Getting All Our Aquaducts in a Row

Alessandro's apartment has air conditioning and it was heavenly.  Patty and I both slept in, planning to take the day slowly.  We had passed a bakery and went there for our morning coffee.  Italians seem to come in and order coffee at the bar, sharing news with each other, but seldom sitting down at a table. They eat their pastry, drink their small cup of coffee, and head out the door 10 minutes later.  I bought a pastry that looked like it was filled with chocolate but was actually a heavy fig jam.  Okay, it wasn't chocolate, but it was still very yummy.  Patty bought a rosemary bruschetta and a glazed tart.

We mapped out a route to the Appia Antica, which was only about 5 miles away, but the way there promised to be exciting...filled with cars, and on streets that change names at every intersection.  I managed to get us lost in the first ten minutes...and that was WITH a cue sheet, the Garmin, and Google Maps on the iPad.  When the streets are short or there are no signs, you simply have to be a better detective.  We rode until we found an intersection we recognized and at one point found ourselves under the aquaduct Felice, built in 1586 by Giovanni Fontana and running some 15 miles.  The Romans were certainly no slouches when it came to building something. 

We finally found our way to the Mausoleum of Cecelia and the Appia Antica.  It is entirely cobblestone with some sections having cobblestone the size of watermelons.  It was difficult to ride on, especially with Patty's 700x23 tires.  I thought it was interesting that some of the guide books recommended the Appia Antica as a family friendly ride, but I could never recommend it to anyone unless they were interested in the area from the history aspect.

We have been filling our water bottles with Rome's tap water and there are places everywhere to do that.  I think it tastes pretty good.

We stopped at a restaurant where we saw neat rows of vegetables growing and opera music playing and...shade.  Patty had melon with proscuitto and I had caprese.  I don't know if it's always true, but the cheese was very bland.  The bread was rustic and hearty, chewy and full of holes.

We came back to Alessandro's apartment in a more direct route and that involved bigger, busier streets, but sometimes that is okay when you are on a bike because the traffic simply moves too slow to present a problem.  Total mileage for the day was less than 10 miles, but that did not stop us from having a glass of wine and then walking to find a gelato place.  Today we liked pineapple and hazelnut...ananas and nocciola.  Ciao.