Bike tours, Ancient Rome & The Appian Way

Well, it's been a busy few days for us, here in Rome.  Okay, maybe not that busy.  On Sunday we didn't get going until quite late in the day.  But that's okay in Rome!  We have easily fallen into the routine of eating dinner at 9 or 10 o'clock at night.  And judging from the street noise in our neighborhood when we do eventually get to bed, we are definitely not the last ones awake!
Unfortunately, I am having issues getting my photos to load, so my apologies for the delay in posting this.  Also, Blogger will not let me change the orientation of photos, and after spending WAY too much time trying to actually post about our last few days, I am giving up!  So, you can either turn your head to see the photos, or turn your screen, but Blogger won't let me turn the photos themselves - sorry!  I'll try and keep my phone vertical for all future blog photos! :)

Anyway, I've wasted too much time on the photos, so here is a quick recap of the last two days.  On Sunday, we walked around Rome, heading first to the Castel Sant'Angelo and walking along the River.

Castel Sant'Angelo

 We then walked across to the Piazza del Popolo and visited the Leonardo Da Vinci museum.  Craftsmen have built replicas of many of the items Da Vinci drew in his notebooks, and it was pretty cool to see working models of many of his inventions and learn how they are still used today in many ways.  Not everything worked, but many of his ideas inspired things we use today, including car jacks and helicopters!  The lesson is, don't be afraid to dream big.  You never know what might develop from what seems like a wild and crazy idea!

After that interlude, we continued on to the park around the Villa Borghese.  More wedding photos were being taken everywhere we looked - it really was the weekend for them in Rome!  The photo below was taken as the sun was setting, looking out onto St Peter's in the distance.

 Then we wandered down to the Trevi Fountain, and threw a few coins in for good luck.  It is a beautiful spot but always SO crowded.  It was hard to get close enough to throw the coins in over our left shoulders, but we eventually managed it.

The pretty view of the Trevi Fountain

The crowds you have to get through in order to GET to the Trevi Fountain!

After that, we went to the Piazza Navona and found a restaurant that our Airbnb host had recommended.  Unfortunately, it was closed, so we went to another spot near by.  As we were in the heart of the tourist section now, though, we were disappointed that the waiters all spoke English to us and even had an English menu.  What was the point of all that studying if we aren't going to practice our Italian?! :)

Billy had pasta (of course) and I had grilled fish.  They served me the entire fish - I'm not sure if that was a test or not?  Needless, to say, I think I passed! :)  Snoozy the sheep (who joined us for this trip) was quite puzzled by the carcass that remained when I was done.  Sorry, Dad, I chose not to eat the eyeballs!!

We have also come to a good arrangement with regards to wine in restaurants.  We order two glasses, and share a toast.  Then Billy drinks his glass, I take a few sips of mine, and when he is done, we swap glasses.  Billy doesn't have to drink "alone" and I don't have to drink a whole glass of wine!  (Heresy, I know, Mum!)

On Monday morning, we were up bright and early, thanks to the street noises of Trastevere.  I don't know how many bottles of wine they must go through a night in the restaurants here, but there always seems to be a lot of bottle crashing and collecting in the early hours of the day!  Anyway, we then walked to Top Bike Rental tours, just past the Colosseum, where we had booked to go on a half day bike tour of Ancient Rome.  Actually, I had accidentally booked it for NEXT Monday, but luckily, they were able to fit us in.

Here we are, ready to go:

Getting ready to leave on our bike ride

 Getting out of the main part of Rome was a little hairy, with a lot of traffic, but our guide, Emanuele, was very calm and confident.  There were 9 of us on the tour, 4 of us on mountain bikes and 5 people (plus the guide) on e-bikes.  They definitely had the advantage on the few hills we DID have to climb!

 We rode through the old walls of Rome, built around 271 AD and then stopped at the Catacombs of San Callisto.  We weren't able to take photos inside, but don't worry, there were no actual bones visible on the floor we were touring.  Many of the bones of the saints buried there were removed in the 9th century and sold as relics for good luck etc.  At one point, the catacombs held the bones of 16 popes and 50 martyrs.  9 of the popes were buried in one area, called the Crypt of the Popes, but it is believed that their remains were moved to the Vatican.   In addition to the popes and martyrs, over 500,000 people were buried there.  We toured the 2nd level and apparently the 3rd and 4th levels are where all the bones are.  Creepy!

