Rome Oct. 14: Foiled Again, But A Fun Day

A funny thing actually did happen on the way to the Forum. Turns out I had a reason to be suspicious of those Forum self-guided audio tour tickets, but it was user error and not the fault of the company selling the tickets. I got what I paid for, a downloadable audio tour to use while visiting the Forum…with an official ticket, which I did not buy.

We began today by walking to the site of the Forum, standing in line thinking we had tickets and then being told we did not have tickets, no matter how many times I pleadingly held up my phone showing the audio tour “tickets” and flashing our covid cards to inspectors.

We walked around the outskirts and caught glimpses of the Forum, read a few plaques and then agreed that when we return to Rome in a couple of weeks for our flight home, we will tour the Forum come hell or high water.

We walked to Trastevere, a working-class, hip and historic neighborhood near the Jewish Ghetto. We put in our ear buds, crossed the Tiber and listened to Rick Steves guide us through this interesting neighborhood. There are some old-timers here, we were told, who pride themselves on never crossing the Tiber to visit the central part of Rome.

Trastevere was filled with narrow streets with old bars and trattorias that still keep their historic signs. We enjoyed walking those streets and learning the history and seeing the ancient buildings.

We stopped for lunch along one of the cobblestone streets. I ordered a simple pasta with garlic and red pepper — I needed a break from cheese — and a mixed salad. Betsy ordered the meatballs and wanted something green along with it so she ordered sauteed chicory. However, the waiter had a recommendation for her. He pointed to a different side dish and exclaimed it was superb and told her she would not be disappointed. He was so enthusiastic that she said yes.

After he left, I asked her what she ordered and she said it was sauteed shaved asparagus, chicory and anchovies. Hmmm.

The pasta, salad and meatballs were delicious. Betsy tasted the recommended side dish and realized she couldn’t eat it because the asparagus was not sauteed, but raw. She’s allergic to raw asparagus. I tasted it and couldn’t eat it because it tasted like fishy vegetables. We didn’t want to disappoint the waiter so I scraped the plate into my salad bowl and covered with some leftover romaine.

Betsy says I take too many photos of her sitting at a table with two glasses of wine in front of her. But she’s just so pretty.

After lunch, we finished our walking tour at the Santa Maria Church. We noticed people were signing a book at the entrance but didn’t realize what that meant until we went inside. A lot of people were seated at the front of the church and the priest was speaking from the altar. Even without understanding Italian, we realized it was a much loved woman’s funeral.

After we left Trastevere, we took a slow walk back toward our hotel just taking in the scenery.

We also stopped in an Irish Pub called Scholars Lounge because why not visit a pub while in Rome? We’re fairly sure we ate at an Italian restaurant when we were in Ireland.

The bartender Christopher was from Corpus Cristi and made our visit fun. We had great conversation and some laughs. We may go back there when in Rome again in a couple of weeks. Built in 2005, it looks to have been there for much longer, as the owner had all of the pieces measured, custom-made and brought to Rome to be assembled. We felt like were in Dublin! And when I walked into the second bar, the Dawgs were playing Auburn on the tv!!

I also had my first official Italian cocktail, aperol spritz. So good.

The chairs, however, did not disappoint.

Betsy across the table. 

Tomorrow, we leave for Spoleto where our hike begins on Saturday. I confess, I’m a little concerned about my stamina for this walking holiday. We logged 8.79 miles today, but it was flat, not the hills of Umbria. Betsy is in some of the best shape of her life. I had the same opportunity to get in shape but not the discipline she has. She’s mentioned a few times that she doesn’t want to hear me whining about how hard it is when we are hiking. I’ve advised her to walk far enough ahead that she’s out of earshot. 

Notice the police behind us? We’re smiling because we’ve been joking they could knock on our door any moment. Walking out of the Rome airport Oct. 12 was so strange. We didn’t have to show our passports or pass through customs. Granted, we did that in Frankfort for the connector flight, but in our other travels we still had to pass through customs after picking up our luggage. This time, nothing. We worried that we had bypassed it on accident and would be in trouble for it later. So far, no knock on the door.