Rome: the Tourist Trail

Day 1: The Piazzas

We had no museum bookings for today, so had an earlier wake-up (Max was very happy). When we left the apartment we headed straight for the streets that Rome is known for: winding passages of cobblestones that are punctuated by stunning monuments like the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountains. 

The first place on our trail was Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. Just as all Italian food seems to be on a different tier of deliciousness to British food, the beauty of Italy's Catholic churches seems to far surpass their British parallels, and this one was another example of an art-museum-cum-holy-place. From there, we wandered past the Presidential Palace towards the Trevi Fountains. These were as stunning as they seem in the pictures, with the statues and spurting rivers of aquamarine. We followed the flags and signposts of various tour leaders through the streets and towards the Pantheon, a domed temple housing the bodies of Raphael and various Italian kings. 

The Trevi Fountains

Next, we walked to the stunning Piazza Navona. We took in the views of the beautiful square whilst being serenaded by an accordionist and munching on a delicacy we hadn't yet tried - Roman gelato.

Quality Gelato...

... to match Quality Views

After that, we perused the markets and backstreet stores of the tourist trail. The Campo di Fiore market was crammed with hawkers selling their goods, almost all of which were fruit-and-veg themed. There was a strong citrusy scent emanating from the umpteen juicers and smoothie stalls. Coupled with the aroma of the colourful flower stands, this was a feast for the nose as well as the eyes. 

The Market

We passed a few more ancient ruins before heading to the Vittorio Emmanuele monument. Not knowing what to expect, we were shocked when we rounded the corner to see a multi-story palace-like building decorated with exquisite statues. We walked the many flights of stairs and stumbled across the most incredible view. From the top of the monument, there is a panoramic view of the key sights of Rome, from the Vatican to the Colosseum. Max maintains that this is his favourite spot in Rome, and as a relatively underrated monument, we were flabbergasted by just how impressive it was - whichever direction we faced was awesome, whether towards Rome's famous rooftops or the columns of the monument itself.

Max's Favourite View

The Monument

For dinner, we had reserved a table in the centre, right outside the Trevi Fountains. We enjoyed the best dinners of the trip so far: mushroom pasta and lasagna, both packed with flavour and presented in pretty dishes. The lively atmosphere made the food even more enjoyable, with the busy restaurants along the street and sounds of the nearby fountain creating a lovely hubbub. It was really fun to be out amidst locals and tourists alike without even having to blow our budget - another Fork discount mitigated the inflated prices. The forty-minute walk back to the apartment was also magical, with the well-lit and quiet streets often bordered by pizzerias and strung with fairylights. For such a major city, we were shocked by how safe it felt to walk home at night, with the atmosphere being much calmer than Bath at the same time. It seems that, whether night or day, Rome can never fail to impress.

Day 2: the Spanish Steps

All of this walking had to catch up with us at some point, and so today, our bodies decided to go on strike. As someone who can usually hop out of bed, I was surprised when my eyes weren't willing to open this morning. It took us a couple of hours to progress from hearing the first alarm to leaving the door, and both of us left the house like zombies, our heads cloudy and our legs heavy. We passed through streets as gorgeous as always, but we couldn't pay much attention to them. Both of us were physically and mentally at half-capacity, and it was a hard feeling to shake off.

Luckily, our itinerary for today was much shorter than yesterday, and none of the sights required quite as much attention. We slowly wandered towards the Borghese Gardens, the Romans' favourite park, and took in the views of the city - a balcony overlooking the rooftops of the Vatican, whilst not as impressive as the Vittorio Emmanuele Monument, was still a beautiful sight. From there, we wandered through picturesque piazzas towards the Spanish Steps. The streets here were cleaner than usual, with the cobblestones and balustrades seeming more uniform than in the neighborhoods near our apartment. Soon enough we realised why - this was the favourite place of Italy's wealthy, tourists and locals alike. The square containing the Spanish steps was encircled with designer stores, with bright Dolce and Gabbana heels and quilted Bottega Veneta bags vying for attention. Whilst the steps themselves were beautiful and the busker singing in the piazza added to the ambiance, there was a feeling of sterility here that we hadn't experience previously in Rome. The simultaneous judginess and showiness reminded me more of Paris or Positano than the humble tourist trails that we had trudged so far - but maybe this was just my hungriness talking. 

The Spanish Steps

Views from the Borghese Gardens

 

Venturing out a place to eat, however, didn't quite solve the problem: the promise of thick sandwiches for 4 euros had enticed us inside a cafe, but the arrival of croissant-sized buns with sparse fillings left my hunger unsatisfied, so much so that we ventured to a second panini store to make up for the disappointment. Splitting this tuna-mayo sandwich helped with the hunger pangs, yet our views on La Spagna (the neighborhood) remained consistent. It was surprisingly not a patch on the Piazza Navona district just down the road, or even our local San Lorenzo. 

The Tidy Streets

Having ticked off all the sights on our list, we headed home earlier than usual, but with achier limbs. The closer we got to the apartment, the more things started to fall apart. Firstly, my right knee locked up - whether in revolt against so much walking or because of an actual injury, I'm not sure, but it became increasingly hard to walk. Secondly, as we walked through the tunnel near our house, I trod my (clean, white) shoe in an enormous pile of dog poo. Thirdly, as I limped my way over to a fountain to wash off the offensive excrement, I managed to douse not only my shoe but my entire foot with water. At this point, I was decidedly grumpy. 

We remedied our bad moods by spending a good few hours in our room packing bags, watching TV, and in my case, stretching off my legs. At around 6pm we did a lap around San Lorenzo, the area outside of our apartment, before heading back to get ready for dinner. Having spent time in the pristine streets of the centre, it was nice to reunite with the grimy but authentic outer alleyways; and whilst La Spagna had been undeniably beautiful, it was nice to reconnect with the parts of Rome that we will remember most fondly. 

We returned to these streets for dinner - our ‘last supper’ in Rome. We opted for a highly rated pizzeria about 3 minutes from our house, and we decided to wait until well past 8pm before finding a table to ensure the streets would be busy. True to form, when we walked to the restaurant the famous student district was lined with packed barfronts and large, merry tables. As we tucked into two massive pizzas an octogenarian guitarist strolled alongside the tables, strumming away. I even splashed out on a glass of prosecco to mark the end of our time in Rome. It was a delicious and memorable meal, and it felt like the perfect finish to our stay in this beautiful city.

 

San Lorenzo at Night