D35 Italy - Firenze to Roma

Today we were able to get a 7.30am breakfast which worked in perfectly with our plans to pack and run 30 mins across town so Ant could try on the silver ring he spotted yesterday!

We got to the small jewellers by 9.15am and discovered that it wasn’t opening until 10.30am - apparently Google is a big liar, even in Italia. We figured we should give it a few minutes to try our luck...so naturally we located a pasticceria which meant two coffees and one pastry with a mystery filling. But no walnuts. We’re on a lucky streak!

After we had digested we wandered back to the jewellery store and when the lady poked her head out to fill the dog bowl with water, Ant asked if we could come in to try a few rings on. She was so nice and said “Of course, come in!”. The best moment was when Ant was complimenting her on her business and her jewellery training in Australia (because being truely invested he had done extensive research on her website) and she was like “Ah thats not me, my friend is actually the owner!”. Haha. Also, it turned out that they only make a select few sizes of their designs, so the ring that Ant was eyeing off didn’t fit. He tried on a few others and found a silver one with a beautiful leaf/floral pattern on it. Sold!
With time slightly against us we raced back to the accomodation to pick up our bags before heading to the train station, but not before we picked up some snacks for a picnic on the go! Our version of a Tuscan lunch.

The train left shortly after 11am and we arrived in Rome just before 3pm. We walked to what we thought was our BnB - the young girl at reception invited us in and very kindly told us that we were at the wrong place. In hindsight, this accomodation had a strange masseur vibe to it so we were happy to be booked elsewhere! 5 minutes down the road we got to the correct apartment, which is a lovely modern room with free coffee and sweets! The owner told us that when we reach Ischia that we must visit the gardens, so naturally it’s in the spreadsheet.

By the time we had showered, refreshed and sorted ourselves out it was ready to leave and meet our group for pasta making. We met at the Campo de’ Fiore at 5.30pm, and our group was escorted by a local lady called Veronica to an apartment 5 minutes walk away. She was so cute and spent the time giving us tips about what pastas we must try while in Rome! Note to self: MUST TRY Cacio e Pepe. Sounds delish.

Two male chefs, Stefano and Marco, ran the cooking class. They were like chalk and cheese - Stefano was slightly scary with an intensely dry sense of humour, whereas Marco had an air of simpleness and sweetness (like a good luck pasta fairy sitting on your shoulder). We each had a sterile wooden board with a cup of flour, an egg, a fork and a pasta machine to share with our partner. Over the next 3.5 hours we had the most fun we’ve had in ages purely due to learning a new skill in a fun and foreign environment. The instructions were simple and easy to follow, we saw our dinner be transformed from such basic ingredients to (what we considered) masterpieces, and we met some lovely people in the process! All of the other people were couples, and all, bar one couple, would have been under 35 years of age, and American. While we waited for our pasta to rest, we gorged on the antipasti platters and Prosecco, whilst watching Stefano and Marco prepared one of our sauces. Apparently the cured meat guancialle that is commonly used cannot be found in Australia...we beg to differ! We will make it our mission to track it down, because it’s bloody delicious! And that coming from me....

We enjoyed dinner sitting at a large table on a rooftop, and it didn’t disappoint with refills of wine and gelato to finish. We each also scored a recipe book and a graduation certificate, which was such a sweet touch. Also, we will now be referring to Anthony as ANHTONY! Italian swine that he is.

We ended the night with unexpected drinks at a local bar with some of the other people in the group, including a really intense and somewhat mysterious American bloke that Ant found himself seated next to. Poor Ant.
Anyway, it was a great day all round - and once again, we are 100% pooped and bid you adieu!Read more