I came back from Irsina earlier than Anna and Giuseppe last week because I started training for a job on Tuesday. I accepted a position at a school called, Inlingua, that is only a 20 minute walk from the boy's apartment. Very convenient that it's in the area! I attended 12 hours worth of training last week with the director and taught my first lesson yesterday. Some students come to the school, but they also teach at a lot of companies, so I may have to travel to different parts of the city in the future. Yesterday's lesson was 4 hours with a business-professional woman looking to improve her English. She works for Fiserv and the company is doing a huge re-work, with the new head director being either British or American. This lady lived in Washington DC back in 1990, where she works for a cancer research company. She was very easy to get along with and I thought my first lesson went great! I was very nervous leading up to it, but felt very comfortable once there. I start teaching IBM professionals from 9am-1pm as a group lesson next Monday for 3 weeks. I'm much more nervous about teaching a group!
I also accepted a position working for a company called, English 4 Me. They are also located close to my apartment. I will be teaching elementary students 3-4 days per week in an after-school program. I will also be doing private lessons for some of those students, as well as, private lessons for adults. I teach my first private lesson this Friday for a couple who wants to go to the US next year and would like to be able to speak good English.
I have an opportunity for a third job, but at this time, really do not have time for it. Giuseppe's friend, Adriano is starting a school near the local airport, Ciampino. He needs two teachers to begin with while he gets the school established to work from 4-9, but that doesn't fit in my schedule. He wanted to open the school September 15th, but it's now September 28th and there's no sign of the school opening anytime soon. I couldn't sit around and wait for him to start the school. If it's a good enough opportunity, I may choose to work for him in the future. It is a far commute, so the other two jobs that I accepted are much more convenient for me.
I move out of Giuseppe and Francesco's on Friday and into an apartment with 3 Italian girls. The girls are all students and I have yet to meet them, so I hope that they are easy to get along with. Giuseppe's friends, Adriano and Aurelio, own the apartment and rent it out, so I feel much better knowing the landlords. My room is a double room, meaning it has 2 beds. I'll be living in the room by myself until the end of December and starting in January, my good friend from highschool, Shelly Ferguson, will be joining me in Italy and we will share the room. I'm beyond excited for her to get here!!! The apartment is in a great area surrounded by tons of clothes stores, book stores, coffee shops, restaurants, grocery stores, movie theater, etc. I'll be a block away from the bus stop that drops me off right at work; very convenient! I'll post pictures of the apartment as soon as I get settled.
Everything is falling into place for me here. I'm excited to be out on my own and hopefully make some Italian girlfriends and learn more of the language. I'm ready to start working and finally make Euros, so I don't have to constantly convert everything I buy into dollars, which is very depressing everytime I think about it. Now is when the vacation-period ends and real life kicks in.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
San Eufemia
I got back from Irsina yesterday afternoon. Giuseppe and Anna drove me to Potenza, which is a 45 minute drive from Irsina, so that I could take the train back to Rome. The bus is 6 hours 15 minutes, while the train is only 4 1/2 hours. Taking the train was much better than the bus!
Anna and I left last Thursday. We were going to take a 7:30am bus out of Rome, but that didn't work out so well. We were there in plenty of time. Giuseppe took us to the bus station. A bus came at 7:30 and we asked Giuseppe if that was our bus, but he said no, that bus was going to Bari, so we believed him and waited and waited and waited for our bus to show up. I'm 99% sure that the bus that came was our bus!! So we had to wait until 9am until the main ticket office opened so that we could change our tickets to later that afternoon. We had to take the metro and come all the way back home, to go back to the bus station to get on a 3:30pm bus. We didn't get into Gravina until 9:40pm! Giuseppe's dad picked us up that night. We hit some traffic getting out of Gravina, which is hard to believe because it's a town of maybe 15,000 people, but that's the way our day was going. We finally got to Irsina around 10:15, changed our clothes, ate a quick dinner and headed into town for the festival. We walked up and down the main street and ran into some friends right away. Giuseppe's parents asked us to be home by 2am and I didn't understand why we had a curfew when in August, Francesco and I stayed out until 5, 6, 7am every night.
