Super Bowl Update

After sitting and watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations in which he visited Vietnam the other night on the DVR, I declared that the next day we were trying one of the Vietnamese places that have been recommended to me. Up until he got to the part where they dined on bugs and songbirds, I wanted everything he ate. So we sort of flipped a coin between the two places on the list, and landed at Sandra Rice and Noodles on the east side.

This is one of those little strip mall restaurants, but I like the way people are finally figuring out how to make them feel a little warmer inside. Use some warm colors (here shades of brown) and skip the stark white walls. The woman who helped us (Sandra I presume?) was exceedingly friendly and helpful. When we got there (fairly early in the lunch hour) there was only one other table. By the time we left, the place was full and several people had come in for carry out.

We wanted to try several things, and the prices are pretty reasonable, so we did. We ordered the starter of egg rolls (which were more like the fried spring rolls, but usually in Vietnamese cuisine spring rolls are not fried, so maybe that is why they called them egg rolls). These were the thin crispy rolls filled with a bit of meat (pork and shrimp), glass noodles and green onions. They were served with the traditional slightly spicy Vietnamese sauce. These were nice—very crispy and quite plentiful for the $4 price tag.

We ordered two dishes to share, the lemongrass chicken lunch special (recommended by our server) and the beef Pho. The lemongrass chicken lunch special included a starter of a small bowl of soup and one soft spring roll (wrapped in rice paper). The soup was the chicken and rice soup, which was one of my favorite things to eat when I was pregnant with my daughter. It is a chicken broth based soup, with some chunks of veggies (carrot and celery) and super soft and fat pieces of rice in it. I think I enjoyed this soup maybe more than the Pho actually. It was tasty and comforting. The soft spring roll was nice too, although I think I prefer the crunchy ones for the variety in texture.
The main dish, the lemongrass chicken, unfortunately, was pretty disappointing, mainly because the chicken was so overcooked. It was tough and dry, and some pieces bordered on gristly. The flavor of the lemongrass sauce was nice—the sweet tangy flavor of the lemongrass with a nice underlying spicy kick that built slowly as you ate it, but it couldn’t make up for the chicken. And there wasn’t much else to this dish besides the rice (a little cilantro on top) so there was nothing to really distract from the chicken.

As for the Pho, I don’t know, maybe I just don’t like it that much. I keep looking for some that is really good and I generally have the same impression of it—it just isn’t exciting. Pho is a rice noodle soup with some sort of meat (we went with the rare beef version). Ours was made with beef broth and had a bit of scallions in it. You are served a plate alongside with various things to

spice it up—bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, jalapenos, lime, hoisin sauce and hot sauce. Even after adding all of these things, I found it just ho hum. And after awhile, you feel like you are just playing with your food when you keep adding more and more stuff. And the “rare” beef slices may have been slightly pink before going in the soup, but were not at all once they were in the hot broth. I think raw slices of beef may have been a better option. These pieces ended up quite tough by the time you ate them. Who knows, maybe I am just a lazy eater. I like food to be prepared for me, and seasoned by the chef I guess. But I know that isn’t how Pho works. I guess I just need to stop ordering it.

My other problem is that I was spoiled in San Francisco with several really good, high end Vietnamese places. Places with a heavy French influence. Maybe that is more my taste. Because Sandra Rice has been recommended by many readers, and people I trust, and I just didn’t get it. If you like this place, tell me what you had; maybe we are just ordering wrong. Because I was a little sad when one of the two Vietnamese places that were out there giving me hope was such a disappointment. Oh well, there’s always option B.

Sandra Rice and Noodles
10625 Pendleton Pike
Indy 46236
317/823-8323

Tonight I received very exciting news that the play I wrote, "The Timing of a Day," was accepted into the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival, otherwise known as FringeNYC. To say that I am thrilled and honored to have my piece be selected for inclusion would be a total understatement. This will be my first full-length play to be performed for an audience. I have written collaboratively before, but this is my most substantial piece of solo writing to date and I'm just over the moon to know that it's going to be performed in the Fringe this August. I can't wait to pour my energy into the production over the next 4 months.

I want to say thank you to my friends at Mind The Art Entertainment, especially Christian, Ariana, Ashley and David for shepherding me through the application process and for all their support as I continued to revise the script. I look forward to bringing this play to life with you guys, along with the rest of the team, throughout the summer.

