Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Nine Days in Rome: Living La Dolce Vita

First, thanks to everyone who assisted me in planning our recent trip to Rome. I posted several topics before we left, and I received many helpful replies. I also read many, many posts about itineraries, restaurants, hotels, etc. There is truly a wealth of information in this forum!

Here's my (long!) trip report. I've organized by days to make it easier to read. It was a great vacation:

When: April 30th through May 9th, 2009

Who we are: Two active people (H and W) in our 50s who enjoy travelling and who fortunately like to travel at the same pace and have the same interests. In other words, we can spend long periods of time together without getting on each other’s nerves!

Purpose of trip: To have fun experiencing the culture of Rome. We are tennis fans and planned our trip around the dates of the men’s ATP tournament in Rome (more on that later). We also enjoy good wine and were hoping to snag some bottles that would not be available back here in the US.

Flights: JFK – Rome – JFK on Delta, using FF and AmEx rewards points. We live outside Boston but left from JFK as we were able to get the “free” flights from there directly to Rome. We stayed with family outside NYC the night before.

Our flight to Rome arrived one hour early (good tail winds). Flight was very smooth and comfortable (aside from one screaming child). Passport control at Rome was crazy – a number of international flights all arrived at the same time. Things were a zoo until some additional windows opened up. Our bags were waiting for us by the time we reached the carousel. I had arranged ahead of time with our hotel for a car to pick us up and the driver holding up our name was truly a welcoming sight. We were settled into the car and on our way through the morning rush hour traffic, with scooters and small cars buzzing along everywhere. It was crazier than anything I’ve seen in NYC or Boston (and I’m a Boston driver). We had great views of the outside wall of the city, the Colosseum and St. Peter’s dome on our drive into Rome.

Hotel: The Modigliani (near the Piazza Barberini and the Spanish Steps – excellent location). Our hotel choice was great! I can’t say enough good things about this gem of a small hotel (I selected it using reviews from here and Tripadvisor). We were able to check into our room upon our arrival and took a nap before we explored the city. The room was on the top floor and was a nice size by European standards. We stayed for 9 nights, so the room to spread out was a plus. The bed was comfortable, the bathroom was very clean with towel warming racks (small shower, but I expected that). We had a small balcony which we enjoyed for a morning or evening rest.

Most of all, the staff at the hotel is extremely welcoming. Everyone who works at the reception desk tries their utmost to make sure that the guests feel welcome in their city. They answered all of our questions cheerfully, made dinner and museum reservations for us and talked to us about their country and their city. It felt like we were staying among friends.

Day One (Thursday): After resting for a few hours, we were off to explore the city. This was our fourth trip to Italy, but the first to Rome. I’ve wanted to visit Rome since I took high school Latin  and I was pinching myself to believe that I was finally there! Our first stop was at one of the cafes in the Piazza for a quick panini and some “American coffee” to help us wake up. I have to say that Rome comes right at you! Sitting there in the Piazza Barberini (still jet lagged) was like jumping into the water off of Cape Cod in April. I woke up quickly!

We then just walked around for a couple of hours, taking it all in – up and down the Via Veneto (with the fancy hotels and outdoor bar/cafes), up and down the Spanish Steps (decorated with pots of colorful azaleas and mobbed with crowds – what’s it like in the summer if it’s this crowed on a Thursday afternoon in April?) and then to the Piazza del Popoli. It was all vibrant, crazy, exciting – a mix of tourists, Romans, old, young – everyone just happy to be there, alone or with family/friends. We were back in Italy and it felt great!

Dinner that night was at Da Baffetto (it’s a tradition of ours to have pizza on our first night in Italy). We walked to the restaurant from our hotel – about 20 minutes – and had our first look at the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona at night (neat!). The line outside Da Baffetto was relatively short and after about 15 minutes we were inside and seated at a table, sharing it with another couple (from Spain). The pizza was good (not great, though). I had the melanzane and my DH had a napoli and a margherita (he was hungry). We had our first gelato at a place next door to Da Baffetto and walked back to our hotel. It was a beautiful night and everyone was out strolling along, eating their gelato.

Day Two (Friday, Labor Day - May 1): Our plan that day is to visit the Colosseum and the Forum. Rome is very, very crowded due to the holiday with many Italians visiting their capital as well as foreign tourists. We see numerous school and tour groups, too, during our walk to Ancient Rome from our hotel. There is a definite festive vibe to the city.

