ROME: Invaluable, Quick Tips: I just returned
 

1. Tired of pasta, Pasta and more PASTA? Wish you could find a huge fresh entree sized gourmet salad? Head straight to L'insalata Ricca in Piazza Risorgimento, 5-6-- just a few steps from one of the Vatican entrances, right outside the wall and one block from St. Peter's Square. Three of us ate there two nights in a row we were so excited to choose from over 20 different and very interesting salads. This ristorante also serves traditional italian fare including pizzas and pastas. I can't wait to go back for more fresh, green, crispy veggies!

2. I highly recommend three star Hotel Santa Anna on Borgo Pio 133 --one short block from St. Peter's. We heard the choir singing from our hotel window on Easter morning... they have a website...

Andrea, at the front desk in the afternoons, was exceptionally helpful and kind to us everytime we had an inquiry.

3. For a gruesomely, fascinating experience (which even left our 8 yr old son speechless), visit the Santa Maria delle Concezione crypts. The church is at the foot of via veneto. (closed between 11 and 2). The Capuchin Crypt has several altars created out of the bones of 4,000 previously buried monks. The altar of skulls surrounded by mummified whole bodies is particularly memorable as are the chandeliers created from jaws with teeth.

4. One of Italy's finest gelaterie is one block up from the Trevi Fountain. If standing in front of the fountain, walk up the street to your right. take the first street on your left. the gelateria is the first business on your right. It got quite a write up by the New York Times (they have the review posted) and you'll see why when you taste the stuff. Buon Appetito!

See my other more extensive tips on Amalfi, Siena, Florence, Mt. Vesuvius and more if you do a search under GailT.

GailT

Did you know that L'Insalata Ricca has a number of branches around Rome? The one I've been to most is on Via dei Chiavari, across from the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle and a few blocks south of Piazza Navona, but there are a number of others. For a list:

http://www.linsalataricca.it/home.htm

Thanks for the info, GailT!
If your son likes catacombs,be sure to visit them in Paris if you ever go there!
They were a hide out for the Resistance in WWII and not a lot of people know about them. Very Interesting and spooky under the streets.
Will check out your ideas on Siena as we are bound for both in July.

Dear Friends,
Thanks for the great news about L'Insalata Ricca being a "chain" all over Rome and for the info about Paris. Buon viaggio!

GailT

The gelato place is San Crispino.