My Very Own Roman Holiday
We all know that Rome wasn't built in a day and therefore it is fair to say that it cannot be seen in one either. The truth is you need many many days to feel Rome. We were there for about 4 days last weekend and we merely skimmed through the city. Every street, every by-lane emanate the history and culture.
Although very crowded with tourists all year round it is easy to get lost in the aura of the city, you can sit in a corner of a piazza and forget that there are teeming millions around you, just absorb the fact that it is the exact same place which was the mainspring of western civilization.
Our hotel was tucked away in a quiet green area. 15 mins away from the bustle of the city. Everyday after filling ourselves up with the amazing coffee and cornettos we would go on our expeditions. Map in hand, camera slung over the shoulder we would be ready to explore. The first view of the Colosseum was awe inspiring, cars whizzing past a monument built when no one knew there could exist something like an automobile. As they say, Rome has one foot in the past and one foot in the present.
Beside a 2000 year old monument you will find an ultra-glam Hard Rock cafe. Which we also went to by the way.
At the Fontana di Trevi, who wouldn't want to relive La Dolce Vita scene by scene- with a 4 Euro worth of Gelato cone in hand we sat by the fountain and had a sense of fulfilment wash over me.
Then again, having watched Angels and Demons quite recently I wanted to follow Langdon on his trail, so the Pantheon, Piazza Del Popolo, Vatican city, Piazza Navona and Castel San't Angelo had to be covered. Yes there is a lane through the Castel leading directly to the Vaticani, and it is no secret unfortunately.
Surprisingly we saw Berlusconi on our way to Navona, he walked past us with bodyguards around him ; he was so close we could touch him but we just took a picture.
In 4 days we covered 4 types of cuisine- Authentic roman pizzas to african fair and biriyani to hamburgers. We had street food consisting of cotoletta di pollo(chicken cutlet) sandwiches and also went to a famous cafe called Cafe San't Eustachio (70 yrs old) where you stand at the bar and have your fill of caffeine. They make the most wonderful espresso, we bought a jar of coffee and a box of espresso filled chocolates as souvenir.
On Friday night we had plans of going to Hard Rock cafe for dinner but it was so crowded we ended up in an Italian trattoria called Gran Caffe Roma which is quite famous (everything in Rome is) and we each had a pizza with some italian beer. The seating was rather interesting on Via Veneto right beside Hotel Majestic, cars whizzing past and cool breeze ruffling our hair.
On saturday night we were to go to an Italian restaurant where they served food made from age old roman recipes on Appia Antica, we took a taxi there after we left the cab and went to the gate of the restaurant we saw that they were closed with no information except a phone number, when we called an answering machine said they were closed for holidays- we felt ,quite literally, stranded as it was a remote location- a cobbled narrow lane with high walls on both sides and only private cars whizzing past us. We started walking towards the city center, feeling dejected and lost. 10 mins of walking found us in front of a bus stop. Here we stood and decided to try out the African restaurant I had come across on the Lonely Planet website. So eventually when the bus came we hopped on and went to the african restaurant (conveniently called Africa) and we were not disappointed at all, there were many locals which is always a very good sign.
On Sunday again we had plans of trying out another famous Pizzeria at Trastevere called Dar Poeta. The Trastevere district is eclectic with a buzzing night-life, it's a network of winding cobblestone alleys each filled with small trattorias and pizzerias- with long queues outside. The food is reasonably priced and is frequented by students and tourists. Since we didn't get a place at any of these places, it was already 9 p.m. and our stomach was growling we went to an Indian Restaurant, the location was super- there was a busker playing the saxophone that drowned the santoor playing in the restaurant and it was bang in the middle of the Trilussa opposite the Ponte Sisto.
You must have understood by now that whatever we ate in this trip happened by chance, although we had addresses and informations on the restaurant we wanted to go to fate had other plans for us!
We did finish off the trip with Hard Rock cafe on Monday afternoon- said our goodbyes to the city of Rome and back in Dresden by night. What a whilrwind trip it was but loved every moment of it. 40 degrees in the sun, clear blue cloudless skies like the deserts and walking kilometers at a stretch. Our feet callused and ached, skin burnt under the sun and I think we would do it again!
