2.2.17
Rome. Everyone says it wasn’t built in a day, and when you go there, duh, no kidding. Every main attraction is huge and overwhelming and I cannot believe how old it is. I’d be lying if I said Phil and I weren’t tired ALL THE TIME. Jetlag is real ya’ll and I had a great time but I could’ve slept at all times, any time you would’ve asked me to. In between all our walking adventures and eating, we took a healthy amount of lay downs to get our life back together and rally. I am so happy we went to Rome, but I was definitely fighting fatigue the whole trip. What didn’t help was our 8am Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel Tour. But if we could do it all again, I wouldn’t change it. Getting the tour done in the morning and then having the whole day to ourselves in Rome was the way to go. And were actually able to see basically everything.
The first night in Rome we had the whole evening to explore after a three-hour train ride. We walked to the Colosseum, explored the area and then made our way to Trevi Fountain. The nice thing is as New Yorkers, walking around this city feels like everyday. I’m used to walking everywhere, so Rome is the perfect city, all the major landmarks are very much within walking distance. And everything is so incredible to look on the way to the next destination the journey feels like no work at all. I think we had reservations about spending less than 3 whole days somewhere, was it worth it, can we see all the things in time, bla bla bla. But guess, what, TOTALLY RIGHT CHOICE. There’s so many things to see in Rome and we did almost all of it and after seeing only those two things the first evening we were even more excited for the next day.
Our Vatican Tour was the other tourist activity we decided to pay for. This was 100% worth it. Our tour guide was astoundingly informative about the paintings, frescos, tapestries, and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I mean going through the halls of the Vatican Museums it’s clear that being a tour guide is not like some summer intern job. You have to KNOW what you’re talking about, details about art, history, Italy, even other countries at the time and how their art was different than Italy’s. While I fought the urge to want to go back to sleep, I actually couldn’t stop paying attention to everything our guide had to say. Our group was small, and since it was off peak time we were able to get up close to everything, the busts, the statues, I took pictures of everything I could.
Also, Italian time is a real thing. No one is in a rush, and things are done on their time. It’s a little frustrating, but mostly a relief. Especially since we were basically late for our early morning tour, only to find it hadn’t even begun or been organized yet. And if someone is talking to a fellow co worker or texting, they’ll acknowledge you when they’re done and good and ready. Luckily our tour started a good 30 minutes after the time we signed up for and that’s just the way it is. You’re not rushed out of restaurants, you have to ask for the check, by the end of the trip I was 100% on board with this way of life.
We were taken all over the museums, including the Raphael rooms. I felt a little uneducated not realizing that the fresco of the School of Athens was at the Vatican. Yikes, well I’m not a an art history major so don’t hate. It was a great thing to see.
Unfortunately, no cameras allowed in the Sistine Chapel, so just trust me when I say it was absolutely unbelievable. Following the theme of knowing almost nothing about the details of famous works of art, I’ve never really looked closely at pictures of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and had no idea it told the story of Moses, and showed the creation of Adam and Eve and their banishment for the Garden of Eden, the whole story is on the ceiling!! I mean not surprising, it’s a really long ceiling. Afterward, we set out to see all the other things. And of course, eat!
This sums up my typical meal while in Italy, espresso, a glass of wine, and fresh pasta. This one was stuffed with fresh burrata cheese. It was heaven in a bite. And the most amazing thing was I never felt too full after a meal. It was always the perfect amount of food. No Thanksgiving move the belt notch type of feeling, just delicious satisfaction.
Of course we had to get gelato. It was perfection. It seems like standard protocol no matter what size you order you get two flavors of gelato. So I got hazelnut and…..fig! Holy shit, fig was so good. It was subtle but rich, and somehow complemented the hazelnut. I could’ve eaten it all night long.
We made our way to other obvious choices, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, more food. Vatican city is separated from the main area of the city by a bunch of bridges. We traveled over a few of them during the course of our stay, each one being surrounded by totally different things. One had a castle, one had a museum on the other side, lots of restaurants all over the area. Oh and PS, the sidewalk all over Italy is so narrow it’s kinda of scary. And the drivers are crazy! We always had to keep an eye out for Vespas, Smart Cars and bicycles. It’s kind of a free-for-all in the large roundabout areas for drivers and pedestrians. If you don’t just try and cross the street you could watch cars pass you for hours. Italy makes you get pretty ballsy about your walking etiquette. Friends asked if I was going to rent a Vespa during the visit and I said no, because I didn’t feel like dying in Italy. Walking was enough for me.
Our view from the Spanish Steps, right after I took pictures for a huge Asian tour group.
The Pantheon is totally free to walk in and around! That night we had one of the best meals hands down of the whole trip at a restaurant called La Carbonara. Let’s just say of all the restaurants we walked past that were empty, this place was on a twenty minute wait, with good reason. Not only was our meal of fried artichoke, fresh mozzarella, fresh carbonara pasta and cake absolutely to die for, but in total (including a bottle of wine) was 55 Euro. WHAT. Overall, just FYI everything is cheaper in Italy when it comes to food and wine. Obviously when wine is from that area it doesn’t need to be imported and therefore it’s super cheap. Most glasses of wine were 6 Euro or less.
We also had a great time the evening before at a restaurant called La Enzo. I had gnocchi with red sauce and prawns (I could eat gnocchi everyday, not kidding), and then for dessert ordered this unbelievable not cheese cheesecake. I think I figured out what it is, and it is definitely my current baking project for the end of the week. They also gave us a glass of limoncello, and then this crazy cantaloupe meloncello post dinner which was so weird, and one shot glass was enough. But they were so friendly, like everywhere in Italy!
It was a great two days. And I’m sure you’ve realized by now that I don’t really have ‘outfit’ posts for this trip. Honestly, my packing theme was simple and comfortable. I wanted to make sure everything matched with each other, and I was always wearing a jacket with a big scarf because it was legit cold the whole trip. So just enjoy some food and scenic pictures.
I want gelato right now.
