Ciao Roma!

Rome was a bit more relaxed since we’ve all been there before. But don’t be mistaken; we did a lot of walking there as well. In fact, for the first day, it was mostly in the rain. But seeing the Coliseum in the rain was still pretty amazing.  It was the first time we decided to go inside. Coming from a country that’s so young in comparison, thinking about how old the buildings and the many, many ruins in Rome are is pretty mind blowing. To me anyway.

We did a quick stop at the Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Venezia, and Spanish Steps as well. Along the way we got a bit lost and did a quick drive-by of the Vatican. Just long enough to wave to the Pope. I’m sure he was excited for our visit!

 

The new home of Da Gigetto

The food – very good! We got a recommendation from my friend Kara and headed to Da Gigetto in the “ghetto” of Rome which is where the Jewish section of the city is. The term has a very different meaning than what we now know it to be.  Da Gigetto has delicious artichokes if you’re ever in the area.  The rest of our food stops were just places we walked by or got recommended from the hotel. Our last night was at a place called Gioia Mia. Very local, low-key restaurant near our hotel. We were thoroughly entertained by the multi-family dinner that was happening around us. Kids at one table, adults on the other. Just watching the interaction provided us with enough laughs for the night!

 

From Rome we drove to Porto San Giorgio. It’s about a 3 ½ hour drive, not too bad. And we did it in this. Somehow the car, our luggage and we made it in one piece!

The days spent in Porto San Giorgio were VERY quiet. There isn’t much to do during the day being things close from 1pm to 4:30pm. So we did what we do best, walked! I showed them the jetty I visit quite often, the port and the store my new friend works at. I think between my mother and me, we’re keeping them open another year!

We attempted to visit a neighboring town for lunch one day, but it pretty much looked like PSG just a bit bigger. However, the lunch place we found was delicious (Club 23). I had the grilled calamari and shrimp – yum!

On their last night in PSG, we headed to Pat & Gary’s house in San Ruffino (the couple from CA I met at the train station). The ride there was interesting – we weren’t sure if were going the right way pretty much the entire 45 minute drive, but we made it there! Their house is beautiful, right on the lake. It’s definitely not a bad place to be for 6 months of the year, that’s for sure.

My parents left PSG Friday afternoon to head back to Rome since they had an early flight Saturday morning. So my life went back to how it was way before my travels started. And I’m not sure if I like it that way! 

This week brings a festival in town to celebrate a national holiday that I’m still unsure of what exactly. Either way, it’ll be another experience!