Our first really cold morning!  It was 3° which is about 36° Farenheit. Laurie was waiting promptly at 8:40 to drive us to the station in Spoleto.  We took a Freccia train. The ride was about an hour and 15 minutes and BOOM! we were in Rome. The big city.

The line at the taxi stand outside Termini was quite long but moved quickly and before we knew it we were whizzing by Piazza Venezia, over the bridge and into Trastevere to this lovely apartment.  The owner, Elisa, is our kids’ age and she stayed and talked with us for a long time, just chit-chatting.  We really like her!

We grabbed our shopping bags and headed out to find a supermarket.  But first a quick stop at the French bakery Elisa-recommended for 2 wonderful little chicken salad sandwiches, and a stroll through Piazza San Cosimato and the produce market there. The supermarket is Conad and it is underneath an OVS store not far at all from our house and it is buzzing with shoppers.  We got our basics and took everything back to the apartment, then set out for a walk to explore our new neighborhood and get our bearings in this big city. 

The Carmine church is interesting because they have ornate elegant hand made dresses on display that they use throughout the year to actually dress the statue of St. Agatha.  

We kept walking and wandering as it got near sunset.  The church of Santa Maria in Trastevere sparked memories of our visit in 2012 and we sat for a while to take in the mosaics.  

Everything is very lively here and so different from the quiet slow pace of Spoleto.  There are people walking everwhere, kids playing in the piazzas, graffitti, cars, beggars, and weird smells.  It’s a real city.

Dinner was reserved at the highly recomended Pianostrada, just over the Ponte Sisto.  Let me say they have the absolutely most uncomfortable stools I have ever experienced for sitting at the bar at the entertaining open kitchen.  But there is a big Catch 22 to watching the cooks.  When you actually see your dish (calamari 2 ways) come out of the back and sit on the counter unattended and undelivered for at least 5 minutes, that’s just not good.  We had a nice Roman artichoke to start and tagliatelle with a fabulous ragu, but she didn’t start it until after our calamari was up.  Oh well, the Franciacorta by the glass usually wins me over but not this time.

I loved walking home on the cobblestones and over the bridge into Trastevere. I think we’re going to have a great week here.