A Fun-filled Holiday
The Tandem Spirits are fortunate to have two weeks of vacation at the end of the year. This year it’s from Dec. 24th – Jan 6th (Christmas Eve to Epiphany). It’s great to have time at the end of the year to relax, wind down and plan for the upcoming year.
This year our friend Jorge came to visit. He spent some time exploring on his own, and we did some things together. We started things out with a Christmas lunch at our friend, Leonardo’s B&B.
James’ department had their pre-Christmas dinner at a local restaurant, il Cuore Piccante. He said it was good, so we went there for dinner on Dec. 26th. Our dinners were excellent. They have thin house-made breadsticks on the tables, and they bring out warm bit-sized bits of bread. For an appetizer, we had soft boiled eggs with shaved truffles over a potato puree. For dinner, Jorge and James had octopus and Virginia had leg of duck over a vegetable stew.
Spello's Roman Villa and Lunch
We went to Spello on the 31st to visit the Villa dei Mosaici, a Roman Villa discovered in 2005. They were able to restore a number of rooms, and build a museum over the site. We usually try to bring visitors there because the mosaics are beautiful and in some of the rooms traces of the painted walls are still visible.
After the museum, it was time for lunch. We decided to eat at La Botte di Baccio. James had pappardelle with cingiale, Virginia had gnochietti (little gnocchi) in sugo d’oca (goose sauce), and Jorge had a legume soup with lentils, garbanzos and fava beans followed by a plate of meatballs.
We spent part of New Year’s Eve with friends at Viniamo, a wine bar we’ve been going to regularly for five years. We’ve become good friends with the owner, Silvia. It’s where we had our 40th anniversary a couple of years ago. New Year’s Eve was her last day. She has decided to move back to Milano. We drank quite a bit of champagne help clear out her inventory.
Off to Rome for a Visit into the Ancient Past
We started the new year with a trip to Rome. Jorge had to visit a shop to purchase a wallet for his daughter, and we wanted to see the Treasures of the Pharaohs exhibit at the Scuderie del Quirinale. The exhibit had incredible items, some that were almost 3000 years old.
A Delicious Lunch at Piccolo Arancio
We met up with Jorge for lunch at Piccolo Arancio. We’ve eaten there before, and it is close to the Scuderie del Quirinale. Our meals were excellent. We started out with Artichokes Roman style and a bowl of mussels and clams. Jorge and Virginia had swordfish Sicilian style with tomatoes and capers. James had spaghetti with swordfish and cherry tomatoes. We also shared a bottle of Pinot Grigio.
Mercat di Traiano - Trajan's Markets
Our next stop was the Mercati di Traiano Museo dei Fori Imperialid. We’ve walked past it a number of times on our way to some other site or exhibit and we decided that it was time to check it out. Wow. It is a vast complex. It was the last and largest of the Imperial Forums (ie, the Forum of Augustus, the Forum of Caesar). Since 2025 was a Jubilee year in Rome, they had an interesting exhibit “Rome Without the Pope” which explored the Jubilee of 1350 when the Pope was in Avignon. In addition to the architecture, statues and other artifacts, the view from various terraces is fantastic.
Some Other Restaurant Experiences
The Tandem Spirits couldn’t leave out one of the most important aspects of celebrating the holidays in Italy: eating a lot of incredibly good food. We wanted to add a few more pictures from other places where we ate (Le Mura, La Laterna, Antico Cafe and our lunch at Leonardo’s). Enjoy!!!!
Totally enjoyed your post as always! We also love the Picolo Arancio as it is in the piazza we have rented our apartment (https://www.sleepinitaly.com/rome/fontana-di-trevi-apartments/apartment-scanderbeg-crystal)
Thanks for the photos of the Mercati as we too have walked past many times and will be sure to go in next time!
Best wishes for the new year to you both,
Maureen
We love getting. your blog! We need to travel together some time. There are so many places to go and things to see within hours of our homes. See you hopefully in the spring.
I love museums. The Egyptian one was E exquisite I wouldn’t be a very good role traveler Italian traveler, even though you say that food is really good some of it really makes me cringe. Everything is fish or duck or something not too common here don’t they have any cows there?
Thx for all the pictures and telling me what I’m looking at
Love you❤️❤️