I'd also like to give a shout out to everyone who read the play throughout all of its many drafts and who gave me their time and thoughtful comments. Many have sat in my living room acting the parts for me between last August and January so I could hear the characters in voices other than the ones in my head. This includes Sarah L, Una, Amanda, Sandi, John, Perri, Jacob, Richard, Jared, Sarah K, Rich, Jeff, Lin, Adam, Jenny and Joey. If I forgot anyone, my apologies. There are so many others who have listened to me talk and fret about the play over the past year as well and I just wanted to say thank you to them as well.

I'd also like to thank my family for their love and support even though I didn't tell them I was writing a play. I think they will be both thrilled and relieved to learn this play is not about them.

So now the fun begins! So much work to be done. I can't tell you how happy and energized I am to go after it. I was pretty much burying myself in anxiety for the past two weeks in anticipation of finding out what the verdict was. The relief I feel right now is huge. I know people put up plays all the time and mine is just one of many, but it's very special to me.

Thanks to everyone who's sent me kind wishes and congratulations since I found out earlier this evening. I'll keep you all updated on it as things develop!

LOVE OTM

Detroit Business Consulting is participating in the Relay for Life in Columbus, Ohio this Saturday, May 1st in support of the American Cancer Society. One of our team member's brother (a cancer survivor himself) is hosting this event and leading the entire program. This is the first student Relay for Life in the nation and will be held at DeSales High School.

We hope you all can make it!

To sign up or donate, visit www.relayforlife.org, click on "sign-up", choose Columbus, Ohio and then DeSales High School and join the team "Big T".

Every penny counts.

If you can't make it check back next week to see how our team did!!

(GREAT AMERICAN SCREAM MACHINE. Siobahn and her powerful pipes make their exit during Shania Twain week. She had some flavor. She had some sass. She had some pitch problems. She will be missed.)

In continued observance of how I breeze through Am.Idol by fast-forwarding on my DVR, here are my brief comments on Tuesday's Top 6 performances, followed by the Wednesday Results Show. This week we are raiding the Shania Twain songbook, because that's as close to Country Week as we're going to get this season. Shania is also the guest mentor. I initially thought this would be tough on the guys, but then I reversed my position after thinking about it. I think it will in fact work in the guys' favor to sing female songs because it will automatically be a departure from the original version just by being dudes. That puts Crystal and Siobahn at an odd disadvantage at this stage of the game. Hmm. Let's see what happened, shall we?

So Ryan starts by telling America what the Final 6 did before they were on this show. Awesome. They don't look awkward about it all. Credits! Judges! Idol Gives Back raised over 45 million bucks! Here's your top 6! And your Shania montage! Her album Come on Over is the biggest selling record by any female artist in any genre EVER? Can that be true? Is that not a manufactured statistic in some way? I mean, really? I'll fess up that whenever it was in the 90's that Shania was mega-popular, I had a total crush on her. She was hot. She still looks great. But she's not at the front of the pack in country relevance right now the way a Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood or Lady Cerebellum are. What's Ryan saying now? On to performances! Zip Zap Zop.

1) Paint Salesman Lee Dewyze - He'll be singing "Still The One." I've heard of this one! He starts and...what key is he in? He doesn't know and neither do I. This happened at the beginning of his song last week. It sounds totally labored. If the judges fall all over this I'll be pissed. Randy almost is honest about it not being good, but then he runs the other way and lies. Ellen loves him. Kara thought it was a sign of growth. Simon liked it to and I think that's such bullshit that we zip zap zop.

2) Big Papa Mike - singing "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing." In the package Shania tells him to connect with the song because his pretty vocals aren't enough. He does a good job with it. I think his usual ticks that annoy me are under control. The judges all think it's the best thing that ever happened to anybody. We all know he's not my cup of tea, but he can certainly sing. This was a good week for him.

3) Construction Worker Casey James - he's singing "Don't." Shania calls him on his bullshit in the nicest Shania way possible by telling him to sing with some inner confidence for once instead of just coasting along like he's done for the past two weeks. It actually sounds really good in his voice and there is some fire behind the performance. A good showing for Casey this week. The judges applaud his return to form. Damn, Shania week is going so well! Who'da thought?

