Bikes and BFFs

After another surprisingly good hotel cornetto e caffe, we Uber’d past the Aurelian walls to the bike rental at the Apia Antica, the old Roman road that was built to connect the city to Brindisi. I know Joe likes a bike ride over a long walk, so I generously suggested we traverse this beautiful stretch on bicycles. Although, I was not so generous. Take a look at the roads, and add some uphill climbs. The f-bomb slipped out of my mouth a few times. 

An 8-mile road, the Appian way is studded with ruins, catacombs, tombs, and villas. There are equally astounding current-day villas, which lead me to ask, multiple times, “Who lives here?”! There are cars only at the beginning of the route; we saw just a resident here and there, turning into a gated spread in either a car or on horseback.

We made it 6.5 miles, just past the Villa dei Quintili. Along the way, we stopped to peruse the villa Caffarella, the imperial residence of Maxentius, the Tomb of Romulus, the Circus, many smaller ruins and markers, the Villa dei Quintilli, and the Casale Rotundo, after which we became engulfed by a herd of adorable goats.

On the way back, we stopped for refreshments at a cute outdoor bar, surrounded by gardens. We returned to the hotel via Uber, tired but in a good way. We quickly changed and set out to meet Joe’s (and mine, but Joe’s originally, from his sabbatical in Rome) longtime Rome-born-and-raised friend, Maria Grazia.

Due to stupid Covid, we’re staying outdoors. We said we’d ring at the door; she’s only a 10-minute walk from us. *Buzzer* “Chi è?” It’s Joe! We said meet you at the door, right? It was hard to hear her response, as a bus just went by. “Ok; a dopo,” (later!) was all I heard. Joe said let’s wait a few minutes. After a few minutes, I said I’m sitting on the fountain steps across the street. We’ll see her come out. More minutes. Finally, I thought to ask Joe, “Did you communicate in military time, when you said 4:30?” Ah, jeez. We were to meet at SIX-thirty! I laughed, as I’ve done that myself. “Always subtract 12,” is what I’ve learned for the pm times.

We came back to the hotel and I entered a few words in the blog before we left at the correct time to meet her.

All good things come to those who wait! She is a riot!! 

We had a nice visit ‘al aperto,’ where Maria Grazia gave Joe a good ribbing, and they talked about the book she has written. And by written, I mean hand-written. It needs to be input electronically, which Joe has offered to do for her. She is considering this long-term project, and it will be discussed! But, as she slyly noted, he can’t even tell time correctly. Is he right enough in the head?

After fond elbow-bump goodbyes, and a promise to see one another before we leave, Maria Grazia gave us a trattoria recommendation on Via Urbana.

We walked to Trattoria di Tettarello, where people were packed in tight. I’ve been telling Joe that “pizzeria” has a broader definition in Italy (“I don’t want to have pizza for dinner”, was a common response whenever I mentioned going to one) and is indeed one of the best spots to get local specialty dishes. We had good old carbonara, puntarelle, and wine, finished with dessert, and Joe had an amaro.

We are full, in heart and in stomach.

Did I mention how much I love this city?