rajshiv

I was just reading about Borghese tours. Have any of you ever done these tours and do they add significantly to what the audio guide has to say?

annhig

hi rajshiv,

I'm ready thing with renewed interest because we've decided to spend a week in Rome in February to co-incide with a rugby match that DH and Ds want to see. any excuse will do from my point of view. when we went last time we nevr got to the Borghese gallery so it's definitely on my list this time!

looking forward to more

regards, ann

rajshiv

Bouradly I can very well imagine someone having an experience like yours at Da Baffetto. The waiters there (in fact at most places in Rome) don't do polite, though this was downright rude. I think we did not feel rushed for the simple reason that we started our meal at about 9:30-10:00 which was probably a little later than thepeak dinner time. This might have helped our cause.

Ann I am really envious. I really want to get back to Rome soon. In fact both of us feel that we did not do justice to either Rome or Florence and will love to go back there. I am not planning a trip right away for the two of us because we are hoping that we would be able to get our parents and my sister and her family for a trip to Rome, Florence and Venice next year. We are keeping our fingers crossed. If it works out great, otherwise we will probably just go on our own.

I am sorry I haven't continued with the next installment. I was busy with planning a rough itinerary and getting restaurant recommendation for our trip to Venice. Would love to hear about budget options. I will try and write something tonight.

bouradly

Raj,

I also meant to point out to you that I agree with you about gelato...once you find the place you click with, stay with it! I wrote down the names of various gelato places in Rome and maybe went to 2 of these places. In the end, I found myself going back to the same one every night. If I ever return to Rome, I think I would check out Frigidarium based on what I've read here regarding the friendliness of the workers/owners alone.

Did you end up liking Rome more than London or is that for a later post?

iluvitaly

I am enjoying your report and anticipating my visit to Rome next month.

The Borghese is amazing isn't it? We usually go everytime we are in Rome because I can't get enough of Bernini's sculptures.

There is a very good book, by Phaidon press, author Rudolf Wittkower, that has gorgeous photos of his work, "BERNINI:The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque".
There is some information on his life, but you may want more detail after you get this.

The main thing about the book is the photos, which are astonishingly beautiful and may set you off on a quest to someday see everything in Rome created by this master.

charnees

rajshiv, if the waiters and staff at Da Baffeto were that rude, I will never go there. We have been to Italy about 15 times, spending 2 or 3 weeks each time. I have not found wait staff in Italy to be rude, so I don't know what is wrong with this place, or with the restaurants you visited in Rome. Do go back and try to go to some restaurants that are off the beaten track next time.

Kristina

rajshiv-

Frigidarium was our favoritve gelato place last year in Rome too. The owner, Fabrizio, is probably the man behind the counter you mentioned. He is indeed very friendly and we (my friends, my husband and I) developed a nice friendship with him over the course of a week. In fact, we have stayed in contact via email and will be visiting again next month.

I was a little surprised at the comment about him making fun of the woman behind the counter. I wonder if it was his wife? She was the only other person we saw there and I think she had light hair, but she wasn't a "girl".

As for da Baffetto, it was "good" but not amazing, though my friends say they want to eat there again. I was a bit put off my the waiter telling us no fewer than 3 times that service was not included on the check.

bfrac

I am enjoying your report and looking forward to more. Please report back on Venice too.

Apres_Londee

Really enjoying your report, rajshiv. I went to Rome for the first time last winter. I was there for a week but didn't get around to seeing everything I wanted- one big thing I missed was the Borghese Gallery. I really enjoyed reading your description of it.

And bouradly, what a funny story! It's terrible that you were treated so badly, but the whole story is so funny just the same, especially since the Frenchman was there to write his impressions and reviews.

sisterkara

I'm in Rome right now and just read your recommendation of Frigidarium. You couldn't be more right. I went tonight and the gelato was very good. I have been in Rome for 4 days and this is by far the best I've had now. Thanks for that!
I do however also recommend Tre Scalini in Piazza Navona.

bouradly

Apres,

I laugh it off now too and when I shared the story with family and friends, everyone finds it amusing. In the end, I didn't feel my experience at Da Baffeto was completely negative. I mean, I probably wouldn't go there again if I return to Rome. But in the end, I met someone new and had good company while eating my last meal before returning home.

bxl4373

Rajshiv,
Could you tell me where the Frigidarium is? I hope I have the name right. We will be staying
in the Piazza Navona area. I'm also looking forward to going to Galleria Borghese and it's helpful to know you recommend the audio guide. Thanks for taking the time to report on your trip.
Judy

bouradly

Judy,

Frigidarium is located on Governo Vecchio.

rajshiv

I am extremely sorry for the long absence. As some of you might know we had gone to Venice for three days. After that I had to go for an outstation training workshop for my new job. Oh Yes...I did get that job I had interviewed for, after coming back from Rome and Florence.

Just came back over the weekend,and took time recovering. I will continue my report today.

iluvitlay thanks a ton for the book recommendation. I will go and search for it in our local library. I luckily have some time on my hands before I start with my new job.

Charnees I did not mean to say that the waiters at Da Baffeto were rude, or the waiters at any other place we visited were rude. What I wanted to convey was that they are usually quite to the point, and we have no issues with that. We have seen this in London too. I can perfectly understand that most waiters are over worked and stressed and that shows, like it does for most other people in big cities. However please do recommend any off the beaten track (reasonably priced) restaurants that you have enjoyed. We would love to go and eat at one of these the next time.

Kristina as for the Frigidarium incident, well it was all in good humour. Nobody was taking any offense. Don't know if the woman behind the counter was the owners wife or not. I am very bad at making out people's age, she may well have been the wife. If it was the case, please do tell her that I thought she was a young girl. It was just an observation, and her being the wife would definitely put things in a different perspective all together. Lucky you, you get to go back to Rome. I hope you have a lovely time there and eat loads of those Frigidarium wonders!

Bfrac and Apres thanks for the encouragement. I do hope to finish this report soon, and hopefully will start on the Venice one as well. Venice was a very unique experience and I do hope that I get to writing about it.

Apres_londee I did read your trip report for Rome and really enjoyed it. We were in Rome only for four days and did miss out on quite a few things and believe it or not, Pantheon was one of them. Missing out on the 'big things' actually just makes our argument for getting back to a place even stronger, so not such a bad thing after all.

sisterkara we will definitely try Tre Scallini the next time we are in Rome. I feel a sense of personal responsibility that all good gelato shops get business from us. Could you please give the street for Tri Scallini.

bouradly I do agree with Apres that your story about Da Baffetto is quite funny, but I can imagine, that it is so only in hindsight. It must have been an odd experience when it actually happened.

Judy as bouradly said it is on Governo Vecchio and about 2 mins from the Piazza Navona. Do go and have a gelato for us too, I am sure you would enjoy it.

I will now get back to writing about our day at the Vatican museums, our experience with ThroughEternity and our best dinner in Rome.

Thanks all of you for following this report, I will get back soon with the next installment.