Day 16: Rome Part 2
Monday morning was an early start at the Colosseum. It was a little chaotic waiting for the gates to open for the first time slot. Once they allowed visitors to enter, the lines moved relatively quick, as long as you have a paid ticket in advance. Most of the light rain cleared out by the time we reached the 2nd floor of the Colosseum. It's quite a sight looking at all the visitors from above, especially with the sun beaming down as natural light. Though the arena in the middle of the stadium was still under construction, they still allowed visitors to explore parts of the ground floor. It's nice to say we were inside the Colosseum, on the other hand it's like all the other famous monuments...no need to do it again. Next time we are in town, we'll just walk by and admire it.
The buses were still jam packed with commuters to work, so we took the blue line, then the orange line to the Prati and Della Vittoria neighborhoods. Breakfast at Cafe Fagianni was featured in Anthony Bourdain's show, the Layover. Apparently for breakfast, many Italians just have a cup of coffee and maybe something small with it like a pastry. We ordered the exact thing Bourdain did a decade ago, a cappuccino and a cornetto. Jackie has not had coffee since we lived in Boston in 2004. She avoids it because it can cause heartburn and upset stomach. This time she had no issues. More importantly she enjoyed the warm beverage with a cornetto, a pastry similar to a croissant but sweeter. We actually dunked pieces of it in the cappuccino. Nobody said we were doing anything wrong.
We found a nice shady spot near a dried up fountain to sit and relax...waiting patiently for Cacio E Pepe to open at 12:30 for lunch. The rain earlier had little effect on the warm weather. It was just one of those days you have to stay hydrated and carry a bottle with you when you're out and about. As requested, the server immediately sat us outside with a refreshing bottle of sparkling water. As time went on, each table was filled and we had a full house within a half an hour.
If you didn't guess, this restaurant is known for one thing...the cacio e pepe. This pasta has been a favorite dish of Bourdain's, so dear to his heart, the same restaurant was highlighted in both the Layover and No Reservations shows. The long spaghetti like noodles were cooked perfectly al dente. You have the two contrasts of the same cheese: a sprinkle on top but also melted cheese with oil under the pasta. Top it with fresh cracked pepper and you can see why Bourdain loved this dish.
That afternoon, we had probably had one of the worst experiences at a tourist attraction ever. We couldn't believe the number of people crammed in the Vatican museum. Entering the building wasn't bad. It was going through all the different rooms, you had pockets of absurd number of tour groups slowing down the flow of traffic. Some rooms were air conditioned, most were very stuffy and hot. If you don't keep track of time, you can easily spend half the day at the Vatican museum alone. It was such a tease looking for the Sistine Chapel because it ended up being one of the very last rooms. It was almost like a game: your goal is to go through every room, dodge tourists and collect your prize at the end. In this case, the prize is your opportunity to witness Da Vinci's masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel. However the shear number of people and the unbearable heat made the whole experience not worth it. We basically rushed to end and out of the museum in 30 minutes. Lesson learned, do all your site seeing early in the morning. We saw a ridiculous line for the Saint Peter's cathedral wrapped all around the Vatican's perimeter.
Instead we waited in different kind of line at Bonci's pizzarium. Online it states they are open all day. Their shutters didn't lift up until 4 pm…good information to know for the future. They have a ticket system to maintain some sort of order. Like at a deli, our number 23 was called and we decided to order a slice of every pizza, over 15 different varieties. We escaped the chaos and happily took our 2 boxes of pizza back to eat in the comforts of our airbnb.
Bonci's pizza is unique because he uses all natural ingredients, including a yeast starter that is over 200 years old. Pizzas change according to the availability of ingredients and time of season. Our favorite toppings were the thinly sliced potatoes, prosciutto and the simple red sauce with cherry tomatoes. We have been making pizzas almost every Friday, so we have some great ideas we can take back home.
After eating only half of the pizzas, we thought it would be wise to cancel our dinner reservation later that night. We did however find some room to sample porchetta from a little place called I Porchettoni. The pork was a little dry but it was full of flavor. It would be good in a sandwich or on top of a salad. We ended the night with a couple of glasses of prosecco in a park. It was a little strange watching parents cheering on their kids at a playground while drinking a bottle of beer or a glass of aperol spritz. This is a classic example of the differences in culture between US and Europe. There is no shame drinking on a weekday; there are no rules in consuming alcohol outside while playing with your children in the park. It was relaxing and chill to be with the locals. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. You wouldn't think they just came from work or whether they had some special occasion to celebrate. They were just living life, just like we are.
