Ahhhhh Roma Once Again

We met our driver as planned and got to our hotel without any problems. We are staying at the Hotel Caravaggio located just a few block from Termini in the heart of Rome.
Ninno greeted us with the lilting verbiage I so love, saying Buono Sera (Good Evening) as our greeting. Our check in was quick and he escorted us to our room on the 4^th floor by way of a tiny lift that is over 80 years old but is the quietest elevator I have ever ridden. You must open a wire mesh door then two glass paneled wooden doors to enter. There is even a small bench if you have a need to sit down. The one rule is you must remember to close all of the doors as you exit otherwise the lift will not respond for the next person needing it, We have so far had to walk up or down several flights to recover the lift because someone didn’t follow the rules. And we have only been here one night. :}
Ninno sent us a block down from the hotel to grab a quick bite since we had eaten nothing since breakfast on the plane before landing in London this morning. This little place is called Pasta Love and as Ninno say “it has a good kitchen”. Good basic food, decent prices. Not bad house red and after about an hour we are back in our room and ready to get caught up and on to Rome time.
We have a queen bed that is very comfortable except for the pillows which are like pancakes. Very very flat. But so far everyplace we have stayed in Europe has really flat almost non existent pillows. And believe it or not no washcloths for bathing. So if you really want one bring your own. I should have remembered this from 2009 when I did remember to bring some old ones that we discarded when we left to board the ship. They give you great towels and hand towels but washcloths forget it. Needless to say we slept great.
This hotel is very quaint and very well run. Our room has its own tiny little balcony and private bath. It has a TV that we never turned on, plus a phone with a personal wake-up call if you request it. In addition to breakfast they have a Happy Hour each evening from 6-8pm offering complimentary red & white sparkling wine like Spumonti and snacks like bridge mix and popcorn. Breakfast in the morning consists of boiled eggs, several types of bread, cereal, two types of yogurt, and coffee or cappuccino. Plus of course the requisite pastries and pastries and pastries. These Europeans eat more pastries and bread than protein. If I ate like them I’d be back to 225 lbs in no time. Whew!! And all this for around E50 per day. We will definitely stay here again. If you want more info let me know and I will give you all the details.
We picked up our Roma Passes on Wednesday and made a dry run to Piazza del Popolo where we will meet our guide for a day trip to Tuscany on Thursday morning @ 7:30am. All went well and we remembered the station at Flaminio where we had taken the train to our little bungalow on our trip in 2009. We ate lunch on the outskirts of Piazza del Popolo at a sidewalk café that was a tourist trap, but we have learned to decipher a little better as to what to order. We order an antipasto plate and either a bottle or half bottle of the house wine, and after sharing this we then decide if we are still hungry for anything else. They sometimes try to force us to order more but we just smile and say no thanks. So most of the time we get by with about E12-15 including wine for both of us at lunch. That is a bit under $20 US and still cheaper than a hamburger at home.
Tonight Ninno has recommended another local restaurant called “Spiga”. Their food was good enough that we ate here twice. Their prices were a bit more expensive but not unreasonable and the wine was a bit higher but still good.
Time to get some sleep as we have a very full and long day tomorrow when we go to Tuscany. Stay tuned….