick cappuccino and a couple of croissants at a neighbor hood joint and walked over to St. Peter’s Square.

Once there, the line to enter the basilica was stretched out to the square, so we decided to visit some other venues and come back around 4 p.m. when we knew we could get right in (well, that plan had worked for us in the past).

It was back on the metro and over to Piazza del Popolo to see the Santa Maria del Popolo. We didn’t count how many churches visited on this trip, but it had to have easily been 30 or more. Knowing how many times I have attended church back home, I am pretty sure God was shocked by this total. In any event, Raphael designed one of the chapels inside the Santa Maria del Popolo for his buddy Agostini Chigi, he of Villa Farnesina fame. There are also Bernini pieces in here.

By now, we were hungry and we walked down the Via del Corso, still awash in purple and with Christmas shoppers everywhere.

Walking in Rome, which we did a lot of, is really quite an art. When there are no traffic signals, and cars are scurrying by left and right, it seems the best thing to do is just fling yourself into traffic, all the while displaying a confident demeanor like you know what the hell you are doing. If you do, they will stop. It took a little while to get over the fear that oncoming vehicles would smash into us, but by the end of the trip Tracy and I had the ritual down to a science.

We ate at a little outdoor place pretty near the Pantheon, but we were back walking shortly thereafter to see yet another church, but one I was really forward to seeing. Although it was not supposed to be open yet, I had a feeling that because there would be lots of added attention paid to this place the following evening (Christmas Eve), we might be able to get in to a tad early if we played our cards right.

Back on the Via del Corso, we walked toward “The Wedding Cake” (Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II). When we’re tired, that’s when I turn to my old friend (and pain in the ass to some of you), Rick Steves. Say what you will about the old boy, but he has some good suggestions sometimes, especially for tired tourists with broken feet.

Instead of climbing the nearly one million (ok, about 240) steps up toward the Wedding Cake, we took his suggestion to go around it, find the She-Wolf statue (to the left of the mayoral palace), climb a “wide set of stairs,” make a left and follow the signs to Aracoeli.

The Santa Maria d’Aracoeli was not supposed to be open for another 45 minutes, but as I expected, the doors to this 13th century church were open because television crews were laying cable in preparation for the Bambino (no Yankee fans, not that Bambino).

At Christmas Eve Mass, it is tradition that Santo Bambino (a wooden statue of the baby Jesus) is brought out to a throne, and it is all shown on television. The original Bambino was carved more than 500 years ago, but was stolen in 1994 and has never been found. They now have a replacement Bambino.

As workers scurried about, Tracy and I went in and wandered the magnificent interior that includes frescoes by Pinturicchio. This was one of the few places that had a nativity scene that could actually be seen before Christmas.

Back outside, we climbed more stairs to the café and terrace area where we met a very photogenic seagull that seemed to be enjoying the limelight as he posed for tourists and locals alike. We walked around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and although there were good views of Rome from various vantage points, I knew there was a place where I could get even more spectacular looks over the city. Once more, we passed by Jonathan Livingston. He had not moved from his perch, and if I’m not mistaken, I think he had put out a tip jar.

For 7€, I purchased a ticket to Rome From The Sky, which would take me on a quick elevator ride to the top. Tracy stayed below opting to use her 7 Euros for vino a little later. Although a little hazy (I don’t think this haze had anything to do with cigarette smoke), the 360 degree views out on to Rome were fantastic. I was using my new, compact Panasonic ZS1 that seemed to be taking wonderful zoom shots of the fabulous Forum (Laker fan reference) and the Colosseum. I could hardly wait to see these photos when I got home to see how my new camera performed.

After descending, we talked about going through the Forum, but we have already done that twice and the Colosseum once, so we decided against that idea to do something else for the third time (logic pays no part in our planning). We walked back to the metro and headed back across town to St. Peter’s.

As expected, when we arrived at 4 p.m. there was no line and we strolled right in. We walked around St. Peter’s for the better part of an hour, and they too were getting ready for the giant Christmas Eve Mass (although I guess in hindsight they didn’t prepare for everything). After seeing Pope John XXIII, we decided to go down to the Grotto Of Dead Popes (not it’s real name), and then walked back to the metro.

It was now time to get a few night shots, so we stopped at the Spanish Steps metro station, strolled down to the Fontana di Trevi and took pictures with millions of other touristas and headed back to the hotel.

We had asked our hotel five days previously to make 8:30 p.m. reservations for us at Le Mani In Pasta, and at the appointed time we walked the less than ten minutes to this very popular Trastevere eatery. Rain had started coming down just about the time we arrived, so we ducked in the door, and the gentleman asked if we had reservations. “Si, Tom and Tracy at 8:30.” I’m not positive, but Tracy is pretty sure that he gave me “the look.” I quickly added that the Hotel San Francesco had booked the table.

He hurriedly conferred with another guy, said “Hotel San Francesco” in a not-so-wonderful tone and in a rather gruff manner sat us at a table. I can’t be sure, but I am guessing the hotel never called them. Either that, or he saw the remnants of bird poo on my overcoat. We’ll never be sure.

As the evening progressed, the service warmed up, and we were treated to the best dinner we had in Rome.

There is an open kitchen area at Le Mani In Pasta, so Tracy could see all the fresh dishes being taken out to the now very crowded restaurant. This was the last night it would be open for a while, as the restaurant would close down until after the first of the year.

We were given a complimentary glass of Prosecco (fortuitous since we would have bought one anyway). I started with a tagliatelle with cheese and pepper, which garnered the coveted “wow.” My main course of beef with orange and potatoes got a “mini-wow.”

Tracy also had a “wow” dish. After starting with brescola with figs, her veal saltimbocca all Romana with ham was wonderful. We also had a side of broccoli that was terrific, although we had never really seen broccoli that looked like this. It was lime green with little pointed crowns, not the dark green flat broccoli we are used to. In any event, with the olio drizzled on top, I bet even that noted hater of broccoli, Bush the Senior, would have liked this vegetable.

