The days are getting a bit easier and we’re beginning to have a little more free time. However, this is was our last day in Rome. We started off our day with a visit to Enel energy, which is the top renewable energy distributor here in Italy.
To get there, we had to take the tram. So far, all of our public transpiration experiences have been…memorable. If there’s one thing that Italy, or maybe just Rome, needs to work on, it’s definitely the public transportation. Usually, each tram or bus that arrives is jam packed, and to make matters worse, you usually have to wait for one to arrive for 30 minutes. (I know, I know. Boo hoo, we’re in Italy and the transportation is not great. Poor things). Anyhow, after waiting for 45 minutes for our tram, one finally came! We piled in and rode the tram for about 30 minutes.
Once we arrived at Enel, we were taken into a creative space room and given a presentation about who they are and how their company operates. Once the presentation was over, we split up into groups so we could get the chance to see how their in-house TV studio and radio station works.
Our group was sent down, and it was so cool. I’ve never been in a TV setting before, so perhaps that’s why it was so exciting to me.
We had already pre-chosen two people to conduct an “interview”. Both of them are broadcast majors, which made everybody else feel much better. The rest of us were in the control room to watch the interview. One of the guys working asked if someone wanted to volunteer to control the cameras (zooming, angle, etc.,) I decided to, because when am I ever going to have a chance like this again?
I sat to the far right and used the controls to dictate what the camera were doing. It was interesting to see how a TV studio operated and what goes on behind the scenes.
After we left Enel, we made our way back to the hostel for some free time. My free time was spent relaxing and getting ready for our dinner (which I was so excited about!) Once we were all ready, we headed out to catch a tram that would take us to our final destination. We were going to an island which houses the apartment we’d be cooking at, as well as a hospital and some other buildings.
This is the island! We were in a building behind the major one you see. When we first arrived, we were taken down into a basement where long tables were set up and ready for us. The chefs had set all of us up with a station that included an apron, and all of the necessary tools and ingredients for making pasta.
We made two different kinds of pasta. We made an egg-based ravioli, and an egg-free gnocchi.
When making the ravioli pasta, the chef had to make a huge long ribbon of pasta, which we of course had to help with. Almost 30 of us were holding onto this huge ribbon, helping the chef send it through the machine that flattens it (which he was cranking by hand).
Once we were done making the pasta, we were taken upstairs to the apartment that Marlon Brando used to live in. We took a seat and the wine started flowing. Both red and white was being passed around the table. I started out with red and eventually had to try the white too. Then, we were served the pasta we had made. Everyone else got a serving of ravioli and gnocchi, but since the ravioli wasn’t vegan-friendly, they gave me a serving of gnocchi in red sauce and a serving of gnocchi in an olive oil blend with veggies. Both were extremely good, but the one with veggies was by far my favorite.
Our dinner continued with an order of dessert. Everyone else got some sort of custard with shaved chocolate and candied strawberries on top. I was given a bow of the strawberries with some mint on top. It was honestly the perfect size for me and was so good!
As one last surprise, they pour everyone a shot a limoncello. For those that don’t know, you’re meant to sip this instead of taking it like a shot.
After dinner was over, we hung out in the apartment for a good bit taking photos and drinking more wine (it was bottomless). We departed from our amazing dinner and then headed to a bar called G-Bar. It was almost the whole group that went, so we about filled up the entire bar.
From there, we went back to the hostel and went to bed, as we were departing early the next morning for Assisi! Stay tuned for the next blog post, which will be about not only our short time in Assisi, but how much I loved it too! Ciao!