Just about everyone I know who has travelled has been to Rome….really. There's so much to see….a bit too much…the crowds, the scams (impersonating police seems to be just fine with local authorities), the somewhat jaded attitude toward visitors….. And yet, Rome is full of history, chock full of amazing sights….
If I were to do posts on everything we saw and ate in detail….well, it would be too much. So I've decided to most of these as sort of a C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) posts and keep the verbiage to a minimum.
So, we arrived. The Leomardo Express from the airport is a total joy, like much of Europe, public transportation is excellent. We stayed at a "B&B" close to Termini Station, the one great thing about the place was the person who ran the whole operation. More on that later.
You know the Missus by now right? We dropped things off and were off to the races! With something quick to eat of course…
The Missus doesn't have the best sense of direction; so the thought of having a map in Her grubby little hands would usually send chills up my spine….not so much here.
You know how they say, "you always remember your first"….that really hit home as the first church we visited was Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. My goodness……
It was indeed an impressive sight.
What was really interesting were the Chinese tour groups… they would often push themselves to the front of the line, trying to force themselves in front of everyone. It was especially bad at the Vatican where the guards actually had to push them back.
They often make interesting statements which would make the Missus crack up. Like when one of them said to another while looking at the statue of Pope Pius IX, "look, a statue of Buddha praying…."
One thing that really fascinated both the Missus and I were the Obelisks.
Each different….there seemed to be a story somewhere here….
One could just wander like we did and find a church like San Pietro in Vincoli, which has the tomb of Pope Julis II.
Apparently, this work was by Michelangelo, what more can you really say? How often do you see a work by Michelangelo? Really?
The church also holds a relic of the chains that bound Saint Peter while he was imprisoned.
The sheer amount of art, displayed in sculpture, on canvas, and in murals is quite amazing.
There is of course, the Colosseum and the Forum, but for some reason the Missus wasn't interested in visiting either.
Her reason? Well, having visited the Colosseum at El Djem and having the whole place to ourselves, ditto our visit to Sbeitla (Sufetula) had provided the Missus with enough exposure…..
And then of course, there's Trajan's Forum…..
And then there is the "Torta Nuziale", (the wedding cake), also known as the Victor Emmanuel Monument.
The Missus loved the architecture….I thought it as being a bit too gaudy…..
Around the back is the Basilica Santa Maria in Aracoeli.
The view from here is quite nice.
We made our way back to our room. Max, the proprietor of our B&B had made reservations at a place I was just itching to try, Trattoria Da Danilo, which was a scant three blocks away.
We were warned about the "typical Roman service" which was pretty much isolated to the woman who seemed to run the place….in other words, we should be honored just to eat here.
There's a big push for the antipasto here…..as in a major Ronda Rousey armbar upsell of dishes…some of which were good….some not.
The fried dishes were cold and were not especially good…..
And then of course was what I really wanted….the dish that had me going, "oh my….." The Cabonara with truffle…..oh my, what can I say? The flavor of shaved truffle…perfectly al dente noodles. the restrained richness of the dish.
In the end, there was a payoff for me……. I was willing to endure the lousy service for the carbonara of my dreams. I guess we all have a price, eh?
Trattoria da Danilo
Via Petrarca 13
Rome, Italy