Chris & Kelly's Travel Adventures

From the historic district of Rome if you travel south to the Tiber river, cross over- you will be in the Trastevere neighborhood.

This is what we did this morning.  We found small parks with fountains, crossed the Tiber on the oldest bridge in Rome to the island of Tiburtina and onto the other side to visit Trastevere.

We visited the Basilica Santa Maria of St. Cecilia who is patron saint of the arts and Chris visited the colorful crypt below the church.  We had lunch at a local charming restaurant with outstanding meatballs.  By the way...Trastevere in Rome is basically like the Pearl district of Portland.  The streets are literally lined with osteria's, trattoria's, or ristorante's of all shapes and sizes.  If you are a foodie, this is where the action is. 

After lunch we stopped at Basilica of our Lady in Trastevere.  I loved the colorful ceiling side chapels,  patterned marble floors and the stained glass windows.

A short day for us, but what a lovely day.

Tonight we tried a restaurant with rave reviews...considered one of the top 10 in Rome.  I was skeptical as this usually just leads to disappointment.  Not tonight.

Renato & Luisa earned every single positive review.  Not just for respecting each individual ingredient, but also for walking that razor thin line of balancing salt, sweet, acid, fat, and savory just right.

They started us off with a free trial dish of fresh lemon slices topped with sugar, olive oil and a small piece of pork cheek.  It hit every note...one right after the other.

Our appetizer was pecorino cheese balls rolled in walnut brittle, drizzled with honey, topped with pecorino cheese and balsamic.

1st course was spaghetti with porchini mushrooms in a black truffle sauce.

2nd course was steak drizzled with balsamic, rosemary potatoes with a parmesan cream.

Dessert- Orange creme brule on a liquid bed of dark chocolate and a sugar nest above.

Start to finish this was divine.  Even the price wasn't terrible.  Trust us when I say you can pay a lot more for inferior quality at many other places.  If you come to Rome, don't miss Renato & Luisa's.