Celebrating 30 Years of Bliss: Roma

Well, I guess it had to happen sometime. Our wonderful vacation is coming to an end and just when we were feeling very at home in Rome.

Our favorite barista has taken a liking to me. See what I got on my latte macchiato yesterday?

A smiley face!

We've made friends with a few of the shop owners. This is me with Alessia who sells beautiful Italian linens as well as other wonderful things for the home. She was wonderful to talk to and answered lots of our questions about the neighborhood.

Scott with one of the waiters at one of our favorite restaurants - Cave de Sant'Ignazio. Also, what we had for lunch - delicioso!

Gnocci (Thursday is ALWAYS Gnocci day)

Osso Bucco with Risotto

The rest of today was spent doing lots of shopping. I always get a little panicked in the last few days, afraid that I'll forget to purchase something that was on my list or that I'm missing the perfect souvenir to take home. Luckily, Scott is a great sport about stopping at every shop between the Campo di Fiori and the Spanish Steps.

So, when we checked in our baggage our once empty suitcase weighed 50 lbs. plus we filled up the fold-out bag that we usually bring along. So, I guess I bought all that I needed to!

Had a great dinner at a place that we had avoided in the past because it was right in the middle of a very touristy area. Turns out that it's a great local spot - Da Luigi's - it even has one of those touristy names. The food was good and I was able to have one of my favorite side dishes; carciofi alla giudia (Jewish style artichokes). It's the middle picture, the artichokes are cleaned then deep fried and salted - love them!