Last Post - Rome

It's hard to believe that this isn't the high season for travel in Rome. It's a zoo out there.

The Vatican was worth doing. Some of the rooms and hallways make even my steely jaw drop. The photos probably won't do it justice, but Susan documented the place like it was a crime scene.
It's fun to see some of the more famous artwork. The old man lent me some nice books so I could get some familiarity with the Italian renaissance, so I could pick out a lot of what I was seeing. It was nice being able to point and say "This wall was painted by Raphael", "That ceiling is from Michaelangelo", or "This piece was crafted by Master Splinter". (Note: too obvious?)

For me the Capuchin monastery was a must see. It's a crypt made out of dead people. Great place for a picnic. Susan liked the chandeliers which I believe were mostly made out of finger bones and vertebrae. Spookiest bit was definitely the skeleton of a small child all done up like The Reaper. He even has a little scale and scythe made out of some other guy. They have a lovely plaque there that reads (approximately) "We were once what you are. You will be what we are."

There are a bunch of hippies outside protesting at some nearby government building. The cops aren't hitting them for some reason. I'm not sure on the details but I think they're protesting the fact that their president is a blatantly criminal fascist. Cry me a fucking river.
They're playing Rage Against the Machine songs now. Ya, that'll show 'em.

We had one more great meal and it was a doosie. The restaurant name was Il Pagliaccio. The service was perfect, and the front of house oozed style out their ears. The food was all about subtlety, but every dish packed some 'wow factor'. Standout dish is hard to pick, but I'm going with the salted cod cannelloni in onion and leek broth, just because the broth was so good it made me feel all emotional. The last dessert came with a small serving of rose hip tea that nearly made me fall asleep in their big comfy chairs. Pagliaccio has swept in at the end and stolen the meal of the trip award away from Moo.
I've noticed a bit of a pattern. We used the Michelin guide a little bit in planning our meals for this trip. The thing is, I'm still yet to really love a 3-star restaurant. 2-stars on the other hand have always been really special. Could it be that 3-star restaurants are crossing some kind of border, and ending up in territory where great noms take second position to dressing up like a douche and having an 'extensive water menu'?

The last two night of the trip have been great. Me and Susan stayed in our room, dined on junk food, and drank beer (Susan drank a whole beer to her self!). I feel strongly that vacationing needs nights like this. No pushing through crowds to look at some church or pile of old rocks. It's a nice change of pace.
This part of the world is a great place to visit... but it gets old. Three weeks may have been a bit too long for this trip. I remember having 'temple fatigue' in Japan, and I feel the same here. All the old buildings are starting to look the same, and I just don't care to look at another painting of Jesus.

Now for something really controversial.
The food in America is better than in Europe (this part of it at least). I'm sorry but it just is. Italy has fresh pasta. So what? It takes like 3 minutes to make fresh pasta. I keep thinking back to Lola's (Knoxville, I think?) An amazing meal for 4 people for just over 100 dollars. For 25 bucks in Europe they won't even heat up your catfood.
Fine dining is on par, not just because you're dishing out the cash, but because if you're going to the trouble of making reservations for a meal, you've probably checked their credentials before hand. When traveling though, you can't eat at a place you've looked into before hand every night. Making reservations for 21 restaurants isn't feasible.
You can't just walk into a restaurant in this part of the world and expect to be served something even remotely edible, because the major cities are riddled with tourist traps. Don't believe the bloggers that tell you if you leave the main tourist districts you'll be fine (I've already discussed my beef with those blogger people.) I've picked a direction and walked for miles, only to find myself with a cover charge and a tourist menu.
If you want to have an amazing food based vacation, it's not far from home. Montreal, Chicago, Boston, any southern state, hell even good old Toronto. The noms may not be perfect, but at least most restaurants aren't specifically there to try and rip you off.

All in all, it's been a great vacation. We've seen and done a lot in 3 weeks, and we've learned a lot about travel in general. Next time I'm doing something less gimmicky than Europe though. English speaking would be a treat. Maybe somewhere where the trees seem to go on forever.
Is it still traveling if you only drive 100km?