Photo of the Week – A Church on Rome’s Tiber Island

9 October 2013 by Raul 1 Comment

Last year during my one week in Rome, I did the usual when in cities as incredible as eternal Rome: walk, walk, and walk. Sometimes with a clear objective, sometimes just meandering and seeing what the walking will uncover. On this gray day, we found ourselves crossing the Ponte Cestio into Tiber Island as we aimed generally speaking for the Trastevere district (south of The Vatican) where we knew we would find awesome food (and sure did!).
On Tiber Island we walked past the Basilica of San Bartolomeo all’Isola (St. Bartholomew of the Island). The tower on the back dates from the 12th century, its current facade and the overall church were reconstructed in 1624 after many decades (and likely centuries) of damage, wear, and tear, as any old respectable structure may be allow to suffer from… But the original church dated from the 10th century!

In any case, the gray skies made for a phenomenal backdrop and contrast to the basilica making it a favorite pic of mine!

Filed Under: Europe, Italy Tagged With: basilica, church, Italy, Olympus, photo, Roma, Rome, San Bartolomeo all'Isola, St. Bartholomew, Tiber Island, travel

Photo of the Week – Entrance to the Ill-Fated Town of Pompeii

19 July 2012 by Raul 8 Comments

Pompeii was a normal town in ancient Rome. Lots of good business due to its place by the sea on the way to Rome. Fast and fun place for the sailors who enjoyed the pleasures it offered. Until that fateful day that destroyed the town and created history…

As I entered Pompeii from where the old shoreline used to be (it’s further away now) and walked up the ramp, I wondered how many people had been running down this main entrance to the city, hoping to make it to a boat, hoping to save their lives on that day…

Filed Under: Europe, Italy, Special Photos Tagged With: entrance, Italy, photo, Pompeii, volcano

Photo of the Week – A Beer Goes to Rome

7 June 2012 by Raul 13 Comments

I came to Rome in a barrel. Ready to see the eternal city. It was dark all the way. I was in good company. Then we felt a tapping sound. Just twice. Then it went quiet. A day later, I felt pulled away. I saw light!!! I decided to sit and bask in the light. Since I was in Rome, I HAD to have my picture taken. Hope I looked alright after all that travel. I didn’t feel refreshed but I felt refreshing, if that makes sense.

(Picture taken with Canon EOS Rebel T1I)

Filed Under: Europe, Italy, Special Photos Tagged With: beer, beer photo, Canon, EOS Rebel, Italy, photo, Rome

Rome Is to Be Enjoyed – 2 Sites That I Did

5 June 2012 by Raul 17 Comments

Rome has an endless amount of sights to see, places to visit, and walks to take – it is near impossible, lest you are a travel guide company, to document all that there is to see and almost just as impossible to cover all the ground. At least not when part of your goals for the trip are to chill some as well. That was me. Here are two places I enjoyed in Rome: a mix of must-sees and places where I just sat and relaxed. Hopefully, this will give you ideas or validate what you have read in the travel guide!

Do you have places in Rome that you like to and relax in? Please share!

Campo de Fiore

I had not seen the Campo de Fiore (field of flowers) before. It was not as great a piazza as I expected but it certainly allowed for two of my favorite things when I am in Europe: sitting in an outdoor café sipping my favorite beverage (house red wine in this case) and watching life go by (read: people watching). The flower and other stands were mostly still there though they began coming down as we were there. The buildings in the piazza and the surrounding streets definitely had character and a walkabout the area is well worth it.

The crowds taking in the sun & sights

Campo de Fiore, Rome, Italy - a lonely flower

A table waiting for users and a rose waiting for admirers…

A basket of bread in a café at the Campo de Fiore in Rome, Italy

Bread waiting for its consumers…

Kiosk in the market at Campo de Fiore in Rome, Italy (Field of Flowers)

Some of the goods in the stands

It was at Campo de Fiore where I met the golden beer who told its story…

The Trastevere Area

This part of town, across the Tiber from old Rome, as the name suggests, is trendy, charming, and chock-full of places to eat, drink, and walk around. The southern part of it has some really neat alleys and buildings. We ate at a place called Caccio e Pepe in a pedestrian part of the area (http://www.osteriacacioepepe.it/). We called ahead since there were 6 of us and our table was ready and waiting. We enjoyed the food and the casual atmosphere of the Osteria. The Trastevere also has a couple of churches worth visiting.

