Dear K,
I made it back to Rome! It already feels like I’m on the journey home, even if there’s another whole day left. I got to the hotel at noon and really just wanted to relax and change clothes and do nothing until my 3pm tour because I was already so tired. But the room wasn’t ready so I ended up wandering.
I found a restaurant that was highly recommended all over the internet so I figured I’d walk over that way and see if I could get in. Reviews mentioned long waits and you know I’m against waiting in line to eat and/or drink. Luckily, I showed up just before it opened and the line wasn’t too bad at all and I was able to get a table. However, several groups of 2-3 people jumped in front of me when I became first in line. Sometimes it feels like being solo makes me invisible but without any of the fun powers that go with invisibility.
Once I finally got seated, the food was amazing. I’m so glad I went. It’s called Vechhia Rosa and it’s a very old, authentic Roman restaurant. I had their house special pasta, which was something like a carbonara but a little different, and then a beef and mushroom dish that was amazing. It tasted sort of like stroganoff but higher in quality. You know how I love stroganoff. Do you know Mom was offended that my favorite meal of hers was beef stroganoff for a while? She said it was basically a can of soup dumped in with some meat and didn’t require much actual work. Oops. I didn’t know that at the time!
Anyway, afterward I wandered toward the Colosseum for the tour. I still had some time to kill so I sat in a park and then sat near the tour. Amazingly, 9 days in to this trip and I had my first bad tourist experience where some guy complimented my sneakers and put a bracelet on me and tried to get money. He kept telling me, ‘Hakuna matata,’ and the whole thing almost made me laugh. I didn’t spend 20+ years commuting to school and work in NYC to fall for this bullshit. Also? I’m a 41-year-old white lady. No young person is complimenting my sneakers.
The tour was 3 hours long and it was very interesting but I was too tired to really appreciate it. There was a lot of walking (good thing I had my ‘cool’ sneakers on!) and tons of people everywhere. I did find the Colosseum the most interesting. I can’t imagine all those people coming to watch people die as a sport. I wonder what crimes you had to commit to end up a gladiator vs. just a person condemned to execution during the ‘halftime’ of the day. For example, where would a person who doesn’t pay attention to the tour guide, refuses to keep up with her and then asks questions about things she already told us end up? I mean, hypothetically of course…
After the tour, I made my way back to the hotel and finally got into my room! Another hotel room, another gorgeous chandelier. I wish my house had a place for one. I would definitely be adding a nice sparkly one soon if I could. I was too tired to go anywhere but the hotel for dinner. Luckily, it turned out to be a great spot with a quiet outdoor terrace and fantastic food. Perfecto!
Tomorrow, the airport – bright and early!
– B
Postcards to My Sister 