More about our time in Rome, plus a guide to our favorite eating we did while there!

And let me tell you this. When in Rome, you better mind your step. If you don’t, you’ll either step in dog poop or you’re going to twist your ankle. But if you’re only thinking about your feet, you’re going to get run over. Know that everyone on wheels is trying to kill you (an exaggeration for effect). It’s definitely not kid friendly. Chaos was the word that came to mind repeatedly. One night we even got caught up in what appeared to be a massive anti-mafia demonstration. There were riot police everywhere and, foolishly, we stumbled right into it. When the police got a look at this ridiculous family with their city select baby jogger stroller and then the massive, angry crowd behind them, they waved us right through their lines. It was pretty exciting. All the big men with helmets and guns and shields and their armored vehicles with cages on the windows…well, it was quite the sight. Parker had big eyes. William too.

We spent 17 wonderful (hectic) days in Rome and I have to say we’re literally exhausted. There is so much to do there. If you love history, as I do, Rome is the best. (Yes, Jerusalem’s pretty great too.) I bet we walked between 8-10 miles every day, maybe more, and a couple of those days were in the rain. We saw dozens and dozens of beautiful churches, including 18 of the 28 so-called “title” churches. We saw ancient frescoes and amazing mosaics, and more church relics than I could tell you about. (That’s not true: I wrote everyone of them down.) We saw ruins upon ruins. We walked this piazza and that piazza and a dozen more besides. We saw St. Peter’s, some Catacombs, ancient bath complexes, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Forum, the Palatine hill, Circus Maximus, Largo Argentina, Hadrian’s Mausoleum, Trajan’s column, Augustus’ Ara Pacis, Nerva’s Forum, the Theater of Marcellus, the Borghese gardens, etc., etc., etc. You name it, we saw it. (That’s not true either: I still have a long list of things to see in Rome.) We saw Caravaggio paintings, Bernini sculptures, Michaelangelo architecture. It is a most remarkable place. We went to all sorts of museums too (Palazzo Massimo, right next to Termini station, being my favorite). I suppose, if they’re honest, William and Lindsey will say they don’t need to see any more marble busts of dead emperors. We walked ancient roads in Trastevere and modern jogging paths along the Tiber. We strolled the tiny little ally-ways of the Jewish Ghetto, noting the names (marked in paving stones) of those poor souls who were rounded up by the Nazi’s in 1943. We also walked the Corso, a main road which becomes pedestrian friendly every evening. We did this, with what appeared to be the rest of Italy, several times. What a sight. (Confession: we did this mostly when we wanted to get to Brillo Burger out near Piazza del Popolo. But we don’t care if you judge us—after carbs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for over two months, we’ve been craving burgers and theirs are unbelievably good.) Oh, and we saw Pope Francis on two occasions. That was pretty cool. Better still was seeing our friend Jenny (who came from Maine to visit for a whole week!), my old friends from grad-school, Alan and Michelle, a former student, and our friend Sylvia from Orvieto, as well as Matt, an artist in Orvieto, who came for the day to take William, Lindsey and I on an art history tour of the city.

We went out for almost every meal, since the place we rented did not really have a kitchen. And, truth be told, you can eat pretty cheap in Rome, when you know where to look. If I see another Margherita pizza, however, I will kill someone (another exaggeration). That said, the Best Pizza Award in Rome for me is a tie: Pizzeria Remo (just south of the Aventine Hill and a couple blocks off the Tiber) and Forno Campo de Fiori (in Campo de Fiori)—thanks, Matt, for adding that into the tour! We did eat some other great meals too. Two stand out in my memory: Da Enzo in Trastevere and Cuba near Piazza Navona. Get the Carbonara at the former and the Amatriciana at the latter; both were to die for. And let me say, I never will tire of good bruschetta. While tomatoes apparently originated in the Americas, the Italians perfected them.

We left every morning around 7 AM, stopping at a wonderful little bakery about 4 doors down from our place for cappuccinos and croissants. The owner was a French trained pastry chef who made miracles out of chocolate. Bridget surprised me with some special treats from this place on my birthday. After touring all day, we would return home typically around 9 PM. Collapsing into bed (after icing my feet, that is), I’d stay up for hours either trying to come up with a game-plan for the following day or reading more about what I just saw that day. I literally wore out my map of Rome. And I loved every crazy minute of it. As for Parker and Anders, they were really pretty good despite how hard we pushed them. Thank God for that stroller that Bridget insisted we bring along from home. In sum, to paraphrase a famous Roman, we came, we saw, we conquered. But our feet hurt.

So this trip is winding down. We will be back home in less than three weeks! While we’ve had a great adventure, we are all ready for some normalcy too. This week “stuck” in a chalet in the Alps with nothing important to do and no-where to go (except to take some beautiful hikes) could not have come at a better time. But just like that, and I know it will all be over. Here’s what will happen when it is: I will spend the final two months of my sabbatical getting some more work done while I sip coffee in my own leather chair in the comfort of my own home.