Articles by Dan

Nearly two full weeks after we first set out for Italy, Ann Taylor and I are finally home in Brooklyn. Our journey back to the States started with more excitement than we had planned, as we awoke to several e-mails from Delta, informing us of a change in our return flight time. After a few moments of initial panic, we learned that the flight was simply moved a few hours later to accommodate a late-arriving plane due to the storms on the East Coast. Relieved, we went back to sleep for another hour or so, and then went downstairs for our final breakfast at the St. Regis Rome. With a new flight time of 3:30pm, Ann Taylor and I decided to stick around the hotel as long as we could, finally checking out around noon. The ride to Fiumicino Airport was uneventful, although it was interesting to watch pedestrians and scooters dodge our cab, after we had spent a week running through perilous crosswalks. The check-in area was almost completely deserted, and we breezed through the security line and passport control. This time through, the passport control agent looked at our documents, although we still do not have passport stamps from Italy. After a short shuttle bus ride to the main gate area, we looked for the “Platinum Cafe”, where we had been given a free lunch because of the delayed flight. While the meal consisted only of a sandwich and drink, it was plenty to hold us over until we boarded the plane. Due to the storms, there were many delays and the international terminal was incredibly crowded. We popped into the Alitalia lounge, used the last Euros on my Italian Vodafone SIM card to call home and then found our seats on the plane around 3pm.

The flight home was long — about nine hours — but even smoother than the flight to Rome, with just a few patches of rougher air. As a user experience designer, I cringed at the terrible interface for the in-flight entertainment system; however, as a bored passenger, I appreciated the opportunity to pass the time watching J. Edgar and Captain America. After two weeks of eating only Italian food, Ann Taylor and I both opted for steak over pasta for the in-flight lunch. We are both really looking forward to Mexican food, Chinese food and french fries over the coming week. The flight landed at JFK around 7pm local time, and my phone immediately started buzzing with work e-mails after I restored my Verizon SIM card. US passport control was very simple, although the agent remarked that I no longer resemble my passport photo. Given that I had gotten my passport in 2004, I was not sure if that was a compliment or not, so I simply said “thank you” and moved on. We strolled through customs, waited in a short taxi line, and we were back in Brooklyn by 8:30pm. Overall, the entire trip back was very smooth, even with the delayed flight. I was impressed by, and appreciative of, the early notification from Delta, and I later learned that they had also left several voice mails on my Verizon phone. We have a mountain of laundry and mail and errands, but it feels great to be back home, and Ann Taylor and I really could not have had a better honeymoon. From the views of Sorrento to the history of Rome, we explored such an interesting slice of Italian history and culture, while simultaneously resting, relaxing and eating some of the best food ever. As a habitual vacation planner, I already have several ideas in mind for the next trip, although Ann Taylor insists that we get some sleep first. Buona notte!

Take care,
– Dan

I can hardly believe that after nearly two weeks in Italy, today is our last day before heading home. To pick up where the last post left off, yesterday evening started with a drink at Le Grand Bar in the lobby of our hotel. The atmosphere was fantastic, which can be especially attributed to the amazing musician playing the piano just a few tables behind us. Dressed up for the opera, Ann Taylor and I savored one of the most relaxing moments of our trip thus far. We could have easily stayed there all night, but the performance started at 8:30pm, so we finished our drinks and strolled over to the Teatro dell’Opera. I had purchased tickets about one month ago, using the Italian version of Ticketmaster (LisTicket.it). While it was one of the most confusing websites that I have ever used, we did manage to get seats in one of the boxes at the back of the opera house. Now, as mentioned yesterday, I was already unfamiliar with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, having read only the first quarter of the play, and having forgotten to read the summary on Wikipedia. What may come as no surprise is that, as of yesterday, I was also unfamiliar with the opera, having never before seen a live performance. When booking the tickets, I looked at the evening as a new cultural experience, rather than as another opportunity to enjoy a favorite pastime. Thankfully, Ann Taylor was much more knowledgeable about both, and she was able to guide me along. Still, we were both surprised that, as the performance started, the singing was in English! I was expecting Italian or Latin, but, apparently, this opera had been written in The Bard’s native tongue. Unfortunately, I still understood only one of four words, and the director’s modern interpretation made it difficult to connect the quarter that I had read. At nearly four hours, the performance really seemed to drag at times, but the singers were all quite talented and the opera house itself was stunning. In the end, while the opera may not have been my cup of tea, Ann Taylor seemed to really enjoy the performance, and we both experienced a far different side of Italy than we found during the afternoon food tour.

