Arriverderci Roma

Our last morning in Rome. We've lived the slow life here for almost two weeks, visiting old spots, discovering new ones, per esempio, Il San Lorenzo, a restaurant near Campo di Fiori that was new to us at least and where we had a fabulous meal our penultimate night in Rome. It's definitely not your typical neighborhood trattoria with red checked tablecloths and the usual pastas on the menu. Instead it is an elegant dining room all in white with a sophisticated menu featuring every kind of fish prepared every way. We ordered the degustation menu and sampled, crudo, capaccio, steamed squid, fried baby squids, pasta with fresh anchovies, John Dory, etc. etc. and washed it all down with a delicious white wine. The waiter was very impressed when I ordered the wine. 'It's one of the best on our list," he said, "but not many guests know about it." I didn't dare tell him that I picked it because it was in a reasonable price range and that I had never heard of either. He rewarded us at the end of the mean with two glasses of aqua madre, a golden liquor the color of the sun from Sicily.

Our last night we went back to an old favorite, Le Mani in Pasta, which is conveniently located just around the corner from the apartment we rented in Rome. We had the best seats in the room--right next to the large glass window looking directly into the kitchen. We could watch the two chefs move like athletes in the tiny kitchen, chopping vegetables, dispatching live lobsters and shrimp, tossing pasta with sauce, shuttling dishes from oven to counter without stopping. Great food and great entertainment.