What I learned in Rome

Wow, I can’t believe how lucky I was to visit Rome in January. Just a few tourists and still no crisis on the horizon. Basically if you are not into hot when when visiting a city, then January is exactly the right weather for a trip like this. So while there I did notice a couple of things, about myself but also about Rome. Because aren’t we all travelling to learn something? Yours, Pollybert

1.) Rome is full of stuff to see. It is therefore necessary to concentrate on one historical era that you want to visit. Unless you stay longer than a weekend.

2.) I was a little bit disappointed by the Roman food. I have travelled a bit around Italy and so far I have liked most of the regional food (except for the Emilia-Romagna). But Rome was a bit of a let-down. The pizza is good though, with a nice crust and a good crunch.

pizza Margarita from Taverna 51 @Rome

3.) Know your language before you spray anything on a wall.

when your message is ruined by your spelling @Rome

4.) It’s best to make reservations for tours beforehand. Even though there were not a lot of tourists, it was great that we had booked online. This is especially necessary if you want to have a tour with an expert guide. We got talked into a tour while waiting for the Pantheon but left after 10 minutes since the tour guide was an English jokester who knew less than I did. so be careful when it comes to guides who pick you up in the streets.

5.) Sharing food with someone, who eats a lot slower than me, makes me jealous. As weird as that sounds, it’s unfortunately the truth. Seeing on my friend’s plate still some morsels while mine was empty, I needed all my inner strength to refrain from just taking it.

6.) Tourists are fleeced in Rome. It’s really too bad that I got this impression but it happened. When you order a wine, you have to tell them that you want the house wine. Otherwise you pay 7,- EUR for a glass. And it was not a special wine.

7.) Hot chocolate in Italy is thick and creamy as a pudding. It was also pretty dark and I had to help my friend to finish it because it was so rich.

hot chocolate is dark and rich @Rome

8.) When you explore Trastevere, don’t be like us and just walk along the main street. You need to loose yourself in this quarter and spend some time there. Then we probably would have found also some better restaurants.

9.) There is no more sitting on the Spanish Steps and around the Trevi fountain. Police are enforcing this and if you get to close to the fountain they blow a whistle and call you back.