Viator Viator Travel Blog

Ladies, if you ever need your mood lifted, go to Rome.

It’s very difficult for a woman to walk down the street there without being greeted with ‘Ciao, bella’ or ‘Buongiorno, beautiful lady.’ Very good for the ego. And definitely not pick-up lines but just part of the joy of life embraced by Italians. My theory is that all that pasta, wine and sugary cake makes them feel so happy they want to share the joy. Well, bring it on I say.

Trevi Fountain, Rome

Rome: Getting situated

I recently went to Rome for the third time and the geography of the city fell into place for me. If you have the luxury of returning to places, it seems to me that the third visit is key. The first visit, I’m a bit overwhelmed by new sights and sounds and smells. On the second I fill in the blanks, things I’ve heard about since my first visit, places I missed, venturing a bit further afield. But on this third visit to Rome, I suddenly realised where the Colosseum is in relation to the Pantheon, how to walk from the Trevi Fountain to the river without slavishly consulting a map, and braved buses and trams.

We flew cheaply from London and landed at the secondary, smaller airport, Ciampino. I’d always come in via Fiumicino, which has a train straight to the central station, Termini. But Ciampino was just as easy – and cheap – to get in from. A shuttle bus to the Metro A line which goes straight through central Rome (you can also book a private Ciampino airport transfer over on the main Viator site). There are only two Metro lines so it’s pretty easy to negotiate. I just wish I spoke Italian because the carry-ons of a group of teenagers in our carriage made the sternest looking woman burst out laughing – oh for a Babelfish in my ear.

Our hotel was near the Spanish Steps, Hotel San Carlo. Not crazy expensive, basic breakfast included, and so well located (which is important when time is limited). The most alarming, but very Italian thing, was my room number: 74. The hotel has no lift and after climbing as far as the third floor and seeing rooms 30-40, I began to doubt surviving the climb to the 7th floor! Luckily, Italians are a little free and wild with numbering so the 4th floor was rooms 70-80.

Day 1 in Rome: Walking & eating

Day 1 we walked. Up the Spanish Steps, left past the Villa Medici, through the Borghese Gardens, stumbling across great buildings, aesthetic trees, courting couples. Then we headed down into Piazza del Popolo, along Via del Corso, a major shopping street and thoroughfare, crowded with shoppers and wanderers. We were slightly distracted by various shops, but while damaging your credit card, you can still appreciate amazing architecture.

Saturday Shopping in Rome

And those police uniforms! Especially the carabinieri. Do they get these guys from Central Casting? Be still my beating heart. I had a job interview the day after I returned to London and when they asked me my weakness I had to stop myself replying “Italian Policemen”. But it is futile trying to get their attention – either they only stir themselves for really major crimes or they actually are window dressing while the real cops are hidden behind the scenes.

Dinner that night was at a great place in the grid of shopping and eating streets near our hotel: L’Enotec Antica on Via della Croce. We chose it because it looked atmospheric and the least touristy. We were right. There were lots of locals, the pasta was fresh, the service fast and efficient, the atmosphere great. After dinner, we wanted a nightcap but couldn’t get a seat at the bar so we went elsewhere: big mistake. In one of the many places with tables on the street, we were surrounded by young drinking English tourists and had a terrible tiramisu, which we didn’t finish according to the ‘empty calories’ theory (calories you don’t enjoy eating are pointless).

Day 2 in Rome: Ah, those Italian men

Day 2 we went for a coffee at Bar Gambero, a little place on Via della Vite and Via della Gambero that I had found a few years earlier. The same lovely waiters were still there, and they gave us free pastries – I flatter myself they remembered me but I suspect it is a first-visit tactic to make you a regular for your stay in Rome. Who cares! They were sugary goodness and the coffee was great.

Then we wandered. The Trevi Fountain is amazing if just for the sheer volume of people crowded around it. You have to wonder if the surrounding buildings are still apartments: imagine waking up to that everyday! Or even more fabulous, going to sleep looking at the fountain at night. It’s best all lit up, so we returned that night on our way home. We both threw in a coin and made a wish, avoiding the many, many guys offering to take our souvenir photo or push red roses into our hands followed by a demand for money. I can’t even imagine how crowded the small square must be in summer, at the height of the tourist season. Hang on tight to your handbag!

