Back From Rome!
 

Dear Fodorites, I just got back from Rome, and I had the greatest time. I am kind of tired, so will not post much today, but wanted to let you know that I thought of you all very often during my week in Rome. Thanks for all the great information that truly made my week in Rome a pleasure.

First of all, thank you to the Fodorites who recommended the Albergo Del Senato. It was fantastic. I can't rave about it enough. The location is truly incredible. To look out your window and see the Pantheon, especially at night lit up, is overwhelming. Thank you for the suggestion to request a room with a view of the Pantheon. Everyone who works there is friendly, helpful and truly professional. They made my stay there very enjoyable. It was amazing! We were given a corner room, so it was a little bigger than some rooms, and had two windows. Breakfast was good, and if you were up early enough, might even be able to grab an English written newspaper. Taza D'Oro is next door, so during the day I would get a cappuccino for 80 Euro, and one day tried a special blue mountain espresso with whipped cream. I know many people say they don't care that much about where they stay, but to be honest, the location of the Albergo Del Senato is so centrally located that we found we used our room often. We sometimes came back to the room to drop off things we have bought, or back to rest for a while, so the location is ideal. We had a TV (good for watching CNN or some American show is Italian) a mini bar, desk and a safe in a armoire. Our bathroom was large, beautiful and in marble, and I was glad to have a tub/shower.

Off to rest and tomorrow I will start to post the rest of my trip. Ciao for now. Lisa

Welcome back, can't wait to hear about your trip. My friend lives right behind the Pantheon and we visit often. It is a great location.

Can't wait to hear about your trip!
Welcome home!

Awaiting your trip report. Rome is one of my favorite cities.

Looking forward to your report. Gee, I wish I had your budget and could afford 80 Euro for a cappuccino! :-d

That must be some dy-no-mite coffee at $100 a pop--did you get to keep the cup? Hah!

I, too, am looking forward to your trip report. Perhaps "cappucino" has another meaning in Rome? After all, it is something hot and tasty.

Now I know I was tired! 80 CENTS for the coffee! What a bargain.
My trip to Rome almost didn't happen. I told everyone I was leaving on a Monday, early evening flight. I called my hotel to confirm my hotel room, and we spoke about the day I was arriving. Something didn't jive. I had a puzzling, nagging thought. I looked at the computerized calendar my DH (what exactly does that stand for? Damn husband, dear husband. Depending on your mood?) left for me and saw that I was leaving on Sunday, not Monday!! I guess I got confused because you leave the day before you arrive in Rome, and I guess I have my hotel date in my head. Oh what a big mistake that would have been. Thank god i caught that mistake early enough so it didn't affect my trip. I did have to call some friends from the airport to say goodbye, much to their surprise, and had some explaining to do. My Delta flight was not very full, and I had the seat next to me empty. The lucky ones were the ones who had the entire middle sections to themselves to lounge out. I bought an eyemask and earplugs (got that idea from another Frodorite) and was able to sleep for a few hours.) I arrived in Rome and awaited DH who was coming from Torino. When he got off his plane, we called the cab company my DH arranged, and soon we were on our way. To my dismay, it was raining. I thought to myself, oh I hope our whole week isn't like this.

We checked into Albergo Del Senato, but it was too early to get our room. They held our suitcases for us and away we went to explore the Pantheon area. Our hotel suggested Antonio Al Pantheon for lunch, but it wasn't open yet. We walked to Dai Tre Amici, and they were just opening, so we went in for lunch. My DH wanted to try the vegetable buffet antipasto, mentioned in the Fodor's See It guide. It looked very nice. One problem. He ordered it, got up, took the very small plate, and got a small portion. After that, he did the same two more times. The waiter glared at him, and angrily told him that he would have to charge him 3 times the price. He told us this is not like a hotel "buffet". My husband showed him how little food he put on his third dish, and if he had know that, he would have piled it on! The waiter was nasty. I think the owner came in and the waiter told him about what happened, and the owner nicely told us it wasn't a big deal. Of course we were still charged 18 Euros for what he ate, and it definitely wasn't worth that much!