Friday morning at 9:30am, I understood. His parents woke us up to go to church with them. September 16th, Friday, was the main day of the festival. The church was packed with people, so Anna and I had to stand for the 1.5 hour service. It was a beautiful service, but we were hot, tired, and had a very hard time understanding everything since it was in Italian. We went home after church and had a HUGE lunch. Lasagna, steak, salad, prosciutto, sausage, mozzarella, nuts, fruit and cake...we were so full!! At 6pm that night was the procession of San Eufemia's arm. Lina (Giuseppe's mom) pushed her way through the crowd to get Anna and I up close so we could see what was going on. We processed for only a short time after learning that the procession lasts for 3.5 hours!
Saturday afternoon, Giuseppe arrived. He couldn't come earlier because his co-worker's sister got married and he had to work. We had another huge lunch after Giuseppe arrived, then he and Anna told his parents that they are engaged. His parents were very happy and immediately started brainstorming wedding details. We popped a bottle of champagne and celebrated the happy moment.
Saturday night, Anna, Giuseppe and I went to a concert in town. The band was a cover band for a famous Italian "love song" singer. They were very good! Right after the concert, was fireworks. They lasted for an hour...they were some of the best fireworks i've ever seen. The only problem was that they were shot off nearby and some ashes flew into the crowd. Later that night, we saw a girl at the bar wearing an eye patch because ashes had flown into her eye.
We finally made it to the rides Saturday night. They are called, giostre, in Italian, but all of our friends called them the "fun machines." Most of the rides were ones that spin and I did not want to get sick, so I didn't ride any. Anna, Giuseppe and I all played a game where we shot pellets to knock over objects...Anna and I won stuffed Hippos that we can take back to Rome as memorabilia. Anna and Giuseppe rode this ride:
Sunday, the three of us slept in until lunch time since we had stayed out until 5:30am. Day 3 of having a huge lunch. It never gets old though...Lina is a fantastic cook; I always miss her food when I go back to Rome. Giuseppe played soccer in Gravina that night, so we went to watch him play. His team won 16-10. It was my first soccer match that i've watched in person since arriving. The boys will start to play soccer on Monday nights in Rome; i'm excited to start going with Anna to watch them!
Another very fun time in Irsina!! I loved when I walked up and down the main street this time, even though I wasn't with Francesco, people still recognized and talked to me. I love the small town feel of everyone knowing each other. I look forward to returning to Irsina again someday soon :-)
Anna and I left last Thursday. We were going to take a 7:30am bus out of Rome, but that didn't work out so well. We were there in plenty of time. Giuseppe took us to the bus station. A bus came at 7:30 and we asked Giuseppe if that was our bus, but he said no, that bus was going to Bari, so we believed him and waited and waited and waited for our bus to show up. I'm 99% sure that the bus that came was our bus!! So we had to wait until 9am until the main ticket office opened so that we could change our tickets to later that afternoon. We had to take the metro and come all the way back home, to go back to the bus station to get on a 3:30pm bus. We didn't get into Gravina until 9:40pm! Giuseppe's dad picked us up that night. We hit some traffic getting out of Gravina, which is hard to believe because it's a town of maybe 15,000 people, but that's the way our day was going. We finally got to Irsina around 10:15, changed our clothes, ate a quick dinner and headed into town for the festival. We walked up and down the main street and ran into some friends right away. Giuseppe's parents asked us to be home by 2am and I didn't understand why we had a curfew when in August, Francesco and I stayed out until 5, 6, 7am every night.
Friday morning at 9:30am, I understood. His parents woke us up to go to church with them. September 16th, Friday, was the main day of the festival. The church was packed with people, so Anna and I had to stand for the 1.5 hour service. It was a beautiful service, but we were hot, tired, and had a very hard time understanding everything since it was in Italian. We went home after church and had a HUGE lunch. Lasagna, steak, salad, prosciutto, sausage, mozzarella, nuts, fruit and cake...we were so full!! At 6pm that night was the procession of San Eufemia's arm. Lina (Giuseppe's mom) pushed her way through the crowd to get Anna and I up close so we could see what was going on. We processed for only a short time after learning that the procession lasts for 3.5 hours!
Saturday afternoon, Giuseppe arrived. He couldn't come earlier because his co-worker's sister got married and he had to work. We had another huge lunch after Giuseppe arrived, then he and Anna told his parents that they are engaged. His parents were very happy and immediately started brainstorming wedding details. We popped a bottle of champagne and celebrated the happy moment.
Saturday night, Anna, Giuseppe and I went to a concert in town. The band was a cover band for a famous Italian "love song" singer. They were very good! Right after the concert, was fireworks. They lasted for an hour...they were some of the best fireworks i've ever seen. The only problem was that they were shot off nearby and some ashes flew into the crowd. Later that night, we saw a girl at the bar wearing an eye patch because ashes had flown into her eye.
