Arrivederci Roma

We spent a lot of time eating, drinking, laughing, and meeting fascinating people during our short time in Rome. These pictures will always trigger certain smells, tastes, and definite laughs. Trivial moments are sometimes the things that remain in my mind as my favorite Italian memories.

GELATO - (Italian ice cream) is best eaten in Italy and I averaged a minimum of 3 servings each day, (really!) sometimes before noon. Usually I ordered it in a cup but sometimes a cone, a very large scoop of Limone or sometimes two scoops! The presentation of the various choices was always elegant and although I tried other flavors that were delicious, limone was my very favorite. If we decided to order gelato after dinner as a dessert, (five different flavors), a fancy cookie was added, but probably only so they could charge more for the elegant dessert. I admit to being a "gelato-holic" and would not be interested in any 12 step step program to eliminate my cravings for this wonderful Italian dessert that probably caused me to gain at least 10 pounds during June and July, 2010.

TIRAMISU - the official translation is "pick me up," it is an Italian dessert consisting of layers of sponge cake soaked in coffee and brandy or liqueur with powdered chocolate and mascarpone cheese. Yummy and a favorite of the "Funsome Fivesome". Our custom at lunch and dinner would be to order a variety of desserts and pass them around the table so that we coud each have a few bites and pretend that we really weren't eatinga a huge dessert, just tasting so that we could comment on the fabuous differences we encountered. Somehow Tiramisu was always ordered because we all really liked it and found that no two places made it exactly alike!

Our travel agent Mary Anne was happy to share her Tiramisu recipes with us when we returned home, so that we could continue our acquired addiction to this wonderful dessert. I especially like the Strawberry Tiramisu version with the fresh fruit, although it is difficult to pass up the authentic version with espresso coffee, cognac, chocolate, and mascarpone (available at Trader Joe's or AJ's). Check under recipes at the top of this blog and give these calorie free (denial works) recipes a try.

I could have included other foods beside desserts, but with a sweet tooth, I wanted to share my two favorite desserts in Rome.

Drinking outstanding wine and beer was another favorite activity of our group. Bottled water (without gas) and Coke "light" (doesn't that sound better than diet Coke) would also be on our table. We had a "designated walker", only because we didn't have a car until we were in Florence. When we picked up our rental car in Florence, we had "Carmella", the Garmon GPS system, as our "designated driver!  Amazing how we still had trouble finding locations at certain times while walking in Rome. Maps need young eyes, and often we could not even find the street names on the buildings. I am confident these small inconveniences were not caused by alcohol consumption. Ha! Because Italian wines do not have preservatives, we were able to avoid the after effects often associated with drinking in the United States. 

LEMONCELLO - Served ice cold from the freezer after dinner to complement any meal, this drink tastes best served by good looking Italian waiters. Sogno di Sorrento Lemoncello (Dreams of Sorrento) is created from selected lemon groves in the picturesque area of the Amalfi coast, where the golden sun ripens the the lemons to enhance their delicious and intense flavors.

LAUGHING and meeting FASCINATING PEOPLE - This is probably one of my favorite stories from our entire trip!

Here is your laugh for the day...We met a lot of interesting people in Italy, but the two priests who claimed to be on vacation (sure...and it snows in Phoenix in July!) have now contacted us and want us to come and visit them in their cathedral in Scotland next summer. Their pick up line that evening at the restaurant was..."Are you by any chance religious sisters?" They complicated their story by telling us that they had made a bet while observing our table. I don't remember which one said what, but whoever lost had to pay for the next bottle of wine. Obviously, they had already had one too many bottles that evening! One said we were religious sisters and the other claimed we were not because of the high-lights in our hair. 

Our tables were right next to each other and so we continued to converse, take pictures, and drink more wine. By the time we also had too much wine, we shared the "Sisters of No Mercy" experience in 1999. Being detained by the Vatican police somehow made us rank right up there with notable saints. How could we refuse to drink "communion wine" with the priests? Were they "Fake Fathers" trying to impress the "Funsome Fivesome"? A fun evening was had by all, but no reservations have been made for  Scotland.

BORGHESE GALLERY - For those of you who are now thinking I avoided great works of art, I want to tell you about our trip to the Borghese Gallery. Bernini's David and his statue of Apollo and Daphne have always been two of my favorite sculptures and although you are no longer able to use a camera in the museum, I am happy to be able to include pictures from a previous trip to Italy in 1985.

As a young child I was always fascinated by the Bible story of how young David killed the giant Goliath with his sling and one smooth stone that he carried in his shepherd's bag. The account of the battle can be found in the Bible; Samuel I: 17. To me it represented good vs. evil. Five smooth stones from a stream would often find their way into my pocket and I would hold them with great expectations of what I might be able to accomplish if I had the faith and courage of David. As years passed and I read the Old Testament, especially the First and Second books of Samuel and Kings, I realized that David's faith in God caused him to look at life from a different perspective. As a photographer, I will often try to see things differently than my eye's first observation.

OUR APARTMENT and SURROUNDING STREET SCENES - Our apartment was located on Via Condotti, in the area near the Spanish Steps. Numerous designer shops and small boutiques were right next door and across the street to offer temptations on a daily basis, but it was difficult to "stop and spend" in the middle of a "forced march"! I was happy to just point and shoot my camera at some of the more interesting sights. No special order or comments, just an assortment of views from my digital camera. 

In the apartment...

Advils and Ice Bags were our nightly companions!

On the streets...

Another "forced march" but this one included crossing a very busy street during rush hour traffic, and scaring the you know what out of all of us, including the leader of the group! Check out the look of terror and hysterical laughter once we reached the other side of the street.

   

Eating was always an adventure, especially when we thought we ordered one fish dinner and five fish dinners appeared on the table! 

          

                      

We are "gelato-holics" and proud of it! 

The bridge leading to Castel Sant'Angelo was the only connection to St. Peter's and the Vatican from Rome during the Middle Ages. The statues of angels each represent one of the implements from the passion of Christ and were designed by Bernini.

Across the street from our apartment...

and down the same street...

The Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps) is one of the most popular meeting places in Rome, but not at 5:00 a.m. in the morning! The staircase consists of 137 steps over 12 different flights that connect the Spanish Square to a French church on top of the hill. The steps are usually very crowded with tourists as well as locals. The staircase is the longest and widest staircase in Europe.

The sculpture known as the Fountain of the Sinking Ship by Bernini recalls the historic flood of the River Tiber in 1598 and is located at the foot of the Spanish Steps.