So, I spent a week in Rome. I came back and had some news to share when I got back in town.
So… what was it like? This post aims to answer that very question using some of the many photographs I took while I was there.
Lucky you.
Street art and Graffiti
There seemed to be less graffiti in the center of town than in years past. In fact, a lot of the graffiti that was up in my neighborhood was there from 3 years ago. That said, the train lines are completely destroyed, inside and out. The trains look like NYC in the 1970s and the track-sides are a kaleidoscope. Down to the nature of both, I didn’t get much in the way of photographs. What I did shoot was some choice street art work by C215 and Invader.
I first encountered C215 in Rome in 2009, stumbling upon a scooter in the Ghetto di Roma, so it was great to see some new work this time around.
Invader is up in a few places that I saw. I spotted one on my first day so I was on alert the whole time. I’m sure I missed some, but what can you do? I like the act of discovering them so I didn’t research any locations in advance. I just realized I’m missing one that I caught.
Other than that, here are a few other shots.
It Took Me a Week to Find This Tie
I saw a tie very similar to this in the Zen series on PBS. It took me a while to find one.
Beyond being the pattern/colors I was looking for it’s a very nice tie. This tie will produce a Windsor knot the size of a baby’s head.
Food
Italy is the greatest food country in the world.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been to some of the best restaurants in the world and if there’s anything I regularly splurge on (other than clothes, admittedly) it’s food, often buying expensive, but rare ingredients just because they’re there. Still, I’m never as food happy as I am in Italy. It’s just such an easy place to eat extremely well. I mean, there’s likely a lot of bad food there, but I’ve never run into it.
The one downside, it should be noted, is that there’s not a wide variety of cuisines available like you’ll see in Boston, LA or New York and if there’s an Italian version of haute cuisine I haven’t seen it, so if I lived there I might, eventually, get bored and want some Indian food or something, but… I think it would take a while.
I went to Pizzarium
Yeah, that place. It’s really good. It’s in a nondescript neighborhood behind the Vatican and it’s not really near anything you’d go to if you weren’t going to Pizzarium, but it’s worth the ride on the train or the 10 minute walk past the Vatican if you’re in Rome. I don’t eat pizza al taglio ever, so I can’t really rank it against anything else in that specific category, but on the grand scale of things that are good to eat the pizza at Pizzarium was very, very good
More food
Artichokes were in season, apparently. Fried artichokes were everywhere. If you haven’t had them you should really have them.
This signature dish at Hosteria Piccolo Arancia is a phenomenal thing to eat. You should eat it. also, this place was amazing since it’s right around the corner from the Trevi Fountain (one of the most touristed spots in Rome) but felt like a place only frequented by locals. Strange, but cool since I didn’t have to fight a pack of Germans for a seat.
The Best Espresso in the World
Maybe? I don’t know, it’s very good.
We cooked
One of the benefits of having an apartment for the week is being able to cook. Not every night, but sometimes it’s nice to just cook and not have to worry about where to eat.
And, of course, the ingredients are ridiculous.
Il Margutta
I went to this vegetarian restaurant twice for lunch. I’ve been there something like a half dozen times now.
Gambero Rosso
Gambero Rosso TV regularly made me hungry right after dinner. It’s like a souped-up version of the Food Network, back when it was full of cooking shows. Even the Italian Jamie Oliver analog was awesome.
Gelato
I ate gelato every day. I went to the following gelaterie (in order of preference)
To be fair, the first three are basically tied. The stracciatella at Old Bride is just about my favorite thing to eat in the whole world, but the saffron-infused honey gelato at San Crispino is like eating creamy, cold sunlight and the slow food stylings of Gelateria del Teatro had me practically skipping back to the apartment.
Cats
Rome is full of cats. One of our favorite stops every day was visiting the cats at the Torre Argentina cat sanctuary.
Tourist Shots
I did some tourist stuff.
EUR
I went to EUR. It’s a really weird place. EUR is a bit south of the regular tourist area. The development of the area was started by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in the 1930s. Because of that beginning and because of the style of the architecture, there’s a creepy vibe about the place (at least for me.) It’s fascinating and more open than anywhere else I’ve been in Italy, but I really wanted to get some cobblestones under my feet after spending 3 hours walking around EUR.
Here are some photos.
Sculpture
Ancient Greek bronzes are insanely beautiful.
And that, my friends, is my vacation report.
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