January 16, 2012

The new Yo La Tengo album/disc/download just popped into the computer.  If you know me at all, you are aware of how much I love them...they have been my favorite band for a couple of decades now and are still putting out relevant music and are a tremendous live act.  They are a big chunk of the soundtrack of my life and am so happy to welcome new music onto it.  Everyone deserves their own Yo La Tengo.

First, have neglected to mention that joining us on the trip were our friends Ann-Marie and her daughter Sophie.  Ann-Marie is Paul's Godmother, and I am Sophie's Godfather, so we are close to the point of being able to disagree with each other open and honestly.  You'll see them in the pix from time to time, but here they are...

Before we move along to Venice in the diary, need to clean-up some notes on Rome.  You know the fish symbol for Christians on the back of cars?  I always thought it was related to the miracle of the fishes, but we learned that it was an ancient secret symbol they would use to show they were Christian that the authorities wouldn't understand.  The Greek word for fish (Ichtus) is a word puzzle that translates into Jesus Christ.  If two strangers met, one would draw a half circle and if the other was of the Christian faith, he would complete the fish with another half circle. 

Something you see all over Rome, mostly on public works projects like sewer caps and fountains are the letters SPQR.  They mean Senatus Populusque Romanus (The Senate and People of Rome) and was emblazoned on money and public projects as early as 80BC until today.  Like those kind of past/present links

The other part of that symbol is that of Romulus and Remus suckling a she-wolf.  They are the twin brothers that founded the city of Rome...they were considered illegitimate children of a goddess and abandoned to die on the river Tiber but were miraculously saved (one of the ways was by being fed by the wolf).  They later had an argument over the results of a contest to determine where the city would be founded and Romulus killed Remus and there you have the name of the city.  You see this symbol all about town as well (including on the paraphernalia of the local soccer team AS Roma).

Back to the SPQR thing for a second...water was critical in making Rome grow to the size (and therefore its later power), so the public works projects like the aqueducts were essential to its growth to over a million in ancient times.  When Rome was sacked and the aqueducts were destroyed by the invaders, the population fell to 50,000.  So during the cities rebirth in the Middle Ages and onward, they were fond of creating fountains to honor the importance of water to the city.  Fountains are everywhere and are running all the time.

And there are these taps scattered throughout the city that just spout water constantly...no off valve.  We drank from them although we relied on bottled water.  They did make good opportunities to stop and have a little water fight throughout the day.

After we returned home, we stumbled upon a documentary about Rome and how it has dealt with its water and waste issues throughout time.  I wasn't certain the kids were always paying attention to the sights, but as the doc showed the sights, we'd all yell "we saw that" at the TV.  One of the parts of the show was about how they dealt with waste in the late Middle Ages.  The Jews were relegated to a small, cramped walled quarter of the city where they were herded into at night and had the gates locked up.  The authorities then determined that this would also be the place in the city where they would dump their garbage and prohibited the Jews from any other occupation other than working with the debris.  They became the world's first Reuse/Recyclists and one of their biggest money makers was taking discarded clothing and turning it into paper that they would then sell back to the Catholic Church to print bibles that they would then send throughout the world. 

Side note:  First off, I am not claiming to be the smartest guy around, but I am 47 and have always had an interest in and have studied, history, politics and been a follower of world events, and I have never been able to understand why everyone has despised and treated the Jews so poorly.  Personally and publicly, they all seem like hard workers, are funny and kind, and while some of their decisions can be questioned, can never find any events past or present that would warrant the treatment they have received from virtually every society where they have interacted.  Paul has joined his Model UN team at school and he was recently assigned Israel as the country he will represent, so I am researching and looking for some justification for all the hatred they attract.

We knew that on Christmas Day that many sites and most restaurants would be closed, so made the old Jewish quarter our destination for lunch that day.  After walking around (and getting a bit lost in one of only two times on the whole trip), we finally found the restaurant strip and landed on the Taverna Del Ghetto.

Am calling out this meal as one of the top 5 we ate the whole trip.  We had delicious hummus/falafel, some of the best kebabs ever (rivaling our friend Susan's in taste), and they gave us a lovely plate of garbanzo beans free of charge that were sauced to perfection.  But the best dish was the chicken schnitzel ordered by Carolyn.  Have been a longtime fan of schnitzel/milanese since forever, but the version they served up that day was the best I'd ever tested by far.  When we ordered, Carolyn and I were supposed to share our meals, and I like to share with her as she doesn't usually eat a lot and I usually get one and a half meals, but this day, she became like a Mama bear with it, devouring it all with me only getting a couple of nibbles. 

The food throughout the trip was uniformly good to outstanding, and I could easily write up a day to day list of what we ate.  Am rambling on enough as it is so will limit the call outs to those meals that were life changing.  The other dish I ate in Rome that fits this descriptiion was on our last night at a restaurant called Target in the Quirinal neighborhood.  I ordered the gnocchis with clams and asparagus, which seemed a bit unusual accompanyment for gnocchis, but the texture and taste were sublime.  Gnocchis are typically a heavier dish, but these were so light and fluffy that I could have gone to sleep and dream happily on them.  I wish I had taken a picture of them, so will share these pictures of the big donut (slathered with nutella) that we got one afternoon.

A couple of other notes to share from Christmas Day...the Jewish quarter is next to the neighborhood that had the Santa Maria in Cosmedin church.  The attraction there for us was the Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) that is featured prominently in one of Betty's favorite movies, Roman Holiday.  It is said that the monument was originally an ancient manhole cover but in the medieval period, the legend was that its formidable jaws would snap shut over the hand of those who told lies.  We went there on our first morning to take a picture of Betty with her hand in it, but later found they didn't come out well, so we went back this day.  Unfortunately, the ones we took of her again weren't any good (she was not amused), and this ended up being the best we took.

We were then kinda far from the hotel and loaded with yummy food and decided to take the metro back...but as it was Christmas Day, there was no metro (duh), so we decided to cab it back.  As there were six of us, the girls got in the first cab and Paul and I took the second one.  After hearing horror stories for years about the craziness of the Italian drivers, I found them to be fine...will go into detail about them another day, but as Paul and I climbed into the back seat of this one, neither of us buckled up.  Traffic was very light and we were just enjoying the scenery, until this guy turns into a combination of Ben Hur and Mario Andretti.  Careening through intersections, swerving to avoid pedstrians, and laying on the gas.  After making two girls dive out of his way (and then him muttering in Italian something that was obviously dirty), without words, Paul and I looked at each other and simultaneously grabbed and buckled our belts.  Fun times.

Finally, I found the people of Rome to be delightful.  The historic part of Rome has two indutries.  The Catholic Church and tourism, so it is their job to be pleasant to outsiders and we did not meet a sole that was not open and friendly towards us.  And they like to smoke...everywhere.  There wasn't a spot in town where you couldn't see or smell it.  I even smelled it at the Vatican.  The Taiwanese like to smoke too, but they will stop and smoke.  The Italians smoke on the move.  And it isn't just the dudes...I was surprised by the number of women that were puffing away.  Ann-Marie said a few times that the women looked older because of it.  I would have to agree, but (in my opinion) I think they pull it off.  If you break down their individual parts (a bit chunky at the belly and thick in the legs, flabby boobs, big noses, weathered greasy complexions), you would not consider any one characteristic attractive, but put 'em all together, package them in trendy fashion wrapping, and I found them to be quite sexy overall.  But I have always been partial to that look...Giada de Laurentis anyone?