Roma Wrap Up
I want a Smart Car. They are almost as numerous as Vespas in Rome. Look how they parallel park. Wouldn't that be great to have in Baltimore?
Oh, wait. This is a restaurant blog.
OK, I had great luck with Elizabeth's On Foot Method of Seeing Rome, but with food, not so much.
I was right not to spend much time beforehand poring over guidebooks. (Do you really need someone telling you to visit the Colosseum and St. Peter's?) Every day we just picked up our breakfast place mats at the hotel, which were maps of the city, and headed out.
Walking everywhere worked very well. I recommend it. ...
We got to the Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain twice, Quirinale, Piazza della Republica, and more other piazzas than I have time to list. We walked along the Tiber to the Bridge of Angels, Castel San Angelo and St. Peter's Square. And we walked to the train station this morning.
True, the only interior we visited in Rome was the Pantheon's, but that was OK. I'm a little crowd-phobic, so I'm happy to go back sometime in January to see more of the city. Even then, I'm not sure it will be off season.
It was the restaurants I should have researched. I had recommendations from two different sets of relatives and two friends who are Italian. I just didn't bring them with me.
We had good pizza, pasta, bread and wine everywhere in Rome, of course. But when I ventured further, I was disappointed. For instance, last night I ordered roast suckling pig and it was too dry to eat. At the same time, my daughter had gnocchi with eggplant that I would have killed for.
The best meal I had was a first course of thinly sliced eggplant and zucchini with olive oil and lemon juice followed by fusilli with fresh tomatoes and pine nuts.
The photos of Roman restaurants below are just me having fun with my camera.
(Photos of the Smart Car and restaurants by me)
Comments
Between the airline and the restaurants it sounds like your daughter is eating better than you. :)
Posted by: Oat | September 19, 2007 1:28 PM
Based on what is in her fridge that's a good thing.
Posted by: mdlrvrmuncher | September 19, 2007 5:23 PM
I think that Oat makes a great point. Next time you will have to let DD do the ordering and planning.
Posted by: Regina | September 19, 2007 6:36 PM
I only have one thing to say. This is not a Smart. I so wish you would have looked to see what it was. I would love to know.
Posted by: Terry | July 7, 2009 3:50 PM
That is not a smart car.
Posted by: fpage77 | August 29, 2009 10:11 PM
That is some kind of mini-car, not an Isetta. Mini-cars in Italy (and in some other European countries) have less strict licensing requirements than regular cars.
Posted by: Lissa | August 30, 2009 6:33 AM
Yay for small cars... Much easier to find parking when you arrive at the restaurant.
Posted by: NotableM | August 30, 2009 7:53 AM
That might not be a smart car, but someone here has one and drives like he is on a mission from hell. The dude regularly cuts people off and I guess, since it is small and nimble, he thinks he is invincible. With the plethora of SUVs and pickups that roam the roads here, and with drivers distracted by the ever-present cellphone welded to their ears, its only a matter of time before something awful happens.
Posted by: PCB Rob | August 30, 2009 1:50 PM