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0 0 0 It has been more than 20 years since i last visited Rome. Not much has changed since then but then again perhaps even since the fall of the Roman empire. I love Rome due to the rich history and the culture. I did not find it romantic 20 years ago but strangely this time i find that this city to be a very romantic city. Great place for couples though both times i went with guys : (. For my first trip many years back i actually did a lot of research on the history of the churches and the historical sites. Knowing the history of the place also enriches your travel experience.
History just fascinate me and being at a historical place where past events or creation impacted almost every corner of the world just never fails to excite me. Yes, i am a history buff. Just happy to be revisiting a place of great history. Oh and not to mention the great food, love Italian food : ).
This trip i stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Rome Claridge. It is not the fancy 5-star hotel but still look rather like an small business hotel.
One of my favourite things to do in Italy is the cafe. The coffee standard is so high that it is hard to find bad coffee here. I just pop round the corner to the Cafe Rossini. I absolutely love the pastry and the cappuccino. So good that i went back every morning for the next 3 days.
I had my coffee over the bar counter, just like many locals do. It is kind of weird as we usually do that for beer instead of coffee but i still love the experience. Having your coffee by the bar is also supposed to be cheaper than seated.
As i arrived early morning from a red-eye flight from Singapore, i preferred to take it easy and took a walk around the nearby park Villa Borghese. This is a pretty big and beautiful park. Weather was around 18 degrees in early December so perfect for a stroll in the day. You will be surprised that Rome isn’t too big or rather the major touristy sites are not too far apart. You can actually cover it in a day by just walking. Of course that is provided you are of reasonable health and fitness (or can walk for at least more than 10km).
Being a little lazy, i usually find restaurants nearby where i stayed and this time i popped by the Ristorante Mattarello that’s just around the corner. It is known for it’s pasta so i decided to try the home-made fettuccine and Prosciutto with burrata as appetizer. The burrata was super creamy and delicious. Initially i thought the cheese was mozzarella but the waiter explained that it is actually burrata. Burrata takes mozzarella one step further by forming it into a pouch and filling it up with cream and curd.
The fettuccine texture is chewy and al dente with strips of grilled bacons. I hate pasta that’s overcook and end up being soggy.
Dinner was spent also round the corner at Taverna Rossini. Man, this was a huge disappointment. The vegetable soup was alright thought a little too big a bowl but the spaghetti was under-cook and you could still taste the rawness of the spaghetti. Tried explaining this to the waiter but either they don’t get it or they don’t care. Language is a problem in Italy as most do not speak English. In any case, poor service and disappointed with the food.
Next morning i took the tram (no. 3) to the famous Colosseum and i find it pretty easy. Only problem is that it gets rather crowded at certain stretch. Colosseum is so prominent that you have no way to miss the stop.
The pictures turned out to be really nice with the Colosseum against the blue sky making a great contrast. The Colosseum was famous not only because of the Gladiators that fought there but also the site of the martyrdom of many early Christians. In this times it is hard to imagine such savagery and brutality as a form of entertainment for the Romans but this really happened in those days. The infamous Roman emperor Commodus himself also fought as a Gladiator and as you can expect he always win.
Here is my walking tour to at major attractions and yes again all using googlemap. I will start at Colosseum and it will take me to Roman Forum, Altare della Patria, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Castel Saint Angelo, Saint Peter’s square and the Vatican. All in all should take slightly more than an hour of continuously walking but i took loads of picture and gelato breaks. I never had so many ice-cream in a single day. This is my so called 1 day tour of Rome which definitely do not do justice at all to the historically rich city. To visit and absorb in all the historical sites, will need a few days at least but 1 day is what i have so it is what it is.
Here’s the famous Spanish steps. I must admit that i did not know much about the Spanish steps other than it was made famous by several Hollywood movies. The name and the Spanish embassy nearby is a hint however. When it was built between 1723-1725 and soon it became the place for artist and poets to meet. Eventually it became a place for people watching and a place to be seen. Now it has become more like a tourist attraction and so popular that tourist may face a fine of Euro 250 for sitting on the steps. Might be a good thing as otherwise the steps become so cluttered and look like a slum.
The Pantheon is one of the most famous site in Rome and to most people the tomb of the great Renaissance artist Raphael which he requested to be buried there. This imposing yet impressive looking building used to be a Roman temple but it is now a church,
Along the way i could not resist the gelato and indulged myself to one and it was most heavenly. Gelato from Venchi Cioccolato got to be one of the best ice-cream i have even tasted.
There actually a tunnel underneath Castel Sant Angelo leading to Vatican Palace. This is where Pope Clement escaped from the Vatican Palace during the sack of Rome on 6 May 1527. The Swiss guard fought bravely to defend St. Peter’s Basilica to create enough delay so that Pope Clement could escape. Of the 189 Swiss guards that fought, 147 died. The 42 survived because they where escorting the Pope in his escape through the tunnel.
With such splendor and grandeur of the St. Peter’s Basilica, it is easy to lose sight of the historical significance of whom the church was named after, St. Peter. Peter was one of the early disciple of Jesus and whom Jesus called to join him. Though he denied Christ 3 times when Jesus was arrested, he went on to become one of the greatest evangelist and instrumental in the spread of Christianity. He is a real person and not a fictional character.
Rome just overwhelm with history and there is tons of it for anyone is keen. For those keen in any area of history, Roman, art or Christianity, this is one place to indulge in.
The evening time of Rome gives out a totally different vibe. It somehow has a very romantic feel to it. Probably the cool weather and the light blue sky of early winter? Best not to come during summer due to the heat. This is a great place to bring your partner (without the kids) where there is something for everyone like shopping, great food and rich historical sites.
We finished up the day with dining at Ristorante Ad Hoc, one of the highly rated restaurant in Rome. It has a wide collection of Italian wines so we ordered a bottle of Amativo which is amazing. Amativo is from southern italy, it is full bodied with high acidity.
The beef cheek is good and the service is also great. Somehow the white truffle just steals the thunder and overpowers everything else. I cannot really taste much of the beef cheek. You just walk away having lingering truffle taste in your mouth.
It is a short trip to Rome but nevertheless a very memorable one. I did not enjoyed Rome that much 20 years ago i guess largely due to the fact that I was a student and had to stinge on everything. Although i did alot of research back then on the historical significance of each of the historical sites which i can only vaguely recall now. Well, now internet is so developed that you can literally find anything just by googling. I just google as i go along and with alot of help from google map. It’s amazing to see how things have changed. Lonely planet used to be the bible for travelers but now you just need a mobile phone. That’s the beauty of the internet.
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