Rome : blog

A weekend away

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 07:55:54 +0100

It may be a honeymooner’s dream, but lets face it, once you decide to stay, Rome can be a rat race. The traffic alone can make you want to pack your bags and head back to Minneapolis, or at least yearn for the days when you first arrived and spent your days (and fast-dwindling savings) strolling the ancient streets listening to echoes of old men and children. But now that you’ve got to commute to work, the ravings and gestures of macho guys in suits and over-stressed soccer moms can be a bit much. The great thing about living in Rome, as hectic as life here can be, is that there are so many fantastic places to get away to just a little way out of town. And the other great thing is that even if you get away from it all to a small town or remote mountain, you can still find culture and great food the likes of which you can’t get even in larger towns in the US or UK.

The agriturismo concept is a great one, combining tourism with Italy’s great agricultural and gastronomic traditions. In short, an agriturismo is a farm where you can stay and eat food that has been grown right there. Many agriturismi also sell their products, so you can often take some good stuff home with you on your return to the city. In many ways, its better than having a country house because (a) somebody cooks and cleans for you, (b) you can go to a different place every time, and (c) you save a bundle on taxes. In Italy, where farmers can always use some extra income, the concept has really caught on and there are agriturismi in every region, with many books and websites devoted to helping you find the right one.

We discovered Agriturismo Calagrana (www.calagrana.com) a few years ago through the Internet and have returned there several times, each time leaving with a full belly and a desire to return as soon as possible to the tranquil serenity of Umbria’s Niccone Valley. Located about 30 minutes northeast of Perugia just outside of Umbertide (and just a short hop from Cortona), Calagrana is a special place that combines sincere and congenial hospitality with amazing food. Its proprietors – Chef Alberto Chiappa, who worked for years in London before returning to his native Italy, and his English wife Ely – run both an organic farm and an extraordinary on-site restaurant serving classic and creative dishes that will lull you into an ecstatic stupor before you literally tumble into bed in their restored stone farmhouse overlooking this pristine valley.

The place is great for holiday weekends, where tradition is always upheld with home made culinary touches like pizza pasquale that are appropriate to the season. In addition to weekend specials, Calagrana hosts cooking courses of various lengths. Try the pâté and prosciutto made-on farm from animals who were raised on better food than most of us – you can taste the difference. One thing’s for sure: you will not leave Calagrana with an empty stomach, but you can at least momentarily forget the mind-numbing screams of the Romani in this tranquil piece of heaven. From here, you can make day jaunts to Cortona as well as Gubbio, Assisi, Todi and Perugia itself and a million little borghi dotting these majestic hills.

Tell us about your adventures!

Almost nightlife

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:09:51 +0100

While Rome never could compare with Paris or Berlin (or even Catania, lets face it) when it comes to nightlife, still there is that little itch sometimes that makes some people want to experience the bump and grind of sweaty bodies moving to house music into the wee hours of the morning, even in Rome. Until recently I used to say that going out clubbing in Rome was kind of like going to the beach in New York – it exists but its just not what you come here for.

There is an assortment of clubs clutched around the base of Monte Testaccio, that ancient pile of terracotta rubbish just downriver from the historic center, many of which move out onto the beach at Ostia during the summer months. There you can find the usual assortment of guidos with tiny cars and skin-tight pants as well as some ok DJs. A cooler scene is actually right in the center of everything – Campo dei Fiori. Il Campo is perhaps the coolest place in Rome, re-inventing itself every 24 hours and always full of watchable people.

A farmer’s market all morning, the Campo hosts its namesake flower market all day, as well as numerous cafes from where you can watch local characters cavort and the occasional gypsy band swing through. By evening, the Campo clears out for its second life as Rome’s nightly get-together spot. The surrounding pubs guarantee a generous supply of alcohol, or buy your own bottle and swig it down right under the towering statue of Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake in that very spot for thinking the earth revolved around the sun. At around 5 am, the sweepers roll through again, clearing broken beer bottles so that the new day’s market can begin again. For a great companion to your buzz, Aristo Campo stays open late serving the most wonderful hot-pressed panini you ever tasted. Choose from the generous menu or create your own – the prices are low and the staff is friendly and English speaking.