We see the enormous monument to Victor Emmanuel looming in front of us as we walk down the Via del Corso. To the left, I can see a corner of the Colosseum just visible. I am planning to follow a walk from one of my books which starts at the Teatro di Marcello. We walk up the back of the Capitoline Hill along the Via Conti path, a peaceful walk along a tree lined path. We see people relaxing and reading their morning papers. We reach the Piazza Campidoglio, with the impressive statue of Marcus Aurelius in the center and the Capitoline Museum on either side. The museum is closed due to the holiday, but we have plans to return later in the week.

We continue on our way to the Forum. Our first view from the back of the Forum is amazing! We see the Arch and the Temple of Saturn and lots and lots of people. The line to get in the Forum is huge! We walk to the Colosseum and the line there is even longer. We are approached and asked if we want to join a tour for the Colosseum, Forum and Imperial Palaces that is just leaving. We ask how much? It’s 15 euro each, which seems pretty good and will allow us to skip the long lines to get in (we later find out that due to the holiday, the admission fees were lowered to 1 euro). We think it’s a good deal and we soon find ourselves inside the Colosseum.

The tour guide for the Colosseum is good and being inside the structure is incredible. I feel like I am on the set of Ben Hur. We are presented with a short history lesson and then have ample time to explore on our own. It is remarkably peaceful inside, in spite of the craziness trying to get in.

We switch tour guides for the second part of the tour (Imperial Palaces and Forum). This guide is also good and takes us through the Palaces and Farnese Gardens on top of the Palantine Hill. The sense of the history around us is overwhelming. The tour ends at an overlook where we view the various components of the Forum. We are then left to explore the Forum on our own. I am awed at the expanse of the Forum once we are down inside of it.

We find a quick place to have lunch near the Forum (it’s now after 3:00 – where did the day go?) before we head back to our hotel to relax before dinner.

Dinner that night is at Al Ceppo in the Borghese district. It was recommended by some friends who were recently in Rome. We take a cab from the Piazza Barberini to the restaurant (our first cab ride in Rome!). The driver seems to know were we are going (I am able to find some basic words to communicate with him from my Italian 101) and we arrive quickly and for a reasonable cab fare.

The restaurant is lovely and in a very nice neighborhood near the Borghese Gardens. We appear to be the only Americans dining there that night. Our waitress is nice and patient and answers our questions about the menu (which is all in Italian). The wine list is impressive and the wines are priced very well (the mark-up is far less than what you would see in Boston or NY for comparable wines). We order a 1998 Brunello and dine on a first course of fried zucchini flowers and tiny calamari followed by grilled vegetables and grilled shrimp (which came in their shells with their heads on but I got over that). We are disappointed that they are out of the artichokes (which we have been looking forward to). Dessert (chocolate torte for my husband and a fruit meringue concoction for me) is also very good. We chatted briefly with the owner of the restaurant while we were waiting for our cab. We left feeling well fed and well taken care of.

Day Three (Saturday): Our plan this day is to go to the Foro Italico and try to get tickets for the men’s semifinal matches in the ATP tournament that has been going on all week. We are serious tennis fans and have been to the French Open, the Swiss Open and go to the US Open every year. We had tried to get tickets earlier this year but were not able to get through to the ticket office. There was a number on the tournament website to call, but it was either busy or no one picked up each time we tried to call. We decided after numerous attempts to just go to the tournament and try to buy tickets.

The Foro Italico is the former site of the Olympics and is also a venue for soccer matches. It’s reachable pretty quickly by the metro and then a short bus ride. We find the stadium easily and set off to buy some tickets to get in. That’s when the hard part begins. We walk around but no one seems to be selling any tickets! There are also “polizia” everywhere. I pick up that what you say is “vende la”. So we walk up and down for a while without much luck. We are approached by someone who quotes a price that is pretty outrageous. After more time goes by, we are approached again by an older gentlemen who has more reasonable prices. We strike a deal and find ourselves on our way in. I am thrilled that we will be able to see Federer, Djokevic, Nadal and Gonzalez play (three of the top four players) and on red clay, no less.

The stadium is small, intimate and our seats are really very good. It’s a memorable afternoon as we watch Djokevic upset Federer in three sets (there is a short rain delay due to some passing thunder storms) and then Nadal easily handle Gonzalez. The crowd around us is really into the tennis, especially two young Serbian women who are holding up their flag and rooting for Djokevic. We know that this will be one of the highlights of our trip.

