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Italy 2005
Part One: Rome & Vitorchiano, Italy - A Hundred Cities in One
The Long Flight
For our three week tour of Italy, we flew out of San Francisco, renting a car one-way from home and dropping it off in the city. We were fortunate enough to have saved enough frequent flier miles to get first class tickets - if you can manage it, we highly recommend it. Although a sleeper seat will never be as comfortable as your own bed at home, it's far more so than the typical coach seat or even the standard business class one, and the meals alone are worth the upgrade.
We left San Francisco at 2:15 PM on a Monday; by the time we flew to Frankfurt, transferred to another plane, flew to Rome, and then took the train to our first stay, it was 3 PM on Tuesday, Italian time.
 There's a nine hour tine difference between the USA West Coast and Italy, so it wasn't really a whole day travelling, but it sure felt like it. Coming back did take 24 hours, but we'll leave that part for our last Italy newsletter.
The airport terminal where you arrive in Rome has a bit of an old bus station feel to it, but everyone was friendly, and it was easy enough to find the train station. Oddly, we were never asked for our passports upon arrival in Italy.
The Train
Once you reach the train station, buy a ticket (biglietto) at the window. You'll need cash, but there's a bancomat (atm) right across the isle from the ticket window. Ours (a one day ticket) cost 5 euro.
When in busy public areas in Italy, be careful of pickpockets. Rome especially has a problem with this, and you may be targeted as a tourist by several thiefs working together to distract you. We recommend getting a money belt.
Don't show it in public - keep a cheap wallet and/or a few euros in your pocket for use on the street. If theives know where you have your money, credit cards, etc, it's that much easier to take them from you. We had no problem on the way into Rome from the airport. We found seats, and kept our luggage on the seat in front of us, away from the aisle.
 The train in was uneventful. Like trains in many big urban areas, this one passes through some industrial and older/run down sections of town, but don't judge the city by what you can see from the train.
To reach Piazza Bologna, where we stayed the first two nights, we transferred from the train to the metro (subway). Metro tickets are sold in small stores and ticket machines in the station (stazione), and are currently 1 euro for a one-way ride or 3 euro for all day use. The metro will take you through most of central Rome, and the 3 euro pass is also good on the buses. Individual rides are 1 euro, so only buy the day pass if you think you will ride the train/bus more than three times.
The Roman People
The Roman people were uniformly friendly, from the shopkeepers who patiently answered our Dov'e (where is the...) questions to the innkeepers and just plain folks on the street we ran across. Very metropolitan and practical in general, these folks make Rome even more of a pleasure to visit, and exceptions to this were rare (though we did have one waiter in the Spagna area who would give the stereotype of rude French Waiters a run for the money).
Take time to learn a bit of the language before you go - if you live in a major city, you probably have an Italian Center (like the Italian Center in Sacramento where our Professoressa, Patrizia, teaches); many community colleges also offer language courses. It's so much easier, more comfortable, and ultimately rewarding when you have the ability to communicate with Italians in their own languange, even if only for the basics, like asking where the bathroom is or ordering another coke.
Areas in Rome
We visited a number of distinctive areas in Rome - and each had its own character. We'll cover the ones we saw below, but this is by no means a comprehensive list. Take some time to wander around the city on your own and you're sure to discover many of your own new favorite places. Rome is like a hundred cities in one, with something new around every corner.
Northeastern Rome
Click On Any Picture To See More
Piazza Bologna
This was the first place in Rome we saw after arriving from the airport, and it's a reasonable representation of many areas in the city. The piazza is a small circle around which the Roman traffic zips by, taxis, buses, tiny cars, motorcycles, and scooters.
Crossing the street here is an act for the brave - don't wait for the traffic to stop, because it never will. Watch for an opening, and step out into the street, hand held out to stop the oncoming rush. Several other travelers in Rome advised us not to look the drivers in the eyes, because then they know you've seen them, and will assume you will get out of the way.
Where To Stay
 Piazza Bologna is a cute downtown plaza. It feels very metropolitan - there's lots of street noise, with scooters, motorcycles, and smart cars zipping back and forth. There are also lots of people about.
