02/19/11
Having gone to bed early, I set out to make my weekend in Rome very productive and do things I don’t get the chance to do during the week. I started off my morning by going for a quick run along the Tiber River, but still getting back to get ready by noon to go out and accomplish my plans for the day. A couple girls in the program and I planned to go to Campo Di Fiori for a bit then walk around the shopping area by Termini.
 |
| Market at Campo de Fiori |
Around 4, we planned to catch a train to an area about an hour outside of Rome called Ariccia that was recommended to us by our onsite facilitator. We arrived in the area around 5:30 and it was the perfect time to catch the sunset, which it seems like forever since I’ve seen one. The town itself wasn’t very big, but it had a lot of character and there were colorful houses everywhere. It looked like a very quaint place to live.
 |
| Walking towards Ariccia with the sunset |
 |
| We made it! |
 |
| Ariccia |
We walked around trying to find a restaurant and made sure that wherever we went had Porchetta because that is what this town is known for. We decided on a place called Osteria No. 1 and all got the meal that offers a wide variety of food within one plate. It offered a sample of: porchetta, cold cuts (ham, salami, and pork), cheese, buffalo mozzarella, homemade vegetables in oil, ricotta cheese with honey, dried sausages, olives, grilled polenta, an Italian omelette with truffle, and ¼ liter of wine! Although the meal itself wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, I tried everything and it was the experience that made it worth my time. This is the kind of meal authentic Italians eat and it was good to say I’ve tried it.
 |
| Sample Platter at dinner |
We finished just in time to catch the earlier train so that we didn’t have to be stuck there for 2 hours with nothing to do. We took one of the bottles of sparkling wine back with us because we didn’t open it at dinner and while I was holding it on the train, I noticed the top was starting to pop off. Not knowing what to do, I ran in between train cars and opened it then popped the cork back in, leaving a little bit of wine on the floor, oops! Once I got back to the apartment, I quickly changed and went upstairs to another one of the girls room where we drank a little wine before heading out to Campo de Fiori for a night at a bar called Drunken Ship.
02/20/11
I took advantage of my opportunity to sleep in today and made a goal for myself to start exploring around Rome by noon. Keeping to my word, I got ready and walked out of my apartment around then after having looked through my Rome guidebook and picking a couple of locations I wanted to see that I haven’t yet. I started by heading to Santa Maria in Cosmedin, a church in the Trastevere area.
 |
| Santa Maria in Cosmedin |
From here, I ventured over to the Aventine Hill, one of Rome’s seven hills. There are four churches on this hill (S. Prisca, S. Anselmo, S. Alessio, and S. Sabina) and several gardens. The hill itself gives access to a beautiful panoramic view of the city of Rome. In addition, there’s a secret keyhole at the top that you can look through that shows a garden framing a perfect view of St. Peter’s Basilica.
 |
| View from atop the Aventine Hill |
 |
| S. Sabina Church |
My last stop for the day was the top of Janiculum Hill, which just allowed me to see a different panoramic view of Rome. After feeling very accomplished with the sites I saw for the day, I headed back to my apartment to get organized and start doing some reading for my exams this week! All in all, I would call it a very successful weekend in Rome!
 |
| View from atop Janiculum Hill |
No comments:
Post a Comment