Rome, Italy, Country 4, Stop10

July 5

Three countries in one day for us today! Technically, five. We start in France and drive to return our rental car through Switzerland and back into France. Then we have to taxi back to the Swiss side of the airport to fly from Geneva to Rome. What a day already and it’s not even 9 am!

Ah, the Eternal City. A longtime favorite of the Williams family. We love the history, we love the food, we just simply love Rome. So we shoehorned a few days in Rome into our itinerary. After we check into our Airbnb, we go for lunch and have our first pasta and gelato in Italy. And all is right with the world. After that, we need to nap and chill because it is ridiculously hot outside and we are tired from travel. We have decided that we need to figure out a place in the upcoming weeks where we can just live for 7-10 days and not be in constant transit or in tourist mode. We need to catch up on things and slow down.

Dinner is pizza at Dar Poeta. This time in Rome we are staying in Trastavere and after the sun goes down, the weather is quite nice, especially with a breeze. Jack stays in and Dmtiri and Mia and I walk 3 minutes to the restaurant. This is our favorite place for pizza in Rome and it lives up to our memories. Dmitri and I discovered it over 20 years ago and if you find yourself in Rome and want pizza, we can highly recommend Dar Poeta. We did not take any photos of our meal because we were too busy happily devouring it.

We also had to break the news to Jack that his favorite restaurant in Rome has been permanently closed. Farewell, Il Giardino Di Albino. And F You, covid, if you had anything to do with the closing of this gem of a restaurant.

July 6

Today we take care of business. Laundry, catching up on journaling, paying bills, dealing with students in the case of Dmitri, making future travel plans, etc. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Australia will be opening this year so I have to cancel a bunch of reservations that we have in December. We are also going to have to get a new phone plan. Google Fi has been spotty and it’s not reliable. So it’s back to T Mobile we go. Dmitri dukes it out with the phone companies, which takes longer than one might imagine. Hours later, we send the kids out for lunch and eat around 5. After the late, late lunch, I announce that I’m only going to have gelato and wine for dinner. I get a lemon and pistachio gelato on the way home from a trip to the grocery store so all I need is for the wine to chill and I’m set. Italy vs. Spain is playing in the Euro semi finals tonight at 9 so it might be a bit lively for our evening passeggiatta.

There is much rejoicing as Italy beats Spain. There is dancing and singing in the streets and it is a lot of fun to be a part of. We watch the game in a local bar amongst very rowdy Italians. Too bad we won’t still be in Italy when the final is played on the 11th of July. I imagine it will be off the charts exciting in the streets and bars of Rome during the match.

***Dmitri: Mia and I found a good restaurant not far off playing the Euro Cup game. When in Rome is a cliché, but it’s also an actual thing, and the Romans are hollering at the TVs in every square, piazza and bar. We have no dog in the fight, so it’s just fun to ride the wave. When the Italians win, the streets erupt into singing, dancing, car honks, and general drunkenness and frivolity. We wander around until it looks like it’s going to cross from fun into maybe too much fun and then call it a night.***

July 7

More travel planning and work and laundry on the agenda for today. And gelato, of course.

Quote of the day goes to Jack:

Cindy: Jack, how can you come to Rome and not see the Coliseum?

Jack: Mom, I’ve been to Rome and seen the Coliseum. I doubt it’s changed much.

Mia, Jack and I leave the cool of the Airbnb and head to the Bocca Della Verita, the Mouth of Truth. The line is considerably shorter than when we were in Rome a few years ago and it’s a quick process to take our photos.

After that, Jack is done with the heat and heads back. Mia and I, however, feel like a trip to Rome isn’t complete without seeing the Colosseum so off we go. It does not disappoint and we are able to get some decent photos, as there aren’t many people there.

After that we stroll around the Forum and make our way back to Trastevere. We stop at Gelateria del Teatro and have our daily gelato. https://www.gelateriadelteatro.it/gelateria/ Mia gets raspberry and I practically inhale my rosemary honey lemon. It is SO good. Best gelato of the trip for me. I decide that I’m going to get two scoops next time!

For dinner we walk to Lungo il Tevere—a pop up summer festival on the banks of the Tiber. They have restaurants and music and shops and games. We went a few years back when we were in Rome so Jack is eager to go again. Of off things, we find a Tex Mex place and have dinner while watching the England-Denmark soccer match. I am not feeling the greatest. My throat is feeling a bit scratchy and I’m more tired than usual so Jack and I leave early to head back to the Airbnb. On the way, we find a few games for him to play and he wins some small, junky prizes. But all is good, as he has fun.

***Dmitri: Mexican food outside of Mexico or SoCal is about as good as you think it would be...***

July 8

I wake up feeling congested and head achy. Ugh. I still have things to see in Rome! And more gelato to eat. But I also want to head off whatever this is at the pass because tomorrow we fly to Croatia and then are on a boat for a week.

Dmitri, Mia and I walk to a Mailboxes, Etc. to get some passenger locator forms printed out, as well as health surveys that we need for our Rome-Split flight tomorrow. Then we head to probably my favorite place in Rome—other than the gelateria. ;) The Pantheon. What a marvel of architecture and engineering. It’s so beautiful. Fun fact—the Pantheon is the oldest building in the world that is still in use today. I feel very lucky that it opened again July 1 for people to enter.

Dmitri has enough of the summer heat of Rome and has work to do so he heads home. Mia and I soldier on and go see both the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona. Yes, touristy, but when in Rome... (sorry, had to!)

After that, we head to our gelateria and it’s CLOSED so we have some lunch. And it is delicious. Cacio e pepe and some mouthwatering focaccia with rosemary and sea salt. Deeeeeelish.

By now, our gelato place is open so we go there. Mia tries custard and cream and I try raspberry sage and my old standby, rosemary honey lemon. We somehow lug our distended bellies home and relax in the air conditioning.

Italians don’t simply drive; they aim. I think sometimes when people cross the street, Italian drivers speed up!

Dinner is just across our Airbnb at El Vicolo. Midway through the meal it rains and it is delightful. It’s just a light rain and after the heat, we enjoy it.

The view from our apartment

We got back to the summer festival and Jack and Mia play more shooting games. One final stop for gelato caps off our last evening in Rome.