Food and Fun-

I have yet to mention much about the food in Italy.  Originally, I thought I would dedicate an entry to food in each region and/or maybe our favorite restaurants or weirdest foods we have tried but now realize that I can barely manage to get in the time on the computer &  that I am not so quick at this whole blogging thing so it is not really feasible...

I will sum it up to say that the boys have been SUPER about trying new and foreign cuisine and that Tuscany was hands down the winner of the best food award.  It was jaw-dropping good.  We have since longed for many of the dishes we savored at L'Ozio in Collina...

The word on the street in Rome though is that the best food to be had is in the neighborhoods of Testaccio or Trastevere so we travelled across the Tiber for dinner & took a culinary tour in Trastevere.

We weren't sure if the boys would enjoy 4 hours of tasting food but they are their daddy's children so it was a great time.  Even though we has been in Italy for almost 6 weeks, we found new foods to try and even new flavors of gelato- chocolate with tobacco, basil with ginger & lemon...mmmm

Our dinner experience in Trastevere was indeed delicious and memorable for 2 reasons:
1. The boys had a table of their own & were allowed to order anything on the menu as long as it would be eaten.
2. Ross ordered grilled octopus & ate it all.  I wish we could have captured the waiter's response...he looked over at us and all he could say was "wow"...

Another fun thing we tried out while in Rome (something we do at home) was to split up and take each boy out for a "date".  One night Matt & Ross had dinner while Nash & I dined at a restaurant a few blocks  away. Then a few days later Matt & Nash went for a 30km bike ride on the Appian way while Ross and I slept in, took in a leisurely lunch & shopped a local toy store.  These times with the boys individually were invaluable... not to be forgotten for sure.


FOOD TOUR IN TRASTEVERE:

First tasting from a bakery

Standing in front of wheels of pecorino cheese-
this stack is worth about 10,000 euro.
The owner said he sells this amount about every 10 days.

Trying fried rice/meat balls, I think the name is arancini-
Matt's favorite

A booth at the local market run for hundreds of years by the same family

Beautiful and tasty local produce

DINNER IN TRASTEVERE:

Parent's table

Kid's table

Gnocci (potato pasta) for Nash

Octopus with tentacles for Ross!!

DATE NIGHT:

Daddy & Ross enjoying real Italian pizza...

...then staying out late night people watching at Piazza del Popolo
( translated means: Square of the People)
This actually became a place we returned to several times &
spent our last evening in Rome.

Mom & Nash dining  at Osteria Margutta-
a tiny little place hidden on a peaceful little street

We did not explore nearby squares... we stayed for dessert!

DATE "DAY":

Daddy & Nash setting out on the Ancient Appian Way

30K offroad and on the actual ancient stones of the old Roman road

They explored the Roman aqueducts, the catacombs and

the Baths of Caracalla.
 Father & son were both energized and tired after a long hot ride!

Mom & Ross slept in late then made our first stop at the toy store near Piazza Venezia-
we had walked past this shop MANY times but this was the first time inside...

Ross spent his tooth mouse money (from the tooth he lost on Easter while in Florence)
 on this little guy "Spells" and an exploding dice magic trick.

We then celebrated with a leisurely lunch of Ross' favorite-
Pizza Margurita

Spells meets his new family

Truth and Politics-

I realize these two things do not go together (truth & politics) but when I was putting together this post I realized that it involves some of the sights that are associated with the city's government & our visit to the legendary Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) made famous by the movie Roman Holiday so I thought it would be a catchy title...

But also grouped in this post are a couple of more sights of Michelangelo's legacy in Rome and some famed sites in the Pantheon "neighborhood"... so, the more accurate theme is "layers".

Our guide described Rome as a "layered city".  Modern structures built using ancient buildings as the foundation.  Old recycled into new. History pieced together to form the present-day...

Here are some examples:

The area of Capitoline hill (one of the 7 original hills on which Rome was founded) was the center of Roman government 2500 years ago and still is today.  At the top of this hill, Piazza del Campidoligo designed by Michelangelo in the 1500s was once the location of the Temple of Jupiter, 500 years before Christ, and now is home to the mayor's residence, Palazzo Senatorio.  

Just to the right of this square is Piazza Venezia.  It boasts a grand gleaming white national monument built in early 1900 in honor of Italy's first king, Victor Emmanuel.  In the 1930s, it is from a balcony here that Mussolini addressed the people. 

Piazza Navona, which became important in the late 15th century when the market moved from Campidoligo, is uniquely shaped in an oval because was built on top of the ruins of the Stadium of Domitian from the 1st century. It is still an important public "hang-out" for locals (and tourists) who sit around the beautiful baroque Fountain of Four Rivers by Bernini and come for a very special dessert at Tre Scalini.

In the same neighborhood as Piazza Navona is the Pantheon. This is the only Roman built building that has been in continuous use since the 1st century! There of course have been many modifications over the last 2000 years but the claim is that most of the interior marble is original and survived because the structure was transformed from a pagan temple into a Roman Catholic church during the 600s. 

A layered city... so fascinating!

    

Younger brother tests out the Mouth of Truth first!

Big brother's hand comes out unharmed as well-

View of the opposite side of the fountain
with a beautiful evening sky

Bernin's famous Four Rivers fountain
at Piazza Navona

"Tartufo" from Tre Scalini-
one of Ross' favorite desserts ever-
Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate!