Dinner that night is at La Matricianella (another recommendation from a friend). The restaurant is close to our hotel, on a small side street just off of the Via Condotti. We are seated in a back room with other Americans and a group of Italians. The wine list is huge (the size of a bible) and again well-priced. We have incredible fried mozzarella as an appetizer and a “Roman” artichoke (they had just run out of the fried ones). The pasta is good (carbonara for my husband and the rigatoni with tomato sauce for me). The only diss on the restaurant is our waiter, who is very cold and businesslike and serves us sternly and without any personal touch.

The night is still young and we are drawn to an outside bar on the Via Veneto where we have a nightcap. My husband orders an absinthe and I enjoy a limoncello. This is our first experience with absinthe and the presentation and preparation is neat. My husband says it tastes like cough syrup (so much for the mystery!).

Day Four (Sunday): We awake to a beautiful, sunny day. In fact, the weather has been really nice since our arrival. Our plan for the day is to visit the ruins at Ostica Antica, the ancient port city of Rome.

Ostia Antica is also reachable by a combination of the metro and then an above ground subway train. We find it easy to navigate the transportation system and are on our way. The ruins are a short walk over a bridge from the train stop. Everything is well marked. We arrive around lunch time and decide to stop first at a small pizza restaurant just outside the ruins. We are lured in by the smell from the wood-burning ovens. The pizza is quite good and we leave fortified for our explorations.

We spend about three hours exploring the extensive ruins. It is quite impressive. We find the remains of the theater, many homes (including multi-family apartments), public baths, a bakery, a grain storage facility, temples and even a “bar” with vestiges of a counter and kitchen area. We are struck by how sophisticated and advanced the ancient settlement was. There are also peaceful walks through pine shaded paths. It is also fairly un-crowded for a Sunday afternoon. The only interruption is the noise from the jets at the nearby airport (FCO).

I would highly recommend OA as a day trip outside of Rome for those that have the time to explore. The admission fee is reasonable (6.5 euro).

Dinner that night is at Girrarosta Fiorentina, which has been recommended by our hotel. We are in the mood for some meat as we have been eating only pizza and pasta since we arrived. The restaurant is off of the Via Veneto near our hotel. The steak is good and there are a mixture of American and foreign diners (mostly tourists it seems). The wine list has a big mark up (we order a super Tuscan for 50 euro) and also notice that there is a charge for bread (6 euro). We note that location does determine pricing in Rome!

We end up chatting with the couple seated next to us (this will happen a lot on this trip!). They are really nice and we have fun talking to them and comparing notes. They are leaving Rome after a few days for other parts of Italy (we find that we are unusual spending our entire trip in Rome). They mention that they had lunch that day in a hard to find spot in the “Jewish ghetto” – Sora Margherita – and had fried artichokes. That got our attention because we have been searching for fried artichokes since we arrived. I write down the name for future reference.

Day Five (Monday): This is the day set aside for our Vatican tour, arranged by our hotel. We are picked up and taken to the Vatican, where we visit the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica. Our guide is extremely knowledgeable and personable. He takes us through the crowds, explaining everything. It seems extremely crowded but our guide remarks that it is empty by the usual standards (I can’t imagine what it must get like in the summer months).

The works of art are spectacular and everything is unbelievably beautiful. We are in awe of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (we had brought some binoculars to be able to see the detail). The size of St. Peters is remarkable and seeing the Pieta again (although now behind glass) is memorable. I was a small child when it toured the US and I remember seeing it in NYC. I also remember from our tour of the Colosseum and Imperial Palaces that we were told that the Vatican took the marble from those sites and used it in the floor of St. Peters. Our guide now points that out. The confluence of the pagan and papal in Rome is the essence of the city and we are now standing on it!

We are taken back to central Rome and stop for a quick lunch at a panini bar near the top of the Spanish Steps. After lunch, we set out to visit some of the wine shops we had researched, in search of some wines that are not available in the US.

Our first visit is to Buccone on the Via di Rispetta, near the Piazza del Popolo. This is a small, family owned shop that also serves food (the food looked good, too and there were several tables, all filled up). The staff is friendly and the wine selection is good, not great. It was hard to look at all the wines as the wine shelves were blocked by the tables where people were eating. We bought four bottles there – a Brunello, a Barolo, and two super Tuscans. My husband had done some research before our trip and everything we bought we felt we would not find easily at home.

Next, we went to Trimani on the Via Giotti, about a 15 minute walk away from our hotel and the Piazza Barberini. This is a great wine shop with a tremendous selection. Everything was laid out well and very well organized. This is a serious store for serious wine lovers. While we were there, we noticed a steady stream of people (it seemed like many business people) coming and going. They also sell olive oil (made by various wineries) and a selection of pasta and other gourmet food items. They also did a nice job packaging the wine for their customers.

