Food, Wine, Villa's oh my!

Buona Sera! The past three says have been fairly intense and varied. From a day flying around the world to a few days in Rome, Italy we have been extremely busy adjusting to jetlag and a new culture. For the most part airlines got us to our destination on time with all of our luggage. A few items got shuffled in the mix and a few flights were delayed. We are only short one person so far.

At the airport we were enthusiastically greeted by our guide Edi Conson. After everyone arrived we collected our items and found ourselves rushed away to downtown Rome for an afternoon of gardens and good food. We first stopped at Villa Medici. Here we were given an incredible tour by a French gentleman who could have doubled as a history book. The villa's most notable owner was Feidinando I de' Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The villa garden was peppered with statues and had an eye raising canopy of Umbrella Pines. The Villa is now property of the Government of France.

After lunch we were driven to the Museum of Villa Giulia we were at our leisure to inspect the garden and the museum. The garden utilizes forced perspective and split level design which leads into a variety of garden rooms and an overlook down upon the nympaeum. Many of these features were designed by Bartolomeo Ammanati. Just a minute from the Villa is the Spanish Steps. A place to watch your personal belongings for sure. But, it was covered in flowers and people!

After completing our visit we traveled to the hotel to get refreshed from our travels and ready for dinner. We ate at Ristorante Mario's. Red and white wine flowed and four courses of food followed. The first course was a starter for each of us consisting of Bruschetta, prosciutto, and peppered salami. Our second course was a pea and mushroom pasta with red sauce pasta. Course three was a meat course of chicken, sausage, lamb, alongside some eggplant. Our final course was tiramisu. It was to say the least, delicious.

This concluded our first day in Italy.

More to come tomorrow about todays adventures. For now enjoy the pictures!