4) MAMASOX - She is singing "No One Needs To Know" Shania just tells her to sing it happier. It starts and it's... kinda... a flimsy song. I mean, it's cute. But it doesn't really have a lot of momentum as a song compared to the previous selections. There are a few beautiful falsetto moments with a nice harmony underneath them. But it's pretty underwhelming for Mamasox. The first three judges are all "not my favorite performance of yours." and Simon is all "We didn't like you tonight." Which is kinda honest, as much as I don't like to admit it. Crystal tells them they're wrong, she might have been overly concerned with her bf in the audience to realize it wasn't so great. Shania is ready to kill Simon after he says he doesn't like the song. I'm a little nervous for Crystal this week...

5) High School Student Aaron Kelly - he is singing "You've Got a Way" but it sounds like he's saying "You Got Away." Shania tells him he's preoccupied with hitting the notes instead of singing. Good analysis! This vocal isn't bad. He's definitely feeling this song more than what he's been singing the past three weeks or so. He did a good job, he still just seems to me like a little kid singin' a song though. Ellen says it's gonna be tough this week, and I agree. Bottom 3 should be interesting. There's apparently was a line change about "making love" which Aaron changed because he was singing thank to his mom. Good call, young Kelly.

6) Glass Blower Siobahn Magnus - singing Shania's first #1 hit. "Any Man of Mine." Shania believes Siobahn needs a lot of attitude behind this song. Allison Reynolds is dressed up this time like Strawberry Shortcake caught between a teenage rocker phase and a country phase. This is not the kind of idol performance I like, with the wandering around in the audience. It always feels like they can't quite move at a normal pace and it's not always on the beat either. The vocal's not really there either. When she gets back to the stage, the Scream of Siobahn comes parachuting in to the rescue. The judges like it, but Simon disses the scream as labored (literally). The girls kinda struggled with Shania this week.

So bottom 3 predictions? I honestly don't know. If I went purely on vocal tonight. I would say Lee, Bowersox and Siobahn. But that seems like a bizarro bottom 3. That won't happen. I think tonight was kind of a dead heat. Hmm...

Results Show! Montage of all I just recapped plus shots of the Idols getting their faces on. There are judges. There are millions of votes cast. There are something like 15 musical performances this hour. We can't waste any time! Here's Rascal Flatts. The truth is I don't pay attention to Rascal Flatts on a normal day and I'm not really digging this song "Unstoppable" though it might be, it is not UnZoppable? See what I did there? zip zap zop.

We fly though commercials. We fly through the Ford Idol Commercial. We fly through a Shrek Forever After premiere party. And then Cameron Diaz is there and I pause long enough to hear Ryan tell Cameron that this Shrek movie is actually emotional and that's enough of that. Zip zap.

We're now dividing contestants into pairs. We get Siobahn and Lee on the left. Aaron and Crystal in the center and Casey and Big Mike on the Right. Seacrest walks Siobahn over past Big Mike and Casey in a couch fake-out move that nobody really buys, and then slams her, Casey and Mike with the knowledge that they are Bottom 3. Ooh, I was sweatin' it for Crystal for a second there. Big Mike and Casey look mightily discouraged and Siobahn looks pissed. Commercial time!

It's only 30 minutes in and we only have two reveals left so more people have to perform. BTW Harry Connick Jr is gonna be here next week with Sinatra songs. Then suddenly Carrie Underwood is back to introduce Sons of Sylvia. These dudes are country singers? Emo-Country? Carrie likes 'em, so I guess they're okay. Then we have Lady Cerebellum. They sing that song about it being late and being drunk and needing you now. I snark, but I kinda really like that song. THEN we STILL can't get to the three very-depressed-looking bottom 3 contestants because Rascall Flatts has to perform AGAIN - this time with Shakira! She is singing "Gypsy." It has a line that goes "I'll steal your clothes and wear them if they fit me." It doesn't make any more sense now then when I wrote about the video.

Finally we're back to Bottom 3. Big Mike is safe. He seems relieved, but honestly, I don't know how much better he or Casey could do and they're STILL at the bottom. It's gotta be discouraging. So it's Casey or Siobahn, and Siobahn goes home. It's hard to really see her face, but she looks rather pissed nonetheless. We see her montage and all of her Allison Reynolds outfits that walked the Idol runway these past few months. Then Siobahn rocks out her sing out to "Think" and she sings like five verses I never knew existed. She lets The Scream of Siobahn get it's own curtain call, and it's certainly earned that honor.

