Five Days Left in Rome

Thursday, December 10, 2009

We have five days left in Rome. What did we do today?

After a relaxing morning at home, we headed to the tram and into the city center for lunch. We went to Remo's again, but this time for calzones. John has been raving about the calzones which are cheap, large, and fantastic, but you have to get there before the high school kids get there if you want one. We got to Remo's shortly before noon and all had a prosciutto (ham) and cheese calzone. They are indeed terrific!

We headed over to the Corso for a little bit of souvenir shopping with Aunt Kathy and Barb. Today is their last day here. Caught a bus from the Corso over to the Vatican and stopped at a shop called Castroni where we picked up a few souvenirs and Christmas presents.

The Vatican Museums was next. We have been there once, but Aunt Kathy and Barb really wanted to see the Sistine Chapel. I was hesitant because the last time we were there was in mid September and the museum was packed! Instead of walking through the museum leisurely enjoying all the exhibits, we felt like we were a herd of cows moving from room to room! There were so many people in the Sistine Chapel that you could hardly move around and certainly couldn't relax and enjoy the beauty!

However, there are virtually no tourists here in Rome now! (Delightful!) We basically had the museum to ourselves. We saw a few things on our way to the Sistine Chapel, but spent most of our time in the Chapel itself. It is really too bad that you can't take photos in there, but I do have a really nice book about the Vatican and the museums, so it is fine. Michelangelo's ceiling is really something, let me tell you. I just cannot imagine having that much talent to be able to paint something so beautiful!

We headed home for a bit while Aunt Kathy and Barb finished up some shopping. We met them down in Trastevere and went to dinner at a restaurant called Carlo Menta. Delicious pasta and fantastic pasta e fagioli soup. You have probably had pasta e fagioli soup at Olive Garden. Here it is much thicker and is made with wide, thin, flat noodles instead of macaroni. I will be making it this way from now on!



After dinner we headed for gelato because everyone must have gelato on their last day here. Our favorite place was closed, so we went to Della Palma where we could eat inside. This was good because it is pretty chilly once the sun goes down now. Tram and bus back to the apartment.

Great day! Only four days left!

-Terri