Travels with V
Rome
The eternal city
Rome part one
There are people, among them friends of ours that keep on returning to Rome again and again. The love for this ancient city is like the love for an old friend. And we understand this affection because there’s something unique about this city that’s hard to put in words. There’s an openness, a feeling of being included here.
And then of course you’re treated with all these magnificent buildings and ruins, the food and the bustling city life that always make you surprised here. Around every corner there is a new possibility.
Top 5 in Rome:
- Hotel: We stayed at Hotel la Rovere near the Ponte Principe bridge. An excellent “design hotel” but avoid the “design” rooms that smell of wet concrete, the ordinary rooms are better. Good brekfast!
- Best fine dining: Spirito Di Vino. Built on the foundation (and cellar!) af a thousand year’s old synagogue, this is the “slow-food”-mekka of Rome. Excellent food, excellent service and a stylish yet relaxed atmosphere.
- Best trattoria/pizzeria: Ivos. Everything you expect of a busy and jolly Italian trattoria. Packed with people who want to have a good time and the best pizza you’ll find in Rome! Try to book a table in advance or expect a bit of cueing.
- Best hole-in-the-wall: La Proscutteria Trevi near Fontana di Trevi, crammed, hams hanging from the ceiling. Here you get a heavenly plate of assorted charcuteries and accessories and a generous glass of great wine for pocket money.
- Must-see: All! we recommend strollling through Trastevere. Are you a cat lover – explore cat city at Lago di Torre Argentina!
We’ve picked a hotel right between Trastevere district and the Vatican, a perfect place for exploration of the city. One block from the winding Tiber river, three blocks from St Peters square. And to get further away the metro in Rome is excellent. As are the buses and trams. We invested in Tourist Cards and use them for rides on all kinds of transportations.
We start off by walking alongside the river past the grand citadel Sant’ Angelo and further north to Piazza del Popolo. It’s a holiday and the square is full of people enjoying the freedom of a day off.
We continue our walk down the shopping street of Via del Corso, thet in the afternoon is completely taken over by pedestrians, cars pass with difficulty. We turn left and end up at Piazza di Spagna that is dominated by the famous Spanish steps along its eastern side. Here i’t so crammed it’s almost difficult to move, especially to walk up the stairs, where lots of people just sit and enjoy the sun and the crowds. A year later it is forbidden by the authorities to sit here.
In the southern, pointy part of Piazza di Spagna we enter Via di Propaganda and via some narrow alleys we stumble upon Fontana di Trevi, the bombastic fountain where Anita Ekberg soaked herself in the movie La Dolce Vita. The fountain is a truly magnificent piece of art with its sea gods, horses, waterfalls and pools.