Snoozy looked after the bikes while we were in the Catacombs

We then rode along the Appian Way into the Parco della Caffarella.  We rode past the Villa di Massenzio, where one of the only remaining examples of a Roman Circus is located.

And then we rode along some of the older sections of cobblestones along the Appian Way.  Billy has some much better photos than I do, including some of us riding along the old cobblestones.  But the photo upload thing is an issue again and since I have spent hours working on this blog post already, I am giving up for now.  If they finally find their way to my folder later today, I will upload them then! :)

The thunder started to rumble in the distance, so we rode to a supermarket near by and sheltered inside while buying some snacks for the road.  The downpour lasted almost half an hour, so we were glad to be inside, and dry!  And when the rain finally eased up, I was glad I had fenders on my bikes to keep the worst of the mud off my white skort! :)

We then rode to see some of the ancient Roman Aqueducts, which were constructed over the course of many centuries.  This one was the Aqua Appia, which I believe was constructed in 312 BC.  so, no big deal, only around 2,400 years old.

We ended our evening with a visit to a sheep farm, where we drank some white wine and ate fresh pecorino and bread. Snoozy also got to say hi to his family.

 We lingered a little longer than we should have over the cheese and wine, given the rain delay earlier in the day, so we ended up leaving the farm and riding back to Rome in the dark. We had lights on our bike, but not strong enough to pierec the blackness of the Park when we left it, so our guide rode alongside the group with a spotlight pointed at any potholes etc.

The best part was riding back into Rome and  along the Colosseum at night - magical!

And so ended our second full day in Rome! :)

Siamo a Roma

Hi everyone,
Billy and I have arrived in Rome, safe and sound.  It was quite entertaining trying to get our two giant bike bags, two suitcases, Billy and I into a taxi at the airport, but we managed it at last, and here we are at our apartment in Trastevere.

The street next to our apartment

The inside of our apartment

As you can see, it is pretty cute and in a great location.  And the bonus?  It has wifi!  Which could be good or bad - I'm still deciding.

A few minutes after arriving, Billy and I began to hear these loud crashes of thunder and sure enough, it soon began storming.  So, we took advantage of the rain to take a quick afternoon nap.  When the rain stopped, (and we finally woke up), it was time to go and explore.  So, we walked around Trastevere, then crossed the river, stopping to get some delicious gelato.

Gelato al cioccolato

It appears to be wedding season in Rome as we saw no less than a dozen brides during the course of the walk, taking photos at different scenic sites in the area.  And some of the sites are very scenic, so who can blame them?

The Tiber River

Accordion music

We then walked towards the Colosseum, and explored along the way.  We came across a running race, the Race di Roma 2024, which had at least a thousand people running in it.  Incredible. (Yes, I was jealous!)  Then we walked around part of the Circus Maximus, and then to the Palantine and the Roman Forum.

After wandering around the Colosseum for a while, and fending off all the guys trying to sell us selfie sticks, we made our way back to Trastevere and found a great little restaurant for dinner.  I remember our meals in Rome not being that great before, but we both really enjoyed our dinner (stuffed squash blossoms to start, pasta with meat sauce for Billy and grilled fish for me),  And of course, a few glasses of wine between the two of us.

I have more photos, but my phone is being very slow to upload them, so I am going to leave you all here, with wishes for a good night.  Thanks for all the good luck wishes being sent out way for the Virgin Strive Challenge later this week.  We leave for Tuscany on Wednesday, so until then, we will continue to enjoy exploring Rome, and post updates when we can.
Buonanotte!

Time to Strive!

Hi everyone,
Tomorrow night, Billy and I will be heading to Italy to join the Virgin Strive Challenge!  We will be biking from Tuscany to the Amalfi Coast.  I will be attempting to update this blog with photos of our event, and updates on how it is going!  For those of you who are interested in where we will be riding, this link shows you an interactive, day by day map of the event.  We start on the 15th and end on the 19th.
Wish us luck!!
Virgin Strive Challenge - Cycle Leg 2

Happy National Running Day!!

