Letters From Our Vacation Part 1 of ?

     Hey EVERYONE, welcome back for another edition of The Penguin Gazette! Today I have a very special guest writer for you. She goes by the name of Anya, that's right today I am bringing you the wonderful words of my wife. Who better to bring you all an overseas view than an artist? Her colorful words are sure to delight you and leave you more than satisfied. So in December of last year we went on a little vacation to Rome and Madrid then back down to San Francisco, all in all about three weeks. The writings that you will be reading are from the 2 weeks abroad (because this is where all the madness happened). I will do my best to provide pictures but I will not be adding or subtracting anything. So without further hold up I present the first part of our "mini drama" called "Letters From Our Vacation" Part 1!

Hello All,

I just wanted to let you know that we made it to Rome safely.  The first two legs of the trip were fine (smooth sailing).  The last leg from Frankfurt kind of sucked.  My carry-on bag broke right as we were getting off the plane.  After being dropped off basically on the tarmac, we took a shuttle to the main airport, we herded like cattle (it smelled and reminded me about movies I have seen of the Holocaust).  Then while going through a security check point they pulled me out of line and really really searched me.  I felt like I was getting a public visit to the Gyno.  It sucked.  Then they threw away my water bottle.  After we cleared the checkpoint we had to hightail it at least a mile to make our next flight.  We didn't get to sit together on the last flight but at least the staff was friendly and the flight wasn't full.

We got picked up promptly by the hotel driver and then were whisked through the tight streets of Rome.  Along the way we saw the public bath house, the Colleseum, and the Spanish Steps (which is right next to our first hotel).

Now we are about to meet up with Brandon's friend, Janel, to eat some pizza.  We're so excited to be here.  It's FANTASTIC scenery.  We miss ya'll.  Talk to you soon.

Hello All,

So Janel took us to this little Pizzeria where I had a delicious Prosciutto Pizza and a bottled Sprite for lunch/dinner/linner.  The Sprite tasted foreign.  LOL!!  It didn't taste like what I'm use to. Although the pizza was good, I didn't like the crust that much.  It was thin, crispy, and powdery.  Ya'll know I'm more of a CARBivore than anything else.  I LOVE BREAD!!  Then we saw a few pretty sights.  The city view is so interesting to my eyes.  It's this odd mix of ancient, semi-modern, and Hollywood movie set. I was warned before I got here about the street merchants.  I got punched in the arm with roses (several times) by aggressive flower street merchants.  They really wanted me to buy them.  They went as far a shoving them in my hands repeatedly and then following us.  We went to a church where it seems they had tombs on the floor.  There we lots of dead people and cherubs (BOO!! to corpses and naked babies.  YAY!! to amazing architecture and deep vibrancy in old paintings).  We almost got caught up in a mass but I'm way too much of a heathen for that to happen.  LOL!! (That one's for you, Mom.)  Then we went to a Gelato shop where I had Basil Ice Cream and Lemon Sorbet in front of the Pantheon.  What a view!!  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Hello All,

This is what happened Tuesday.

It was a rough night of pretend sleeping.  I was up and active (not necessarily lucid though) about every 2 hours.  When it was light outside I stepped out on the balcony.  It was overcast but still nice.  It's was not cold.  The air was crisp but it smelled just like cigarettes.  The view was the backs of other buildings and a semi courtyard down below (we were on the 3rd floor).  It kind of looked like an Italian version of the French Quarter at Disneyland.

We attempted to make it to our hotels breakfast but were too late.  By the time Rudy got there everything had been picked over.  We decided to eat at a little restaurant right next door called Fior Fiore.  We ordered Salami and Cheese Panini’s and sat outside.  The streets are really narrow and basically are alley’s with tons of stuff to do in them.  Sitting outside is an adventure in and of itself.  People rushed up and down the cobble stone road staring at us like animals that have escaped from the zoo (they don’t see many Black or Mexican’s here, I guess) as Vespas swerved around them. Delivery trucks and mini taxi cabs barely squeeze through.  At one point half of my foot was hanging over the ledge of the “platform” that was still considered part of the restaurant dining area, and a truck came barreling down the alley.  I was 2 inches from being toeless.  I snatched my foot in just in time. It’s crazy to watch how pedestrians, driver’s, and businesses interact with each other in these tiny spaces pretending to be streets.  The Panini’s were simple yet tasty and just enough to get us through the bulk of the day. 

After brunch, we walked back to the Pantheon.  This time we went inside.  It was huge and the architecture was mindboggling.  The question that continued to run through my mind is “How’d they get up there?”  We snapped a couple pictures to proved we’d been there and decided to go back to the yummy little Gelato shop for some more of the tasty goodness that we had the night before.  (My plan is to eat  ice cream, gelato, or sorbet every day I’m here.)

Rudy (as is always the case when we get away from So. Cal) figured out how to navigate the streets pretty well.  He led us back to our hotel so that we could unwind/rest up for the rest of our day.  It’s a good thing He did because the rest of the day was jammed packed. 

Janel met us at our room around 2:45p.  She became our official tour guide.  She walked us pass The Spanish Steps, took us to the Trevi Fountain (we made a wish and took pictures), and then walked down and around windy narrow streets until we came across a humongous monument called the Monumento A VittorioEmmanuele II.  After we finished gawking at the enormity of this structure, we continued our walk through Rome.  The streets widen (slightly) and it got a little less crowded.  We passed a huge plot of land covered in ruins.
 
