Dear Loyal Readers (and one new subscriber!)
The Habers are, once again, on the move. This time we are celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary! We are starting out in Rome where except for one evening on our way home from Sicily and the Amalfi Coast in 1992 we have not been since 1969 (you do the math!).
Rome is a fun exciting city with lots to do. There is so much to see you could stay for at least a week (if not more), but we’ve opted for 4 fun filled (and I do mean filled) days. We went to lots and lots of touristy places. We saw things we had seen before (e.g., the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps, the Forum, the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel) and, of more interest to me, lots of stuff we hadn’t seen before, e.g., we went to the Ghetto where the Jews were confined from 1555 until Italy was united as a country in 1860. While Jews can now live anywhere in Rome, the “Ghetto” still houses many Jews and has quite a number of kosher restaurants (one of which we actually had breakfast in). (As an aside, which of my loyal readers recalls that when we went to Venice 4 years ago we learned that the word “ghetto” originated there? a prize for that reader??) We went to the Hebraico museum and to the main synagogue where we had a very good tour. Marty thought the synagogue reminded him of Central Synagogue (where, as many of you will recall, Doug was bar mitzvahed.)
One of the most interesting places we went to was the Villa Borghese (a lovely park) and its Museum. I’d like to thank Susanne for originally mentioning to me that one needed advance tickets to get into the Galleria and to Ellen for reminding me of this fact a few days before we left for Rome. We called our hotel at that point and had the concierge take care of this detail for us and a good thing it was. When we arrived at the Borghese Museum (reservation number in hand), we discovered that they were sold out for the next 4 days. So what’s there? The villa itself is magnificent, topped only by the incredible sculptures and paintings inside. I especially enjoyed all of the statues by Bernini (a true genius), including ones of David, Apollo and Daphne, and Bacchus. Canova’s sculpture of Venus Victrix was also great; it is actually of Pauline Borghese- wife of the owner of the Borghese Villa and sister of Napoleon. She posed nude for the statue and caused quite a scandal at the time. Reminded me of the scandal caused by Sargent’s painting of Madame X.
I also enjoyed seeing the remains of the Teatro di Marcello which was Rome’s first building dedicated to theatre. I guess you can all tell why I enjoyed seeing that! Another place I especially enjoyed was a museum called Palazzo Altemps which houses a group of incredible Roman statues. I’ve really gotten into statues on this trip, much more than paintings. However, I did enjoy 3 amazing paintings by Caravaggio at San Luigi dei Francesi.
Today (on our way from the Forum to Vatican City) we fell into a museum that had a special exhibit entitled “From Corot to Monet”. Clearly I couldn’t pass this up and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Tomorrow is our last day in Rome and I plan to visit a few palaces and assorted other buildings that we haven’t seen before.
And then, of course, there’s the food. Let’s start with the gelato. It’s the best, especially the nocciola; (Joyce: eat your heart out!) The first night we ate at a small restaurant in Trastevere (Rome’s Greenwich Village); the restaurant was built on the site of a 12th century synagogue. It’s owned by a mother and her son; nice home cooking. The next night we ate at La Rosetta–the seafood restaurant of Rome; (thanks, Susanne, for the recommendation). It reminded me of Esca (and was even more expensive!) and was very nice indeed. Tonight we “celebrated” our 40th by eating at La Pergola– Italy’s only 3 star Michelin restaurant. I won’t bore you with what we ate but it was magnificent; clearly one of our best meals ever and you know that’s saying a lot! The location was also magnificent–on top of Monte Mario (one of Rome’s 7 hills) with a fabulous view of all of Rome right from our table.
Our hotel (Excelsior) is great. When we checked in, they upgraded us (as an anniversary present!) to the largest suite we’ve ever had; huge bedroom, separate large sitting room, 2 huge bathrooms and a walk-in closet. (Sam: the switch plates in the bathroom are silver with black inside; they look great!!)
So that’s it for now. We fly to Brussels tomorrow evening to continue this week of fun. I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you!
Much love,
Your Wandering Correspondent
Irene
PS I wasn’t crazy about most of my photos. I’ve attached 2 pictures of the Colosseum (inside and outside). (Sorry, Doug; we’re not in the photos!)
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