Being American in Rome

Rome is my favorite big European city. I had been waiting almost 3 months to get to Rome, show Ryan Rome and soak in as much Roman as possible. Within hours of dropping our bags at an Airbnb in Trastevere we found ourselves getting haircuts from a native Californian, tracking down authentic chips and guacamole and when the chips and guacamole weren't enough, ordering a giant plate of nachos. Don't worry, we washed it all down with a few cold ones. On our first day, I absolutely failed as a tour guide to Ryan. However, I was reminded how good it feels to have a normal, flowing english conversation and eat guacamole that does not resemble green goo.

Meet Rick. He is the handsome and eccentric owner of Noi Salon and proudly gave Ryan his first buzz cut. He is from Laguna, California and my favorite two things about Rick are (and trust me, this guy is a character and there are many) 1) He played a Swedish swinger in an Italian soap opera and 2) he used to be the style and beauty instructor for Pan Am. He, and I quote, "made the skies a more beautiful place to fly" 

Meet an excerpt from the menu at The Perfect Bun. It should be called The Perfect Nacho. Please note we ordered item #1 and item #5. It might have been the best day of my life.

Meet the nachos. This is an actual photo and not a dramatization. I consider myself a bit of a nacho connoisseur. If nachos were a food group, they would be my favorite. This place nailed it. Nailed it. Each topping was evenly distributed amongst the layers, they baked the dish and the cheese was perfectly melted. If it were socially acceptable, I would have ordered another helping.  

Fun Fact: It is REALLY hard to get a decent avocado in Rome. I mean, really really hard. So hard, in fact, that the owner of The Perfect Bun has some sort of crazy connection in Israel and imports Hass avocados from there.