We finally made it to the rides Saturday night. They are called, giostre, in Italian, but all of our friends called them the "fun machines." Most of the rides were ones that spin and I did not want to get sick, so I didn't ride any. Anna, Giuseppe and I all played a game where we shot pellets to knock over objects...Anna and I won stuffed Hippos that we can take back to Rome as memorabilia. Anna and Giuseppe rode this ride:
Sunday, the three of us slept in until lunch time since we had stayed out until 5:30am. Day 3 of having a huge lunch. It never gets old though...Lina is a fantastic cook; I always miss her food when I go back to Rome. Giuseppe played soccer in Gravina that night, so we went to watch him play. His team won 16-10. It was my first soccer match that i've watched in person since arriving. The boys will start to play soccer on Monday nights in Rome; i'm excited to start going with Anna to watch them!
Another very fun time in Irsina!! I loved when I walked up and down the main street this time, even though I wasn't with Francesco, people still recognized and talked to me. I love the small town feel of everyone knowing each other. I look forward to returning to Irsina again someday soon :-)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Dog Days Are Not Over
It continues to be very hot here. I wish that it would cool down soon. I always hear about the cooler temperatures back in the states, but it's consistently 90 degrees and humid here each day.
Time is flying by here. I can't believe it's already mid-September!! Anna and I continue to keep very busy. Last Wednesday, we went to our friend, Annalisa's house for a dinner party. I feel so lucky that I have opportunities like going to a dinner party at an Italian friend's house and be surrounded by only other Italians. Friday, Anna and Giuseppe celebrated one year since they met in Chicago. Anna made reservations at her favorite restaurant in the city that has tables in a garden...so romantic! Annalisa and I went to see our friend, Simone's band play. They are an Oasis cover band and are very talented.
Saturday, Anna and I went with a bunch of friends to an aperitivo and "murder mystery" show that our friend, Valeria was in. We had to discover who the murderer was for the situation that they acted out. Our friends were great and translated everything for us so that we knew what was going on. We were the first table to solve the mystery and unfortunately, Anna and I were of no help. It was my first aperitivo since arriving in Italy. It's a great deal that you have to spend 10euros and you get a drink and a buffet of food; a great way to eat cheaply!
Sunday night was the first Inter Milan game of the season. Francesco and I watched the game, but they lost to Cagliari. He was not in a good mood! All of our friends here are fans of Roma. Francesco and Giuseppe are the only ones who support Inter. I like to be different and support Inter as well. I've never been into soccer, but it's such a big deal over here, that i'm excited to get into it.
Last night, Anna and I went to the Mexican restaurant we went to last Monday. This time, we took Annalisa with us. Annalisa never drinks, but agreed to have a margarita with us last night. We made it a pact to eat there at least once a month. The boys had to have dinner with their boss, but met us up later at the Irish Pub for a drink.
Today, I accepted a position to work as a freelance English teacher for a school called, Inilingua. A lot of the courses are taught at businesses that are in my neighborhood. I start training next Tuesday and begin working around the first of October. Depending on my flexibility, I can pick up as many hours as I'd like. If other opportunities come up for the morning or afternoon, I can take those as well. I'm excited to finally start working!! I also have found an apartment that i'm moving into at the end of September. I'll be living with 3 Italian girls that are students. My room is a double room, meaning it has 2 beds. I'm going to live there by myself until the end of December when my friend, Shelly is moving here. She's going to be teaching english as well and I am beyond excited for her to get here!! Everything is falling into place and I continue to feel blessed in all of my experiences here.
Anna and I are headed to Irsina on Thursday. This weekend is the festival of San Eufemia, the patron saint of Irsina. There are concerts each night, rides, food stands, etc. A lot of my friends from Irsina that I met in August will be back for this weekend. Giuseppe comes on Saturday and that's when they'll tell his parents that he and Anna are engaged! I'll come back next Monday since I have training on Tuesday for my new job. I'm very excited to go back and to introduce Anna to some of the great people that I met there last month.
Time is flying by here. I can't believe it's already mid-September!! Anna and I continue to keep very busy. Last Wednesday, we went to our friend, Annalisa's house for a dinner party. I feel so lucky that I have opportunities like going to a dinner party at an Italian friend's house and be surrounded by only other Italians. Friday, Anna and Giuseppe celebrated one year since they met in Chicago. Anna made reservations at her favorite restaurant in the city that has tables in a garden...so romantic! Annalisa and I went to see our friend, Simone's band play. They are an Oasis cover band and are very talented.