If you simply need to bump and grind the night away, Rialto (via Sant’ Ambrogio 4) is a cool space just a few steps from Largo Argentina that has turned an old high school into what you always dreamed high school should be: three separate dance floors with plenty of other space just for hanging and lounging. The crowd here is pretty low-key, with a mix of hip leftys amid the tight-pants types (you won’t feel like grandma or grandpa if you are in your 30s). Best of all, admission is only 7Euros (and drinks just 5!). In addition to club nights, Rialto hosts live bands and theatrical performances, and is an all-around cool space amid the rambling ancient facades of the former ghetto. After you’ve worked up a good sweat, I recommend ambling over to Aristo Campo for a sausage and zucchini panino. Truly nothing in life could be better.

All Roads Lead Out of Rome

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:02:43 +0100

During one of my darkest days here, a local woman told me “Non ti preoccupare. A Roma quando chiude una porta, apre un portone” (Don’t worry, in Rome when a door closes, an even bigger door opens). I didn’t believe it at the time but it proved to be true. Just when you start getting down on Rome, it always surprises you with something great if you are astute enough to grab it. So for now I’ll put aside the ranting about crime and filth, and tell you about what I saw the other day on the side of a bus. Busses, by the way, are one of the best ways to get information in Rome – concerts, art shows and other events that you won’t hear about anywhere else are prominently displayed there. Public transportation in Rome might not be that reliable, but at least it’s informative.

The other evening, I spotted on the #3 bus (which is supposed to be the #3 tram, but let’s not get to ranting again) an advertisement for a new web site sponsored by the Region of Lazio, which Rome falls square in the middle of. This site Lazio Feste, provides a searchable list of sagre or festivals in the Lazio Region. When Rome gets to be just too much for you – alas! – there is bound to be a sagra in one of the surrounding towns. Although they might seem an ancient tradition rooted in Latium’s pagan past, most sagre only go back a few years, when they were devised as ways to promote small towns that lie within striking distance of Rome but have always remained “off the map” as tourist destinations. Even some of the most well-known and celebrated sagre in Lazio, such as the Sagra dell’ Uva or wine festival at Marino are 20^th, century inventions, but many have their roots in earlier historical events or feast days of patron saints.

Perhaps it is a sign of the times that food is celebrated at a larger proportion of these events than saints or Madonnas, whose feasts were the cultural bedrock of times past. But its not surprising in the sense that the modern feasts are designed to attract outsiders to these sleepy towns, and rural Lazio’s food traditions are a much bigger attraction than its churches and sanctuaries (there are a few exceptions but let’s face it – after St. Peters, nothing stands up). The foods celebrated include wine, porchetta (roast pork), black truffles, porcini mushrooms, chestnuts and a variety of pasta and meat dishes.

Of course there are a few exceptions to the food-themed feasts. One is the living nativity, which several towns get dressed up for during December. Still other towns celebrate a living passion of Christ around Easter time, which is really something to see (don’t worry, they don’t actually crucify anyone, but they do find a lucky guy to parade around town hanging from a cross). Unfortunately, the feast in Capena, a small town north of Rome, where small children were encouraged to gather round a bonfire and light up cigarettes, has been seriously toned down following bad press. But every once in awhile, you can find something really unique or bizarre.

Sagre in Lazio happen all year around. Some of the most popular are listed on Rome : Alive! You can find a full, searchable list of them on HYPERLINK "http://www.laziofeste.it" www.laziofeste.it. Go crazy – and let us know about your sagra experiences!

Innamorata con squeegee men

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:35:47 +0100

I hate to be one of those complaining bloggers – especially about Rome. It’s getting such a bad reputation these days among visitors, with its seemingly ubiquitous graffiti on every street corner, pickpockets, etc. But I am often reminded of the first time I drove into New York City after dark during the early ‘90s, over the Third Avenue Bridge and towards the FDR Drive; I (or rather my car) was immediately swarmed by squeegee men. I stepped on the gas and flew through the light to escape, but was nevertheless shaken. And yet in New York this kind of thing is all part of the fun, part of the New York Experience. After several years in Rome, I still can’t shake the strangeness of getting squeegeed in this timeless city, of homelessness and crime in the cradle of Western civilization. And it seems to be getting worse. At each traffic light there are at least one or two people squeegeeing, selling tissues or just begging. How can they stand the competition? (Especially with the guy at Circonvallazione Gianicolense and Piazza Dunant, who definitely wins the prize for “hottest squeegee man in Rome”, for whatever that’s worth).