Crossing the Tiber on the Ponte Cestio

Doorway in the Trastevere

Typical alley in the Trastevere

Santa Cecilia in the Trastevere in Rome, Italy

Santa Cecilia in the Trastevere, a very old church in Rome!

Of course, this walk around the Trastevere ended up in food… There is always good food in Rome to be found whether on your own or with a food tour!

(Picture taken with Canon EOS Rebel T1I)

Filed Under: Europe, Italy Tagged With: alley, campo de fiore, door, Italy, photo, Rome, Santa Cecilia, trastevere

A Foodie Tour in the Testaccio Neighborhood in Rome

31 May 2012 by Raul 6 Comments

In Rome, once again, we enjoyed Italian cuisine (carbonara, mi amore!), wine, gelato, architecture, history, and watching people (tourists and locals alike). It seems like those are reason ENOUGH to go to Roma! Nothing like Rome to appreciate cultural diversity and food delights!

When I travel with friends, I don’t just travel with anyone. I travel with folks who love wine, food, exploring, and chilling – like me. One of my friend’s is a personal chef and she and her husband are big foodies (and so will be their baby one day!). Before the trip, they looked for opportunities to sample food beyond lunch/dinner. They found an awesome food tour in the Testaccio area of Rome, an area I had not explored or had even heard of before. The tour is organized by Eating Italy Food Tours, founded by a native from Philly. Domenico, also from Philly, was our tour guide that day and he was definitely the right guy to show us around! (Check them out at http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/ .)

We arrived to the Testaccio area after passing a pyramid by a cemetery. Rome’s city walls seem to have been built around it. I had no idea there was a pyramid in Rome! It is called the Pyramid of Cestius as it was built as a tomb for a guy with that name. What was incredible to me is that it was built 10-20 yrs BEFORE Christ. It is incredible!

The food tour took us to the cemetery on the side of the pyramid which used to be where foreigners were interred in Rome in the not so distant past. It is referred to as the Protestants’ or the Englishmen’s cemetery. One of its most famous “eternal residents” is the poet Keats who died very young (I did learn something, see??). You must be wondering when am I getting to the food. So am I. So let me get back on track.

The route and targets of the tour

We started at the old local market which is marked for demolition in the very near future as they have built a brand new place for these folks. Sounded wonderful until our tour guide told us the vendors’ rent will be doubled which will likely put a few of them out of business. Yes, the old market wasn’t a beacon of perfection but it definitely had charm! Among the things we sampled was real mozzarella di bufala made by a lady named Lina – now I know how real mozzarella di bufala is supposed to taste like!! Here are some of the sights at the market:

This fish guy has been there for decades and his son and grandson now work with him.

Whose legs are those? It’s rude to put your feet out the window!

Cheese, eggs and wine at the food market at the Testaccio

All sorts of goodness! (Where’s the chocolate??)

Horse meat at the food market at the Testaccio

Carne Equina – an interesting stand…

After the local market, we meandered towards Volpetti which, as soon as I saw the sign, I recognized from an Anthony Bourdain episode I had recently watched! Volpetti is this piece of heaven on Via Marmorata, near the Pyramid. All sorts of cheeses, balsamic vinergars, cured and dried meats like prosciutto, etc. We got to sample (as we did everywhere in this tour) and my favorite was the San Daniele prosciutto (vs. Parma prosciutto – which was still good!). The San Daniele had a certain tinge of sweetness that I enjoyed. Needless to say, we loaded up on some goodies for that evening’s dinner (we decided there were too many good things not to devote one dinner in the apartment to them!). Prosciutto is worth reading about and sampling – here is a quick overview of this delicious piece of ham: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosciutto. An another that covers the difference between pancetta (bacon) and prosciutto (ham): http://italianalmanac.org/06may/ham.htm

Goodness at Volpetti

Right after Volpetti and further down Marmorata, we stopped at Barberini’s were the pastries all were calling my name, winking at me. Not being a cultural chauvinist, I understood they were tempting me. Of course I accepted the morsels we were given to sample including tiramisu in a tiny cup made of chocolate (modeled here by my friend Chris):

A nice array of pastries at Barberini

On our way to further destinations in the tour, we passed a hill called Monte Testaccio. If you don’t know any better, you walk right past it. It has vegetation and was behind a fence when we hit upon it. However, our tour guide stopped to tell us about it. Folks, it is not a real hill that mother nature (or Mother Nature, lest lightning strike me) created. In the old days, and I mean, the OLD days, people used amphoras to store and carry things. However, when they were used for olive oil, the amphoras were not really re-usable for long. So, they would break them up and pile them on what became a hill over time. Vegetation grew and the hill – someone discovered – would offer in its innards a great place to store wine at the perfect temperature! So in old days (not OLD days), small caves were built for this purpose. It no longer seems to be used for this but remains a great witness to how the old Romans did things. The area has become trendy with nightclubs while still hosting traditional trades like butchers.

