URBAN LIFE 'N STYLE OCTOBER 2016 | OUT THE BOX | Page 48

My first evening in Rome was spent
in true Roman company. My son
had been an exchange student the
previous year and his host family
came out with their cute Italian car
jostled me in and we went
whizzing through the city to
Christiana De Chiallies brother’s
restaurant. I wish you could have
heard me yelp with joy as we
passed the beautifully lit up
colosseum.
Eating out is one of Rome’s great
pleasures and the combination of
‘al fresco’ settings and superlative
food is a guarantee.
Despite the city’s imperial pedigree
roman food is flavoured by lard and
olive oil, their fauna is the pig and
their flora is the famous artichoke.
The De Chiallies ordered Bucatini
all Amatricana. It is thick spaghetti with a hole running through the
centre and made of tomatoes,
guanciale (pigs cheek) and grated
Pecorino.

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I simply had a Carbonara. So I had
to learn a few pleasantries at the
restaurant.
Firstly, the Romans have large
appetites. Even the woman, and
they slurp up the pasta as
quickly as they can. Secondly, it
doesn’t matter how young you are
but a sip of Vino is a must at the
dinner table.
The balance of my stay in Rome
was about relaxing into the city’s
Mediterranean rhythms, idling the
cobbled streets, spending hours at
street side cafes and all the pretty
piazzas.
I’m not much of a sight seer on
vacations, I much rather like
experiencing the soul of a city.
However the Sistine Chapel was on
my bucket list. So I braced myself
and joined thousands of tourists
for a tour around the Vatican City.
The most sacred place of
Christianity, mesmerised as I
proceeded through the many halls
and chambers and then of course
there is the Sistine Chapel, which
spreads its calmness over you.

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