CARBONARA TAKE TWO

Dear Caroline,

My schedule is a little all over the place so finding places near by or easy to get to can be a bit of a challenge. Thankfully today I have morning classes making a trip to St. Paul Beyond the Wall very convenient.

I felt like a true tour guide today, I spent all of last night trying to remember everything Mani, your parents’ tour-guide said about this Vatican property. When I arrived everything just came back to me.

We started in the courtyard where I showed the giant statue of Paul and how depictions of Paul will have him with a sword to represent his martyrdom. Then I showed her the art on the outside gable and explained that it was a mosaic and not a painting. We then went to the doors where the names of the four evangelists are written along with the twelve apostles along a gilded cross, then to the holy door which is opened only every 25-50 years by decree of the Pope.

We then went inside and it was as magnificent as I remembered. Mamie couldn’t believe how people long ago would build such magnificent things with none of the tech we have today. Pretty much echoing what your dad had said haha.

We hadn’t had lunch and we were both getting pretty hungry. I figured we could try pasta again, a place where I knew they didn’t have “worm pasta” so Mamie could enjoy a bowl of carbonara, Tonnarello.

We took the bus back to the city Center where we met an English couple on a little trip too, they were headed to the rose gardens… in the rain. From where the bus dropped us off we had to walk a bit through the famous neighbourhood of Trastevere. A foodie’s paradise. Every street has something amazing to offer, from street food to sit down restaurants to artisanal shops. Everything is here. Thankfully we arrived before the dinner rush and we were seated immediately. A quick look at the menu and we knew what we were ordering. Mamie ordered the carbonara, not without first trying to peak the kitchen to see the pasta shape. She was quickly stopped by restaurant staff and assured the pasta would be a spaghetti derivative. I ordered the Cacio e Pepe, another Roman specialty and we got the artichoke giudia as an appetizer.

My pasta was amazing and so was the artichoke. Mamie said that the pasta was better but that she still didn’t like it. She said that the pasta was under cooked and too crunchy and that the sauce was too dry, but she ate all the bacon and gave me the leftovers for home. Pasta should have bite to it, I thought it was perfectly done. So it has been decided that Mamie doesn’t not like Roman pasta.

I wonder what she’ll say about Roman pizza…