Churches and Food- 2 of the Best Things in Life

sabato, 28 maggio 2016

Well, somehow we've managed to have yet another busy day! Fortunately, it did start out a little more slowly with some much needed rest and relaxation. We slept in and took our time getting ready in the morning and also used the time to plan some of our future weekend adventures (keep posted for more about those as they come).

Around 2:00 we ventured outside to find a shop to buy some bus tickets, but discovered that everything was closed up for the afternoon. Though we are well aware that most businesses here close for a few hours in the early afternoon, we still keep forgetting about that when we actually try going out to buy something. Eventually, we'll get the hang of this!

Without having bus tickets, we did what we've basically been doing all along since we arrived in Rome, which is walking where we need to go. Though it can be quite exhausting, especially on a hot day in Rome, we've learned to have a great appreciation for shade as well as all of the neat places that we happen to come across along the way!

Kelsey and I have discovered a slight problem in that we are not able to walk anywhere all that efficiently because each time we come across an open church, we just can't seem to pass by it without stopping in. Most places, this wouldn't really slow people down much. However, this is Rome. Rome has a lot of churches. Therefore, we stop a lot.

The first church that we stopped at was Santa Maria Della Consolazione. It was a very nice church and clearly quite old as some parts showed the wear that it had endured over many years.

Santa Maria Della Consolzione

After that stop, we continued on only to find that, in our usual fashion, we had stumbled upon yet another famous Roman site, the Roman Forum, so we found it only fitting to take a few quick pictures while we were there.

Do we look like tourists yet?

Within that area, we also found another church that we stopped at, Chiesa dei Santi Luca e Martina. This was another very large church and even had a crypt below in which some saints were buried.

Chiesa dei Santi Luca e Martina

In the crypt of Chiesa dei Santi Luca e Martina

Continuing on from there, guess what we found?? Another church! This one was the Chiesa di Santa Caterina da Siena a Magnanapoli. It was so beautiful! They appeared to be setting up for a wedding, but we were still allowed to go in and look around.

Chiesa di Santa Caterina da Siena a Magnanapoli

We continued on toward Santa Maria Maggiore, and even found a straight road that led the whole way there! It seems quite difficult to find a direct route anywhere in this city, so we were excited to see that road on the map! Eventually we got to the basilica and looked around for a while. It was so big and had many side chapels as well! While we were there, we even were able to see a relic of the manger from Bethlehem!

Santa Maria Maggiore

Next, we continued on to Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (church #5 of the day in case you're losing count), where we had heard that there would be an English mass through the parish of Santa Susanna, an American parish based here in Rome. This was another beautiful basilica that Kelsey and I both loved, plus Kelsey was very excited to find a huge organ as well! We continued on to find the smaller chapel in which mass was held. Mass was so wonderful! It was so nice to speak English, sing familiar hymns, hear an excellent homily, and most importantly, be able to receive the Body and Blood of Christ!!

Left to right: St. Therese, a giant organ Kelsey loves, and the front of the church

Leaving mass overjoyed with the love of Jesus, we went to a restaurant just down the street that was recommended in the bulletin. Da Giovanni was such an adorable little restaurant that seemed to be run by an older Italian couple. Everyone there was super sweet and Kelsey and I had a lovely dinner together. We each had a delicious soup and also tried some of the house wine. For the main course, I had Saltimbocca alla Romana (veal topped with sage and proscuitto and a very tasty sauce). Kelsey had Maialino Arrosto e Patate (roast pork and potatoes). Quite honestly, I think she just got it because she saw potatoes in the name. We enjoyed the dinner and sat and talked for quite a time, while sharing a piece of tiramisu, though we were both a bit surprised by how much we enjoyed it considering the fact that neither of us like coffee. Overall, it was such a wonderful experience of trying some traditional Italian food and stumbling our way through the language. Fortunately, the waiter was so nice and would help us practice our Italian as we ordered, though he did know English and was certainly willing to help us out when we were a bit stuck. We would very much love to go back to this restaurant, though we will continue to try other places in Rome as well!

Delicious dinner and great service at Da Giovanni!

Overall, it has been a wonderful day!

Ciao!
Allison and Kelsey