Siamo qui a Roma

We arrived in Rome on Sunday morning--Easter--and the city was eerily quiet, also very wet and cold. But two days later the sun has come out and the streets are full of people shopping, eating, talking, strolling. It feels and looks like spring.

We are staying in an apartment in Trastevere, conveniently located just around the corner from our favorite restaurant in Rome, Le Mani in Pasta, where we celebrated our first night in Rome. The apartment is charming with a view over rooftops and a sunny terrace up a winding staircase from the kitchen. But perhaps the most salient feature of the apartment is the three flights of stairs one must walk up to get there. By noontime today, we had made the climb three times lugging the results of our morning shopping expeditions to the cheese store, the forno, the salumeria, the enoteca, etc. I rewarded Steve for all his efforts with lunch al fresco on the terrace. No need to go the gym!

Trastevere is known for its pizzerias so last night we tried a new one for us, Ai Marmi, again just a few blocks from where we are living. Fabuloso! The place was packed with with families, students, tourists all sitting shoulder to shoulder at long marble topped tables (hence the name) and all eating delicious thin crusted pizzas tasting of the wood burning oven. Waiters bearing pizzas, beers, wine and water navigated the narrow aisles between the tables shouting out orders, slamming down food and somehow creating order out of chaos. Needless to say, we loved it.