Tag Archives: rome

We walked around like the jet lagged tourists we were after arriving in Rome at 8 am Italy time, 1 am Chicago time. I finally had to take a brief nap in our excellent Airbnb in an old building in the atmospheric trastevere neighborhood, with a winding marble staircase, sleek terrazzo floors and window looking out into a high brick courtyard with sheets and the occasional bra hanging from the clotheslines. We managed to eat at a very hard to get into restaurant that we’ve been put off from trying because of the long lines out front. (No reservations taken.)

When we arrived at da Enzo at 5:15 there were only two people in the line. So it was now or never with a wait until the 6:30 opening, short by da Enzo standards. We had fun talking with an American guy and a woman from Mexico City in line.

Also fun to be among the excited early diners and the food was excellent hearty fare and very fresh: stuffed zucchini blossoms, fried artichoke, milky Burrata and cherry tomatoes, meatballs, pasta a Amatriciana with thick crispy pieces of guanciale buried in the red sauce.

Oh and tirimisu. Any wonder I felt dizzy when we walked along the square cobblestones back to our Airbnb on via Della scala (#12). We also found the Italian deli of my dreams, Antica Caciara, on s. Francisco, whichI remember from our last visit with a gorgeous meat and cheese counter where we. Bought pecorino, braesolA, and prosciutto to put in our fridge. Ahhh Roma!

We made the most of our last day in Rome by visiting the covered market in the Testaccio neighborhood, which has excellent food stands to pick up lunch and nice little boutiques to pick up last minute gifts. It was blissfully free of large tour groups and instead there were small discreet groups of foodies on tour. We had superb fried artichokes (from Foodbox) and pizza, including one pretty (and tasty) one with zucchini flowers and burrata. We wandered around the former slaughterhouse grounds near the market which still have the rusty conveyor belt-like track with big hooks. Oddly, the place is now a contemporary art museum (closed when we were there, on a Monday) and what appeared to be an art school.

Made one last attempt to find a mother-of-the-groom outfit at the chic boutiques along Via del Pelegríno by the Campo di fiori in centro storico but no luck. Dinner was at da Cesare Al casaletto, a humble looking trattoria on a residential street in the Monteverde neighborhood, an easy #8 bus ride from Trastevere. Glad we had the hotel book ahead for us (I couldn’t do online.) Very unpretentious for one of Italy and Europe’s best restaurants (according to several lists). We had the best pasta matriciana (what we’d call amatriciana ) of our trip, bucatini in a red sauce with inch-size slices of extra crispy bacon. The lamb chop, also recommended, was a disappointment, the meat gnarly and unappetizing. The service was spotty too. Our waiter kept forgetting us but the owner kindly offered us a free glass of a bubbly white wine akin to Prosecco. We didn’t try some of the restaurant’s best reviewed dishes – fried appetizers, meatballs, Cacio e pepe ( Parmesan cheese and black pepper spaghetti, a Rome dish) because we’d been there, done that elsewhere.

Our Rome hotel, Casa di Santa Francesca Romana continued to be a good option. The triple room we stayed in on our return to Rome (a double wasn’t available) was worth the extra money, with more space, nicer bathroom. It’s still a no frills place, with spartan decor and Catholic knickknacks everywhere but great value, location, breakfast and service. Glad I remembered to book way ahead of time. The place was packed with an international cast.

Rome got overwhelming today, too many tourists (a crush of people in matching blue hats, at times), too much noise, too much trash, too many shops closed in the trendy Monti neighborhood (but hey, it was a Sunday.) Sometimes travel and the pressure to make every moment count in a magical faraway place can be too much. Not to mention so much walking.

Nothing that some down time and an afternoon nap couldn’t fix. And a splurge tasting menu dinner (yes, I ate a wee bit of rabbit) in a less touristed neighborhood by the Piazza del Popolo at Mazapane, a small out of the way “it” restaurant with a rising Spanish chef. I’m glad I booked a few restaurants out of our very touristed Trastevere neighborhood, although unlike Paris there is no handy metro and we haven’t figured out the buses so we’ve taken taxis.

Two observations: we had mediocre pizza last night in a great people -watching outdoor snack bar in central storico and excellent pizza today in an awful location, in an empty back room of a pizza bar. And near the restaurant tonight we were happy to be rid of American and other tourists but the Italians were shopping at American stores (Gap, Sketchers, Lush, sephora, Nike)…nearer to the restaurant we seemed to be in a neighborhood with recent immigrants from the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

We also were impressed with the quality of the buskers, especially on the bridges in Trastevere. We met a shopkeeper today in the TESSTACIO neighborhood who is also a busker. He said buskers have to get a permit for the location where they want to play.

