Rome was such a beautiful place. Just walking through the beautiful town were amazing sights. Let me try to paint you a little picture, stone roads not many cars driving on it, lots of people walking leisurely, motorcycles parked on the sides, many restaurants with outdoor seating so the whiff of great smelling food flows into the air, beautiful fountains flowing creating a masterpiece. I felt like I was in the movie, Roman Holiday. Not only were the sights beautiful but the weather was amazing, not to hot but the sun was shining. It was a dream paradise. While I was there I felt something, something in the air. It was some kind of excitement and happiness, and I think my grandpa felt it too. I'll start from the beginning of the story.

While we were in Rome we walked everywhere, it felt to me that every block we turned we would find a new sight to see, a new adventure. Walking around the beautiful town will just a map and each other, we would usually refer to the river to find our place on the map. Walking for miles, one day we did the race for a cure were we walked for a breast cancer organization? Another day we waited in line to put our hand in a statue of a face with an opening in the mouth, it is called the Boca della Vertia, and in ancient times it is known to bite of the hands of liars. There were multiple plazas and cute little stores to trail into, at one plaza there was a beautiful Trevi fountain. The fountain was great but one of my favorite parts was how on every block there were at least two gelato stores, and they always had my favorite flavor, Nuttella. The gelato felt like it was made with such care, it was so smooth on my tongue like a refreshing taste of heaven. Then there were more plazas, usually with a fountain in the center of it, one of them particularly was hard to find, down many very narrow ally ways the walls opened up to a astounding square lined with restaurants with a fountain flowing in the middle. The food, oh that was a whole other thing one night we ate at one of the restaurants in the plazas, and other nights we would walk for hours trying to find the restaurant we found online on Google maps.

I remember especially one particular night we walked to a small little restaurant. When we got there we found out it opens in 20 minutes. So we waited, tired from walking sitting on the sidewalk edge across from the restaurant. There were not very many cars so it was very safe. As we were waiting we saw a sign outside of the restaurant, it had a long list of many foods with the word, "NO" in it, then at the top it said, "Only traditional Italian food…" On that list were things like pizza seafood, and lasagna. We were shocked but intrigued. Once the place opened we went inside and got seated, the tables were lined with red and white checked tablecloths, it was very traditional. The restaurant looked like it vas family owned by native people. We tried to order as soon as possible because between the walking and the waiting we were all very hungry. Most of us ordered some kind of pasta, for that is basically the majority of what they had. My grandpa ordered a side of broccoli, him trying to be healthy. When our food came out though his side of broccoli was nowhere to be found. He assumed they would bring it right after because they did not have enough hands or something, but it never came. Now if you know me at least a little you know I love parmesan cheese, so when my pasta came out I was not satisfied with the amount of cheese on my pasta, my grandfather asked for some extra cheese for me and the waiter said no, that is not the traditional way. Once we were all done eating and they came to take our plates, my grandfather asked again about his broccoli and they said, "we are bringing it to you know, it is not traditional to eat a side with your pasta" we were all confused and actually found the situation quite funny and entertaining. The broccoli never came. They had desserts displayed in a case in the restaurant and it looked so good we had to get some; once we got our dessert we devoured it. It was amazing; again it felt like it was a handcrafted bite of heaven. By this time my grandfather had forgotten about the broccoli, had just planned to have them take it off the bill, but sure enough once they took our dessert plates before we got the bill, out came a side of broccoli. My grandfather did have a little problem with this, the rest of us just laughed though.

Now I don't know if the broccoli triggered him or if something magical happened that night, but my grandfather changed. Later that night, if was very dark and we were trying to find our way home walking just with our map. Then we decided it was time to get a cab. We were on one side of a fairly busy driving street, many lanes long, and on the other side is a cab. My everybody's feet hurt and we are all tired and cold. My grandfather makes the split decision as the little walking man that tells you if you can cross starts counting down. My grandfather wants that cab, he wont let it go, he runs into the road leaping to the other side and catches the cab.

The next day in my grandparents hotel room the window blinds are broken, instead of calling the front desk and getting help which is what my grandmother was about to do, my grandpa drags over a chair and steps onto the window sill (just note there is not much room to maneuver on the window sill). My grandma gasps in shock, "what are you doing, come on Nick get down from their" as my father runs into the room for a photo op. Trying to save the day again my grandpa just end up breaking the blinds a little more, but it's the thought that counts right?!

Rome was such an adventure walking for hours having no sense of time or where we were, tasting amazing food, and getting lost in the beautiful scenery. I was so lucky to be able to spend it with my grandparents, and it was so fascinating to see a whole new side of my grandfather. Other than my scrambled eggs, mini muffins, fruit, and chamomile tea everyday for breakfast in the hotel room down in what felt like a big cellar, every day was a new adventure my family and I embarked on.

Rosie - Meets - World

Over and Out