travelogue: rome, italy

all roads lead to rome they say and i am so glad ours did! we fell in love with the city.  everything is old, grand, and marble.  we got to eat pizza, drink too many coffees, and wander the sights.  here is a list of our favorite spots.

we stayed at relais 6, a hotel a little off the beaten track, just outside the city centre, requiring taking the metro each day.  it wasn't too bad and our neighbourhood was an oasis of green - i loved all the jasmine bushes.  but the best part, for stefan, was the coffee at a cafe just down the street.  he was as happy as a child on christmas day when he saw his coffee was being hand-pulled :-)

nearby the hotel is the coppede neighbourhood, a bizarre area of about fifteen buildings which are closest to art nouveau in style.  there is a mishmash of turrets, sculptures, arches, and gargoyles and at its heart is the piazza mincio with its fountain of frogs.  it was in this neighbourhood that i had nutella ice cream.  nutella!

the colosseum and roman forum seemed ambitious for a morning but with the roman guy it was doable and worth it.

stepping outside of the metro, the colosseum was right there.  in the middle of the street, in the middle of the city.  it was definitely a wow moment.  not wanting to stand in line for hours to visit, i pre-booked us tickets with a guide - the roman guy - who was quite funny and entertaining.  i liked her... even though she had a little flag we had to follow.  the tour got us not only to the tippy top of the colosseum but also the dungeons.  kai thought the whole thing was pretty cool.

our next stop, the roman forum, the heart of ancient rome...

when kai told me that "city vacations" were not his favourite i tried to find some things that would make it entertaining for him.  so after the colosseum, he went to gladiator school!  he loved it.  we all did actually, it was educational and fun... 

we were welcomed by the instructor, dressed in period costume.  he took us into the little museum and began telling stories of the roman empire and gladiators.  we were able to try out the swords, wear the heavy helmets and carry the huge shields.  it was all pretty cool.

in the "arena" the warm-up began, moving through bags, somersaults, and running.  they practiced using wooden swords following the instructor's tips in handling the sword.  and then the tournament!  kai was pleased when the instructor noticed that he knew how to handle himself in the arena (his lessons with academie duello in vancouver paid off).

after gladiator school we walked along the appian way, the first paved road in italy.  built in 312 BC it is 513km long and passes by villas and ancient ruins.  unfortunately much of it was backed up with traffic which didn't make such a lovely walk so we meandered off the road and came to a lovely park like area.  apparently sundays is the day for the appian way passeggiata (no cars!).

a sweet old woman kept smiling and waving to us :-)

so crazy busy by fontana di trevi but worth the claustrophobia - just have to toss a coin in the fountain.

when you turn a corner to the pantheon - one of the oldest buildings from ancient rome - you need a moment to catch your breath.  you can't help but feel just a little bit overwhelmed, it's humbling and breathtaking at the same time.  the temple is massive with the biggest brick dome.  

we were lucky enough to get a table at antica salumeria in the square.  a little place filled with hanging prosciutto and platters of charcuterie topped with pickled veggies. and, we were sitting next to the pantheon, it was pretty surreal.  it's incredible to think how strong and solid these structures were built to withstand centuries!  so impressive.  my photo simply doesn't do it justice.

another reason to stop off at the panethon is to visit the two coffee shops nearby.  stefan loved the coffee.  

at caffe sant eustachio, the quintessential roman cafe sitting on a square near the pantheon, we enjoyed an espresso, mine with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, called an affogato.  kai, like his dad, drank it black...  when in rome!  coffee for italians is a sacred part of everyday lives.  they stop and take the time to drink their coffee unlike back home where people grab a coffee to go and sip it while driving or walking.  i didn't see anyone with a coffee to go cup in their hands.  caffe sant eustachio has been around since 1938 in the exact same location.  the other coffee shop was la tazza d'oro.

not far from the pantheon is the piazza novona, busy and quite touristy.  a little ways away is the campo de'fiori, which i preferred.  it's a lovely square surrounded by little cobblestone streets with well worn walls.  we had hoped to visit the market but just missed it so instead we sat at one of the bars for a drink while waiting for our food tour (see below) to start.

