After four intense and tiring days, it was time to reward ourselves with a little getaway to the capital of Italy – Rome. We were also fortunate to have a forecast of some very pleasant winter days of sun and the possibility of free entry to many of the city’s attractions due to it being the first Sunday of the month.
Friday started calmly and slowly with breakfast and packing for the short trip. It was just before 11 am when we arrived at the humble Fabro-Ficulle station to catch a 1 hour and 40-minute train to Rome (you can reach Florence in 2 hours in the opposite direction).
After leaving the train station, our first stop was Casa Cleo, the B&B we had booked for these two nights. It was still a 10-minute walk (little did we know the kilometers we would cover in the following 48 hours…). Right away, we realized we had made the right choice in terms of accommodation. Marta, the owner of Casa Cleo, allowed us to check in early and took the time to draw us a map with what we should visit and do. As if that wasn’t enough, she also sent us a list of restaurants and bar ssuggestions via Whatsapp. In that list was the restaurant where we wanted to have our first lunch – Tratoria Vecchia Roma. In our opinion, it’s truly a great option. We both ate and enjoyed the house specialty, Bucatini All’Amatriciana Flambé. It would have been a cheap meal if we hadn’t ordered two glasses of aged grappa (which we found out at the end cost 8€ each…). Then, we went to a nearby famous gelateria to get dessert – Gelateria Fassi (such tasty pistachio ice cream!).
Since it was already 4 p.m., we started our walk to Pincio where we hoped to be treated to a panoramic view of Rome during sunset. And so it was!
One might expect this would be the end of our first day. However, we would still cross the entire city that night, passing by the Trevi Fountain, the Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (incredible ceiling), the Pantheon, the Castel Sant’Angelo, and St. Peter’s Square. For dinner, we had a typical supplà (rice croquette with tomato sauce) at Supplizio. In total, we walked 19 kilometers in these first few hours in the Roman capital…
Saturday was reserved for visiting the Vatican, that is, the various museums, the famous Sistine Chapel, and the majestic St. Peter’s Basilica. Being an independent country from Italy (and the smallest in the world!), entry to the museums is not free on the first Sunday of the month (funny enough, they do the same promotion but on the last Sunday of the month). The price is 25€ per person (plus 7€ if you want an audio guide), but be aware that it is the sixth largest museum in the world and not even a day is enough to absorb everything you can find there. We walked a lot through the rooms that seemed to have no end. Our verdict is that even for those who are not great art fans, it is impossible not to be amazed by the large collection of artifacts and masterpieces by famous Renaissance artists like Raphael and Michaelangelo, but also by the beauty of the museums themselves and their rooms.
At lunchtime, we struggled for the first time with the problem of excessive tourists here in the city as we had to wait more than an hour in line to eat at Pastaciutta (a chain of pasta takeaway restaurants that has gained some fame on social media). Despite this, the 7€ dishes are really worth it!
For dinner, we headed to the Trastevere area (a neighborhood on the other side of the Tiber River) which was highly recommended to us for finding restaurants and bars. This quickly became obvious by the small streets filled with all kinds of places to eat and drink, all of them with very good vibes. We ended up stopping at Bar San Calisto which is impossible to ignore given the number of people who choose it to have a drink at the end of the day. The choice for dinner wasn’t as successful as we went to the neighboring restaurant, Osteria Nannarella, and tried their carbonara which didn’t impress us…
We ended up with a walk back to the B&B (it was 17 kilometers on this second day), making sure to pass by the Colosseum and see it illuminated at night.
That’s exactly where we started our Sunday. Arriving at 9:30 was clearly late to avoid the queue for the ticket office, since it was already surrounding the entire Colosseum. Although it could be justified by the fact that the ticket was free on this day (when it normally costs 18€), we couldn’t help but be shocked by this crowd on a Sunday morning in February (which in most places would be considered low tourist season).
This is obviously a monument that speaks for itself. You find yourself thinking about the possible events that took place on this stage and marveling at the quality of such an ancient construction… However, we feel that the number of visitors ultimately impacts the experience and also that the normal 18€ is only justified if you can make use of everything the ticket entitles you to (it also includes entry to the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, which we didn’t have time to visit).
After two hours in queue for the Colosseum and less than half of that visiting it, it was time for lunch and another new queue! This time to try the famous panini from All’Antico Vinaio. To be honest, one panino was enough for both of us (one of the best-sellers, La Boss, which costs only 9€!) and it was worth every minute we waited for it. It even tasted better accompanied by a couple of beers while we soaked up the sun in front of the Pantheon.
This historic monument also had free entry (instead of the usual 5€) but the line was much faster. Here there are no small rooms to visit but the largest dome in the world. This in a building that is also considered the best-preserved from Roman times.
The rest of the afternoon was spent simply wandering around Rome, specifically along Via del Corso which is the largest avenue they have, mainly dedicated to shops. We even made a detour to Piazza di Spagna as the sun set and the sky turned pink.
And so it ended our first official getaway of our sabbatical. The walk to the station made us reach the 17 kilometers daily again, totaling 53 kilometers in just over two days. In the meantime, we made one last stop at Marta’s B&B. In addition to kindly keeping our luggage for us, she also gave us a discount on the accommodation price and offered the Rome guidebook that we had been using (the one in the Pastaciutta photo) as well as a souvenir magnet. Another testimony to how good Italian hosts can be!
Until next time!
Ricardo and Mar