We stayed at Bologna B&B - the main entrance is just off the piazza behind a triangle of grass, in the building (circa 1938) labelled 6 Piazza Bologna. Each address is marked by a little white square on the side of the building, so it's not too hard to find your way around.
One of the things that's different in Rome is that the ground floor is not the first floor - instead, what we'd call the second floor in the US is the first floor.
 Bologna B&B has three apartments, two on the first floor (primo piano), and one on the second floor (primo secondo). Each has several rooms for rent, and a breakfast area where the morning meal (colazione prima) is served.
We stayed in a first floor room with an ensuite bath, and a view of part of the Piazza below. The rooms are simply furnished and clean, ideal to serve as a base for exploring the city. We were greated by Michela, Aldo and Danielle's daughter, and she was charming and friendly - born in Brazil, she's adapted very well to life in Italy, where here parents are from and now live onn the first floor.
 She spoke very good english and put up with our halting bits of Italian - it's humbling to realize how little we were actually able to speak it, especially in the first couple days, even after taking Italian for Travelers and boning up for the last two months on our own.
The rooms are facing the street, so you can hang out in the room and just watch the Roman life outside your window if you want. The piazza stays busy until fairly late, but the windows, when closed, block out most of the noise, and we slept well both nights.
Aldo stopped by in the afternoon to find us half-asleep from jet lag; we crashed for a very long night, sleeping from about 4 PM until almost 5 am the next morning.
He was very friendly, and spoke with us the next morning over breakfast about the area, and about Rome in general. Breakfast is continental - a croissant, juice, coffee, tea, and cereal, served in the dining room in your suite (you rent one of the rooms in the suite, and all guests in that particular suite dine together in the dining room).
Bologna B&B is ideal for the traveler who wants a low key accommodation with slice of Roman city life without the horrendous traffic in the center of the city, and easy accesibility to all downtown amenities by subway.
Tiburtina Station
Like Bologna Piazza, this is a working neighborhood, not geared to tourists, and so it's a great place to enjoy the real Rome. This area is just a 10 minute walk south of Bologna Piazza. If you stay in or visit this neighborhood, take some time to wander the streets, too sit in a bar or caffe on one of the main Piazza's, to interact with some of the local folks and visitors around you.
Where to Eat
We found a fantastic bar not far from Bologna B&B - Stendal - that had pastries that were to die for (and a great cappuchino too)!
Nomentana
This area is northeast of central Rome, and is most easily accessible by bus or taxi, but a taxi ride to/from here will run 20-30 euro, so be aware of the cost.
Where To Stay
This property is the furthest from the center among the places we visited (30 minutes), and because of that, it's also the quietest. This is what we'd call a homestay - your room (2 guestrooms total) is a room in the owner's apartment, on the top floor of a brick apartment building. The rooms are clean and comfortable, and the apartment has nice territorial views of the surrounding neighborhood.
Ilaria, the host, is very warm, and knows all the great hangouts in Rome. With a homestay, one of the benefits is the time you get to spend with your host, and we really enjoyed our time with Ilaria. Great for single travelers or couples wanting a very welcoming place to stay outside the busy center - with easy access by bus to all of Rome's sights.
Central Rome
Central Rome has a number of distinct neighborhoods, including the area around Termini Station, The Coliseum/Forum/Palatine Hill area, and the Spanish Steps.Termini Station AreaThe neighborhood around Termini Station, where you'll arrive if you take the train from Florence or Naples, is also more of a local neighborhood. We ate in a small Pizzeria across from the station, and it was the worst meal we had in Rome - do not eat near the station!From Termini Station, it's a good 20-30 minute walk (fine on a good, clear day) to the Colisseum and Forum, and also in a different direction to Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. But if you don't feel like walking, take the metro line - it's a short hop on the subway to most of the central city.This area is mostly apartment buildings, very few shops, but is convenient to all of Central Rome. We visited two properties in this area:
Forum/Coliseum/Palatine Hill Area
What to See
 This area was one of the hilights of our visit to Rome. The ruins in the center of Rome are fairly large - it takes 10-15 minutes to walk from one end of the Forum to the Coliseum at the other end.
Tip: Entrance Tickets to the Palatine Hill and the Coliseum are good for both attractions, so don't buy a ticket at each place, as we did by mistake. Also, there are many guides for hire outside the Coliseum, but they are not trained, and cost twice what a trained guide inside costs.
