A Travelin' Girl: Hitting the Bar and Exploring Rome

As I mentioned, when an Italian says they will meet you at the bar, they mean coffee and not alcohol. While I have gotten quite good at the Moka pot for our first cup of coffee each day, we have taken to going to two bars across from our apartment for a cappuccino or espresso macchiato (shot of espresso with a little touch of milk) before heading out to explore the city. One of my favorite memories from my time here in 2007 was each morning I would go to the same bar around the corner from my hotel and each day the greeting I received became more familiar and endearing. By the time I left, they would greet me with "Ciao Buongiorno Bella" and the day I left, the cashier and bartender gave me hugs and kisses. As we leave our local bar, they say "ci vediamo"..."we will see each other".

I was a little bummed the Trevi Fountain was covered in scaffolding when we arrived as I wanted LuLu to see and be able to toss in a coin to ensure she would return to Rome. We had put it on our list of things to do on Christmas day as we knew things would be closed and that would be our outside sights day. Well Christmas came early as on December 23 the fountain reopened with all the scaffolding removed so you know where you could find us on Christmas Eve! Ever wondered what they do with all the money tossed in the fountain? Well every day, Caritas (a local charity) collects the money (on average €3,000 a day) and uses it to help the homeless in Rome. We were able to toss in our coins so we will definitely be back in Rome...just not in the Jubilee Year as it will be way too crowded for us 🤣

Located at the Trevi Fountain is Saints Vincenzo and Anastasio Church. It was a nice escape from the crowds of the fountain and we also got to see our old friend, St. Anthony.

The Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyres (aka The Pantheon) is a must see on any trip to Rome. Originally built as a place to worship all the pagan gods, it became a Catholic church in 609. The dome of the Pantheon was studied by Michelangelo and Brunelleschi before they designed St. Peter's and Florence's Duomo (respectively) and was also used as inspiration for the US Capitol. The dome is as wide as it is tall (142 feet)...we heard the analogy of putting a basketball in a wastebasket to get the idea. There is a hole to allow in sunlight but do not worry about the rain that may get in as when Emperor Hadrian helped with the design he had the floor raised in sections and small holes in the floor to allow for the rain to escape.

Drainage Holes

Kai, our AirBnB greeter, is a foodie like we are and told us about several great places to eat. One of the places she recommended was Masardona. Cristiano, owner and chef, comes from Naples (birthplace of pizza) and she said he does an amazing fried pizza (basically pizza folded over and lightly flash fried)...think really fancy AND good pizza pockets. You can order a la carte but Kai said he has great 4 course menus (called Routes) that give you a good sampling of everything. We went with the Trust Cristiano Route and Mamma Mia (yes they actually say that!) was it ever so good and we ended up taking home most of the fried pizza (that's the pic with 3 pieces as we started eating because it smelled so good). We absolutely loved the ferris wheel presentation for the dessert but not sure LuLu will order limoncello again 😂

Since all the sights were closed on Christmas Day, we spent the day just walking around the city. The metro was open from 8:00am - 1:00pm and 4:30pm - 9:00pm so we went to the farthest spot, Spanish Steps, and made our way back to our apartment. Before we started exploring, we had to have a Christmas gelato and of course one flavor was pistachio. If you have not made it across the pond yet, here's a tip for gelaterias and cafes (for coffee) in Europe...you pay first and then take your ticket to the counter to place your order.

The official name for the Spanish Steps is Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti but when Rome became a stop on the Grand Tour, saying "meet me at Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti" was just too much. Because the steps are located in the Piazza di Spagna near the Spanish Embassy, people just started calling them the Spanish Steps. The steps are located in a posh neighborhood surrounded by high-end designer stores. Over the years, tourists have become more and more less considerate (shocking I know!) so last year the city prohibited sitting on the steps. I am guessing because it was Christmas Day, the Polizia and the Carabinieri were not enforcing it.

The irony of sitting outside drinking hot
chocolate to warm up on a cold day

While enjoying hot chocolate, we noticed (you ready for this) a church, Basilica di San Lorenzo in Lucina. And yes, our friend was in this church as well!

It really has been fun to be here as new things open up in the city in preparation for the Jubilee Year. On December 23, a new pedestrian street, Via Della Conciliazione, opened up connecting Rome to the Vatican. We wrapped up our 4 miles of walking on Christmas with a final stroll down the new street, popped in Santa Maria in Traspontina Church, stopped for Chinese and then headed home. It was a good Christmas and so thankful to spend it with LuLu and make new memories.

LuLu has embraced the old Italian lady habit

of standing at the window looking out on the street

As we got close to the end of our time in Rome, we finally made it the Colosseum (officially The Flavian Amphitheatre). Have to admit of all the places we have visited on this trip, this was probably our least favorite experience due to the crowds and their rudeness. One of the things we learned about the Colosseum is that back in its heyday, they could get 60,000 spectators in and out of the 80 points of entrance in 15 minutes. When visiting the Colosseum today, pack your patience as they have one (yes, one) point of entrance for all the visitors and only three security scanners. There are quite a few options for tickets so I recommend you do your research to determine the best one for you. We opted for the 24 hour Colosseum, The Forum and Palatine ticket but we just visited the Colosseum as had an overview of the Forum and Palatine with Julian.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II placed the cross in the spot that was supposedly where the Emperor sat to commemorate the Christians sacrificed in arenas around the Roman Empire. There are stories of Christians being martyred as part of the bread and circus (see post about our day with Julian for a refresher) but there are no records to confirm any actually took place at the Colosseum.

Seats were engraved with the names of the seat holders

Arch of Constantine

Travel PSA: while we are never afraid when we travel, we are alert and aware of our surrounds. Three things happened the day we visited the Colosseum that reminded us of the importance of being aware and alert. On the metro, LuLu noticed a suitcase sitting by itself and since the train we were one was going to Roma Termini (the largest rail station in Europe), we decided to get off at the next stop and catch the next train (fortunately we never heard of any incident but better to be safe). When we did get to Termini, a woman who looked perfectly average told us the escalator just went out and said we could take the lift and since there were some other travelers in the lift, we got in. Apparently her "cohort in crime" got in after me and it pushed us all really close but what she did not realize is "this was not my first rodeo" as I caught her trying to unzip my crossbody and snatched my purse out of her hand and the two of them jumped out before the door could close. Finally when we got on the next train to the Colosseum, we noticed two girls standing in the door as people were getting onboard. I looked down and one of them was reaching for my bag (it was like I was a magnet that day) and then they jumped off the train before the doors closed. This was the first time in the five weeks we have been in Italy anything like this happened but it is important that now matter where you are you do not let your guard down and keep alert...but do not let it stop you from exploring.