Rome, Days 3 and 4

 Rome Day 3

Weather: cool in a.m. and waning up to 80 in the afternoon sun, warm in evening

THB and DB walk to another cute neighborhood, one with smaller, crooked streets, for pasties, bread and coffees. There is a farmer's market where we buy more figs and a prepared food shop where we buy cheese, porchetta and artichokes for dining in at MEH for the next two days. 

Most of the pics from this outing will not load and DB changes an i-cloud setting for THB. Cross your fingers as you follow along. 

THB does some laundry, sun-dried on the terrace. 15 minutes and one turn and everything is dry and folded and put away (oh no, THB is now stretching the posts by talking about washing his clothes...it was a light day for building a post). 

Take a mid-afternoon break for gelato at Fatamorganana Croce, a reco from Emily the city tour guide. GREAT!

Back to lounging around, Dinner at Trattoria Al Gran Sasso, less than 500 meters from MEH. Very good (CL reco), we dine in the basement with several other small groups.

Part of the Richard Meier building (all white, only building in Rome with all white exterior)

Church across alley from the Meier

around town

Disc protecting statue on side of building, disc maybe circa 1975?

Trattoria Al Gran Sasso: tuna tartare with mango, excellent

pasta with arugula; another pasta, two salads, three glasses of wine, $93

blog post filler

Crossing your fingers did not work...THB was able to retrieve this pic of Forno Moteforte, highly reco'd

 Rome Day 4

Weather: wami-sh, even at night, and humid

THB slept through the big event of last night: DB was able to see the fireworks go off outside, she thinks it was one of those Italian traditions where they set off fireworks at the wedding reception.

Now for the first big test of the latest pic solution: turn  off the phone and the computer, then turn them on again.

DB came up with the solution (it is EM's mantra, how could THB forget it????). First pics have loaded, easy peasy. 

the 9am peloton is forming in People Plaza

the local Roman gate as seen from outside the wall

We hike up to the Borghese Gardens; unlike Day 2,  this will not be a 13K step day as as the gardens are right behind MEH.

Straight from Wayne's World, he's playing Stairway to Heaven (on our return he has moved on to Volare and the crowd is dancing while singing along)

That's the Vatican, the air has been this clear all week

statues are strewn along the main roads thru the Gardens

another gate from the outside

roller blading class for pre-teens

sign-in station for the bikers

two cappuccinos, two small biscotti, $11 (sitting down)

the 10:30 peloton is off to the races

Richard Meier building built around aa archeological finding; outside claddings is bright white, only such in Rome's historical district

typical Rome crowd if everyone is pushed on to sidewalk

Emma's for dinner, well known pizzeria

thinly sliced artichoke hearts marinated in lemon (needed a bit more lemon for THB)with parmesan, pine nuts and arugula; THB made a similar dish many years ago, and it was just like this one (recipe maybe from NYT)

big negroni and a draft brewski (unusual!)

thin crust, anchovies buried under cheese

no gelato today, tiramisu in a cup 

the waiter runs the AMEX through twice so now we are dealing with that issue...$73 .... or $146?. Pics load fine until last few from dinner and THB has easy work-around.

Book Review: Desert Solitaire, a Season in the Wilderness, Edward Abbey (read by Michael Kramer, pub'd 1968): THB thought he had heard this book before. Nope, he had heard Kramer read twice Zen and the Art of Maintenance, pub'd 1974. Zen is one of THB's top 5 (even before listening to the book) and now Desert Solitaire enters the pantheon of all-time greats as well.

This book fits perfectly with THB's Grand Canyon listening spree as Abbey spent 6 months as a ranger for Arches NP, at a station so remote that most visitors to the park never saw him. Intellectual, sense of self-deprecating humor, ends with one of the last raft trips before the Glen Canyon dam is finished. It is another view of this region, extremely well done, if not perfect, which is what THB thought about 75% of the way through. Actually: it is perfect, just like Zen (per N. Young, "it's all one long song" especially when sung by the same reader/singer).

Beyond Category a biking term for climbs so steep they aren't really bikeable ... see Vuelta A Espana, Stage 15, 2024