Our trip to Rome, Italy continued...
In my previous post dedicated to Rome, I have shared a few details of our trip, as well as how this city amazed me.
As mentioned, we arrived in Rome towards the end of August and spent 9 full days there — we didn’t want to rush our stay.
In spite of the late summer, Rome was still packed with tourists and the weather was hot; for the duration of our stay, we’ve had temperatures of above 90°F. The rain was a somewhat frequent occurrence and from our experience there, when it rains in Rome, it pours -- it was really that heavy and accompanied by some incredibly loud thunder. We got caught in the rain several times but were mostly able to run for cover.
Avoiding the crowds in popular places was almost impossible, the only way to do so is getting there early (I’m talking 7-8am), which we did not want to do -- after all, we were on vacation. Regular streets however were generally empty and still pretty enough to enjoy and/or take photos.
Apart from large numbers of people on sidewalks and tourist attractions, we were also constantly accosted by all sorts of scammers, preying on people’s naivete.
From offering the so-called “friendship bracelets”, and then following and making people pay for those bracelets, to the ones offering [free] roses to women, and then again, following them and asking to pay for the flowers, those scammers were aggressive and also very persistent. In no other place we visited during our 4 months abroad was this as bad as it was in Rome. I have to admit that it ruined our experience there a bit, as we had to constantly watch out for those people. We also noticed many street “vendors” selling [fake] luxury designer items like bags, belts, and so on, who disappeared into thin air once a police car or patrol showed up. Apart from that though, we didn’t have any actual unpleasant situations in Rome.
In spite of the above, we did our best to enjoy this incredible city, as it really has a lot to offer.
From the first day we arrived there, we went out to familiarize ourselves with our area, as well as look for food, of course. Restaurants that we were curious about trying were closed for vacation, so instead, we went to Barberini Express to get some to-go pizza, as we were, per usual, tired from traveling. I really liked their pizza (it sold out fast and the menu changes often), and we ended up eating from there several times during our stay, usually when we weren’t in the mood to wait late for restaurants to open.
We found it very curious that in many cities in Europe, they’d only prepare a certain amount of food for the day; if it sold out, that was it. In Italy specifically, we were surprised to learn that in most places, pizza was sold by the weight, generally starting somewhere at 2.50 euros per 100 grams. Be wary if you’re trying to stay on a budget, as it’s difficult to assess how much you’d spend on a meal this way.
The next day, with nothing on our agenda, we decided to walk [almost] aimlessly, to discover Rome. Of course we made our way to the Colosseum, walked around it, and from there headed towards Victor Emmanuel II Monument in Piazza Venezia, which is commonly called and known as Altare Della Patria. On our way there, we passed by the Roman Forum, which I found absolutely fascinating. It can be seen from the street, of course, but the best way to explore it is by going inside (we bought a combo-ticket for 22 euro/person, which included the Colosseum + Roman Forum + Imperial Forum), but I’ll get to that later.
Once we arrived in Piazza Venezia, we were stunned… I’ll just describe this place as majestic, as it’s incredibly big and sumptuous. For this very reason, Romans (the people who live in Rome) aren’t big fans of it, as they say, it stands out too much, compared to the rest of the city of Rome.
![Strolling through random [empty] streets, and pretty courtyards.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ddea1545784972daac01b38/1590440839343-82E1M5G16UPNOFXL2958/IMG_1403_edited.jpg)
Locals feelings aside, Altare Della Patria monument deserves a tour; first for its amazing architecture, second, for the great views and photo opportunities, and third, for its interior. To get amazing views of Rome, climb the stairs to the top, take the elevator to the roof (it’ll cost you about 10 euro), and enjoy.
In spite of the blue sky at the beginning of the day, when we got to the monument, the sky was quickly covered with dark clouds and it began pouring. There isn’t much cover in Piazza Venezia, so we somewhat took shelter under the trees (definitely do not do that, especially if there’s a thunderstorm). After about 15 minutes, the rain stopped, and we were able to resume our exploration. Like I said, and as you can see from the photos below, there’s plenty to see just in this place alone, so definitely make time to tour it properly.
Altare della Patria
From Piazza Venezia, we made our way towards the world-famous Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain), which was about 10 minutes away from our B&B.
Rain or sunshine, Trevi Fountain was packed. However, we got there around 4pm, at which time its platform was closed for whatever reason, and people weren’t able to get close to it. After snapping some quick photos of the fountain, we decided to leave; as you might know by now, crowds aren’t really our thing. Just as we were walking by, the monument was opened, and since we were right by the corner entrance, we were able to get a few photos of us before the platform was overtaken by people. Tip: the monument is guarded and strictly monitored by police officers and/or military from what we’ve witnessed; seating on the edge of the fountain is forbidden, and if you try to do so, you’ll be yelled at. Also, like I said earlier, the area is PACKED; watch your bag/belongings at all times as pickpocketing is reported here often.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the weather was hot every day. There aren’t many places in Rome where you can pop-in and cool-off, so as we left the Trevi Fountain, we headed to our B&B to get a break from the heat and rest up before heading to dinner.
For dinner we decided to go to That’s Amore (link to TripAdvisor). We didn’t make reservations (definitely advisable in Italy) but got lucky to have the table by the large window (where this couple is seated).
Before I jump into the food, I have to say this: Italians love to take advantage of every square inch of their real estate. Most restaurants are super-crammed, to the point that you seat elbow-to-elbow. While this most often strikes a conversation, for an intimate dinner, it’s not desired. It was definitely too much for my personal space and comfort zone.
On that same note… There is little to no room for servers to move between the quite small tables, so expect them to try to serve others over your head, etc. - this was our experience at this restaurant the second time we dined there. With all that said, try to avoid “middle-restaurant” tables - trust me on this one. Of course this was pre-COVID-19, so I’m not sure how it’ll be going forward.
Back to our experience at That’s Amore… Apart from being so close to the street, and having everyone walking by staring right into our plates, I think our table was one of the best seats in the restaurant. There was no AC in the restaurant that I could feel, so being by the window was somewhat pleasant due to the slight breeze.
We didn’t have to wait long for our food after ordering - that was the case everywhere we went. I decided to order the “Fettuccine al tartufo nero e funghi porcini” - truffle fettuccine with porcini mushrooms, as I LOVE mushrooms (truffles included), and my husband ordered the “Gnocchi alla sorrentina” - fresh hand-made gnocchi with tomato sauce and fresh buffalo mozzarella sprinkled on top - as he LOVES gnocchi, and a Capricciosa pizza to share - yes, carbs-overload but when in Italy, you forget about that. The pizza was OK - I didn’t love it in any of the restaurants we ate at - but the pasta was DIVINE, seriously.
We were quite full when we were done with our food and decided to skip dessert. We paid for our meal and left through the “window”, as there was no hope to walk through the restaurant - it was completely full with no room to spare.
Once out of the restaurant, we went on another stroll in the area. A few minutes later we came across The Gelatist (exact location marked), and I simply could not resist getting some gelato. I was so happy I did - this was the best gelato we had in Rome, and with the most selection. Most importantly, it did not taste artificial and overly-sweet like in some other places we tried. My favorite were the mango, peach, wild berries, pistachio, and the absolute best, and my number 1 - “Sapori di Sicilia”. Worth mentioning is that the prices were very reasonable.
The delightful gelato-moment concluded our first full day in Rome… we slowly walked back to our room; the next day we planned to tour The Colosseum and Roman Forum, and we needed our strength for yet another long and hot day in Rome. To be continued…
Until next time.
xoxo,
Em