Our final day in Rome started early, with breakfast at the hotel, and a 9 to 11am reservation at the Galleria Borghese. To control crowds, the art museum, which sits on the grounds once owned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, allows a few hundred visitors at one time, with the day divided into five two-hour periods. The museum’s collection is divided into two floors, and contains a blend of classical and Renaissance art. While I had not specifically recognized any of the works, one of the most impressive pieces was Bernini’s statue of Apollo and Daphne, depicting the scene where the former turns the latter into a tree. Our two-hour visit passed rather quickly, and we decided to explore the rest of the Villa Borghese gardens. With a Coca-Cola Light and an iced tea, Ann Taylor and I enjoyed what was easily the most relaxing walk of the week. With no narrating tour guide, and no time limit, we finally had an opportunity to savor Rome’s natural — as opposed to historical — charm and beauty. It was a great way to unwind, and to begin to prepare for the long journey back to the real world. After almost two hours, we left the gardens and walked to Mamma Angela’s Trattoria — another TripAdvisor recommendation — for lunch. We shared another bruschetta appetizer, Ann Taylor ordered rigatoni all’ amatriciana and I had my last plate of Italian lasagna. With our past two lunches taking place near Vatican City and on the food tour, it was great to enjoy a more relaxed meal, especially in an air-conditioned room.

Returning to the hotel on the last long walk of our vacation, we used the afternoon to relax in the room and pack for our flights tomorrow. Earlier in the week, we had asked the hotel concierge to recommend a romantic restaurant for our last night in Italy. He immediately suggested Antica Pesa, located in the trendy neighborhood of Trastavere (which I had mistakenly heard as Testaverde). Around 7pm, we hailed our first Roman taxi — actually, we used the taxi line at the hotel, as taxis don’t look for passengers on the streets in Rome — and headed to the restaurant. We were one of the first couples to be seated in the backyard area, which was dimly lit and the perfect setting for our last night in Rome. The service was outstanding, and our waiter was thrilled to learn that we were from Brooklyn, as they will be opening a sister restaurant in Williamsburg this October. Ann Taylor and I also met the fourth-generation owner, Francesco, and we later learned that Ann Taylor had been captured in a photograph that Francesco took with a few friends and then posted to Twitter. More important than social networking, though, was the food, which was outstanding! Ann Taylor enjoyed an eggplant and gazpacho appetizer, and a main course of lightly-seared tuna, while I had a salami “slider” and pasta with zucchini flower and clams. The presentation and the taste were both amazing, and we, thankfully, saved enough room for dessert. Needless to say, Ann Taylor and I were very happy with our spiced peaches with chocolate ice cream, and dark chocolate mousse with a Bailey’s center, respectively. At the end of the meal, we left our contact information with the hostess so that we could learn when Antica Pesa was open in Williamsburg, as I expect that the food will be worth a trip on the L-train.

As busy as our two weeks in Italy have been, it was perfect to have a relaxing day at the end of the trip before we head home. While I suspect that we will still find ourselves tired after the long flight tomorrow, we felt refreshed to have one last opportunity to enjoy Rome at our own pace. The people and the food and the history of Rome have made our week here so much fun, and we will return home with so many good memories. Oh, and pictures, too. There are many more captured than were posted to this blog, and I am sure that we will have them up on Facebook soon. We will be checking out of our hotel mid-morning tomorrow, for a 1pm flight that is scheduled to land around 5pm ET. As I mentioned at the beginning, I can hardly believe that today is our last day in Italy. More importantly, though, I can hardly believe how much we have loved our time here. We could not have asked for a more perfect way to end our Italian honeymoon.

