more roman reminisces...

typically in my travels i prefer to wander about & see what i can find in terms of places to eat. i have enjoyed some of the most amazing meals by doing so, but occasionally i do use a little help, be it from a friend or a guidebook. when i am out & about in roma, one will usually find my trusty current edition of rick steves' rome guidebook in my bag. rick never lets me down...just ask spf! & this trip was no exception. his restaurant suggestions (listed by areas of the city) led us to one of our dining highlights of this stay in roma...ristorante pizzeria sacro e profano, tucked in an out of the way side street near the fontana di trevi.very convenient for us since we usually stay just behind the piazza navona! we arrived early for our dinner (it was a hungry train travel day) & had a wide selection of seating...outside, inside near the wood-burning oven or on the interior balcony. i could not resist the table that overlooked the workstation of the guy making pizza.as the evening moved along, nearly every table was full & the smells wafting in our direction from the oven were unbelievable.the food was delish & the wine was fine! but be aware it is not typical roman cuisine...their dishes are calabrian. my personal favorites...tonno agli agrumi (an antipasto - tuna in citrus) & mezzalune zucca e salsiccia (primo piatto - half-moon pasta with pumpkin & sausage)

our other favorite on this trip...la pancia felice. we stumbled upon this delightful place, slightly off the beaten path, while on our way to meet john paul for our tour. i must confess that i do not remember what D. had, but i do remember a lot of mmmmmm's... i fell madly in love with my pasta stuffed with spinach, ricotta & lemon zest...so much so that i gave the chef a big hug before we left!

one final place of note to us from our previous stays in roma...rinaldi al quirinale. this is the place to celebrate with a very special dinner. one of our friends who is a priest took us to this fantastic place on our last night in roma a few years ago. i cannot remember a particular favorite but what i do remember is a constant stream of dishes coming to the table, each better than the last. i also remember leaving the place so stuffed that i could not even have gelati that night~~ a true first for me!!

& speaking of gelati...i have not a single photo of the stuff. can you believe it?? truth of the matter is that when that stuff is in front of me, i am, quite frankly, too busy eating it~~ no, devouring it to even think about my camera! my favorite gelati in roma...this is where rick steves & i part ways a bit...gelateria della palma, located just 2 blocks from the pantheon.my most awesome flavor experience on this trip (& there were many!!) was cioccolato fondente & pompelmo roso (chocolate & red grapefruit). next time i will try to capture the gelato magic on film!

i cannot end my roman reminisces without a shout-out to our wonderful hosts on all our roman holidays thus far...residenza san pantaleo. we have stayed in both the residenza & one of the apartments they offer. both experiences were perfect for us~ a great value in terms of price & location.

& finally i leave you today with a bit of touristic wandering through the eternal city...il foro romano~ as my one son says...where the really old stuff is!fontana di trevi~ did you toss your euro to ensure a return trip??scala di spagna~ in all its springtime splendor.santa maria della vittoria~ bernini's st. theresa in ecstasysee you in firenze for my next travel installment...ciao!