There & Back Again – A Traveler's Tale

A friend is headed to Italy and will have 2 days in Rome.  I thought this might be useful to others……….

Rome is an amazing city and there is plenty to see, do and eat.  I would definitely see the major sites.  Many are over run with tourists but unlike anything you can see anywhere else.  Definitely include the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the Spanish Steps.  Italy is a great walking city and you can do a half day walk to visit all of these; you’ll get a pretty good work out too.  You will also see the Roman Forum in the area around the Coliseum.  If you are really into History and the Roman Empire, you might consider going in the Roman Forum; it takes a good bit of time to tour.  I would definitely go in the Coliseum.  It has been years since I have done that.  The lines for tickets tend to be long but I hear that there are some tricks to avoid the lines.  Let me know if you want me to check into it; I have some tour books that outline the process.

I would also recommend the Baths of Carracala.  The ruins are a short walk from the Coliseum and you will pass the Circus Maximus on the way.  The Baths of Carracala are incredible ruins of the largest Roman Baths; really amazing to see what it was like in this center of Roman life.

The Vatican is also highly recommended.  It is on the other side of the city so you may want to do that on a different day.  The limited Roman Subway does go to the Vatican and this would be recommended over walking.  You can just go there and look around.  If you decide to do the Museum there, I would recommend the Sistine Chapel.  Here is an awesome website for a sneak peak of this museum and all of the Vatican Museums: http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Musei.html 

You can buy tickets in advance, usually through your hotel concierge.  This is highly recommended since the lines are insane.  I would also go into Saint Peters (make sure you don’t wear shorts as they often won’t let you in).  You can also walk up to the roof of St. Peters for an amazing view of Rome (I would recommend this if the line is not too long).

There are a couple of other museums I would recommend if you are into such things.  One is the National Museum near the main train station.  It has an amazing collection of frescos and paintings from Villas of the Roman Empire.  This is considered one of the best collections of Roman art anywhere.  They also have a pretty interesting coin collection in the basement if you are into coins.

Another museum I enjoyed is a bit off the beaten path.  It is called the Museo di Civita Romano and it contains models of many of the buildings from the Roman Empire as they existed at the time.  They even have a scale model of all of Rome.  A fun fact: This model was used for the fly over into Rome at the beginning of the Russell Crow movie Gladiator a few years back.  This museum is at the EUR stop on the subway.

The Villa Borghese gardens are nice if you feel like a stroll around a beautiful garden.

Rome has some incredible food as well.  Our favorite restaurant is called Otello Alla Concordia.  It’s near Piazza Spagna (The Spanish Steps).  I would recommend reservations and the Concierge at your hotel can do that for you.  It is always packed with locals and tourists.  This restaurant was actually referenced in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” – Can you tell I am a movie buff?  They specialize in real Roman Cuisine.  This is what I would recommend ordering: Start with Fiori di Zuchero (Zuchinni Flowers fried) – Sounds strange but trust me, they are magnificent.  Fettucine alla Romana (they may call it Fettucine al Ragu), Arabacchio alla Romano (Roasted Lamb Roman style).  For wine, if you like White, Frascati is a local wine from a town near Rome by the same name.  If you prefer red, any Chianti will be good.  If you want something really special, try a Brunello di Montalcino (from the Tuscan town of Montalcino) or a Montepulciano (from the Tuscan town of the same name).

We also found a really cool Wine Bar this year called Gusto.  It is also near the Spanish steps and the Piazza Popolo.  They also have a restaurant down the road that I have not tried and a few more locations elsewhere.  All of this is on the BLOG.

There are also some other restaurants on the BLOG.  If you want a good Pizza, there is a good casual place that is very good called Pizza Re.  It is owned by some people from Naples which is where the best Pizza comes from.  This is real authentic Neapolitan Pizza.  Order the Pizza Mergherita; just tomatoes, Mozzarella, Olive Oil and Basil; awesome.

Piperno is a good place in an area of Rome called the Jewish Ghetto.  I have not been there in years but it was very good years ago.