When our room was ready we went back to our room and took a siesta. When we got up, it stopped raining and we were off to explore more of the area around us. The Pantheon area is in my opinion a perfect place to be located. You are within walking distance to the best places. I can't tell you how many times we saw the Navona area, Campo Fiori, Trevi Fountain, both day and night. It is great for picture taking. More later.

I have to tell you about our favorite restaurant during our Rome trip. Our hotel recommended it, and we loved it so much, we went there three times. It is called Il Chianti, Via Del Lavatore, by the Trevi Fountain. The restaurant is lined with wine bottles, and there were people waiting for a table by 8:00. The service was friendly and the food was delicious. My DH had pumpkin ravioli in a truffle sauce that was delicate and tasty. The ossobucco was tender and fell off the bone. I had the Bucatini amatricana, which was delicious. The salads looked great, but we never tried them. The desserts were out of this world. We tried a few, and the best was the warm chocolate cake, the tirimasu (best we ever had), and the apple pie, which was a moist apple muffin topped with marscapone cream.

Our worst meal was at the L'Orso 80, I'm afraid. I know a lot of people raved about it, and we probably should have stuck to the antipasto. My husband wasn't in the mood for the antipasto. A couple next to us were having it, and it looked overwhelming to us. I had a pasta dish and he had veal. The problem was both dishes were too salty. I couldn't eat mine. When I told the waiter about it, he said it was because of the pecorino cheese they added on top. He didn't offer to replace it, and by then I had lost my appetite. We should have stuck to what they make best, antipasto. A word of advice, if you order pasta, ask for the cheese on the side. Regards, Lisa

This is not the first opinion I read that says that the food at Orso 80 is too salty. The saltiness does not come out quite as strongly in the antipasto. I would doubt, though, that the pecorino cheese was at fault; I think they simply oversalt their dishes. I've encountered the same problem elsewhere.

Do other people have a problem with the guys who try to give you roses by the Trevi Fountain? One night my husband and I were sitting there enjoying the view and a man tried to shove roses in my face. I kept telling him no thank you, I don't want it, nicely several times and he forcibly kept trying to give them to me. After the fifth or sixth time, my husband got very angry with him and it wasn't very pleasant. Between the guys selling the roses, the squishing toys and the polaroid pictures, no one leaves you alone to enjoy the sights of the Trevi Fountain.

Some chefs are salt freaks. Our favorite restaurant in our home town changed chefs recently. Mrs. Fly loves their onion soup. Orders it the first time with the new head chef, and it was so salty she couldn't eat it.

Someone at the next table ordered it and loved it--they commented that the restaurant finally was putting enough salt in the food.

My thought is that if there's not enough salt, the customer can always add more. But it's really difficult to remove salt that the kitchen has already included.

The problem with the rose-profferer was that you responded politely with "no thank you." A firm NO with direct eye contact probably would have sent him scurrying.

To "No" forcefully said, you should add just as forcefully "Va via" (which means "go away").

It can be used in any situation if you are being harassed; most Italians, if they hear it, will leap to your defence in getting rid of the bum.

Of course, there may be no Italians within 100 meters of the Trevi Fountain, so it might not work quite as well there...

Oldmyst,
Enjoying your report so far.
What kind of "cab service" did you prearrange to get into Rome?
My inlaws will be flying into Rome to meet us (we'll be driving in), and I'd like to hear about it.
Thanks,
Dina

Eloise, some months ago I was sitting at the outdoor cafe in Union Sq. in SF and a homeless woman came up and started badgering me. I don't know where I thought I was (well I was at the outdoor table at the Italian Cafe). Anyway, after saying "no thank you" a couple of times I blew my top and yelled at her "Va Via!" Guess I for the moment thought I was in Italy -- I didn't say that on purpose, it just popped out of my mouth. But this woman looked so startled and turned around and ran across Union Sq. in such a panic everyone else (mostly Europeans that day) started laughing. Va via does work..even in SF.

LOL LoveItaly!!! One time after a particularly hard day at work, I scared away a drunk NY homeless man who was begging for money - one look at me and he said "Da*n, it's just not worth it!" and ran away. Gotta love city living!

