After getting our fair share of beaches and pizza, we took a
train up to Rome to meet my good friend Gitanjali from Singapore. From the
experiences of our first few days in Italy, we quickly discovered Italians
weren’t the nicest or most accommodating to tourists. Plus they kept saying
lines like “you’re the best thing I’ve seen in three days” to our girl friends from
New Zealand. Smooth. So you can imagine how happy and surprised we were when
the hostel owner in Rome turned out to be really helpful and accommodating and...Filipino.
Kevin posing for his HK album cover.
After our first night of keeping things low key by walking
to the Spanish steps and having dinner, we went all out on day two to see all
of the touristy things we were supposed to see. We started with the coliseum,
which was definitely the highlight of day one. In general, things I already
have a good idea about don’t really impress me (and by good idea, I mean I’ve
watched Gladiator), but the coliseum was definitely impressive. It was on such
a large, grand scale that you couldn’t help but be amazed.
Cool kids (and us) at the Spanish steps.
Our first delicious meal in Rome. Panna cotta!
Thumbs up!
After the coliseum, we machine gunned through Palatine Hill,
the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon (btw, does anyone else get the Pantheon and
Parthenon mixed up?). Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum were nice, pretty much
just a bunch of ruins on a hill. But the Pantheon was definitely a sight to see
with the giant hole in the ceiling to let sunlight in. The Pantheon was a
favorite for another reason: we had some of the best gelato nearby. After
getting some espresso at the famous Caffe Tazzo D’oro, we saw a huge line and
decided to investigate further. This line ended at Giolitti – our first taste
of whipped cream on gelato (this ruined us for the rest of our time in Italy
because if it didn’t have whipped cream, it wasn’t reaching its highest
potential).
Pantheon...parthanon...
Discovering whipped cream was a blessing and a curse.
That night for dinner, we decided to wander over to the
Trastevere side of the river because my friend Jessica said we HAD to try out
this restaurant. The hard thing about this recommendation was that the
restaurant was run out of a house, so there wasn’t really a sign or a specific
address to follow. So we wandered. And wandered. And after wandering a bit
more, we found a few tables in an alleyway that might be the restaurant. Once
we heard that the restaurant served all you can drink wine, as well as all you
can drink limoncello and grappa, we knew we had found the place. Jessica was so
right. This dining experience was so authentic and tasty. Literally three
little tables in an alley way, and one guy cooks you an appetizer, pasta dish,
and meat dish…out of the house kitchen! Definitely felt like we were eating a
home cooked Italian meal. We ended the night with a couple hours of
grappa-lubricated discussion and Gitanjali making fun of Kevin and me not
meeting more girls (hey, we got one phone number!).
Amazing dining experience.
Post-dinner limoncello. Gross.
The next day we went to Vatican City to be herded like
cattle through all of the sights. And herded we were. It was so packed we
couldn’t even walk with any free will. It was just a wave of people slowly
moving from one end to the other. Still, it was pretty amazing. The Sistine
Chapel was beautiful and it was nice to have a guide explain all the different
elements of the ceiling. St. Mark’s Basilica was also really beautiful, but
like I’ve mentioned before, I had a heavy case of cathedral fatigue, so I
probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I would normally have.
The Vatican Museum.
Taking stealth-mode pictures in the Sistine Chapel.
St. Peter's Square.
That night, we headed back to Trastevere for an awesome
dinner in a place called Freschetta, which was so Italian, it’s not funny. It
was also a local place, so it wasn’t tacky Italian. It had checkered table
cloths and garlic hanging from the ceiling. The portions were huge and we left
very, very happy. After dinner, we walked to the Trevi Fountain to soak in the
night atmosphere, gawk at the beautiful fountain sculptures, and make a few
wishes as we tossed coins into the fountain.
Pre-dinner stroll.
Making wishes at the beautiful Trevi Fountain.
Our last day we took it easy after all the walking we did,
and just lounged around with some tasty gelato from San Crispino! You know it’s
good gelato if it’s served from a metal container, and they won’t even let you
see or taste the gelato! Bold, very bold. All of Rome’s sights definitely lived
up to expectations and the food was tasty to boot. And remember, if you want a
great meal, go down that one street at around 7pm and look for tables in the
alley. You’re welcome.
