We had a whirlwind day in Rome and basically walked the entire city starting at 9am, ending only at 9pm. I thought we did pretty well although I regretted not having enough energy to see Piazza del Popolo, which I had read so much about in university. We also didn't get to see the Sistine Chapel since it was a Sunday, which means we'll need to return to Rome somehow.
We started bright and early at the Colosseum. It was a crazy piece of architecture, and it's incredible how bored, cruel, and creative the ancient Romans were. We spent about 1.5 hours there with our Rick Steves ipod tours downloaded before flying off. Very informative, and best of all, free.
After that, we walked across to Palatine Hill - we bypassed most of it to head to the Roman Forum.
And the Roman Forum, learning about Caesar, Constantine, Titus and other Roman gods and emperors. That was a lot of history for the morning, and we had a great time thanks to the Rick Steves ipod tours.
After that, we headed across the Tiber River to La Scala in Trastevere for lunch which we booked some days earlier. We had one of the outdoors seats, and the place filled up pretty soon after we got there.
Starting off with hot crusty bread
Complimentary glasses of prosecco
Lovely view from our seat
Our starter of burrata with black truffles (10 Euros) - one bite was enough to send us to heaven. This was absolutely amazing, both in terms of texture and flavours.
What we ordered to go with the meal - the Chianti was fantastic. We wished we could have drunk more.
Ravioli with ricotta with a butter and sage sauce (16 Euros), which I really liked as well.
The husband had gnocchi with smoked provolene cheese. He pronounced this the best gnocchi he had ever eaten.
For the main course, he had a veal dish, which I thought was a bit salty from the pancetta.
I had the oxtail. This was all right, but I think their pastas were better than the mains.
The card in case anyone's interested
After lunch, we took a walk thru the neighbourhood
And found a lot of charming little corners. I loved the area.
We walked off to Piazza San Pietro in the Vatican City. Didn't go into the basilica since the queue looked insane, saving it for next time when we make it to the Sistine Chapel.
We wandered off to Campo dei Fiori which had a nice market - we ended up buying some truffle stuff home for gifts for like minded foodie friends
Pastas in every shape and colour
Didn't buy any of these but they looked amazing
We couldn't understand why so many people were sitting on the Spanish Steps.
Piazza Navona - a seriously pretty open space.
Inside the Pantheon. How did they even manage to construct this without machines or cranes?
View from the park near the top of the Spanish Steps
Sunset over Rome
Amazing sky with clouds in just the right place
Trevi Fountain - no we didn't throw a coin since we had confidence in our ambitions to return
Next stop: Siena.
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