Another reason Rome has been reminding me of New York is that its citizenry has recently elected a new mayor, Gianni Alemanno, on his promise to ‘clean up the city’. Like in New York, Alemanno is derided by many people afraid in the process of ‘cleaning’, his administration will violate the rights of disadvantaged people. One starts to get déjà vu here. But unlike during Giuliani Time, there really hasn’t been much change at all since the election. Sure we have seen some Roma camps torched and others evacuated, but the camps just move further underground – literally – under bridges and overpasses where conditions are even worse and their populations further marginalized. The scores of immigrant men who used to congregate around Ostiense Station each evening for the Red Cross food van have been cleared. Where are they eating now?

Many Romans will simply blame the recent wave of immigration for the city’s problems, but immigration is a phenomenon all across Europe – how come Vienna doesn’t look like this? How come Bologna doesn’t? This time, the very Italian reaction of casting blame does not seem to be working. Besides, Italy isn’t making any moves to control immigration and wouldn’t want to – developing countries are supplying the country with much-needed labor that Italians simply don’t want to do. Until the politicians actually get their act together and stop flinging mud, the situation here will probably not improve, and Rome’s reputation as a “shithole” (as one blogger recently put it) will only grow.

If we have to look for a silver lining, Rome’s shittiness a good way of keeping tourism from getting out of control. Certainly I’ve heard many visitors express how deeply offended they were upon seeing swastikas spray-painted nearly everywhere. In New York, that would be a serious offense – a hate crime if the person was caught. But what, I suppose can you expect in a place selling 2009 Mussolini day planners at every news stand but failing miserably to control even the most obvious crimes? Surely the ancient Roman’s could do better than today’s corrupt and ineffective government. But despite all the filth, crime and fascism, there is still something about this place that makes people fall in love. Perhaps not unlike New York in its more seedy days, there is a certain Wild West quality about it, a sense of freedom in all the anarchy.

Rainy-day Rome

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:34:19 +0100

It always looks incredible in the postcard – red and oranges refracted from the sun off warm-colored medieval buildings, ancient giants in stone shining white in the afternoon light. And you might even see Rome or its environs on a day like this if you’re lucky. But between November and March (this is when the travel agencies like to offer those discount packages including everything for one low price) you are lucky to encounter much sun at all. You are more likely to encounter periodic, if effervescent, bursts of sun interrupted by sloppy, gray rainstorms and chill-to-the-bone temperatures. From the looks of them in their halter tops and flip flops, the study-abroad crowd is caught by complete surprise by this every year. But don’t lose heart. Rome is still beautiful in the rainy season. And although there are always museums to see, the Vatican isn’t the only attraction that will keep you warm and dry during your stay here.

Look at the positive. Coming to Rome during the rainy season means you’ve missed the oppressive crowds of the high season. It also means the pickpockets have a better chance, statistically, of getting you – so watch your wallet! The other cool thing here is that the instant the rain starts, thousands of tiny men pop up on every street corner selling umbrellas, like in a strange fairy tale. Here’s the deal: each umbrella will get you through an average of 1.3 rainstorms, so even though the sellers usually try to get ten euros for one, it’s a far better deal to negotiate a bulk buy of three or four for that price, which will get you through approximately 6.3 days here during the rainy season. Hai capito?

Drains! An Italian friend once commented that drains are the mark of high civilization. It doesn’t take long to realize that here the storm drainage was much better 2000 years ago than it is now. So with the streets seeping filthy, sewer-smelling water, who wants to go museum hopping or shopping on the Via Condotti, even with an umbrella? Many tourists feel trapped in their tiny hotel rooms during the rains. But remember that in Rome’s many cafes and bars, a single glass of wine or cup of tea can buy you a whole afternoon’s worth of warm, dry, cozyness while watching others get soaked in the street. When this gets old, you can move onto a trattoria, and spend another several hours leisurely enjoying a multi-course meal, or hit one of Rome’s cinemas showing English-language films Most movies here are dubbed, but the few precious theatres showing films in VO (versione originale) include the Metropolitan on Via del Corso, the Warner Village Moderno in Piazza della Repubblica and the Alcazar (on Mondays) in Trastevere.