We were befriended by a helpful and knowledgeable sales person who spoke excellent English. She steered us toward wines that we never would have bought that she felt we would enjoy. We ended up buying six bottles there that day, two Brunellos, a Barolo, two Sicilian wines and an Amarone. We did return later in the week and bought another Brunello and some olive oil.

Later that day, we went to a “supermercato” for pasta and other small items to take home. We really enjoy visiting the local markets to get a glimpse of how the people live and what the markets carry. I like to pick up some body lotion and my husband likes the Italian toothpaste and shaving cream. We think it’s something fun and interesting to do.

For dinner that night, we decided to have pizza again and chose Ivo a Trastevere (recommended by my brother-in-law who ate there when he was a student in Rome). We took a cab over to Trastevere from our hotel. There was no line outside (a surprise as we had read that it could be a wait) and the pizza was good. We liked it a shade better than Da Baffeto. I had a melanzane and my husband again had two (the Napoli and the Margherita).

It was a nice night and we decided to walk back rather than look for a cab. On the way, we passed “Ai Marmi”, another place we were going to try later in the week. It was still packed and looked like the place to be!

We got a little lost but were soon pointed in the right direction. There are tons of people out walking around at night in Rome, enjoying the evening and some gelato. It’s fun to be among them.

Day Six (Tuesday): What’s nice about staying in Rome for the entire trip is that we don’t feel like we need to rush around to see everything. We can spend some time relaxing and just enjoying the city. We did that on Tuesday morning, spending a leisurely morning at our hotel having breakfast.

We had a reservation that day for lunch at Sora Margherita, thanks to our hotel concierge who was able to make it for us and also give us good directions (it would have been difficult to find otherwise). We walked from our hotel, stopping at La Rinascente (I wanted to check out this department store for some gifts). La Rinascente is a nice store and the prices seemed okay – I made some notes of prices for a return trip.

We found the “Jewish ghetto”, an area of quiet, narrow lanes and interesting shops. The restaurant is definitely hard to find, in a little square (Piazza delle Cinque Scole) with just the name of the restaurant written on a board outside an iron door. We would have walked right by it if we didn’t have the directions. We arrived just as it opened at 12:30 and were seated inside with other people who were waiting. Once seated, we had to join the “cultural association” (we later read that this is because the restaurant does not meet the Roman standards to be an official trattoria). Our server spoke English and explained the menu to us. We finally had the fried artichokes (“guida”) that we had been searching for, as well as some of the best buffalo mozzarella that we had ever tasted, plus a good salad and wonderful, fresh bread. This place is a great find, your classic “hole in the wall” hidden gem that you find out about from those in the know. We sat next to a woman from Quebec who works in the food industry and was told about Sora by her chef friends.

After lunch, we walked over to the Capitoline Museum. This turned out to be a good idea, because shortly after we entered some thunderstorms rolled in and it started to rain heavily. The Museum was great – not too crowded (aside from some groups of teen-age French students who were giggling over the nude statues). We enjoyed our visit – the Museum is impressive, although manageable in size. There is an emphasis on marble sculptures which capture the spirit of ancient Rome. I especially enjoyed the remnants of the Temple of Jupiter and the statue of Marcus Aurelius that are showcased in the new atrium (apparently the statue in the Campidoglio outside is a copy of the original). Also, the lower level of the Museum with the artifacts of the ancient Roman roadway was impressive. A surprise was the spectacular collection of porcelain figurines from the Baroque era. The views overlooking the Forum from the Museum are also spectacular. This Museum is well worth a visit.

In spite of our big lunch, we were hungry when dinner time came along. We went to a trattoria, Otello alla Concordia (a short walk from the Spanish Steps). I had read about their eggplant being good so we decided to go there and try it. The restaurant has a nice ambiance inside (we were seated in a courtyard area). We started with some fried zucchini blossoms as an appetizer, which arrived piping hot and delicious. We ordered their house wine, which turned out to be a good sangiovese at 10 euro. The eggplant arrived after a while, and was disappointing as it was cold! This is unusual for Italy (our dinners have always come steaming), and we attributed it to our harried waiter who was dealing with a large number of tables. We did send it back to be re-heated and it was good when we got it the second time.