Unfortunately, people with roses relentlessly badgered everyone at Trevi fountain and at Piazza Navonna. Although I saw them at the Spanish Steps, none of them bothered me. :D

Sorry it ruined your experience for you both. Can't wait to read the rest of your trip report.

www.romeshuttlelimousine.com

We paid 35 Euro to the hotel from the airport and the car was a Mercedes, and 45 Euro back to the Airport because we needed a van because of extra luggage.
The drivers were prompt and courteous, and we were very happy with the company.

Our second day in Rome was spent exploring the Trevi area, the Piazza Navona, and the Campo Fiori. The weather was great, and all my fears of a raining vacation disapeared. The fountains just captivated me. I couldn't take my eyes off of them. We visited the areas both night and day. We bought a tartufo to go from Tre Scalini and ate it in the Piazza Navona. (much cheaper than eating it at a table) We took pictures and more pictures. Every night my husband downloaded the pictures from our camera and we recharged the batteries for another day of wonderful sites to photograph. We also went to the Victor Emmanuel Monument, where the soldiers stand guard and saw incredible views of the Roman Forum. My DH and I parted ways, and I went to the Capitoline Museum by myself. We met back at our hotel, and he couldn't believe that I never consulted a map to navigate my way back. You see, my secret is to ask for directions, something a man hates to do! The hardest thing I found to do is to cross some of Rome's busiest streets that have no traffic lights and constant traffic. I stood there and watched what other people do. They just seem to look and cross, even with oncoming traffic. I followed suit and saw that cars and scooters slowed down and stopped for pedestrians. At least I hoped so. Every evening we would enjoy our view of the Pantheon. There seemed to be someone playing a guitar and singing, who entertained the people in the square. I usually collasped into bed by 11PM and watched CNN Europe (the only English speaking channel), or tried to follow some American show dubbed in Italian. I particularly loved watching the Italian commercials. They can be very funny. I would also look at my guidebook and try to decide what we would be doing the next day, because that is usually what my DH would ask, "what are we doing tomorrow?"

Now it is the Wednesday of our trip to Rome. I must say we have slept very well at our hotel. The bed is very comfortable. Someone I met in Rome mentioned to me, when they heard I was staying on the Pantheon Square, it must be noisy there at night. Lively yes, but when you are in your hotel room, the double glazed windows drown out the noise, and by a certain hour, if there is an musical entertainer, they are gone for the night.

We had 11AM reservations for the Borghese Museum. We decided to take a taxi for that and we knew to be there 1/2 hour before 11AM. It was a little confusing at the museum as to what line to stand in. One line to show your reservation and pay, one line to check in your hangbags and backpacks, but they don't take coats, which I found strange, (it was kind of annoying to have to carry your coat with you.) and another line to get an audioguide or a personal guide. We were offered either, being told we would only be in an English speaking group of 6 for the same amount of money 5 Euro apiece. We chose the personal guide, which we enjoyed, and she spent a lot of time with all the statues, explaining Bernini's work and I truly enjoyed that. She was a very good guide. The only problem we encountered, which if you choose to do the same thing, is that she left us to do the second floor of the paintings by ourselves for about a half hour and we had no resource information with us, so the six of us were kind of lost. Make sure your guide will be showing you both floors. We had nothing to explain what we were looking at, and at that time wish we had an audioguide. I barely had time to see the art when the guard were throwing us out. They keep to a two hour schedule and shooed us out of the paintings area. I truly enjoyed the Borghese Museum and loved the Bernini statues.

When we left the Borghese Museum, we walked a little into the garden area. Because it was the about March 1 there was only a few flowers starting to bloom in the gardens, and the bushes were still covered. We walked a little and my DH wanted to explore more of the gardens. I didn't, so we split up again and I walked to the Spanish Steps area by myself, and we proposed to meet up in about an hour. The Steps were very crowded for that time of year. I can't imagine what they will be like when regular season starts. There is scaffolding on a building at the top of the steps and no flowers yet. It wasn't very special to look at. I took a Fodorite's advice and bought my daughter a handbag from Furla, where you get a good bag without breaking the bank. I also bought an adorable watch from Furla for my other daugher which has crisscross leather staps with small studs on it. I did look in Frette (over $600 Euro for a set of sheets), Fendi (over $1,000 Euro for the pocketbooks I looked at)and an Italian store that seemed to make a knockoff look of a Hermes Kelly bag for a reasonable amount. I didn't care too much for the Spanga area, and wasn't too into shopping. I have Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue within an hour of where I live, and besides I am a discount shopper anyway.