After a little meandering, we next came to 00100 Pizza where we were in for a real treat: suppli – a cheesy fried rice ball that was a foodie’s dream.

Suppli

As our mouths continued to water, we made it to the place, Da Bucatino, where we would have a traditional Italian lunch centered around bucatini, a thick and hollow spaghetti-like pasta (not common here in the States) in amatriciana sauce (my favorite red sauce). I did my best to clean the plate though all the sampling along the way was competing for space in my stomach!

Finally, after the day of sampling great cheeses, meats, pasta, and the like we ended up at a neighborhood gelato place called Giolitti. It has been there since the early 20th century. A place where the gelato and the panna are all homemade – true artisans! What a difference a homemade makes.

So, a little more off the beaten path than the Rome that most tourists see (including me in my first 2 trips there), yet a stone’s throw away from all those places, the Testaccio area offers not only great food but a different scene with history and charm to along with it. Don’t miss it next time in Rome!

Other things I enjoyed in Rome:

What other lesser known areas of Rome have you seen and would you recommend them to others?

(Photos taken with Canon EOS Rebel T1I)

Filed Under: Europe, Good Eats and Drinks, Italy Tagged With: food, foodie, gelato, italian cuisine, Italy, pyramid, Rome, testaccio

Doing Rome with a Plan

16 May 2012 by Raul 6 Comments

When my friends and I decided upon a trip to Italy focused on Rome, I was really pumped to go back, see some familiar places and get to check off some that, though very important, I had failed to visit in my 2 prior trips to Rome (to my credit, they had been like 3-day stays each).

Lodging in Rome

All of us had prior experience with renting apartments while abroad as a way to get much cheaper lodging with the perks of a real kitchen, washer/dryer, and living room space so we could hang out late at night. www.vrbo.com is my starting point for any search like this. We found an apartment in Prati but, unfortunately, soon after booking, the building had some sewer problems so the agency that VRBO had connected us to, contacted us to offer other options. We took another apartment, very close to the U.S. Embassy (not for that reason) and paid the differential since it was a better apartment though it was beyond what we had hoped to spend. However, getting close to the date of travel and with not as many options for 3-bedroom apartments that we had liked when we first searched, we went for it. The agency that arranged the rental in Rome was very professional and helpful along the way with special requests; check them out next time you are headed to Italy: www.italyperfect.com. Our apartment’s owner was a marquesa, if that impresses you at all!

Living/Dining room was very spacious

So What Was the Plan?

Our individual goals in this vacations coincided a good bit. One set of friends had not been to Rome so they would have to cover some of the basics we already had. Pompeii and the Sistine Chapel were top of my list but more on those in other entries…

As soon as we decided on the trip, we “discovered” that there were 3 other basilicas outside of what is known as the Vatican. They are elsewhere in Rome but technically you are in the Vatican when you are in these basilicas. We decided that these would be a great item for our arrival day due to all the walking and metroing required to see them – hence, we would not be tempted by naps! We ended up leaving Sta. M. Maggiore for another day but we found these basilicas, though not as massive as St. Peter’s, impressive in their own right. The basilicas are:

St. John Lateran (former home of the Popes until not long ago at all – who knew)

St. Paul Outside the Walls (the clarification is needed: there is one INSIDE the walls; and yes, Rome still has segments of wall around it; again, who knew… oh, and St. Paul is buried here under the chains that held him captive)

Santa Maria Maggiore (near the Termini station).

Rome has some fan-TAS-tic ceilings – check them out!

One of the main things for me to see in Rome (what an unfair thing to type… Rome has SO much that is a must-see!) was the Pantheon. Folks, it is a 100 years and change away from being TWO THOUSAND years old! Can you wrap your mind around that??? I can’t! And it is STILL the world’s largest un-reinforced concrete dome. I should have seen this on my first visit! Oh, and I had NO idea the hole at the top was open! Cleverly positioned and hidden drains take care of that water when it rains!

The oculus (giggle, giggle) “reflected” on the dome

We hit the Pantheon the day we went to the Papal Audience when we left the Vatican and started meandering streets. It was my 3rd Papal Audience with the last one having been WAY CLOSER to the Pope (check out my friend Chris’ account of that audience. As usual, the people watching sometimes is even better than the event itself!