Then something weird happens. There are four minutes left in the show. Somehow with all the filler and the FOUR musical performances and the longest sing out ever ,we are for once UNDER time. So Siobahn goes and hugs all the judges. And Seacrest asks Randy for his thoughts knowing that will kill at least two minutes on the time. Then after that, Ryan asks Siobahn to go get hugged by her friends who are now the Final Five, because that's always good footage. And then he wanders back to center stage, stalls for time and then restates things he's already said twice. Then finally the show is over. Goodbye, Siobahn! You were crazy and fun and interesting. I know what you're thinking, "Don't you forget about me." I promise I won't.

Five contestants remain. Bowersox is the lone female. Never thought it'd be like this from how things were going in the semifinals. Until next time, folks!

Previously: I had a seat on a flight home and then suddenly I didn't. Time to find a new one!

The line at the ticket counter was so long. Apparently a lot of people were having Alitalia flight issues that day. When I was next in line to talk to an agent, the line came to a complete halt and I waited around 2o minutes to get seen. I joked with the people behind me that the wait itself wasn’t so bothersome as the fact that all the people in front of me had been talking to their agents for at least 20 minutes, so it wasn’t as if right when I got to speak to someone I’d be done lickety split. It never takes this long on Amazing Race! Editors, you make this part look so easy, when it is not! "Reality" TV, my ass!

Finally it was my turn. The ticket lady gave me the option of flying into Paris and then to NYC which got in about 90 minutes after my original flight or the one through London which was a lot later. I opted for the Paris flight. Just then this crazed woman came running over to my counter completely skipping the line and shouted/asked my agent what terminal had the Alitalia flight to Turkey. Her flight was supposed to leave in only 25 minutes. The ticketing lady told her it was Terminal C. The building we were in housed terminals A and B. Terminal C was next door, but you had to go back outside and around to get to it. “You’re sure it’s not B?” the crazed lady demanded. The ticketing lady and I both shot the woman death glares. “Miss, I’ve worked here for 20 years,” the flight attendant said (which I thought had to be impossible because she looked young). “I’m telling you it’s terminal C. “

“Do you think we’ll make it?” the woman screeched. The check-in lady was done with her. “I don’t think so. The flight has probably stopped boarding. You will have to go to Terminal C to find out.”

The crazy lady threw up her hands. “But we have to get on this flight!!” "Then don’t show up less than a half hour before your flight, bitch," is what I wanted to say. I was there two hours early for mine and that wasn’t early enough. Plus, who’d this lady think she was just ignoring my place at the ticket counter and also disregarding the line of people behind me. Some people are such assholes.

After the crazy woman left, we got back to the business at hand. “I can issue you your ticket to New York, JFK through Paris," she said, "and I will also give you 600 euros cash for the inconvenience." My eyebrows flew up to the top of my forehead and I slammed my hand down on the counter. “Done!” I exclaimed. 600 euros to get in 90 minutes later than I planned? That’s more than half the cost of my total trip returned to me! How amazing was that?? She tells me that right now we’re near terminal A and I need to go to terminal B to get the flight to France. It’s boarding soon, so I don’t have a ton of time.

With 600 euros in hand and a gigantic smile on my face, I rushed over to Terminal B. They tell me when I get there that, in fact, I needed to go to terminal C. This was funny to me because my ticketing lady who claimed to have been there for 20 years when talking to the crazy woman headed for Turkey, had given me the wrong terminal information, and I wondered if she screwed up with the other woman too. I kind of hope she did, because that woman was so nasty.

I got to Terminal C and realized just how lax the security was in the Rome airport screening department. I went through the metal detector with my shoes on and a half empty bottle of drinking water. Nobody made me get rid of it. It was weird. I couldn’t get away with shit like that flying out of Kennedy.

The flight from Rome to Paris was very nice. We left late and that meant all my layover time in Paris was eaten up. This resulted in another mad dash carrying luggage from one end of the Paris airport where we disembarked, to the other end of the airpoer where the flight for New York was waiting. This run was long enough and hectic enough to work up a proper sweat.