Everyday we stopped somewhere just to have a cold drink or a glass of white wine. One day we had a slice of pizza. It is more economical to stand and have your food and drink, as they charge a cuperto for a table. It was worth it for me as we tended to be on our feet for so many hours and that brief respite was a blessing.

We went to Trastervere to look around and my DH had fresh blood orange juice and I had a glass of wine at one of the Trattorias. My DH DID NOT like Trastervere. He found it dirty, dog poo on the streets, graffiti, and not as charming as other areas of Rome. I don't know if we saw all of Trastevere, but didn't spend too much time there. We never had dinner there, and I won't pass judgement on Trastevere, as I feel I didn't spend that much time there. I am glad we chose the Pantheon area to stay. One Fodorite told me that he felt as my first time in Rome, it would be best to be centrally located, and he was right. Regards, Lisa

Thanks so much for the report, Oldmyst. I'm heading to Rome in one more week and have made some notes from your helpful info. :)

Dear Statia, I hope you have as great of a time as we did. I am sure you will. I found the advice I received on Fodor's Forum to be invaluable. We didn't experiment with restaurants as much as I wanted because my DH and I loved one restaurant so much we tried many of the items on their menu. I went to Rome with volumes of recommended places to eat from Fodor's Forum and two guide books. My DH wasn't as interested in my list of recommendations and more interested in what the hotel had to say. I found that three places recommended by my hotel were very good. I still wish I had more time to try dinners in other places. One day we decided to sleep in and missed our buffet breakfast. That afforded us to try a restaurant for lunch, which I enjoyed very much. We never went out to lunch since breakfast always filled us up. Later when I come home from work, I will go through my suitcase and try to find the names of all the places I enjoyed. I am just starting to unpack, and have a lot of wash to do. Back to reality.

On Thursday we had reservations for an Icon Tour of the Vatican. We met our tour guide, named Mike a few blocks from the Vatican. We were no more than 10 people in our group, and the cost was 25 Euro a person. They had at least another group going out the same time. They are keeping their tour groups to under 15, who reserve in advance. Mike was great, informative and funny. We truly enjoyed our Icon Tour. We toured the Vatican Museum, The Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Bascilia. The tour was only suppose to last 2 1/2 hours, but Mike stayed with us for almost 4 hours. He never once rushed us. My husband and I feel that it was the highlight of our Rome trip. Mike was able to give us an understanding of what we were looking at, and the stories behind it. After our tour ended, we decided to go to the top of the Bascilia. The line looked long, but it moved quickly. We took the elevator, but then we had to get out and climb some stairs, and more stairs, and more stairs. I thought I'd have a heart attack! Soon we were at the top of the inside of the Bascilica. Nice, but then I saw more stairs, and more stairs, and suddenly we were outside the top of the Bascilia. What a view! The view from the top of the Bascilia is worth all that stair climbing. The views of Rome are breathtaking. Make sure you take advantage of this. (only if you are physically able to) We must have spent an hour up there. When we climbed down (much easier) we went back into the Bascilica to soak it all up again. All in all I think we spent about 7 hours at the Vatican. Worth it! As we were walking away, the sky was darkening a little, and my DH took some photos of the Vatican with a little bit of a sunset. Just beautiful. Regards, Lisa

