Ger's Trip to Rome & Bologna
Oct 24th, 2016, 02:46 PM
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Tuesday Day 12: Trattoria Monti
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau...ome_Lazio.html
This restaurant was another Katie Parla’s Rome recommendations.
I had just visited the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and this restaurant is just 15 minutes walk from there.
This a family-run restaurant, serving food from Le Marche.
I got there early (1230) and they gave me the only single table available, on a Tuesday! The restaurant is small, so booking ahead is probably compulsory.
I had some really excellent red wine to start, and ordered the Le Marche version of the Pasta Ragu as a starter. The meat is Boar, rather than the Beef in Bologna, the sauce is white, rather than red sauce. I loved what had eaten in Bologna, but this was tastier.
The main course was the best I had on the trip: A leg of baby suckling pig. The only better suckling pig I have tasted was in Segovia.
Superb food, wine and service.
OK, how many times have I said ‘Best food on this trip’?’ This little restaurant should be on your list, but you should book ahead.
Total bill: 40 Euros?
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau...ome_Lazio.html
This restaurant was another Katie Parla’s Rome recommendations.
I had just visited the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and this restaurant is just 15 minutes walk from there.
This a family-run restaurant, serving food from Le Marche.
I got there early (1230) and they gave me the only single table available, on a Tuesday! The restaurant is small, so booking ahead is probably compulsory.
I had some really excellent red wine to start, and ordered the Le Marche version of the Pasta Ragu as a starter. The meat is Boar, rather than the Beef in Bologna, the sauce is white, rather than red sauce. I loved what had eaten in Bologna, but this was tastier.
The main course was the best I had on the trip: A leg of baby suckling pig. The only better suckling pig I have tasted was in Segovia.
Superb food, wine and service.
OK, how many times have I said ‘Best food on this trip’?’ This little restaurant should be on your list, but you should book ahead.
Total bill: 40 Euros?
Oct 24th, 2016, 03:13 PM
#42
Yes, the food in Bologna is not light fare, that's for sure. Glad you made it to Ravenna. I'm another one who was dazzled by those mosaics, thinking that as I had been to Monreale these would be "more of the same." Not by a long shot!
Annhig, re: Galleria Doria Pamphilj, absolutely no apologies necessary if you were a doubter (I don't remember). It's hard to know when these places will be crowded and when they won't; I had been there a few times previously, and it had always been empty-ish. Then a few years ago I walked over, expecting to waltz right in to blissfully empty galleries and, nope. On the same trip Palazzo Barberini was almost devoid of visitors.
Annhig, re: Galleria Doria Pamphilj, absolutely no apologies necessary if you were a doubter (I don't remember). It's hard to know when these places will be crowded and when they won't; I had been there a few times previously, and it had always been empty-ish. Then a few years ago I walked over, expecting to waltz right in to blissfully empty galleries and, nope. On the same trip Palazzo Barberini was almost devoid of visitors.
Oct 24th, 2016, 05:19 PM
#44
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More interesting news in your report. We never got to Ravenna, but you make me want to.
Interesting the difference in time, etc. When we went to the Doris Pamphili, it was pretty much empty, and we wondered why more people didn't go there. It was in late May, what I would have thought would be a busy time.
Interesting the difference in time, etc. When we went to the Doris Pamphili, it was pretty much empty, and we wondered why more people didn't go there. It was in late May, what I would have thought would be a busy time.
Oct 25th, 2016, 11:01 AM
#45
Ravenna is definitely on my list of excursions for our trip to Bologna, Ger.
Leeley - as you say it's vey difficult to predict where the crowds will be, except round the big attractions of course.
Tactonic - the "doris pamphiliji"? great typo!
Leeley - as you say it's vey difficult to predict where the crowds will be, except round the big attractions of course.
Tactonic - the "doris pamphiliji"? great typo!
Oct 26th, 2016, 10:35 AM
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Final Meal in Italy
Wednesday Day 13: Piazza del Paradiso - Da Constanza
http://www.hostariacostanza.it/
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau...ome_Lazio.html
I had planned to leave the hotel at 1400 to the airport, leaving plenty of time for my 1720 flight. I asked for a recommendation from the front desk for a nice restaurant around the Piazza della Rotunda and, interestingly, they told me to go a little further afield (only about 10 minutes’ walk), to the above restaurant. The restaurant is built within the walls of the Theatre of Pompey (or walls close by) so it is interesting to sit within the walls of a Roman structure.