Once I got on the flight to JFK, everything went smoothly. On my little personal TV in my seat I watched two episodes of the Simpsons, two episodes of Sex & The City (the post-it note episodes), I Love You, Man (so good!) and Transformers 2 (SO terrible!) . I only subjected myself to Transformers 2 because it was equal in running time to how much time was left in the flight. Even still, I found it such a tedious and offensive movie. There were plenty of times when I talked back to the screen saying “that’s disgusting.” And I think it concerned the dude sitting next to me. The end of the movie got cut off as we started our descent, and I couldn’t have cared less to know how it all turned out.

After disembarking and making my way through a very long customs line, I was finally officially back in New York City. Hooray! Home soil. At this point, I was still laughing to myself about getting so much money for my overbooked flight. I made my way home via subway, which might have taken longer but was cheaper than a taxi and I didn’t want to deal with nighttime airport traffic which can be a total nightmare at JFK.

Upon arriving back at my apartment, I plugged all my equipment back in – my blackberry, my laptop, my camera and my ipod – all of which had run out of juice along the journey. Then I went through my luggage and dumped my dirty clothes in the laundry and unearthing the snow globe of the Colosseo I had stored in bag for safe keeping. I gave it a good shake and as the little white flecks floated down through the water to settle on the ancient structure below, I placed in on my living room mantle for display. Then I collapsed into bed. What a fun and crazy couple of days it had been! It was really an unforgettable time and I’m so glad I did it. Rome will always live in a special place in heart has a beautiful city where I had my first independent travel adventure. It reinforced the importance of travel in my mind, and the idea that you should see the places you want to see, and not wait forever for the "right time.” I certainly hope I make it back to that city and my beloved Colosseo sooner rather than later.

(Three days in Rome/Where do we go?/I'll always remember/ Three days in Rome. - Sheryl Crow, "The Book.")

I know the minutia of my adventure probably did not make for the most exciting reading and who knows if anyone actually got through it, BUT it was something I told myself I would do, and I wanted to keep that promise to myself and finish the project before I went on my next solo trip to Paris in June. It’s only a few weeks away! Best case scenario I'll see Rafa win The French Open LIVE at Roland Garros! HELL YEAH! I'll keep you (blog)posted!

My previous adventures: My Flight There, Emperor Palpatine's Hill, Good Times at the Colosseo & Vatican, SPB & The 39 Steps, The Pantheon, Gays and Dining Out. Owen & Nilor Take Via Borghese, The More Than 39 steps of Vittoriano, The Battle For Aventine Hill, Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!, Finding The Mouth Of Truth, and A Change of Flight Plans

(I'm so happy to have found the Mouth of Truth, and that's no lie!)

On my way back to the hotel, I find that I’m right at the base of Aventine Hill. I decided since there was still time, I’d make another trek up the hill to look the keyhole in the green doors one more time. It really was such a treat. I which I could’ve take a picture of it, but I only had a few shots left and I really didn’t think the image would come through.

When I got to the top, the soldiers with their big guns were still there guarding… whatever. I really don’t know who they think is going to attack this place nor what secret they might be protecting inside, but clearly it would make a good plot for a Dan Brown novel. I looked through the keyhole again and the sight was as awesome as the first time. After I get a good look, I take a stroll through San Anselm, a beautiful church that is on the other side of the street from the Green Doors. When I left San Anselm, something unexpected and awesome happened. A maintenance truck was entering the Big Green Doors! I gasp as I realize this is my chance to escape into Narnia, if I can just run along side the truck and not be seen by the armed guards. Surely the pay off would be worth the risk of getting riddled with bullets. Unfortunately, the guards are posted everywhere and I can’t make a move. I was able to get a better look at the space when the doors were opened. I stood at a place where I could see inside and the guards didn’t raise their weapons on me, so I assumed that meant it was okay. Seeing it not through the keyhole lessens some of the mystique of the rows of shrubs, but the view of St. Peter’s Basilica is still a marvel. I want to live on Aventine Hill!

Time was ticking away, so I made my final trek back down the hill, knowing this will be last bit of time allowed for exploring. I checked out some more great churches and church grounds as I wound my way down to Circus Maximus below. Then it’s once again back up to my hotel where I gather my bags and check out. I really had a lovely stay at the Mercure Roma Delta Colosseo.