Next stop Greece(Athens and Santorini) for christmas and new years. We are up for the real Greco-Roman experience, can hardly wait.
Although very crowded with tourists all year round it is easy to get lost in the aura of the city, you can sit in a corner of a piazza and forget that there are teeming millions around you, just absorb the fact that it is the exact same place which was the mainspring of western civilization.
Our hotel was tucked away in a quiet green area. 15 mins away from the bustle of the city. Everyday after filling ourselves up with the amazing coffee and cornettos we would go on our expeditions. Map in hand, camera slung over the shoulder we would be ready to explore. The first view of the Colosseum was awe inspiring, cars whizzing past a monument built when no one knew there could exist something like an automobile. As they say, Rome has one foot in the past and one foot in the present.
Beside a 2000 year old monument you will find an ultra-glam Hard Rock cafe. Which we also went to by the way.
At the Fontana di Trevi, who wouldn't want to relive La Dolce Vita scene by scene- with a 4 Euro worth of Gelato cone in hand we sat by the fountain and had a sense of fulfilment wash over me.
Then again, having watched Angels and Demons quite recently I wanted to follow Langdon on his trail, so the Pantheon, Piazza Del Popolo, Vatican city, Piazza Navona and Castel San't Angelo had to be covered. Yes there is a lane through the Castel leading directly to the Vaticani, and it is no secret unfortunately.
Surprisingly we saw Berlusconi on our way to Navona, he walked past us with bodyguards around him ; he was so close we could touch him but we just took a picture.
In 4 days we covered 4 types of cuisine- Authentic roman pizzas to african fair and biriyani to hamburgers. We had street food consisting of cotoletta di pollo(chicken cutlet) sandwiches and also went to a famous cafe called Cafe San't Eustachio (70 yrs old) where you stand at the bar and have your fill of caffeine. They make the most wonderful espresso, we bought a jar of coffee and a box of espresso filled chocolates as souvenir.
On Friday night we had plans of going to Hard Rock cafe for dinner but it was so crowded we ended up in an Italian trattoria called Gran Caffe Roma which is quite famous (everything in Rome is) and we each had a pizza with some italian beer. The seating was rather interesting on Via Veneto right beside Hotel Majestic, cars whizzing past and cool breeze ruffling our hair.
On saturday night we were to go to an Italian restaurant where they served food made from age old roman recipes on Appia Antica, we took a taxi there after we left the cab and went to the gate of the restaurant we saw that they were closed with no information except a phone number, when we called an answering machine said they were closed for holidays- we felt ,quite literally, stranded as it was a remote location- a cobbled narrow lane with high walls on both sides and only private cars whizzing past us. We started walking towards the city center, feeling dejected and lost. 10 mins of walking found us in front of a bus stop. Here we stood and decided to try out the African restaurant I had come across on the Lonely Planet website. So eventually when the bus came we hopped on and went to the african restaurant (conveniently called Africa) and we were not disappointed at all, there were many locals which is always a very good sign.
On Sunday again we had plans of trying out another famous Pizzeria at Trastevere called Dar Poeta. The Trastevere district is eclectic with a buzzing night-life, it's a network of winding cobblestone alleys each filled with small trattorias and pizzerias- with long queues outside. The food is reasonably priced and is frequented by students and tourists. Since we didn't get a place at any of these places, it was already 9 p.m. and our stomach was growling we went to an Indian Restaurant, the location was super- there was a busker playing the saxophone that drowned the santoor playing in the restaurant and it was bang in the middle of the Trilussa opposite the Ponte Sisto.
You must have understood by now that whatever we ate in this trip happened by chance, although we had addresses and informations on the restaurant we wanted to go to fate had other plans for us!
We did finish off the trip with Hard Rock cafe on Monday afternoon- said our goodbyes to the city of Rome and back in Dresden by night. What a whilrwind trip it was but loved every moment of it. 40 degrees in the sun, clear blue cloudless skies like the deserts and walking kilometers at a stretch. Our feet callused and ached, skin burnt under the sun and I think we would do it again!
Next stop Greece(Athens and Santorini) for christmas and new years. We are up for the real Greco-Roman experience, can hardly wait.
Comments