As you may recall, last spring the Antunes family set off on another epic southern European adventure. We started in Rome, where I immediately fell in love with the city. This was no great shock for three primary reasons. Here they are in no particular order: Roots of Civilization was my favorite subject in high school, pizza is a big priority in my life and as far as I’m concerned the Mediterranean climate is the only climate worth a damn.

So this all being said, when I found a round trip plane ticket from Warsaw to Rome for 34 Euros, I jumped at the chance to rekindle the flame. This time I was accompanied by Radek and his mother, Bozena. Although we had very little prospect of communication (the Polish-English language barrier is rather thick in this case), we were counting on the power of Roman food to dispense with any awkwardness. In this regard and all others, it did not disappoint.

Much like any traveling adventure undertaken with Radek, culinary delights took first priority. And the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Both Radek and his mother beamed in satisfaction over every plate that was put before them. And I was rather smiley myself. The Sardinian style prawn ravioli in truffle cream sauce, in particular, still taunts me in my dreams.

We saw all the sights with great success. The weather cooperated perfectly(or maybe it is always so glorious?) And between all of our eating and walking I managed to simultaneously gain and lose 10 pounds.

Culture, history, culinary specialties and excessive amounts of walking…everything a European city break should be.