We visited the Pantheon. I love this building. Built around AD 120 – amazing. But one of the most interesting things is the way people behave there. It’s a sacred building, a basilica, and there are signs asking for respect and silence but people are wandering around talking loudly, sitting on the floor, yelling to friends. Maybe because it does not have the traditional church structure of aisle and altar and seating, it does not send us that ingrained message to be silent and reverent.

C U L8R AT 4UM

Next we wandered towards the river, via Piazza Navona, a huge square full of restaurants. But we shied away from eating there fearing inflated prices and decreased quality food. Instead we wandered through winding back streets, full of cute shops and found a little bistro, still full of us English speakers but with a nicer, less frantic atmosphere.

Then we headed for the Forum and the Colosseum. From the wrong side. Ah, the joy of travel without a map and a plan. We walked and walked, skirting the outside of the Forum, getting a great view of the ruins below us, but not actually finding the way in! By the time we did (it’s near the Colosseum by the way) we were tired, it was 9 euros each and we felt like we’d seen it by then. So we continued on to circumnavigate the Colosseum. Again, we didn’t go in, not feeling the need to part with the cash when you can sort of see in, and get the sense of the haunted place from the outside. Then we saw my favourite sight for the weekend: a Centurion texting on his mobile phone.

Exhausted we caught the Metro back to our hotel before braving a bus and a tram to get to the Trastavere district for dinner. I had a conversation with the bus guy, him speaking Italian, me English, but we understood enough to find the right bus. Trastavere is full of bars and bistros but long queues on a Saturday night. We were lucky to get a table in a place called Da Othello, highly recommended, lovely staff, great busy atmosphere and terrific antipasto then seafood with the whole fish filleted at the table. And the meal including wine was really cheap.

Then back to our local enoteca for a nightcap and for my travelling companion to break the heart of a barman who became completely smitten. We ended up returning there the following night for our final meal and he blushed and charmed his way into our memories forever. Ah, those Italian men.

Day 3 in Rome: To be tall & blond in Rome

Our final day, we visited the flea market at Trastavere which I would recommend avoiding. Just lots of cheap clothes and shoes and an atmosphere reeking of pickpocketing. Then we went to the Vatican, approaching across the Ponte Sant Angelo, towards the old Vatican building. When you’ve crossed the river, turn your eyes left: a great way to see the glory of St Peter’s open up before you. Avoiding the guys selling designer fakes, we walked up the imposing boulevard, passed through security, tried not to laugh at the Swiss Guards in their hilarious uniforms, and entered St Peter’s.

I will never cease to be awed and moved by Michelangelo’s Pieta, behind glass now after being attacked years ago. This time I managed to tear myself away to actually look around the rest of the church. We were incredibly lucky to be there as Sunday evening Mass began. And even luckier that one of the security guards holding back the tourists from the faithful, took a shine to my travelling companion and let us into the service itself. (Do you see a theme appearing…?) The choir’s voices filled the dome, the incense drifted around, and the faces of the priests in their red capes looked straight out of old paintings. What a great experience.

We didn’t have time to go to the Vatican museum, and I have been before. But the queues and the crowds ruined the experience for me, I have to admit. I could not enjoy and really look at the Sistine Chapel ceiling – a life ambition – as there were too many people crammed in and too much pressure to keep moving. If you can do a small group Vatican tour, grab the chance.

Then we found the Metro, a couple of blocks from the Vatican, had our last Roman meal and raced to the airport for a late flight. At the airport we on Ryanair were the lucky ones: the easyJet passengers had arrived to find their plane cancelled and the next one four days later! Unless they were willing to pay 500 pounds to catch a different airline to another city in the UK. There were some unhappy faces around.

As we got on the plane, my travelling companion smiled her way to the front of the queue for priority boarding. Ah, to be tall and blond in bella Roma!

–Philippa Burne

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Rome tours & things to do in Rome, from Vatican & Sistine Chapel tours to day trips to Pompeii. If you need a place to stay, check out Hotels in Rome on Planetware.com.