Susan and Shelley gave me some great recommendations for the trip. Susan recommended a great gelato place near where we are staying and probably one of the best pizza places in Rome - Baffeto Pizzeria.
After a couple of nights of watching people line up outside this tiny pizzeria, we decided to go yesterday right when it opened at 6:30 pm. That's super early for dinner for the locals who don't usually sit down for dinner until 8:00pm or later.
It was a surreal experience. I felt like I was in a SNL mash-up of the Soup Nazi and The Godfather. The pizza maker (we watched him roll out the dough, cover it with fresh mozzarella and slide it into the wood-burning oven) talked in the quiet hoarse voice of Marlon Brando and our waiter yelled at us when we ordered wrong (due persona, due pizza!). But it was worth the abuse. The pizza was fantastic!
On Shelley's recommendation we tried to go see the Borghese Galleries - a great collection of scuplture and art collected by the notorious Italian family. They are very strict about visitors. You have to make a reservation a few days in advance and you have to be there 30 minutes before your reservation to pick up your ticket.
We had reservations for 5:00 pm on Wednesday.
Todd and I figured out the bus route and tried to get there via Rome's public transportation. Everything that could go wrong did. The bus didn't even show up until 4:30 pm. We got off at the wrong stop. We got lost in the park (think Central Park with the Galleries tucked in the middle somewhere). At 5:15 after asking several people where the galleries were and being directed in one big circle, we gave up and made new reservations for Saturday (under my name this time).
Next time, we're taking at taxi!
After a couple of nights of watching people line up outside this tiny pizzeria, we decided to go yesterday right when it opened at 6:30 pm. That's super early for dinner for the locals who don't usually sit down for dinner until 8:00pm or later.
It was a surreal experience. I felt like I was in a SNL mash-up of the Soup Nazi and The Godfather. The pizza maker (we watched him roll out the dough, cover it with fresh mozzarella and slide it into the wood-burning oven) talked in the quiet hoarse voice of Marlon Brando and our waiter yelled at us when we ordered wrong (due persona, due pizza!). But it was worth the abuse. The pizza was fantastic!
On Shelley's recommendation we tried to go see the Borghese Galleries - a great collection of scuplture and art collected by the notorious Italian family. They are very strict about visitors. You have to make a reservation a few days in advance and you have to be there 30 minutes before your reservation to pick up your ticket.
We had reservations for 5:00 pm on Wednesday.
Todd and I figured out the bus route and tried to get there via Rome's public transportation. Everything that could go wrong did. The bus didn't even show up until 4:30 pm. We got off at the wrong stop. We got lost in the park (think Central Park with the Galleries tucked in the middle somewhere). At 5:15 after asking several people where the galleries were and being directed in one big circle, we gave up and made new reservations for Saturday (under my name this time).
Next time, we're taking at taxi!
How nice of you not to put the blame squarely on my shoulders! And you forgot to tell them that I got car sick on the minibus...
ReplyDeleteOh no, I'm sorry you got lost and missed your reservation. At least you had good pizza!
ReplyDelete