Rome In Full Swing...

It's Saturday morning in Roma, and the streets are in full swing.  The church bells clang eleven times.

Yesterday, I hit the ground running thinking I dodged the jet-lag, but alas as I woke this morning at 10:30a.m. from a deep sleep, realizing there's no escape from the inevitable - I was sound asleep for twelve solid hours!

I've landed on the balcony of Casa Marrese in the hills above Trastevere, a charming hilltop neighborhood called Monteverde Vecchio - one of my all time favorite places to stay in this city of wonder.  I'm sharing the balcony with a mother pigeon, who nervously flies away when I appear.  She's laid two eggs in a corner terracotta pot, and every five minutes she flies back onto the railing to check if I'm still present, and continues this cycle until I disappear.  


It's breakfast time, and since the Italians sugar up with a cornetto in the morning, I always bring some cereal from home:

Rome via Zurich

Prologue: The Journey

After a cozy ten and a half hour flight on Swiss Air, compliments of the same as a result of a Twitter contest I won back in late summer 2011 after tweeting my "Ultimate in-flight luxury",  I flew to Rome via Zurich, business class and slept quite well even after watching Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Loved that film!  I was horizontal for most of the flight.  Prior to departure, I ordered a special gluten-free meal and here's what I was served: 

The return of rice cakes!  The meal turned-out to be overall very decent - thank goodness for the little bottle of olive oil & quick sprinkle of sea salt.

The Star Alliance lounge along the journey was a glutenous experience, so I opted for the fresh fruit, and enjoyed a lovely place to hang out while waiting for flights.

On the way to the boarding gate in the Zurich airport, I always marvel at this Sprüngli case of Swiss chocolates!

Everyone on board Swiss Air made the experience unforgettable, thanks to Renee Procida at the corporate office and all the staff at Swiss Air!

Next stop, bella Roma...

A Week Before Lift-Off

Preface:  I'm a little over a week out from starting this gluten-free culinary adventure.  Last night, I made some g-free fusilli with a sage mushroom creme sauce...Gotta love RP's pasta, which I conveniently buy at my neighborhood Whole Foods Market.