Pizza for Lunch. For Dinner, the Spanish Steps

Both of us have been having trouble adjusting to the new time and place, even though it has been 10 days now. I got up early today (because I had to), and Skyped with David Roth, a lawyer newly-located to Seattle, who is volunteering with Northwest Health Law Advocates (NoHLA), the Seattle non-profit run by my friend, Janet Varon. I did some volunteer work with NoHLA this year, working on the topic of surprise billing. David is taking that over for now, but I’ve agreed to assist. This legislative session in Washington, the insurance commissioner is recommending a very comprehensive bill to address the problem (they are seeking stories and comments btw). David and I are working on comments from NoHLA. 

Later in the morning, Brad and I read that the Spanish Steps were re-opening that evening (in a random news item in my Comcast feed). They have been closed for almost 12 months for a restoration (much to the chagrin of tourists and local businesses). We decided to go there for dinner later but first had a quick lunch close to home (at the local pizzeria recommended by our landlady, Donatella) ...

Ah, the pleasures of eating in Rome ... 

Brad studia ... :-)

Park beside pizzeria with statue to Nicola Spedalieri (1740-1795), a theologian who opposed the French Revolution and wrote a Catholic response to Paine's Rights of Man

Later that evening, we took a taxi over to see the newly-restored staircase ...

The idea of bridging the steep slope between Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish embassy to the Vatican is there) and Trinità dei Monti (a 1585 Renaissance church at the top) was debated for over two centuries before the staircase were finally finished in 1717. So very new by Roman standards, the monumentally wide structure has 135 steps and is said to the most photographed site in Rome. 

This photo from a Rome cultural website gives an idea of the scale

from Roman Holiday...

Although the whole site was still cordoned off, we remained hopeful and found a spot for dinner in a little restaurant overlooking the stairs, which were decked out below us with TV stands, big screens, and a band platform. 

Pasta with lobster (l'astice) while we waited ... 

But then our waitress told us the opening had been postponed until the following night (based on talking to the police outside)! She looked perplexed when, about an hour later, we noticed a light show with music and dancers starting up outside. 

It didn't last long though. Turns out it was only a dress rehearsal … the couple sitting right by the window thought themselves so wise for having made that reservation the day before. Feeling wiser, we made reservations at the same restaurant for tomorrow night (with an even better window view). We'll see. Brad read about a tourist who asked his hotel about the opening: In response, the clerk said, “I don’t know. Not even the Pope knows….”