The restaurant was almost empty when I arrived at 1230, but started to fill up quite quickly. Service was excellent and the food very good. As it was my last meal in Rome, I had to have the Pasta alla Vongole as a starter, and the lamb chops for the main course. I know, I know… I should have been more adventurous with the food, but I do love these dishes and I just cannot find as good in London
.
Bill came to about 45 Euros, with a great half-bottle of red.
Here ends my food section of the report. As I said at the outset, there is no reason to eat bad food or drink bad wine in Rome or Bologna, but it is certainly possible if you insist on eating right in the major sites and squares. Within a very short walk of these sites, you can eat well, as the Romans do, just do a bit of homework beforehand. In all of the restaurants I ate lunch in, in both Rome and Bologna, the diners were almost exclusively Italian middle-class business people, which are the restaurants I dine in at home. Why would I want cheap imitation Chinese/Vietnamese etc. food in Italy, when I can get far better in London? It is certainly possible to dine well at much cheaper places, and Katie’s app has several recommendations.
I only booked ahead one time, on Sunday in Bologna, with the rest I just took my chances and arrived early. Often, in the smaller restaurants, most of the tables would already be reserved.
One thing to note is that many of the churches and smaller shops still close between 1230 – 1500 for lunch, so the good restaurants start to fill up around 1245, and stop serving at 1500, so arriving at 1330/1400 without a reservation may result in disappointment – always have a back-up. I generally prefer to have a later lunch at about 1400, but most days I did not have breakfast, so I would be hungry by about 1230.
Next, I will write about the sites, museums and art galleries I visited.
Kind regards, and thank you for following along … Ger
Wednesday Day 13: Piazza del Paradiso - Da Constanza
http://www.hostariacostanza.it/
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau...ome_Lazio.html
I had planned to leave the hotel at 1400 to the airport, leaving plenty of time for my 1720 flight. I asked for a recommendation from the front desk for a nice restaurant around the Piazza della Rotunda and, interestingly, they told me to go a little further afield (only about 10 minutes’ walk), to the above restaurant. The restaurant is built within the walls of the Theatre of Pompey (or walls close by) so it is interesting to sit within the walls of a Roman structure.
The restaurant was almost empty when I arrived at 1230, but started to fill up quite quickly. Service was excellent and the food very good. As it was my last meal in Rome, I had to have the Pasta alla Vongole as a starter, and the lamb chops for the main course. I know, I know… I should have been more adventurous with the food, but I do love these dishes and I just cannot find as good in London
.Bill came to about 45 Euros, with a great half-bottle of red.
Here ends my food section of the report. As I said at the outset, there is no reason to eat bad food or drink bad wine in Rome or Bologna, but it is certainly possible if you insist on eating right in the major sites and squares. Within a very short walk of these sites, you can eat well, as the Romans do, just do a bit of homework beforehand. In all of the restaurants I ate lunch in, in both Rome and Bologna, the diners were almost exclusively Italian middle-class business people, which are the restaurants I dine in at home. Why would I want cheap imitation Chinese/Vietnamese etc. food in Italy, when I can get far better in London? It is certainly possible to dine well at much cheaper places, and Katie’s app has several recommendations.
I only booked ahead one time, on Sunday in Bologna, with the rest I just took my chances and arrived early. Often, in the smaller restaurants, most of the tables would already be reserved.
One thing to note is that many of the churches and smaller shops still close between 1230 – 1500 for lunch, so the good restaurants start to fill up around 1245, and stop serving at 1500, so arriving at 1330/1400 without a reservation may result in disappointment – always have a back-up. I generally prefer to have a later lunch at about 1400, but most days I did not have breakfast, so I would be hungry by about 1230.
Next, I will write about the sites, museums and art galleries I visited.
Kind regards, and thank you for following along … Ger
Oct 26th, 2016, 11:23 AM
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The Sites, Museums and Galleries
Introduction
I need to set the context about how I like to travel, as it may not be to everyone’s taste, although I do hope some of the information will be valuable to everyone.
My pace will not be to everyone’s liking nor capabilities. I love walking, and I walk fast. Truthfully, I generally walk very very fast, and almost always in the wrong direction, which is why I managed to consistently exceed my daily challenge of ‘steps’, through getting horribly lost at least three times per day. Frustrating certainly, but, on a positive note, great for the waistline and glutes, and working off the calories I consumed in all those great lunches.
To each his own, as they say, but I am not someone who can sit over a glass of wine in Piazza della Rotunda and watch the world go by for two hours. For me, this is torture. I’ll only ever do this if my feet were bleeding so badly that I couldn’t physically move, and I had a whole bottle of excellent wine to ease my pain.
