How Do They Do It? Roman Feats of Wonder

Largo di Torre Argentina - this archeological site
has been excavated under the medieval city and turned
into a cat sanctuary. I'm not kidding!

The big holes in the walls of the Coliseum represent a pillaging for
metal; when the Christians began to rule Rome, they took metal and other materials from the
ancient imperial Roman structures and reused (recycled!) them to build churches.
These holes were bored into various columns to find the metal poles that held the columns up,
then they were heated so the metal would pour out. Genius. Except that the columns were no
longer reinforced against seismic or volcanic activity...

We've seen these guys at various sites around the city.
I think the guy on top is sitting on a pedestal that is supported by a
zigzagged pole located within the bottom guy's orange shirt.

Smart cars are great in Rome because they can be
 parked either forward or sideways - makes no difference!

Three Coins in the Fountain

Trevi Fountain is interesting to me because it is both much bigger than I expected... and much smaller... I didn't know that you could just wander through the historic city center of Rome and then BAM! Sandwiched between three streets ("tre via" = Trevi), gelato shops, pizzerias, souvenir shacks, illegal toy peddlers and legions of tourists, the beautiful Trevi is a testament to the wishes and dreams of every visitor to Rome.

I was thinking about it today, as I watched hundreds and hundreds of tourists traipse through the Coliseum and Forum. We all want the same things when we come to Rome, don't we? To walk in the footsteps of emperors and gladiators, to imagine the world before iPhones and computers and cars and airplanes and TVs and working 9 to 5 and trying to keep up with the Joneses... We want to imagine that we are the ruling class of Rome, the men and women in white togas with slaves who will build travertine columns to the sky and erect statues in our images; or maybe we're the rich art patrons who employ the likes of Bernini or Michelangelo or Caravaggio to adorn our palaces with frescoes of angels... 

Rome is still unfolding to me, releasing its charms bit by bit. Every day, I feel as though I capture a little more of its magic, somewhere between its cramped "parking lots" (i.e., streets and sidewalks) and ochre and sepia buildings and lush "palm pines" that reach into its inky blue night sky with their lacy silhouettes. 

But it takes time to learn a city. To ensure the girls will be back, we gave each of them a coin...

Here's hoping for the ultimate return on those three Euros, in the form of three wishes fulfilled and three future trips to Rome.

When in Rome

Coming from Barcelona, our first impressions of Rome were about noise and chaos, ancient streets and an impassioned machismo in the air. It's a 180-degree turn from the laid-back Spanish lifestyle.

But... that also includes food.

As I may have mentioned, we aren't huge fans of Spanish food - that may change as we spend more time there, so I'm not ruling it out just yet. 

But Rome is a FEAST for the palate. Every single little bar/trattoria/pizzeria/enoteca/caffeteria/hole in the wall seems to be as good or better than the last one. Even "touristy" spots have given us reasonably priced meals that are incredible near the Trevi fountain and Campo di Fiori and even just below our apartment.

I'm the first to admit I've raised three picky eaters, and yet each of them has been in food heaven here in Rome. It's particularly fun to watch Marlowe (the pickiest one of all) try new foods... and ask for seconds. Raf is trying to decide whether or not Paris is still his favorite city to eat in, but each new pizzeria makes his decision even harder. 

Me, I'm content to live meal to meal, although my stomach can't match my desire to eat!

Again, a photo tour of our gastronomy:

Fried ricotta with walnuts and honey on arugula (I know, right?)

Marlowe finishing up Serena's spaghetti with meatballs

Pretty fruit tarte at the Borghese Gardens

wine with a prosciutto/arugula/parmesan pizza

Marlowe loved the lunch buffet at this tony Via Veneto
restaurant so much, she's asked to go back every day 

Cheers!

Marlowe's mini torte at CineCaffe
in the Borghese Gardens

Mecca

The famous House of Fendi in Rome's "shopping triangle"

Most visitors to Rome make a pilgrimage to the Vatican, feeling the rapture of their faith and religious beliefs. 

I'm all for that, of course, but I'm not Catholic and so a large portion of the beauty of the Vatican is lost on me.

However, I am a big believer of beauty for its own sake and I have a strong affinity for the authentic quality of certain Italian design houses.

Namely, Fendi. 

I've purchased a few pairs of sunglasses from Fendi on previous trips to Italy and this time I only wanted to visit my beloved Casa Di Fendi, as a gesture of my undying affection. Sure, there are knock-offs on every street corner, but the true Fendi goods are so beautifully designed, they take my breath away. When I entered the building and tooled around the ground floor to the Sala di Scarpi (shoe room), there was a well-to-do woman busying several Fendi salesmen with requests for this stiletto and that mule... I watched her in my periphery as she pranced in front of the mirror.

I just had to sigh. Oh, to be her for that moment. 

Sigh. Fendi. (*shaking my head, smile on my face*)

I ached my way through the masterfully displayed heels and leather ballerina flats and leopard print stilettos. 