We were near the Trevi Fountain, so we walked over to see the fountain at night and to enjoy some gelato from the near-by San Crispini (my husband had read about SC online as being among the best gelato in Rome). It was excellent – definitely 5 stars, very creamy with intense flavors. It was on the expensive side, but worth it. Trevi Fountain at night, eating our gelato, was a classic moment to remember. The neat thing about the Fountain is that you can hear the rush of the water while you are still a few blocks away from it, and then all of a sudden it is right there in front of you.

Day Seven (Wednesday): We planned to visit the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori market in the morning and then had reservations at the Borghese Gallery for 3:00 that afternoon.

We walked to the Pantheon, etc. from our hotel. We had quickly seen the Pantheon and Piazza Navona on the evening of our first day and had planned to re-visit later in the week. The Pantheon is an imposing, ancient structure now situated in the midst of a bustling square. We were able to walk inside and got good views of the oculus and the rest of the building. Again, there were many tours also visiting but it was not crowded by the usual standards.

Next up was the Piazza Navona, a very busy place this time of day with everyone milling about the two beautiful Bernini fountains and the cafes. There were also several musicians contributing to the scene. Again, it was a classic Roman experience.

After a short walk, we were in the midst of the bustling Campo dei Fiori market. It was alive with the vendors and the buyers looking for the best fruit, vegetables, spices, etc.
We bought some spices and pasta to take home with us. It was fun watching everyone circling around through the stalls and seeing the “nonas” haggling with the vendors and then carrying their purchases away with them (some balancing the boxes on their heads). I took the requisite pictures of the fruits and vegetables and was yelled at (in a good-natured way) by a vendor for blocking his way as he tried to get at some cherries.

Lunch that day was more pizza (a local spot, “La Fontana” at the top of the back stairs off of the Via Veneto). This is an out of the way, non-touristy place and there were groups of office workers enjoying their lunch together. The pizza was good.

It was a short walk to the Borghese Gallery from lunch. We arrived early, picked up our tickets and spent some time in the gift shop before our 3:00 reservation time. The doors opened promptly at 3:00 and we were let in. Be sure that you make a reservation as it was completely sold out for that time slot and the rest of the day (it did take us several days to get our reservation).

The Borghese is a gem of a museum and just the right size to explore in the allotted two hours. The six Caravaggios, the Bernini sculptures and the sculpture of “Paolina” by Canova are among the highlights of the collection. The emphasis on the quality of the art over the quantity is what makes this museum so impressive. We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the building as well. There is art everywhere around you – in addition to the exhibitions in the rooms, it is also painted on the walls and the ceilings.

For dinner that night, we chose another trattoria, Hostaria Romana. In addition to reading about this restaurant on Tripadvisor, it was mentioned in an article I read in the NY Times that focused on outstanding trattorias in Rome. The antipasto selection was particularly recommended. It turned out to be close to our hotel, so we decided to try it.

The food was good, not exceptional. We had the house antipasto and then I ordered the spinach and cheese ravioli and my husband the penne all’arrabiata. We were a little annoyed because we were not given an opportunity to go to the antipasto bar ourselves and select what we wanted. The waiter brought over selections that he thought we would like. They were generous, but there were some things (liked grilled eggplant and artichokes) that he did not give us that we would have liked to try. We were unsure of the protocol but saw later that other diners were going up and helping themselves. It happened to be right behind where we were seated so it was especially annoying. We ended up talking again with the couple next to us – some other Americans from Chicago – which was again fun and the evening passed quickly. We also noticed that this restaurant had very expensive wine prices so we ordered their unnamed house red wine for 8.5 euro which was fine. We noticed that the other Italians were also drinking the house wine rather than springing for a bottle from the wine list. My husband (an experienced wine drinker) has noticed that the restaurants frequented by Italians have the significantly less expensive wine lists.

We still had room for some gelato, and we were near the Trevi Fountain, and it was another beautiful evening, so we made another trip to San Crispini and enjoyed more gelato at the fountain.

Day Eight (Thursday): I awoke that morning with a hint of sadness as I knew that we were approaching the end of our stay in Rome. Time had really flown by! We had on our schedule that day a visit to the Catacombs. We spent some time in the morning walking around the Spanish Steps and the Piazza Del Popolo again and made another quick stop for lunch at a panini bar.

We took the 118 bus from the Piramide stop on the “blue” metro line and it was an easy ride to the Catacombe di San Callisto. The traffic was whizzing by on the Appian Way (one of my books said that the Appian Way was not pedestrian friendly, which is an understatement to say the least). We were given a tour in English by a Filipino brother. We had a small group (about 14 people) so we were able to see everything really well. I was struck by the reverence that the ancient Roman Christians had for the dead. It is manifested everywhere. The tour was extremely respectful of the surroundings. The fact that you are standing in a tomb that at one time held half a million bodies is chilling. I would definitely recommend a visit if you have the time.

