If it’s February, then it is Winter City Break time. As our city break to Porto (booked via British Airways holidays) last year had been superb, we decided to see what BA had to offer this year and this time we chose Rome.
I’d been to many times but it was all new to ModParlPhotos. We selected a hotel near enough to all the key spots to remain walk-able but also one that wasn’t quite in the middle of it all. When we are done for the day, we are done.
So, once again, everything booked in a single go via the BA holidays website – flights (BA), car service (TMTS Rome) and hotel (Hotel Glam Rome).
Outgoing
Flights were crowded but on time and – having caught a tailwind toward our destination, we made it to Rome in 2 hours. I’d been delighted to hear that Fiumicino airport had the eGates I’d found so useful at Heathrow but when we landed – the eGates weren’t operational. Still, we got through security quite briskly. Bags came out in good time and the car service was waiting and super helpful. NICE car too.
We’ve come to the conclusion that one of the best perks to splurge on is the private transfer on these trips. It was true in Porto and it was true here. Just wakes the whole arrival (and departure) a little less of a THING.
They always estimate it will take an hour to get from Fiumicino to the centre of Rome but it took us 35 minutes tops and while we weren’t dawdling, we weren’t kicking the ass out of it either. So between landing 45 minutes early and the quick trip in, we got the hotel considerably earlier than I had anticipated. This meant that after check in (which went super smoothly – thank you, Ari) we had time to tick a few sights off the ‘must see list’
Getting settled
After dumping the bags in the room (an upgrade from the one we booked), we headed off to get the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps out of the way. Why these two? They were closest (via a stroll across Piazza Quirinale and past the Vittorio Emamuele which we passed every day in at least one direction).
The other reason I say ‘get out of the way’ is that though they are worth seeing, they are the least interesting of the usual top 10 sights. I mean, yes, they are beautiful – but I have always found the Trevi Fountain slightly underwhelming compared to – say, the statues in Navona – but both sights are ESPECIALLY thronged with people and selfie sticks. Like the visit to Venice, there were moments I could have cheerfully beat a few people with their own selfie sticks if manners (and the law) permitted.
Sights having been duly seen, we got back to the hotel – which is both lovely and welcoming – and headed up to our room to unpack. The room was a very good size especially in light of how small hotel rooms in Rome can be. It had a rainfall shower head, a mini bar (everything in there initially is included at no extra charge) and smart phone you could use for free internet or free calls (domestic and international) you might like to make. We didn’t avail ourselves of this as we had our own phones and the hotel also has free wifi throughout. Decided to check out the bar for a celebratory arrival cocktail (comped by the reception desk).
Like all our trips, there was a foodie element to it all and we tend to eat in places we discover by wandering around. This was certainly the case for dinner which we had in a series of restaurants near the hotel. We would wander off the main street (in this case Nazionale) and see what we stumbled across. The first night – after a long day of getting to the airport, waiting around, flying and then a late afternoon walking around – we both had the cacio e pepe at Grottino ( Via Palermo). We we ordered this classic dish, we were advised to have it made with tonnarelli, not spaghetti (as was listed on the menu) – and goodness yes, the were right. Which makes me wonder why it is listed as using spaghetti. Clearly tonnarelli is the pasta to use. If tonnarelli isn’t available for a homemade version, I would say bucatini would be a better choice than spaghetti.
Anyway, it was first class food and first class service and the perfect thing for the first night after a long day. We were also treated to a small lemon sorbet that was the perfect tartness, coolness and consistency to end the meal.
Day One: God and Grub
For our first full day, we opted to headed out early and tackle the furthest destination on our list – the Vatican. Let me be absolutely clear – I am sure the Sistine chapel is lovely but life is too short for waiting in lines like that only to be force marched through a vast collection I have NO interest in just to see the Sistine chapel. I’m sure I get a much more detailed idea of close up photos and no waiting.
But St. Peter’s Square? Oh yes – it is a remarkable space and there is always something happening so off we went (via Castle San Angelo). On this particular day, the Square was full of brides and ModParlPhotos played wedding photographer. Briefly.
There was also an installation off to one side – a single piece with no sign of explanation but which a bit of Googling tells me is called “Angels Unaware” by Canadian artist Timothy P. Schmalz.
Now, when I saw it – remember there was no sign or anything – I saw the figure in the front was a man with peyot in the front and assumed it was part of a Holocaust Remembrance day program or something. And though the representation is a bit… clichéd, I suppose in that medium and context they needed someone physically identifiable as Jewish in there to make the point, especially with no signs or explanations. But then looking closer around the piece (you really need to walk all the way around), not everyone fit that narrative – some quite clearly – so what was going on?
Imagine my surprise them to find my googling tells me that is to depict migrants through history. Fair enough but I don’t know that I would class Jews escaping Nazi Germany or Syrians fleeing civil war as migrants as much as I would refugees. But not my statue and not my square.
We also went to see Mercato Trionfale – the largest market in Rome and definitely in full use by locals for everything. In fact, several times while we were there, we heard people coming in and greeting their regular butcher or merchant by name and chatting about this purchase, their last purchase, what was getting purchased later in the week (my Italian isn’t great in a general sense but my shopping Italian is pretty good).
Having wandered the market, we were pretty peckish but wanted to get back on the other side of the River before lunch so headed back across at Ponte Umberto which placed us just right for lunch in Piazza Navona – and lunch was pizza funghi from Tres Scalini. That’s the place across from all the other places that I can never differentiate from each other. As we’d already walked what felt like a million miles (walking on cobblestones makes all distances feel longer), we headed back in the general direction of the hotel but not in a straight line, choosing to wander up and down streets as our fancy took us. We always make a point of this on city breaks because we find all sorts of things we didn’t expect.
It would be disingenuous of me to say I didn’t expect the Pantheon – I mean, I know where it is and that we were heading past it on the way to the hotel but it never ceases to amaze me when I come upon it. The streets leading into Piazza della Rotunda are very narrow and high so it’s always a bit of a shock to finally find yourself in an open space at all, let alone one SO dominated by such an icon building. Sure, the Colosseum is iconic, so is the Eiffel Tower but they are out in the open, you see it coming – you don’t smack into it like some sort of architectural wall.
So into to the Pantheon we went and as always, it was impressive. I don’t know if it’s the dimensions, the shape, or the fact that people mostly DO obey the silence signs but I always find myself very moved by being there.
Then a bit of a rest at the hotel before cocktails and dinner at the very nearby and delish, Diadema. The bucatini amatriciana was as good as any pasta dish I had ever had and the chocolate mousse (served charmingly in a mason jar) was lighter than mousse should ever be allowed to be. It was like magic.
There was more – much more, including:
Day Two:
Across the river and down to the Ghetto. Campo Di fiori (disappointing), Trastevere (very nice and a delightful way to start the day) and the Ghetto (where we had a tour of the Tempio Maggiore di Roma as well as the Jewish museum), then dinner at La Taverna Dei Monti.
Day Three:
Ancient Rome. The Colosseum (which we hadn’t planned to visit but which was definitely worth it – if only for Steve and Steve, the gulls), the Forum (where sore feet took on a whole new meaning), followed by a visit to an art gallery and a return dinner at Diadema (did I mention sore feet?)
Day Four:
A last day jaunt around Piazza Repubblica, the Spanish Stairs from the top and then the journey home.
But honestly, we’re heading back as soon as we can so doubtless I will have more to say and should stop for now.