it was by the campo de'fiori that we met our guide for the fabulous food tour we booked online.  the roman guy took us from here to the jewish quarter and across the biber river towards trastevere, an amazing neighborhood.  it's home to many restaurants, cafes, and shops.  we ate along the way, so good!  we so enjoyed this neighbourhood that we returned another day to wander the cobblestone streets, taking peeks into the antique and vintage shops... and ate some more :-) 

back to the tour... my confirmation from the roman guy came with the instruction "come hungry" and thankfully, we obediently did just that.  our guide, rafael, is roman and passionate about food.  our group was small, just 6 of us doing a walking food tour was the perfect number to feel like you're exploring with friends instead of being on a tour.  the day was perfect and the walk leisurely.

we started with cheese at cisternino, this store has been around for more than a century and is a family owned business.  a bottle of wine was served to accompany the samples.  then we stopped at an organic farm to table place for cured meats, each cured in different varieties and also served with wine.  we ate baccala too, it's the only thing filetti di baccala serves!  roscioli was next, a very popular pizza restaurant with locals rushing to get their slices of take away pizza.  we had the most basic pizza with tomato sauce which was gorgeous.  and all this food thus far was a lead up to the main event, a dinner of pasta. trattoria da teo is a warm and cozy family style restaurant where our meal was lovingly served by the sweetest and funniest waitress... who happened to think my italian was pretty good.

we ended the evening with a gelato, of course. gelateria artigianale corona serves wonderful gelato flavours.  they have basil and lemon, lavender, and my raspberry one tasted as though you were eating raspberries!

in general, we found the food wonderfully simple.  cacio e pepe, margarita pizza, the sweetest tomatoes, and my favourite pasta all'amatriciana are not to be missed.  most restaurants we tried did not disappoint.  and of course, stopping for a shot of espresso (with or without a scoop of ice cream) and a few scoops of gelato is a necessity.  the other dessert my boys lusted after was the tiramisu.  coffee drenched ladyfingers layered with creamy mascarpone!  many places updated this classic by building it in transparent glass for visual impact.  no matter how it was served, it was always delicious.  

even the police station looks pretty.

rome is home to over 300 000 cats.  many strays have taken refuge at the cat sanctuary located at the torre argentina site.  a shelter was built to house the more than 400 cats who are cared for by a group of volunteers.  the cats in baskets were irresistible, i quickly started imagining adopting one of them but then stefan stepped in and put a stop to that.  of course, kai enjoyed the visit.

the protestant cemetery is also a haven for cats.  built in the early 18th century for foreign non-catholics who could not be buried on roman soil.  poets shelley and keats are buried here. it is a picturesque spot with the most decorative gravestones.

my favourite!

in the termini area you'll find the the baths of diocletian, the national roman museum, and the san lorenzo district... all worth a visit.

the baths of diocletian spanned more than 13 hectares and could accommodate up to 3000 people at the same time.  the spaces included a gym, a swimming pool and the thermal rooms including the cold bath, the lukewarm bath, and the hot bath. it's inconceivable to imagine such an environment these days. today, the lavishly decorated basilica of saint mary of the angels and the christian martyrs by michelangelo have taken the place of the baths.    

we then sat in the michelangelo's cloister of the charter house, a quiet courtyard with more than 400 roman artworks on display.

at the national roman museum, we were practically the only ones there - no lines! - wandering the ancient roman sculptures. among the masterpieces on display, my favourite was the boxer at rest.  made in bronze, his body is realistic in muscle and facial affect - he looks exhausted/defeated or maybe both.  the detail on those gloves is perfection.  the boxer was excavated from the earth in 1885 and what a sight that must have been to witness.

the san lorenzo is known as the alternative neighborhood in rome.  i would have loved to frequent its hip boutiques and cafes but our timing was off, arriving just as shops were closing for the afternoon.  we did manage to find a wonderful spot, pommidoro, filled with italians and serving the most delicious pasta dishes.  after lunch we wandered about looking at all the graffiti and spending time in the local park.  it turned out to be a really relaxing afternoon.

finally, my last highlight is the villa borghese gardens, a must!  up the spanish steps and along a path offers amazing views of rome.  and then you are at the park.  the boys rented segways and i rented a bike to cruise around.  there were many people just lazing about picnicking, reading and eating ice cream.  the park is vast - fresh air, open space and ruins - and breathtaking.  next time, i'd like to visit the museum on site, the galleria borghese, it's supposed to be amazing... but i promised kai one museum during our visit and i really wanted to see the boxer (mentioned above).

it's impossible to not see a whole lot if you wander around rome.  but it's also impossible to see this city in one visit.  there are so many places in the world i want to visit but i hope my road leads me back here one day.

thanks for following along, it was a loooong post :-)