Le tre amiche

As I mentioned in my last post, we had two of our friends visit us in our Rome home recently. Rachel and Lo spent just over a week in Italy, spending time with us during both weekends and traveling together to other cities in between. It was so lovely having them here, and Indigo was beyond ecstatic that Auntie Rachel and Cantaloupe (her attempt at saying Auntie Lo) had come to see her.

Lo and Rachel, with the Eternal City stretched out behind them

The day after our adventures at the Vatican, the three of us decided to do one of Rick Steve's (forever altered in my mind now to Stevie Nicks, as he was called by some obnoxious American tourists) walking tours of Rome. We set off down the hill and through Trastevere, crossing the Tiber River into the heart of Rome.

Our first stop was supposed to be Campo de Fiori, home to Rome's largest outdoor market. But the thing about the city is, it's filled with hundreds of tiny, twisting, cobblestone roads that seem more like secret passages than honest-to-goodness roads. So it's quite easy to end up someplace entirely unexpected (although probably delightful).

We ended up, unexpectedly and delightfully, at an excavation site, and peered in. I think it was Rachel that noticed the first cat, then the second and third - and then we realized that there were at least a dozen cats lounging amongst the overgrown grass and broken columns and stairs. We had happened upon a cat sanctuary. There was a little office down inside the site, with instructions to ring the bell if interested in adopting a cat. The Italian government, by the way, pays people to feed the cats in their neighborhoods. It's actually a real job, and it's brilliant. Rome does not have a rat problem; the people take care of the cats, and the cats take care of the rats. Why don't we do that in the States?

Another gem we found was this tiny church seemingly squished amongst the buildings in the piazza. There must be hundreds of these little churches scattered about the neighborhoods of Rome. I find them utterly charming.

We finally made it to Campo de Fiori, and were aggressively propositioned to by several Italian men trying to get us to eat at their restaurants. One sang "Born in the USA" and tried to give us kisses. Another danced for our favor. Rachel, being the most immune to this kind of persuasion, steered us to a little place where no one was pressuring us, and we discovered the eighth wonder of the world: zucchini fritters. Honestly, they're really hush puppies with an almost token amount of green in them, but who cares? They count as vegetables, right? So. Good.

Onward, then, to Piazza Navona, which I immediately fell in love with. Possibly because of the trio of Baroque fountains there. Possibly because of the two amazing toy stores there. Possibly because it is the site of the annual Christmas Market, which I am so excited to take Indigo to. Maybe I just really like this guy to the right. Can you blame me?

We lost ourselves again, but eventually found our way to the Pantheon. I admit to being incredibly naive here, but I had thought, illogically, that it would still house the original pantheon of Roman gods. No, of course it doesn't; it was silly to think that it wouldn't have been converted to Christianity long ago, with the original heathen statues and art destroyed (sob). But I was disappointed nonetheless. The structure is breathtaking, of course - completely unbelievable, really. But disappointingly Christian. Ah, well.

The outside of the Pantheon

We saw the Trevi Fountain, of course. And the Spanish Steps. And a million breathtaking buildings, ruins, obelisks, architectural elements, fountains.



Santa Maria Novella

The age and history of Rome is amazing, but Florence - Florence is simply gorgeous. I took the high-speed train (we really need to get that mode of travel in the US!) there to meet Rachel and Lo, who had been visiting Venice, and the three of us spent the day "swanning" around (as Lo likes to say), looking at art and architecture, and having a lovely time.
There were so many beautiful buildings and artistic touches, everywhere. The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella is covered in stripes, but it's not painted - the builders actually used different white and green stone to achieve that look. I found myself wishing that I knew more about art history, so that I could identify all the things that I was seeing. We also went and toured the Uffizi Gallery, which houses a huge collection of amazing art, but probably most famously Botticelli's Birth of Venus. It was a thoroughly enjoyable museum experience, because the gallery limits the number of guests who can enter at one time, so it does not get overcrowded.

We walked through the city, and personally I loved the smaller, more intimate feel of the place, as compared to Rome. I love Rome as well, but Florence feels so much more manageable. And I felt like I had a good sense of the place, even after just 9 or 10 hours there. I still don't feel as though I have a full grasp of Rome, even after being here a month, but I suppose that's because it seems so vast.

We walked over the Ponte Vecchio, and did some shopping. Florence is famous for its leather, and we found several shops to peruse. One in particular was quite nice, and we had a nice repore with the shopkeep - and I ended up haggling a little bit to get a better price on a leather bag (not for me, sadly). But still! I haggled. Then we had a delicious dinner as night fell, and a beautiful walk back to the train station to catch a train back to Rome.

The Arno River

Then alas, came Lo and Rachel's last day with us in Rome. They went to Ostia for the day, which I regret missing, but Josh and Indigo were both sick at home. I went out for one final dinner with my ladies, and had some of the best pasta I've ever had in my life. (Some day I will write a separate post devoted to the food I've had here in Italy, I promise). A last walk around the heart of downtown, then we caught separate cabs and went our separate ways, me to my new home and they to their old. I look forward to catching up with them again next June.

Arrividerci!