And after your dinner/movie? Check out an enoteca (wine bar). These are probably Rome’s best-kept secrets for killing time in style with a good glass of vino. Here are a few of our favorites in the center of town:

Vineria Reggio (‘La Vineria’) Campo de' Fiori, Tel. 06 68803268

Enoteca Ferrarra, Piazza Trilusa, Trastevere, Tel. 06 58333920 (don’t bother with the restaurant)

Casa Bleve Via del Teatro della Valle 48/49 Tel. 06 6865970 (amazing food too)

Angolo Divino Via Dei Balestrari, 12 (near Campo de’ Fiori) 06 6864413

All Roads Lead to Rome

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:01:40 +0200

“We’re coming to Italy for week – we’ll be renting an apartment in Rome but taking day trips to Florence, Venice, Pompeii and Pisa. I always laugh, when I hear his, because I know that this person is in for a very stressful time. They never listen.

Vacation is for relaxation – have you forgotten? Sure you Yanks only get two weeks off a year, but that doesn’t mean you have to see every place in ‘Lets Go Italy’ in half that time. It’s as if there’s some big checklist in the sky that forbids anyone from leaving Italy if they haven’t hit everything on it. Never mind knowing what you are looking at or understanding its history or – God forbid – having a good time. There are sights to see! And Italy’s a small country anyway, right? Everything’s only a few hours away.

Of course next to the US, Canada and Australia, Italy is small space-wise, but once you consider that it’s a long, mountainous peninsula and that its infrastructure (we’re talking trains and roads here) is only slightly better than that of a developing country, it no longer seems so small. Typically trains to Venice take up to five hours. Pompeii is an arduous day trip – when there’s an even better-preserved site at Ostia Antica about 20 minutes from Rome. Besides, with so much to see in the ‘Eternal City’, you’ll need at least two weeks to check off everything (at least on our list of Must-Sees).

So come to Rome and relax. The rest of Italy is not going anywhere. Its been here for thousands of years and change comes very slowly here. If you have a week or less, you can hit the Grand Canal and the Leaning Tower (or Sicily, or Puglia!) on another trip. Not only will a focus on Rome be a lot more manageable and more relaxing, but you might actually learn something – this is the cradle of Western civilization after all.

If you are simply driven to see more of Italy, or if the traffic in Rome has completely destroyed any possibility of relaxing, you can stay close by and see a lot. Florence and Naples are both within two hours on the fast ‘EuroStar’ train. There are also many smaller cities like Orvieto and Viterbo within an hour of Rome with a lot to see and even more to eat – ah yes, and all along you’ve been pretending you came for the culture. Now throw away your guidebook already and dig in.

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:05:18 +0200

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Dining out in the eternal city

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:53:30 +0200

Eating out in Rome can be an extraordinary experience as long as you remain calm and remember that while at home, eating is designed to punctuate our more meaningful exercises of the rest of the day, in Rome the rest of the day’s activities are designed to punctuate the more meaningful exercise of eating. Oh, and this: you are supposed to enjoy the waiters’ snobbery and rudeness, just as at home you are supposed to enjoy their forced and obviously-fake geniality. Its just a different way of looking at it – at least here, it’s more honest because in either place it’s a miserable job.

Finding a good ristorante or trattoria (a more informal place where you can grab a plate of pasta and lets your kids roar without causing a stir) is easy – as long as you stick to the list we’ve compiled on this site. Unlike most of Italy, there are many bad eats here, but luckily most make themselves easy to spot. Beware of slick-sounding street hawkers, pictures of the food and generally any place that advertises a tourist menu (you’ve been warned!). Of course, most of the good places will be positively mobbed, so its best to make a reservation, even for pizza.

Once you’re in, your waiter (they are usually men) will probably try to cajole you into ordering a ton of food, because – as he will likely tell you in his best broken English – it is the Italian way to order a dish from each course. Not so, not so. Don’t feel like you’ve got to stretch your stomach and break the bank: its perfectly common and acceptable here to order only a primo (pasta) and a contorno (vegetable) or any other combination you damn well choose, even just a salad.

