So realizing I was moving permanently from the home I have known for a year known as Madrid this Sunday, I found it timely and the perfect relaxing moment (note my sarcasm please) to take a quick trip to Rome, Italy. This was ONLY made possible due to my incredible luck of having the best Italian aunt! My relatives were on vacation and finishing their Italian tour in Rome where they generously offered me a place to stay with them! Que Suerte! Figuring I would never be able to afford Rome on my own at the moment AND being able to see famil
y, I went!
Definitely a great decision. I wish I always had a personal translator for any language I didn’t know because it makes everything so much easier! Having her + Rick Steve (great travel books for any country) made my trip amazing. I am a huge history nerd and standing in spots where Ceasar and St. Peter and hundreds of others who made their impr
int in history at one point in time stood was amazing.
Day one started with me finding my way to the hotel and arriving early. I dropped my stuff off at the front desk after watching a quick Italian drama unfold where a woman returned to the hotel literally swaying around the room. I thought she had heat stroke but turns out you should never assume! When she finished her one act play, the front desk attendant informed me she had been up allll night due to a moquito that had been preposterously allowed to enter her hotel room. As a result, she had to come back early from her sightseeing excursions to share her misery with us as well as lament on the fatigue she had to endure. I loved that the guy shared all this with me! What a treat to walk into your hotel and the entertainment is FREE. After her debacle/my "Real World; Old lady in Rome," I decided what better thing to do in Italy than eat! If you have ever read Eat, Pray, Love, it is an incredible book beginn
ing with a women’s trip through Italy in search of the pleasure found in the world’s greatest food. She writes how she asks the locals to tell her where the BEST food is regardless of location or “touristic interest” and with this knowledge, winds up traveling all over to these hole-in-the-wall locations sampling food God probably cooked himself. Completely inspired and with this in the back of my head, I decided I was going to do the same. I got out a map anticipating a great walk to someplace really out of the main area to sample “Italy’s finest.” Weirdly enough, according to the desk attendant, I was in luck! The BEST food “just happened” t
o be located across the street from the hotel and “just happened” to be owned by his good friend Mr. Omar and he "just happened" to have a pre-written card to provide a discount for the patrons of this hotel. Hmm…I guess I should also mention that this man said he went there every day for lunch and while it was a little pricey, I am taking a WIIILD guess that the best restaurant in Italy also “just happened” to provide his food for free. I graduated with a business degree so excuse the dripping sarcasm but this sounds like an inside deal if I ever heard of one!
However, I can't complain. Mr. Omar was a good guy and after being overwhelmed by the amazing pastas on the menu, I decided how could I not order the Stozzapreti, funghi procini i gamberetti (make sure you say it like Mario would from the Mario Brothers) which underneath in perfectly written English explained the meal translates to “choke the priest” pasta with mushrooms and shrimp. Awesome. I am so confident with my decision that I closed my menu and waited for Mr. Omar. Here my social skills take a big hit. RIGHT before he comes to my table he seats two men directly to my left. This would not be a problem if one of these men was not dressed in his priestly finest complete with gorgeous white choker and shiny God shoes (it sounds better than lace-ups) Uh…I have never ordered something in a complete whisper in my life. I am in Rome for an hour and I am already scandalizing myself in the eyes of
the church. Of course, when you speak quietly as I should know, the waiter repeats your order loudly and clearly to make sure he/she understands. I seriously felt like I might be moving waaay down on the "your coming up" list but when I tried that pasta, it was amazing!!! I recommend choke the priest to anyone and everyone who ventures to Italy where it is made fresh and the noodles are NOT premade! Hopefully your luck will be better than mine and you won’t have continuous looks from the table next to you as you pretend you don’t understand the significance of “choke” with “priest.” Oops.
I attached some a quick video of my cousins, aunt and I at the Trevi Fountain and pictures as we toured the Coliseum (Fact of the day: When asked what is the top things to see in Europe, the Coliseum comes in 2nd…can you guess the first?)
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