WHEN IN ROME

Shots by Michael John Hughes & I

Rome, I find you a little bit difficult to write about. To be very honest you were a shock to the system after two weeks in Paris but by the time we left we had found some of the best food we had all trip, and endless visual inspiration.

Paris is a hard act to follow for me, especially after staying in a non-tourist area. Hitting the streets of Rome the first day had me taken back a little. There were tourists absolutely everywhere following the leader with the [insert random object here] on a stick, I couldn't tell what restaurants were good (mainly because we hadn't researched it as well as paris) and it was super warm in comparison. That night we accidentally ordered 1L of red wine and soon realised rome was super inviting. Something that really sticks out to me about Italians is that they really wanted you to enjoy yourself, they wanted to give you the best experience and welcome you immediately. 

We stayed in total 8 days, so really 6 when you take out travelling there and leaving. From talking to others before we went, normally people spend 2-3 days, even our host was surprised we were staying so long. But if I had only stayed 2-3 days I think my impression of this city would be much different. It is very easy to be a tourist here, but if you don't want to have bad pizza and see x,y & z ruins, you have to put in the work. You have to look up blogs on where is good to eat and you have to go off the beaten track. Go into that dark hidden restaurant (in our experience you will leave having free limoncello shots!)

Once again, my posts are not going to include the famous sights - Pinterest those. My favourite sight in Rome was the paint. I left rome with more colour inspiration than any other city. 

LOCATION

Trastevere, Rome. Across the river from all the major landmarks but full of colour & life.
The streets are full of bars, cafes & endless gelato options. 

HOME FOR A WEEK

For our time in Rome we stayed in a historic building in Trastevere.
(You can find the apartment here)
Our AirBnb in Rome was built over 600 years ago with some of the original walls intact. Open the front door from the street and we had the kitchen on the first level with (oh-so-trendy) cement stairs leading up to a sitting area that opened up over the laneway below. Then we had a huge living/bedroom area on the second floor. This building was in the heart of all the action, and by action I rather mean food & drink. It was ideal.

FOOD

Gelato, all day, everyday, anywhere.  
There wasn't a gelato I regretted. Go to a legit gelato place though not a stand out the front of a touristy cafe.

Pimm's Good, Via di Santa Dorotea, 8, Roma, Italy
The Pimm's were good. 

Da Enzo, Via dei Vascellari, 29, Roma RM, Italy
Call in about 1-2 days in advance because you need a booking - it is that amazing.

Cantina & Cucina, Via del Governo Vecchio, 87, 00186 Roma, Italy
This place was probably my favourite of the whole trip.
Go here because the food is amazing, the staff are super nice and it was the best tiramisu I have ever had in my
life with no exaggeration. ps. Be prepared for free shots after you pay. 

Dar Poeta, Vicolo del Bologna, 45, 00153 Roma, Italy
Go here for the pizza & 1L of house red... or 1/2L...

Next up we headed to the Italian coast, Positano.....