Day Two: If you walk around Rome all day...are you Roman?

 The hour is reaching about 9 o'clock in Rome.  I have been up, with the exception of interrupted airplane cat naps, since 6am on Friday.  My body isn't made for this stuff, lol, but I feel much better knowing that the kids are basically in the same boat.  We are all exhausted.  It's been a long day and half and the heat here in Rome hasn't helped fuel our exhaustion.  It reached 78' today.  Unseasonably warm with unseasonably high crowds. That said, it was a great day in the eternal city.

We landed in France ahead of schedule by about 30 minutes.  It gave us even more time to switch gates and grab a snack.  I was very pleased to see that the kids didn't all fall into foods that they were comfortable with.  I was even more excited to see them taking the risks of ordering for themselves at the coffee shop.  Knowing the weather in Rome was so hot, I was happy to be wearing convertible pants.  I just unzipped the legs and, boom, I had shorts on!!!

The flight to Rome was smoother than our transatlantic flight.  I know I slipped into sleep mode a couple of times.  I am pretty sure the kids did too.  When we landed in Rome, the weather was what we expected.  I was a little surprised at how relaxed the Italian passport control was, but it helped facilitate our exit...so, I won't go further.  After we grabbed our luggage, we went to meet Joanna.  She is our Tour Director and is with us every step of the way moving forward.  With her, on this trip, is Flavia.  She is training to become a TD and I can already tell, early on, that she will be fine.  They led us to our bus and Rosario, our driver.  He doesn't speak much English, but I could tell he appreciated the help we gave while loading and unloading.

On the bus, we headed into the city.  It had been several years since my last visit to Rome, but I still feel as though I remember it well enough to guide us.  In that respect, it reminds me of Dublin and Boston...big cities, but walkable ones. Our goal today wasn't really to dig into the history and culture of the city.  That is coming.  Our goal was to keep us awake until...about now, lol.  This way, we all fall asleep and awake tomorrow on Roman time without an adverse jetlag kind of feeling.

Joanna took us to the Spanish steps to start.  We had lunch in that area. I ate a spicy salami pizza, but some of the kids had four star sounding dinners.  

****The writing of this blog was just interrupted by a room of kids who blew a fuse after shorting out their power cord.  Shout out to Rocco for fixing their power issues and to Google Translate for letting him and I work on the problem together****

As of yet, I have not caught any of the kids sneaking McDonalds. It doesn't mean it didn't happen, but it hasn't been witnessed yet.  Maybe this group will stay away from American style fast food.  After lunch, we continued our walk.  We saw a ton, but the truth is the city was packed!!! I've never seen Rome so busy.  We think it was a combination of three things; Easter weekend, the beautiful weather, and covid relief.  We made our way through the crowds but were able visit the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon.  

The Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

The Panteon

While Joanna isn't actually our Roman tour guide, it is clear to all that she knows her stuff.  She has been explaining to the kids all about Roman history.  The city has several different stages in its development and we got a glimpse of a few examples in just one afternoon.  The walking tour wrapped up at Piazza Navona. We will be there a few more times this week, as it is one of the spots Roasio can drop us off, but on the way to that beautiful square Joanna taught the kids and I something knew.  

You see, Rome has free drinking water flowing out of several spots throughout the city.  When you visit, an empty water bottle saves you money and quenches your thirst.  Because of the heat, she showed us at least three of these fountains today, but that isn't the lesson.  The lesson was how to drink from one of these old school filling stations.  I think I heard her calling it "pinch the nose." It is hard to explain, but the results are hilarious.

When you block the main spout of the faucet, a water stream shoots up. If you have just the right amount of pressure, it works perfectly.  If you block too much of the spout, the stream shoots about 4 feet.  More than a few of us attempted this today, but only a couple came away from the exercise in dry clothes.

Of course, before we headed to the hotel, we needed another break.  This time almost all of the kids (and chaperones) indulged in some delicious gelato.

Tonight's dinner was pretty good to be honest.  The first course was a medley of three appetizers.  We were presented with the most delicious insalata. Fresh greens, farm grown corn, and cracked black pepper with just the right amount of white wine vinegar and oil made this dish a highlight. It was so good, I forgot to take a photo.  The second amazing treat was freshly rolled and fried croquettes.  They had a beautiful golden crust, but were smooth and creamy upon inspection.  The seasoning was on point.  I was compelled to have two.  The final appetizer was the most amazing bruschetta with either tomato, oil, or locally sourced goat cheese.  Toasted to absolute perfection, these were a hit all around.

The main course was a multilayered lasagna.  While we are thousands of miles from home, it was reminiscent of a truly homecooked meal. The toasted cheese provided the perfect balance of texture to the creamy ricotta hiding between the pasta. The sauce was heavenly.  A divine blend of vine ripen tomatoes, herbs, and spices, slowly combined for hours, it painted a picture of love on a plate.  I was too embarrassed to ask for the recipe, as I know it must have been passed generationally within the same family since Caesar's time.

As if the chef knew of our hearty lunch, for dessert, we received the most delectable sampling of tiramisu one could imagine.  Slightly over two bites, this sweet treat was perfectly crafted.  The cocoa powder drizzle dusted the most amazing bitterness atop a creamy cushion of tasty goodness.  I am glad it was a smaller portion otherwise, I would still be eating more of it.

I've been working on the blog for about an hour so far (including the time it took to restore power to Room 215).  I am quite tired, but I don't think I am going straight to sleep.  I might actually try to read, for pleasure, for the first time in a while.  I've been so busy of late that the little things that I've always enjoyed have been put on the side.  Returning to Europe, with these kids, have awaken part of me that had to be shut down for a bit.  I am so happy that we are here and that all is going well.  I am looking forward to tomorrow's Easter walk through Rome and to Pompeii and the Vatican.  They say all roads lead to Rome...tonight at the Trevi fountain more than a few of the kids made a wish over their left shoulder symbolizing that they will be back to this beautiful city.  I hope they remember this journey, not just as a trip to Europe, but as a beacon that things are normalizing that they are playing a part of that process.  

The Hotel Papillo

Okay...that's it.  Thanks for reading tonight and I hope this blog brought you a little closer to our day.

Mr.  Lavoie, currently at a desk in his hotel room deciding what to read and wondering if folks will realize that he may have embellished his food report a bit.