Rome Day 4 - New Years Eve - Part 2

Just after the Pope rode off with his security back to the safe haven of the Vatican City Walls, we could hear drums playing and people running... Off I ran towards the Nativity scene again. As I drew closer I was scrambling with my camera to get the setting to video. I approached a precise and regimented Vatican guard, however it was a band. Maybe 30 or so, and they were in precise unison as the drums played. No music, just disciplined marching back towards the Vatican. (Those of you who know me well enough, know I was a marching band geek, so this was also very cool to see!) (I have video, and alas, it also will not load, GRRR! Will try again later.)

Once finished we walked down the street towards the hotel as we knew we had to prepare for a long night ahead, New Years countdown was rapidly approaching! We happened upon a restaraunt that was packed... which by definition usually means the place has fantastic food.

We stopped, asked to be seated by a charming, young Italian man, and he asked if we had reservations. When we replied no, he said no seating left for the rest of the night. Heat lamps and chairs and bistro tables were setup outside, so we asked to sit out there... No problem! We were rapidly seated and ready to dine.

We started with an order of bruschetta, which was not the typical bruschetta you get in the USA. Instead of the tomato and basil salsa like topping... this was just crusty, toasted bread, some sort of soft cheese, and arugula scattered across the top. YUMMMMM... Oh and we ordered some fries... and they were fresh also, no frozen stuff here my friends!

On to the main course... I ordered the milanese (breaded pork chop, bone in with roasted potatoes) and Claudia ordered the fettucini (with olive oil and porcini mushrooms, and once again the mushrooms were like butter... I'm a huge fan of porcini mushrooms!)

Yummmmm.... We split a carafe of red wine and ended the meal with a cappuccino and dessert - Claudia ordered a ricotta tart and I ordered home made strudel with chantilly cream. Again, fantastic! The owner asked if we enjoyed the food, we smiled and said absolutely. He winked. He knows the food is good here!

We checked the time, it was late and we had to head to a New Years Eve countdown location. We set off for the hotel to drop off our stuff, only wanting to bring a camera so we could avoid any sort of pickpocketing should there be any... We are about 10 minutes walking to the Piazza di Popolo and heard the celebrations there were fun with lots of people. Off we went... bundled up against the cold, passing bottles of empty champagne and beer... corks and spent fireworks in the streets.

We arrived with 10 minutes to spare to a sea of chaos. People were everywhere... lighting off cherry bombs, handheld fireworks that shot off into the sky, anything that would be illegal in the USA was being set off. We started to go into high alert when the drunk peope in the middle of the square starte launching picollo pete's into the air. (If you pound the picollo pete's with a hammer, they will set off into a loud whistle and launch themselves into random directions.) People were throwing bottles and shattering them on the pavement... it was enough to scare us both into high alert. When midnight hit, people went crazy! Shaking up bottle of champagne, lighting firework after firework! (The square is all made of stone, so when they explode, it is SO LOUD!) We took a few pictures and that was it! Too much for us and way too dangerous. I grabbed Claudia's hand and pushed through the crowd and made our way towards the street and back towards the hotel.

We expected a controlled environment... but this was nuts! Little kids, maybe 7 or 8 years old, lightling firecrackers, then putting their shoes on top of them so they could feel them explode below their feet. Their parents looked on proudly... My dad would have knocked me into next week if I did that. (He is a retired firefighter, he has seen some gnarly stuff happen from fireworks gone wrong.)

So needless to say, the midnight celebration was not what we expected, but the events leading up to it were surreal. We were so close to the Pope... the mass was amazing... And by the way, we were feet away from the POPE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Viva El Papa!!!!!!!!!!!! (Long live the Pope!!!!!!!!)

Happy New Year everyone... I hope all of you were safe and enjoyed ringing in the New Year.

Ciao!