The Beginning
December 28th, 2018 – January 2nd, 2019
Table of Contents
- The Hungry Voyagers is Born…
- A Walk around Rome
- A Date with the Pope
- Wine and Tombs
- Bring out ya dead!
- The Might of the Roman Empire
- Roman Pasta: The Greatest Dish on Earth
- Buon Anno!
- Onward, March!
- An Ancient City
- Goodbye Italy!
The Hungry Voyagers is Born…
Our journey to Italy and first ever international adventure began with a parents meeting at Menchville High School. Emily’s younger brother, Michael, was in the marching band and they were taking their tri-annual international trip; this time to Rome, Italy. Emily and I had been together for about a year at this point so it took some deliberation on ‘should we’ or ‘shouldn’t we’, but there really was only one answer to that. After all, the band needed chaperones, and Emily and I were ‘professionals’.
A Walk around Rome
After a 7 hour flight, we landed at Fiumicino Airport (FCO). The first order of business was to get to our hotel and unpack. Here we met our tour guide, and future friend, Alessandro. Alessandro was studying Political Science at his college, Roma Tre University, and had volunteered to be a tour guide for credits. His job for the next week was to show us around the best of Rome and its surrounding areas. Our first stop was to hop on a bus to the center of Rome at the Piazza del Popolo, a nice shopping district with a couple of monuments.
Alessandro told us of an ancient legend regarding the Trevi Fountain. Apparently this legend started when Roman soldiers would throw coins in water to make the gods of water favor their journey. So, if you turn around and throw 3 coins over your shoulder into the fountain, it will guarantee your return to Rome and ensure love and marriage. We went ahead and did it because we would like to continue this blog!
It seems as though there is an endless amount of historical monuments in Rome. Every corner you turn there is yet another important building to history. Seeing the Pantheon was my first, ‘Yo, we are actually in Rome’ moment.
At this point, we were beyond hungry. So we made our way to Piazza Navona which was centered by the beautiful Fontana dei Fiumi. There’s quite a many squares around Rome all centered by a fountain or obelisk. It was nice day, so we decided on eating outside at Vacanze Romane. I was eager for two things: Wine and Pizza. Let me tell you. There’s not many things better in the world than sitting in a Roman Square, eating Margarita Pizza, and drinking red wine. This was a proper Italian experience.
A Date with the Pope
Day two in Italy meant travelling to Vatican City, home of the Catholic Church, located totally within the city of Rome. To read about this, see how our adventure in Vatican City went.
Wine and Tombs
The next day meant an early morning trip to the rural city of Frascati. Alessandro told us that Frascati was famous for its amazing wines, so you know we were excited. We walked among the cobbled streets of Frascati, the smells of fresh bread coming from the local bakeries were delightful. Mountains surrounded the city, giving a totally different vibe from Rome. It was quiet and slow here, you could hear the birds chirping and the wind blowing. It was a good change of pace compared to the hectic bustle of inner city Rome.
In Frascati, the band would participate in the first of 2 marches. They marched through the cobbled streets of the city playing their tunes, until eventually ending in front of the Frascati Cathedral. Many people came out to see them and were dancing along to the songs, smiles on all faces. It was good to see.
Bring out ya dead!
The next stop on our trip was to the Catacombe S. Callisto, or the Catacombs of St. Callixtus. These catacombs were the cemetery for the Church of Rome in the 3rd century AD. According to their website, around half a million Christians are buried here, among them many martyrs and 16 popes. Michael was humorously nervous about going down into the catacombs, and we tried to get him to watch a horror movie with us about catacombs. He was having none of that.
We descended down stairs into the dark hallways of filled with death. The hallways are narrow, dark, cold, and spooky. The walls contained rectangular holes throughout them, in which the bodies would be placed. It really reminded me of the dungeons in the game Skyrim, and I was expecting zombies to break out of their caskets to attack us .
At night, Alessandro took us to a local bar that he and his friends usually visit, Il Piccolo Diavolo. I had a popular Italian beer, Menabrea Bionda. Alessandro told us that Rome is split up into two parts; the rich part with all the expensive clubs and the poorer area with mostly pubs. It was good to get some chill time with Alessandro to sit down and chat about Rome and his experiences living here.
The Might of the Roman Empire
The itinerary for day 4 was what I had be waiting for. When thinking of Italy, the Colosseum has to be one of the first things to come to mind. Built in 80 AD, almost 1940 years ago, the Colosseum is THE symbol of Ancient Roman times. Walking up to this beast of a structure actually gave shivers up my spine.
Walking through the ruins, it’s hard think that nearly 2000 years ago this was a bustling, modern metropolitan. I found a model that reconstructed what this once looked like by model maker, Lasha Tskhondia.
Roman Pasta: The Greatest Dish on Earth
We now had some time to explore and shop around Rome. Before taking off, Alessandro pulled us aside, “If you want to have the best Carbonara in Rome. Come with me”. We didn’t even have to think. Of course we want the best Carbonara in Rome.
He led us to a tiny, hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Maccheroni Express. It was one room with 3 tables pushed against the wall, with the chef cooking in front behind a counter. Oh yes, we could tell this would be good. These smaller, more local restaurants are what we live for. I got the Carbonara and Emily got another traditional Roman pasta, Cacio e Pepe.
For the unfamiliar, Carbonara is a simple Roman pasta dish comprised of Guanciale (Pork cheek), an egg and Pecorino Romano sauce, and pepper. It is so simple, but the flavors combined are unreal. Emily’s dish, Cacio e Pepe, is another simple Roman pasta dish, comprised of only Pecorino Romano and pepper. Again, it was absolutely brilliant.
And of course, any trip to Italy is not complete without a cannoli. We stopped at the most traditional looking place we could find, which happened to be a small cafe surrounded by cobbled streets, called Er Caffettiere. I got a chocolate cannoli and it was everything I dreamed it would be.
Buon Anno!
As the day grew old, we headed back to the hotel to begin some New Years festivities. The kids had a party set up for them in the eating space downstairs, while us chaperones blew up balloons and relaxed.
At midnight we watched an endless amount of fireworks explode over the Roman horizon. We had a full view of the city and Vatican. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Afterwords, we retreated to the bar downstairs and met our new friends. We drank lots of champagne and lots of wine. I asked Alessandro what the most Italian mixed drink and he suggested a Negroni. Gin is absolutely my weakness. Alessandro got so drunk that when speaking to the Italian bartender, he forgot how to speak Italian because of talking in English to us so much. It was a great night.
Onward, March!
For the band, this was the big day and we had to be up very early (much to the dismay of our hangovers). They would be part of the Rome New Year Parade. A big parade featuring bands and performers from around the world.
All bands and performers were to meet at the Galleria Nazionale D’Arte Moderna, to get their directions and times. It was packed with marching bands rocking all kinds of different colorful costumes and flags. After receiving instructions, we hopped back on to the bus as the bus driver wove in and out of streets to get to the place of the march, the Piazza del Popolo. The first area we walked around on our arrival in Rome.
There was a ton of people here. The band marched through the streets playing their songs. They marched for around 3 hours, a lot of time for holding and playing those instruments!
An Ancient City
Goodbye Italy!
We woke up early and said our goodbyes to Alessandro. He had been a great guide and an even better friend. Alessandro ended up coming to America after the band students raised money for his trip. We took him to Washington DC to see the American capital.
Italy was beautiful in a historical, architectural, and most importantly, culinary way.
The Hungry Voyagers 