For the first time in my life, I'm on my way to Europe. I have a seven day cruise on the Mediterranean Sea, covering Rome, Naples, Marseilles, Barcelona, and Florence/Pisa. Plus an extra day in Rome on both ends of the tour, so we're looking at nine days total.
I didn't really start to feel the butterflies until I checked in for the flight to Philadelphia. I had already researched trains, printed cruise documents, and set clothes aside on top of my now overstuffed black duffel bag. But as I entered my passport information into the computer, I could feel my pulse beating. I was preparing to do something I had never done before.
I had been weighing whether to take an earlier flight to Philly. I could then hang a little longer in the Admirals Club and load up on whiskey and ginger ale. But I'm glad I didn't. I needed the extra time to sleep in after a stressful night of work at Tucano's, run five miles, clean up, and pack. I took an Uber to Norfolk, although I wasn't sure my gift card actually got used. Not the easiest app when it comes to selecting payment options.
The flight deal has been as smooth as can be expected. We pulled out of the gate at 2:20, literally on time. Sitting in the first row wasn't a major inconvenience like I usually find it; there was plenty of overhead storage space for my backpack. I began listening to a Johnny Cash biography on Audible, I'm about two hours into a 14 hour recording. Hopefully I'll get it done on this trip.
After landing in Philly, it was straight to the Admirals Club for the free guacamole bar and multiple bourbon and ginger ales. Then Chickie and Pete's for chicken cutlets. As much as I wanted to try their crab fries, I couldn't justify spending $6.75 for a single order.
Mom and I both got seats in business class, we just weren't able to sit together. This sounds so bougie, but after my second time doing this, it's hard for me to imagine flying six or more hours without having my own tv screen, a menu of food options, and a padded seat that reclines into a flat bed. God help me with what I just said, I sound so entitled, which is not something I would ever strive to become. But it's a hell of a lot more desirable than becoming a pauper.
For dinner, we started with a plate of melon and manchego cheese along with a salad of arugula, spinach, strawberries, and hearts of palm. They also had a bread basket and I happily took a sourdough and a pretzel roll. My main course was a porcini crusted filet with asparagus and a mushroom corn pudding souffle. Then came dessert. The flight attendant prepared an ice cream sundae with butterscotch, berries, whipped cream, and chopped pecans. Pretty much the perfect ending. Once dinner was over, I reclined my seat with a second glass of red wine and watched the movies Paterno and, I Tonya, before passing out in a deep sleep.
I felt a bright light shining in my face, it was a multicolored blue, white, and red light. It was that kind of light you'd see while sitting in a dentist's chair. I tried to dismiss it, my eyes refused to open, or maybe I just wouldn't allow them to open. Before long, the flight attendant woke me up to let me know breakfast was about to be served. I swear I'd only finished dinner 20 minutes prior.
We landed at 9:05 after the quickest 8 hour flight of all time. Looking outside the window, the first thing that stuck out to me was the rows of trees that almost looked handcrafted, so precise. Customs couldn't have gone smoother. Less than a half hour, it seems like it's getting easier all the time. We hopped on the Leonardo Express train which is a non stop train to downtown Rome, €15 for a 30 minute ride. From downtown, we had a 15 minute cab ride to the Marriott Grand Flora. I was starting to notice that a lot of cab drivers either don't speak English or pretend that they don't.
The check in process was a little crazy, our reservation was set for a week out. We did make a date change to the reservation, but either it didn't go through, or the operator didn't understand the change that was needed. Thankfully we were able to switch it to that day and also check in immediately.
After a brief nap, as in a half hour, we began walking around Rome. The Trevi Fountain was especially spectacular, with its carvings of King Neptune and other mythical figures. We have our King Neptune in Virginia Beach on the coastline, but this one looks like he took a lot more time to construct. The Pantheon was a round chapel with sculptures and statues that's a huge draw for tourist groups. I took a panoramic picture of the ceiling, and I think that was the first one of those I'd ever attempted. The artist Raphael, has his tomb in the chapel. I also tried my first margherita pizza from Italy. The crust was spectacular, crispy, full of flavor, and a little chew. The sauce was really good, but it was a full blanket of melted cheese, just like a regular pizza. It also had one basil leaf for the whole 12 inch pie, no parmesan, no salt, no pepper. It was wonderful. With walking this city, it's not too easy. The streets curve, they constantly change names, and they dead end frequently. It's not hard to find yourself lost. And if I had a nickel for every pizza joint and gelateria I saw, I could buy a couple of first class tickets back to the states.
Our food tour began at 4:30 in the southwest section of downtown. And almost everyone was from the NY area: a family of four, a young married couple, and then the was another young couple from Florida. One of the kids was wearing a Noah Syndergaard t-shirt, so I knew it was gonna be good. We went into a 100 year old grocery store and sampled salami, Pecorino Romano cheese, and buffalo mozzarella cheese. That buffalo is really unique, it's so soft on the inside with a firm outside. Then came a 200 year old bakery, not a misprint. Red pizza with no cheese, white pizza with potato, and a little mortadella in between some of the freshest focaccia I've ever had. Oh and a little red wine after! The best part was seeing one of the kids, maybe 13 years old, try his first glass. Suffice to say, he preferred Sprite.
Next came the Jewish ghetto, which is a pretty nice section in spite of the name. The rice ball wasn't that great, certainly not as good as NYC. The breading was too heavy and the inside could have been more moist. Outside, the city has what looked like fire hydrants that are actually fountains that produce clean, drinkable water. Even though I don't advocate reusing plastic water bottles, I could not fill that bottle enough times, as thirsty as I had become.
Our whole group was getting really tired, but we were just thankful the sun was starting to go down to relieve us of some of the heat. I was starting to wish I had ibuprofen on me. We walked 15 minutes from the ghetto to a nice Italian restaurant where we had some wonderful pasta. I had bucatini with tomato sauce, plenty of Romano cheese, and guanciale, which is the pork cheek. Fantastic. And... two more glasses of wine. Daniella showed us how to swirl the pasta on a fork without a spoon. Even though it isn't culturally approved, I'm sorry, I'm a pasta cutter.
The last stop was for gelato. The rain was just starting to fall as we headed down a busy narrow pedestrian street. I had absolutely no idea where we were, as I'd misplaced the map hours prior. But we headed inside a small gelateria. I tried a few flavors, but I went with two flavors: the Fred and the black cherry ripple. The Fred was a frozen golden custard with cookie crumbs mixed in. Absolutely fantastic. About the time I got my gelato, the rain increased to a monsoon. Apparently it was the first rain that Rome had seen in weeks.
We charged through the street and the downpour to hail a cab, getting back to the hotel around 8. I wanted to go out to explore, but I knew inside that I just had to crash. Woke up and it was 10:30. Back to sleep again.
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