Rome Day 3: San Crispino and Trattoria Monti

We are finally on Roman time, and made the most of the last day of our brief stay. 

We started the day with a light continental breakfast at the hotel. They offered a variety of nice choices, but we opted for lighter fare: coffee, toast, fruit, and a few slices of salami since we're in the land of it.  (Though it was tempting, we decided not to grab a bottle of vino or beer from the well-stocked hotel vending machine.  hehehe)

 

Then with carefully-plotted map in hand we made our way to four spots we had to see. 

 1. Piazza Venezia: a plaza not too far from the Colloseo where Mussolini incited Italians to invade Ethiopia. Quite sobering that people walk around the area having no idea the lives that irrevocably changed right there decades ago. 

 

2. San Crispino: Rated among the best gelato in Rome, it made the perfect lunch! Mel mixed hazelnut and pistachio, while DJ had pistachio and rum chocolate. All the flavors were so distinct and fresh. What a treat!

 3. Trevi Fountain: What a beautiful sight! Ibee and Uncle Stan requested we throw a coin in and make a wish for them. We were true to our word! 

 

4. Spanish Steps: So impressive in person!

 

After the walking adventure, we recharged our batteries (and did some laundry) back at the hotel before our food adventure: Trattoria Monti.

This was one of the highly-rated restaurants DJ reserved in advance, and it lived up to the anticipation.  We noticed many locals dining there. Case in point, the man seated behind Mel in the photo below.  He walked in, sat down, and they set down his plate of food (likely his "usual") without a word!  And as the night progressed we heard more Italian being spoken than any other language. We felt like we had a non-tourist find. :-) 

 

As for the food, we got the house red wine again (which again was phenomenal). Then, with the cacio e pepe from Taverna on her mind, Mel ordered the only pasta that had pepper listed with it: the rigatoni with sausage. Verdict: amazing! She actually finished the whole plate. 

 

 DJ opted for the tagliatelle with meat sauce. Also tasty. 

 

For the meat course, Mel went for one of the specials: stuffed squid.  Interesting, but not her favorite preparation of squid.  The stuffing overpowered the squid, and she found herself removing it to just eat the fish.

 

DJ decided to try the stuffed rabbit. While tasty, he thought it could do with a little sauce and may have been a tad overcooked. But he raved that the potatoes were extremely well-done. 

 

Since the servings were a bit smaller than at Taverna (and we hadn't eaten anything but fruit and gelato all day), we decided to share bites of amaretto ice cream in hot chocolate for dessert. One word: perfetto. We had to assume that they made it on premises because the flavor was so rich and the texture so light and airy, as if they had whipped it right before bringing it to the table. Amazing. 

 

In a bittersweet moment, we realized that the amaretto would be our last bite in Rome. Tomorrow, off to new adventures in Spain!  Tapas, here we come!!!