LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1535112
LOCALadk 40 non-negotiables was the appropriate amount of time to arrive at an airport ahead of your flight. Through- out our entire relationship, we had never once flown together. In fact, due to Covid, health, and seemingly endless life changes, we hadn't even roadtripped to- gether for more than a couple days at a time. We began to wonder, not always aloud, if our new spouse might be one of those weirdos who thinks it's ok to get to the airport less than an hour before your flight...or worse, clap when the plane lands. Luckily, Rhiannon and I aligned on timing (3 hours for international flights), gate confirmation ( you have to physically see it before getting snacks), and seat choice (anywhere we can be together). Oh, and neither of us is a clapper. Phew. We landed in Rome around 6 a.m. without a wink of sleep between us. We couldn't check into our VRBO un- til 3 pm, which led to a self-tour, a nap in a park, and the mastery of our first italian phrase: "Due cappucini per favore!" Two cappuccinos, please! There's something uniquely rewarding about a self- guided walking tour in a historic city. Without an ex- pert in the field directing our attention and providing the context of how and why any given monument might have been erected, we were able to marvel at anything and anything that caught our eye. It was like looking through the world as a child again. I highly recommend giving it a try sometime. After our extended morning of wandering the city, we had our fill of the tourist traps and grifters around the Colosseum and Roman Forum. We (finally) checked into our rental apartment in Trastevere for a short nap and woke up 4 hours later, just in time to kick off our new love affair with Rome with apertivo — the pre-dinner snack and drink where everyone slows down and teases the appetite. Three experiences in Rome will forever be burned into my memory. First, a pasta making class involving wine (so much wine), the first and best cacio e pepe I've ever had, and a sweet french bulldog named Oliva. Second, the straw- berries we picked up on our walk home from the cook- ing class. They were unusually long, ruby red, and had the most delicious flavor. We forgot them in the apart- ment when we checked out, but I suppose it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. And third, the Spirito Di Vino restaurant. Located in a renovated synagogue, we were immedi- Clockwise from top: -Looking out from the gardens of Rome. -Rhiannon tests her new hip on the steps of the Monu- ment to Victor Emmanuel II. -A peek at the Italian Alps from the red-eye flight to Rome.