Bella Roma

Rome is magical -- period. It's a place of constant discovery. It's a place to eat. One late night we decided to find a restaurant, (Ristorante Matricianella, www.matricianella.it) as close to the hotel as we could. We wandered down a small street and found a place that only had room outside. There we sat, the sole customers seated at an outside table. It wasn't long before every seat in the place inside and out was filled and there was a long line of people waiting to get in. We had accidentally discovered a happening place, full of young professionals all looking their stylish best. As we soon discovered the food was the draw. We actually went back again (two nights out of our four in Rome) it was that good. My favorite dish was an appetizer, Carciofi alla Giudia -- Roman Jewish Artichokes. I tracked down the recipe on the Internet and it says that this is an old recipe, maybe dating back to Imperial Rome when the Jewish community there numbered about 50,000. They look like golden sunflowers and their leaves have a delicoius nutty crunchiness (www.italianfood.about.com/od/artichokes). The sharp pointy leaves are cut off, the stem is trimmed off, the fuzz is removed, they are soaked in lemon juice in water, patted dry, then smashed on the work surface so the petals open like a bloom. They are salted, peppered, and fried in hot oil sufficient for them to float. When the outsides are golden, wet your hand and flick a few drops of cold water over them; the oil will crackle and the leaves will become crunchy. After a few minutes remove, drain and serve very hot. It's like eating potato chips but better.

We visited Elisa's school and then Monica showed us sites we never would have gotten to: The Temple of the Vestial Virgins, the gate keyhole with a clear view of Saint Peter's Cathedral, the Roman theater in the Jewish district, a great food market and a really great local restaurant.








Above are Mike and Monica dining with us at their local neighborhood restaurant. Mike is a professor at the Seattle University on a year of research and writing in Rome. Monica is a social worker on leave. Their daughter Elisa is a pal of grandson Andy.

The large piece of meat is a giant Mortadella (as long as a person), pastry shop and grocery in the old Jewish quarter where we ate a terrific lunch (best antipasto ever- picture above).





Our deck accessed from the bathroom on the top floor of our hotel. We were in a great location on a teeny tiny winding street less than a block off the Tiber. The room was very small, with a small window, and of course, the nice balcony off the bathroom. The hotel is the Hotel Due Torri (www.hotelduetorriroma.com) which is recommended by Karen Brown and in another guide book. Despite its too small room, it was very quiet -- no street noise whatsoever. That's worth giving up a bit of space.