Sunday

Sunday, June 29

Okay, let's talk food.  Last night we had a great meal at a little place around the corner called Arpeggiofantasmia (?). Coen and I shared the bufalo ricotta popole, then I had the ravioli al spiaci. Molto delicioso!  I really like our neighborhood.  I think my favorite is the mercato (local market), where we picked up fruit and other things yesterday to have a tasty breakfast and and to cook our first meal in our apartment: linguine al pomodoro e prosciutto, with green beans (sorry, don't know how to say that in italian) and pane.  Lane I had campari to wash it down with. :^)  Oh, and parmeggiano reggiano on top of course. Lane went to the mercato for his first Italian espresso this morning while the rest of us slept in.

Today Finn decided we should see the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Forum as our main outing. We had purchased our tickets in advance and it didn't take long to get in, but what a crazy tourist-packed area.  Fascinating, but so so crowded.  I would have liked more information from a tour or at least an audio tour, but for some reason my children are very anti-tour guides, so we just wandered.  Despite all these quibbles, it was still amazing, and I can appreciate how this is the one thing you must do if you visit Rome.  The area of ruins was much larger than I expected--such a strange feeling to be on a road, with cars driving by, and see crumbling arches and columns from thousands of years ago in a field right next to the sidewalk.

We rode the metro today, and I finally had my first gelato (limone--heavenly!, and we walked back to our apartment by way of the Pantheon (Lane liked it; the rest of us perhaps not in as much of an appreciative frame of mind).  Coen is singularly unimpressed by anything, in the way of (some) fifteen year-old boys.  You would think he hung out in Rome every other day based on his level of nonchalance.  He actually described the Colosseum as "a place where cool things used to happen, but it's just boring now."   What a dork.

Finn really liked the Colosseum and particularly seems to enjoy being the person who gets to decide what we do every day.  Tonight we are planning to go to the Trastevere neighborhood. There is a small island in the middle of the Tiber river that has a fascinating history, and you get to it by crossing the oldest bridge in Rome (63 AD, I think). Also the oldest church in rome, Santa Maria, is over in Trastevere, and some great restaurants.  Tomorrow is Catacombs day.  Right now the three boys are playing Magic and I am enjoying having my feet up.