My Russian Life: A Roman Christmas

Before heading back to the US for the holidays, Pat & I spent 5 days in Rome. We've been to Rome a half dozen times, and it's one of our favorite cities. But visiting it at Christmas, and spending time in Vatican City was on our Bucket List. We've always wanted to attend Christmas Eve Mass at S. Peter's and be there to see the Pope give his blessings. Considering that we have a new Pope who rocks in my opinion (Papa Francesco!), this was the year to do it.

Of course, getting tickets to St. Peter's Midnight Mass was a crazy pipe dream! I tried several different options, including applying directly to the Vatican as well as multiple tour sites. But nada. However, it was still an amazing experience to be there.

We stayed in an apartment in the Prati section of Rome, which is 5-10 minutes walk to Vatican City. We rented it through RentalinRome.com, which I would strongly recommend. So easy to work with, and an apartment can be so much nicer than a hotel. We were able to cook, have a place to relax, do laundry, and we had a great view of the Vatican.

Once we arrived at the apartment & settled in, I was starving (& thirsty) & needed an immediate fix. Luckily, the weather was nice enough to sit outside (here at the Campo Di Fiori market square) and enjoy lunch.

I love 9 Euro liters of Italian house wine.

Baked Polenta with mushrooms and cheesy cream sauce, and Pasta Arrabiata.

We were within 5 minutes of the Tiber River.....

And very close to Castel Sant-Angelo, which was originally built by the Roman emperor Hadrian, as a mausoleum for himself & his family in 130 AD. It more commonly known as a fortress and castle for the Popes.

Looking over my pictures, I found that I took a lot of random alleyways & buildings. The lighting & colors were just perfect this time of year.

This is Via Pastina, which Pat & Mike Reiser will remember from their visit!

The best kiosk ever - wine for sale! Haven't you often needed a bottle of wine on your way home, but didn't feel like stopping at a store?

Views from Janiculum Hill, which is south of the Vatican. Pat & I got a little lost one afternoon, which often happens, but the views were worth the long walk. Janiculum Hill is NOT one of the 7 hills of Rome I learned.

These were taken in Prati, not far from our apartment.

The Passeto di Borgo - which is the wall connecting Castel Sant'Angelo to St. Peter's Cathedral.

I love that it looked (and felt) like a beautiful fall day. I recommend Rome in December!

These guys were singing their heart out in Piazza Navona, near the famous Bernini fountain "Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi" (Fountain of Four Rivers)

Something about Alms to the poor and dead, I think? Campagna 1694

There is a nice park near Castel Sant'Angelo, which we could walk through in order to cross the Tiber river

As I've mentioned before, we love staying in apartments so we can experience the local markets. The Trionfale Market, which is one of Rome's largest markets, just happened to be located on our block. Right downstairs from the apartment. Can you believe it? Seriously, I didn't plan it this way!

Pat buying some clementines and puntarelle (the shredded green vegetable in the front of the picture), a chicory that we used to make the traditional Roman salad of the same name. It's made with a really strong anchovy dressing, which goes perfectly with the Roman meat & fish dishes or pastas.