This was our second trip to Italy, and this time we spent the entire week in one city: Rome.
Our hotel was right next to the Borghese Gardens, which were lovely, and made for a great base camp to see the sights but keep out of the fray. We started by walking the 'heart of Rome' (according to Rick Steves:) and that was a great way to get oriented (for Shannon at least - I have no idea how he does it). On Sunday, we attended the Angelus at the Vatican, where the Pope addressed the faithful from his perch high atop St. Peter's square. It was a cool experience!
Other highlights included the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill, the Sistine Chapel, and of course the Borghese Gallery (our neighbor for the week). Unfortunately, the Trevi Foundation was closed for repairs while we were there, but what can you do? We had great weather, which made for excellent picnicking. We also made the trek out to Eataly Rome, which was fun for a devotee like me, but not worth the trip if you're not ;)
We made a little side trip to find a keyhold in an ancient door that supposedly lines up exactly so that when you put your eye to the keyhole, you are looking across the city directly at the cupola on St. Peter's Basilica. Turns out? Spot on. More on that, here.
Over the course of the week, we ended up walking 70 miles in total!
Restaurant highlights included Bonci's Pizzarium, Nino (old school Italian at its best - make a reservation), Giuda Ballerino, De Cesare al Casaletta (away from city center but worth the trek), and of course Giolitti (gelato). But our hands down favorite was the most simple, unassuming place (thank you Anthony Bourdain): Cacio e Pepe in Prati. And they serve, you guessed it, cacio e pepe. Life-changing cacio e pepe. 4 ingredient cacio e pepe that we have since tried to recreate at least a dozen times... SO. Good.
It was a great week, and we loved Rome (mostly for the cacio e pepe;). We made a quick flipagram of the highlights here: http://flipagram.com/f/XHfL5Ph1DL
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