We recently went to Rome to celebrate our birthdays, yes, our friend Mark has a birthday 2 days from mine. Seems like I know loads of people who have their birthdays in the middle of November. I call us "Valentine Babies".
We stayed out of the city at the
Rome Cavalieri up above the city. This is an amazing property, great to look over the city if you're on the east side of the building. Our suite was on the city facing east side of the building which also means you get the morning sun. Thankfully they have those European blackout shutters which are on motors where we could sleep in late, but Kevin doesn't know this concept. Staying up there also means you have to deal with how to get down to the city, taxi is easy but the hotel also offers a shuttle service. We got there later in the evening so we ate a bite in the hotel and had a sampling of Grappa.
Our 1st day touring was a visit to the Vatican Museum. I read that it could be a 4 mile walk if you see everything in there....I think we did walk that much because Kevin had us back track through some halls that he wanted to see. Splitting up wasn't an option, this place is huge!
We walked from there to St Peter's picking up some gelato at The Old Bridge on the way. The square and the church overwhelm you when you round the corner. I've seen the square on TV a bunch of times and mostly during a mass where it's filled with people but this time it's empty and you get a sense of just how big the whole place is. Walking up the steps to the church make you feel small but now as small as you feel when you go inside. The worlds largest church lives up to his name easily. The bronze alter in the center is 7 stories tall! There are markers in the floor that show the size of other large churches around the world. They can all fit inside this place.
Later that night we went to the Pantheon which is Rome's oldest building and the building with a dome that inspired other churches domes throughout the world. Out front are a columns that are made of solid pieces of granite...I can't begin to imagine how they hauled them to that place and got them standing!
Dinner was at
Armando's near the Pantheon, a little place that seats about 20 people. Great meal and great wine. Call ahead for reservations! We then walked to
Sant' Eustachio Il Caffe for an espresso which was by far the best coffee I've ever had! We've had loads of coffee while traveling in many places...Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Luxemburg, Belgium but nothing like this place.....don't miss it! They make an espresso that is so creamy and smooth, nothing bitter about it. We ended up in the hotel bar with some more wonderful Grappa.
The next day was The Colosseum and The Forum. It's massive AND it's in the middle of Rome! The ruins are fantastic and you can only wish you could go back in time to see what these places looked like when they were covered in white marble and new! Between going to both these places Kevin suggested we walk to Circus Maximus, the largest arena for chariot races. The field is still there with the banked seating area that could hold 350,000 people on them. Again, wouldn't it be cool to see what this place was like when it was being used for races?
Kevin and I took off on our own for a bit to check out things while Mark went back to the hotel for a birthday massage. We walked the streets towards Trevi Fountain. The masses are there! Loads of people there all doing the same thing...tossing a coin in the fountain. It's estimated 3000 Euros or $4000 a day in coins tossed in there.
We met up with Mark at the hotel for dinner which was a place recommended by a local Roman.
Flavio al Velavevodetto osteria is not a tourist restaurant by any means but certainly worth the effort to getting there. The lamb was pre ordered by our Roman friend so we didn't have to worry too much about the language barrier. We really didn't have any trouble with ordering either, the staff was very helpful. The location is basically on a trash heap of ancient roman terracotta pots that were all tossed in the same place for many years creating a 'hill'. The back side of the restaurant shows the stacks pots through some large windows. We ended up again in the hotel bar having even more Grappa....at this point I'm spoiled. We've had the lighter fluid level of Grappa in the past but nothing can compare to the aged smoothness of what we were having at the hotel. They even cart a portion of the selection around to you for presentation.
Our last day and it was a late start due to Mark sleeping in. No matter. We found our way to the Trevi Fountain again and then 2 stops at gelato and a little shopping.
San Crispino is my favorite! I had Fig flavored gelato! The place isn't easy to find but after asking for directions and nothing keeps me from finding recommended gelato! We made our way to the Spanish Steps too. Lots of people sitting around, I can only imagine how nice it is in the summer to sit there and bake! The other gelato stop was
Giolitti. This place is where the locals flock to, there were us tourist in there too. It's crazy in there! I had champagne flavored gelato!
That evening we walked around looking for pizza and were not disappointed. The service was fantastic. They gave us persecco to start then a huge anti pasti plate then the pizza. We said we'd try dessert somewhere else but they gave us iced limoncello as we were leaving. Great service! I think the place was near the Pantheon, don't remember the name. And then at the hotel was yet more Grappa!
I love Rome....I know we'll certainly go back. After all, I tossed a coin in the fountain!
