Italy Trip – 2024 – Rome
Here we go again! Do you like to return to locations you have visited before? We find that the people we see over time have become our friends, they remember us and we certainly remember them. The motivation to visit former places is not only the scenery, the towns, the shops, the cathedrals, but people. …. AND, friends that travel with us! This Italy trip WILL be one to remember!
Our 2024 trip is complete with a couple of friends from Hawaii who are going with us. We have traveled together before and truly enjoyed it. We will be acting as ‘tour guides’ because they think we know ALL ABOUT Rome, Venice, Tuscany, Florence, etc. Oh, do they have a surprise coming!
Meet Vernon and Jill, our dear friends and travel partners from Honolulu with whom we had planned this trip in 2020. You all know what happened that year, so finally our dreams are coming true with this trip.
Tonight we write from the heart of Rome, in an ancient neighborhood we have never visited before–Monti! We are staying at the Hilton DoubleTree Monti in Piazza Esquilino, just up from the Colosseum, next to the breathtaking Santa Maria Maggiore Cathedral.
This is following a 12-hour flight from San Francisco to Rome connecting from Portland. Needless to say, we are exhausted and ready to hit the hay. Be looking for an honest review of United’s new Economy Premium Plus seating, that we experienced. Not to our liking.
After we checked in to our hotel, we relaxed for a few hours before heading to Amadeo, an authentic Italian restaurant near our hotel. To my understanding Rome has three pastas it is especially known for, and of course these three were first on the pasta menu: Carbonara, Amatriciana, and Cacio e Pepe. I had the Amatriciana and savored every single bite.
Afterwards we found a fresh gelato spot and had several tastings before settling on Peach, Vanilla, Hazelnut, and Chocolate (We stick to the basics here.).
Rome is well-lit and feels safe at night to stroll, as long as you stay away from the crazy drivers. Tomorrow we rise early to see the sights of Rome before the heat and the crowds become a factor. More coming soon.
Day 2—Exploring Rome on Foot
Just a note: Today in Rome, it will be close to 100 degrees, so we decided to start early and are we ever glad we did! I must give a shout-out to the hotel breakfast here at the Double Tree Monti, a luscious spread of fresh fruits, cooked vegetables, pastries, waffles, eggs and bacon, undoubtedly one of the best hotel breakfasts we have ever had. Food has a lot to do with an Italy trip to remember!
We took a taxi from our hotel to The Spanish Steps, a truly iconic and majestic collection of marble steps known to be a popular tourist attraction. Fortunately at 8:00 AM, we had lots of room to navigate and take pictures.
From there, it was a short walk to the most well-known fountain of them all—Fontana de Trevi, or The Trevi Fountain, made world famous due to the vintage 1954 movie, Three Coins in the Fountain. We threw coins in the fountain, to ensure we will once again return to Rome.
Then it was onward the short distance to the Pantheon, the only remaining intact building of ancient Rome with its roofless dome. Since today was the first Sunday of the month, entrance fees were waived. Again, being the early birds paid off because we walked right in, only to depart to finding long lines to enter!!
After a siesta at the hotel, it’s time for another food tour, and what a food tour it was, wandering through the quaint and authentically Italian streets of Monti.
Our guide Lisa from Show Me Italy made sure we appreciated not only the tastes of the Lazio region, but also the culture and history behind that food.
First up, a sampling of pastas, to include Amatriciana and Cacio e Pepe. Our guide shared her recipe for Cacio e Pepe (pasta with cheese and pepper) and stressed the importance of gently toasting the peppercorns before grinding them so as to insure that the unmistakable flavor of pepper penetrates the entire dish. Let’s not underplay the role the spectacular pecorino romano plays as well.
While walking we learned so many details about the area of Rome we were visiting, such as who “Cavour” was, as we ate outside along Via Cavour (Cavour Street). Cavour was a food enthusiast who, because he was passionate about healthy ingredients, insisted that Italians use no pesticides in their fruits and vegetables, as early as the 1800’s. He also helped to improve Italy’s train system to facilitate the movement of the hundred-pound rounds of cheese more easily from the North to the South.
A sobering moment was when Lisa pointed out gold engravings among the cobblestones of the streets of Monti.
This neighborhood, during World War II, was home to many Jews, who were removed from their homes and assassinated by the Nazis or removed to Death Camps. The names of those victims, including many children (even babies) are memorialized with these gold engravings, denoting their birth and a history of their fate–to be remembered forever.
Another stop was to a local vendor for tastes of pates, sausages, crackers and cheese. Then another stop to a pizza place for suppli (Rome’s version of rice balls), and pizza, and lastly for artisanal gelato, made every night in the laboratory in the back of a tiny shop. The result: superb taste without preservatives, artificial color or flavors.
I can only communicate with words what we ate, and who we met, but I cannot communicate the emotions attached to them. We actually greeted the restauranteurs, the vendors, the people by name, and heard their stories. By the end of the night we had an unmistakable connection to the culture, the people who served us, our guide, and the Monti neighborhood. Thank you Lisa and Monti, Roma. Both have made our trip to Italy one to remember.
Day 3–The Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica + Breakfast!
Everyone who visits Rome needs to see the Vatican, so why not enjoy breakfast as well? A full American breakfast was served to us in the beautiful Vatican courtyard, after we “skipped the line” and entered the Vatican with our guide.
Then it was off to examine the Vatican museums, with their many sculptures, paintings, maps and tapestries, all with the expert commentary of Nicoli.
Such a tour ends at the spectacular Sistine Chapel, which is the four-year work of a reluctant Michelangelo. So glad you completed it, Mike, so we can see the life of Jesus and the life of Moses portrayed so magnificently. Then it was off to St. Peter’s Basilica, which is for me, the world’s most beautiful church. You cannot have an Italy trip to remember without visiting the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica!
The real story was that by this time, all of us were dripping wet with sweat, and exhausted. (No, the museum itself is not air-conditioned.) We were ready to catch a taxi back to our hotel, but where were they? (In Italy, taxis are only available at official taxi stands, not on the side of the road.) With fearless “Ronaldo” as our leader, we finally found a taxi and returned to our hotel to shower and rest.
This evening, we have a tour booked to the Colosseum, but honestly, after a shower and a nap, we may just wander and eat dinner instead…..(which was exactly what we did!)
Arrivederci Roma!!
______________________________________________
