Getting off the train was like stepping into a circus. The first thing I noticed where people smoking - EVERYWHERE. It was like their last chance to draw in the fumes forever. One right after the other. I had to breath in my scarf to get through it, it was so thick. The chaos started when we tried to find our hotel, advertised as being "right across the street" from the Termini Roma. Well - what street is it? The one parallel to the station or the one kinda parallel, behind some other buildings around the corner and down the street. Oh - THAT one. I got it. Thanks to all the street vendors (5) who I had to repeatedly ask - WHERE IS IT?
The Radisson SAS was huge and modern and looked like I was in Berlin - not ancient Rome. It was amazing and grand and we got to check in very early (11am). I had read (after I booked of course) that there were many problems with this hotel and I was a bit anxious about staying there. I chose it for the location and the reputation of Radisson. Our room was like that of a futuristic SNL sketch of Nuni & Nuni. (The scenes all had "regular folks" trying to figure out how to sit on their modern furniture and how to work all of the remotes etc)
I kept finding secret compartment and all kinds of "one touch" type gadgets. You could turn on/off all the lights and tv from one remote. The bathroom light was a one touch on the wall button and the shower was in the middle of the room with frosted plexiglass. The shades were remote and the floor was rubber. Cool - just freakin cool.
We wanted to see all the sites in Rome, but of course "Rome was not built in one day" as all the signs kept reminding me. We inquired about a day tour with the front desk and within 30 minutes - we had a private driver, Stefano at our beck and call. The day was 55 degrees, much warmer than Florence and it was sunny sunny sunny.
I was expecting a huge charge - but for 40Euro per hour this was a bargain. Here is what I got to see in about 3 hours -
*St. Peters Basilica and Vatican city - totally breathtaking and FULL of people.
*Coliseum - So incredible - you have to wait till I post the photos to get it.
*Trevi Fountain - MY FAVORITE site to see in Rome. Incredible and about 5,000 people there
*Boca Della Verita - Legend has it, if you tell a lie while placing your hand in the mouth - you won't be able to get away, cool!
*Gianicolo Hill - 88m high and you can see ALL of Rome, the biggest city I've ever been to - killer! (again wait till I post the photos)
*Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica - There is a tale that parts of Jesus's clothes where hidden here
*Piazza Venezia - a grand scape where Musolini would speak
*Piazza Navarro - a crazy area that looked like a circus everyday with street food, dancers, booths and amazing art
*Spanish Steps - ALOT of steps, but the view was amazing and there were so many people, it took over an hour to go down the steps!
Phew! We actually did it all in one day, well most of it. I didn't want to stand in the hours long lines that we saw EVERYWHERE in order to see inside. We got to see the main parts and for one day in Rome, that was cool with us. Stefano, who spoke limited English, was gracious and always kept very close to our drop off point so we could locate him easily. He never seemed irritated or anxious for us to leave. He was in his late 40's and had never been to the US. He said his brother was in NY for 9/11 and he never wanted to go after that, I don't blame him for that. He was happy to take us back to the steps of the hotel so we could get ready for our dinner reservation. He ended our journey with the traditional Euro kiss kiss and hugs. CIAO CIAO!
Reservation for Ristorante Maccheroni where made on the recommendation of Jamie Oliver, one of our favorite TV chefs. We hailed a true ROMAN cab driver who got us there in minutes flat. He was playing Debbie Gibson on his Fiat stereo and let us know right away - NO ENGLISH. He took us to Via de Coppello and we saw the corner restaurant, Ristorante Maccheroni. We were early, so we sat right next door and had glasses of bubbles at a wine bar. The owner took a liking to us and gave us a antipasti platter gratis. It was delicious Bufala Mozzarella and crostini with tomato and also some chicken livers on crostini - yummy!
When we were seated at Maccheroni, our server asked us "English or Italian?" and gave us a choice of 3 rooms to sit in. I chose a table right in front of the kitchen so we could see them making pasta and searing steaks. Another server, totally sleeved in tattoos came by and started the flirting process. He gave us the "Italian eye" and kept winking and making faces. It was hilarious! When I was shooting a photo of the chefs, he took my camera and insisted that we were much more interesting than the chefs. He asked us to hang out later - but, a'hem, we declined politely. :o)
Our meal was a started of Artichoke, lemon and mint - a traditional Roman starter. For secondi piatti, we opted for one Maccheroni Aman'tricana (a spicy blend of tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic & bacon - to die for! We also got a Filet of beef with a chicory salad. The steak was prime and about 5 inches thick. Seared to perfection. Although the beef was tasty, my palette is accustomed to more salt and pepper prior to cooking. We were so full of food and flirting we headed for a walk around Rome at night. Most people discouraged this as it can be very dangerous in some areas, but we stuck to well lit areas with lots of people. We ended the night with a Roman version of Gelato. I had a mix of strawberry and one flavor I had to try, Viagra. When I asked what that was, the lady laughed and said it had big nuts in it - ok, got it. Delicious regardless of the name.
When we got settled back at the hotel, we turned on the news and watched a little of what is going on in Gaza between Hamas and Israel. It was hard to see and hear all the turmoil, heading into this new year, but we sent our good thoughts and headed to bed.
About 3 am we heard 2 loud explosions. It shook me hard - I really thought there was a bomb, or some sort of protest going on. Rome has one of the biggest Jewish communities outside of Israel, so it was not an unlikely event. When we didn't hear any police or fire engine sirens, we figured out it must be firecrackers. This shook us up so much, we ended up staying up for a few hours after, second guessing what we thought it was. When we checked out the next day, we asked the front desk if they had heard anything. They said they got complaints from other guests, but thought it was cherry bombs - totally LEGAL. Scarry stuff!
Our train back to Florence left in the afternoon, so we walked around and shopped a bit before heading back to the station. I got a gorgeous handbag from a leather shop and Lulu got boots - to die for! The train station was insane and totally full of people. Here we are, back where we started with everyone in tow, smoking.
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