I love dead things, so the report will be full of Roman, Medieval and Renaissance Rome, and little about interacting with people and ‘getting to know’ Romans who are actually alive today. The trip is all about dead people, who left an extraordinary heritage.
I also have to admit that I did not take any notes, so everything will be from memory. Therefore, I won’t do a day-by-day report, although I love reading those trip reports myself. I’ll try to remember what I did each day, leave out the tales about getting lost, and, what I don’t remember, I will try to wrap up at the end.
Introduction
I need to set the context about how I like to travel, as it may not be to everyone’s taste, although I do hope some of the information will be valuable to everyone.
My pace will not be to everyone’s liking nor capabilities. I love walking, and I walk fast. Truthfully, I generally walk very very fast, and almost always in the wrong direction, which is why I managed to consistently exceed my daily challenge of ‘steps’, through getting horribly lost at least three times per day. Frustrating certainly, but, on a positive note, great for the waistline and glutes, and working off the calories I consumed in all those great lunches.
To each his own, as they say, but I am not someone who can sit over a glass of wine in Piazza della Rotunda and watch the world go by for two hours. For me, this is torture. I’ll only ever do this if my feet were bleeding so badly that I couldn’t physically move, and I had a whole bottle of excellent wine to ease my pain.
I love dead things, so the report will be full of Roman, Medieval and Renaissance Rome, and little about interacting with people and ‘getting to know’ Romans who are actually alive today. The trip is all about dead people, who left an extraordinary heritage.
I also have to admit that I did not take any notes, so everything will be from memory. Therefore, I won’t do a day-by-day report, although I love reading those trip reports myself. I’ll try to remember what I did each day, leave out the tales about getting lost, and, what I don’t remember, I will try to wrap up at the end.
Oct 26th, 2016, 11:43 AM
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Ger, Your meals were astounding. Thanks for all the links and descriptions.
Perhaps because we saw it first, the mosaics in the Church in Monreale and Palermo hit me harder than the ones in Ravenna--not that they weren't amazing. DH and I both loved the lightness of Ravenna in contrast to all the porticoed shade of Bologna.
Looking forward to the museums.
Perhaps because we saw it first, the mosaics in the Church in Monreale and Palermo hit me harder than the ones in Ravenna--not that they weren't amazing. DH and I both loved the lightness of Ravenna in contrast to all the porticoed shade of Bologna.
Looking forward to the museums.
Oct 26th, 2016, 11:53 AM
#49
As it was my last meal in Rome, I had to have the Pasta alla Vongole as a starter, and the lamb chops for the main course. I know, I know… I should have been more adventurous with the food, but I do love these dishes and I just cannot find as good in London>>
the next time I eat either of these, Ger, I'll think of you. I know what you mean about not being adventurous - I have several restaurant where I almost always have the same thing; having found a dish that they do well I tend to stick to it, in case whatever else I have won't be as good!
Your touring style is not mine, but yours works for you, so that's all that matters.
the next time I eat either of these, Ger, I'll think of you. I know what you mean about not being adventurous - I have several restaurant where I almost always have the same thing; having found a dish that they do well I tend to stick to it, in case whatever else I have won't be as good!
Your touring style is not mine, but yours works for you, so that's all that matters.
Oct 26th, 2016, 12:35 PM
#51
"My pace will not be to everyone’s liking nor capabilities. I love walking, and I walk fast. Truthfully, I generally walk very very fast, and almost always in the wrong direction,"
Our kind of traveler!
Our kind of traveler!
Oct 26th, 2016, 02:26 PM
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A tip: When planning the day, plan to get to the major sites first thing in the morning, before they are invaded by the bus-loads of tourists. Be at the major sites between 0800-0900 to be the first in line. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is if you want to experience the very best of the sites.
Day One: Friday Morning
Staying at Hotel in Trastevere: Trilussa Palace Hotel Congress & SPA
I had arrived late afternoon the night before, and it was pouring rain, so I decided not to explore Trastevere, as I had originally planned, get an early night and be up bright and early for the Capitoline Museum.
I took the tram from just outside the hotel to Piazza Venezia and it is a short walk to the Capitoline museum.
The Morning: Capitoline Museum
http://en.museicapitolini.org/
I was there by 0900, and there were only a few before me. I took the audio guide, and had to hand over ID. I gave an out of date driving licence from British Columbia (and did so for the whole trip when asked, and no-one noticed. I could have walked off with at least three mini iPads had I not been honest). The audio guide is good to guide you through the collection, but I am not sure you actually need it, as all of the exhibits are clearly described in English.
