Check that Block 03/28/2024

Today is our last full day in Rome. On the itinerary for today is to visit the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and attend an Italian cooking class and learn how to make pasta. A full day awaits us. I have scheduled transportaion for a pickup at our apartment at 9:00 PM to take us to the airport. We have rooms at the Airport Hilton for two nights. Our plans for tomorrow are to take a train to Orvieto, a medieval village about 100 miles north of Rome. Afterwards we will return to the airport for a return flight on Saturday.

The Spanish Steps were first on our list. The steps were built in 1660. At the top of the steps was the Trinita dei Monti Church, at the bottom of the steps is the Piazza di Spagna (Spain Plaza). In this plaza is the Fontana della Baraccia. It was designed by Pietro Bernini in 1623, and was part of a Papal project to erect a fountain in every major piazza in Rome.

While at the Spanish Plaza, we met a distinguished gentleman, Frederico. He directed us to his restaurant, and we had one of the best meals we had in Rome. Frederico was a frequent traveler to the Montgomery area and was friends with Jim Wilson and Milt McGregor.

Next on the list was Trevi Fountain. This fountain is one of the most famous fountains in the world. It has served as the backdrop for many movies. The tradition at the fountain, is to toss a coin over your shoulder into the fountain. This will insure your eventual return to Rome. It works. Linda and I threw a coin into the fountain in our first trip to Rome. Trevi is at the junction of three roads and it marks the terminal point of the Aqua Virgo, one of the aquaducts built by early Romans to supply water to Rome. Trevi fountain was completed in 1762.

After leaving Trevi Fountain, we stopped at the Pantheon. This is a temple built by the Romans in 609 AD. It was called "the Temple of all the Gods". I won't try to explain the lengthy history of the Pantheon in a this paragraph, but that it is a significant structure, and the style of the building has been duplicated all over the world.

This is our last night in Rome, and we decided to take an Italian cooking class. Everyone took the lessons. After donning our chef aprons, our instructor talked us through making pasta from scratch. We started with a bowl of flour and one egg and made our fettuccine pasta. It was very entertaining and once our task was completed, the instructor took our pasta to the kitchen and it was cooked. Afterwards we had a nice meal with salad, pasta, and wine. Our last Roman meal in Rome.

We returned to our apartment and made one last visit to the Colesseum.

Our Rome experience was coming to an end, but we had one more day to tour. Tomorrow we will visit Orvieto, a medieval village located about 100 miles north of Rome.