When in Rome: Or, Gelatos I Have Known & Loved

  Rome, Italy
Wednesday, December 26, 2007

We arrived safely in Rome, with little sleep and not appreciating walking in the rain to our hotel.  Within three minutes of stepping into the Metro, Dad was almost pick-pocketed (all he would have found was some used tissues-take that pickpocket!) and I learned I've been pretty spoiled in the Germanic countries with the busses and Metros being (for the most part) punctual.  Although it took a bit to get used to Rome, as it turned out due to time and circumstances beyond our control, we saw the most in Rome and just like mold, it grew on us.  :-)
 
After leaving the luggage at the hotel, we set off to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.  Think of the Colosseum as a huge area that served as the zoo and any sporting event you can think of for the Romans.  Exotic animals were taken in and killed for sport, but the most popular event was the gladiator battles.   There were two classes of gladiators-the volunteers, who were hailed as local heroes and were required to fight about three fights a month.  The other class was the slaves who really had no choice in the matter and had to fight a lot more than the volunteers.  In another type of fight there were two teams, one representing Rome, another representing another world power.  Can you guess who won?
 
The Roman Forum is situated behind Palatine Hill, which was pretty much the Beverly Hills of the time.  Huge palaces for the rich were built in this prime real estate area that would make anything you see on "MTV's Cribs" or "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" look like a van down by the river.  The biggest belonged to a fellow named Demetian.  The palace itself was over a mile long and included a huge courtyard for feasts, baths (one room excavated revealed a communal toilet), and Demetian's private sports arena in the basement.  With some of his best buddies, he had his own athletes compete and show their skills, and occasionally he would take water from the baths and stage his own mini naval battles.  It was like playing with toy boats in the bathtub...but on a slightly grander scale.  So while Shaquelle is playing hoops in his basement, Demetian was playing battleship, literally.  
 
Other stops after the Forum included the Pantheon, built in 27 BC as a temple to the gods, now a Catholic Church.  Many of the artwork inside, as well as the bronze tiles on the roof were taken, but this is a rant for another blog entry.  Also made a stop to the Spanish Steps and Via Condotti-the Michigan Avenue of Roma adorned with Gucci, Prada, and the fashion conscious Italians.  My fashion prediction for next year?  Boots.  Lots of stuff to do with black boots.  We also saw some fashions that were...how shall we say?  Interesting...
 
The food in Rome wasn't quite varied-our diet consisted of pasta, pizza, pizza, rinse down with gelato, repeat.  However, it should be noted the gelato we did try was exceptional.  Another sweet that we tried was Calde-a huge Roman interpretation of a donut.  It was bigger and flatter than a Krispy Kreme, and topped with Nutella.  Yummy!  
 
On our last day in Rome, we took a break from the carbohydrate bonanza and went to L'eau Vive to savor supper with the sisters-the restaurant (one of the late Pope John Paul II's favorite restaurants) is run by nuns from all different countries who live in Italy, dress in traditional clothes and serve delicious home cooked meals.  And was that food good!  We were all happy to be eating something protein-y and I had French onion soup, followed by turkey in a home-made gravy, with tomato slices and these adorable, light, fluffy potato "donut holes" (for lack of a better term).  The meal was delectable and after eating, all the sisters performed two Christmas carols in French and Italian.  A lovely experience to end our trip to Rome!