Take care,
– Dan

After yesterday’s long day in Vatican City, I decided that it was time to crank up the romance on our honeymoon. As a special treat, I took Ann Taylor to the Testaccio neighborhood in Rome to visit a graveyard, a slaughterhouse and to eat lunch in the middle of a 2,000 year-old garbage dump. Actually, perhaps I am getting ahead of myself. Back in November, a few friends and I took a food tasting tour of Chelsea Market in New York. Given Ann Taylor’s love of food, I looked for something similar in Rome, and I was thrilled to find Eating Italy Food Tours. Knowing that we would be tasting quite a few Italian specialties today, we went light on the hotel’s breakfast buffet, leaving around 9:45am. After a fifty minute walk, we arrived in Testaccio, a neighborhood in the southwest section of Rome, and met Domenico, our guide for the next four hours. Along with twelve other “foodies”, we started our tour at Mercato Testaccio, a closed-roof market with vendors that have passed the family business down for four or more generations. Our first tasting was Buffalo mozzarella at Lina and Enzo’s deli, and it was some of the best cheese that we have eaten during the entire trip. The experience at Inn Bufalito in Sorrento had somewhat soured us on Buffalo mozzarella, but Lina and Enzo brought our love right back. Next, we moved to a tomato stand, and tried five different varieties, although Carmelo, “The Tomato Poet”, sells forty others. I am generally not a big fan of eating tomato on its own, but they were all quite good, and I especially enjoyed a small, yellow variety.

Next, we left Mercato Testaccio and walked a few blocks to Volpetti, a much more upscale deli that had a wide selection of cheese and prosciutto. There, we tried two kinds of Italian cheese — including one with truffles — prosciutto and salami. All were tasty, although I was particularly fond of the salami. With a few salty foods on our tongue, it was time to satisfy our sweet tooth, and we made our way to Barberini, a bakery, for cornettos — an Italian croissant that was less buttery, but covered in honey — and tiramisu served in small chocolate cups. Both were outstanding! The next two stops were those that I had mentioned at the beginning, starting with the “Protestant Cemetery”. While not a destination for food tasting, the cemetery was beautiful and gave the group time for our food to digest. We also saw the graves of the poets John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley, whose death helped to inspire his wife, Mary, to author “Frankenstein”. After the cemetery, we walked to Flavio al Velavevodetto, a restaurant built into Monte Testaccio, the structure that inspired the neighborhood’s name. Monte Testaccio was formed over a few hundred years, starting with the 1st century BC, with the remains of broken ceramic containers used to transport food to Rome. Centuries later, the air circulation between the broken pieces proved a natural cooling system, and wine cellars were carved into the mound. Today, one of those wine cellars was transformed into Flavio al Velavevodetto, where we tried three types of pasta, including the second-ranked pasta alla carbonara in Rome. Everyone in the group agreed that the restaurant had earned its reputation.

Our next stop was a site that was the largest slaughterhouse in Europe until the mid-70s, and now houses (among other things) Rome’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Again, not exactly a stop for food tasting, but it was really neat to see how such an industrial site had been remarkably transformed. Continuing to 00100 Pizza, we then tried suppli, a risotto ball mixed with mozzarella and raw egg before being deep-fried. Somehow, Ann Taylor and I continued to find room for food, and, after trying the suppli, we were glad that we had. As with everything else that we tasted, it was delicious. During the entire tour, Domenico told stories about the neighborhood, the markets and the mom-and-pop shops and restaurants that continue to thrive today. We have been really fortunate to have been led by such entertaining and informative tour guides in Rome. The final stop on the tour was Giolitti Caffe and Gelateria, and it should be no surprise that we concluded our four-hour meal with gelato. Having learned the art of gelato-making just last week, we certainly appreciated another opportunity to learn more about a local gelateria. After four hours, we were full, but not stuffed, and I think that the second food tour was even better than my first. Of course, it certainly helps when all of the food is Italian!

Now, back at the hotel, we are getting ready for another Italian cultural tradition: a night at the opera. Tonight, we have tickets to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Teatro dell’Opera, the largest opera house in Rome. Fortunately, the opera house is only a few minutes walk from the hotel, and, fortunately, we should not need to stop for dinner beforehand. Ann Taylor knows the play very well, while I am going to try to crank through the Wikipedia summary before we head over. I had actually started to read the play on my Kindle while in Sorrento, but then realized that my ability to interpret Shakespeare expired when I graduated high school. No matter what, it should be a fun night on the town. And, after visiting a graveyard, a slaughterhouse and eating lunch in a garbage dump, I think that Ann Taylor probably deserves a fun night out.

