A Night in Rome

After Vanni's pizza and a quick goodbye to Valentina, we headed upstairs to take care of a few last-minute details before meeting up with Niccolò. The three of us boarded the train to Rome, and from there, we took a quick detour through the Piazza della Republica and then to our friends Charlie and Fru's apartment. Remember their Spiderman Garden?

They had heard we were planning to spend a day in Rome before flying back to the U.S., and generously offered us their apartment for the night. We stopped to say hello to Danilo, the doorman, and Niccolò explained our plans--that he would leave early the next morning, while Ira and I would be leaving later in the day and hoped to store our bags. Danilo gave us an extra key and told us we could just drop it back with him before 7PM. Perfect!

We squeezed ourselves--three adults and luggage--into the tiny elevator (barely fitting!) and took a quick tour of the apartment. Technically, it's two apartments that have been combined into one, which makes for a unique and spacious layout. Then we popped a bottle of wine and enjoyed it on the terrace until it was time for dinner.

A Roman Dinner

Dinner was a five-minute walk away, and we kicked things off with the classic tagliere (charcuterie board).

Tagliere

While I don't normally eat pasta this late in the day, we made an exception--because if you're in Rome for one night, you eat pasta. So Ira went with a traditional Carbonara and Niccolò and I both had Cacio e Pepe, also typically Roman.

Carbonara

Cacio e Pepe

For dessert, Ira was definitely surprised by the mountain of gelato placed in front of him--but that didn't stop him from finishing it. My dessert was creamy, nutty and delicious, though I can't for the life of me remember what it was called.

Gelato

Dessert Special

After dinner, we wandered the charming Roman streets in search of a spot Niccolò wanted to  revisit for a digestif. 

Rome at Night

Eventually we found it--a cozy bar with just the right vibe. Niccolò asked the bartender to prepare a digestif of his choosing, and Ira and I decided to join in. 

Digestifs are meant to aid digestion after a meal--whether it worked or not is up for debate, but it was a lovely way to end the evening.

Cool spot for a digestif

We made our way back to the apartment, and Ira paused to take a picture of the foyer--it looked particularly striking all lit up at night.

Foyer at night

Tomorrow we'll have a full day to explore before meeting with Federico from Wetacoo. Now that the investment part of the Investor Visa is complete, he wanted the chance to give us a tour of the office and take his newest shareholders out to dinner. And who were we to say no?

A dopo!

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