Enjoy the heat. When I left Rome yesterday it was around 90. It's going down in the 40's tonight in KY. Brrr.

I've stayed in the Monti area several times. Piazza Madonna dei Monti is full of young Italians every night. There is a restaurant on the piazza where they seem to stop for drinks for a few hours after work. A bit younger crowd hangs out by the fountain (every night until 2am or so) buying drinks from local shops, not restaurants. This link has good info about the area, but is certainly not an endorsement for the website (the notorious Dr. Abate - you couldn't pay me to rent from him).
http://www.romanhomes.com/your_roman...ti-quarter.htm

The NYT had an article this summer.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/07/03...pagewanted=all

The meal you described at Casa Copelle had me drooling. I am enjoying this.

Remember the ceramics in Orvieto. If you see something you want, buy it right there!

We had our Arrivaderci Roma meal at Casa Coppelle..Thursday nights (only) they make gnocci, and DH went for it :-). After starting with the gaspacho, I was intrigued with a risotto made with strawberry and basil. You just can't find things like this many places, and every leap of faith I've taken in ordering has been successful on this trip. I was filled, but Steve went on to a secondi of braised chinghale...mmmmmmm. We ordered a half liter of white for me, and a half of red for him. Their house red is a blend of pinot nero and sangiovese that is excellent. The white is Est Est Est ...which is wonderful too. Not that their wine list isn't wonderful...it's just what went well with our meals.

What really made this week in Rome successful for us was our lodging. As I mentioned earlier, it is a new place, about 2 blocks off via Veneto. It has all the "musts" AC, marble bath, great water pressure, free wifi, etc. It also serves a large breakfast. The young 30something owners, Serena and Marco, love what they do and they are charming and wonderful hosts. Honestly, I've never been treated so well or enjoyed staying in big city anywhere in the world as much. It was a very personal experience and now I can't imagine staying anywhere else if we ever get back to Rome.

The neighborhood is quite safe (police are across the street). it's half a block from the US Embassy. We enjoyed walking five minutes to Borghese Park, and spent one late afternoon near the lake just people watching and reading. It took a couple days to learn the bus system, and we only needed the Metro system twice, but we quickly figured out how to get around the city easily. I was happy we stayed 7 nights. We got to do Rome at our own pace, which was probably slower than normal because it was around 90 most of the time!

busted - did you post a link for your hotel?

It's easy: www.dekorome.com

mmm - i never take to places that don't advertise their rates on their website, however nice they look. and it does look nice!

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. It always helps to make a personal enquiry.

Hi uhoh! I am belatedly reading the rest of your report! I am so happy you liked Casa Coppelle! Reading about your meals has left me STARVING!!! I did find caprino cheese here and I did make some gazpacho, even put the basil leaf ornamentation in it...unfortunately mine did not begin to compare. Must go back...must go back...

Thought I'd post a link to the video I made of our photos from the daytrip we made to Ostia Antica. It was SUCH a good day trip, I thought y'all might enjoy it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDQHlcOfpb8

Just realized I need to add the Rome pictures to my shutterfly page now, too.

What a delightful trip report!! Thanks so much for your posts. I to think I only read it because the line in your title about sandals caught my eye (never travel without them) -ha!

Carry on!!!

Am chuckling about the sandals. For our October trip to Italy my husband is astounded that I have had about a dozen pair of hiking sandals (mainly Ecco and Merrells) at home, trying to find the perfect pair that I can walk all day in (instead of my ubiquitous hiking boots that I wear all weekend in California). STILL have not found the perfect ones! Am down to two pair Ecco and one Merrell...each has something not quite perfect, that I hope won't magnify after miles. Guess I have to just choose one and then wear outside all weekend to break them in further. I have a great pair of Keen hiking sandals (not the water shoes type; don't find them comfortable) but they're brown. I'm going to bring just two pairs of pants..black and grey so want to have black sandals that also can go out to dinner in a pinch. Like Suze above, your sandals comment caught my eye!

This year I have some great Merrell sandals that I got for an African safari in Oct. wish I'd had them in Rome as they are great walking sandals. We'll be packing even lighter for 3 wks there as we did for a month in Italy. But I have enjoyed having my pretty Rome sandals this Spring and summer. Bringing home clothing that brings back fun memories makes great souvenirs.

ttt for MikeP