Complementing our dinner was a 25€ bottle of La Braccesca Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Quite good!

I was now ready for another new dessert. Zabaione and Panna Cotta would have to wait for a future fling, because tonight my dolci consisted of a semifreddo Gorgonzola with caramelized lace cookies. I’m a sucker for anything in lace, and I loved this dessert.

It was at this point I realized I am sort of like Tiger Woods when it comes to desserts, I just can’t turn any of them down. Elin (I mean Tracy) had a delicious semifreddo Amaretto with chocolate. The meal came to 100€ even. We finally had the meal we were hoping for in Rome.

Now completely stuffed, we were soon back out in the rain heading for our hotel. There was only one day left to explore Rome. We thought tomorrow would be the end of our adventure. As it turned out, that could not have been further from the truth.

Coming Up: Pyramid Scheme, Spock’s Head, Large Organ, Galileo Was Right, Goodbye To The Neighborhood Restaurant, A Walk Through The Hood, The Last Supper And Did I Just See What I Just Saw

Tom,

You have authored a pretty awesome trip report. You have a gift for writing in a way that engages the reader and makes her snort out loud with laughter!

Looking forward to reading the rest.

TR

Damn, that's a cliffhanger if I ever read one! Keep it coming!

Thanks everyone for the nice comments!

heartofthesouth, Loved the "Birdagedon." I'll look forward to your trip report, poo and all. Hope it was a great honeymoon.

amyb, yes. a cliffhanger to be sure. One I obviously did not foresee.

I'll finish this baby up in the next two days, and thanks again to all of you who have joined us on our trip (report)

I am so enjoying your trip report & I'm keeping notes for our next trip to Rome!
Thanks for sharing!

I am truly enjoying your report! I can't wait for the next installment.

This is an edge of the seat story--thanks for posting the installments so quickly.

Tom seems to like that new camera an awful lot . . . foreboding?

The suspense is killing me.

I'm drooling, especially over the wine.

Galileo was right has a certain connotation.

Ellenem--agree--lots of camera foreshadowing.

still loving the report!

Glad you enjoyed the "Birdagedon" comment I now have a phobia of birds in the air....seriously!

I have to agree that pigeons are rats that fly but i also get a bit creeped out when thousands of starlings roost in our trees- thank you Alfred Hitchcock!

Next-to-the-last installment should be up tomorrow morning as long as I stay away away from the martinis (always a difficult task) tonight while writing.

Good, we'll have the martinis for you, deal?

There are also some pretty nifty Caravaggios in Santa Maria del Popolo.

Between Raffaello's Chigi Chapel, Le Mani in Pasta and Colline Emiliane, the MaiTais hit all the spots that were under restoration/fully booked/closed for me last year.

It's interesting that all the nativity scenes are not visible until Christmas. That had never occurred to me before.

I believe that your "broccoli" vegetable that looked strange at your dinner was a "broccoflower", a green cauliflower, or "broccoflower" is a hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower. It has the appearance of cauliflower with the greenish pigment of broccoli.

Still loving your report !!

Your strange-looking broccoli was not broccoflower. It was a vegetable native to the area called broccolo romanesco:

http://www.nathanwelchdesign.com/nateblog/
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fractal_Broccoli.jpg


It seems it's called fractal broccoli in English.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - a Digression. Mate, you should try Athens, it leaves Rome for dead.

Even the reception desk staff in our hotel smoked while working. The smoke drifted up to the free internet room - not sure if that was a tactic to drive guests away from the computers. We had two breakfast rooms - one for smokers and one for non. The only problem was that we had to walk through the smoking room to get to the non-smoking room. We didn't care - we were in Athens!!!

Crossing the road in Rome (or Athens - same rules apply). If you are lucky enough to find a little, old lady waiting to cross the road then stick with her, because the traffic will immediately come to a screeching halt. My hb worked this out and amused himself immensely trying to find little, old ladies waiting to cross the street.

BTW still loving this report. There are so many suggestions for our next trip, I don't thnk I'll need any other reference material.

We also enjoyed the map room and were amazed by their accuracy (although Vezuvius wasn't known about).

A great read, Tom!

Oh my goodness we saw the sperm things at the Pantheon in 2006. We had no idea what they were. Our 3 kids 16,19 and 21 kept calling them balls and asking us to take pictures of them with the balls. They really did look bad.

Act VIII: Pyramid Scheme, Spock’s Dad’s Head, Large Organ, Galileo Was Right, Goodbye To The Neighborhood Restaurant, A Walk Through The Hood, The Last Supper, Lady In Red And Did I Just See What I Just Saw

Christmas Eve! The beginning of the wonderful Christmas weekend was at hand. As Pope Benedict told me the previous afternoon at St. Peter’s, “What could possibly go wrong?” (dramatic license)

It was cloudy with slight sprinkles as Tracy and I departed the Hotel San Francesco after eating as much free food as we could (we had to make up for yesterday). Tracy said, “Let’s go a different way today. Why don’t we walk to the Pyramid?”

I answered sarcastically, “Hell, why don’t we just take a cab to the Taj Mahal?” Of course, she was one step ahead of me.

Less than a ½ hour walking time from the hotel was the Piramide metro stop, which is near the Pyramid of Caius Cestius. I was going to ask Tracy who the heck he was, but at the moment I was wishing I had eaten that last piece of cold pizza at the hotel buffet (hunger trumps history once again).

We took the metro to the Termini station because first on the list today was the Hall of Heads, otherwise known as the Museo Nazionale Romano Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (which is why I call it the Hall of Heads). We sauntered (whatever that is, but I’m tired of meandering, walking, strolling, etc.) up to the ticket office, showed our Roma Passes and (thought) we purchased two tickets with an audio guide. The woman at the ticket window was on the phone (from her looks, not a business call) and paid little attention to us.

We then went through security (I assume these guys were the same people who checked the Underwear Bomber in Amsterdam the following day), and, in between their singing and laughing, we could have smuggled in explosives and Uzis.

