Rome | one night
Passing thorough Rome on our way to the Amalfi Coast, so I chose to book, ahem, a (VERY) budget hotel in a neighborhood near Rome Termini for our 16 hour layover.
Down Via Cavour from the Termini (the immediate area of which is really disgusting) is a wonderful, authentic neighborhood called Monti. I had stayed in Monti two years before, when friends moved to Rome for a year and we visited them twice. My friends are crazy about Monti, and I know why.
Stayed at Downtown Accommodation downtownaccomodation.com on Via Cavour, which I found on TA and came highly recommended. All I really cared about was the location, and that they had a triple room available. I have tall people in my family and everyone needs a bed. No pull-out-couch nonsense for us. When we arrived, on first glance, I was a little worried and I had to remind myself that website photos ALWAYS make the places look substantially better than they really are, but Isa and Lorenzo's warm hospitality reassured me that everything was going to be ok. The room was tight, hardly any room to walk around, let alone open our suitcases (we did have three beds in it) but... Immaculately clean! Comfortable beds! Nice sheets! Free bottled water! Wifi that worked immediately! Hot Water! Door that locked! I could go on about the things that one would expect as givens from a hotel room, but we all know they don't always happen. Bathroom was small but newly remodeled and immaculately clean. Thrilling! Other important features are air con - CRUCIAL in Rome after June 1, and triple paned windows that let in no street noise from the sidewalk or busy Via Cavour outside.
Dropped our bags and went out because we had a plan for Monti:
1. Dinner at Alle Carrette on Via della Madonna dei Monti (sorry no website). This very Roman pizzeria is on a fun little alley/street/walk through Monti and we have eaten here many times. Was a Friday night and it was full of Romans (maybe because it's not a wanky tourist trap?) and the pizza was even better than I remembered. Or maybe I was just happy to be back in Rome. Either way, all good.
After dinner, we strolled through Monti up and down and around the Via dei Serpenti and eventually up the Via Leonina to the Piazza degli Zingari to my favorite gelato shop in Rome, Fatamorgana gelateriafatamorgana.it. This place is the bomb, and now I think there are multiple locations. I will never forget my first visit two years ago, with my Rome friend. We decided to make a late night gelato run and ended up there at 11:55 pm, where we hurried to order. One of our choices was their Tobacco Chocolate. Wow I am not and have never been a smoker, but it is incredible. My Rome friend IS a smoker, and after a few bites, she raced back in and ordered another cone of it, practically as they were pulling down the metal door. Had it again on this visit, just a delicious. I originally asked for a two scoop cup but as I looked around I kept asking to add more flavors. I don't even remember what they were because I was so involved in eating them. Maybe someone in my family had a charming flavor like Fennel or Rose but I don't even remember. Just the Tobacco Chocolate.