We started at the Palatine Hill, climbing up steps with the palace of the emperors of Rome right above us. Many of the ruins on the hill are in poor shape, but work has ben done to restore the palace, and it's beautiful atop the hillside.
The hill itself is huge, and you could wander around the ruins here for hours. There's also a museum on the hill, but it's just a few rooms with some pots and shards from the site.
From the Palatine Hill, walk down to the Forum - where most of the day-to-day business of the republic and later the empire were conducted. Again, most of the main structures have been destroyed by time, war and wear, but the ruins themselves are still majestic.
This area is amazing - aside from the roman roads that run through the Forum, there are a number of structures that are still mostly intact, including several triumphal arches, and even the large structures that are in ruins are majestic.
Caesar's tomb is here, looking very modest among all the antiquity - it's humbling to know that someone who had such a pivotal role in history has such a humble tomb, but on the other hand, there's something stirring to know that you stand so close to his final resting place.
At the far end of the Forum, the Coliseum stands as a testament to the building prowess of the ancient Romans. Despite having been stripped of its marble facade over the years, the main part of the structure still endures, and the sheer magnitude of the structure is impressive. How they were able to manage such a building without modern tools amazed both of us.
Most pictures you see of the Coliseum show just the front, but the whole oval arena is still there, and for 10 euro each at the time of our visit, we were able to get inside to see the grand amphitheater, and for an additional 3.50 euro, we joined as tour group. The tour was fairly short, but interesting, but keep your eyes open or the guide will take off without you!
We'd recommend arriving first at the Coliseum, as that seems to be where the longest lines are, then do the Forum and Palatine Hill.
At the far end of the Forum from the Coliseum, there are some beautiful museums around a wide plaza - we didn't have time to explore them, but there are some amazing statures and architecture here, and we found the perfect fountain for a cool seat on a hot day here, just around the corner.
On the far side of the Palatine Hill from the forum is the Circus Maximus, where the chariot races were run. Unfortunately most of the buildings here were destroyed over the centuries and carted away for their materials, so there's now just a tower and a long, grassy field. But if you squint and cast your imagination back a couple thousand years, you can almost hear the crash of wheels against wheels and the thundering of hooves here.
 
While we were at the forum, a protest passed by - apparently against a move by the government to privatize water supplies - sound familiar? Just substitute the word power for water and California for Italy. It was fascinating to watch. Here are a few pics of the protest.
 Just outside the Forum/Coliseum/Palatine Hill area, we found this building with columns from ancient Roman ruins embedded right into the bricks in the side of the wall.
We're not sure if this was to help preserve them, or just to add a stolen design element to an otherwise bland bilding. But we thought it was pretty cool anyhow.
We visited one accommodation close to the historic center:
Where To Stay
In the Coliseum/Forum area, Nicolas Inn is a suite rental. The inn's rooms are elegantly furnished, and are run by an Italian and an American, so communication is no problem. The inn has great sound-blocking windows, so traffic won't bother you at night when you're trying to sleep. The 4 rooms are each equipped with a refrigerator, a TV, and wireless internet access. The rooms were all gutted and remodeled when the new owners created the property.
The location is the closest we visited to the Forum and Coliseum - the latter (and the corresponding metro (subway) station are just two blocks away, and you can easily walk to almost anything in central Rome, including the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Ideal for singles, couples and business travelers wanting to see the Centri Storico - the historic center of Rome.
Spagna (Spanish Steps) Area
What to See
The Spanish District of Rome was our favorite living part of the city. Take the Metro A line to Spagna, then exit the station and get a delicious sampling of Gelato at Marriot, a small Gelateria in the alley just outside the Station exit. Then follow the alley to the Piazza just ahead, turn right, and you're at the Spanish Steps.
 This is a fantastic spot for people watching and bathing in the warm Roman sun.
There was a really cute mime here - he'd take your hand and wouldn't let go. Or he'd play around with your hair (see below).
Just on the other side of the Piazza from the steps, you'll find a series of narrow alleys packed with shops, hotels, and small restaurants.
