I am looking at my shattered iPhone and my computer crashed and have to wonder if things have to balance out sometimes. I mean, we have been living nothing short of our dream life for the past few months and I guess it’s good to get a reality check every once in a while. The funny thing is, God has really taught us perspective over our lifetime together and the reality is these are all just ‘things’ and dictate absolutely zero of our happiness. So instead I will crack open an ice cold Pirate Life IPA and go for a polar-bear-plunge in our pool that is now in the low 50’s and hit the reset button on my thoughts about our lost and broken stuff.
Rome was a whirlwind of walking, eating, drinking and playing cards. Traveling with kids is really funny, especially in ‘tourist’ locations, because you realize that they verbalize what adults are thinking, but pretending to be adults so we don’t say, like “can we go back to the room and watch a movie, my feet hurt - or - does the tour have to take 4 hours, I’d rather eat a hamburger.” It’s hard to tell them to take in the beauty when you yourself would rather be sitting in a small cafe having an espresso or better yet a bottle of wine. So we compromised.
We spent the first 4 hours of our trip with a private tour guide exploring the Colosseum, which is completely insane. To think that hundreds of thousands of people would watch other humans slaughter each other for sport and spectacle is madness...and yet at the same time, could totally imagine for the culture of the day this being the greatest thing in the world. Our tour guide Rachel was from the states and had moved to Italy as an art history major 7 years ago to get her masters in tourism and hasn’t looked back. Oh, and she spoke our language of sarcasm which made the time much more enjoyable. After airdropping me her Rome Restaurant must eats we were on our way to hit as many as we could before our train out Monday.
Our first stop was beers and popcorn chicken at a retro bottle shop, then cocktails at the famous Freni E Frizioni cocktail bar and happy hour (the kids got mock-tails) and cards. From there we had dinner at Sotto Sopra which at that point we had already eaten so much food, and yet everything on the menu sounded so good that we basically accepted gluttonism. We planned on going to a few more spots, but were so overly full that I just grabbed a beer to go and we called it a night.
Sunday morning greeted me with an espresso and chocolate croissant in bed thanks to my early risers who had already been out and about and found the most delicious hole in the wall French pastry shop. The threat of rain had been looming all weekend, but as of noon there was yet to be a drop from the sky. With t-shirt and scarf we braved the day and let our stomachs lead us on. At the top of our list was Cybo a traditional Roman Italian cuisine but given a modernist twist. Everything was absolutely delicious but strangely it was Brody’s Cesar Salad that stole the show. It was literally perfect! We repeated our trip to the Trevi Fountain same as we’d done with the kids 5 years ago, and each made a wish. My wish was to head back to the room for a nap - and it was granted. It was 6pm now and we’d decided to get happy hour at this popping bar we’d seen the night before called Meccanismo Bistrot, and found the only open spot in the back along the window at a 4 seater couch. With drinks and cards in hand we debated if it made sense to sit outside, and as if perfectly on que lightning broke with an immediate explosion of thunder and the heavens opened up a torrential downpour on the city. People were running frantically to find shelter, and there we were, sitting in the most cozy seat in the house watching our own light show spectacle. 30 minutes later, not a cloud in the sky. Next stop, this kitchy wine bar that played pop hits revamped as jazz classics. It was there that we decided to abandon our reservations at Le Mani in Pasta known for the best pasta in the world and instead go to Coffee Pot Trastevere for sushi. We arrived just as they were opening and were the first people to be sat. And in 10 minutes there was not a seat available and the bar was flooded with patrons. A live band played in the corner as we ate sushi roll after sushi roll. By 9 we had gone through enough sushi for a small army and again had to throw in the towel early... but not without another beer for the road and some popcorn chicken for the boys. Everyone crashed hard early, but because I’d napped and had an Italian double IPA in hand, I watched back to back movies on Netflix and finally passed out at 3am.
Monday was a blur. All I remember was the espresso and croissant repeat at the pastry shop and catching the early train back home. All was perfect until everything hit the fan as mentioned above. Either way, it is always worth it, and as I finish this beautiful beverage I am being called to play kickball with the kids. No complaints here.
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