The first time we flew into Rome was because an active volcano in Iceland caused a diversion from our Milan destination. The second time we were on our way to a cooking vacation in Positano and went straight from the airport to the train station. This time we decided to give Rome a try for a few days before heading off to Sardinia. Rome had not previously been on the agenda because of preconceptions of it being too big, too noisy, too crowded, and needing lots of time to see it all. But we decided to give it a couple days and see what we could mine.
Once again I was met with the excruciating guilt of not knowing the language. Charlie is much braver than I, but I don’t get much further than buongiorno, grazie mille, and come se diche in Italiano?. Maybe if Italians weren’t so accommodating towards us ignorant Americanos, I would be forced to learn more.
We stayed in an Airbnb apartment in the Prati neighborhood near the Vatican. It was on the 4th floor and the terrace overlooked a school complex and the sounds from the streets below mingled with the happy chaos of children. I watched from above as parents picked up their children in the afternoon, and once again was reminded that no matter our cultural differences, we are all passionate about family.
Charlie and I are walkers, and not necessarily good map readers (or maybe it is the maps!), so we tend to get lost, and eventually reach our destination, or find another just as interesting. Here are the highlights from our Roma vacation:
Roman breakfast. Romans start the day with cafe and a pastry. We found this not far from our door at La Fiorentina. It looks like a popular spot for not only those on their way to work, but parents, with their children in tow, stopped by, and older students congregated before the start of school. I enjoy sipping my cappucino and watching the animated and intimate interactions among Italian folks. Never just a single greeting, their hellos stretch into several ciaos and salves.
Being a Tourist at the Colosseum. Rome is saturated with tour groups and unless you are part of one, or purchase tickets ahead of time, you will be regulated to a long line. We chose the Colosseum in the middle of the city, where ancient Romans held their public spectacles and gladiator battles. While standing in line in the hot, humid air you are relentlessly bombarded by vendors aggressively pushing bottles of water, hats, umbrellas, and dubious sounding tours. Having survived this gauntlet, and tickets finally in hand, we joined another line to get in. The vomitoria passageways designed to quickly move spectators in and out now spewed forth its modern day tourists. Once inside, though, it was fun to let our imaginations go back thousands of years when all strata of society were entertained in this giant amphitheatre.
Sunday in Rome. The pope was out of town and there are no tours on Sunday, so St. Peter’s square was pretty peaceful. We got the sense right away, though, that something else was going on as several of the streets were blocked off to traffic, and we kept passing groups in similarly attired athletic clothes. Turns out there was a marathon going on. This left a lot of streets uncrowded and free to cruise. We found an easy path along the Tiber river leading to the lovely old Trastevere neighborhood where we met up with a tour guide who taught us how to eat like a Roman, starting with Pizza at 10 AM.
The French Embassy. The Palazzo Farnese or Farnese Palace was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French embassy in Italy. We met our food tour guide in front of the embassy and she let us know that it was open to the public only one day a year and this was the day. So we had a unique experience getting to see the art and architecture of this Renaissance palace.
Trevi Fountain. While Charlie and I can’t seem to adopt the traditional late time for eating dinner in Italy, we do love the evening passeggiata. On our last evening we waded into the movement of people and headed for the Trevi Fountain. We joined a boisterous and happy throng and took the requisite photos and selfies, then tossed our coins in. The Baroque fountain is a wild, chaotic explosion of water and carved stone. Lit up at night makes the scene even more dramatic. My favorite moment and a great ending to a very short visit to Rome!
This Post Has One Comment
Oh, I want to be there! I never was much interested in seeing Rome, but you remind me that there is so very much more to see and experience than just the Vatican. What a lovely blog – great start! Safe journeys, my friends♥️