It has been a long time since I posted to Good Day Rome. How to catch you up on our busy month?
We started with an outing on Ognisanti (All Saints’ Day) November 1. It was a spring-like start to November and we were not alone, but it was divine to walk among the ancient aqueducts yet be so close to home. Click on any picture for a larger view.
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Parco dei Acquedotti, Nov 1 2014.
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From afar, disconnected arches of an ancient aqueduct. Closer, an even older, now-buried aqueduct, appears as a stream.
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Just as massive as you would imagine.
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Walks, runners, cyclists all enjoy the day.
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A waterfall that originates in the stream of one of the ancient aqueducts.
Ric had a couple of eye doctor appointments, including one with a doctor who specializes in the vitreous gel of the eye and the retina. (Narrow focus.) This doctor said no further treatment was needed (yea!) but that he should have frequent check-ups. Va bene.
In sharp contrast to last year’s memorable and wonderful event, we choose to spend a quiet Thanksgiving this year: no cooking. I made a turkey breast on Sunday prior and we ate some excellent meals during the week, but on The Day we ate a decidedly Italian lunch at our favorite trattoria, following a visit to the Norman Rockwell exhibition that is currently in Rome.
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Outdoor dining, Thanksgiving 2014. Salute!
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‘Tis the season for artichokes, here “all giudia” quick fried and crunchy.
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Roast lamb – a nice change after three days of turkey, at Antica Taverna.
We hardly recognized Antica Taverna when we arrived for lunch on Thursday! We have been eating there for years, 90% of the time in their delightful outdoor area, under the sky in summer and in the enclosed, heated “annex” in winter or rain. The Mayor of Rome, Sindaco Marino, has waged war on what they call tavolino selvaggio or “wild tables,” and has made the restaurants in the centro storico pull their tables to a minimal protuberance. The motorini can go through and cars can pass through the ZTL practically knocking pedestrians out of their way, but the tables have to be cut back. Even in Piazza Navona they have receded. This new regulation severely restricts the small restaurants like AT that have more than 50% of their seating outside. Jobs were lost in this stupid move, but I doubt Marino will be mayor for long so perhaps the tables will go wild again.
I also started a new blog, Our Weekly Pizza, to chronicle our ongoing mission. Please take a look. If you like you can subscribe, or you can find it on Facebook , Google+ and Twitter.
We are wrapping up November with Christmas preparations. The holiday movie season kicked off with our annual viewing of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” on Wednesday, and our extensive collection (I think 28) Christmas movies is queued for viewing. The apartment is decorated except we do not yet have a tree. Hope to pick one up tomorrow. (Much more of a challenge than you might think.) We have two trips coming up as well: Venice in early December and hiking in the Dolomites over Christmas. I will be sure to post some photos from those expeditions.
What have all of you been up to?
Tags: food, Lunch, medical, Norman Rockwell, Parco dei Aquedotti, Rome, Tavolino selvaggio, Thanksgiving, turkey
Girovaga 