This is the Beverly Hills of Rome - here you'll find Prada (the real thing, not the knockoffs sold by gypsies on street corners), Gucci, and many more.
While the area shopping is a bit rich for many tastes (see the name of the store at right), it's fun just to wander the narrow streets and to find a small ristortante or cafe to sit and watch all the activity. Unlike most of Rome, there's no graffiti here - we're sure the local merchants keep the painters busy keeping it off their walls.
 From here, it's just a short way south to the Trevi Fountain. Another great gathering spot to soak up some sun. The fountain is beautiful, all carved from white stone, and there are many little shops around the fountain and on the streets nearby. There are also some great shopping opportunities here, as well, including the gallery at the right.
To the west a few blocks was our favorite Piazza in Rome - Piazza Navona, a long, oval-shaped piazza with a central pedestrian area, three fountains, beautiful architecture and many artists displaying watercolor and oil paintings of all parts of Rome. This is a great place to spend part of an afternoon, listening to the musicians, shopping the artisans on the square, and just sitting and soaking up the sunshine with a picnic lunch from the macelleria (deli/butcher).
You can find some wonderful gifts for friends at home (or for yourself) here, or sit and listen to a local musician for half an hour. As in many other parts of Rome, there are several "statues" here too - folks painted white or grey who stand entirely still until you drop am coin in their cups. We saw these folks first at the Venetian in Las Vegas - and they're great fun to watch.
One of the best preserved of the ancient Roman buildings is also here - the Pantheon has some beautiful frescoes and statues inside in gilded insets, each dirrerent from the last. The architecture is also interesting - the outside of the dome itself is rough and uneven looking, while the front of the building is much more classical looking.
You've probably also seen the inside of the dome, a masterfully beautiful, simple structure that's been open to the elements for thousands of years. It's amazing to think the Romans were able to build such a perfect structure without modern tools and materials that has stood virtually unchanged for so many years.
This area is riddled with narrow streets that open up unexpectedly onto small Piazzas, fountains, and other public art. Wander around here and get a bit lost - and when you're ready to resurface, ask anyone "Dov'e e metro?" and you'll be directed to the nearest subway stop.
Northwestern Rome
Vatican Area
 What to See
We visited the Vatican on our fifth day in Rome, on a Saturday.Major Alert - if you want to see the Sistine Chapel, see it first. You do not enter the chapel through St. Peter's Piazza - the main Vatican entrance - instead, you follow the wall outside and to the left of the square, straight, then right, then left - until you reach the Vatican Museum. Go early to get in.
This was our greatest disappointment in Rome - we didn't know where the Chapel was, so we ended up visiting the Basillica instead, which was impressive, but more in a gaudy way.
Afterwards, we asked where the Sistine Chapel was, and were directed to a line, which we waited in for over an hour.
 We approached the entrance, and were stopped about 30 people back in line for ten minutes. Then word started filtering back that they had closed the Chapel for the rest of the weekend, and that it would not reopen until Monday, the day after we left.
There was no posting of times, no official announcement, and there were probably several thousand folks in line at the time - just one more thing for us to be unhappy with the Vatican and the catholic church about.
Also in this area is the Castello San Angelo, another piece of architecture we only got to admire fvrom the outside. We had basically two days in Rome, having lost a day to travel and jetlag, and two days to and there were so many things we wanted to see that we simply didn't have time for.
We also saw one of the best "statues" in Rome here. This guy had a great outfit, perfectly matched in tone to his grey make-up, and a cheeky attitude.
Southwestern Rome
Trastevere
Literally "across the Tevere" (formerly the Tiber in ancient Rome), this district is just on the other side of the river from the ruins, reachable over a number of small bridges. The area between Via Trastevere and the river is another great place to wanter, with more Roman alleyways and surprises around each corner.
 Originally the place where the Roman servant class lived, Trastevere became known for simple but delicious meals made by the locals, and has since become a bit more gentrified. You can buy fresh flowers and produce on Via Trastavere (as you can along many streets in Rome), and there are some great restaurants here.
 From here, you can reach the old heart of Rome over several bridges; the most interesting of these crosses the river at the Isola Tibernia, a small island in the middle of the Tevere River, only big enough for a few buildings between the two bridges that connect the island to either side.
