A Wonderful Reunion with Dear Friends!
The TandemSpirits have dear fellow tandem friends who live near Wiesbaden in Germany. We met Scott and Gina when we led a tandem ride in the countryside east of Seattle in the 1990’s, so we have been friends for a long time. We normally get to see them every summer, but due to Covid and other time issues, it’s been a few years since we’ve been able to get together. We were thrilled when they said they would like to visit for Christmas.
We decided to meet in Rome, spend a few days there, and then head back to Foligno to celebrate Christmas at our place. We arrived in Rome ahead of them on the 21st. In the morning we were able to check into our hotel and do some shopping. James has been expanding his bartending skills and we wanted to go to a store in Rome, Ebarman.com, that specializes in barware. We took the metro to a part of Rome we haven’t been to before, located the store and completed our shopping mission.
After meeting Scott and Gina at the train station and letting them settle in, we walked to a nearby restaurant, il Gallo Nero, for a quick bite. We had a nice antipasto with cheeses, prosciutto, salami, and a good bottle of Prosecco.
With happy stomachs, we walked around Rome. Our destination was the Botanical Gardens. We had tickets to a light show, Incanto di Luci. We weren’t sure of what to expect when we booked the tickets, and thought it might be something like the beautiful light exhibits we’ve seen in Salerno. It turned out to be completely different, but just as magical. There was a trail to follow through the gardens, and there were various light exhibits as you walked along
After the light show we walked back to the Campo dei Fiori district. Friends in Pittsburgh, Peter and Janet, had strongly recommended an Enoteca there, L’Angolo Divino, and since it was not far from the Botanical Gardens, we made reservations. We shard an appetizer s of paté on good bread, and a Tortino di Zucca which is a kind of terrine.
For dinner we had eggplant parmesan, cacio e pepe ravioli, and oxtail stew, with a bottle of Valpolicella. Everything was outstanding. Thanks for the recommendation Peter and Janet!
On Thursday we walked over to the area around the Lago di Torre Argentina. We had hoped to visit the cat sanctuary there, but we were too early. We did manage to find a vintage guitar shop in Trastevere just as it was opening. Liuteria Americana Roma. While James and Scott checked out the store, Gina and Virginia went into the Chiesa dei Santi Qaranta Martieri e San Pasquale Baylon. A big name for a small church.
The Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill
Our big activity of the day was a tour of the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill. The big news now is that you can book a tour that takes you down into the underground section, which was just opened to the public this year. Our tour guide, Giulia, was interesting, informative, and witty. Although we’ve been to the Colosseum before, we handn’t been able to go underground, and we learned a lot from Giulia. She focused a lot on architecture and engineering. The portion of the tour in the Forum and Palatine hill was also great. We had also never been up to the Palatine Hill.
Click on the Slide Show!
After our tour we had appetizers at a wine bar called Amodei. The waiter explained that all of the meats were reindeer products. It’s hard to describe how delicious they were. The cheeses were also excellent (especially the buffala mozarella)!
That night we had dinner at one of our favorite places in Rome, Maestro Bistro. The waitstaff are knowledgeable, professional and friendly. Scott ordered gnocchi made from pumpkin. Gina had whitefish with artichokes. Virginia and James ordered the duck breast. The Bistrot serves some really amazing desserts:
Galleria Borghese
Friday morning we took a cab to the Galleria Borghese. Our friends had not been to Rome in 20 years, and this was high on their list of things to see. Fortunately it is one of our favorite places in Rome. This time we decided to focus on works we had overlooked on our last visit. They also had a special exhibit with paintings done on material such as rock, slate, copper, and lapis lazuli.
Click on the Slide Show
Lunch was Pinsa Romana (Roman style Pizza) for everyone. Gina and Virginia had the Vegetarian Pinsa, Scot had Sausage and truffle, and James had the Napolitano. After three fun-filled days in Rome, it was time to head home to Umbria for Christmas. We had just enough time to do a bit more shopping, pick up our bags from the hotel, and get the train back to Foligno.
Christmas in Foligno
Upon arriving in Foligno, we brought Scott and Gina to Viniamo, our favorite local wine bar. Silvia always has excellent wines from all over Europe, not just the typical Umbrian wines that most bars have on hand. She’s created a cozy place to enjoy good wine with a great vibe and good music.
Christmas Eve was a day to both relax and to prepare for Christmas Day. We went for a nice walk in town and through Canape park. A lot of people were out, finishing up their Christmas shopping. We stopped into a few stores. Scott was able to pick up a nice Mokka pot at Casa Grande. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at another one of our favorite spots in Foligno, Antico Caffè della Piazza. It’s a place we often go for aperitivi in the summer as its location makes it great for people watching. We enjoyed Eggplant Parmesan with Burata, Pumpkin & Chestnut Soup, Pinsa with Sausage, potatoes and leeks, and a hamburger.
Christmas Day was lovely. Gina and Virginia went to Mass in the morning at Santa Lucia, the church in the monastery next to our place. It is a small chapel, and the sisters there are Poor Clares, so they are cloistered. The priest is actually in the section with the Sisters and is saying mass to them, and they sing many of the responses and prayers.
We spent the morning sprucing up the apartment, setting the table and finding a suitable spot for the appetizers. In addition to Scott and Gina, our friends Jessica, Nico, and Jessica’s mom, Becky also came. Jessica and Nico live in Oakland, but they have a house near ours in Foligno and we enjoy spending time with then when they’re in town. They brought wine and appetizers – salumi and cheeses – and we put out Pacific NW smoked salmon. For Christmas dinner, we had 3 kinds of lasagna that we had ordered from La Romagna, and James also made sautéed kale. For dessert, Jessica and Nico brought a nice Pandoro. Pandoro is one of the traditional Italian Christmas cakes. It is a bit like a pound cake, and is typically served covered in powdered sugar.
Assisi Illuminated
That evening we drove to Assisi to see the illuminations. Some of the images of Giotto’s paintings from the Cathedral were projected onto the facades of various churches and other buildings in town. There were also various Nativity scenes around the churches and in town.
