Monday, June 2, 2014

May the 4th Be With You (In Rome)

This post actually begins on May 3 - when we headed to a highly recommended restaurant after returning to Rome from Florence.

Coming out of the subway, we noted that Charles Bukowski is kind of a big deal here.










Trattoria Da Danilo was fantastic. 




Our Italian lessons in action!

First course - fresh mozzarella stuffed with artichokes...


... and mushrooms over smoked mozzarella. Wow. Both of these were delicious.


The waiter kept telling Brian that his lasagna was made "in this moment!"








All of my ravioli should be truffled!



We finished with a lemon mousse. Mille Grazie to Becky for this recommendation!

On May 4th, our last day, we decided to give the Colosseum another try. And we encountered another international holiday - Star Wars Day, so calendared because, well "May the 4th be with you." Go ahead, say it aloud.






Some participants seemed dejected to leave.


We decided we were not ready to brave another queue, and so skipped the inside of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, but we wandered up to a small church and were able to get some great views.











We then headed over to the Circus Maximus, which could accommodate 150,000 spectators. Now it's more of a public park, but restoration is in the works.




We enjoyed a beverage at a recommended bar.



And then we were off to Trastevere, a neighborhood we explored in the rain a couple of nights earlier. Brian explored the different levels of sidewalks.




We enjoyed the Tiber River in the sunshine.







Trastevere has many cobblestone streets.



At Bir & Fud, one of the many craft brew establishments in the city, we enjoyed a beer named after Nora! Delicious!


We headed back to the center of the city, recrossing the Tiber.


And encountering more ruins under restoration.

We posed near some more statues.



And enjoyed the sights of the Roman Forum as we made our way back to the train and ultimately back to California.











A great trip!

Walking (And Eating!) in Rome

Throughout our time in Rome, we walked around the city, enjoying its food and drink!











The Aurelian Wall surrounds parts of Rome.






A different view of the Trevi Fountain.

Elephant and Obelisk.





Rome's sculpture is impressive.




Ruins





Even sculptures try to shoo the pigeons.



Italian for beer!





Fountains everywhere!



Claire's Italian office?




The classic color of Roman apartment buildings.










We often walked along the Tiber River.