Day 6 - Rome

Today was (1) hotel transfer day, (2) laundry day, and (3) cooking with nonna day.  We checked out of our hotel and made our way down the hill to a pleasantly clean and unpopulated laundromat.  It took us a little over an hour and we now have 100 lbs, plus or minus 50, of clean clothes.  (Never is it more clear I've over-packed, than on laundry day.)  Laundromat work is funny.  It is like riding a bike after a long time, or flexing unused muscles.  At first, it feels a little awkward.  Then, it becomes familiar again, somewhere in the drying of clothes you remember the delicate balance of dryers so you don't need to feed another 4 euro in the machine for a pair of damp pajama bottoms.

We left the laundromat and headed to get a quick bite before heading over to our new hotel- Hotel Raphael.  Tony had  booked us a nice room, pay for 3, get the 4th night free.  Once again, we have Isabel to thank for an upgrade to a suite.  I was able to unpack our 100 lbs of laundry and it feels like we're moved in.  We could not enjoy the room for long, though, because we had to run off to nonna.

V kneading gnocchi dough

V and Nonna

T ricing potatoes with Nonna

Nonna, Sarah, the interpreter,
and our gnocchi 

Dinner with nonna was fantastic.  We had antipasti, bruschetta, gnocchi al pomodoro e basilico, saltimboca alla Romana, broccoli romanesco, roasted vegetables, and tiramisu.

There were 6 students in total- one French girl from Paris, a Canadian woman who lived in Kuwait, a couple on their honeymoon from Chicago, and us.  It was super fun and nonna gave us some good tricks; like, wet your parchment paper before you put it on the pan.  It won't roll around.  Wipe the water off the side you're using.  Genius!  Nonna spoke only Italian.  The group provided an American interpreter, who had lived in Rome for the last 5 years.  We cut veggies, riced the potato for the gnocchi, pounded the veal, rolled the gnocchi and shaped it (that was the hardest part), and made our own tiramisu (tiramisus?) in small ramekins.  Food was great. Wine was great.  Company was great.

Tomorrow we have a full day of exploration ahead.