By the Sea

For our friends last full day in Rome, we took off for the beach, and Sunday lunch at La Vecchia Pineta in Ostia Lido.  When the weather is hot, the Italians hit the beach, with gusto.  Each beach seems to charge a fee, but that will get you a lounge chair and a place close to the water.  We took the train from Piramide station to Ostia, and then walked the path to the restaurant.

We had made a reservation and got a table ringside, as our friend Rick would say.  It was a gorgeous day, and there were regattas going on so it was fun to watch the boats, as well as the food that continued to come to our table.

We began with two platters of these---fritte miste---fried, crunchy everything, my faves are the tiny octopus mascardini

Scampi cream ristotto

Pasta alle vongole

Squid Ink pasta with vegetables and scampi

The fish cart is brought to the table, and you choose dinner

And then, hello gorgeous!  Roasted fish with potatoes, olives and lemon

They remove the bones, etc from the fish and serve you a plate

We lingered over the main course, it was exceptional.  Then we were trying to decide what to have for dessert, when our waitress said they had scgropino a delicious concoction of lemon sorbet whipped with vodka and prosecco---so we HAD to have that.

The perfect ending to a perfect day; we had to go back to Prati and pack up our bags for flights the next day, but this is a lovely way to end a trip to Rome.

Ciao for now.  

Good Night Rome

On our second to last night in Rome, we toddled down the street for an apperitivo before meeting our car and driver for a night time tour of Rome  If you haven't done this it is a lot of fun.  

I'm absolutely in love with the Aperol Spritz; Apreol an orange bitter and prosecco, lots of ice and a slice of orange.  Mama Mia!

Our tour started at 8:30 and it doesn't really get dark until about 9:30, so we headed out towards the Coliseum.  This is in fact Piazza Venezia, or as the locals call it the wedding cake.  A memorial to the soldiers who died in war, and to King Vittorio Emmanuale.  

The balcony in the middle is the balcony where Mussolini would stand and address the crowds.  Now a museum.

Although it wasn't dark, the light was really interesting here, as was a tour bus that pulled up next to our car.  It was a tasting Rome tour, and the bus had a kitchen where the food was being made.  

Next up was the Aventine Hill, and the Orange Garden.  This is a beautiful park, where the views are spectacular.  Unfortunately, they were closing about 10 minutes after we got there.  Right down the street is the Keyhole where you can look through and see 3 countries, Malta (since the keyhole is at the entrance to the Maltese embassy) Italy, and the Holy See.  

Our driver brought us back by the Forum, and we snapped away.  By this time, street lights were on, and the sky was cobalt blue.  

Having just gone through a multi-million Euro restoration sponsored by Fendi, the Trevi fountain is gorgeous, the problem is you have to go  in the early morning since there will be about 10,000 of your closest friends taking selfies all day long.  

On to the Spanish Steps which have also had a restoration courtesy of Bulgari.  You might ask why these fashion houses would pay for the restoration of public places and it is worth asking.  The fashion houses retain the exclusive rights to use the monuments/squares in their advertising.  I'd say it's a win-win.  

When my cousin took us to see Piazza Navona the first time, I was in love.  The Bernini fountain, the beautiful church, and the street scene were amazing.  Over the years though, it has lost a bit of its charm, due to the crowds.  It was still gorgeous at 10 p.m.  

I'm particularly fond of the Tiber at night, where else could you get these gorgeous views of the Dome of St. Peter's and Castel St. Angelo?  During the day the Tiber is a sluggy, green river of slime, but at night, it becomes magical.  

My all-time favorite spot in Rome is St. Peter's.  If we come to Rome I have to visit a few times, it is so big, and beautiful.  At night it becomes magical.  

After St. Peter's we headed up the Janiculum hill, where Dr. C. and I had lived last year when I was at the American Academy of Rome.  We stopped at the Garibaldi statue at the top of the hill (where they shoot off a canon at noon everyday---no joke) and then headed to the fountain half way down the hill. While I was snapping some not so great photos a Citreon roared by and I got a few shots while it was being filmed either for a video or print media. Only in Rome.  

Our last stop was really fun.  Our driver took us to a point above St. Peter's where when you look over at the basilica, it looks far away.When you drive away from the basilica it gets larger, an optical illusion which we all enjoyed.  Keep in mind these photos were taken in a moving car, sorry about the Blair Witch jiggle.  

Rome is a beautiful city, filled with art, history, culture, and amazing food.  This night time tour gives you a great perspective, and it is a lot of fun.  Ciao for now.