My Last Nights in Rome

Ok. It's so weird to say that I've been home for about a month and that I have no idea when I'm going back to Italy. It's been a good month, but strange. It's strange to be in Fort Lee and New Jersey and to know that I have no idea when I get to go back to the ancient sites and beautiful culture that I love so much.  There's definitely a hole in my heart right now.  I seem to have left part of it in Italy again, maybe the chunk is larger this time since I left a piece in Florence and now a piece in Rome too.  So if you find the pieces, feel free to mail them back to me.
Oh well, Jersey is here and for the moment I still have lots to talkabout Italy wise.  I still have to write about my trip to Florence (the one that was only supposed to last 2 days, that wound up being 5 days instead... yeah, that one lol) and of course my last couple of days in Rome.

Going away party deliciousness

On Tuesday I went to a goodbye esque party with coworkers and friends. It was hysterically amazing
complete with rain pouring down our backs (yay, outdoor seating!) but I'll do a whole separate review because the food was great. We got an assortment of delicious food and it was a great evening.
Then Wednesday I went to work to clean out my classroom.  It was a sad day for me, but good too because we had a going away party.  My coworkers were going to try and surprise me but I didn't have to

turkish delight

be there at any set point so they had to schedule it with me ahead of time.  It was great though. We had tortilla chips with salsa (a wonderful treat after months with no salsa), delicious cheese and prosecco.  I also tried Turkish delight for the first time.  My student brought me some from his vacation and it was delicious, extremely sweet, but delicious. I could only eat one since it was so rich. We also had delicious pastries that Ashley brought.  It was awesome and a lot of fun. I am so grateful to have worked with such a lovely bunch of creative, intelligent, strong women this year. It was a great experience and I was quite sad to say goodbye. But you never know, maybe I'll go back one day and do it all over again.

Delicious treats

Thursday I spent my day walking the forum and the Coliseum. I played tourist and then stubbornly decided to walk home in the sun as well. It was around 8 miles of walking total that day. That 8 miles with no shade also explains my minor sunburn and how cracked out I was by dinner time.

A wonderful view of the Coliseum from the Forum

Pesto Pork chops

And dinner was hilarious. I made myself pesto porkchops and pesto tortellini in an attempt to finish off the stuff I had in the fridge. It was pretty good and super simple to make. Apply pesto liberally to porkchops. Grill. No recipe necessary.  Make tortellini and coat in sauce.  I had so much other stuff in the fridge that I could have made, but this was the easiest.
Friday was panicked/depressed packing.  It was ridiculously painful and I really didn't want to. I'd already packed the majority, thank God, but still it was an annoying job to do. And then luckily enough for me, my friend Laure invited me out for a relaxing beer to chill out behind Piramide. She brought me to a fantastic little pub with an amazing rotation of beers. The barista really knew her stuff and was able to recommend some fantastic and particular beers. I got a Vudu, slighly sweet and bitter while Laure got one with a lighter, citrus taste. I wish I could go back there since they regularly switch up their beer choices.
Then we went over to Termini Station to meet Morgane (from France) and Steffi (from Germany). I met them 4 years ago in Florence while doing my masters.  I saw them in Florence that last weekend I visited. It seems fate pulled us together again for some fun. And then they speent Friday night in Rome hanging out with me which was awesome.
We got them settled into their B&B and then we went to Ai 3 Scalini. I've been wanting to go there for a while. It's an aperitivo esque bar famous in Rome. A bunch of people had told me about it but there's always a line. Luckily, Friday it wasn't incredibly croweded and we didn't have to wait. I'm guessing because August 1st means that most Italians escape to the sea (not that I can blame them with the heat in city center). It was

absolutely fantastic.
We shared a bottle of wonderful white wine and then I ordered eggplant parmigiana as did Steffi.  Morgane got a bufala mozzarella and tomatoes. Laure got fresh ricotta with a truffle honey.
Everything was fantastic.  It was one of the best eggplant parmigiana's I've ever had and the various cheeses were amazing.  The mozzarella was perfect and the ricotta was creamy and rich while the truffle honey added such a lovely kick to the dish.  The truffle honey was sweet but had a potent, yet delicious kick that complemented the creamy ricotta incredibly well. Sitting in Jersey, I would kill to have any of the delicious food in front of me now.

Then Laure had to go, so we said our goodbyes and Steffi, Morgane and I explored Rome at night for a while on a hilarious walking tour on the sites of center. They kept asking me where to go and I sadly still don't fully understand the whole layout of Rome. It is a huge city. We had a fun night and then said our goodbyes and I walked back home.
Saturday was more packing, lots of walking for some last minute errands and lunch and inner at home.  I made myself pasta with the tomato sauce that my previous roommates mother made.  Let me tell you, there is nothing like homemade tomato sauce. It was delicious and so much better than anything bought at the store.
Then after dinner, the girls and I went to Gazometro which is behind the house. If you're anywhere near Piramide you should definitely go for some vibrant night life!
And that's how I ended my time in Rome. It was definitely a good week with great people who I'm missing a lot right now.