The Jet-lagged Journalist

I had the pleasure of going to Italy with my boyfriend, Andrew, for two weeks. This was the trip of a lifetime; here’s how it went:

Flying directly into Rome from the States was an overnight flight that got us in at 8 am. We stayed in a hip part of the city, called Monti. We dropped off our bags at our hotel’s bag room because check-in wasn’t for a few more hours. Deciding to get our first taste of Rome, we went to Trieste Pizza sharing a lasagna and two mini pizzas, everything tasted amazing and the service was impeccable. We explored down the street to find the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore; we planned on seeing it during our trip anyway, so why not now? We were in awe with every crevice of the building carved into a beautiful sculpture or displaying a graceful painting. In the center, the lower part of the Basilica shows a relic of a piece of wood from baby Jesus’s crib surrounded by silver and gold. Once it was time to check in to our hotel, we were ready for a nap; although, that turned into a six-hour slumber, making it the perfect time for dinner when we woke up. We ate at Benso where I ordered the best Alfredo I’ve ever had, this restaurant was my favorite in Rome, and I could not recommend it enough. 

The next morning we woke up early for a jam-packed day! Hoping to get there before it got too crowded, we walked to Trevi fountain, hiked up the Spanish steps, got breakfast, and went to the Borgese museum and garden. We did a self-guided tour to keep things at our own pace. I noticed there were Greek and Egyptian influences in some of the artwork. Realizing how hungry we were, we walked back towards our hotel, getting lunch at Pasta Urbana; we both ordered the gnocchi and enjoyed every bite. Andrew and I decided to relax before our pasta-making class where we learned how to make fettuccine, ravioli, and tiramisu. Our instructor was fantastic, learning and laughing the whole time, this became one of our favorite memories in Rome. We explored the Piazza Novella, ending our night by drinking a beer at the world-famous, award-winning Scholars Lounge Irish Pub. 

We had another early morning getting ready to go to Vatican City. Figuring out the Subway system was a breeze due to my year living in Washington DC. The Vatican was phenomenal; we were told by our tour guide that it would take 84 consecutive days to see every piece of artwork in The Vatican. We saw masterpieces from legendary artists. The Sistine Chapel was our favorite; gazing at the ceiling art in awe that took Michelangelo 4 years to complete is something I’ll never forget. We walked to the Jewish Ghetto, where we enjoyed a glass of wine and live music before dinner. Sitting outside in the near-perfect weather, across the table from my best friend and indulging in the best foods I’ve ever had, part of me never wanted to leave. We decided to go back to Trevi at night because we didn’t get to see it with the water on when we went in the morning. 

Our last day was rainy, yet it was one of my favorites. We had a fabulous breakfast at Er Baretto before we toured the Colosseum. Walking the ancient fighting grounds, it was fascinating to learn that the center of the Colosseum used to be filled with water and crowds would watch ships battle. We explored the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill as quickly as we could before they closed. We had dinner at Tonnorello, where we met a wonderful couple from London, the four of us shared the differences between our countries and the exciting plans we all had during our time here in Italy. Both of us ordered the fried artichoke, carbonara, and an Aperol Spritz. As Andrew and I walked the streets of Rome one last time, we passed by more live music and watched the sunset from a view.

We loved our time in Rome, and as much as we wanted to stay, we were so excited for our next adventure on the Amalfi Coast. Stay tuned for that post coming soon…