Return to Rome

A few weeks ago I went to Rome once again, this was now my third time there but some friends wanted me to go and I never could get tired of Rome so I was happy to go along. After arriving in the city and getting squared away a few of us wanted to go out to a proper Italian dinner. Now of course these are not cheap, but a few of us wanted to splurge. At the recommendation of a friend and some great reviews online we went to a place on the western side of the city.

We got there about six o’clock and the place was empty so we were a it skeptical as we sat down, hoping that the Italian habit of eating very late was solely to blame for the dearth of patrons. Sure enough we were not let down. We started with Italian antipasti, cold meats, cheeses, olives, bread, marinated zucchini, artichokes and mushrooms and a few other dishes. Half an hour later we were on to the primi piati, that is pasta. We started with a penne tossed in a spicy cream sauce. The chef came out with the pasta still in the pan and dished it out to each of us individually, and the last person, Chris, got to eat right out of the pan. It was delicious. Next, the second phase of the primi piati, we had a lasagna style pasta in a tomato cream sauce, also stupendous. They keep the servings pretty small but we were all feeling it by the time we were on the secondi piati, which is supposed to be the main course, often a type of meat. We had a small chicken breast, house-made sausage and a skewer of lamb accompanied by pan-seared cheese. All of this of course accompanied with wine, the guys choosing a bottle of red, and the girls choosing a bottle of white. For dessert there was of course tiramisu, a very small piece of us because by now we were nearly bursting at the seams. All in all dinner took nearly three hours and was a true and wonderful experience of authentic Italian dining.

The next day Chris and I got up pretty early and caught the metro as close as we could to St. Peter’s, walked the rest of the way and went to Mass in the Basilica. After Mass we went to the Vatican Museum. Luckily we had already purchased tickets because the line was about half a mile long. The Vatican Museums are amazing, they really are, everyone should have the joy of visiting them. My favorite part wasa room dedicated to the dogma of the immaculate conception and some of the rooms painted by Michelangelo, and of course the Sistine Chapel.

The Museum took many hours and by the time we had finished we were quite tired. But we went and got some lunch at a highly rated sandwich place, got some gelato and then headed back to the hostel for a short nap before going to dinner with everyone. 

The next day Chris and I went to Mass at a church run by the Fraternity of St. Peter. I had been to the church for a Mass during the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage a few weeks prior. Afterwards we took the bus to St. Peter’s. There I sent a postcard to my family and we bought some gifts. We took one last long look at St. Peter’s before getting on the metro to head back to the hostel and then back to Riva.