One Sweet Week

Don't read this unless you've already eaten. 

Or go ahead and read if you want to become starving.

I firmly believe that the success of an adventure is measured by tastes enjoyed (good food) and sights captured (memorable photos). Welcome to the most unhealthy food diary ever. Don't hate me because my jeans still fit.

I baked some imported goods (cake mix via Lindsay) 

in our rented apartment's oven.

Red Velvet Cake with Rainbow Chip Frosting.

French Fondant au Chocolat with Chocovanilla Gelato.

We had lunch (then dessert, of course) twice at the vine-covered Angelino ai Fori dal 1947, just down Via Fori Imperiali from the Colosseum. 

"Ooooooh, yes!" exclaimed our opera-singing waiter to whatever we ordered, asked, or said.

Perfectly creamy and moist Tiramisu.

Tartufo is supposed to be "death by chocolate,"
maybe because it's so good it's the after-life?

 Then there were the random beautiful desserts below our apartment at El Pozzo der Gelato. It was a one-stop shop for coffee, pastries, desserts, pizzas, bus tickets, tobacco, and hysterical baristas.

These cases always captivated our attention as soon as we walked through the door!

Chocolate-drenched Cream Puffs in a Chocolate-lined Cone. Official title? Who cares?!

I limited myself to only two hot chocolates, one cappuccino, and one espresso to maintain a sense of decaffeinated sanity.

Hot chocolate at La Casa del Caffe Tazza d'Oro,
which I'm sure insulted their claim to the best coffee in the world.

Haven't heard much about gelato yet? I always save the best bite for last!

I want my own ice cream trash can!

Thank Rick Steves for this place, hidden in the back streets between the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. Giolitti is to Roman gelato what Angelina's is to Parisian hot chocolate. The top cream, "panna," was a scoop in and of itself.

Rick also led me to GELATO HEAVEN. The Gellateria Della Palma is where I want to go to church. The pictures don't even do it justice, and I've never seen so much beautiful ice cream all in one place. 

I will go back to Rome just for this gelato.

I think they make up new flavors everyday. They had at least four versions of stracciatella, which rightfully should blow your mind. Whatever your preferred flavor, it is here. Or they can probably make it on the spot!

If it doesn't seem like I had enough treats, keep in mind I didn't always have the patience to take photos before consumption.

By the way, the water tasted good, too.

Happy Roman Holidays!

Continue »

Rome Can't Be Seen In A Day

My Rome plans were stacked in a nice little row of reasonable itineraries and smart agendas.

Then we got here.

This place is massive. Someday, when I can grasp how large Ancient Rome was, then add two millennia to it, I might understand how to get around town. But my head starts to hurt when I think about how many layers of city we are built upon...then the equation is impossible.

Is there any other ancient empire that has had as great an impact on the modern world as Rome? I see so much of America here: grandeur, engineering, sports, government strength, free market, transportation, efficiency. But my sight has taken a time machine, because those words barely describe the Rome I actually see now. Rome today is a smorgasbord of insane traffic, colorful stucco, curious tourists, and uneven pavement.

While there is a romantic historical beauty to ruins, it also lends to a darker mystery of why these areas were never "taken care of." After the Roman Empire actually ended around 500 A.D., the real Dark Ages came into play and there was no money anywhere except in the Catholic Church. The Romans themselves picked apart their epic Colosseum for extra bricks and marble.

Ancient Rome just got left there. Nobody cared enough to do anything about it for a thousand years! And after all that time finally passed, the entire identity of the city was wrapped into the crumbling columns, half-arches, and gutted walls.

I keep thinking about how majestic even the lowly governors of Rome were in the Bible; how multiplied was the emperor's palace?! Only one-third of the Basilica of Constantine (basilicas were originally judicial halls) stands, and the main nave was 55 feet even higher than what we see today! Only side columns and an altar stand where an entire temple used to be next to the Colosseum!

And all I can do is imagine the horror of Caesar if he were to see his Rome today.

If we could see America in 4012, what would our reaction be? Will there even be an America to see in 2000 more years? What would George Washington see in America right now?

You must come to the ruins of Rome with an open mind, ready to process and digest your surroundings. It is a place to lean back into the past, and to learn for the future.

It took us two exhausting days to get through some of it, and we didn't even go to any of the museums. But the time was necessary for comprehension and appreciation.

Travel is always ready to give us a deeper perspective; we just have be willing to accept it.

Continue »

My Christmas Resolutions

As previously announced, we are heading to Rome with our wonderful friend, Jes, for our Christmas holiday. We leave TOMORROW. We are beyond excited, and have been planning this adventure since August!

Today I thought about how I would spend my time in Rome (aside from the sights), and I realized instead what I don't want to spend my time doing.

I don't want to play the silly word game apps on my iPod.

I don't want to read the news.

I don't want to set high scores on solitaire.

I don't want to read Twitter updates.

I don't want to shop online.

I don't want to recognize every Instagram photo.

I don't want to read the Facebook news feed.

I don't want to isolate in earbudded music.

And since I don't want to do those things, I'm not going to do them. I deleted all my meaningless game apps, stored my earbuds on the shelf, and made sure my iPod was prepped only for community Christmas music listening.

Let's work to re-create a little bit of the premillenial (pre-cell phone) magic we once shared together by avoiding the engrossing nature of our electronic devices, and turn our focus instead to other real faces and perhaps refresh our humanity once again.

Enjoy your Christmas by inspiring those around you, and all the gelato I will eat will be in your honor.

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel! Buon Natale!

Love,

The Italy-Visiting, French-Living American

Continue »

I Forgot How to Blog

So here's an update via our friend Stacy!

La Belle Vue de Paris


(Author's Note: I was sick most of November and have finally had normal health the past two weeks, so I've been trying to stay in the land of the living instead of the land of blogging. We went to the awesome Paris Christmas markets for Thanksgiving [two holidays with one idea], and we've just been working and trying to avoid the un-fun weather. WE FINALLY HAVE REAL INTERNET [since one week], so SKYPE is a reality again if you need to see our faces. We leave for ROME in 12 days, so do not fear, another real blog will be here!)

Continue »