It was then time to enter through the little turnstyle, which, of course, did not open, because Miss Gabby Pants had not charged us for our tickets (we’d already used up our two freebies, which we had told her, but obviously the person on the other end of the phone had her ear). She had only charged us for the audio guides. Finally we got in, and I don’t believe the “security” guys ever noticed us.

I was really looking forward to this museum, but the audio guide tour leaves a lot to be desired. First of all, there are no numbers or letters that correspond to anything you want to look at here. Secondly, a few of the rooms that contained pieces we wanted to see were closed.

Similar to the Ara Pacis, many of the relics here had been dumped in the Tiber. However, we didn’t find any china from the Villa Farnesina.

Going upstairs, I saw a statue that looked vey familiar. Being a huge Star Trek fan, it could be only one man. Here before us was a statue of Spock’s dad. “Live long and prosper,” I whispered, but before I could try out a Vulcan mind meld, Tracy whisked me to the next rooms. I was hoping for a statue of Khan, but no such luck.

The rain was still falling as we left the Hall of Heads, and our next stop was one of the churches I did not want to miss on this trip, the Santa Maria degli Angeli, which was built above Diocletian’s baths and partly remodeled by Michelangelo.

From the church’s large entry, Tracy and I wandered into the enormous central hall. I don’t know what the priest was playing on the organ, but the sound reverberating throughout was quite fantastic. And, wow, what an organ it is!

I took a great picture of the priest who was going to town playing this incredibly large organ, which was built for the Jubilee Year in 2000. It was very Phantomesque. The priest was illuminated in a pool of light and the organ dominated the rest of the scene. It was really quite a sight to behold.

In another room, there was a video of Apollo 15 and astronaut David Scott conducting a Galileo experiment by dropping a hammer and a feather at the same time on the moon. When they both land at the same time, Collins says, “How about that, Mr. Galileo was correct in his findings!”

Back inside the main church, we found the little hole in the wall that acts as a sundial. Sadly, there was no sunshine on this day, so it was left to our imagination how it works. This was a great way to end our “Churches Of Roma” Tour.

With all the many restaurants to eat on our final day in Rome, we decided to try our favorite haunt one more time. A metro ride and walk later, we were sitting in the comfy confines of Cul de Sac. We shared a salami and cheese platter (fantastico).

I decided to go for the Taglietelle Ameriechino (red sauce), which was very good. Tracy was going to try the duck ravioli again, but instead went out on a limb for a different dish; a marinated eggplant she said was good (but she would have rather had the duck ravioli upon further review).

We thought about sharing the rabbit dish, but decided not to split hares.

Our meal, along with Prosecco and a glass of Piedmonte red wine was 36€. Cul de Sac, we shall miss you.

By this time, we had seen enough museums, churches and statues to last a lifetime, so we walked backed to Trastevere to look for a dinner place to spend Christmas Eve. On the way, we strayed through Campo de’ Fiore, bade farewell to the statue of Giordano Bruno (whose face never seems to get any sunlight in December) and took some pictures at a vegetable stand of the strange looking broccoli we had eaten the night before.

Since we had already spent our life’s savings on this trip (well, at least through mid-January anyway), we were not looking for a place that was overly fancy (or expensive). We wandered over to a cute little place called Vin Allegro: Eat and Drink. Since we like to eat and obviously like to drink, we made reservations for that evening at 8 p.m.

I then picked up another bottle of Brochenolo Tosse to bring home. I can hardly wait to get another cough and amaze my friends with its amazing healing powers.

Trastevere was definitely winding down for the holiday weekend.

Back at the hotel, we packed, paid our bill and made sure that there would be a driver awaiting us at the wonderful hour of 5 a.m. the following morning ready to transport us to the airport.

Although we had reservations at 8 p.m., by 7 p.m., we were starving. ”Didn’t we just eat?” I said. We had, but when we are on vacation we’re bottomless pits.

We got to Vin Allegro at 7:35, and it was nearly full. We asked if it was ok to eat earlier than our reservations, and the hardest working guy in the restaurant business (who appeared to be working the tables alone at this restaurant for about the first half hour we were there), said, “No problem.”

The music choices at the restaurant put me in the mood for home. It sounded like one of my iTunes’ mixes. There was classic rock, some golden oldies and even a Beatles mix.

Dinner was good, if not spectacular. My salad of pears, oranges and almonds along with Tracy’s salad with tomatoes and pine nuts was a good beginning. I had Ravioli with spinach in a sage butter sauce for dinner, while Tracy went with an interesting combo of lasagna with smoked cheese, zucchini and Tyrolian ham. I thought I heard a little yodel out of her after dinner, but it could have just been gas.

The restaurant was full at 7:45 and many people stopped by, but on this Christmas Eve, there was no room at the inn. Tracy and I shared a bottle of 2004 Antigniano Montefalco Rossa for 25€ that was very good.

Which of my dessert mistresses did I have for my last meal? On the menu, I saw an old love, and I couldn’t turn her down. Panna Cotta with Wild Berries and I shared just a few moments together on this night before Christmas, but they were quality minutes to be sure.

Tracy and I then toasted Christmas Eve with a final glass of Amarone. Dinner was 84€, and we slowly walked back to the hotel.

At about 10:30 or 11:00, we turned on the television as we did our last bit of packing, and there was the Pope sitting quietly during a prayer. We switched to CNN to see what the weather was like in Paris (where we would connect the following day) and, much to our amazement, there were grainy pictures of some crazy lady in red attacking the pope. Knowing that Tracy had worn red on this evening, I quickly looked over to see if she was with me or had quietly slipped out after dessert. I can tell you with 100% certainty that Tracy is innocent.

All the excitement of the trip was now over. The end of our eight wonderful days in Rome was coming to a conclusion. As I drifted off to sleep, my only wish for our Christmas Day travel was for it to be uneventful, and that the end of our Rome vacation would provide us with no problems, no delays, no hassles and no surprises. What could possibly go wrong? Well, as we were to find out (but not right away), when you least expect it and your guard is down, that’s when the trouble can start.

