Day 2: Cooking & Tour Start (Rome)

Our first day in Rome was a little rushed cause I made the bad decision to sign up for a cooking class right before our tour started. We also had to change hotels for the tour. If I had known how far things would be, I would have planned this out a little better! -C

Time to Cook Pasta

A few hours before the tour, we left for Hotel Dharma, which was farther than our original hotel. Time wasn't on our side when we made it. Fortunately, we ended up running into our tour guide, Patricia, in the lobby. With a little help from her and the front desk, we made it to our cooking class!

Unfortunately, we missed making the tiramisu but thankfully, we were in time to start making pasta! Now I enjoy cooking and one of the big reasons I wanted to go to Italy was to learn how to make pasta from scratch. It was a little tougher than I imagined even though only three ingredients are used to make it: flour, salt, and egg. Arin's fettucine was a lot more even than Cithara's was. We also made ravioli and learned how to crimp those. In the end, we got to eat our creations (Arin had his with cacio e pepe, a creamy white sauce, while I had mine with plain tomato sauce). As a bonus, they gave us some extra tiramisu since we missed making it!

(Don't worry, we get our chance to make it a little later!)

Tip: If you'd like to take classes or do walking tours, I suggest doing them on the days where you won't have much going on.

Tour Starts

After our hectic morning, we settled into the hotel until 3 PM when we met up with Patricia and the rest of our group. There were quite a few people traveling with us. Some had gone on other tours while some were going for the first time. It was nice to get to know everyone.

Then came time for us to get buddies who'd keep track of us during the tour. This is where Cithara and Arin's differences come into play. Arin can easily walk up to someone, start talking, and make friends with them. So, it's no surprise that he found a buddy in two seconds flat. Cithara, on the other hand, tends to enjoy her alone time and struggles to making friends. Again, no surprise she got her buddy last but at least we both had one! Once that was settled, it was time for the tour to start.

Together, we walked around Rome to admire all the piazzas and various places while Patricia gave us a brief history behind the city. Rome is full of history, but it's also very much in the current world. As we checked out certain piazzas and fountains, we took in all the beautiful sights around us. In the end, we went off to dinner at a local restaurant.

Appetizer: Various cheeses and meats

Main Course: Gnocchi with cream sauce and pistachios (Cithara), lamb chops and vegetables (Arin)

Dessert: Panna cotta with chocolate sauce (Cithara), Tiramisu (Arin)

For our last stop, after climbing a lot of stairs, we went to the Trevi fountain, made our way through the crowd to make our wishes. Will they come true? We'll have to wait and see!

Tip: Patricia always posted the events of the day outside our meeting place during our tour. In the afternoon, she'd change it so we'd know what to prepare for. Be sure to check that sheet out if you go on the tour. It'll give you an idea of when things will take place and what you'll do!