Now that I've gotten your attention, I'll break it to you: They were all priests or priests in training. My friend Monica in LA has been trying to get me together with her high school friend Joe Farrell on my recent trips to Rome and finally our schedules matched up to make a date. Joe is going for his doctorate at the Augustinian Ministry right next to Saint Peters -- I rang him up and he invited me to visit and come for lunch.

Sure enough, just liked Jon warned me, I woke to the sound of crying children being shushed by freaked out parents in the next room. But then there were church bells and the sun was streaming through the skylight. I had to get out in it. On the street, the whole wang-dang-doodle of the family was hovered around loads of luggage – four blonde blued eyed kiddies and the horrified Dutch mother who apologized profusely for the early a.m. racket. “Aw, come on,” I said, “I’m in Rome, who cares?” They all wished me a good stay and I got my cappuccino and cornetto at the caffe a few doors down and started my wanderings through the old city – Piazza Navona was quiet except for the swoosh of street cleaners going after the garbage from the night before, I took in that great familiar but always awe-inspiring view from the Ponte Sisto as I crossed over to Trastevere – the green river against white stone bridges, Saint Peters in the distance on one side and the Forum on the other, then headed for those quiet alleys that open up to the piazza and Santa Maria in Trastevere. Inside a statue of Saint Anthony was jammed with little notes of petitions and I lit a candle, scribbled my own and stuck it in with the rest.

The Campo dei Fiori was back to normal with the morning market in full swing, though each time I visit there’s less of those great old gals there in kerchiefs shelling fava beans and cleaning puntarelle… There were gorgeous little baskets of fragoline – little wild strawberries… I bought a few apples and a slice of escarole pie from the Forno – passing on the white pizza it’s famous for, figuring I’m here for a while I’ll get it next time.

With that soft woozy jet lag creeping up on me, I bit into that escarole pie and crossing the Campo back to my apartment, just the right slow sweet rhythm of this stay in Italy clicked in…

THE FACTS:
Iris Carulli: imcarulli@hotmail.com
Coccodrillo -- Ristorant & Vino Bar, Closed Wed, via Giulia 14: 06/68192650

When I called Iris freaked out from the Campo Dei Fiori last night, she said we’d go to dinner in Prati (a tourist free neighborhood near the Vatican museums) – as long as I promised NOT to write about the restaurant – she didn’t want it to be ruined by tourists. We meet up on Corso Vittorio, both talking into our cell phones and then gasping as we stood in front of the Chiesa Nuova and saw each other for the first time since our last great lunch together at Da Tonino on Governo Vecchio in January about a year and a half ago.

I first met Iris New Year’s 2004 when my husband and I joined in on Arthur Schwartz’s cooking class in Paestum. Iris worked as Arthur’s assistant/translator on his brilliant cookbook “Naples At Table” – which is what inspired me to join in on his cooking tour. In the acknowledgments Arthur thanks Iris for being “a deft translator, inspirational muse, and friend… This is as much her book as mine.” These words reveal lots about both of them – both generous and passionate about exploring Italy in depth. My kinda people.

Spent two weeks in Brooklyn sneaking in pre-Italy treats between work, including seeing THE BEST OF YOUTH -- a fab Italian RAI mini-series playing at Cinema Village in two parts. It was six hours of a gorgeous family drama -- from the Sixties Red Brigade revolution days to 2003.
Two days before leaving, I did a Mangiamo Italiano at The Italian Culinary Institute -- a lunch and cooking class where 12 of us filled a big long table with Claudia of ICI in their open kitchen and blabbed in Italian about our travels and backgrounds -- so delicious and fun. Plus Claudia is from Bari and sending me pizzeria recommendations for my stay there -- che brava.
V. warmed up for taking off...
The packing morning was all about keeping the OCD-ness under control... STOP CHECKING for the passport/ticket -- YES the stove is turned off!

For folks who just want the facts, I'm going to start off my Adventure Reports with the essentials:
Here's the deal:
On May 14th, I'm off on a two week trip to Italy. I leave NYC (JFK) and get into Rome on May 15th. Taking TAP Airlines -- JFK/Lisbon/Rome... Roundtrip $570 from STA Travel -- pretty good deal, right? I'll spend four days in Rome, then train to Conversano (near Bari), spend three days in a li'l apartment there that my friend Lauren Birmingham turned me on to, THEN I"m joining BACKROADS for a weeklong cycling trip south of Bari -- starting in Monopoli, riding through Alberobello, Ostuni and Egnazia. The countdown is on.
I left home (Los Angeles) for New York City yesterday.
FACT: Good transportation deal to get to LAX: Primetime Shuttle: $19.40 if you reserve online or by phone with credit card, compared to $24 Super Shuttle -- I've used Prime Time before and they're always on time, don't have any other passengers so you don't have to go through that "I'm going to be late" freak-out as you wait outside some slowpoke's apartment -- you can book online. Owner operated -- I like supporting the Super Shuttle competition... Call Primtetime: 310-342-7200

Susan Van Allen is a Los Angeles based writer who has written for television (on staff of "Everybody Loves Raymond"), National Public Radio ("Savvy Traveler" and "Marketplace"), and about Italian travel for newspapers, magazines and web-sites. Her passion for Italy comes from her grandparents who immigrated to America from Molise and Potenza. She travels to Italy often, taking language and cooking classes, visiting relatives, and enjoying all the beautiful country has to offer.