Spring and early summer is the time for visitors to Rome and Italy. Barbara and Tom Linde, with their daughter Annika, visited Rome in mid-May as part of a bigger trip that included Provence and Paris. They stayed in an apartment further down in Trastevere and we had several adventures together, large and small:
Tuesday (5/16): In the evening of the day they arrived, we hosted another welcome aperitivo on our terrazza with Rose and Wayne Wenz, Pete and Patty Farmer, and Donna Hughes (who brought her famous meatballs in sauce).
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| Spring fava beans in basket: Italians eat them from the pod with olive oil, salt, and speck |
Thursday (5/18): We took a day trip to Tivoli (about one hour each way), taking a city bus to catch the metro at Piramide and then a regional bus that dropped us just outside town at Hadrian’s Villa.
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| On the train together ... |
It is the amazing archaeological site of what was a vast country villa of Emperor Hadrian, who among many other things was the architect of the Pantheon in Rome.
Many of the buildings are remarkably well-preserved with surviving floor mosaics, columns, arches, and domes.
The site is large, making the various buildings difficult to comprehend, much less visit in the few hours we spent there. We will definitely return to see more.
We had lunch in Tivoli at L’Angolino di Mirko, a restaurant Brad and I discovered in 2014 when we visited Tivoli with Gail Gatton and Mark Wittow (and where I had a very memorable squid ink pasta with shrimp and cuttlefish).
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| Pistachio encrusted pork chop |
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| Lasagna |
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| Long-remembered squid ink pasta dish from 2014 |
After lunch, we walked around the corner to Villa d’Este, with its gardens, hilltop vistas, and elaborate fountains.
Created in the High Renaissance by a Cardinal of the Este family, the project required diverting the Aniene river under the town to supply the fountains and sculpting the large gardens to create hills, staircases, and vistas.
Highly recommended, especially as an escape from Rome in the hotter months.
Friday (5/19): While the Lindes toured Trastevere during the day, Brad and I caught up on housekeeping. We met up again in the early evening at the Vatican Museum for the special Friday evening opening they now have, preceded by an aperitivo buffet in the Pinecone Courtyard restaurant. We didn’t enter the actual museum until 8:15 pm. It is a cliché that night is magical, but it really applies here after dark.
Everything seemed so much richer, if that is possible, the crowds were very light, and the frescoes easier to appreciate without harsh sunlight streaming through the windows of the Raphael rooms.
We even detoured through the Egyptian rooms for the first time.
As we walked to the exit at 11 pm, the existing crowd blocked the way: Thunder and torrential rain had people not knowing what to do. I assured everyone that heavy rain usually passes quickly in Rome, but, after standing a long while under the scant overhang of the entryway, we decided to start walking. After another 10 minutes, though, we stopped again because we were soaked through and worried about our cameras and phones.
We found an awning and stood for 30 minutes more, trying to flag a taxi or call Uber. No luck. A guy selling plastic ponchos came by and we suited up for a crazy walk home—the rain was literally blinding and the standing water was ankle deep in places. The splendor of the Vatican collection followed by the power of nature combined to make me feel very small indeed but also very glad to be safe from the storm in my little Roman home.
Sunday (5/21): We meet Barbara, Tom, and Annika for a light dinner at a favorite place from Annika’s time spent studying in Rome during college. Gusto is a huge restaurant next to the Tomb of Augustus, just north of our place on the other side of the river. The aperitivo at the back was very good and reasonably priced for individually served, small dishes of cheese, salami, and even fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with cheese and salt cod. The Tomb is currently closed for an extensive restoration project but we need to learn more about the massive structure. After dinner, we visited the Ara Pacis, an ancient Roman altar (from 9 BC) dedicated to the Roman goddess of peace (Pacis). It was moved to its current location in 1938 and is now housed in a modern building.
There was a special opening this night with live electronic music: a very interesting contrast.
Monday (5/22): We said goodbye to the Lindes (who were leaving on Tuesday for Paris driving through Provence) over dinner at La Botticella with Laurie and Matt, Brad’s sister and her husband, who had arrived for a 3-week stay on May 22... more on that later!
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