Just Like Pasta e Fasule: Italy 2023, Day 01

So, as our last post explained, the trip we had planned to take toward the end of January just kind of fizzled out. Boo. Thus, our actual kick-off to TravelFest 2023 is a 10-ish day excursion to Italy. For those unfamiliar with how our brains work, the planning for this trip went something like this: “I (Lisa) have always wanted to go to Carnival in Venice.” “Well, I (John) think that’s a great idea, but if we’re going to go to the trouble of packing our bags and getting on a plane, we might as well see other things, too, right?” And thus has trouble often emerged. This time, it feels like we kept things pretty well under control. It’s five days in Rome, followed by five days in Venice, then home. Nice and tight. I mean… it’s not really, not at all. More like, “it could have been so much worse.” But, hey! Rome! Neat, right?

By the standards of some of our trips, we got to wake up at an incredibly sane 7 AM to make our 8 AM bus for Porto. Brief diversion: buses are much more a part of our life than previously and certainly if you ignore daily work commutes. We now take the bus to *places*. [Granted, most of those places so far are the airport in Porto, but we have plans for more!] There are multiple bus companies in Portugal and, indeed, all over Europe. As a result, they have to be cleaner and cheaper than, say, Greyhound or else people will use the competition. We take an immaculate bus straight to the airport curbside for about eight bucks. Sadly (we think) the other end of the bus ride holds disappointment, as we have swallowed hard and booked our flight on Ryanair. As has been previously reported, we aren’t fans but, of course, they sing the siren song of low fares and we sailed right back to them. Cue our shock when we ended up having an acceptable experience! Despite the line for our flight not opening at the check-in counter for more than an hour after we arrived, a lovely attendant in a different line waved us over and checked us in! Might sound simple, but nothing was simple about Ryanair last time. We were able to meander through security, have a coffee as we saw fit, and get to our gate area with no trouble. Pre-boarding was also painless, except for a landmark event for John: a younger person gave up their seat so that he could sit down. John tried to wave it off, but the young man and his girlfriend insisted that he please take a seat next to Lisa. There was nothing for it but to sit down. Ouch. The flight itself was relatively painless, just the usual advertising pitches. (If you haven’t been on a Ryanair flight before, the cabin is festooned with marketing signage and they use the P.A. system to actively push “great values!” from the duty-free. It’s…. whatever. Life these days, I guess.)

We flew into Ciampino airport for the first time – it’s the Gatwick of Rome, if that makes any sense. In other words, there was a bus transfer to the train station followed by a 20 minute train ride to Rome’s Termini station. Yes, we know that’s like the soup du jour of the day or the ATM machine, but that’s the name of the thing. And not to be a broken record, but man is train travel lovely. None of this “outskirts of town” nonsense, you’re right in the heart of the city immediately. You’re also five minutes from the public streets, rather than circuitously navigating through a cavernous airport. Horses for courses and all that, but we do love a good train. The taxi stand in front of the station was actually a lot saner than we’re used to, and it was simplicity itself to book our ride to our home for the next few days, the Palm Suite. The location is phenomenal. This is not a budget accommodation; we don’t often go for luxury, but we will occasionally pay for access/location, and we are in the middle of everything.

After a day of travel we did not feel like doing much in the way of tourism, but just getting to dinner for the evening caused us to circle around the Colosseum, so … yeah. Beautiful. Our meal was at Contrario, or at least one of them. They have a Bistro and a “Vineria con Cucina” which translates, I believe, into “booze and nummies.” Whatever we’re calling it, we had a dang fine meal. It was only a little odd at first because we’d specifically told the concierge that we’d be eating all sorts of adventurous things this week and could we just start off with a straight-down-the-middle, traditional Italian joint. What we got was Italian classics juged up with modern sensibilities. Whatever we’re calling it, it was a truly delicious meal. We began by sharing a dish of Giuarda (Jewish) style artichokes (deep fried) with a Taleggio cheese fondue which was fantastic. But the standout may have been the pasta course we shared, a manicotti with minced sausage (Norcia) and a sauce of roman peccorino cheese and broccoli that had been pureed into almost non-existence and yet still infused everything with flavor. Hard to describe but bonkers good. John had a dish from the day’s specials — veal saltimboca, perfectly prepared and flavorful. Lisa had the beef cheek, meltingly tender and rich, served over mashed potatoes. They had an Amarone della Valpolicella Classico for 10eu/ glass, which was a perfect choice. But Lisa notes that they take their wine seriously and have a binder of options — 50 pages! So this is a great place to explore a variety of wines under the guidance of the knowledgeable staff. This was as good an end to a day as we were going to get, and we knew it. A lovely walk back home and into bed.

The rest of Rome awaits!