Saturday, Anna and I went with a bunch of friends to an aperitivo and "murder mystery" show that our friend, Valeria was in. We had to discover who the murderer was for the situation that they acted out. Our friends were great and translated everything for us so that we knew what was going on. We were the first table to solve the mystery and unfortunately, Anna and I were of no help. It was my first aperitivo since arriving in Italy. It's a great deal that you have to spend 10euros and you get a drink and a buffet of food; a great way to eat cheaply!
(Aperitivo and "Murder Mystery" Show)
Sunday night was the first Inter Milan game of the season. Francesco and I watched the game, but they lost to Cagliari. He was not in a good mood! All of our friends here are fans of Roma. Francesco and Giuseppe are the only ones who support Inter. I like to be different and support Inter as well. I've never been into soccer, but it's such a big deal over here, that i'm excited to get into it.
(Annalisa, Francesco, Giuseppe, Anna and I at the Irish Pub)
Last night, Anna and I went to the Mexican restaurant we went to last Monday. This time, we took Annalisa with us. Annalisa never drinks, but agreed to have a margarita with us last night. We made it a pact to eat there at least once a month. The boys had to have dinner with their boss, but met us up later at the Irish Pub for a drink.
(Anna, Annalisa and I at the Mexican Restaurant with Annalisa's first drink!)
Today, I accepted a position to work as a freelance English teacher for a school called, Inilingua. A lot of the courses are taught at businesses that are in my neighborhood. I start training next Tuesday and begin working around the first of October. Depending on my flexibility, I can pick up as many hours as I'd like. If other opportunities come up for the morning or afternoon, I can take those as well. I'm excited to finally start working!! I also have found an apartment that i'm moving into at the end of September. I'll be living with 3 Italian girls that are students. My room is a double room, meaning it has 2 beds. I'm going to live there by myself until the end of December when my friend, Shelly is moving here. She's going to be teaching english as well and I am beyond excited for her to get here!! Everything is falling into place and I continue to feel blessed in all of my experiences here.
Anna and I are headed to Irsina on Thursday. This weekend is the festival of San Eufemia, the patron saint of Irsina. There are concerts each night, rides, food stands, etc. A lot of my friends from Irsina that I met in August will be back for this weekend. Giuseppe comes on Saturday and that's when they'll tell his parents that he and Anna are engaged! I'll come back next Monday since I have training on Tuesday for my new job. I'm very excited to go back and to introduce Anna to some of the great people that I met there last month.
(Me, Francesco and Annalisa :)
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Busy, Busy
The past few days have been crazy busy, but in a good way. Giuseppe and Francesco have kept me very busy and we've been on the go a ton.
Last week, I went out with friends 4 nights. I went to Campo de Fiori twice last week. The first time was last Saturday and I went with Raffaele, Simone, Valeria, and Pippo. We had a drink in the center of the square; the prices are always a little higher in this part of town. It's always fun to be in the center of the action and watch all the people. After our drink, we walked around the streets for about an hour admiring the architecture and doing some more people watching.
I went back again last Wednesday with Giuseppe, Valeria and Adriano. We ate at the restaurant that was next to the place we went on Saturday. They had very good panini's for a reasonable price of 6 euros. Giuseppe bought us a bottle of champagne; no special occasion. We then went to Bar di Fico (Fig Bar) where they make the best cocktails. Giuseppe is always on the hunt for the best margarita and having it be one of my favorite drinks, I'm happy to be on the hunt with him. Bar di Fico made a very good margarita, but not my favorite.
Friday night, Francesco was off work. We had Valeria over for dinner. We barely had any food in the house, but found some chicken in the freezer and a thing of asparagus risotto in the cupboard. It turned out to be a great dinner! We met up with Raffaele, Bruno, Pippo and Adriano at Circolo degli Artisti. It was half discoteca/half bar. We weren't in the mood to dance, so decided to stay outdoors. There was a huge lawn where many people were hanging out on and in the back, they had a big patio with tables and chairs, then there was a raised part with lounge chairs for people to lay on. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and unlike any place i've been before.