I am passionate about Roman history and art, and this museum exceeded my expectations. If there is only one museum you visit re the Roman era, this should be it, although I visited several more.
If you are passionate about the era, you can spend three-four hours there and see most of the exhibits, although, like most of the museums in Rome, you do get to a point of saturation, where you have seen too much and lose the ability to appreciate each work for itself, on its own merits. For example, if 10 of the major works in this museum were loaned to your local museum, you might line up for hours to appreciate those 10 works, and feel as much joy as I did seeing the entire collection.
And there is more the museum has to offer, beyond the Roman history, which you can read up on.
It was all prefect, I loved all of it, and I could have just moved in and spent a week there. But let me share two perfect moments, which made the visit worthwhile, and broke my heart, as art should do.
The Dying Gaul: He is of my tribe, the defeated Celt, so brave fighting for a lost cause. So beautiful and heart-breaking in his death. Such respect from the artist for a defeated foe. Such artistry, it could be a Bernini.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_Gaul
The old Drunken Woman: A tragic figure in any era. She is the homeless woman on the corner of your street today. She speaks to you over the ages, and today, asking for understanding and help, in her drug and alcohol addicted confusion and need. She is beyond help, and on the verge of death, and there is nothing you can do. This is true art in my opinion: The pathos and pain in her face reaches out over the millennium, and touches your heart and soul, and makes you weep.
http://www.italianways.com/the-old-d...oline-museums/
Best .. Ger
Day One: Friday Morning
Staying at Hotel in Trastevere: Trilussa Palace Hotel Congress & SPA
I had arrived late afternoon the night before, and it was pouring rain, so I decided not to explore Trastevere, as I had originally planned, get an early night and be up bright and early for the Capitoline Museum.
I took the tram from just outside the hotel to Piazza Venezia and it is a short walk to the Capitoline museum.
The Morning: Capitoline Museum
http://en.museicapitolini.org/
I was there by 0900, and there were only a few before me. I took the audio guide, and had to hand over ID. I gave an out of date driving licence from British Columbia (and did so for the whole trip when asked, and no-one noticed. I could have walked off with at least three mini iPads had I not been honest). The audio guide is good to guide you through the collection, but I am not sure you actually need it, as all of the exhibits are clearly described in English.
I am passionate about Roman history and art, and this museum exceeded my expectations. If there is only one museum you visit re the Roman era, this should be it, although I visited several more.
If you are passionate about the era, you can spend three-four hours there and see most of the exhibits, although, like most of the museums in Rome, you do get to a point of saturation, where you have seen too much and lose the ability to appreciate each work for itself, on its own merits. For example, if 10 of the major works in this museum were loaned to your local museum, you might line up for hours to appreciate those 10 works, and feel as much joy as I did seeing the entire collection.
And there is more the museum has to offer, beyond the Roman history, which you can read up on.
It was all prefect, I loved all of it, and I could have just moved in and spent a week there. But let me share two perfect moments, which made the visit worthwhile, and broke my heart, as art should do.
The Dying Gaul: He is of my tribe, the defeated Celt, so brave fighting for a lost cause. So beautiful and heart-breaking in his death. Such respect from the artist for a defeated foe. Such artistry, it could be a Bernini.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_Gaul
The old Drunken Woman: A tragic figure in any era. She is the homeless woman on the corner of your street today. She speaks to you over the ages, and today, asking for understanding and help, in her drug and alcohol addicted confusion and need. She is beyond help, and on the verge of death, and there is nothing you can do. This is true art in my opinion: The pathos and pain in her face reaches out over the millennium, and touches your heart and soul, and makes you weep.
http://www.italianways.com/the-old-d...oline-museums/
Best .. Ger
Oct 26th, 2016, 03:42 PM
#55
<i>My pace will not be to everyone’s liking nor capabilities. I love walking, and I walk fast. Truthfully, I generally walk very very fast, and almost always in the wrong direction....
To each his own, as they say, but I am not someone who can sit over a glass of wine in Piazza della Rotunda and watch the world go by for two hours. For me, this is torture.</i>
I am the same! Reading this has me checking fares to BLQ over Christmas.
To each his own, as they say, but I am not someone who can sit over a glass of wine in Piazza della Rotunda and watch the world go by for two hours. For me, this is torture.</i>
I am the same! Reading this has me checking fares to BLQ over Christmas.
