What feels like a long time ago, but was actually only a few weeks ago, my husband and I ran off to Rome for a long weekend. Unfortunately, we flew out only 1 day after we had moved, so it was the most ill prepared holiday I have ever taken, wardrobe wise. I was so concerned with making sure that the place was safe to leave our small children in (with a nanny!!) while we were away that I didn’t pack enough clothes and forgot most of our toiletries. Learn from my mistake, Reader, do not move house the same week you move house: your holiday outfit options will be poor, and there’s not much worse in life than having nothing to wear! Famine, plagues, world wars? No, having no clothes is worse. No contest. So… now you know why there are only a couple of outfit photos.
Airport outfit
I wore my gorgeous new Sam Edelman Adena smoking slippers (sold by Van Mildert for £81 – great price!). Smoking hot shoes for sure, I really love them and have worn them a few times each week since I bought them. I also wore skinny jeans, a black wool biker jacket and white w black (or dark navy? Never been able to tell) stars. Unfortunately I had to wear similar outfits for the next 2 days as the weather was dreary. Let’s talk about other things, then.
Our accommodation
After much research, we booked a lovely apartment from Rome Loft, who were very helpful. Its worth calling to find out what’s available, rather than just relying on the online selection, as their apartments seem to book out quickly. The apartment was called the Trevi Charming, which was just around the corner from the Trevi Fountain. Its quite handy staying near a major landmark as you never really get lost. And the fountain is lovely lit up at night.
Anyway, the apartment was perfect for us and we really enjoyed staying there. Especially as it was only €460 for 3 nights.
Our favourite place to eat
We ate so well in Rome. Too well. The gelato shop outside the Trevi Fountain actually sells really nice gelato, if you happen to be wandering past some time.
But where we ate 3 times (uncharacteristically for us – we usually make a point to experience as many places as possible) was Baccano. Its stylish and modern, but somehow reminiscent of how I imagine some cafes were in the 1920′s, and reminded me of Pastis in New York and also Cafe St Regis in Ille St Louis in Paris (oh, aren’t I jet set – ha ha ha! Hmm, somehow I doubt an annual trip anywhere makes you jet set, girlfriend!), which I mentioned when I blogged about our weekend in Paris. Indeed, the website says “Baccano combines an intriguing allure reminiscent of Parisian atmosphere of early 20th century, with a metropolitan contemporary style of a New York restaurant”. It wasn’t just the restaurant looked that appealed, either. The food was excellent: delicious and beautifully presented.
I can’t go past a cocktail, either.
The sublime Creme Brulee
The sights
We were only in Rome for 3 days, so we wanted to visit St Peters and the Vatican, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. You can walk from where were staying to all these places, quite easily.
For St Peters and the Vatican, I recommend taking a tour as you can avoid the very long queues. We took a tour with When in Rome, but there are probably plenty of other companies. They all seemed to use a headset that you could hear on headphones – MUCH better than the days of yore with shouting tour guides.
St Peters – magnificent, but full of tourists. Like us!
I must say, I won’t visit the Sistine Chapel again. Its my second visit, and I still think that Michelangelo was a sculptor, not a painter. Funny how its one of the great man made wonders of the world, and I felt quite unimpressed. Poor man, he didn’t even want to do it!
The Colosseum doesn’t disappoint, and it has many helpful, interesting signs with information relevant to what you are looking at. I would say you don’t need a guide for this sight. Mighty, mighty structure – what it must have been like to see a spectacle there!
The Roman Forum is so important, historically, but its so confusing trying to navigate your way around and work out which building was most significant eg where the Senate actually met and made decisions. And its a vast area with lots of windy paths between it and Palatine Hill (where the Roman Emporers lived). Learn from my mistake – get a tour guid.
I know I am a bit of a grumpy old woman, but, seriously, I am sure Rome wasn’t as full of street stall sellers, selling utter crap, as it is now. Its to the point where its detracting from the city. We went to Piazza Navona, sat at an outside cafe, and our view of the water fountains became totally obscured by stands of fake / DIY art. Really disappointing. I cheered myself up by eating even more gelato. Oink, oink,
And the sun came out, so I have an outfit shot. Outfit is New Look blue and white striped shirt (its so flattering, that I would have bought the pink version, too, except that I would have looked too Barbie for words), TopShop Baxter jeans in white and Aldo Sprouls sandals in gold.
Shopping
Dear me, I sound so negative, but the I didn’t see many Italian clothing shops that appealed to me. BUT, I did find this divine stationer, Pineider, where I bought something sweet. The shop is near the Spanish Steps and is so luxe that shopping there is a treat.
And where would we be without Zara? I can’t imagine! As many items had a € prefix, rather than a £, it only made sense to have a look. Here I am, trying on a blazer, Its nice, but I think its too bright for me, so I didn’t buy anything. My husband, on the other hand, went a bit mad and bought lots of things. He never shops, so I had to have another gelato to get over the shock of it. Oink, oink.
Ciao!
I think as Eve has observed before, neon shades don’t really photograph very well, but these shorts are bright!
