Rome Day 2: Bellini's

It's hot, hot, hot. 91 in the shade and there wasn't any shade! We spent the day in antiquity at the Collisseum and then the Forum. Sue and I have been talking about this for 35 years and finally got here. And it definitely met all our expectations. However wandering around the valley of the Forum at midday at the end of June in this heat wasn't the best idea...an easy way to get sunstroke. Still and all, I kept repeating one word all day...AMAZING...that this was all still here after thousands of years.

We figured out at least one of the buses in this chaotic system and though we got on going the wrong way, it ended up dropping us right in front of the hotel. Saw the Capitoline museum and the original statue of Marcus Aurelius, and some fascinating displays on the Temple of Jupiter whose foundations are still here and dates back to the late Bronze age.

We succumbed to the heat, enjoyed a bottle of Prosecco courtesy of the Marriott, and then Bellini's at Harry's Bar, Roma. Evidently there's a display inside on the movie Dolce Vita, but we didn't go in...maybe tonight. Sue liked the Bellini's but preferred Negroni's.

After a leisuely post-prandial stroll (good idea...we had only walked about 20 miles already today!) we ran into the proprieter of Narciso a restaurant on Via Sistina who directed us to a good spot for Limoncello and Cafe latte on the Via Del Croce. We'll plan on having dinner at his place tonight...they make their own pasta. Sphere: Related Content

Rome Day 1- Negroni's

I'm on a long planned vaca in Rome but will use this opportunity to stay in touch with my readers with industry related comments. I stopped at a little off premise shop that was featuring absinthes. Saw a pretty good selection including Grune Fee, the Hapsburg array (good job Dale!), La Fee and a few European brands I didn't recognize. Didn't have my camera, but I'll bring it today and try and find the shop again...it was a pretty interesting window display.

We had Negroni's at the rooftop bar of the Hotel Minerva overlooking the Pantheon and with a view across Rome. Very impressive vista, but at 15 Euros per drink it was a pretty pricey premium. Good potato chips though. Then dinner in Trastavere where we sampled the house Prosecco (fabulous) and the house Chianti (thin and expensive. We're staying at the Marriott at Villa Borghese which is just across the road from Harry's Bar Rome outpost. Plan to introduce my wife to Bellini's tonight.

Oh, and one idle thought...is the coffee really better in Rome...or is it that in Rome, everything is better? Ciao till tomorrow. Sphere: Related Content