just like that movie...

Caroline and Eli are back in the States for Sonata's wedding in South Carolina, and I am here in Viterbo partying it up like a bachelor, just like Adrian Zmed in that movie "Bachelor Party." In my version there are fewer donkeys and the hilarious hijinks are really quite more tame in general. Anyway, they left on Friday morning, and I spent the day in Rome visiting a Groton classmate, Annabel Briger, who has lived in Rome for the last 9 years, and checking out the Capitoline Museums as well as the Museo Barroco, a small collection of ancient art from Mesopotamia, Assyria, Greece, and Rome. I will spare you all the lengthy historical lecture since you all probably got nauseous after my loggorrhea-tastic entry on Etruscan burial monuments. In short both museums were spectacular, and I can't even begin to list all of the cool things I saw. I will post some pics, but they are really the tip of the iceberg. On Saturday I went back to Rome to see more museums and sites. Basically I am trying to take advantage of the fact that Eli's 13 month old attention span and penchant for ranting at raised volumes are not presently in the country. Saturday's visits included: the Musei Nazionali Romani at Palazzo Massimo and Terme di Diocleziano, Santa Maria Maggiore, Palazzo Barberini and an extended walk through some streets on the Esquiline Hill. Again I can't even begin to list all of the mindblowing things I saw, but one true highlight was the Summer Triclinium fresco from Livia's (the wife of Augustus) Villa. It is exhibited in a room that is probably 20 feet by 40 feet and generally dark except for the fiber optic lights that illuminate just enough of the fresco to make out the extraordinary details and the vibrance of the colors. The fresco is about 8 feet tall and completely intact as it stretches around the entire room I described above. Looking at it I felt giddy and overwhelmed like the first time I saw the Water Lilies at MOMA or the Guernica in Madrid. It was a truly exceptional experience, and I recommend that anyone who comes to Rome not miss this room and generally the entire 2nd (3rd by American standards) floor of the Museo Nazionale Romano Palazzo Massimo. And then there was the food...

Annabel and I met at the statue in the middle of Campo dei Fiori where there was an active outdoor market of mostly food vendors, and she took me to a reliable (according to her) spot nearby where I had what was probably the best Spaghetti alla Matriciana of my life. I was a little worried when we got there because I had purposefully spoiled my appetite an hour or so before we met. By purposefully I mean that I have no will power when it comes to food (most of you know this about me), and the mere proximity to an eating destination dictates my behavior. And it just so happens I planned my walking route towards Campo dei Fiori so that it would take me past a particular destination. The site of this pre-lunch indulgence was Alberto Pica, a phenomenal gelateria off of Via Arenula near the Largo Argentina. Going on the advice of a wise friend (grazie for the tip, Jan!) I tried the riso alla canella (sort of a rice, cream, and cinnamon type flavor) and the cioccolato, and it was extraordinary. Despite this highly caloric peccadillo, I was able to down the pasta at lunch like Homer Simpson after a fast, and I even considered another trip to Alberto Pico to try two different flavors. But that was Friday, and I knew I had one more day in Rome to go. Pace myself, I thought, as I considered options for the next day's meals.

Saturday was no let down either. I ate lunch at an enoteca called Trimani which is bascially the wine bar sister of a reputable wine shop near Termini train station of all places. This was the sort of place our food guide (Great Eats Italy by Sandra Gustafson. We have used this here and also her Paris edition, and we are very pleased with her recommendations. Plus the reviews are just fun to read.) led me to believe is not the sort of place that welcomes extremely cute and boisterous toddlers. With the kid out of the picture I thought this was my chance. (Sorry, Caroline. Maybe one of the nice people reading this will come visit and babysit for us while we go there together.) What followed was probably the best meal I have had so far in Italy. The first course was a spaghetti with salted cod (baccala) and shrimp that was truly divine. The second course was a steak tartare served on endive (?I think?) with some sort of gorgonzola sauce that brought down the house, so to speak. After ordering these dishes I asked my waitress to recommend a wine to accompany them, and she delivered with a truly delicious Barbera d'Alba. I wrote down the name of the bottle and hope to head back to the wine shop next to the restaurant to pick up a few bottles. Any of the aforementioned babysitters might just find themselves enjoying said wine while watching the cutest baby in the world and listening to him explore vocal ranges previously known only to castrati and warthogs respectively.

Of course no day in Italy is complete without gelato, and the scene of Saturday's crime was the oldest gelateria in Rome, Palazzo dello Freddo. Here I sampled their riso, crema caramel, and nocciolato (a hazelnut/chocolate flavor), and I was not let down. Now that I have tried most of the gelaterias in Rome that have been recommended to me, I have to say that each one has it's own thing going for it. For those Bostonians in the house it's kind of like the difference between Herrel's, Toscanini's, J.P. Lick's, Emack and Bolio's and Kimball's in Westford. Each one has it's own particular strength whether it is the intensity of the flavors, the creaminess, or the overall experience. In short, I like them all, and I hope to make repeat visits to each and every one.

Sorry for the long post, but I am here alone and writing in this blog is more appealing to me than watching an Italian infomercial or some weird Sam Neil television series from Australia dubbed in Italian that always seems to be on. Hope you all are well. Skype me if you get the chance. I'd love to chat if you have a few free minutes. Here are some pics of stuff I saw on Friday and Saturday.


















p.s. If there is stuff we are leaving out that you are curious about, let us know, and we will be happy to post on the subject.