… have a great time! We certainly did!

Friends had invited us to join them on a cruise leaving from Rome a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, Dave’s work schedule wouldn’t let him take that much time off. We were able to sneak away for a long weekend to explore Rome with them before they boarded the ship.

We arrived half a day before they did and used the time to take a Segway tour, one of our favorite ways of seeing a new city. I got a laugh out of a passing tourist that called us lazy – you can see far more in 4 hours on a Segway than you could on foot; but boy do they tire your legs out! It doesn’t seem like much, but you have to lean forward to go forward and lean back to stop, then further back to actually go backwards, all without falling off – it’s a great calf and shin workout! 

After that, we met up with our friends for dinner at a restaurant called Cotto. The food and wine was good in a not fancy, not expensive way; and the service was great. My only complaint was that Dave and I ordered a seafood dish, and what should have been scallops were either thin slices of one scallop per dish, or skate cut with a cookie cutter. The cheese platter we started with and our friends’ pizzas were wonderful, though!

The next day we woke up at 7 (ouch!) to have an early breakfast before heading out to see the city in more depth. We were staying at the Hotel Artemide, which had a wonderful American-style breakfast. We purchased tickets for a hop on, hop off tour, which turned out to be a disappointment from a narration perspective, but a great way to get between the sights we wanted to see. Our first stop was the Coliseum, which is amazing. It was really cool to see all the all the little rooms and passages that you see in period movies like Gladiator.

After that, we walked around on the Palatine Hill, which was the hill where the aristocrats lived. It was strange how familiar the Roman ruins looked – you can really tell that they built Caesarea (well, the first time, at least!) After a stop at Mussolini’s Wedding Cake and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we found a sidewalk cafe to have pizza for lunch.

Feeling restored, we set off on foot to the Pantheon, which has an amazing dome, with a circular hole, open to the elements, at the top! The inside has been converted to a Catholic church, which was beautiful.

We hopped back on the bus and rode two stops to the Vatican and St Peter’s Basilica. The security to get inside the Vatican is intimidating! We had actually wanted to take the Angels and Demons tour, but it was not available on the days we were there. It was neat to be able to see a famous place that I’m used to seeing in the movies or on TV.

On our way back to the hotel, we passed the Spanish Steps, which were completely covered with people, and stopped to make a wish at the Trevi fountain. We also found some nice Italian leather belts and silk scarves.

That evening, we went to a five course tasting dinner at Il Convivio, a very exclusive restaurant. So exclusive, in fact, that they don’t have an exterior doorknob! The taxi dropped us off and pointed down an alley and around the corner. We set off in that direction and found ourselves at a massive wood and metal door with the name of the restaurant and a doorbell off to the side. We rang, and soon someone slid open a small panel in the door to ask if we had a reservation. We passed the test and we were in! It felt like entering a Prohibition-era speakeasy

The restaurant was amazingly luxurious, with a 100-page wine list, a 4-page water list, and small upholstered stools to keep your purse up off the floor. Some of the courses were a little unusual, like the salami gelato that was served as a palate cleanser. I didn’t have my camera with me, but you can see pictures of the interior and the food on their website.

The following morning, we ate breakfast with our friends and the four of us went for a short morning constitutional before sending them on their way to the cruise ship. Dave and I headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, which was heavily decorated for Halloween, and then met up with our last tour, Crypts and Catacombs.

I hadn’t thought about it being Halloween when I booked it, but it worked out perfectly! Our first stop was 13 miles of catacombs outside the original Roman city walls; then we saw St. Clement’s Basilica, which was fascinating because it’s actually 3 buildings built one on top of each other as the level of the city rose around it. Much of Rome is this way, in fact – our guide compared it to one big lasagna!

Our final stop was the crypt of the Capuchin monks, who gave their names to both the Capuchin monkey, because people thought their fur coloration looked like the hooded robes the monks wore, and the Cappuccino, because it’s brown on the bottom and white on the top like a monk’s tonsure.

The only words to describe the crypt are eerie and macabre. The monks were trying to communicate an “ashes to ashes” type message, saying that the physical remainder of the body after death is so unimportant that it may as well be used as a decorating medium. We had an excellent tour guide with a sense of humor just dark enough that he made what could have been a morbid experience enjoyable.

Picture courtesy of:

http://www.cappucciniviaveneto.it/cappuccini_ing.html

After that, we headed back to the hotel to pack and grabbed another quick dinner at Cotto. I was feeling a bit under the weather, so I ordered vegetable soup, which turned out to be a lovely, creamy puree instead of the thin broth I has been expecting. This restored me enough for us to head back to the room and polish off the rest of the bottle of wine we had waiting for us.

I have to mention Hotel Artemide again; the service was impeccable – they made phone calls to confirm our tours for us, helped us with restaurant recommendations, and even helped me arrange a surprise for my friend while we were there!