Take care,
– Dan

Halfway through our week in Rome, it was time to visit His Holiness and the Vatican City State. With a 6:15am wake-up call, this was the earliest morning of our trip, and we enjoyed a full breakfast at the hotel before setting off. The weather app on my iPhone displayed a forecast of 99 degrees in Rome, so we packed two bottles of water and plenty of sunscreen. As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, we had picked up tickets for the papal general assembly, which begins at 10:30am at the Vatican; however, the Church of Santa Susanna website was very confusing — even in retrospect — and we were not quite sure what to expect. The website suggests that the general audience is held in either St. Peter’s Square or the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall, although we did not know which site would be used today until we arrived in Vatican City. We also thought that all shorts were not allowed, but it turns out that only shorts above the knee are prohibited. As a result, I threw on a pair of jeans and was prepared for the possibility of baking in the sun in St. Peter’s Square for three hours. Fortunately — and probably due to the high temperatures — today’s audience was held in the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall, which, although crowded, was air conditioned and comfortable. This was especially fortunate because we had gotten lost a couple of times en route, and a forty-five minute walk (according to Google Maps) took an extra half-hour. By the end of this week, Ann Taylor and I will have covered quite a large section of Rome by foot!

Arriving at Vatican City, we made our way past the Swiss guards and took our seats in the Audience Hall. We had been advised to arrive two hours before the assembly began, but we finally sat closer to 9:30am. Before the trip, I had researched and learned that the papal general audience has a special section for newlyweds (“Sposi Novelli“), defined as a Catholic couple married within eight weeks. Given that our wedding was celebrated only nine weeks ago, I thought that we could probably talk our way into the special tickets; however, I also discovered that the Vatican prefers the couples to dress in their full wedding attire. Recall that as of this morning I had no idea whether we would be inside or outside, and that the temperatures would be in the upper 90s. Aside from the logistical nightmare of trying to get Ann Taylor’s wedding dress to and from Italy, there is no way that we would want to wear a full suit and wedding dress all day (including the afternoon Vatican tour). Our seats in the back were just fine, thank you very much. Pope Benedict XVI came out shortly after 10:30am, and delivered an opening prayer in Italian. The atmosphere in the Audience Hall mirrored that of a rock concert, with screaming fans, waving hands, and all types of camera, phones and iPads capturing the event. In the longest part of the audience, individual cardinals delivered remarks in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Italian, welcoming various pilgrim groups to the Vatican. When each group was announced, they stood and cheered, and many even sang songs — we learned later that there is a thirty second limit for singing. Pope Benedict XVI also addressed each group in their native language, and wrapped the event with a reading of “Our Father” (in Latin) and a general blessing of religious artifacts. Overall, the audience was a really interesting experience both to attend and observe, although I am still quite glad that we were able to experience the audience indoors.

With only an hour before we needed to meet our Vatican tour, we needed to find a quick spot for lunch and settled on Cafe Risorgimento, just two blocks from the entrance to the Vatican museum. Ann Taylor and I both opted for Margherita pizza that was underwhelming, but provided plenty of food for the 3.5 hour walking tour. We met Libby, the Angel Tours guide, and the family of four that accompanied us through the Vatican. While I had toured the museum in 2007, I had forgotten much of the two hour experience (at the tail-end of eight hours of touring Rome), and I was eager to return. Libby proved to be an excellent guide, with incredibly interesting stories about the museum, its collections and the history of the area. We made our way through the courtyards, the tapestry rooms, the Raphael rooms (where “The School of Athens” fresco is presented), and many other galleries before arriving at the Sistine Chapel. The scenes captured on the walls and ceiling are still remarkable, and Ann Taylor and I could have spent much more than fifteen minutes appreciating Michelangelo’s masterpiece. Still, we needed to push forward, and the tour concluded just outside St. Peter’s Basilica. Libby provided an explanation of many of the key areas inside, and we were free to explore the Basilica for as long as we wanted. After about a half-hour — it was already 5:15pm — we decided to head back to the hotel. The journey back only took an hour or so, but we appreciated the chance to sit and relax in an air-conditioned room.

