We were SUPER excited to be in Rome. Our travel was uneventful (just the way we like it) and we were all checked into our hotel, read all about our travel day here. Having settled into our hotel room, we decided to walk into town and go explore this afternoon. We had deliberately not taken the nasty food on the plane, because we wanted to enjoy some real Italian food. It was about lunch time, and we were both very hungry.
Let’s Get it Started
The hotel is close to some major sights in Rome, and lots of places are within easy walking distance. Before we left Flagstaff, I had kind of figured out a little walking tour that would ultimately take us to this famous place called ‘Piazza Navona’, which is a large square with a bunch of restaurants and three beautiful fountains. On our way over there, we would walk by the famous Trevi Fountain, and also the Pantheon.
First stop: food! As we were walking toward the Trevi fountain, we passed a ton of places where people were eating all kinds of food. We didn’t feel like really searching for a place that would be off the beaten path, and we were REALLY hungry. We decided on pizza and sat down at the first available place that was moderately busy but with plenty of available tables.
You would think that when you travel all the way to Italy, that even mediocre pizza would be better than most of the stuff that you get in the US, but as we found out the hard way: it is definitely possible to get TERRIBLE food in Rome. Our pizza was bland, and not tasty at all. It is not even worth mentioning the name of the place. If we ever make it back to Rome, we will avoid restaurants near tourist places like the plague. We knew this, we had been warned about this, we should have known better.
Trevi Fountain
The Trevi fountain was super super SUPER busy. You get this impression from the movies that you can enjoy a relaxed stroll around the area, stop by the water and throw a coin over your shoulder. Nothing is further from the truth. You will have to share the area with about 75,000 of your closest friends, many of whom have no problem simply shoving you aside to get a better selfie.
We did go into the crowd to take some pictures close to the fountain, and it was great to be there. I had to get out of the throng of people within minutes. The sheer amount of people there (and their obnoxious behavior) was just anxiety-inducing. You get bounced around and shoved aside by all the people trying to get a good spot for pictures. To me it felt a little like a scene in a movie where someone steps on a beehive, the sound of the bees gets overwhelming, and the camera angle gets all ‘swarmy’. I never like being in large crowds, but I actually felt a panic come over me, that had never happened to me before.
This place is definitely one of those places that you have to see when you visit Rome, but you have to be prepared for this mass over-tourism. Oh and whatever you do, stay away from the food there!!
Pantheon and Piazza Navona
Next sight was the Pantheon. The fountain in front of the building was surrounded by fences and apparently under construction, so no chance to see that one. There was a massive crowd in front of the Pantheon. It was SO COOL to walk past this building and see it in person, I cannot wait to go in there and see what it is all about. As it turns out though, you can’t just walk in and visit. Sara found the website where you get the tickets, so we’ll get those and come back later this week.
Walking past the Pantheon is the Piazza Navona, a very famous square with three beautiful fountains and lots of restaurants. Unfortunately, all three fountains were surrounded by fences and they were under construction. We found out later that 2025 is some sort of anniversary year and the city is renovating many (if not all) fountains. Great for Rome next year but sucks for us. We were looking forward to admiring these beautiful fountains, but alas. I’m actually not sure if the picture below was taken at the Piazza Navona, but that’s what they looked like all over the city.
We did sit down at one of many restaurants for drinks, a place called “Tucci”. Very friendly waiter who knew a few Dutch words. By the way, this is where it helps to be friendly to the guests, because now we knew a place with a friendly staff that we will go back to if we’re back in the neighborhood.
The travel had finally caught up to us and we were both almost falling asleep while having our drinks. We decided to go back to the hotel for naps.
First Proper Meal
After the naps we went up to the hotel’s rooftop bar where we had Spritzes, Negronis, and this amazing Focaccia appetizer. This place has a fantastic atmosphere with a great view, the wait staff is super friendly, and they have all the drinks you’d ever need and a nice selection of appetizers. We’ll definitely make this part of our daily routine.
Appetizers are great, but we were meal-hungry at this point, so we walked to a restaurant that was recommended by the hotel staff called “Osteria Il Riposto”. The placemats had some handy cooking tips for Roman pasta sauces.
The waiter was super friendly and let us pick three meals for us to share. We decided on Ham/Melon, Bruschette, and Cacio e Pepe. All three were delicious, exactly what we had hoped for.
After dinner we walked back to the Trevi fountain to see if it is less crowded at night, but it was just as busy as it was earlier in the day. On our way back to the hotel we had some gelatos that were amazing.
Impressions of Rome
It is just fantastic to be in Rome. I’ve dreamed about going there for so long, and it is so great to finally be here. When we first arrived at the airport, I was a little disappointed in the attitude of Italian officials (not so friendly, impatient, almost rude) but the staff at our hotel and the restaurants that we have been to so far are great. Summer in Rome is fucking hot and humid, so you walk around all sweaty and sticky.
The double thing is the sheer number of tourists. I guess it’s just a sign of the times that so many people can afford to go places, and everybody wants to see the same famous places. What is not so nice about that is that it seems that the average tourist is less than respectful of the places and especially other tourists. Especially when it gets to be REALLY crowded, you get shoved around a lot. Just forget about your own personal space, that just doesn’t exist.
I’m on the fence whether I want to come back to Rome. If we ever do, we’d probably schedule it off-season, like in November or something. I’d rather walk around with a jacket and not have as many people surround me. Also, I’d probably try to go more off the beaten tourist path. Also, stay away from restaurants too close to the touristy places. If they have a guy trying to pull you in, and he’s handing you an English menu, keep walking!