Coming Up: Is This A Hit, The Curious Christmas Caper At CDG, Home Sweet Home, Discovery, Denial, Disgust, Dejection and A Fodorite Sleuth In Paris

OMG! The suspense is killing me!

Tom, thanks for all the food recs. It is one thing I'm making note of for our trip. I think I'm going to try to make a google map of all the recommended eateries, so that we can just pick the closest one when we get hungry.

Please be expeditious with the finale. I'm on blood-pressure medication and can't take the strain!

Absolutely incredible!! You make me feel like I am there again. Your food descriptions are making my lunch look pretty pathetic.

Great, I just bought a bunch of purple after our fall trip in 2009. I better hurry back while it's still in fashion.

Hi Maitai - <We sauntered (whatever that is, but I’m tired of meandering, walking, strolling, etc.)>

You have yet to mosey.

It's interesting how things are connected.
If Jack, the retired American professor living in Rome had not started a conversation with us in a restaurant in Bologna.
And, if he hadn't enticed us to look him up in Rome where he would take us to his favorite restaurant, which we did and he did. We never would have been introduced to that restaurant, Enoteca Cul de Sac, which we included in my TR and recommended to you. And, you wouldn't have had those fine meals there. So let's both lift a glass of Prosecco as a toast to Jack.

Think of all of the Fodorites now that will be seeking out the Cul de Sac.

basingstoke, Enoteca Cul de Sac was one great recommendation. Thanks.

Zerlina, thanks for the info about broccolo romanesco. That was it. We loved it! Now if I can find a place in the Los Angeles area to buy it.

maitai - our thanks go to Jack! He lives in the neighborhood and eats at the Cul de Sac several times a week. The restaurant where we met in Bologna is also the only restaurant he goes to in Bologna (BTW, their gnocchi gorgonzola is the best I've ever had). He apparantly is a man of habit with excellent taste.

Maitai, I have seen it on occasion at the farmer's market on Mission in South Pasadena (on Thursdays). (also delicious Rapini)

basingstoke...what is the name (and address, if possible) of the restaurant in Bologna. I'll be there in November and would love a great restaurant tip!

Sorry to hi-jack your TR MaiTai!

Seems like it grows in coastal CA and aka Romanesco Cauliflower, Romanesco Broccoli and Summer Cauliflower.
http://www.examiner.com/x-12008-SF-Organic-Food-Examiner~y2009m7d16-Broccoli-Romanesco-strange-but-good

LCI - it is the Trattoria dal Biassanot, Via Piella 14.
It is not a big place and is very popular among locals so fills up quickly. Reservations would be a good thing. The waiter (at least the 2x that we were there)speaks excellent English. Food is local specialities and everything is made in house. The restaurant is around the corner from the Hotel Paradise, itself a good bet for a low cost place that is really quite nice. The hotel also has some apartments nearby that are about 10% more.

For more details about the restaurant, hotel, and Bologna in general, click on my name for the trip report.

We thought about sharing the rabbit dish, but decided not to split hares.


Har!

"We thought about sharing the rabbit dish, but decided not to split hares."
As you can imagine TD, Tracy groaned at that one, too, but after nearly 20 years she's gotten used to these from me.

SeaUrchin, we'll look for the broccolo romanesco at one of the next South Pasadena farmer market Thursdays. Thanks for the info.

You are maddening, Tom.... Where, oh where is the Hollywood ending?

Meanwhile, how about a glass of vino and some paaastaaaa!

"Where, oh where is the Hollywood ending?"

cheryl, have a little (oh heck, finish the bottle) more vino. I'm working on it.

basingstoke...

Thank you for the information. It's funny you mention Hotel Paradise, that's one I've been looking at and it's high on my list. I'm not going until mid-November so they haven't published rates for my dates yet. I'll check out your report.

There's an idea brewing in my head.

What if all the Fodorites visiting Enoteca Cul de Sac left a "calling card"? Say, maybe sticking an orange dot sticker on the underside of the table you are seated at? (Our own version of geocaching.)

At some point down the road, I could see us all dropping our napkins on purpose to see if we can spot any orange dots. hahaha

Anyone game? I'll post one when we arrive in Rome in late April. Maybe someone else will beat me to the game, but I'll drop my napkin to take a gander! How fun it would be to see that another Fodorite has already been there!



Do we stick our username and date visited on the dot? Or not?

I'm on the floor laughing at the below lines:

"It was like being the star of Big Love, only with desserts as my wives."

"It was at this point I realized I am sort of like Tiger Woods when it comes to desserts."

"Knowing that Tracy had worn red on this evening, . . . I can tell you with 100% certainty that Tracy is innocent "

MaiTaiTom, it is that time of the year, the red carpet is being rolled out for Sunday's Golden Globes, however, you must give up the Hollywood Ending or no Globe for you.

Maitaitom, fabulous report, thanks for keeping us all in SUCH suspense.

Zerlina, it seems to be one and the same.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=broccoflower+pictures&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=wsdOS7WkJ8eqsQa8v8ybCg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBAQsAQwAA

What?!?! No update this morning!!!!

I'm impatiently waiting....

Miss Gabby Pants? Miss Gabby Pants?
It is too early in the morning to laugh this much!

Where is that man?

Act IX: Is This A Hit, The Curious Christmas Caper At CDG, Home Sweet Home, Discovery, Denial, Disgust, Dejection, A Fodorite Sleuth In Paris And A Hollywood Ending?

Our wake up call came as planned at the bewitching hour of 4 a.m. Carefully, or as carefully one can do anything at four in the morning, we packed the last remaining items into our carry-on luggage, including a couple of cameras, a netbook and an iPhone.

