Rome | two days
I've had fantastic luck to have visited Rome three times in the last four years, and I now know from this last trip, that there is just never enough time there. I will definitely be going again.
On the way back from Positano, we had a quick day-and-a-half stopover before our flight home. Here's what we did.
Arrived by train and headed to our apartment in the Centro Storico. I hadn't spent a lot of time in the area and it made sense to stay someplace new and centrally located. Our little loft apartment was on Vicolo della Vacarella and despite the frighteningly low ceilings (although I am not tall, the rest of my family is, and there were some potential tramatic-brain-injury-moments), it was super cozy, quiet and had air con—a must in Rome after June1.
We dumped our stuff and started to explore the neighborhood. It was a great location for everything you'd want to see in Rome for 48 hours...the Pantheon, Piazza Navona (which in summer is a mess, so just stay away), shopping on the Via dei Coronari, people watching on the Via del Corso and maybe no more than 10 minutes walking to the Spanish Steps. Avoid the Trevi Fountain for now, it's under construction and a tourist mess as usual.
Right outside our apartment door was the Via della Scrofa, and about a block away I could see a long vertical sign that said ANTICO FORNO which means only one thing - baked goods! We headed straight there to find the tiny but jam packed Antico Forno la Stelletta (Via della Scrofa 33, no website). Now I love me some baked goods, and this place was my version of Italian heaven. As I madly ordered their toasted hazelnut Brutti ma Buoni (trans. Ugly but Good), almond meringues, and slices of the long Roman pizza, sold by the "etto" unit of measure, my husband knew this was trouble. You order at the counter then turn around and hand your tab to the cashier at the desk in the corner, who you pay as quickly as possible before busting into your bag. I asked the cashier how late they were open (thinking bakeries only stay open until maybe 4 pm?) and she sighed in a weary resignation, "We are open always." I thought she was being sarcastic. But fast-forward to the 5 am airport pick up by our driver Adriano...as I glanced one last time down della Scrofia, the only light I saw was the interior of La Stelletta, shining bright as the little Brutti ma Buoni called my name. She wasn't kidding, they ARE open always!
I hadn't scoped a restaurant for our dinner Saturday night and the family was very concerned, so during our rest stop back at the apartment I started trolling the review sites. After some looking I kept coming back to a 5 * (!!) restaurant on TA that happened to be um, right next door to our flat...so we went for it! So lucky we did, what a gem. Al Duello +39 06 687 3348 just under our apartment at Vicolo della Vacarella, 11 (no website) was so wonderful. My daughter and I ran down to look at the menu and while we were peering in, a darling young woman opened the door to tell us that they didn't open until 7 pm which was fine—we asked for a 7:30 reservation which she kindly took down. At 7:30 we left the apartment and went downstairs to the restaurant. The server remembered us and showed us to a table. I am always interested to see who else is in restaurants, and it was nice that both Italians and foreign tourists were dining there. Atmosphere is a bit upscale and would make a nice, intimate celebration or date-night, without the high prices of some other Roman restaurants. But they welcomed us and our teen daughter with graciousness. One thing I thought was charming—the waitstaff brought a plate out to show each table what the fresh fish of the day was. How old skool and wonderful to know the fish is FRESH! We had a delicious dinner, accompanied by a Cutizzi Greco di Tufo Feudi de San Gregorio (€22) which we had been drinking just the night before in Positano. This sweet little restaurant is definitely worth seeking out, you will feel like a local and dine like one too.
The next morning was Sunday, and our driver back in Positano had suggested that we go see the Pope give his Angelus at St. Peter's Square at 12 noon.
On the way we stopped at Likeat likeatroma.com for the incredible porchetta sandwiches, made fresh for us by Corinne from porchetta that her family has been making for a hundred years. The little shop is at the end of the Corso Vittorio Emanuelle and opens at 10 am and stays open very late on weekend nights—we asked how late and she said "Until we're done." Good to know. These sandwiches were so good that we stopped back at the end of the day for another round to take on our plane flight home.
Crossing the bridge to the Via San Pio X, we made our way down the Via della Conciliazione toward St. Peters Square, stopping to buy Papa Francesco swag. We arrived at the square just before 11:45 am to see the Pope's banner unfurled from the second window from the right on the top floor, the Papal Apartment, and then sheltered in the shade until noon when he appeared to address the crowd. What a great experience to see the Pope give a blessing and welcome, by name, the many groups who traveled to see him. I'm not Catholic, but it was pretty special to see how energized the crowd was to see him. Gotta love Papa Francesco. After, we walked from the Vatican to Trastavere. I do not recommend this, especially in the June heat. Take a cab or a bus, it's just too far to walk.
We decided that our last night in Rome had to be spent dining at Osteria La Quercia, +39 06 6830 0932 on the Piazza della Quercia, 23, just off the Campo de' Fiori. We love this restaurant, having discovered it with friends who lived in Rome. As we've kept coming back over the past few years, it just keeps getting better. Very local, on a tiny square, we were the only non-Italians dining there on a Sunday night, surrounded by groups of families and friends enjoying the best vegetarian lasagne I've had. Not a big, sloppy mass of tomato sauce and cheese, but light and delicate—a few sheets of fresh pasta wrapping seasonal vegetables (note that June is Zucchini time) and just enough strong cheese (maybe it was fontina?) to season it and add a lovely stringy texture. Something new we tried this time was their meatballs in a light sauce, which was more like a pan gravy. Delicious and a nice break from typical Italian food.
Our stroll back took us through the Campo de'Fiori, which I usually dislike (well ok, hate) during the day—with all the shady vendors trying to rip off tourists. But it was a warm Roman night and the vendors were gone, replaced by big screen TVs in front of the bars for patrons and passers-by to watch the World Cup games. People zipped by on scooters and couples cuddled by the fountain. A perfect Italian evening that I am looking forward to repeating soon.
