Ahhh, the Food (and Wine)

We had a great time in Italy, but one of the best parts was the food. To pin point one area or one food is impossible, so I want to share the highlights of each city we visited.

First stop...Rome!

Upon arriving in Rome after dark (about 5 hours late) we wandered around the Piazza del Popolo near our hotel, trying to get our bearings and looking for some food. We found a little hole in the wall across the street from the piazza. It was one of the best meals of the trip and the cheapest.

Most of the pizza in Italy is very good; thin, crispy crust. This is arugula and Gorgonzola.

Gnocchi is a funny dish. I have had some really good and light gnocchi and some really bad, doughy gnocchi. This was THE BEST gnocchi I have ever had. I had it several times in Italy and it was all good, but this was the best.

So, did you know that you could eat very well in Italy just by ordering a glass of wine? After a long day of sightseeing ancient Rome, we found an outdoor cafe and ordered some wine and a hot chocolate. In addition to the beverages, we were served chips, crostinis, sandwiches, and olives. We were not expecting it at all.

I'm not the biggest hot drink fan, but there was a chill in the air that evening and a hot chocolate sounded good...hot chocolate in Europe is always delish - very chocolaty and real whipped cream.
Later that evening, we really weren't terribly hungry due to the free appetizers, so we decided to stop at another outdoor cafe and have some more wine. With a glass of red and and a glass of prosecco we were served these little crostinis. "Wow!" we thought, "we could get used to this."

After ordering a second glass of wine and prosecco, our appetizers were upgraded. Please notice the caviar. Yah, that's right, free caviar. I don't eat fish or anything that comes out of fish, but I was still impressed. The crostinis were good, which is why one is missing.

We had gelato almost every day while in Italy. Oh, that is some good ice cream! We spent the morning of the next day in Vatican City touring the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Then we headed to the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. While at the piazza it started to rain a little, so we found some cover and ordered some gelato (cioccolatoe e limone).

We planned on heading back to the restaurant from the first night on our last night, but it was closed. So we wandered around and found another funny little place. Here I ordered pasta alla vodka. It was also yummy!

Next stop, the Chianti region in Tuscany.