Promptly, at 4:45 a.m., a town car pulled up, and we were off to the airport for our 7:20 flight to Paris. About 10 minutes into the drive, the driver pulled off the highway, and we were now in what looked like a very remote area for a few minutes. I didn’t make too much of it, but Tracy must have watched too many Sopranos’ episodes, because she told me at the airport that she thought we were going to be whacked. At five in the morning, with still no caffeine in my body, I think that would have been ok by me.

The flight to Paris was on time, but we only had one hour and ten minutes to take a bus to one terminal, take a tram to the next terminal and get through security in time for to our flight. When we reached the security line, we knew this was going to be cut very, very close.

Finally through the long (and slow) security line, Tracy and I huffed and puffed as we scurried quickly (well, as quickly as we could) to make our flight. When we reached the gate, most of the passengers had already boarded, but as we handed our boarding passes to the Air France worker, Tracy and I breathed a sigh of relief. The entrance to the plane was just about 40 feet to our right. “We made it,” I said. We then heard a voice.

“Excuse me,” a voice blurted out. I turned and saw a man sitting at a table with white gloves on, and it wasn’t Michael Jackson. “I need to check your carryon bag,” he said. Exhausted, tired and completely under-caffeinated, I gave the “security guy” my bag. He did a quick check, put everything back inside with our down vests on top and handed me back the bag. Tracy and I were just happy we made our flight so the extra security check was of no bother to us.

As we started for the plane, he said (and I can still hear his monotone, rather unpleasant voice), “Merry Christmas.”

On board, we stashed our bags, watched television and movies, got our usual amount of sleep (virtually none) and landed at LAX. After passing through Customs and waiting for our two checked bags, a voice came over the speaker, “Mr. and Mrs. Maitai (still not our real names), please see the agent.” Air France had only checked one bag through to Los Angeles. We wouldn’t see the other one until tomorrow. “No big deal,” we said. It was the bag with all our dirty clothes.

The rest of the day was a blur. Our friend picked us up and we heard on the radio about the guy who tried to blow up the Delta plane in Detroit. “Wow, glad we didn’t have that drama,” I said.

Back home, we said a quick hello to the cats that had been picked up by our friend at the Cat Hotel (one of them was sitting on the bill so I didn’t have to know right away how much that cost). We freshened up, got in the car and drove about 45 minutes to my sister’s house for Christmas dinner. After nearly passing out in the dessert, we drove (very carefully) home and promptly went to bed without unpacking.

The next morning after running some errands, I was sitting at my computer. “Hey Tracy,” I said. Could you bring me my camera so I can download all the photos?” I had brought two cameras, my new and compact Panasonic ZS1 that I had just bought before the trip and my larger, old Sony, that I just brought in case I didn’t like the new camera. I loved the new camera, so the Sony stayed in the hotel safe for the entire trip.

Seconds later, Tracy yelled back at me, “You must have unpacked it last night. You were probably so tired you don’t remember.” I knew I had not been that tired.

Suddenly, I got that sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach, the kind you know is not going to get better soon. “Please tell me you’re kidding,” I said. She was not.

To say I was angry might be the understatement of the year. I was so mad that after about half an hour Tracy was checking the life insurance policies to see what the payout is for a self-induced heart attack. “What could have happened,” she asked? “Were they stolen on the plane while we were sleeping?”

We decided that would have been impossible, but outside of that, our carryon bags had never been out of our sight. Then we remembered the security guy at CDG, or whom we thought was a security guy. “Crap, that piece of (I believe you know the word) stole our cameras!”

We tried to recreate the moment we gave him the bag, but we were both so relieved about making the flight, not to mention feeling pretty damn tired, that we both must have had the most serious malady a traveler can suffer; a momentary brain cramp where we were not paying full attention. Although momentary, it was enough time for that guy to palm our two cameras.

We sent off an email to security at Charles de Gaulle, but as the day progressed, the harsh reality set in; all of our pictures (about 250) from Rome were gone, and the odds of getting them back were about the same as a Padres’ World Series title.

I must say that it surprised me how much the theft affected me. We had been to Rome before. I had pictures from past trips. It’s not like I’m Ansel Adams when it comes to photography.

However, the more I thought about it, the more upset I became. Just the thought of that guy taking our stuff pissed the hell out of me. I was beating myself up pretty good, too. “How could I have been so blind?”

On Saturday, Tracy emailed our friends who had spent Christmas week in Paris and warned them about what we perceived as a “security scam.” One of those friends in Paris just happened to be another Fodorite, LikToTravel.

On Sunday morning, we emailed CDG again (we had received the standard reply overnight to give the description of the “lost” merchandise), but by Sunday night we had pretty much given up any hope that we would ever see our cameras or the photos.

“Why didn’t I take out the memory chip? Why didn’t I just download them on my netbook?” I couldn’t get my mind off the stolen cameras. I never travel without my camera right next to me. For once I felt like an idiot and even Tracy didn’t have the heart to call me one.

I didn’t get a lot of sleep Saturday and Sunday, but when I woke up Monday morning I was determined to let this go (or I really might have a heart attack). Hey, it’s not like somebody tried to blow up our plane. Nobody got hurt. Get over it! No doubt about it, however, I was still bummed.

Just before heading to work on Monday, we got a telephone call. It was none other than LikToTravel (LTT), who had arrived home from Paris. Thanks to the Underwear Bomber’s shenanigans on Christmas Day, her flight on Sunday had been delayed a few hours at CDG. Instead of resting, LTT (or “Emma Peel” from The Avengers, as we now call her) went into action mode, and our CDG “secret agent” did a little sleuthing at the airport on our behalf. We don’t know if any kung fu moves were necessary on her part.

LTT (aka Emma) has never given me the full details of what she did or said in her secret agent activities at the airport, but somehow during her three hour-plus delay she was able to ascertain from officials that a Panasonic and Sony camera had been located at CDG.

I’d like to think that LTT somehow deviously delayed her own flight and then held an extra bright light to the culprit’s face (or beat the crap out of him) to force a confession, but in any event, she was able to definitively find out that the cameras were somewhere at the airport. Emma (I mean LTT) gave me phone numbers and email addresses to attempt to reach the party who physically was holding my cameras. I’m sure with a couple of more hours at CDG, she would have retrieved the cameras, locked up the thief and flown the jet back to Los Angeles herself, however she was technically still on vacation.

