Gianicolo Picnic

photo snapping/red bull excitement/genie preparation/genie outcome/Davide proper with pizza/Gianicolo Hill busts/Lea in fountain/Gianicolo Hill view/picnic lounging/down stairs

If a person ever goes to Rome, I think it absolutely necessary to go to the top of Gianicolo (or Janiculum) Hill and have a picnic. There's some story that Giorgio told Lea who told us about it... but I don't remember. I do remember a shaded lunch and lounging with an amazing view of the city, listening to Davide's character who "loves Rrrroma for dee Wedding Cake and MacDonald's" (I'm literally giggling out loud as I'm sitting here typing this), and discovering Lea's future wedding reception area.

When I decided to come to Rome, this is exactly what I wanted. Naturally I wanted to see the sights and churches and art, do tourist-y things, etc etc, but what I wanted even more than that was to get a glimpse into what it would be like to live here. The girls pictured above have lived in Rome for years and know it very well, are American-Italian (or Italian-American?) so speak both languages fluently, and have little to no interest in being around tourists on their days off. The weekend spent with them was exactly what I had envisioned before coming here... although I will say its much (much much much) more expensive to "live" than to be a visitor. No matter. I leave tomorrow morning, and the long weekend was the absolute perfect end to the trip.

[first, third, and fifth photos courtesy of Lea & Andrea LaPorte]