As I’m dragging my suitcase down the street to the metro station, storm clouds are rolling in. NOW it decides to rain? After so many beautiful days where it was predicted I’d have nothing but rain, the one day they predicted sun, was the one that was stormy. It held off as long as it took me to see all I wanted to see. Divine intervention, I’d say. Thanks again, mom!

I passed by the Colosseo one last time as I headed into the metro, blowing it one final kiss on the way. Before I went down into the station I had time for one last gelati – this time apple and pear! Mmmmm! Then finally I had to board the subway, and just then the rain starts to fall.

Next time: Planes and trains, but no automobiles. And maybe I leave Rome, and maybe I don't.

My previous adventures: My Flight There, Emperor Palpatine's Hill, Good Times at the Colosseo & Vatican, SPB & The 39 Steps, The Pantheon, Gays and Dining Out. Owen & Nilor Take Via Borghese, The More Than 39 steps of Vittoriano, The Battle For Aventine Hill and Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!

Previously: I did a lot of stuff in Rome, most recently wandering around on Aventine Hill, so much so that it made me hungry for dinner. I decided to go to La Montecarlo, which is a pizzeria that was highly recommended in my Frommer’s guide. Distance-wise it was a bit of a walk from my hotel, but the path seemed straightforward enough on the map. Suffice to say, I got completely lost, yet again, and this time I really should’ve known better.

I went to far North, and instead of turning around on the main street I was on I decided to head East and then what I assumed would be back south, as if the crazy backstreets of Rome were formed in an NYC-style grid. They are not. They took me in several diagonal directions until I wound up heading North again. So, eventually I made it back to the right street heading in the right direction. I kept walking East, waiting to come across La Montecarlo but I kept on going and nothing was there. By this time, I’m really hungry because dinner is already much later than usual and I’ve been walking (and biking! Nilor!) all day long. Just as I’m about to give and head to the nearest McDonald’s (there are quite a few) . I give myself one more intersection, and there luckily was La Montecarol. The restaurant was very busy and there was a long line of people waiting. Since it is “solo mio” eating at a table for one tonight, though, I get seated rather quickly. A bonus of travelling alone is that even crowded places can usually find a space for just one person.

So I sit down and look over the menu. I went with “The Frieds, for One” as my appetizers and a pizza with all the toppings for my main meal and ¼ carafe of house red to drink. I went with the frieds, because back on the plane ride over the Tisi Women told me I had to sample the fried cheese balls that have different fillings in them. This seemed like my last big opportunity. When the frieds came out, I thought my eyes were deceiving me. The plate was huge! How was this an order for one person? Seriously there were probably 12 pieces of fried goodness in my serving. I wolfed them down. They were quite filling and I probably would’ve been okay with just eating them for dinner but I knew I had a personal size pizza on the way so I’d just have to really fill up tonight. I gulp down the carafe of wine, which was gone before the pizza came out. I order a second carafe to eat with the pizza. So delicious! Worth wandering the streets at night to find it.

So now I was stuffed to the gills what else could be the next stop for the night but Giolotti’s for a triple scoop of gelati? Sounded reasonable to me. I figured I’d take a nighttime stroll around the Pantheon and then make my way up to my favorite gelati store. As I’m walking along, I recognize that I’m a bit tipsy. Certainly not drunk because no matter how much wine I had I’d eaten just pounds and pounds of food. But it had been a LONG day and I was tired and the streets of Rome are very uneven and I was staggering, more so than usual. I was also feeling happy. As I came upon the Pantheon (I found it without getting lost!) everything suddenly became really hilarious to me. The craziness of taking this trip by myself, all the stuff I’d seen the fact that I had managed to avoid getting myself in any trouble despite my general ignorance about where I would be. Then, my life in general became really hilarious to me. How I was alone and had been for a long time and no matter what new goals I had set for myself over the past year, I still had not managed to solve that one big riddle of loneliness in my life. Oh, how funny it suddenly was! I looked up at the Pantheon, who’d been standing in that same spot for a couple millennia. Did it have answers to this riddle? Did it feel lonely? I give one of it’s big marble columns a hug. It feels so strong and cool against me skin. Maybe I was a little drunk.