For a moment I was ecstatic, but I was determined to stay cautiously optimistic. There was still more sleuthing to do, so I had to now go into John Steed mode after Emma’s heroics on the other side of the pond. Using my suave and debonair voice while wearing a bowler (ok, that might be a stretch), for the next three nights, between the hours of 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., I called and e-mailed back and forth with CDG security and then the CDG Lost and Found Department.

I told them to look on the small Panasonic and check to see if there were a lot of out-of-focus photographs of Rome on it. A couple of mornings later, on December 29, I received the e-mail that both cameras were definitely at CDG, and that the Lost and Found people had gone through the photos to make sure the camera was indeed mine. It was at that moment I was glad Tracy and I don’t do any Paris Hilton-type photo shoots.

I was then turned over to a company named Bagages du Monde, who emailed and stated they would have the cameras back to me shortly after the first of the year for a hefty fee of 80€, but at that moment I didn’t care.

On January 6, a UPS shipment arrived at my office, and, voila, there were my two cameras, and my photos were still there. My business partner shook his head in amazement. “You are one very lucky guy!” I had my Hollywood ending, although like many blockbusters, it had gone way over budget.

For their secret agent work in Paris, LTT and her sister will be coming over soon to have a home-cooked “thank you” meal. Broccolo Romanesco (if I can find it) and Zabaione will most certainly be on the menu. I think LTT’s new motto should be, “LikToTravel: Fighting Crime Against Fodorites Worldwide!”

Of course, I will never know the true story behind the CDG Camera Caper. I can’t believe it was a simple case of the guy just forgetting to put the cameras back in the carryon, because the two cameras (in their cases) were not together in the bag, and the larger case is pretty big (how I missed seeing him hide it is beyond me). We were the only people at the table, so it’s not like there was a lot of clutter. Plus, he had ten minutes until the doors closed on the plane to get them to me on board the aircraft if it was not done purposely.

Did he get caught? Did he have a change of heart? Perhaps one of you has heard of a situation like this before, and we just fell for a common scam that I don’t know about.

In any event, we learned a valuable (and expensive) lesson. Had we not had a secret agent who happened to be going through CDG when she did, this story might have had a very different ending.

Although not the greatest photographer in the world, I must say I have never been happier to go though a series of photographs in my entire life than the ones I took in Rome, and my picture of the priest playing the organ at Santa Maria degli Angeli came out even better than I had expected. Life is truly good!

Coming Up: Final Thoughts On Rome

Yay, Tom! I love a happy ending. And I totally understand you mixed feeling when you began the report. I had a similar situation while traveling and it took a year for me to decide to write the report. Glad you cameras and good spirits have returned

Hoorayyy for Tom and LTT! Truly a Hollywood ending.

I will never forget taking a cruise one year from Ft. Lauderdale. Both our camera and binoculars were stolen by "security" and you feel so helpless and upset. Obviously we were unable to take any photos, but I think that probably was better than taking alot of them and then having it stolen.Thanks so much for taking the time to write your trip report for all us to enjoy.

Hi Tom,

a salutary lesson for us all. I'll pay a lot more attention to those security checks in future.

sooo glad that your story had a happy ending.

regards, ann

Great trip report! I always enjoy reading about your exploits on the road. We are planning a trip to Italy during Easter this year (which is rapidly approaching!). I've been taking notes from your former report on Umbria, Tuscany and Venice and though we've been to Rome a couple times before, found some things in this report to go check out.

So happy you got your cameras back. I had some jewelery taken out of one of my bags one time and felt so violated. Will you have the pictures posted on a photo website soon?

A terrific Hollywood ending and it just goes to show us what truly great people Fodorites are!

And the Golden Globe goes to . . . MaiTaiTOM!

What a relief - and I'm not referring to the end of your trip report. It was great! Thanks to LTT and hope we get a look at your photos.

Wow, you were lucky! That's a good thing to know and be on the lookout for.

Thank you for another rockin' trip report!

Glad to hear you were able to get the cameras back! Thanks for a wonderful report!

TR

And a big "thank you" to Emma Peel (aka LikToTravel). What a great ending with just enough mystery left to keep us thinking about it for a while.

Terrific, enjoyable report as always. Thanks for taking us along vicariously. Where are we going next?

Wow you really were lucky Tom and Tracy! I'm so glad you got your cameras and pictures back. The odds were very much against you!

So now you have to wonder, if the guy was a thief - how did he get into the gate area without a boarding pass? Don't they make everyone show those as they go thru security??

If he was a thief, how did CDG ever find those cameras? No way he would have given them up! I think he might actually have been real, incomptent security. Should we all start asking for ID?

We also must be the only fodorites that do not feel That Ditirambo is fabulous. Like you felt the food not deserving of all the accolades and quite pricey....there are such better choices in Rome.

"I must say that it surprised me how much the theft affected me. We had been to Rome before. I had pictures from past trips. It’s not like I’m Ansel Adams when it comes to photography."

Oh Tom, I know how you feel!

Unfortunately, in my case, some (blank) in Rome has a little Nikon full of photos of Rome, Orvieto, and Assisi!

I can't blame anybody but myself (well, I can, too!) for having it in an open purse as I shopped for take-home stuff on our last day last spring. It just broke my heart to lose my pictures, though it was our fifth trip to Rome.

I have been diligently checking "Found Cameras and Lost Pictures" for more than a year, with no luck.

I'm so glad you have your pictures, and like everybody, I love love love your trip report!

Byrd

I love a happy ending, Tom!

SO GLAD you got the cameras back. I came close to losing a camera with all the photos from a four and a half month trip (back when they all fit on a gigabyte microdrive) and I well remember the horrible sinking feeling when I realized I didn't have the camera with me. Kudos to LTT!

