We dropped our bags and headed to meet two of Adam’s friends at the Colosseum. From there, we hopped on an English guided walking tour of the Colosseum, Palantine, and Roman Forum. Immediately, I was the lucky one chosen as a reference for the gladiator’s demonstration (at the cost of the audience’s entertainment). Though crowded, the Colosseum was captivating. Encompassed by a series of arches and concentric circles, I felt as if I could have easily gotten lost in the maze below me. From the Colosseum, we headed to the nearby Palantine Hill where we received a dose of Rome History 101. Our tour guide also helped us imagine the scope of what the Roman Forum would have looked like (covered in marble) years ago. It was particularly interesting to learn about the difference in ground level between now and the past.
We then climbed to the rooftop terrace of the Capitoline Museum for a panoramic view of the city. Continuing on our whirlwind walk, we ventured to the Trevi Fountain – “that fountain” – to throw a penny over our backs and the Spanish Steps to see what all the hype was about. Both sites were painfully packed with tourists, but I guess that’s the consequence of coming to Rome during the week before Easter.
Deserving a reward for our ambitious sightseeing, we headed to one of Rome’s best gelato joints, Giolitti. It was here that I met my fate with a triple-stuffed cone of Raspberry, Disarrono, and Cicoccolate Fondante gelato with homemade whipped cream. [Dessert before dinner is a great crowd-beating tip.] An equally gluttonous dinner brought us to Ristorante Cleto (thanks Nicole & Francesca!) for some mouthwatering bruschetta followed by an equally sinful pasta dish – Sette Peccati, a pasta dish of seven sins including prosciutto and corn. A short stroll brought us back to Campo di Fiori for round two of dessert.
After a simple breakfast on the terrace of our hotel, we made our way to the Vatican, via Metro. Our day began with a guided tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Although I was quite turned off by the thick, innavigable crowds, I really liked the painted walls and ceiling of the Hall of Cartography as well as Rafael’s Philosophy. Adam particularly liked staring at his namesake on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel! From there, we took a shortcut to the St. Peter’s Basilica. Bold and brawny, the Basilica’s twisty-columned baldacchino was a highlight. Additionally, the entire square was set up with thousands of rows of chairs in preparation for the upcoming Easter services.
A carb-filled lunch awaited us at Siciliainbocca. Here I chose Linguine Ciccio – a simple linguine dish with an oil, parmesan, and zucchini sauce (with the intention of saving room for noshing along the way). And nosh we did. A few blocks later we stopped in at a local pizzeria where a sneaky chef passed off his recommendation of a sardine and spinach focaccia in an attempt to get rid of the last few pieces. As an uneducated tourist, I fell for it. But, I quickly remedied the situation and washed down the salty taste with some apple, cinnamon, and ginger gelato from Il Gelatto di San Crispino.
We spent the afternoon wandering around the Centro Storico – marveled at the Pantheon (under construction), posed for a caricature at the Piazza Navona (the cartoonist emphasized Adam’s widow’s peak and teeth!), picked up some chocolate eggs (made from 19th century recipes) at the Confetteria Morriono & Gariglio (instead of the 5 euro per piece cactus truffles), gazed at the piercing blue ceiling of the Basilica di Santa Maria, and poked in some leather workshops.
Dinner brought us to the Travestere neighborhood where we paid a visit to Mel’s apartment before dining on some chicken parmesan and vegetable pizza at her favorite restaurant, Hostaria del Moro. A famous tartufo dessert at Tre Scalini truly sealed the deal.
Losing an hour of sleep on Sunday didn’t stop us from seeing all that there is to see. Thanks to Adam’s forward-planning (hmm…), we visited the Museo e Galleria Borghese with our pre-booked tickets! One of my favorite sculptures was the Rape of Persephone, but it was hard to focus on the standing art given the colorful frescoed ceilings. We spent a while meandering through the Villa Borghese -- a huge park that was irresistible on this sunny day. We grabbed suppli and focaccia to go from Casina dell’Orlogio to enjoy picnic-style.
By Sunday afternoon, we had grown a little more comfortable with the city proper and decided to venture to the fringes of the San Lorenzo neighborhood. Covered in graffiti, the neighborhood reminded me of a mix of Madrid’s Malasana and Lavapies neighborhoods. We then spent a few hours walking to (and along) the ancient Appian Way (home to the Catacombs of Italian royalty). Had it not been for GPS and its creative road-naming system, I’m not sure we would have made it out alive by dusk. However, the sheep-fulled meadows leading to cobblestone roads at sunset were quite stunning. Two South-African couples (with a Rick Steve’s guide) churned up some friendly conversation and helped us pass the time as we waited for what seemed like eternity for a bus to return to the Eternal City.
Once back in the city center, we passed through the Circo Massimo, a sorry patch of grass that once housed chariot races and mock sea battles. Our ultimate destination: Travestere for some food! Start salivating. Dinner #1 consisted of a pizza with pesto, potato, cherry tomato, and mozzarella followed by a ricotta and Nutella calzone at Dar Poeta. Dinner #2 consisted of some delicious rigatoni concoction, a fresh tossed salad, and pinenut cake at Da Augusto. Luckily we had a long walk back to the hotel to compress our stomachs. Arrivederci, Roma! Next stop: Florence!
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