Side note:  Who decided when the ruins were ruined enough to be considered ruins and just left them there as a “shining” example of what use to be? 

We trudged pass countless Indian street merchants selling everything from gorilla tri-pods, scarves, and umbrellas, to the seemingly popular gelatinous fluorescent colored blobs that they would slam to the ground and make them splat and then watch them re-form into the blob once again.  I think they are only popular to the street merchants themselves as they didn’t seem to be selling any but they all seem to have them.  We have begun ignoring them all together.  You can’t show the slightest interest in what they are doing or selling or they’ll be on you like flies on poop.  It’s rather hard blatantly ignoring people over and over again but if you want to make it to your destination with money and time you learn to do it.  When in Rome…
Our next destination was the Coliseum.  Although we didn’t go in, we did walk all the way around and looked at it from several different vantage points.  It was amazing.  Janel regaled us with tales of why it was built, how it was paid for, and interesting little facts about this massive structure like: it fits 20,000 people and was built so perfectly that all 20,000 could evacuate in 15 minutes if necessary.  WOW!!

We wandered through the city and over the river to get to our next destination… DINNER!!  Janel had heard about this restaurant, AnticaPesa, known for its’ authentic Roman cuisine.  We got to this little unassuming place around 6 pm only to find out that they did not open till 7:30 pm (which is very typical for restaurants in Rome).  We decided to wander nearby until then.  We walked up and down around these tiny streets in search of a gelato shop.  I figured it’s always a good time to have dessert.  We found one and I got a small Anana’s (Pineapple) Gelato.  We sat on the steps of what looked to be a church and talked and ate.  We walked back to AnticaPesa to find out that this place seems to be rather famous and many celebrities like Dinero and Pacino have eaten here.  We didn’t know then but we were about to enjoy the meal of a lifetime.

Now you all know that I love a good food experience.  What happened at AnticaPesa was an unexpected journey into heaven’s waiting room.  I say this because I this was one of the top 3 meals of my life up till now and only food beyond the pearly gates could be better.  Now I am only going to speak about my food until we get to dessert.  To start I had this appetizer that cost 20 Euro (that’s almost $27).  For that price I was hoping that this Burrata and Dried Tomato Hemisphere with Red Prawns, Basil and Balsamic Vinegar Sauces would be my dinner.  When it arrived I knew it would not be.  It was beautiful but small.  What it lacked in size it more than made up for in flavor.  It was a treat for my palate.  The Burrata was thick but creamy in a way I’ve never quite experienced before.  The dried Tomato dome it was encapsulated in was a tart break from the thickness of the cheese.  The tiny Red Prawns tasted as if they had been sun kissed, put on my plate, and then quickly set on the table for me to enjoy.  They were full of right out of the water flavors.  The Basil and Balsamic Vinegar Sauces brightened up the dish which left me excited to experience my entrée. 

  Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe is a dish I have never heard of before.  It’s just Spaghetti w/ Cheese and Black Pepper (Parmesan Reggiano and Pecorino to be specific).  When it came to the table on a black plate, it just looked like a pile of plain spaghetti.  Boy, was I wrong.  I learned when you’re naturally beautiful, you don’t need make-up.  As I took my first bite I was punched in the mouth with flavors unlike I had ever experience before.  It was an explosion.  The pasta was cooked perfectly.  It had that bite to it that made it text book al dente.  You could tell love and mastery came together to prepare this meal.  Just a second more or less and the pasta would not have been right.  The cheese flavor bounced all over my mouth and every once and a while the black pepper would stop by to say “hi”.   It was literally one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. 

 Before our desserts came out the chef treated us to a shot glass full of a lovely light Panna Cota with a Raspberry Sauce.  It was a delicious little palate cleanser.  For dessert I ordered a Puff Pastry Rosemary Crème, and Caramelized Chestnut’s, Kumquats, Raisins, and Pine Nuts.   While I’m not a fan of Chestnuts or Pine Nuts, I really wanted to try the Rosemary Crème.  I was good but the real star of the dessert course was Rudy’s  Buffalo’s Stracchino Cheesecake w/ Candied Orange Peels and Gaeta Olives Caramel.  It was a light Cheesecake bursting with all the right flavors especially when combined the tartness of the Berry Sauce and the sweetness of the Candied Peels.  The crust was even amazing!!  To top it all off there was piece of hardened Sugar with black specks in it.  I broke off a piece that had some specks and realized once I put it in my mouth that Jesus must have sent His chef to cook for us.  The specks were Olives and the sweetness and almost burnt taste of the Sugar paired with the brininess of the Olives was a stroke of divine intervention.  I can’t say enough good things about our meal there.  The ambiance was nice.  The staff was superb.  The food was BRILLIANT!!  Rudy and I paid about 96 Euro for our meal.  That’s about $129.  It was worth every penny.  We left full, amazed, and happy.  We walked just over an hour to our hotel.  It was 11:35 pm.  We said goodbye to Janel and goodbye to a fabulous day.  This is why I came to Rome....

To be continued...

Editor & Chief of The Penguin Gazette,

Rudy