Pasta without Wine is like a Day without Sun.... (translated)

wet leaves on the bridge to a small island in Rome

I would go into extreme detail about what I have been doing for the past few weeks but not only would that take forever it would also bore you and myself.  Plus all I really want to do right now is take a nap along with everyone else in this house.  Of course with the bit of quiet and time it is also perfect for writing a little about my trip to Rome.  This may be a little different than previous posts because I am tired of the day-to-day writing.  I would rather mention different events in particular or observations I have made-- such as how there should be a heavy fine for anyone that has an urge to sing on a train and goes through with it!  This fine can be wavered if it is one of those times where most everyone is involved or maybe it is a small group of people in their own cabin and not bothering anyone else.  If it is anything like what I endured I don’t know if a fine is enough.  I was enjoying my train ride to Rome (a day late but more on that in a min.) and toward the end wanted to save some battery in my phone for calls when I arrived- I had been using it for music and needed to get ahold of my cousin upon my arrival in Rome.  At this point one of the other occupants in my cabin on the train found this to be the perfect time put on headphones and rock with her cd player.  The beauty of headphones is generally no one else is forced to listen to what you are listening to, but when the person wearing them decides to sing along with the music you are not only forced to listen to it but depending on who is doing the singing you may lose your hearing.  I was blessed with a voice that couldn’t manage to hit the right notes and a person who couldn’t manage to catch all of the words.  She went from humming to all of the sudden a burst of emotion as she could sing along with the chorus.  Instead of getting angry though all I could do was hide my laughter and try to record it. 

down a Roman street

Now had I been able to get on my other train I wouldn’t have had this entertainment but I would have had extra time in Rome.  The day before I arrived in Genova with Simona and Mattia for the night.  I got to the train station with about 20-30 min of time before my desired train so I would have plenty of time to get a ticket and get settled before heading south.  There quite a long line at the ticket office so I headed to one of the ticket machines (I used to use these all the time and they are quite wonderful….well).  First machine wasn’t working so I went to another but passed it because of the line.  I spent at least 10 min trying to buy a ticket at another machine that wouldn’t process my payment.  Finally I went to the only one that seemed to be working and a lady approached and said would be out of order for a few min since she needed to reload the  money inside.  I tried another machine… it didn’t work.  I ran to the platform and asked if it would be possible to buy a ticket on the train with a response of ‘yes but it will cost you 50 euro extra’ HA I can’t afford that!  There must be another train.  I waited in line at the ticket office-- next train is at midnight.  I spent the night in Genova and left the next morning.

Pantheon-- one of my favorite buildings-- I have yet to figure out why.

I was on an Intercity Train (they don’t stop quite as often as some)-- this is where I had the cabin on the train.  Anytime someone left they would say bye or good day.  Even the afternoon singer saluted everyone when she left. I’ve been on trains where people occasionally offer to share some of their food with other members of the cabin but I had never heard everyone say bye.  Of course it is harder when there are a whole car full of people so sometimes it is just a small remark to someone you had a conversation with, but even in the cabins I hadn’t heard much from other passengers.  It was a nice addition to the journey.

Christmas market in Rome

Finally I arrived in Rome.  I was able to stay with my cousin and her roommates so that was nice.  Leann and I went out for a walk and met her boyfriend for an apertivo (drink and snack before dinner) followed by a nice Roman meal at the house that evening with some of their roommates and friends. 
The next day Leann and I explored part of Rome from a walking tour that I had printed out-- we kind of followed it then we just started to wander.  We wanted to wander toward the Pantheon and some good food but were having a bit of trouble with both.  We decided that when we would just know when we found the right place to eat.  After checking a few menus we finally turned a corner and spotted the perfect place.  There wasn’t a menu in the window or very many tables inside.  You could see a man and his wife were the only ones running the place and she was cooking in the back.  We were greeted by him and asked if we would like red or white wine with our meal.  Red of course.  After a few minutes our pasta arrived- simple and delicious!  Next question was if we would like chicken, veal or meat (red meat)- I went with the chicken and Leann opted for veal.  Dessert came later and it was slightly sweet biscotti (not what you buy at starbucks) these were round with a hole in the center -- just little cookies but wonderful.  Our wine ran low so we were brought some more and then after we snuck a few of the cookies in a bag to take with us (yes we are american) he brought a couple more so we finished the wine and grabbed a cookie to eat on the way out.  A splendid meal!  Shortly after we found the Pantheon and it started to rain.  Time for a coffee.  We paid for the coffee then ordered and had some water to wash it down.  Then we were surprised with a treat-- some sort of coffee ice shake poured into our empty cups.  Who is going to turn that down?  We thanked the bar tender and headed out.  We had a long walk and some crazy traffic to bypass to get to the San Lorenzo area for dinner-- Pizza!   Since most Italians are generally late we had a beer and watched the traffic on a Friday night.  Our pizza and appetizers were wonderful and followed by drinks at Blow. From there we got a ride home from some friends. 

roasted chestnuts in the market

Saturday was nice with the sun shining (finally) and a walk through the park before my train to Florence.  That story will be another day-- I think this is plenty long for now.

in piazza del pantheon