This was my 3rd trip to Rome (1st in college, 2nd in 2022) and my husband's first. We really wanted to plant ourselves in one place and enjoy the city. Even though a lot of the fountains and some monuments were covered with "Caput Mundi" scaffolding, we still had a fantastic time. Maybe because we figured out a routine of morning sightseeing, an afternoon rest, followed by the great italian custom of aperitivo - wine/cocktail with free snacks to accompany - which held us over to the Italian dinner hour of 8pm or later.
I am especially interested in ancient Rome, so we focused on those sites - Instead of doing a day by day tour for the 2 weeks i'll include what we saw without dates, and include some restaurant recommendations!
We did 2 different food tours with Eating Europe - Twilight Trastevere and one at the Testaccio food market. A slight preference for Trastevere because there was more walking between stops- with all the food you eat it's good to be moving! The testaccio market had excellent food but it was mostly in the market hall. But i have to say the bruschetta and the porchetta there were unbeatable! Top stops on the Trastevere market were Da Enzo - a restaurant that always has a long line but which you get in with your group with no waiting, to have prosecco and fried artichokes! So good. Also, another stop was a restaurant called Spirito da Vino, where you can visit their 2000 year old basement (now wine storage). Wine and food was plentiful!
An unusual tour we took was the "City of Water" tour, which takes place underneath the Trevi Fountain. They were remodeling a cinema when they found an archeological area including an ancient water tank which was connected to one of the aqueducts and used to supply the Trevi fountain. Very cool!
Taverna Ripetta was a cute restaurant we ate at twice - very small and run by two ladies. There is also a dog named Mo, who wanders around at will, inside or outside the restaurant (a dachshund, very popular dog in Rome). Great carbonara and salad.
We did the usual 3 hour tour of the Colosseum - last time i went i did the underground, but i really don't feel that's necessary. Afterward, we went over to the Monti neighborhood nearby and got a table at Ai Tre Scalini. They don't take reservations, so you will probably have a wait, but they are very friendly and the lasagne and eggplant parmigiana were excellent!
We took the bus everywhere. We just tapped to pay with our phones, no app needed. I had heard that sometimes the machines were not working, but it always worked for us over the 2 weeks. We wondered how the inspectors who come on the busses occasionally to check tickets would know that we had paid, but we were told that in that case you just need to supply the last 4 of your credit card, and they are able to track it. It was so much easier than the last time when i used paper tickets.
We also used Uber when we needed a taxi - I've taken taxis in Rome, but prefer it to a regular taxi because you don't have to worry about communicating with the driver- he has the address and you don't have to worry.
One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the Domus Aurea - the palace that Nero built, which was preserved due to it being used by Trajan for a later building. It was truly amazing, with some preserved wall paintings. And toward the end you do a VR headset which shows you what the whole palace complex looked like. The tour goes on limited days, i think only Fri/sat/Sunday. It's a must do!
After that tour we had a lunch at one of the cafes surrounding the colosseum - there are many and they are touristy, but still fun!
(to be continued)