For dinner, we decided to head to Babbo’s, one of the closest restaurants to the hotel, but also one of the most well-regarded. Ann Taylor and I shared an appetizer of Scilian citrus-marinated salmon with Focaccia bread, which was delicious! She ordered the sea bass, while I had the risotto with shrimp, and we both thoroughly enjoyed our entrees. At the end of a day that included more than eight hours of walking, we loved our peaceful stroll back to the hotel, with chocolate and coffee gelato in hand. Tomorrow, we will be able to sleep in (at least comparatively), as we look forward to two more full days in Rome before we head home. If those days are half as good as our time thus far, we will soon be looking back on a wonderful trip.

Take care,
– Dan

After a full day on Monday, we decided to take it easy on Tuesday and enjoy Rome at our own pace. The orientation that we received through the ancient and classical tours was incredibly helpful, but today’s tour focused on our hotel room, as we slept until almost 11am. Once we were dressed, we made our way toward the Spanish Steps, one of our Roman itinerary highlights that we had not yet visited. Along the way, we stopped at Osteria Barberini for lunch. Ann Taylor and I both ordered pizza, as we had not yet experienced pizza in Rome. While my Margherita pizza was good, Ann Taylor seemed to enjoy her pizza even more. I prefer a thinner crust, such as the kind that we ordered in Sorrento after our return from Pompeii. The restaurant’s owner found delight in playing a CD with jazz covers of popular 80s songs (e.g., “Tainted Love” and “Every Breath You Take”), which was, at least, a divergence from the traditional American 80s and 90s pop that we have listened to while dining in Italy. In any event, we had plenty of food and water to fuel our explorations of Rome on another warm June afternoon. Our first stop was the famed Spanish Steps, and we appreciated that we had arrived at the top, so that we could enjoy a leisurely walk down. Much like the Trevi Fountain, the area was full of tourists and vendors, and we successfully dodged both on our way to the bottom of the steps.

Arriving in the famed Tridente neighborhood, we intended to stop for souvenirs, but found that the stores had one (or two) more zeroes than we were seeking. We ended up walking down to the end of Via del Corso before resting on the steps at Piazza del Popolo. At this point in the afternoon it was even warmer than yesterday, and we made sure to stick to the shady side of the street. Ann Taylor and I also made liberal use of the city’s water fountains, which we have found to be remarkably clean and cold. Walking back in the direction of our hotel — again, thanks to Google Maps and our Lonely Planet guidebook — we arrived at Trevi Fountain for the third time in three days. Although the area is obviously quite touristy, we found a few souvenir shops that were more our style than the Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana stores of Via del Corso. After purchasing a few more postcards, I was once again surprised to hear the cashier suggest that we visit the tobacconist to purchase stamps. In both Sorrento and Rome, I have been amazed at the lack of a general store that sells multiple types of items; every Italian store, it seems, only sells one type of product. The concept of the Brooklyn bodega does not appear to exist in any form in Italy, although I have heard rumors of an Italian Wal-Mart (e.g., Auchan) outside of the city limits.

After a quick stop at the hotel, we made a short trip to the Church of Santa Susanna to pick up our tickets for tomorrow’s papal general audience. Wednesday will be focused on Vatican City, with the morning audience and a tour in the afternoon, and we had to request tickets to the audience in advance. With those in hand, we returned to the St. Regis to freshen up and look for a dinner spot. Ultimately, we settled on Ristorante la Fontana di Venere, just around the corner from Piccolo Arancio, where we had eaten during our first night in Rome. Once again, the TripAdvisor reviews proved correct, and we had another excellent meal in Italy. Ann Taylor and I shared an order of the brushcetta, and she had pasta with zucchini and shrimp, while I had the gnocchi bolognese. It has been difficult to balance my desire to try new things, with my desire to have some of the best of my favorites (e.g., lasagna and risotto). I suspect that the next few days will focus on a “best of” menu, but we shall see how that turns out. Speaking of “best of”, after dinner we stopped at Gelateria Valentino, ranked as one of the top spots for gelato in the city. While their website leaves something to be desired, their gelato was quite good, and we we enjoyed more chocolate and mint on our way back to the hotel.