The Pantheon

Standing in the beam of light from the oculus in the center of the dome
which is the only source of light for the inside of the Pantheon

Michelangelo's Piazza Campidoligo

The bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius in the center of the square-
It survived because it was long thought to be Constantine 

Michelangelo's famous "horned" Moses-
intended to be an elaborate pope's tomb but now
a monument at St. Peter in Chains Basilica
*The monument & horns both have long stories*

St. Peter's chains 

The Victor Emmanuel Monument in Piazza Venezia-
locals refer to it as "The Wedding Cake"

Gladiators and Gardens-

We could spend all of our time in Rome exploring history, art and more but the boys and momma require a "free day" here and there to recharge.
Our days "off" were spent picnicking and relaxing at the beautiful Borghese Gardens & pretending to be gladiators in training.

The gardens which were first designed in the 17th century for the pleasure of Cardinal Borghese are now open to the public have and been called Rome's "Central Park".  There is ample manicured green space, a playground, small cafe's, an amphitheater and a small lake.  The park is surrounded by Renaissance and Baroque palaces turned museums, bike rentals and horse carriages for hire.  It is a great place to retreat from the big city.  We dedicated 2 days to play in the park.

I might should have put our experience at Gladiator school in the same post with Ancient Rome since the historical group that runs the "school" takes their practice fairly seriously but it really was a morning of pure fun for us.  Not to mention, a workout for more than our walking muscles...
I have to admit that we did in fact learn a lot & the boys were inspired to design & draw their own gladiators with armor.


FUN IN THE GARDENS:

Before settling in, we had to check out the whole park by bike
to scout out the best spot
(This great framed shot taken by Ross)

Swinging in tandem

How long can we keep the ball in the air?

Pizza picnic

Daddy's legs make the best reading chair

The inaugural "game" of Nash's new soccer shoes
(purchased with his own $)

GLADIATOR FOR A DAY:

The Roman army 

 The slaves -

First, physical training...

Then weapons training...

Finally, what the boys were waiting for- the battle!

Inspired artwork:

Vatican City-

Vatican City is its own country- & I don't mean that figuratively.  Because of an agreement made by Mussolini to end an also 60 year stand-off between the pope and the Kingdom of Italy, Vatican City is  now the world's smallest monarchy with the pope as king.  It has everything you would expect- its own flag, police, jail, radio statio, postal system, bank and its own mint.  (A special treaty allows the printing of Vatican euro coins even though it cannot be a member of the EU since it is not a democracy).

We visited the Vatican museums first & then took in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel before stepping into the world's largest & grandest church.  Our guide Sylvia made the museum very interesting for the boys & I was fascinated to learn about and see sculptures in the gardens that history tells us inspired Michelangelo's painted figures on his famous ceiling & altar wall.

We, of course, climbed to the top of St. Peter's dome (even though there was an elevator available) & watched the changing of the Swiss guards who since the 1500's have protected the pope.  The boys were in agreement that they should shed the Renaissance garb & go ahead and update their uniforms to something more intimidating.

Outside Vatican city lies Castel Sant' Angelo which was first the tomb of the emperor Hadrian then a military fortress/prison and finally another papal residence/place of refuge.  At one time there was a half-mile long passageway that connected St. Peter's to the castle for easy access and an escape route for the pope if necessary.   The castle's sorted history and open air exploration was fun for all of us.

St Peter's Basilica -outside

St. Peter's Basilica- inside

Climbing the dome

View of St. Peter's square from the top of the dome

Swiss Guards in their traditional (or according to the boys, outdated) uniforms

Michelangelo's Christ (note the similarities
to the garden statuary)

Statue in the Vatican garden

Castel Sant' Angelo & Ponte Sant' Angelo crossing the Tiber River

On the top terrace of the castle with a ruler's view of the entire city

Rome Overview

10 days in Rome... May 18-28-

I must admit that my first impression of Rome was not so great.  It is a huge, sprawling, bustling city.
Coming from weeks spent in quaint, tranquil, picturesque pristine towns, I was a bit overwhelmed by the vibrancy and vigor of Rome.    My guidebook calls Rome "magnificent and brutal", I could not agree more.  It took me about 4 days to adjust to the pace of touring this extraordinary city and by the 6th day I was wistful about leaving!

Our apartment is in the heart of "downtown" within a few minutes walk of the Spanish Steps, both the Triton & Trevi Fountains and just downhill from the Borghese Gardens. But even better than location is that it is "modern".  Translation:  It has all the 20th century conveniences that I take for granted- microwave, dishwasher, full sized shower with ample hot water, washing machine that washes a load of clothes in less than 2.5 hours, bathroom with a vanity...  It even has closets so we can take our clothes out of the suitcases...
At nearly 5 weeks into our trip, it is great to be in accommodations that are a little more like home.

So...
As the city itself is overwhelming, so is the task of blogging about it!
Instead of tracking our daily "pounding of the pavement"  (we averaged about 4-5 miles a day walking & visited some sites more than once) I have decided to post our explorations by era, neighborhood or event...

First up- ANCIENT ROME:

Inside the Colosseum (true name- Flavian Ampitheatre)-
where Gladiators, slaves & Christians lost their lives

The Arch of Constantine -
built a century later right outside the Colosseum to mark the military coup
that made Christianity the official religion of the empire

Circus Maximus-
where horse drawn chariots raced 1500 yrs ago & boys race today
*Photo also shows a small part of Palantine Hill in upper left corner
where the emperors chose to live*

The Forum-
where anything important in the Roman empire took place

The Arch of Septimius Severus (1st African born Roman emperor)-
built to commemorate battles won in Mesopotamia

Trajan's Column-
another monument built to celebrate a Roman victory

Colosseum at night