YEah to Tom and the supporting actress nomination to Liketotravel.

So where is the link to these contested photos??

Phfew, Tom. I'm so glad that worked out. Brava LTT!

Hi to Stacy and gatti from DH and moi.

I had really resigned myself to the fact the photos were history. They should be up on my website within a couple of weeks. Then you'll probably say, "He was upset he didn't get these pictures back?!"

It just goes to show that no matter how long one one has traveled or how many times, prepare for the unexpected. Yes, I was very, very lucky. Of course, knowing Emma Peel didn't hurt either!

Like a juicy Victorian novel, I could see the plot and its happy ending well ahead of time but oh how enjoyable it was to read. Great story/stories.

Looking forward to final impressions. And of course photos when available.

"A momentary brain cramp" is indeed a "serious malady" - many of us can resonate to that!! That's how I got my wallet stolen in Florence, and it's a horrible feeling to feel so STUPID and HELPLESS. No, I didn't mean you, Tom - your report is too good for you to be stupid and helpless.

I was thinking that you might be a favorite traveling companion, but I think I'm ditching you for LikToTravel.

Thanks for another great report. keep talking.

Brava to LTT and Bravo to MTT! What a great story. I love happy endings, too.

This is a great example of Fodorites helping other Fodorites. Love Emma Peel.

I look forward to the famous photos and reflections. Dare I ask where you're going next?

Thanks for a great report which made a dreary early January New England much much brighter.

I've got that "oh, I don't want to finish this book, I'm enjoying it so much" feeling coming on. Thanks for another of your enlightening, amusing and thoroughly engrossing reads, Tom.

Grazie. Grazie mille! SO glad there was a happy ending for all!

What a wonderful trip report. And what an amazing ending! Thanks to you, I will be much more vigilant during those bag checks.

"Dare I ask where you're going next? "

Rumor has Kim and Mary rejoining us (of course when they look at this trip report they'll be wondering what kind of dunderhead they've been traveling with all these years) on two rather long trips to as much of France as we can see in 2011 and 2012. I don't know what 2010 has in store for us, but we'll figure out something. In any case, I will be on a vigilant lookout for nefarious security personnel in search of photographic equipment.

Love the finish!
I am so glad you got your camera back. I will be watching for this quick switch from now on.
Thank you so much for writing such an inspiring and entertaining TR!

LikeToTravel - you are a champion!!

Great report Tom and I'm so glad it ended happily. Thanks for putting so much time and effort into writing it for us.

Sob...now I have nothing to look forward to (til next year???) -

That was great. You brightened my mornings.

Great job and thank you Tom! I know how much time it takes to write up a trip report, but as you can see from all of the commets, we all love traveling with you. I think we all can relate to the situations that you find yourself in (get yourself into?), because you have such a great way of telling the story. Again, thank you. Would you like to write my trip report? You would make it more interesting

Not to look a really wonderful gift horse in the mouth, but we are still anxiously awaiting promised penultimate "Final Thoughts on Rome" section of your lovely trip report.

Nudge, nudge --

DH is a bit of a geek, never lets his camera bag out of his sight. And every night religiously downloads to the netbook. Guess I have lots to be thankful for!

Waiting for Final Thoughts on Rome

Thanks for such an entertaining, thoughtful, helpful report! I am so glad that you got your camera and pictures back! A real warning to all of us to be vigilant at security checks. Who would have thought one of those guys could be a thief!?

Well, on one of my trips I was just about to step foot onto the plane to come home when a security agent told me my bag was too large, although it was smaller than anyone else's. I thought it was strange but he took it, gave me a claim stub and told me I could have it back after landing. When I got it back, my camera was missing. The joke was on him though because that was the camera I had dropped at Lake Como and my new camera I then purchased in Florence was safely in my purse. Air France security just shrugged and had me fill out a form when I complained that it was missing. Peculiar.

Fabulous report, as always. Loved every word. Many thanks. Glad you had SUCH great luck with getting your camera returned. I have always been amazed what with the restriction on locking suitcases of so many years ago now, and other crazy antics, that I never did have anything stolen from me or "lost" in all my years of travel. That changed about a year ago when I found that my checked suitcase was rummaged through probably at the Madrid airport and a perfume bottle had been stolen. My husband was 100% sure that "I had just forgotten to pack it". No way, I know EXACTLY what I put into my suitcase plus it was evident that things were messed about and haphazardly thrown back in.

Can't wait to read your final thoughts on Rome!!

Flame ... funny you should say that. I flew Granada-Madrid-Caracas last April and when I pulled one of my bags off the carousel, my "name strapper" was missing. The lock still appeared intact, so I assumed that I'd forgotten to lock the name strapper, although that was unusual for me. When I got to my friend's apartment in Caracas, I found that one side of the two pieces through which the lock passed had been broken - and my bag had been gone through. They were out of luck though; this was the one that contained the winter clothes and some dirty laundry. My Venezuelan friend said it was probably a good idea I'd not discovered the breach at the airport, or she'd likely be bringing me food parcels at the local lock-up or putting flowers on my grave if I'd expressed my opinion of the baggage handlers at the airport.

Your trip reports are the best. You are a fantastic travel companion--even though we didn't go to Rome in December, I feel like I experienced the churches, the sore throat, the food and wine with you two (I draw the line at sharing your bird poop mishaps).

We want to go to France next year (and in 2011 and 2012 and 2013 etc.) and I will be on the lookout for you two--wherever cats congregate, in the bars, in the churches.

Bravo! another great TR, dont know how u do it...so informative and entertaining. Thanks
Hi to Tracey

A practical question. How do you organize your material before a trip? I can see that you collect tons of info. Do you put everything on a paper map? Do you create your own map of Rome? Do you make a rough plan for each day before the trip, or do you use each night to figure out the next day's plan, or what? You pack so much in that you must have some special organizational skills. (And stamina.)

"You pack so much in that you must have some special organizational skills."

