When in Rome...

Here is a quick list of some of my favorite things in Rome:

Gelato! 

Gelateria del Teatro: This newly remodeled gelato place has unique and enticing flavors like prickly pear and cinnamon. They will also let you combine multiple flavors into one cup- amazing for those of us who can't make a decision when there are so many amazing options. The gelato is made on-site and you can see those dear Italians hard at work from the street thanks to a large window into the workspace. The next best thing about this place are the stairs that are directly outside the shop so you can sit, enjoy your gelato and watch people go by. Its on Via die Coronari, which is a wonderful street featuring boutiques, antique shops and cute cafes. 

View of Teatro from the street

Inside of Teatro

San Crispino: Located 2 streets back from the Trevi Fountain, this place is a haven among horribly touristy restaurants and stores. There's no seating and the place is very basic and unsuspecting but totally delicious. My personal favorite is the banana. Be sure to get a sample of your choice selection because some flavors can be creamy while others can be more ice-y. 

First gelato of the trip!

Gelateria dei Gracchi: This one is on my list for my next trip to Roma. Its a nice break if you are close to St. Peters and the Vatican. 

Drinks!

Le Cupole Bar at Grand Hotel De La Minerve: I love this place for so many reasons. First would be its location right off Piazza della Minerva, which features one of my favorite sculptures in Rome, Bernini's Elephant and Obelisk, and best loved churches, Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Second would be the amazing Art Deco decor inside the hotel and third (and favorite) is the incredible sweeping views of the city provided by the rooftop bar. 

Bernini's Elephant

Interior view of Santa Maria sopra Minerva

  

Drinks on the rooftop bar

View of St. Peters at sunset

Antico Caffe della Pace: I am obsessed with this cafe and this area. I'm not quite sure what the neighborhood is called but its in the centro storico and optimizes old school Italy. A few winding streets behind Piazza Navona, this section has tons of adorable cafes, restaurants and boutiques. This cafe is right in the heart of it. The building itself is covered in busy, green ivy and has several little tables set out front. The inside is decorated with beautiful, funky antiques and the waitresses are friendly hipsters. Its a wonderful place to take a break from sightseeing and enjoy the Italian pace of life. 

Enjoying a drink at Caffe della Pace

Bar del Fico: Located around the corner from Caffe della Pace, Bar del Fico is a funky cafe and restaurant with a decent amount of inside seating and free wifi. Warning: the website is NSFW but should be seen for sheer wonder. 

Tree lined streets in centro storico

Eat!

Da Francesco: Again located in the centro storico next to Bar del Fico, this restaurant is the epitome of an Italian eatery. Crazy, hectic, entertaining, a little rude but delicious. Get there early or be prepared for a bit of a wait. And don't expect your own spacious table, especially if you sit outside. You will be right on top of your neighbors but who cares if they are Italian and cool.

Sleep!

Hotel Fellini Inn: My friend and I stayed here for two nights last September and it was nice, clean and centrally located (only 2 or 3 blocks to San Crispino! and the Trevi Fountain). Its nothing out of this world but it suited our needs. They do offer a complimentary breakfast that was basic but had good coffee. It was a little tricky to find because I kept trying to ring the wrong door. I didn't walk far enough but I eventually figured it out. 

Trevi Fountain

See!

I guess if its your first time to Rome its important to see the Coloseum, St. Peters, the Sistine Chapel, the list could go on and on. I have a love/hate relationship with these places. On the one hand, they are amazing, incredibly important contributions to history and art and humanity, but you will be there with nothing but other Americans and foreign tourists, in line and waiting for most of it. So be sure to take your time walking from one destination to the next to wander down side streets, step into random stores, look in as many churches as possible, to see the most of Italy as possible. 

Enjoy your trip!

Wonderful fountain on Italian side street

More views of Rome at sunset

Rome If You Want To

I first visited Rome in December 2004 right before Christmas. I had just finished 4 months of studying abroad in Barcelona and my parents came from California to visit. They met me in Spain and then we traveled together to the famous Italian capitol. My parents were last in Italy in the 70’s when they briefly stopped there while travelling around Europe. Dad kept very detailed notes about the places they visited, including all the restaurants they ate at. It was his goal to return to those same spots. Unfortunately Mom came down with a cold so she spent the majority of our time in Rome in the hotel room. Dad and I were left to our own devices in one of the world’s foodiest cities. Surprisingly we found most of the restaurants that Dad recorded; whether or not they had the same owners/chefs was a different question. We had delicious 4 course meals for lunch and dinner, which might explain why I was at least 10 pounds heavier when I returned to Santa Barbara for the second half my junior year. While we toured the Coliseum, Vatican, Saint Peters, and the like,but what really stood out for me was all the delicious food.