(Looking at this picture makes jealous of myself for that delicious gelati. I also i wonder where I put that sweater...)

The piazza around the Pantheon was bustling late at night even though it had closed hours before. It was still filled with people who were eating at the surrounding restaurants or just sitting around and talking, drinking in the atmosphere. I make my way up the street and around the corner to Giolotti’s and get myself a nice cone of chocolate chip, frutti di bosco and pistachio. Yum yum yum! There was room in my tummy after all! With cone in hand, I headed back to my hotel. I would be leaving for Rome the following afternoon and I had a full morning of activities planned.

At the hotel, I made my way to the lounge (which was empty of course, since the bar closes at midnight) and hopped on the computer to find out where in the hell that Mouth of Truth was hiding. Turns out the concierge lady was pretty close in finding it for me. Instead of being South of Circus Maximus west of it instead. I double check with the map in my Frommer’s guide and sure enough I see piazza bocca d. verita in blue italic font. With that I retired to my room and start packing all my non-essentials for tomorrow, so I didn’t have to spend time on it in the morning. Then thoroughly exhausted, I conked out on my bed for a good night’s sleep.

My previous adventures: My Flight There, Emperor Palpatine's Hill, Good Times at the Colosseo & Vatican, SPB & The 39 Steps, The Pantheon, Gays and Dining Out. Owen & Nilor Take Via Borghese, The More Than 39 steps of Vittoriano and The Battle For Aventine Hill

Previously: I got some bad directions on my quest to find the Mouth of Truth, and wound up heading to Aventine Hill. Aventine Hill is truly a beautiful area of Rome, sprinkled with lovely residences and churches of all shapes and sizes. It’s so beautiful that as I wandered around there I fantasized about living there, getting some job where I could work from home, and order my groceries from the Italian version of Fresh Direct, and eventually meet a nice woman online and show her pictures of my house and she would come stay with me and then we’d get married on the premises and then when the time came for it, we’d home school my children so I never had to leave. It’s that nice there.

As I wandered around the Hill, I never gave up hope that I’d eventually stumble upon the Mouth of Truth. That of course didn’t happen, but what did happen was that I saw several churches with lush amazing courtyards and obscene views of the city down below. A really impressive one was Santa Sabina. The courtyard was filled with people right at dusk, and so many of these people were just sitting around making out! It’s a very romantic atmosphere, but come on, people! We’re on church property!

When I made it as far as I could up the hill I got to this area that was closed off by high walls and there was a sign indicating the property belonged to the University Of Rome. There were vines growing all along the top of the wall that stretched back almost giving an appearance of a roof on what otherwise looked like an open garden space beyond the wall. The wall was otherwise non-descript until you came to a place where there were two giant green doors and several military men carrying automatic rifles. Automatic rifles?!! What the hell is going on? Why is the military guarding this area? I became very nervous that perhaps I didn’t quite understand where I was. Was I trespassing on the hill? If I made a wrong move were the guards gonna gun me down, no questions asked (none in English anyway)?

There was a short line of people standing in front of the green doors. They looked like tourists to me. I can spot my own kind. There was a small circular hole in one of the doors right above the handle. The people in the line walk up to the door one by one and take a peek into what’s going on through the hole. This is met with a lot of oohing and ahhing afterwards. The military guys are not shooting any of these people, so I reason it’s okay if I get on line as well.

When it’s my turn to go, I put my eye up to the hole in the door and I gasp because it’s like Fucking Narnia on the other side. I mean, not literally. It’s not like Mr. Tumnus was inside prancing about, but there are row and rows of shrubs that create this archway leading out on the horizon, and there miles away but framed perfectly within the archway stands the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, blazing in the light of the setting sun. It was an amazing telescopic effect and it was so unexpected and quite breathtaking. Right at that moment I was so happy the concierge at the hotel gave me such horrible directions to the Mouth of Truth. Otherwise I never would’ve found this hidden treasure. I’m so thankful to have seen this, while I was in Rome.

After that, I looked at one more beautiful church and then started back down the hill. My search for the Mouth of Truth had not been successfully completed, but I was out of daylight. I vowed to locate it online when I got back to the hotel and seek it out in the morning before I left for the airport.

I walked back to my hotel and took a small nap before heading out again for dinner. I also watched this travel show on BBC International that explained to me the benefits of visiting Germany when it’s not Oktoberfest. Then finally: dinnertime!