I walked back to the Spagna area on Friday to buy my older daugther her Furla bag. I kept emailing her imploring her to give me some idea what bag she wanted. I even had left behind a Rome Guidebook and asked her to look up shops that specialize in bags and see if they have websites. She finally emailed me two bags she thought looked interesting from Furla. I went to two Furla stores to find one bag she liked, and was thrilled to have gotten that out of the way. I went to a farmacia and bought two tubes of hair straightening balm that was recommended on this website for my girls. My husband and I walked to Campo di Fiori and bought bags and bags of dried porcini mushrooms to give as gifts to friends, relatives and for ourselves. The gentleman also was selling different mixtures of spices and we kind of went a little crazy buying spices for cooking. I think we were his best customer of the day. Boy did those spices sure smell up the armoire in our hotel room! When we landed in JFK and we were at the carousel getting our luggage, the agricultural dog almost made a beeline to us! He started towards us and then went to some girls collecting their luggage.
It sure felt good to get the shopping obligations out of the way! I was more concerned with buying gifts for others than myself. I always thought I would like to buy myself some luxurious blanket or comforter from Italy, but other than Frette, I never saw anything I wanted to buy. And Frette was definitely not in the budget. Also the thought of dragging it home wasn't appealing to me. I knew we would be a little heavy on the luggage to begin with. Good night, Lisa

Thanks, Oldmyst.
I'm really enjoying your trip report.
The Borgese Gallery details are especially helpful since I've been debating between audio and live guides.
We also have never climbed the dome at St. Peter's, so I'd like to do that this trip.

This is great! Oldmyst, thanks for posting..
(Taking notes :) )

Rufus, we have noticed lately that most chefs are over doing throwing the Sea Salt all over the food ..very annoying~

Hi OldMyst ~ I am greatly enjoying your trip report. It has brought back so many fond memories of my trip to Rome six years ago.

Thank you for taking the time!
:) Tiff

Thanks for sharing. This has taken me back to our trip to Rome last year. We also stayed near the Pantheon and loved the location (hated the B&B but location was great).

One of our favorite things to do in the evening was sit on the stairs of the Pantheon and listen to the musicians and people watch.

Oh, we also had a "persistent" guy with the roses at the Trevi Fountain. In fact, my very laid back DH who never gets upset nearly got into a fight because the guy kept touching me to take the rose after I asked him to stop. All my DH did was firmly tell him no and moved his hand away from me and the guy got so mad. He wanted to fight my DH and was swearing at us. Considering my DH is 6 feet tall and built, this guy was barely 5'5" and kept getting into my DH's face until we started calling for the police. He would not back down until the other guys also selling stuff pulled him away.

My DH is a New Yorker, so he has seen everything. The rose guys are the Trevi were probably the most aggressive I have ever seen. I kept seeing people trying to get them to go away. They act like they are "giving" you the roses for "free", shoving them at you, but obviously that is not the case. I also saw a lot of women lying on the ground cradling a child, crying out in Italian for help.

Two years ago my favorite beggars were in Florence, where they were two adorable dogs with signs around their necks that said Grazie and a bowl in front of them for money. That got my attention and my coins!

One night we were looking for a restaurant and the restaurant card had a diagram written on it. We still had trouble finding it. A young man saw that I was trying to find something and offered to help. He looked at the card and while he was examining it, a woman came by too and said, "oh that's the Piazza where I sleep at night!" Then I realized they were homeless people from England. When I found out it was just around the corner, the "gentleman" asked me to give him some money for helping me. Maybe a "fiver" as he called it. I dugged into my wallet (I had no loose change at the time) and handed him 2 quarters, as it was all I had on me. He told me very annoyed that my money would do him no good, so I just cooly took the money back from him and said too bad.

What I also saw on some of the main streets leading to the Trevi and Campo Fiori, Navona is a lot of people selling knockoff bags, Junky souvenirs, etc. All selling the same merchandise. I really wish they would crack down on them and shoo them away. I actually saw the police pass a few times, but never stopped. The only interesting item being made and sold was a young woman who spray paints pictures of the Monuments of Rome with moons and interesting sky effects. She always had a crowd around her, and people where commissioning pictures from her for 10 Euro. My DH and I couldn't belive all that spraypaint she was inhailing and should have been wearing a mask. More later... Lisa

Lisa, did you see any sign of the artists that used to be in Piazza Navona? Last November, it was announced that the mayor of Rome was kicking them out, even the licensed ones. One article said they might all be moved to one spot, another that they might be spread out in several areas. Just wondered if you saw anything of them.

I, too, am interested in the area around Piazza Navona...are the hawkers gone? I found them to be annoying and rather distracting for such a beautiful area. We stayed at del Senato this past May and are returning in just over a month. While in Rome, we didn't eat at particularly good restaurants. At the time, we would just stop and eat when we got hungry. However, this trip we're going with friends and want to experience great food. I'd appreciate recommendations...so glad you enjoyed the hotel. It's one of our favorites!