Saturday, I went to the beach with Raffaele, Pippo and Francesco to Cerveteri. It was an unbearably hot day and there was no wind. It was pretty miserable, so we didn't stay too long. That night, we all met up and went to see Dario Cassini, a famous Italian comedian. I decided to go because it was something different and I thought I could understand some jokes. I ended up having a great time and understood 30-40% of what he said!! My Italian is improving daily.
Sunday, I spent the day helping Giuseppe prepare for Anna's arrival that night. He planned a dinner for her on the rooftop of his building. It hasn't rained in Rome for the past 3 months, but it did on Sunday! He was very bummed, but we relocated the dinner to his kitchen. We met up with a bunch of friends for an aperitivo for Adriana, who is moving to Milan this Friday. It was my first time meeting her and i'm sad that she's moving because she was very sweet and spoke good English. The bar we went to made my favorite margarita i've had so far! Giuseppe then dropped me off at home while he went to the airport to pick-up Anna. I set-up the table with all the food and wine. She came home and was very surprised that he spent the time to put a dinner together for her. It was very sweet of him! He even made me a plate of each dish he served her and bought me a rose...I didn't expect anything in return, so was very happy to be paid in food and flowers.
I'm sooo happy to have Anna back in Rome and for us to FINALLY be in the city together!! We found a mexican restaurant nearby and took the boys for dinner last night. We have a new favorite restaurant and we're beyond excited that we found good mexican food in the city. They make a decent guacamole, but our favorite thing was the tostados. They also make a pretty good margarita. I only got one picture at dinner before my camera died.
Today, Anna and I went into the center of town. We planned on taking the train as it was very humid this morning. We got to the train station and, of course, the transportation department was on strike. It's the first strike i've seen since i've been here. We decided to walk into town instead. It was about an hour walk. At one point, we weren't sure which way to go, so we stopped and asked for directions. The man didn't speak any English, so I was forced to use my Italian. For the most part, we found our way. We were walking along the street and I looked up and saw that we were at Scholar's Pub. Scholar's was where I went on my first night in Italy last year with my dad and Andy, where we watched the Cavs play in the NBA playoffs. I had told Anna about it many times, so we stopped in for a beer and caprese salad. It was very well air-conditioned and felt nice to only be allowed to speak English inside! We then walked down Via del Corso and browsed some of the streets. We ended up at the Spanish steps and decided to check out the metro to see if it was up and running again. We were lucky that it only lasted until 5pm, so we didn't have to walk all the way back home.
It's fun to be a tourist sometimes, but also very exhausting, especially in this heat. I'm very ready for cooler weather to come, although it's not in the forecast anytime soon.
Last week, I went out with friends 4 nights. I went to Campo de Fiori twice last week. The first time was last Saturday and I went with Raffaele, Simone, Valeria, and Pippo. We had a drink in the center of the square; the prices are always a little higher in this part of town. It's always fun to be in the center of the action and watch all the people. After our drink, we walked around the streets for about an hour admiring the architecture and doing some more people watching.
I went back again last Wednesday with Giuseppe, Valeria and Adriano. We ate at the restaurant that was next to the place we went on Saturday. They had very good panini's for a reasonable price of 6 euros. Giuseppe bought us a bottle of champagne; no special occasion. We then went to Bar di Fico (Fig Bar) where they make the best cocktails. Giuseppe is always on the hunt for the best margarita and having it be one of my favorite drinks, I'm happy to be on the hunt with him. Bar di Fico made a very good margarita, but not my favorite.
Friday night, Francesco was off work. We had Valeria over for dinner. We barely had any food in the house, but found some chicken in the freezer and a thing of asparagus risotto in the cupboard. It turned out to be a great dinner! We met up with Raffaele, Bruno, Pippo and Adriano at Circolo degli Artisti. It was half discoteca/half bar. We weren't in the mood to dance, so decided to stay outdoors. There was a huge lawn where many people were hanging out on and in the back, they had a big patio with tables and chairs, then there was a raised part with lounge chairs for people to lay on. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and unlike any place i've been before.
Saturday, I went to the beach with Raffaele, Pippo and Francesco to Cerveteri. It was an unbearably hot day and there was no wind. It was pretty miserable, so we didn't stay too long. That night, we all met up and went to see Dario Cassini, a famous Italian comedian. I decided to go because it was something different and I thought I could understand some jokes. I ended up having a great time and understood 30-40% of what he said!! My Italian is improving daily.
