A very full day, very accurately described by Jonathan.......

The rain overnight has cleared and the sun is shining brilliantly again. We head down to town for a last walk and to pick up pictures. It turns out it's market day....Strangely we hadn't seen the trucks lining the main street and the beachfront from the hotel roof...the trees had completely obscured the market. It's mostly clothes, lingerie, shoes, and pots and pans. Nothing interests me that much. We end up at the port side of town and there find the food part of the market, but very small. Mom buys strawberries and we go back to check out.

On the way, we pull into the frantoio to purchase some local olive oil.
Michael and Seth had purchased special bottles at the hardware store yesterday (they have the hinged metal and plastic stoppers, so hopefully they won't leak) and we step in. There is a nice guy who takes us next door to where they bottle and turns on the tap (it's not old and antique at all, but stainless steel and modern...EU rules). But it is local and looks and smells wonderful. We don't taste, but are happy. I buy a bottle from the frantoio and he fills it for me. He then makes a show of sealing it with a cork, and turns the bottle upside down and shakes...it's solid.

Off we go to Roma. We take the seaside autostrada, which is a nice drive with some views of the Med. The autostrada heads south. South of Toscany is Lazio. Lazio has porchetta. We must have porchetta. Michael and Seth arrived too late for the porchettathon that started our trip. We keep our eyes out as we cruise the road (which is not autostrada the whole way...it becomes a regular 4 lane divided highway, then a non highway, then a two lane road....). Dad thinks he remembers a place just over the border at a gas station where the porchetta trucks stopped. But it's not there today. Michael and Seth pull up alongside us, with questioning looks, wondering where the porchetta is. All we can do is keep looking. Finally, in a parking lot of a mall off the highway, I spot the telltale white truck with the awning and sign. We have porchetta.
If only we could get there. as usual, you can't get there from here....We circle around, cross the autostrada, cross the autostrada again, pull around a shopping center and voila! It's not the greatest, but still satisfies, We buy some dried fruit (the guy must have 30 varieties) and some pistachios and depart....

Driving in Rome can be an experience. People drive fast, the lanes are not well marked, the roads don't follow modern paths, and everything is in Italian. We have two cars and have to not get lost on our way to the center of the historic center of the city. We are staying a couple of blocks off the Piazza Navona in an apartment. We circle the Vatican, try to find a bridge to cross the Tiber, only bang one U-turn and pull up onto the sidewalk, just down the street from the apartment. There's only one problem...dad hasn't been able to reach the guy with the key...and we are two hours later than we had estimated. The door is locked and no one answers when he knocks. Mom suggests buzzing every apartment until someone lets us in. Voila, there is our guy, he's been inside waiting, but we had been given the wrong cell number...

After several trips up the elevator and stairs, we finally have deposited our ridiculous quantity of luggage. The apartment is older, but recently renovated two bedroom with a small kitchen area and a couple of bathrooms. It's a little tight, but in a great location. Now to return the cars. We head over to near the Via Veneto to the Avis office. We make only a couple of wrong turns and a couple of questionable maneuvers, and again, a single U-turn and there we are. And the office is closed.
The people who answer the phone tell us to head to the train station office...a huge pain in the ass. But Michael and Seth check out the underground parking area where the Avis sign points. Ahah! they are there, we drop off the cars and start walking.

We walk through one of the fanciest parts of town, past the American Embassy, towards the Trevi Fountain...and San Crispino, perhaps the best gelato in Rome. There is a decent line (it's warm out, although comfortable for walking) and they are out of over half the flavors, but I settle on cinnamon and ginger creme and grapefruit. They are both incredible. The grapefruit is intense and tart, and the ginger/cinammon is a revelation, spicy and sweet, with a dairy base. I had tried to come here several years before and it had been closed. Worth the wait.
Gelati in hand we cruise by the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, across Piazza Navona and back to the hotel We have a short break before we have to leave for dinner.

Tonight we are invited to Maureen and Franco's. They are old friends of my parents, Maureen (an American tranplant) is a food writer for the NYTimes and Gourmet (among others) and Franco is an Italian traffic engineer. We have all met them before, but I have never been to their Roman apartment. With it's roof terrace. With the view of the Colloseum.

So off we go. the apartment is as advertised. A quarter block from the
Colloseum, it's amazing. And four flights up without an elevator. They
have made a feast...we start with prosciutto and mozzarella di bufalo from southern Italy with olives and bread and wine. It's some of the best I've ever had (Franco has his own deli slicer). Then we have a pasta with tomatoes and sweet red peppers which is delicious, I have seconds...a big mistake. Our main course is a Spring stew called Vignarola (check out the Rome issue of Gourmet for Maureen's article and the recipe). It has fava bean, artichokes, and peas (you can guess whether I like it or not) and is fantastic. I now regret having so much mozzarella and pasta. I would have loved to have had seconds. We talk in to the evening as the moon rises and the lights of the Colliseum brighten. It's a great dinner. Back down to the apartment for dessert...an apple cake from a bakery on the Campo del Fiori and a glass of a frizzante red wine. then comes the explanation of Passover to Franco and some religious esoterica and then the big question, when did the Hebrew calender start? Creation?
Abraham? We are split and the research begins. Maureen has all sorts of reference books that we break into and dad hits the internet.
Seth was correct, it is from Creation....
A terrific evening.

Then into a cab and back to the apartment. Except that it's Satuday night at 11:30 and we are trying to cross the middle of Rome. every road is jammed, people are going crazy with their horns, jumping out of there cars...it's terrible. Our cab driver however is hysterical. He of course drives like a nut, but his phone rings and we listen in on (and then take part in) his converation. He's explaining why he will be late, due to the traffic. The person on the other end is skeptical. he says to wait for him at the house not the restaurant. The traffic is bad, completely obstructed. He really wants to see her. The traffic is obstructed. We start chiming in with "Vero, vero" (it's true). He laughs and gets off the phone and explains that it's his girlfriend out in Ostia (a half hour away in the best of times) and that she expects him in 20 minutes. His wife and kids are home asleep, and you know, he's Italian....It's pretty funny. Seth explains that he's from Chicago, oh this guy has friends from Chicago. It's our mom's birthday, Oh congratulations....etc, etc.

We finally get home and Michael, Seth and I head out to check out the scene. The piazzas are packed. Around Piazza Navona are tons and tons of people. We stop into a bar and have a drink, just watching the Italians do there thing. Then it's over towards Campo del Fiori. It's a scene that needs to be seen to be believed. Seth compares it to the largest open air frat party in the world. There must be over a thousand people in the square, all standing, drinking, and talking. Some people are at bars or at tables, but mostly people are just standing (although some nutcases are sitting in the middle of the piazza on the ground. the only noise that overwhelms the Vespa engines is the sound of bottle getting kicked and shattering. There's no way sitting on the ground is a good idea. We wander and gawk and then head back. It's 2 AM and I'm beat.