Yes, today is officially National Running Day! A very exciting day for us runners.  Although I am not quite sure why it is a Wednesday.  Not the easiest day in the world to fit in a run on, especially after my four mile trail run last night left me with tired legs.  However, it is day four of my #runstreak, so I have to fit in at least a mile, regardless!

Olive Oil!!!

Yesterday we had a very heavy box waiting for us in the mail.  I think I squealed out loud in excitement when I saw the label on the outside though!  Nudo, our Italian olive oil, had arrived at last.  Billy and I are both very hard to buy gifts for, but this year, for Christmas, my mother was very innovative.  She and my father "adopted" an olive tree for us in Italy, through a company called Nudo.  It's a great gift idea, and I highly recommend it.  We are able to log on to the Nudo website and see photos of our tree, read details  etc.  And in the spring, we receive a shipment of olive oil from the grove where our tree resides (they specify that it is not from our exact tree!).  You can have shipments sent every quarter, I believe, but there were some delays with the spring shipment so I have been anxiously awaiting its arrival.  We received three tins of the oil, which, as we learnt in Italy, is the best way to store olive oil.  Of course, we had to open one and try it.  It was  rich golden color and had a deliciously spicy afterbite. This oil is not for cooking with, but is definitely for pouring on fresh pasta, green salads, or just drinking from a spoon, as we did last night!  Yum!  

Thanks Mum and Dad!!

The box of goodies...

One of the tins of deliciousness

Three tins

E.V.O.O.

Pouring the first spoonful of deliciousness.

Yummy!

Kimba the white lion!

Our office in South Beach doesn't have a lot of people, technology or toys, but it does have the best puppy in the world.  Meet...Kimba.  He is named after Kimba the white lion and with his new haircut, he looks like a little lion.  He is hungry today so he has been barking a little, but usually he is the most quiet, well-behaved dog you could ask to be around.  So, I dedicate this post to Kimba, who has stolen a little piece of my heart! :)

The best spaghetti with clam sauce - ever!

Since I was still encountering technical difficulties uploading these photos, I decided to post this from my phone and then add in the text.  And wouldn't you know it, the photos uploaded in almost exactly the right order.  Yahoo!  Here's my attempt at a cooking photo shoot! :)

Step One - Assemble the ingredients. 

Wash the clams thoroughly - you want to avoid cooking any dirt into your cooking juices because you will use it later in the sauce!

Step Two - saute some shallots in olive oil.  Add fresh garlic.  When you smell the garlic, add liquid, quickly.  In this case, a cup or two of La Crema Chardonnay.  Only feed your clams wine you would want to drink yourself, according to Chef JP!

Then, add the clams!  I had to do this in two batches as I didn't have a pan that was big enough for all of the clams at once.  you want to do a single layer, so they can open up and absorb the juices!

Before they opened up... 

Step Three: Remove the clam meat and chop finely.  Reserve the cooking liquid - strained well to remove any grains of sand etc.

Step Four:  Okay, so I forgot to take step-by-step photos of making the sauce, but it followed the same basic steps - saute the shallots, add garlic, add wine, then let it all cook down.  Then you add chicken stock, WHITE worcestershire sauce (who even knew!), cayenne pepper, salt, and lemon juice.  Then add some of the reserved clam juice (although the recipe forgets to mention this!) and the heavy cream.  Let the sauce reduce and thicken and when ready, add the clams to the mixture, along with some fresh parsley and the cooked spaghetti.  Mix it all together and serve, topped with parmesan cheese and any extra parsley you may have  (I ALWAYS seem to have a ton of extra parsley when I cook with it!). 

And if you are lucky enough to have any left, serve with a glass of cold chardonnay!  Delicious.  You really should try this at home.  I have never been a huge fan of spaghetti in clam sauce, but this one is amazing.  And I am sure you could make it with a tin of clams if you had to, but I recommend trying the fresh ones.  I had never cooked with them before and it was surprisingly easy.  Plus the flavour was out of this world!!  Enjoy! 

Oh, and for anyone who IS interested in trying this at home, here is the recipe.  I doubled it as we meant to freeze some of the sauce, but it was so good, we ate it for the next few days and devoured it all!  Apologies for the sauce stains on the photograph and the terrible shadow!!