12 Days in Italy - Day 2

Day 2 - Inauguration Ceremony and Reception (7/21/2019)

We had flown overnight without much sleep, departing on 8/19 and arriving in Rome on 8/20 as detailed in my Day 1 post.  We slept for almost 16 hours that first night, waking at 2pm (8am in our minds) to the realization that the ceremony we were attending started at 3:30.  We readied ourselves and made our way to Piazza Trilussa right out in front of our apartment.  The piazza was named after Carlo Alberto Salustri, a well-known Roman poet of the early 20th century.  I grabbed a slice of pizza from Pizza Trilussa on the street right near our front door (in Piazza Trilussa - a little tongue-twister if you like).  The person running the place folded it in half and wrapped it in paper before handing it to me.  While I am not a "folder" when it comes to pizza it was very easy to handle the way it was served and I appreciated the difference in presentation as we walked (4,80 Euro for that and a bottle of water).  Luckily the Taxi stand was right at the edge of the Piazza so we just walked up and grabbed the first one, finishing up the pizza just as we arrived to the stand.  The rides from Trastevere to the university and pretty much anywhere towards the center of Rome were always in the 12-18 Euro range.  

We found a group walking into a nearly deserted university and followed them to our destination.  Once we arrived at the building we were a little more settled after almost being late to a 3:30pm event.  My Cappuccino came from a vending machine this time.  The process was as follows - insert Euro, listen to confusing sounds, wait long enough that you assume something went wrong and then just as you turn to walk away, a cup drops and starts to fill.  It turns out that the machine grinds and brews the espresso before handling the latte side of things.  It was actually pretty good.  

 I was still pretty much half asleep but enjoying the ride.  I listened to the speaker make announcements about the state of the congress we were attending and also to welcome the new president and discuss the location of the next congress.  The incoming president made remarks and then the entertainment was introduced.  The first performers included piano, cello and voice in a variety of combinations (piano/Cello, piano/voice, and piano/cello/voice).  The person we walked in with earlier mentioned that the original performers had cancelled and she had helped find this group.  They were quite good but obviously not an actual group, but rather instrumentalists performing together in ensemble.  When the final group was announced we had stepped out for a break and missed the first moments but returned to an exceptional performance.   Here are pics and videos that we managed to get showcasing the variety of the performance style.

 After thoroughly enjoying the show (what a fantastic vocalist) we were ready to move to the reception.  A short walk from the university grounds was our destination - the Italian Army Officer's Club (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Italian-Army-Officers-Club-Rome/132762893553210).  I'll say that my first impressions were that of country club decor from the 1980's in the states.  Beautiful grounds and elegant walkways delineated by artistic landscaping and kept intact by velvet rope dividers to funnel visitors into the pathways.  

The crowd generally ignored what they were told by the staff and at some point the outdoor dining area was just opened and we were left to fend for ourselves as many of the guests basically hopped the barrier and made a play for the bar.  To be fair the instructions weren't clear.  Luckily I had a little experience from serving on the wait staff and in the kitchen of a club in my younger days and knew to wait for the announcement to enter, but luckily for whom?  The staff didn't suffer much by the intrusion of early guests other than a minor struggle to place food while avoiding those already picking at the available plates, and the earlier guests had already visited the bar so the lines were short.

When we took our first look at the food I commented the exact same thing that I noticed about the grounds and building - very much 1980's country club cuisine.  Lest we get confused about my intention, let me be clear and say that I have a fondness for exactly that - country club cuisine from that era.  There were a variety of Roman and Italian dishes as well as things that cross borders with no effort.  Our offerings included the following:

Salmon with aioli
Pizza Margherita
Pizza Funghi
Pizza Prosciutto
Mini Caprese Salads with arugala and basil
Baked Zuchinni
Cheese Soufflé
Terrine Aubergine (eggplant terrine)
Lobster Risotto
Farfalle Pomodoro (butterfly pasta with tomato sauce)
Mortadella/Prosciutto/Turkey with Yeast Rolls and Focaccia
Chicken Curry
Strawberry Cake (some sort of alcohol soaked cake)

 As we ate I noticed the tree beside us was loaded with lemons.  I couldn't resist this shot.

 The overall experience was pretty grand with the exceptions of the mosquitoes (we fought those throughout our trip actually).  The taxi ride to and from the university (from Trastevere) were under 20 euro each time and the walk would have put a damper on the event due to the distance and heat.  Don't forget that when in Rome you don't hail a taxi, you find the nearest taxi stand and either get in the one at the front of the line or get into line yourself and work your way into the queue.  

After the ride back we made our way to the apartment and got a little rest in anticipation of our upcoming full day tour of the city.  This was a short one because we were really tired, but there's a lot more to come.

In my next post I will be taking you through our tour of Rome so look out for 12 Days in Italy - Day 3!