Along the way, we nearly found ourselves part of a crime scene, as an Italian police officer chased a counterfeit purse seller right through our path. Had we realized what was happening at the time, I can only assume that we would have stepped in to assist the officer of the law. Needless to say, it was an interesting end to an otherwise relaxing, unplanned day. Tomorrow, our day at the Vatican begins quite early, with the papal general audience from 10:30 to 11:30am. After a quick break for lunch, we will be touring the Vatican museums, which are, thankfully, indoors. The weather has been very warm over the past few days, and we are expecting even more sunny skies for the remainder of our week in Rome.

Take care,
– Dan

When planning our time in Rome, Ann Taylor and I recognized that the city is far too large to explore on our own, and that, without a guide, our orientation would focus on the gelaterias and pizzerias within walking distance of our hotel. Having experienced a few different types of European city tours — car, bus, boat, bike (my favorite) — I knew that it would be best to look for a walking tour, where we focused on a few key sites, rather than trying to see all of Rome in one day. As every Roman tour guide seems to joke, if Rome wasn’t built in a day, it certainly can’t be seen in a day. While we did not care about a private tour, we did want to avoid the twenty-five to fifty person tours that follow a small umbrella, with a guide that we could not hear or see very well. Fortunately, we found Context Tours, which provides walking tours led by “docents” that are experts in their field (e.g., archeology, art history, architecture, etc.). After I was outvoted on the Catacombs Excursion, we signed up for two four hour tours: Roma Antica in the morning, and Classical Rome in the afternoon. We checked the forecast in the morning, and, after translating from Celsius to Fahrenheit, realized that it would be quite warm all day. Lathering on the sunscreen, we stopped at one of the hotel restaurants for a full breakfast before setting out for the Colosseum, and our first tour of the day.

The Context Tour groups have a maximum size of six, and we met our docent, Livia, and the other touring couple. The pair, from North Carolina, were actually celebrating their honeymoon, too, although they had already been married for ten years. Our tour began at the Colosseum, and we explored each of the levels, learning a mix of history, archeology and culture. I had not realized just how much of the Colosseum had been restored by Mussolini during the 1940s, but the difference in stone made it quite easy to see. Livia also carried a large binder of images, many of which contrasted the current state of the site(s), with how the site(s) may have looked at the height of Ancient Rome. I certainly won’t be able to give justice to the history and scale of the areas that we visited, or the information that Livia shared, but we thoroughly enjoyed the tour. After the Colosseum, we moved to the Palatine Hill, which is where the first Roman civilizations were believed to have been formed. We learned the legends, and the facts, about the founding of Rome — truthfully, it felt like Ann Taylor and I were participating in a university history course. The sun was quite hot by late morning, but we found the ancient fountains (refitted with modern plumbing, of course) to be quite refreshing, and Livia did a great job of keeping us in the shade, as much as possible.

Leaving the Palatine Hill, we walked down to the Forum, and learned more about the daily life of ancient Romans. One of the most impressive sites was the senate house, which was almost entirely intact, and maintains the original floors from two millennia ago. At the conclusion of our tour (around 1pm), we made our way down Via del Teatro Marcello to find a spot for lunch and to locate the start of our second tour (around 3pm). When we didn’t find anything to eat near the Temple of Hercules Victor, we crossed the Tiber River and settled on La Ciurma del Pescatore. The food may not have been the best that we have eaten on the trip, but the spaghetti, two bottles of cold water, and the air conditioning definitely hit the spot. Feeling refreshed, we walked back to the Temple of Hercules Victor, where we met our Diane (our docent) and the small family from San Francisco that would join our tour. The Classical Rome tour focused on understanding the layered history of the city, from ancient times, through the Renaissance until present day. We spent a good portion of the tour in and around San Nicola in Carcere, which was built using part of three ancient and medieval structures. At the Theatre of Marcellus, we saw an early prototype for the Colosseum that now has modern apartments on its tallest level. Our favorite building of the afternoon was the Pantheon, and we easily could have spent several more hours exploring the interior.

Unfortunately, the tour came to an end as we made our way back up to Trevi Fountain. After eight hours of walking under the Roman sun, we stopped for gelato on the way back to our hotel, freshened up and then went out to dinner. Only a five minute walk from the hotel — the most important quality when looking for tonight’s dinner spot — Ristorante Alessio offered a convenient and delicious meal. Ann Taylor ordered the grilled sliced beef with vegetables, while I had roasted spring lamb. This was some of the first non-sauce red meat that we had eaten in Italy, and it was quite tasty. In honor of my youngest sister, we ordered tartufo and tiramisu. Although the tartufo was different than what we would typically expect, we had no trouble finishing both desserts. We are both looking forward to sleeping late, and an unplanned and relaxing day tomorrow, as we continue to enjoy our Roman holiday.

