On day 6, I finally got a luxurious start to my day and got up at 10am. So late. ðŸ˜
After a wonderful hostel breakfast (ooh, we switched to apples), it was time to do laundry, mail souvenirs home so I wouldn’t have to schlep it all over southern Italy when the tour started, pack for checking out tomorrow, and blog a bit. The hostel had a washer and dryer on their outside staircase area, which was kind of interesting. It was 8 euros and my stuff wasn’t totally dry by the end of it, but it was definitely cheaper and more convenient than any other option around.
Another hostel neighbor I befriended was a slightly rudderless young man from Romania. He ended up venting to me for like two hours while I listened. I empathized, but tried not to give advice as it wasn’t my place, and also I was trying to get stuff done. 😠Still, moments of human contact are lovely of course.
At the Mailboxes Etc. (they’re in Italy!) where I mailed my souvenirs (80 euros, SOB why did I buy books), they were nice but, I think, only because I was nice. There’s definitely a pervasive sense throughout Rome of being fed up with tourists, but I try to be really thankful and polite, and even the most exhausted Roman has responded positively to it. In this case, I had my first conversation in Italian:
Me: Mi scuzi. Posso? (Excuse me. May I? *Pointing at packing tape*)
Worker: Prego! (Please!)
Me: Grazie! (Thank you!)
I know it was single words and badly conjugated, but IT COUNTS. 😠I kinda want to learn Italian now, but I’m very bad at learning languages, so it’s not likely that I’ll follow through.
After I was done shipping my souvenirs, it was a perfect time for lunch. I noticed a tiny out of the way restaurant. It just…had a really good vibe, I could feel it. The restaurant said it had been open since 1992, and since it was in such an out of the way spot, I thought, it must be good to have survived all that time. And I was right! I got a perfect egg and pork sausage sandwich with my first Aperol Spritz. It kind of tasted like orange soda, so I can see it popular, but honestly I like the bitter spritzes more! Surprising! They also brought out Doritos. I wondered if it was because I was American. 😂
The lady who worked there was so sweet. She didn’t speak much Italian, so we used Google translate and laughed while pantomiming. She said her husband was the cook, she ran the front, and her son helped with English but wasn’t there right now. She was like, “I can’t cook, but I sure can eat!! My husband makes me very happy.” They were so cute.
Then I walked home through a nearby park. Speaking of vibes, the park had a wonderful one – locals enjoying the weather.
By the time I finished all my errands, it was 5pm. I sprinted to the Amano exhibit, and had an hour in rapturous admiration before they kicked me out. Look!!! At!!! This art!!!!!
For the non nerds in the audience, Yoshitaka Amano is a famous Japanese artist who’s worked on many famous anime and video games. His work has been defining for a very popular and long running Japanese video game series called Final Fantasy. He’s inspired by fashion illustrations and art nouveau, but also Kabuki theater and ukiyo-e illustrations. I was captivated by his pencil lines, his perfect brush strokes, his details.
This is a huge slideshow because every single piece was 1) incredible 2) likely to be highly relevant to this blog audience, which is filled with fellow nerds. You should be able to click through to magnify them; otherwise, you can go to the album directly at the bottom text of each box and magnify them there.
The museum staffer told us we had 15 minutes left, so I started hurrying. She clearly wanted to go home, but I was just as clearly having the time of my life, so she patiently followed me around going “10 minutes…5 minutes…” When I got to the last painting I announced, “Okay! I’m leaving!!” And she laughed. She was so kind to let me see everything.
I left the hotel at a perfect time for dinner. I had noticed a cafe with good reviews but it had been closed on Monday. It was open now, so I eagerly went to eat. It was sooo beautiful inside, with gorgeous sweets!! And the staff were so nice.
You could tell from the food that the cook was having a wonderful time cooking. I had a vignarola – a traditional vegetarian stew served with slices of pecorino Romano and crispy crackers. It was such a comforting, homey meal – the closest I’ve had so far to what I usually cook and eat at home. After the rich eating of the last few days, a simple vegetarian meal really hit the spot.Â
Then I finished with a cup of Italian hot chocolate and an orange blossom cake. Italian hot chocolate isn’t like what I’m used to – it’s basically just drinking liquid chocolate, thick and rich, no milk at all. It was addictive and I need to figure out how to make it at home!!
The orange blossom cake was so soft with a perfect crumb, sweet. It was served with a thick homemade custard that wasn’t too sweet, and when you ate the two together they combined to a decadent creamy soft treat. It was sooo good. Italy has nailed these combinations of flavors and textures more than any other place I’ve been.
Afterwards, I wasn’t ready to go home yet. I was close to the Bridge of Angels again, so I went to go see how it looked at night. I took some ~artsy photos, haha.
There was a gentleman playing beautiful, romantic violin music on the bridge. As you wandered to the far side, the violin faded out and instead you could hear another busker playing bossa nova guitar in the distance. It was so lovely. A beautiful atmosphere.
Then I finished crossing the bridge and briefly explored the neighborhood of Lepanto. I found an old phone!!
Then I finished packing and went to bed. This day was a rest day, which I really needed. The next day is my last in Rome before the southern tour, and I made the most of it!!!
Buona notte!