Hi, I will gather together my list of good restaurants for you. As I posted before, we ate at Il Chianti three times it was so good. It was always busy. The second time we went they were almost going to turn us away for we hadn't any reservations, but instead had us just wait about 20 minutes for a table. The third time we had reservations for 8PM and they were fully booked, and were definitely turning people away. Very unusual for a restaurant in Italy to be packed at 8PM. It was filled with tourists and locals. The restaurant was recommended by Albergo Del Senato. Don't forget to try most of their desserts. They were divine.

What a great hotel! I loved it, and I am very particular. My only minor suggestion to the hotel concerning the room I was in is that they should provide a wastepaper basket in the bathroom. They only had one in the bedroom. Also the doorstop. bolted to the floor, for the bathroom door is right by where your foot would be when on the toilet, so be careful you don't stub your toe! The hotel is wonderful and our room was lovely. Be aware that some rooms are bigger than others. We were given a corner room, so it was bigger. The rooms without views can be even bigger, but the view to me was important. They provide internet access in the room off the lobby, but you have to buy a card to use the computer for 1/2 hour for 3 euros and one hour for 5 euros. I am hoping one day they will provide free internet access in all rooms. Regards, Lisa

Oldmyst: I am going to Italy for the first time this June and I really enjoyed your report. Tell us more.

Oldmyst: Do you have Mike's contact info? We are going to Rome in April and would like to tour the Vatican. Thanks.

Dorkforcemom, The artists are still in the Piazza Narvona. I think I remember someone selling a few knockoff bags, but it wasn't overun with sellers. also we saw a few "statues" standing still for money. Ice Leopard, I will go through my information on get you the email address for Icon Tours. Mike was great, and I am also hearing wonderful things about Douglas. Maybe other Fodorites who used Douglas for a tour could write in too. Be back later, Lisa

Thanks for the recommendation of Il Chianti. We are going to Rome at the end of may. Would it be a place that I could take my 23 month old daughter?

I can't imagine why not? It is not a stuffy place. I don't remember seeing very young children there though, mostly couples or small groups. The tables there are placed close together though.

Oldmyst,

Glad you loved Rome and the del Senato. The only time I stayed there was with my mother (she paid :) ). Just from that experience she loves Rome and is always mad to go back.

Enjoying your report!

My daughter, who just turned 21 yesterday, received from me and my DH a Furla bag. We agonzied over which to pick out for her (she finally emailed two suggestions). Excuse me, I agonized which to buy for her, my husband told me to leave him out of the decision making. Well she went into Furla in Manhattan yesterday and the salesman flipped over her bag. Apparently it is a hard to get,(waiting list?) and the cost is $500. I paid 250 Euro and got the VAT back. What a bargain. Thanks fodorites for the great suggestion! My soon to be 17 year old daughter received a crisscross two banded black watch with studs from Furla, which looks great!
Wish I was still in Italy, Lisa

Saturday was our last full day in Rome.I am getting a little sad. We would be catching a 10:15AM flight out of Rome to NY the next day. That meant we had to be picked up at least by 7:30AM! So Saturday morning we decided to skip breakfast and sleep in. It was a good decision for us. First it enable us to get some well needed rest and it afforded us the opportunity to go to a restaurant for lunch. Our hotel recommended a place called Osteria Constanza (I will try to find the address) and our lunch was delicious. I had the fried antipasto. Fried artichoke, cheese, zuccinni, etc. I really wanted to try the jewish artichokes before we left and I was glad I did. The bread was delicious and homemade. We enjoyed our lunch and thought about going back for dinner, but never made it back. When the waiters found out my name was Lisa, they started singing in Italian "Lisa with the blue eyes". Also the interior of the restaurant is interesting with stone walls and beams. i am sorry I never got to eat there twice. We spent Saturday going back to places we loved so much (the fountains, the great interesting historic streets, and spent the evening sitting on the bottom of the pillar of the Pantheon listening to someone play wonderful music with a violin. What a wonderful experience! Have a great day, Lisa