Take care,
– Dan

After one amazing week in Sorrento, Ann Taylor and I packed our bags and made our way up to The Eternal City. As expected, it was sad to leave the Hotel Bristol after such a fun visit, and we heard many “congratulations!” upon checking out. Aside from the omnipresent 80s American pop, one of the most interesting things that I have discovered about Italy is the near-ubiquitous embrace of TripAdvisor. More than half of the restaurants that we have visited have a TripAdvisor logo near their entrance, and the Hotel Bristol front desk staff specifically asked if we would write a review after returning home. While TripAdvisor has been a great source of inspiration for restaurants and activities (as evidenced by our dinner spot this evening), the reviews have not always hit the mark (as evidenced by our meal at Inn Bufalito, the 15th ranked restaurant in Sorrento). As I have mentioned a few times, though, Ann Taylor and I could not have been happier with our experience at the Hotel Bristol, and I expect that we will, in fact, author a positive review for future visitors. After one last breakfast looking out over the Bay of Naples, the driver picked us up at 11am and we began our trip to Rome. While we could have taken the train from Sorrento to Rome (transferring at Naples), we greatly appreciated being picked up and dropped off directly in front of our hotel.

The drive itself was fairly uneventful, and we felt fortunate to be heading out of Sorrento, as the traffic was backed up for miles as Neapolitans had flocked to the Amalfi Coast beaches. Including a quick stop for lunch at a service station, we were in Rome in about 3.5 hours. Thanks to a full year of business travel to Boston, we were able to save enough Starwood Preferred Guest points for a room at the St. Regis Rome. While the views aren’t quite as nice as the Hotel Bristol, we were surprised, and very grateful, to have been upgraded to a junior suite. Looking back, I suspect that including a note in our reservation that we were celebrating our honeymoon may have also helped. The room is absolutely gorgeous, with amazing frescoes and antique furniture (complemented, of course, with two flat-screen televisions). Actually, Ann Taylor and I were surprised to recall that we had not once turned on the television in our room at the Hotel Bristol. Once we had settled in and unpacked, we stepped outside to explore the local area, including a stop at the local supermarket to stock up on Coke Light, water and iced tea. The Despar service was somewhat underwhelming — the cashier practically flung the “bag it yourself” plastic bag in our direction — but the prices were far easier to swallow than the St. Regis minibar.

As mentioned before, we turned to TripAdvisor for dinner recommendations near the hotel, and the reviews did not disappoint. We ended up at Piccolo Arancio, a small restaurant located just a few blocks from Trevi Fountain. A few of the reviews had suggested the fried zucchini flowers, and while they were not quite as good as those that we had prepared at “Villa Ida” on Thursday, they were still quite tasty. The house white was also good, and Ann Taylor and I both enjoyed the tagliatelle pasta and lamb ragù. Combined with the service station sandwiches that we had eaten for lunch, this was the first day in Italy that we both felt that we had eaten reasonably-sized portions. Either the warnings about European vs. American portions are unfounded, or we have been eating in the wrong places, because it’s nearly impossible to finish an entire course served at an Italian restaurant. After dinner, we walked over to Trevi Fountain and mingled with the crowd. On my previous trip, I had thrown a coin into the fountain, and the legend appears to have come true. This time, I captured a photo of Ann Taylor tossing a coin over her shoulder. Perhaps a return trip to Rome is in our future? If nothing else, return trips to the gelateria are in our future, and we stopped for a chocolate cone and mint chocolate chip cup on our way back to the hotel.

Tomorrow, we will have a full day of exploring ancient Rome, with tours in the morning and afternoon. The weather in Rome is (somehow) even nicer than in Sorrento, with temperatures in the low 90s and sunny skies scheduled for our entire week. Ann Taylor and I are so excited to learn more about the ancient sites, and to continue to explore the modern cuisine. We are looking forward to a fabulous week in Rome!

Take care,
– Dan