Every now and then my molto romantico marito surprises me with a gift that is tailor-made … well, for him. As was the case with my latest surprise-two passes to the Masters Tennis Tournament. The up side? The tournament was in Rome.
We compromised on the trip details and decided to close Il Cedro for four days and three nights and head to the city. The Eternal City. In celebration of our fabulous long-weekend his present, I’m sharing the love with you.
This week-all week-we’re talking Rome, baby.
So get ready. These country mice went to the big city. And we have a lot to tell.
Peppe and me in our only couples picture of the weekend
Remember that fabulous 50 buck round-trip flight I told you about between Rome and Calabria? Well it is fab, but unfortunately for us, the only day they don’t fly is on Saturdays. So we train’ed it up-six hours is but a snap in time when you’re going to Rome.
We arrived around 3:00 on a bright, sunny, warm day and headed straight to the Colosseum, where in honor of the April 25 Festa Della Liberazione, tickets were free.
My almost Roman gladiator scaring off the tourists
That evening we met some of our Roman friends-one of whom was actually our first long-term B&B guest-for dinner and drinks. In typical Roman style, we didn’t enter the restaurant until after 10:00 PM and were ushered out around 1:00. The pasta was homemade and smothered with pecorino cheese and truffle sauce, the wine was strong, the atmosphere, eclectic. But don’t get me started now … I’ll get into that later in the week.
The next morning, these two little country Catholics headed to Saint Peter’s Square and were thrilled to discover the canonization of five saints, along with a Latin language mass, being led by the Pope.
See that little yellow dot behind me? Look harder. That’s him!
After strolling around all afternoon, visiting the Spanish steps and window-shopping along Via Condotti, we were thirsty. So we met with the well-liked and wildly-respected NYC/Caribbean Ragazza for an aperitivo-where one hour, turned into two, that turned into four.
The famous NYC/Caribbean Ragazza and I met for drinks
Our final full-day in Rome was dedicated to tennis and if you know anything about the sport, you know the man in the blue hat below is Roger Federer. I didn’t know, but he was quickly pointed out to me by a rush of anxious Italian girls screaming, “Eeey lowve you, Rrroger!” as he welcomed the group in English.
Number two in the world, tennis champ, Roger Federer
Although our last 18 hours or so in the Eternal City were dampened with dreary rain and almost unbearable humidity, our long weekend was perfect. After all, how many people have the opportunity to spend a few days off in the capital of the Bel Paese-and we weren’t taking that for granted.
Have you been to Rome? What would you do if you only had three nights to spend in the Eternal City?
We’ve been meaning to get back for ages. My husband lived in Rome for almost 15 years and I lived there for almost 3. I think we’d hit old haunts and look up friends in the evenings and do some good old fashioned sight seeing during the day. Looks like you had a great time!
We did have a great time. Sounds like your return trip will be great, too.
joanne at frutto della passione’s last blog post..Amatriciana
I loved the first line of this post – made me smile.
Why thank you.
Fantastic! That Peppe . . .what a sweet thing to do!
Glad you had a wonderful time, can’t wait to hear more about it. Now your comment to ragazza about her break from studying makes sense! I couldn’t figure that out with y’all being so far apart. . .
We were trying to keep you all on your toes. 🙂
Kim B.’s last blog post..Okay, I admit it. I’m a tea snob.
You two look like models! Oh really!
It must be so nice to meet up with fellow bloggers. nyccaribbeanragazza has a wonderful smile 🙂
Why thank you and yes it was SO fun to meet NYC Ragazza. We had a blast!
I’m excited to hear all about your trip to Rome…especially that pasta with pecorino and truffle 😉
Oh girl … you have no idea.
erin :: the olive notes’s last blog post..by popular demand : italy overview
Okay I still can’t believe we were talking for four hours. Poor Peppe! Ha.
It was great to see you both. 🙂
Me, either. Time really did fly. BTW, I’m *so* glad I turned around when I did. Those shoes were killing me by the time I got back to Monti!
nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..One advantage of having a ridiculously small apartment.
First of all, you two are a really good-looking couple! Only a few days in Rome would present a problem that I wouldn’t mind having. I’d head to Trastevere first since that’s where we lived and the neighborhood I love. Then to the Galleria Doria Pamphili or the Galleria Colonna – my favorite museums in Rome. If it’s a Sunday, I’d go to the free concert at Il Quirinale, home of the president. How fun that you got to meet up with NYC Caribbean Ragazza.
Ohhh how fun. You sound like me when I talk about Paris!
Ciaochowlinda’s last blog post..Colorful Carrot and Spinach Loaf
Looks like a good trip! Best thing I did in Rome was hire a bicycle for a day. There was time to see everything!
I saw the bikes everywhere. You are *much* more athletic than me. Biking gets me every time.
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Wow what a sweet surprise…very romantic and to meet with friends and blogger too!!I read NYC Caribbean Ragazza sometimes. And ROME…what more could you ask for! Love you photos, especially the one of your Marito and the Colosseum. Well they all lovely.
I love watching Mens tennis, lot of testosterone flying about 🙂 🙂
It was a great trip. And yes, Mens tennis is nice. Nice. Hard … Legs. Yes, I was thinking of legs. 🙂
Anne’s last blog post..The Moulin de la Galette…
As much as I would *love* to go to Rome, I even more jealous of seeing Roger Federer. He’s sooooo cute! hehe
He IS cute but let me tell you, if my daughters *ever* act like those girls around a celebrity … Gah!
I also spent just a weekend there. We hung out at the Vatican (the art museum thee was amazing even by Italian standards), strolled around the old city and ate at restaurants. We also saw Pope John Paul. I thought he was even cooler than Roger Federer.
Absolutely. See, I would have known who he was without help. 🙂
Glad you had a great trip! Gets me EVEN more excited about my upcoming trip. Glad you had the chance to meet with Arlene. Great pics!!
Thanks. I can’t wait to hear about yours!
Looks like you two had a great time. My hubby was in Rome last weekend too, for the 1 May concert. Did you happen to catch it? Arlene seems like an amazing person. I’m jealous you met her! It would be great to organize a blogger meet-up in Rome this year.
Nope. We came back on the 28th! Darn!!
milanese masala’s last blog post..Desperation Poutine
OMG, how did I miss this post until now – I knew you were in Rome from the other posts, but I assumed the summary post was at teh end of the week. Silly me. Sounds like a great great few days. It’s awesome you met nyc/carribean ragazza too.
I was just trying to keep everyone guessing! 🙂
I also spent just three days in Rome. I had booked a flat through a website that has many holiday apartments in Rome and found it very cosy. I visited the Vatican museum, the Colosseum, and spent the last day walking around Piazza di Spagna. I enjoyed myself!