Sweet looking but who knows if she is really a meanie!

Not sure who looks sillier but thanks for your service!

In that meandering, we happened upon the Gelateria del Teatro, a well-known gelateria due to the quality and uniqueness of the flavors of the gelato. It was OUT OF THIS WORLD! Take a look at this!!

Spectacular gelato!!

We also walked around Piazza Navona always full of life and tourists and peddlers… That area is even more interesting and full of locals in the evening. Meander the side streets and find restaurants and other gelaterias (when in Rome, you are required to have gelato no less than 2 times per day!). There is a lot in that area of town just around the corner on a side street!

Piazza Navona

As we headed back to the apartment, we decided to take a short detour and go to the Trevi Fountain so one set of friends could see it for the first time but, more importantly, so we could throw our coin to ensure a return to Roma! Again, the people watching is superb. I loved taking a couple of pictures of this couple as they examined the fountain.

After recovering from all that walking, we headed to Hostaria Il Mozzicone in Via Borgo Pio right outside the Vatican, a place I had visited in my two prior trips. As usual the food was awesome (the carbonara is their specialty and the ONLY thing I eat there) and the service cold – but never mind the service; as long as you go in up front not expecting friendly, you will be OK. Below my carbonara!

Food has AWESOME food and a food tour is a great way to discover. We did a great food tour and highlight recommend that.

Finally, to help us walk off some of the food coma, we walked over to St. Peter’s for a great night time view of this majestic place, something I had not done before (the go at night part!). A great way to cap our day!

In this trip, I also discovered why Rome IS the eternal city -> https://ilivetotravel.me/2012/04/22/why-rome-is-the-eternal-city/

Filed Under: Europe, Good Eats and Drinks, Italy Tagged With: gelato, Hostaria Il Mozzicone, Italy, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore, Sistine Chapel, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, Trevi Fountain

Ceilings of the Vatican and Rome

23 April 2012 by Raul 7 Comments

My post on the ceilings from The Hermitage in St. Petersburg seems to have received a good level of interest so I thought I’d do another from my recent trip to Rome. Enjoy!

St. Mary of the Angels and Martyrs (Rome, near Piazza della Republicca)

St. Paul Outside the Walls (Holy See outside of the Vatican)

St. John Lateran (Holy See outside of the Vatican)

Pantheon (Rome)

Vatican Museums (Vatican)

Filed Under: Europe, Italy Tagged With: art, ceiling, Italy, musee, museo, Rome, Vatican Museum, Vaticano

I Know Now Why Rome Is the Eternal City

22 April 2012 by Raul 3 Comments

Rome is eternal, the Eternal City! That much has been said before about it. But it keeps proving true over and over for me…

I just went for my third time, this time for the longest visit yet (about 6 days). I never seem to get to a spot anywhere near “I feel like I know this place”. I keep discovering new areas of town, new “must see’s”, new dishes, etc. It will take me an eternity to master Rome – and the money that goes along with that eternity! (Funding, anyone? Angel investor, I like to go to the Vatican in case that sways you.) Rome is eternal indeed…

Rome Has History and I Have History with Rome

Though I had been there twice before, each visit had been for about 3 days each. Both included Papal audiences as the Pope had changed inter-visit and I had to check out the new guy. Oh, and when I mean check out, I mean up close. I was not down with the masses that time. I was up by the stage. But I digress. This is about my 2012 visit, not my 2006 visit.

In any case, I had seen some of the key sights of Rome (the Forum, the Colosseum, St. Peter‘s all the way to the top and all the way to the bottom at the Scavi, etc.). But I STILL knew I had some key sites and sights I had not been able to get to. Most shocking of all the missing sites was the Sistine Chapel. It became my number one target for this trip (and I saw it!).

Laser-Focused Objective. Make that “Objectives”

Laser-like focus on the Sistine Chapel became a little less focused when friends coming on the trip raised the idea of getting to Pompeii. Scope creep! What I warn my clients about in my day job. But, heck I had been to Italy now 2 times and I had never made it south of Rome. And Pompeii… Images from all the history classes in school flashing like a neon sign in my head… Well, how could that be left out… But surely these two plus maybe a couple of churches and, of course, the Pantheon – how could I forget, I had never seen it either. OK, so now I had a definitive focused list of places I did want to see this time. The rest of the visit open for whatever…

And so the trip began on my way to reducing time-to-eternal, ETC (estimate to completion), shortening of the list of things to still do in Rome… and the trip ended with enough left over to ensure another return. A fourth…

Filed Under: Europe, Italy Tagged With: Eternal City, Italy, Rome, Sistine Chapel

Bella Bologna – Italy’s secret

24 January 2009 by Raul Leave a Comment

The following is a guest post by fellow traveler, Chris Sanders.