 We ate one night at Asino Cotto at Via dei Vascellari, 48 (www.asinocotto.com), a restaurant that had excellent food and a friendly, warm environment - meals were affordable, from 10-20 euro, and include pasta, seafood, lamb, duck, and a number of other gourmet dishes.
 We also ate at a place called La Fraschetta at Via S. Francesco a Ripa, 134 (www.lafraschetta.com) that Nicholas Inn recommended - just to the west of Via Trastevere, and also with very good food.
We had dessert at another place - Il Giordino dei Ciliegi - close to La Fraschetta - very nice folks there, and the biggest list of gourmet teas you'll find this side of England.
Where to Stay
Hotel San Francesco is just off Piazza Francesco, a small square sandwiched between Via Trastevere and the river. The hotel is beautiful, and features a rooftop patio with nice area views (no view of the Coliseum here, sorry). The rooms are not huge, but are elegant and nicely decorated, and feature a full bathtub in a reasonably large bathroom. The room was very quiet with the windows closed and fairly quiet at night even with them open - ask for a room in the back of the hotel, away from the Piazza.
Breakfast here was excellent - as in many places in Rome, the breads are a bit dry, but the pastries (especially the apple/custard cakes) were fantastic, as were the fresh peaches and other fruit. The hotel is a 20 minute walk to the Coliseum, but there's a bus that picks up half a block away, and drops you right in front of the Palatine or Coliseum for 1 euro (for details on transportation in Rome, see the travel section below). A great choice for singles, couples or business travelers who want to stay in a fascinating neighborhood close to the city center.
Vitorchiano
 On our second full day in Rome, we took a trip in a smart car from the Rome Airport up to a small village about an hour and a half north of Rome called Vitorchiano.
The town is just past Viterbo when coming from the coast, a medium sized modern town. It's an easy drive, up the autostrada along the coast, and then turning inland after Civita Vecchia.
As you drive inland, you'll pass some of the old Roman Aqueducts, then several small medieval towns, before turning north toward Viterbo. If you have the time, stop and explore as you go.
  
Coming into Vittorchiano, there's nothing much to see at first. You come off the highway and turn north, and then take the first right - there are a few typical Italian houses and an interesting white dome that covers the local swimming pool. But drive maybe a mile down the road and you'll come to the gates of the old city. Park here, and wander down into the old town.
 Get a good guide, like ours (at left).
Vittorchiano was a fort town, built up on a hill with a ravine around it, and from several spots you have spectacular views of the ravine and the city walls.
There are a number of wonderful twists and turns here, around which you'll find beautiful stone arches and stairways, with verdant green moss and plants to brighten the stone walkways.
Bring a picnic lunch with you and sit overlooking the valley below for a quiet, peaceful and inspiring lunch.
Transportation in Rome
 Rome, like Italy, is full of contradictions. The one that struck us the most was size. Rome is a huge metropolitan area, with many distinctive neighborhoods, two airports, and oversize ruins. But most of the Roman transportation is small - tiny buses and tiny cars. There's just too little parking on the city, with few parking lots and no garages we could see, so the smaller, the better (check out the little bus at right).
When we were preparing for our trip, numerous sources advised against trying to drive in Rome, especially in the city center. This is good advice - a seasoned driver from New York City or San Francisco might be okay, but no matter how good your driving skills are, parking (or attempting to) may drive you crazy. Romans park everywhere - small cars and motorcycles and scooters are everywhere (macchina, motocicleta and moto, respectively, in Italiano).
Romans have always driven small cars, and recently Swatch and Mercedes partnered on the smart car, a two passenger mini-car that's about as long as most cars are wide - you can park two of these in a standard parking spot, tho there's only room for a fairly small amount of luggage behind the seats. More on these cars later - we rented one at the Rome airport from sixti.com for our trip to Vitorchiano for just 19 euro - about $25 US Dollars - for a full day, including full insurance coverage.
For those more daring, a single day rental of just the car (no insurance) costs just 5 euro (for some reason, multiple days come at a higher per-day rate).
Rome offers several other ways to get around, too. There's the train system - coming into the city from the airport, or traveling around the edges of it. There's also the Metro - the subway that has two lines, A and B, that intersect at Termini Station.