Oct 27th, 2016, 01:43 AM
#56
lovely pics of the sculptures, Ger. I agree that the Capitoline is wonderful but IME in the end you can suffer from culture overload
just to be clear, i like walking too, and 2 hours in a cafe in the middle of the day would be too long for me too, but I do like the odd stop en route to recharge my batteries and I suspect that my pace is slower than yours too. I like to stop and inspect things of interest on the way - and in Rome there is so much to explore, often unexpected.
To each her own!
just to be clear, i like walking too, and 2 hours in a cafe in the middle of the day would be too long for me too, but I do like the odd stop en route to recharge my batteries and I suspect that my pace is slower than yours too. I like to stop and inspect things of interest on the way - and in Rome there is so much to explore, often unexpected.
To each her own!
Oct 28th, 2016, 10:34 AM
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Sorry for the delay in continuing the report. I am still suffering from a bloody awful cold and chest infection. My brain is mush right now, so forgive the grammar mistakes.
Day One: Friday Afternoon
After a great lunch at Piperino, I wandered around the Ghetto for a while, and promised myself a return visit.
I thought about a visit to the Forum, which I quickly side-stepped when I saw the amount of people lining up. The crowds at the Coliseum were even worse: Judging the crowds, it looked as if they were about to stage a World Cup game, or feeding Christians to lions.
It was then I decided that, for those really big tourist sites, I would be there at the opening hour and be gone by noon. If there is one tip you take away from this report, let it be that, as it served me well. Skip breakfast, and get to the tourist site on the opening hour. Most historic sites open between 0830 and 0900. Churches open earlier, some at about 0730.
I love the Hop-On buses, tacky as it is, so I bought the ticket. Not a great idea actually, as in Rome it is just not worth the money (20 Euros). The traffic is awful, the dialogue banal, and the area covered very small – better to walk. So, I wasted some time on that. Avoid.
I found my way back to the Piazza Venezia to take the tram back to the hotel, except I could not for the life of me find the tram stop – I really should not be allowed out on my own without a seeing eye dog!
That was OK, because I wanted to walk back to the hotel. Many twists and turns later, I found my way, and it was a very pleasant walk back to Trastevere, and I really enjoyed walking though the winding streets. Someone said to me that, had Rome not become a major city under the Popes, Trastevere is how Rome would be. It is much gentrified now, but there is still a neighbourhood vibe, and, off the main streets, a calmness that I did not find anywhere else in Rome. I could live here.
The hotel has a roof bar, which has a glorious view over Rome. I went up for a couple of glasses of wine, and enjoyed a massive rain storm. It is all covered in, and has heaters, so it you sit there, in any weather, and still enjoy the fact that you are in Rome. I was there almost every night
Next: The Forum
Day One: Friday Afternoon
After a great lunch at Piperino, I wandered around the Ghetto for a while, and promised myself a return visit.
I thought about a visit to the Forum, which I quickly side-stepped when I saw the amount of people lining up. The crowds at the Coliseum were even worse: Judging the crowds, it looked as if they were about to stage a World Cup game, or feeding Christians to lions.
It was then I decided that, for those really big tourist sites, I would be there at the opening hour and be gone by noon. If there is one tip you take away from this report, let it be that, as it served me well. Skip breakfast, and get to the tourist site on the opening hour. Most historic sites open between 0830 and 0900. Churches open earlier, some at about 0730.
I love the Hop-On buses, tacky as it is, so I bought the ticket. Not a great idea actually, as in Rome it is just not worth the money (20 Euros). The traffic is awful, the dialogue banal, and the area covered very small – better to walk. So, I wasted some time on that. Avoid.
I found my way back to the Piazza Venezia to take the tram back to the hotel, except I could not for the life of me find the tram stop – I really should not be allowed out on my own without a seeing eye dog!
That was OK, because I wanted to walk back to the hotel. Many twists and turns later, I found my way, and it was a very pleasant walk back to Trastevere, and I really enjoyed walking though the winding streets. Someone said to me that, had Rome not become a major city under the Popes, Trastevere is how Rome would be. It is much gentrified now, but there is still a neighbourhood vibe, and, off the main streets, a calmness that I did not find anywhere else in Rome. I could live here.
The hotel has a roof bar, which has a glorious view over Rome. I went up for a couple of glasses of wine, and enjoyed a massive rain storm. It is all covered in, and has heaters, so it you sit there, in any weather, and still enjoy the fact that you are in Rome. I was there almost every night
Next: The Forum
