Roman Holiday...Day 2...Part 2

So after our sightseeing in Rome we headed to

The Roman Countryside.

Along the drive we had great conversation while looking at all the sights along the road.

Parts of the drive around the lake were winding and small and nothing to keep you from falling if that was to happen. It reminded me of the drive from Reno to Lake Tahoe.

We stopped at a look out point to take in the view and to take some pictures as well.

It was neat that in these little pull over sections off the road there were food trailers and they had tables and chairs and umbrellas so you could stop and eat if you wanted.

We stopped in a small village called Nemi ....it was so cute....you could stand on a look out point and see the lake...see churches and the streets were so cute.

We stopped here to taste some meats and cheese and a little wine tasting.

Below is the shop we got our goodies from...it was a very interesting meat market.

 All types and sizes of meat were hanging from the ceilings and the walls...at times you had to duck and dodge meat to get from on spot in the store to the other. Some meat even still had hair on it...that was mostly the buffalo meat.

In the picture below...the white looking stuff hanging is buffalo balls...the picture does not do them justice...they are huge...and this became a topic of conversation throughout our lunch time.

These meats are good to hang this way for 2 years...

Not sure I could buy my meat hanging from the wall for even a month in an open air store and all kinds of flies and such crawling on it...though we did do a taste tasting and we're still here.

 After our tasting we walked the streets to take in the feel of the town and then we headed to our lunch destination.

 Not sure why I forgot to take a picture of the outside of this restaurant but by some of the pictures I'm sharing you can get the feel at how wonderful this place is.

I could of sat here all day drinking wine and just looking out over Lake Albano.

Before sitting at our table we were given a tour of the wine cellar...so many different areas below.

There are more than 35,000 bottles in the cellar that is in an ancient volcano.

Some bottles have been there so long that the dust is so thick you can't even see the bottle.

I was very nervous in the section that housed wines that cost over $25,000.

The name of the restaurant is "Pagnanelli" and for me was the highlight of the day....and this is where the wine glass pictures throughout our trip were born.

"Salute"

Our guide Marco ....not sure he knew what to expect from us but I do think he had a good time and I think he wished he could of joined us in the wine drinking.

We tried to talk him into it but he said he was working and couldn't ...though we sat for so long the wine would of been out of his system by then....but you had to respect him....but no worries...we had his share.

Below is myself with Marco.

So...during the lunch process I decided to take out a page from the way my friend Fonda travels when she goes some place new....she lets the waiter order for her...something I "DON'T" do cause I like to know what I'm eating.

But my thougth was...I'm in Rome...let's do as the Romans do...let's make this vacation a memorable one in all aspects.

So we allowed Marco to order for us...we asked him, what would you order ...but we also let him know we liked our stuff cooked and nothing crazy and that we weren't eating any balls either (which we had many conversations about)...after all we had just seen them at the market but we didn't wanna eat them.

So...he suggested a platter of samplings...so we ordered 2 different ones.

Now during all this time we were having wine from our wine tasting...nice size glasses too...we never had an empty glass....I didn't care too much for the red but loved all the whites.

So these are the 2 platters that came out...cute presentation but we immediately started to wonder if we made the right choice in allowing Marco to order for us...I was like...okay...I see cantaloupe...that's safe...But I will admit it was basically good and he told us what everything was and we tried it all except for the baby octopus which is in the second picture, bottom left.

In the same picture, top right was the tuna...it's cooked but not like how we cook it and had some type of flavoring on it that was purple....I tried it and told Marco I like my tuna in a can...it wasn't bad but it wasn't great...taste was weird...but I tried it, Go Robin!

We talked so much about the food and made jokes and had a good time...what we had was good though different but was just the right amount...though I'm not sure I will let someone else choose my meal again...it's like been there, done that, I'm done.

 After a wonderful time at lunch it was time to go...here we are with Marco and one of the waiters in front of the resturant.

 So before heading back to Rome we made a stop in the small medieval village of Castel Gandolfo

where the Pope resides during the summer when he is in Rome.

The entrance with The Swiss Guards....a sign the Pope is in residence.

 The top balcony is where the Pope stands when he talks and hold his sermon.

 It's sad...Our time in the countryside has come to an end...we had a full day...9 hours...and I think we showed Marco a really good time as he did with us.

Marco dropped us off at our hotel where we cleaned up and had dinner on the roof top terrace of our hotel. Below is the view from our table.

It's a small terrace but apparently very popular and reservations are a must.

There was not a huge menu and I must say a very pricey one at that...we finally decided on our meal and it was one we shared, as that is the way we did most of our meals...

It was funny cause Lonnie was asking questions about the menu and she was like....is it cooked, we like our stuff cooked and not talking back to us...it was so funny cause at first I was unsure if the waiter got our sense of humor....but he did...and our meal was good...as was the wine.

Day 2 was another success...now it's time to rest up for Day 3 and our last day in Rome.