Walking Across Italy

I went to sleep last night, somewhere over Nova Scotia and woke up somewhere over the English Channel. Great flight on United (EWR-FCO). Good food. Friendly service. Comfortable seat.

When I landed in Rome, there was plenty of sunshine and my cab driver, Giuseppe, claimed that the next few days would be even better – lots of sunshine and lower humidity. Time will tell.

When I arrived at the hotel, I found out that the walking sticks that I sent from the US did arrive, but because the recipient needed to pay an extra 26 euros in duty, the hotel decline to accept them. Cretini! (Idiots) Anyway, this meant that Stephen and I needed to find an outdoor supply store and buy some new ones. We decided to take our lives in our hands by traveling to the store by scooter. You know, those Lime scooters you rent by the km. Rome is known for crazy car drivers, but this took it up a notch. Needles to say, it was an exhilarating ride through the city.

After purchasing the walking sticks (bastone da passeggio), we crossed the street and had some pizza at Eataly. Yes, like the one in NYC, only bigger. Mario Battale is doing well in Rome. His food and restaurants were full on a Sunday afternoon. I had the pizza caprese. Yum!

After another death defying scooter ride back to the hotel, I ventured out again with the third member of our walking group, Juan Pablo Cavelier. He wanted to go to mass at Santa Maria Trastevere church. The church was beautiful and the service gave me a chance to listen to some italian and see if I comprehended much. I did understand the gospel story about the prodical son, but I didn’t understand much of the homily. Here’a a picture of the inside of the church.

The day ended with a fabulous dinner at Ristorante 34. The prosciutto was sliced thin and salty. And my bucatini amatriciana (which means marriage – as in red sauce with bacon) was savory and rich. A great way to start our adventure. The hard work starts tomorrow. Ciao from Roma.