Day 13: Tutte le strade portano a Roma

Today we left Bologna and took the train to Rome. We passed through the scenic Tuscan countryside on the way.

We got to Rome in the afternoon and checked in to our hotel. The hotel is near Piazza Barberini, very close to all the touristic sites. As you can see from this photo of the Spanish Steps, we had Rome to ourselves ;-)

It's great fun to walk the narrow streets, but it does make it easy to get lost. We were looking for a gelateria recommended by our hotel, which we didn't find, but we did find a great pizza place.

We celebrated Pete's birthday tonight with a special meal at Glass in the Trastevere section of Rome.

As you can see, this is not traditional Roman or Italian cuisine, but more along the lines of international haute cuisine. We had the tasting menu that featured this beef tartare with wasabi seasoned tobiko and shiso and daikon sprouts.

Next we had pork belly with roasted fig and buffalo ricotta. Third course was pasta, which was a delicious Amatriciana ravioli with crispy guanciale (like bacon). Seared scallops with chanterellles and pistachio cream finished the savory courses.

Pete's dessert was this strawberry and hazelnut daquoise with basil ice cream. Then we finished with house made petits fours. All of the food was delicious and extremely well crafted.

Dinner lasted until about midnight. We were glad to walk after eating so much. Our way back to the hotel took us by the Pantheon. . .

. . . and then by the Trevi fountain. By this time of the evening, it did feel as if we had Rome to ourselves.