Sunday, I spent the day helping Giuseppe prepare for Anna's arrival that night. He planned a dinner for her on the rooftop of his building. It hasn't rained in Rome for the past 3 months, but it did on Sunday! He was very bummed, but we relocated the dinner to his kitchen. We met up with a bunch of friends for an aperitivo for Adriana, who is moving to Milan this Friday. It was my first time meeting her and i'm sad that she's moving because she was very sweet and spoke good English. The bar we went to made my favorite margarita i've had so far! Giuseppe then dropped me off at home while he went to the airport to pick-up Anna. I set-up the table with all the food and wine. She came home and was very surprised that he spent the time to put a dinner together for her. It was very sweet of him! He even made me a plate of each dish he served her and bought me a rose...I didn't expect anything in return, so was very happy to be paid in food and flowers.
I'm sooo happy to have Anna back in Rome and for us to FINALLY be in the city together!! We found a mexican restaurant nearby and took the boys for dinner last night. We have a new favorite restaurant and we're beyond excited that we found good mexican food in the city. They make a decent guacamole, but our favorite thing was the tostados. They also make a pretty good margarita. I only got one picture at dinner before my camera died.
Today, Anna and I went into the center of town. We planned on taking the train as it was very humid this morning. We got to the train station and, of course, the transportation department was on strike. It's the first strike i've seen since i've been here. We decided to walk into town instead. It was about an hour walk. At one point, we weren't sure which way to go, so we stopped and asked for directions. The man didn't speak any English, so I was forced to use my Italian. For the most part, we found our way. We were walking along the street and I looked up and saw that we were at Scholar's Pub. Scholar's was where I went on my first night in Italy last year with my dad and Andy, where we watched the Cavs play in the NBA playoffs. I had told Anna about it many times, so we stopped in for a beer and caprese salad. It was very well air-conditioned and felt nice to only be allowed to speak English inside! We then walked down Via del Corso and browsed some of the streets. We ended up at the Spanish steps and decided to check out the metro to see if it was up and running again. We were lucky that it only lasted until 5pm, so we didn't have to walk all the way back home.
It's fun to be a tourist sometimes, but also very exhausting, especially in this heat. I'm very ready for cooler weather to come, although it's not in the forecast anytime soon.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Familiar Faces
Today, I saw two of my old co-workers from ACGME, Pat and Mary, in Rome. They are here on vacation and going on a tour of Italy. They had a free day today and start with the tour tomorrow. They are going to Pisa, Florence, Venice, Assissi and one or two other places I can't remember.
We met for lunch at the restaurant Giuseppe and Francesco work at, Le Caveau. Francesco was working lunch today and took great care of us. We started with a rosemary flatbread with fresh mozzarella and ham...delicious! We shared a bottle of wine and each got a pasta dish. Francesco talked me into getting the spaghetti and lobster dish. He knows I don't do well with spaghetti and I had another rough-go-at-it. Francesco attempted to show me again how to twirl it, but I think i'm just spaghetti-challenged!
After lunch, we walked to San Clemente. I had never heard of this church before. It is a three-tiered basilica. The first tier, built in the first century, was a home to a Roman nobleman. The second tier was built in the 4th century, which is when the building was converted to a basilica. The third tier was built just before 1100 and is the present day basilica. It was very interesting to see the different levels and how well they have been preserved over the years. There were still frescoes in fairly decent shape from hundreds of years ago. It continues to amaze me how old the buildings in Rome are and how they are still standing today.
We met for lunch at the restaurant Giuseppe and Francesco work at, Le Caveau. Francesco was working lunch today and took great care of us. We started with a rosemary flatbread with fresh mozzarella and ham...delicious! We shared a bottle of wine and each got a pasta dish. Francesco talked me into getting the spaghetti and lobster dish. He knows I don't do well with spaghetti and I had another rough-go-at-it. Francesco attempted to show me again how to twirl it, but I think i'm just spaghetti-challenged!
After lunch, we walked to San Clemente. I had never heard of this church before. It is a three-tiered basilica. The first tier, built in the first century, was a home to a Roman nobleman. The second tier was built in the 4th century, which is when the building was converted to a basilica. The third tier was built just before 1100 and is the present day basilica. It was very interesting to see the different levels and how well they have been preserved over the years. There were still frescoes in fairly decent shape from hundreds of years ago. It continues to amaze me how old the buildings in Rome are and how they are still standing today.
The closest train stop to San Clemente is Colosseo (Colosseum). We, of course, had to stop and take a picture. Here is Pat and Mary:
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