It cost nothing, and yet, it means the world to me, to know that beauty like that - designed simply to be beautiful - exists in the same world as I do.

Hard Luck Cafe

Because it was our last day in Barcelona and because the kids had been fantastic travelers, trying new things and traipsing along endless streets and through mazes of underground Metro stations, I thought it might be a good treat to take them for a good ol' "American" meal at the Hard Rock. 

Two of my girls are dyed in the wool Carnivores (note the capital "C") and they are quite at home in Texas, so a burger joint was well worth the hour-long wait.

I wasn't so sure about Marlowe, whose vegetarianism has only wavered for the occasional turkey jerky. She didn't want another Caesar salad, so I ordered us both the "Veggie Leggie" burger, which the menu said was topped with grilled veggies. I'd assumed it was also a veggie patty.

My brother in law Max used to say, "If you assume, it makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me.' "

And so it was that Marlowe and I both ate huge beef burgers in Barcelona.

It seemed like a good enough idea at the time - I didn't want to send the burger back (since there were, technically, veggies ON my burger), and I could chalk it up to getting a huge dose of B12. Plus, Marlowe LOVED it. Raf snapped the shot above because we were all shocked. My dad will be so proud; I think I can hear him firing up the grill already...

The drawbacks of eating at the Hard Rock were the burger-induced stomach ache I couldn't shake the rest of that day/night and the fact at Emme put her new retainer on the table to "keep it safe" while she ate... And then we all forgot about it.

Luckily, it was a small price to pay for a travel memory. 

There's No Place Like Rome

While I don't feel quite "done" with Barcelona yet - and I'm sure I'll write a little more about it this week - we are now in bella Roma and I wanted to post a few pictures. 

Whereas our time in Barcelona was effortless, from transportation to visiting museums to even checking in at the airport, Rome has already established itself as our stubbornly different new reality. We arrived at Fiumicino airport 15 minutes early and I took it as a good sign... until we got to the baggage claim and were told the ground workers were having a "union meeting" and our bags would be delayed. 

"Union meeting" = strike

Ahh... Benvenuti a Roma.

I remember, from when I lived in Naples as a teenager, that Italians like to strike. It wasn't uncommon to be on a train bound for downtown Naples and be two stops from my destination and the train would stop due to a strike. Passengers would shrug and hop off, then find a bus. It happens, they'd say. 

I called our driver Stefano and he said, "Yes, madam, we know about the strike. No problem. I'll wait."

And so it was that we waited for 90 minutes for the bags to be released. On the drive to the apartment, we passed through the ancient Roman city wall and gawked at the ruins of the Roman baths and the Circus Maximus, then Stefano pointed out the "wedding cake" building and the famous balcony where Mussolini spoke to the Italian people. It's not quite July but it was already sweaty with tourists in tank tops and fanny packs, brand-new sneakers and sunburns. Our apartment contact rode up on a Vespa and unlocked the doors for us, all the while chatting on her Bluetooth (except when she scolded Marlowe for putting her shoes on the couch and Emme for climbing the ladder to the storage space above the closet). 

When she left, I turned to Raf and felt like I wanted to cry. Where was the magic? Had I left it in Spain?

The kids were hungry, so we set out for a quick pizza, pasta and gelato, choosing the first pizzeria we could find. I didn't have high expectations - whatever, let's just get some pizzas and pastas and get back to the apartment - but from the first bite, I knew we were in Italy. Creamy mozzarella... thick Bolognese on fat fettucine noodles... thin, crisp crust...

We took a few hours to recharge (wherein Raf taught us all to play Blackjack, using some weird tchotchke rocks we found in a dish).

"It's a supermoon tonight," Serena said. "The moon won't be this close to the earth again for, like, a long... LOOOONG time...." 

And so we wandered into the Roman night and followed the street until it brought us to the obelisk at the top of the Spanish Steps, stopping every few feet to look back at the glorious buttery moon. Suddenly, there it was: the magic I'd imagined. 

And again I thought, Ahhh... Benvenuti a Roma.

Welcome to Rome.

The Blackjack lesson

the Super Moon
Ever since the movie "Moonstruck," I can't help but think,
"Hey, it's Cosmo's moon! Look! La Bella Luna!"

At the top of the Spanish Steps

"Do Over" Day in Barcelona

Spending  a week in Barcelona is a gift on many levels. Aside from basking in seven days and nights of magic, we don't feel rushed to get around or to see everything, and we can revisit sights we love.

So today, we decided to "re-do" Wednesday's beach and biking day, with a quick jaunt into the Barri Gotic for churros and chocolate at another famous xocolateria. To make it a little more interesting, we took a trip on the funicular up to Montjuic first, then cabbed it to the beach.

On the funicular (cable car) at Montjuic

Can you tell which of us doesn't like heights?

Marlowe loved the great views of Barcelona

At Bogatell Beach

At this place, the churros were better than the first churreria,
but the chocolate wasn't as thick and pudding-ish

A real horchata (made from the chufa nut, not rice),
which tastes like a sweet almond milk