Tracy and our travel partners in crime, Kim and Mary, might say I pack too much stuff in our trips. Although not known as being overly organized in my real life (see work and errands), I do plan quite extensively for trips. I have a rough idea of what I want to do on each particular day, but that can change due to everything from weather to aching feet (usually after one of my day long death marches). Unless we have reservations at a museum, nothing is ever set in stone. Spontaneity on vacation is a good thing.

I do like to know a lot about the history of a place before I go. I think it helps one appreciate the visit that much more and makes you want to learn more once there. As for maps, I printed out some google walking maps for Rome and then hardly looked at them (I have always hated maps because when I try to fold them back up, they usually look like a really bad form of origami).

We used to have a phrase in college (well, one of the ones I can repeat here) that "the yucks come first." That's why I am just as glad to include writing about falling in bird poo or putting the wrong petrol in the car. They might not be funny at the moment, but usually, upon further review, these moments are pretty hilarious, yet can be of value to someone reading a trip report (for example, read the rental car manual or walk very carefully in a wet bird poo zone).

Maitaitom,

Thanks for the great report! I'm living vicariously through you until the Great Recession becomes a Recovery... Thanks for giving me another visit to Rome!

Well here are the words I never thought would be written:

My Rome 2009 Trip Report WITH PHOTOS is now up on my website!

http://web.me.com/tomfielding1/Tom_%26_Tracy_Home/Welcome.html

After clicking on the above link, go to Roma 2009 and Roma 2009 (2) and follow our story in living color. Any trip report that includes William Shatner, Xena: Warrior Princess and Mel Brooks works for me. I also have a slide show of the infamous photos, once thought to be lost to the sly security scoundrel at CDG.

As for Rome: we like Rome, but do not love it. Whereas Paris always seems to embrace us, Rome kind of kept us at an arm's distance on this trip. The weather might have had something to do with it. My hometown gelato guy was in Rome visiting family and friends at the same time and said he was miserable because it was so cold (that's what happens when you become California-ized). In any case, most everyone was cordial, but certainly not as openly friendly as they had been on our two previous trips. Then again, no one laughed at me while covered in bird poo, either (well, not to my face).

As for history, there's no place like Rome. After three trips, we still have not been to the Appian Way, seen a bunch of museums, and I gather we might even have missed a church or two. There is still more to see, and I can't believe how much we had missed on our other visits.

As for the food, I must say we were a tad disappointed with Rome. We had some great dishes along the way, but only a couple of memorable meals. I'm still waiting to see if I can get a piece of meat off that lamb chop at Ditirambo. But we did find out about the "broccoli from outer space" and, of course, I now have a new love interest, the lovely and tasty Zabaione. I'm trying out a recipe tomorrow night to see if the love affair can continue.

Health and luck permitting, I am sure we will one day be back in Rome, but not for quite some time because we have to move on to various new locales where I can fall on my keister. Thanks for all the pre planning help and for joining Tracy and me in Rome.

Enjoy The Journey! Attitude Is Everything!

Beautiful photos... another hit! I'm in sympathy with your feelings about Rome. We've been there five times.... and the last time it just seemed "different." (Plus we were cheated by a taxi driver.) But, all in all, if someone gave me a ticket I'd be on the next plane.

(Your orange cat's twin lives with us -

You handsome devil, you. Where, pray tell, are the photos of the Man in Bird DooDoo? Afraid to show us, hu...

Our favorite memory of our trip to Rome was going into Santa Maria in Trestavere at the end of a long sightseeing day. There was a choir of American college students singing gospel hymns, echoing off the rafters. Magic.

You are still the best!

Nice photos-again, so glad you were able to get them back. Many thanks for another excellent TR. We have missed the Capitoline Museum in our visits (how do you spell relief-har) and now have another reason to return.

I understand your mixed feelings about Roma but if you look at her as a cantankerous aunt who loves you, she's easier to embrace. Staying on her good side is the challenge!

"But, all in all, if someone gave me a ticket I'd be on the next plane."

Me too! Still places to explore. I told Tracy last night I wish we had a picture of me after I had fallen, but sometimes in the heat (or in this case the cold) of the moment, you forget to take what might have turned out to be a very funny, albeit embarrassing, photo. Oh well, I'm sure I'll screw up on the next trip, so there will be more opportunities.

"And STILL champion.........."

For my money (which isn't saying much), you're still the best trip reporter we've got here in wonderful Fodorville. Thanks for sharing.

I think I love Rome because it can be a bit challenging.

Immensely enjoyable report and beautiful photos. You got lots of blue skies, lucky lucky.

Grazie mille!

Grazie mille indeed for the pleasure of travelling vicariously through your insightful & frequently laugh-out-loud trip reports. So finally I'm putting fingers to keypad to say thank you - but a little shamefaced as the motivation is to ask you to give Kim a hug from sunny autumnal Sydney for the tip on the BookSmart software which I'm using to create a photo book of our (no not me & Kim!) recent wedding and Christmas honeymoon in Singapore. It's such a cool program so thank you both so much. What a great forum this is.

Leely2, a bit late, but I just now noticed your post:

>> I think I love Rome because it can be a bit challenging.

Me too, although of course Rome has so many magnificent things that I'm sure the challenge is secondary. The antithesis of a challenging city is Amsterdam. There are lots of things I like about Amsterdam, but I actually have said before that somehow it just feels too "easy".

"...I like about Amsterdam, but I actually have said before that somehow it just feels too "easy"."

After seeing the Red Light District years ago, there's something about having the words "Amsterdam" and "easy" in the same sentence that makes me chuckle.

Well, you know I didn't mean it that way - wasn't referring to drugs or sex - really, honest!

Maitaitom: we just read your harrowing report of your "lost"!?!! cameras. What an ordeal!!! So glad you re-couped them. . .after much time, energy, and $$$. A lesson for all of us travelers: Watch your stuff like a hawk. And, maybe, remove the SD cards!

We enjoyed you whole report of Rome, so filled with information and humor, and will certainly refer to it for our next trip to that great city!