I've Never Had a November Like This One

Note to self: any amount of time alone in the company of Aven and Pepperoni will be ridiculous. Dinner at Le Fate was a riot and they are wonderful people who have the world's most complex love/hate relationship.

Wednesday evening we ALL went to Gatto's restaurant, Le Fate, to show Julie's mom and sister, also as a farewell since I didn't realize three of the Prati boys are out of town this weekend (for my birthday weekend!! it's like I'm not the center of the universe or something). We had a really great time and I got to talk with Jackie more, Julie's sister. Gatto told the owners that it was my birthday (Wednesday night, false.) so they brought out a candle for my tiramisu and were generous with the lemoncello after dinner. Also, new goal accomplished, I tried grappa!! I liked the grappa at Le Fate, tastes like raisins to me. I will keep experimenting. After dinner we wanted to show Julie's mom (Momma H) Trastevere and some of our preferred bars. We walked past San.C's and found the chocolate bar that the girls have been raving about. It is such a fun cool little place! The shot glasses are made of chocolate and the drinks are given very sensual names. Each comes topped with panne (whipped cream) and chocolate bits. I got the sveltina (rough translation to "quickie") which was yummy but I don't really know what was in the shot. You also don't shoot the drink but rather place it bottom down in your mouth in one bite and chew! oh so good. Momma H loved it! She ordered the sessanta-nove. After the chocolate shots we hit up Freni and Frizioni, a wonderful aparativi place for one more drink (guarda, guarda, guarda) before crossing ponte sisto back home. I enjoy Julie's family and I'm had fun conversations with both her mother (a PT) and sister.

Le Fate

Tiramisu for dessert while everyone sings

Momma H and her chocolate salami!

The crew

Preparation of our shots

Chocolate shot on my birthday
note the technique

Walking down Via Guilia looking crazy

Most of the roomies

Thursday, ugh, Thursdays are just so exhaustingly perfect and unbelievable. Federica wanted our Conservation class to meet at 9 instead of 9:30 because we went on another restoration site with Luigi (remember this day?) this time in San Lorenzo in Lucina close to Via del Corso. It was so early and I wasn't fully awake when we arrived. Climbing scaffolding tends to wake me up though! We first stopped for a while to talk about the cool frescoes they were mostly done cleaning and filling. It was incredible to see the incisions from the cartone so vividly from up close. Luigi is shy about his English even though it is very good (and most of us understand a good part of his Italian anyway) so he has Federica translate for us but they frequently bicker over phrasing and importance/support of facts. It's really fun to see such good friends debating art history and conservation, I love it.Then we climbed up to the top (yes the top of my head kept brushing the ceiling of the chapel's dome) to examine the stucco restoration and guilding. It was another experience that I would never have back home and I can always say I've been to restorations in one of the oldest cities in the world. Very cool. Since we started early we finished early and Federica took us across the piazza to a really good cafe for coffees! It was a nice morning for the six or seven of us in the class to spend together.

Scaffolding

Incisions!

Me and the window I love

View from the halfway point, including the tomb of Poussin
since this was his neighborhood church

Pasty and Ginny

More than half of my class

After Federica's class (and a little make up shopping on via del corso) Ginny, Madison, and I stopped for lunch and I bought my first connolo (cannoli for english speakers). It was incredible!!! I could taste the calories in a delicious creamy way. Eating a connolo outside the Pantheon in a t-shirt in November. Thank you Roma!  As you can imagine our field study with Gianni was in the Pantheon then to the Torre Argentina temples and San Ignazio, Hadrian's Temple, and finally the column of Hadrian. It was a beautiful sunny day outside (and inside the Pantheon) and I love Gianni's classes and chatting with him as we walk from one location to another. Here's a video of the Pantheon:

After my "classes" for the day I came home and took a quick cat nap. I woke up in time to brush up on my food vocab for my Italian quiz (in preparation for our cooking day on Tuesday!). This was a very long day. After Italian Julie and I were walking home, drooling over the jewelry in the window of Bijoux, the shop 15 cm from our front door. Sophia and Gatto were already inside looking around his shop and chatting with him so we joined! I've been eyeing some rings and earrings here. When we asked if I wanted to buy a pair I said "oh no ill wait until monday and come back to treat myself to a birthday present" his response was to take the earrings off the shelf, wrap them up, and give them to me for free right then and there. I was very uncomfortable with such a kind gesture, expensive gift, and from the nice guy next door who we always say "ciao" to!! but the earrings are beautiful and my roommates were pressing me to take them, so I now own beautiful light green long dangling earrings! After a little more shopping we all dashed back up to the apartment to talk about our fun days, our evening plans, and sat around the table with a bagna eating our warm loaf of bread from the bakery. It was a perfect evening!

New earrings!

After a little dinner we headed to Nico's winebar, Bacocco.

More to follow I need to go pick up MEREDITH!!!! :D let the weekend fun continue!