|
||||
| 4/24/2003 Italy 2003 Day 1 | ||||
|
||||
| Well here
we go again... Anyone who hasn't been subjected to this before: my apologies in advance and drop me a line when you want to be removed from the list. So, after a long and mostly sleepless set of flights (I'm much too spoiled by flying business class in the past...it's tough with the hoi polloi) (and, no comment or report on the food), we arrived in Rome. It's a perfect day, sunny and warm (but not too warm). This trip is a little different than past ones...I'm headed to Romina's wedding with my parents (who have gotten to know Romina and her family the last couple of years, and so are also invited) and then my brothers are flying in to celebrate mom's 60th birthday. We haven't traveled as a family in a while. I think we all agree: this could be interesting. Anyway...in DC we realized that we are no good at packing. We have way to much crap and it probably won't all fit in the trunk of the car that dad has reserved. So when we get to Rome, we have to upgrade. To a station wagon. And it still barely fits. We are so lame. But we're off. The first stop is Tivoli, about an hour outside of Rome. It is the site of Hadrian's Villa, where the Emperor Hadrian kept all the stuff he amassed over the years. It's in the Lazio hills and is famous for it's gardens and waterfall. It only took three times thru the town to actually get the car to the hotel (hey, I'm out of practice...it's been a couple of years since my last visit to Italy...speaking of which, I drove from the airport and we only missed the turn on the autostrada twice,,,dad's navigating-that's right Jim Zurer is not driving-mom's kibitzing from the back seat, and you can't see out the rear window because of all our stuff.), but it's worth it. the hotel Sirene overlooks a hundred foot chasm where the waterfalls dump out. There's a private balcony with a great view of a two thousand year old ruined temple and a really friendly bar next door where we get excellent antipasti for a late lunch (a couple kinds of meats, fresh mozzarella, olives, artichoke hearts, fried and marinated zucchini and melanzoni, bread and the house white, all while sitting outside enjoying the weather...a strong start to the eating festivities). Then we walk thru town...dad's trying to figure out how to use his new Italian cell phone as a modem for the laptop and needs to hit the TIM (wireless carrier) store. We take the long route, check out the local Duomo (ehhh) and finish strong with gelato and strawberries bought off the back of a truck in the middle of town as the town's passagiata winds down. We head back to the hotel, just as a late afternoon thunderstorm threatens to crest the mountains and swamp us. Naps are taken. Dinner is next door at a small friendly trattoria/pizza place. Bruschetta misto and antipasto are the stars (more so than my calzone) and the panna cotta passes muster for dad. Back to the hotel to fight with the computers and catch the end of a terrific soccer match between AC Milan and Ajax on TV (AC Milan wins in extra time 3-2...the 2nd half was great with 4 excellent goals). This no doubt disappoints the Ajax fans we saw at Schipol when we changed planes this morning. Jet lag calls ciao Jonathan |
||||
|
||||