We bought our tickets for the bus ride back to central Rome in the gift store (although the driver never asked us to see them when we got on). We had to wait quite a while for the bus to get back. It was challenging standing in the small “bus stop” area on the Appian Way waiting for the bus with all the traffic going by at warp speed. We chatted with some Swiss tourists who were commenting on how infrequent the busses are in Italy (it seemed like normal waiting time to me using Boston standards). The bus finally arrived, crowded, and we all got on. We made a quick stop at the “Pyramid” structure near the metro stop on our way back.

Dinner that evening was back to Trastevere to try the pizza at “Ai Marmi”. Their pizza gets good reviews on a Chowhound posting I found. We took a cab to get there, and had one of those famous Roman “around the city” cab rides. By this time, we had a pretty good sense of where we were in the city and knew that the cab driver was taking us for a ride. Also, being a Thursday night, there was a lot of traffic. We stood it as long as we could and, once we were a reasonable distance, got out of the cab and walked the rest of the way over the bridge into Trastevere. It was again a nice night and we were able to get seated outside right away. The pizza was the best so far that we had eaten. There was a little mix-up because my husband again ordered two pizzas (which confused our waiter to no end) but that got resolved easily. We ended up sitting and talking to our neighbors for a couple of hours. First, to a young Roman couple (I was able to practice my Italian while they practiced their English) and then to a group from Argentina. It was a fun evening and one of our favorite dinners from our entire trip. Ai Marmi is definitely the place where the Romans go. It has a devout following and the highest concentration of Romans we had seen anywhere. We were in fact the only Americans we saw there that night. Plus, the funghi and the Margherita pizzas are outstanding.

We enjoyed another nice walk back to our hotel (we now knew the way), some more gelato (this time at Blue Ice) and another visit to the Trevi at night. I could definitely get used to that trio.

Day Nine (Friday): I definitely woke up sad that morning as this would be our last full day in Rome. We decided to just spend the day revisiting our favorite spots (Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori market) and buying some gifts to take home.

We also climbed to the top of the Quirinale Hill and saw the imposing Presidential Palace with its guards. We were amazed that you could get so close to it, unlike our White House. There were crowds in the plaza outside and we also saw a group of Italian soldiers and their band as they left the Palace and boarded their busses. It was all very impressive.

The city that day was packed with various school and other groups, all wearing the same hats so that they could be easily identified to each other amidst all the people. We chatted briefly with a group of men from Venice who appeared to be some type of lodge group. Everyone was in a great mood.

We were having our last dinner that night at another trattoria from the NY Times article, Felice a Testaccio. We had anticipated eating there all week as our hotel had called them on Monday and Friday night, promptly at 8:30 we were told, was the only time we could dine there. We made sure to get in a cab with time to spare and we got there early. We found ourselves in a very non-descript, non-touristy area and walked around for about 10 minutes until we felt it would be appropriate to enter (we were still a few minutes early).

The restaurant inside was really nice, very upscale with wood beams and a welcoming feel. It reminded me of being in some of the South End restaurants in Boston. There was no printed menu, our server told us that he was the menu! He was really cute and funny and was definitely into making sure that we had a good time. We ordered a Sicilian wine that was reasonably priced. To go with the wine, we had Roman artichokes and an omelet special (as an antipasto) and then the specialty of the trattoria that we had read about in the Times article, their home-made pasta “cacio e pepe”. This is a simple but delicious pasta dish with a sauce of finely ground pepper, romano cheese and a little reserved pasta water. It arrives steaming to your table and the whole thing is mixed together in front of you until the sauce is creamy and spread throughout the pasta. It was everything that the article described – definitely worth the trip to the restaurant (and possibly even to Rome!). In fact, this restaurant is a gem and we would highly recommend it.

We ended up talking again to our next-door table companions, two Americans from San Francisco in the wine business who were in Rome that night for a wine tour throughout Italy that was leaving the next day. We were immediately jealous and tried to invite ourselves along but unfortunately we were not able to do that! We did enjoy their company for the evening and shared a cab ride back to central Rome with them. Our evening, and our vacation, concluded in the perfect way with more gelato at the Trevi Fountain!

Overall impressions of Rome: A fantastic, vibrant city with an unbelievable mix of the ancient and modern. We fell in love with Rome. It is truly a special place.