You buy tickets for these trains at the stations or at Tabacchi - literally Tobacco Store, but actually a mix of convenience store and ticket counter. You can buy for a certain distance (ie, to the airport), buy a regular pass (1 euro, usable for 1 subway ride and unlimited trains/buses for 75 minutes), a day pass (3 euro - worthwhile if you plan to take more than three metro rides during the day), or a four day pass (10 euro or so). Purchase according to the length of stay and number of rides you think you'll make. We just bought the regular passes as needed.
There's also the taxi - though convenient, these are very expensive - and if you have one called, you start paying from the moment the call is received, not when the cab arrives. We spent 50 euro - about $62 - for just two cab rides the day after we arrived.
We couldn't find a bus map while we were in Rome, but the hotel you stay at will probably be able to tell you what line(s) to take for where you want to go. Take advantage of the public transportation in Rome - it's cheap and it goes everywhere. And if the day is nice, walk!
Eating in Rome
Eating in Italy has its own traditions and idisyncracies, including:
--Most of the restaurants we visited offered water with or without gas - carbonated or non-carbonated. If you say yes to either, expect to pay 3-6 euro for a bottle for two. If you say no, expect a strange look or two.
--Be aware, too, that Cokes are very expensive in Italy - typically 3.50-5.00 euros per can, no refill included. And Pepsi is rare in Italy, for some reason. Most places serve Coca Cola.
--Most restaurants do not offer ice except by request - so if you want ice with your drink, ask for "giacchio" - pronounced "ghee-ah-cho".
--Although offically banned in the larger cities in Italy, many places still charge a cover charge - literally, a charge to use the table and table cloth (cover). This shows up as a coperto charge (cover), or pane e coperto (bread and cover) on the bill. If you visit a bar or cafe and don't plan to stay there to eat, say "no tavolo" (no table) and your bill will be less. If you do want to stay and relax, ask for a tavolo, and expect to pay a bit more (often 1-2 euros, more in some touristy areas - we paid 9 in the center of Milan). This allows you to rent the table as long as you want it, so feel free to stay and people watch for a long morning or afternoon. One other note: usually if you choose to sit, they cashier will tell you to choose a table, and a waiter will come take your order, instead of ordering at the counter.
--Most restaurants will tell you "servizio incluso", meaning the cost of service/tip is part of the bill/food charge. In this case, you do not need to tip on top of the bill, but can give an extra euro or two if you want to a server or bus boy who gave you excellent service - this is always appreciated. If servizio non incluso, then the tip should be left in addition to the bill. If you pay by credit card and want to include the tip on the card, tell the waiter when he first brings the check how much you want to add. Unlike in the US, you can't add the tip to the credit card bill after the waiter charges you. You may want to tip in Euro anyhow, as we were advised by some other travelers that some restaurants do not pass the credit card tips on to the staff.
--Avoid restaurants close to tourist attractions as a general rule, unless the place has been recommended to you by someone who has been there. Often the food there will be expensive and of poor quality.
--Sometimes you'll get a rude waiter (we had several in Rome). Tip the busing staff if you can directly in these cases - they have to put up with this guy every day.
--If you need another coke, bread basket, etc, the word is "altro" - "altro coke, per favore", "altro pane" (bread), etc.
Here are a few resources we found helpful during our visit to Italy. Please remember that the advice in these resources is AYOR.
 Insight Guides: Italyhttp://www.insightguides.comWhile a bit light in detail on some of the outlying areas, this guide is rich in information on the history of Italy, and is a great read before you go or companion in Rome and Italy - but be warned - it's a bit heavy, so it's better for suitcase travel than backpacking.
 Oxford Italian Minidictionaryhttp://www.oup.comOur bible in Italy. We took an Italian for Travelers class at the Italian Center in Sacramento - thanks Patrizia for the excellent instruction. But there's no substitute for having the answers to your linguistic questions on hand. We carried this n our camera case, and used it to translate signs, ask questions, find that word you either didn't know or forgot, and most interestingly in conversation back and forth with folks we met on the trip, when they spoke a little English and we spoke a little Italian. Highly recommended, with English to Italian, Italian to English, Common Phrases, and verb table sections.
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