A few years ago, as part of my graduate studies at The Johns Hopkins School of International Studies (SAIS), my wife Wendy and I had the wonderful opportunity to live for a year in Bologna – a provincial Italian town situated in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, the region just to the north of Tuscany. Bologna and the broader region are an absolute treasure trove of culinary and other travel delights. It’s difficult to understand why such a wonderful part of Italy is today still relatively undiscovered by tourists (hence the name of this post “Italy’s secret”)…in Bologna and throughout Emilia-Romagna, you’ll find good eats and good sites and sounds, but you will not find hordes of tourists! Hey, maybe that’s what makes it so interesting to visit!

The main square – or, Piazza Maggiore

To whet your appetite, I’ve included a few notables about Bologna and the surrounding area…we highly recommend a visit!!

Bologna – food and higher education

It’s a shame the name of this town is the same as a cheap American lunch meat, because nothing could be farther from an appropriate comparison! Ok, there is a bologna like meat from Bologna called “mortadella” – but Bologna offers so much more than lunch meat.

For starters, how about Bolognese sauce (the yummy meat sauce we all love in our spaghetti) – it comes from Bologna.

And then there is the wonderfully rich lasagna vert – a green spinach pasta lasagna made with ragu and béchamel sauce, oh man!

Finally, Bologna is the birthplace of tortellini and the headquarters of Manjani Chocolate – makers of Fiat – umm, umm goodness!

For all these culinary notables, Bologna is often referred to as “Bologna the Fat.” I wish I could recommend a good restaurant in Bologna, but ironically, we rarely ate out because Wendy took cooking lessons from an Italian chef throughout the year and I was, quite happily, her test subject!

Aside from good food, Bologna is also known as a university town. The University of Bologna is old (founded in 1088 and claimed to be the oldest university in the world!), huge, and has several famous alumni including Dante, Thomas Becket, Erasmus, and Copernicus to name a few. My grad school, Johns Hopkins University, also has a small campus in Bologna. Interestingly enough, the Johns Hopkins campus was constructed with CIA seed money following World War II and was initially envisioned to be a listening post of sorts during the Cold War (Bologna was controlled by the communist party until the 1990s).

Other notable things to see while in Bologna

Great architecture – particularly porticos (some say it is possible to walk around the entire city and not get wet during a rain shower). Bologna suffered high levels of damage in its old sectors during World War II bombings yet it still retains great character!
The Piazza Maggiore with its ever-in-progress San Petronio, supposed to have been bigger than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, not sure if that is true though. Napoleon’s sister is one of the notables buried there. Read more about it here.
Plenty of old churches – Bologna is the burial place of St Dominic.
See the town from up high from one of its medieval towers, the Due Torri (Asinelli and Garisenda). It’s a climb but, think about it, you get the benefit of two things for the price of one!
It’s the headquarters for Ducati Motorcycles (on one visit to the factory, Wendy actually got to start one up on the assembly line)
And it’s the headquarters for Furla – a fact Wendy cherished and still cherishes… there are more Furla shops per square km in Bologna than in anywhere else in the world… and my wife has been to them all.

basilica in bologna, san petronio, what to see in bologna, unfinished church

The basilica of San Petronio

View of the shorter of the Due Torri from the taller one

Colli Bolognesi

If Bologna can be described as “off the beaten path” of typical visitors to Italy, the Colli Bolognesi is – I suppose- “off off the beaten path?” The Colli are the rolling hills that surround the city and this area is definitely worth a visit. Aside from the scenic beauty and quietness, the Colli Bolognesi is also home to a number of vineyards and bed and breakfast establishments. One that my wife and I came to know (and its our favorite in the region) is Corte d’Aibo (http://www.cortedaibo.it/eng/) . Corte d’Aibo makes a bold Cabernet and Merlot – my wife and I were surprised to find it on the menu at Mezzaluna in NYC (a favorite haunt of ours when we are in the Big Apple).

There are so many great things to experience in and around Bologna. Please share your experiences with this great Italian secret. Do you have a favorite experience, restaurant, or site? Do tell!