Note: Somehow I took no pictures of this part of my Aventine Hill journey. I know why. I was running low on shots in the disposable and the light was fading. I had gotten several skyline shots of Rome from Vittoriano earlier in the day and wasn't really that stoked for more. But I did take this one picture between Vittoriano and my hotel that's worth mentioning. There was this Native American band playing on the street, possibly selling a CD. They were SO LOUD. I could hear them all the way past the Colosseo. They were the last thing I expected to see on this side of the Atlantic. It gave me a good chuckle.

(My BBFF Nilor as we said good-bye at the bike rental place in Borghese. Gone but not forgotten...)

So I climbed and climbed until finally I got to a level where you can take a lift the rest of the way to the top but you’ve gotta pay 7 euros for the ride. It’s worth it. The view from Vittoriano is great! It was a beautiful afternoon and it felt like the view just went on forever. You feel like you're up very high and it’s kinda of scary for agoraphobics like me, but I kept reminding myself that I’ve been sky-diving and been much higher than this and nothing bad happened to me then so I'd be okay now.

(Look! There in the distance is my beloved Colosseo! Rome is a beautiful city.)

When I finished taking in the beautiful sitting while basking in the mid-afternoon sun, I started my descent back down the monument. It’s funny, but whenever I face a long flight of stairs, I always think of my friend Suki who broke her ankle badly on some unsafe stairs at a 2-story Duane Reade a couple years ago. On my way down Vittoriano I kept thinking “Oh, Suki would not like these stairs.” Then when I was almost at the bottom with 5 steps to go, my ankle caves in and I go tumbling down. Luckily all that was injured was my pride. If you’d seen it happen you’d probably think it was hilarious, but at the moment I was very nervous that I had injured myself and I was alone and a fair distance from my hotel, and what about the marathon I had to run that was only a few weeks away?? But a quick assessment revealed that I was not hurt. It could’ve been much worse, as those stone steps can be very unforgiving. Somehow I managed to land on my right hand in just the right way that it broke my fall without breaking my wrist. Nothing else to do but dust myself off, walk down the last couple steps and head back to my hotel to get more info on the Mouth of Truth!

Now oddly enough, my Frommer’s Guide does not list Bocca de Verita or Mouth of Truth in its index, so after breezing through the different maps looking for it, I gave up and asked the concierge at the Mercure Colosseo for help. The lady at the counter printed out a small map of Rome from the interent and circled an area south of the Circus Maximus. She tells me the Mouth of Truth is there. This is not true. The Mouth of Truth is not there. But I don’t figure this out until WAY later. So in the meantime I’m about to get myself all sorts of lost on Aventine Hill!

(One of the beautiful views of Rome from Pincio. Such beautiful skies! Quite a sight to see.)

After a few more loops around the park, including one around Galoppatoio which took me totally off road so I had to carry Nilor back to solid ground… and over a couple barricades (there MIGHT have been a sign that said no bicycles in that area, but it's hard to remember EVERY detail from that morning), it was time for me to return Nilor to the rental place. I was not ready to part ways, but the three-hour-mark was up. Sometimes people or bikes come into our lives for a reason. Nilor helped me so much beauty in Borghese, and without him so much picture taking would not have been possible. He'll be in my heart. Yes, he'll be in my heart. He'll be here in my heart. Always...

Up Next: Part 7 where there's lots of climbing up and down steps, lots of beautiful views of Rome and the quest for the Mouth Of Truth.

For the rest of trip: My Flight There, Emperor Palpatine's Hill, Good Times at the Colosseo & Vatican, SPB & The 39 Steps, and The Pantheon, Gays and Dining Out.

This week is the beginning to our Flag Football and Kickball league!

The seasons are from April 25 - June 7.

For Flag Football it will be Sunday mornings from 8am to noon at Red Run Park in Royal Oak. Detroit Business Consulting is ready to take on this season and come out with another win. If interested in joining, please see management. Otherwise come out and support our team!

For Kickball it will be on Saturday's anywhere in between 4pm and 10pm at Butcher Park in Warren. It's 10 vs 10 and we are looking forward to going into the playoffs. If interested in joining, please see management. Otherwise come out and support our team!