I bumped into some people I know at the Jewish museum and synagogue here and they almost acted like they knew me too. They didn’t. They are a famous band – – the LA band Haim! And they couldn’t have been nicer. Two of three Haim sisters Alana and Danielle were there, not Esme…Just being tourists in Rome after playing a concert in London. We chatted for quite awhile and it felt like I’d bumped into old friends. They’re adorable. (Do I sound like a Jewish mother or what?)

The synagogue, btw, is well worth a visit. Built in 1901, gorgeous high-domed, stenciled. Apparently there are about 14,000 Jewish people in Italy. The pope was not initially a fan. He saw to it that the two gates into the Jewish ghetto were locked at night in the 1500s but things improved and John Paul (the polish 20th century one) visited the synagogue.

The museum had some interesting ancient relics too. We ate an excellent crispy fried carcoifi/artichoke, melon and prosciutto, cacio de pepper with ricotta and Parmesan nearby in the Jewish ghetto at Sora Margharita, a lively hole in the wall overlooking a pretty courtyard.

We visited some old favorites in central storico (via giulia, via giubbonari for shopping; campo de fieri market, roscioli salumeria and pizza takeaway, ibiz Leather shop where dirck bought a belt and I tried to remember where the purse I bought there 9 years ago is back in Chicago. (They would have cleaned it if I brought. Next trip.) we stopped for a drink in a lovely little piazza Mattei with its sweet 1598 sculpture and water fountain with nude dancers and climbing turtles.

We walked along the river lined with high plane/sycamore trees to the Testaccio market but wrong timing..,the market was closed, as were the shops. Dinner was far afield near the Vatican at the excellent Romanè, sort of akin to the rising chef bistros we went to in Paris. We wanted to bust out of our lovely but touristed neighborhood and eat where locals eat. Best pasta amitriana ever. And fun laid back atmosphere. We arrived at 8. Lots of people came an hour later.

We are back, after nine years, at the same fantastically-located, remarkably affordable, somewhat spartan hotel ($150 for a double room) in what still feels a bit like the 1400s convent or monastery it once was. casa di Francesca Romana is in a relatively quiet part of the charming Trastevere neighborhood. About a block from the Tiber river. We walked here from the # 8 bus stop that we took (first the wrong way, oops) from the Trastevere train station through winding narrow streets paved in small square black stones, our bags rumbling along, past the occasional artisan’s studio, sportcar auto mechanic, and one particular cheese and salumi deli of my dreams, 1900s-era Antica caciara trasteverina

This is a great walking city and that’s what we do. Walk down whatever alleyway or tight street appeals. The things we stumble upon never fail to amaze. At one point we were walking on a suddenly bland street with a massive police station, spotted a beckoning open door and stepped into an incredibly ornate church (chiesa di Santa Maria dell’Orto circa 1550) with carved white angels (or some such) popping out from the gold leaf and frescoes on the ceiling. (A mirror was helpfully placed on a table in the main aisle so we could get a proper look at the artwork high above us on the ceiling.)

we had the place to ourselves and noticed that there were little shrines in the alcoves paying tribute to various producers of pasta, wine and shoes (it was built not at the popes behest but by merchants and artisans — millers, pasta makers, oil merchants, butchers, fruit merchants, cobblers). The pasta alcove has wheat motifs spotted by Dirck the Kansan.

We were so exhausted and hungry upon arrival (after a very long trip connecting thru Dublin) that we barely could decide what treat to eat at the little outdoor wine bar (Terra Satis) near our Casa. Simple grilled bread with melted cheese, bright red cherry tomatoes and tuna in olive oil was perfect, plus a plate of mozzarella, prosciutto and tomatoes. Must get used to outdoor smokers and vapers although at the bar (hole Birreria) we went to for a beer and aperol spritz, there were card-playing young couples not smokers,. A French couple played Uno. Australians played gin rummy and were fun to chat with. (It took them 20 hours to get here. Twice as long as our trip. )

We got a 5 page history (after inquiring about the origins of this Casa) about the woman this place is named after. Francesca is apparently the second most famous saint in these parts..a wealthy woman who took to begging for the poor. Still unclear what this building was. There’s a photo of the latest Pope in the lobby but apparently the pope is no longer the landlord (as we joked with the nice guy at the front desk.) like many things here, it’s a mystery.

Found this:

History

A 15th century palazzo, close to the Basilica of St Cecilia, with an enchanting history as the home of nobility and St Francesca Romana for 40 years, then later the Pia Opera dei Santi Esercizi Spirituali.