I’ve always wanted to go to Italy
My partner and I had never been to Italy. We didn’t know much about Italy. I wanted to go to Amalfi Coast and he wanted to go to Florence. After some debating, we thought, why don’t we go to Rome instead? It felt more like an obvious choice as it would be the most perfect place to visit. A capital city of a brand new country we have never been to before. Absolutely no regrets!
We went in April 2018 for an extended weekend and stayed in Trastevere. We chose this area as we thought it was close to everything we wanted to get to and walking distance from the river.
Aperitivo
This is the first time I’d ever had an actual ‘aperitivo’. Sitting outside a restaurant sipping on my Prosecco or Aperol Spritz simply listening to the Italians speaking to each other. I had no idea what they were saying. But their body language, their expression and the way they interacted with each other made me smile and made my time go by so quickly. The waiter would constantly bring food over to our table as soon as it came out of the kitchen. Bruschetta with colourful tomatoes, stuffed focaccia and savoury tarts with goats cheese and hazelnuts… How could I say no?
Sunrise in Rome
One morning, my partner woke me up at 04:30 am. He surprised me as he had booked a private sunrise tour of Rome with a local tour guide. We watched the sunrise from Gianicolo and had the whole area to ourselves. It was so beautiful to see the sun rising and giving light to this gorgeous city.
Fresh pasta
Somebody told us to try out ‘Osteria Da Fortunata’. We queued for almost an hour but it was worth the wait. We were kept entertained in the queue as we saw the chefs making their fresh pasta. Just watching them kneading the dough and rolling it into pasta shapes was so therapeutic. We sat down at our table and was given a menu which was in Italian. We can’t speak Italian and the staff couldn’t speak English. So we looked at what other people were eating and we pointed to the dish and ordered it. WOW! Deep-fried vegetables, arancini with soft mozzarella and one of the most amazing pasta dishes I’ve ever tasted, freshly made from the chefs who we watched whilst in the queue.
Obsession
The history of Rome really amazed me. The architecture of The Colosseum and how it’s still standing today despite 4 million tourists visit this place every year is mindblowing. Aside from the traditional Roman architecture, I become really fascinated by the doors of just normal buildings. I had to stop and take pictures of them regularly - they’re so big and beautiful - it became my obsession. I took about 100 photos of random doors.
Lots have changed since then. I now have a 17-month-old toddler, and I can’t wait to take her to Rome one day.
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