In front of the Spanish Steps in August 2012

One of my favorite fountains in Piazza della Rotonda

The next time I went to Rome was in August 2012 by accident really. I had been living in Europe for just over 3 months and decided to take a solo trip to the Almafi Coast. I was a little unclear about the specifics of the Italian rail system so I just planned to get off my flight at the Rome airport (which is about 30 minutes outside the city) and figure it out from there. On the flight I began to chat with the Italian woman sitting next to me. I told her my plans and she warned that I would have to travel through Naples at night since it was already mid-afternoon and that was definitely a risky move considering I was traveling by myself. She suggested that I spend the night in Rome and take the train from Termini (Rome’s main train station) the next morning. That sounded reasonable as I had heard terrible things about Naples so I assured her that I would follow her instructions. The flight landed at the Rome airport and she accompanied me to the train that would take us into Rome proper. “Do you have a hotel in Rome?” she inquired. I said I had booked a hotel room for the trip back near the train station. She also said this was a bad idea and that the area around Termini was unsafe after dark. Yet another plan blown to pieces. I said goodbye to this too helpful Italian once we arrived at the train station and spent the next hour wandering around Termini trying to find an Internet cafe or wifi hot-zone in order to research a new hotel for the night. Unfortunately I came up empty handed.  I remembered from the last time I was in Rome that the area around the Spanish Steps was nice so I hopped in a cab and asked the driver to take me there. I walked up and down a few streets looking for a decent hotel and I finally decided on one. They had space available so I booked it. After all this ordeal I no longer felt like trying to take on this endeavor alone so I spent the next 4 days wandering around Rome, walking into every church I came across and eating more pizza and gelato than one person should probably consume alone.

Capitoline Hill at night

Chiesa del Gesu

Interior of another chapel in Rome

3 days in Firenze

I'm not sure which was more startling the first time I visited Florence: the massive, amazingness of the Duomo or the insane hordes of people everywhere I turned. I thought that by September the tour groups would have subsided but no, September is the new August apparently. While Florence is a beautiful, old city, the vast amounts of tourists and college students studying abroad did put a slight damper on my experience. However the city more than made up for it with the grandeur of its art and cuisine.

View of the Duomo from the top of Giotto's Campanile

Crowds of tourists in front of the Piazza del Duomo 

The Arts

• The David: Had my dear travel companion not purchased advanced tickets to the Gallerie dell'Accademia, I probably would have passed on waiting in the insanely long line to see some sculpture. But once I laid eyes on Michelangelo's most famous work of art, I was blown away. The way that the artist manipulated marble to create an incredibly majestic and realistic sculpture of David, the biblical hero who slayed Goliath, is beyond impressive. Besides the David, there isn't much else to see at this museum, or at least that's what we wanted to believe so we could ditch the crowds.

• Uffizi: This was another museum that my friend purchased tickets for in advance. We had to wait in a 15 minute line to get a different ticket and then another 10 minute line to get into the museum. I felt ambivalent about this one. One the one hand, it was wonderful to see the extremely gorgeous Botticelli paintings, "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera," but shoving my way through about 20 oblivious Asian tourists to see it was almost not worth it. I would only recommend going here in the off-season and perhaps getting a guided tour that highlights the stand-outs because there is a ton to see. 

Botticelli's The Birth of Venus

• Piazza del Duomo: Its impossible to go to Florence and not fall in love with this piazza that includes the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (that supports Brunelleschi's Duomo), Giotto's Campanile and the Baptistery of St. John. The green, pink and white marble exterior of the buildings is breath-taking and the 15 minute climb to the top of the Campanile will literally take away your breath. A 10 Euro ticket- good for 24 hours- will buy you admission to the Baptistery that boasts shinning golden mosaics, the Campanile, which offers stunning views of the Duomo and the city, as well as the Duomo museum so you can learn more about this incredible structure that was created nearly 600 years ago. 

 

View of the Basilica, Duomo and Campanile

View of Florence from the Campanile

The Eats

• Zeb: I found this place based off a T&L article and it did not disappoint. Across the river from the main tourist attractions, Zeb is tucked away in a quiet part of the city. After reading us the daily specials, the chef helped select the best glass of wine to accompany our food selections, which were the ricotta stuffed ravioli with a pear compote and vegetable ravioli with a fresh tomato sauce. For dessert we shared a special cake made with grapes that is only available in the fall. It was rather unique because the grapes still had the seeds in them and that made the cake crunchy, but it was still good. Especially with an espresso. We struck up a conversation with the woman sitting next to us at the bar counter and she said she eats at the restaurant almost every day. She gave us some other restaurant recommendations but sadly we didn't have time to try them out before we left. Overall the experience at Zeb was wonderful and just what we were hoping to find in Italy. 

Delicious grape "cake" at Zeb

• 4 Leoni: Also located on the other side of the river, this bumping restaurant sits on a delightful little square that features a wine bar, gelateria and other casual restaurants. This place came recommended by one of my good friends who studied abroad in Florence and returned a few years later to run the Florence marathon. The word was definitely out about this restaurant because all tables around us were filled with other Americans but we still had an authentic Italian meal consisting of grilled veggies with burrata, bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and big, thick, juicy, barely seared piece of Florentine beef. The waiter warned me it would be very rare and it sure was! I would say it was comparable to the steak I ate in Buenos Aires, which is a huge complement to the Italians.   

My friend enjoying a glass of wine before dinner at 4 Leoni

Overall I had a wonderful experience in Florence and would definitely wander through the city again but only in an off-peak tourist season when all the American college students have gone home (no offense to my friends who studied abroad in the city). 

View of Florence from Piazza San Michelangelo