Friday we got up really, really early to meet Mike and Cor at Termini and hop a train for a ride through Umbria to Orvieto. A quintessential hilltop, Umbrian town the day was full of magic. While Orvieto has some key sites, the Duomo cathedral, the well and such. It's really about being in this town that dates back to the Etruscans, who date back as far as 1200 BC. The hilltop vistas are amazing.
Once again, Fernando came through with a great restaurant recommendation that was amazing, Le Grotte del Funaro. If the food hadn't been so amazing, I'd recommend it for the view, but have the food too! And don't eat on the street, go downstairs into the cave or you're missing all the fun. Have some pizza since the wood fire
d oven makes
it amazingly crisp. And drink wine! The list of wines bottled in Orvieto is best described as expansive.It was in Orvietto that I bought my espresso pot. I had no luck finding something that wasn't Bialetti, the Krups of stovetop espresso in Italy, but the one I bought in Orivetto was half the price of the same pot in Rome. And it's incredibly beautiful. Just another one of those globalization moments where it's hard to find something that's unique to where you visited. I can get Bialetti in the UK and the States. Still, it's special that my pot comes from a small kitchen shop in Orvieto.
We said our goodbyes to Mike and Cor at Termini Station in Rome. They had four days to go in Rome, we were heading home to London the next day. We went to the hotel to rest before dinner.
During our first or second day we had wandered by this restaurant in Trastevere -- after we had eaten -- and I was really drawn to try and go back and eat there. I had talked about it all week. So off we went.
It was Friday night and we arrived at the height of dinner, about 9:30p. Perfect timing as a table for two was clearing out and no one was waiting. It soon became really apparent that not only were we the only non-natives in the restaurant, but that non-natives were not a regular experience in this place.
Surrounded by Romans having a great Friday night, kids, parents, lovers, it was so much fun...loud, friendly and full of great smells. I really felt like we had invaded (with permission) someone's else's world. We started with pizza...the best pizza we'd had our entire week in Rome. We went with what the waiter, who spoke no English, recommended for wine for dinner, it was great! The pasta was incredible. But it was dessert that made the most fun. Joe ordered the Tiramisu and I order the panna cotta. However, I pronounced it like a good Jersey boy. First the waiter brought me an american coffee. Then he brought a pen and paper. Finally he got that I was mis-pronouncing "panna cotta" and brought me the best panna cotta I've ever had, I knew my Dad would've loved it. It was so light and delicious. A wondeful last dinner -- but not a last meal in Rome.
So, get off the tourist path and eat at Miraggio Roma in Trastevere, Via della Lungara, 16/A. Even with all of Fernando's amazing recommendations, this place was our top food experience on this trip.