Eating should be a laid-back experience as it is one of the great pleasures of Italian life, so don’t rush (your waiter certainly won’t) and drink plenty of wine as the afternoon or evening drags on. There is always time for dessert, liquors, coffee (never cappuccino – that’s only for breakfast!), etc. and the tradition is for waiters to never rush anyone, even if others are waiting for a table. When you are finally ready to go, if after three polite requests the waiter has still not brought your conto (bill), stand up and pretend you are getting ready to leave – this does the trick every time.

Tipping is completely optional. As a rule, Italians don’t do it, but if you feel like you’ve had good service and want to leave something, check first to make sure its not already included in your bill as Servizio, Tavolo, Pane, Coperto or some combination of them (if not, a 10% tip will suffice). A waiter asking for a tip is a bruta figura (a huge no-no) that no Italian would ever tolerate (and you can’t add a tip to a credit card charge in Italy, so tip only in cash).

One final thing: check restaurants first to make sure they take credit cards, even if there is a sign outside. Many simply take cash and others will tell you their card machine is ‘broken’. Or, just bring enough cash along to ensure that you don’t have any embarrassing moments and they can continue peacefully engaging in Italy’s favorite pastime – tax evasion.

Rational stays: The apartment option

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:24:17 +0200

Of course its nice to dream of coming to Rome and staying in some grand, romantic hotel with a gorgeous staff that attends to your every need. But when most of us see the prices of even moderately rated hotels here, we are likely to have an anxiety attack (and when we adjust the price to dollars, complete delirium sets in)! Let’s face it, only a small minority of well-to-do travellers can afford to stay at the The Hassler . If that’s you – well then, good for you – enjoy your wealth. As for the rest of us, we’ll have to settle for a tiny room in some over-priced dive that lacks hot water and smells the like the sewers whenever it rains, or else stay in a convent and have to be in by 10:00 at night or risk being barred by His Righteous Curfew. Isn’t there another option?

Well yes, there is in fact. More and more savvy travelers are discovering that for the most part, hotels are a complete rip-off in Rome – for the astronomical prices they charge, they just don’t seem to be up to even the modest standards most non-Italians would expect. For this reason, an increasing number of short-term rental apartments are becoming available to travelers (in fact, to us expats, it sometimes seems like the entire centre of Rome is being converted into vacation rentals – this clouds our fantasy of living in a medieval Italian dream, but you might as well take advantage!

On average, vacation rentals are much less expensive per-night than hotel stays, while offering tons more services (easy since Roman hotels are not known for offering many services at all). Located throughout Rome and its environs, and available through several English-speaking agencies (see links below), rental apartments give you the opportunity to cook a meal or two and do if few loads of laundry if you wish. They are an especially good option for families, as many have multiple bedrooms and sofa beds. How is it possible to have all this for less than a tiny hotel room? The answer is that Rome’s hotels are just that over-priced.

Short-term apartment rental agencies: Rome and surrounding area

Rental in Rome

The Parker Company

Leisure in Rome

If you’re really on a budget and travelling alone or in a couple, there are several ‘B&Bs’ around the city (Italians use the term loosely) that offer great nightly rates if you don’t mind renting out a room in someone’s apartment (and often sharing a bathroom). Although there is less privacy than an apartment stay, these arrangements can allow travelers to stay in a prime location for a fraction of the usual cost. For example:

Bed and Wine

run by a Japanese expat, lies in the heart of Trastevere and costs just 40 for one person and 70 euro per couple, including a free bottle of wine. More owner-operated vacation rentals are available at Vrbo.

Hey Ladies – Drop those Prada pumps pronto!

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:18:01 +0200

We’ve all seen them – those fabulous women in spike heels – thin and bellissima, navigating the cobblestones as if floating on clouds, or mounted on a moped like masters of the machine with cigarette smoke trailing; their short, tight skirts and don’t-mess-with-me looks etched in our brains. They are to be awed, to be worshipped, but not, alas, to be emulated.

Italy is internationally renowned for its amazing shoes, and stunning women in those amazing shoes, but fellow travelers: don’t try this at home!! While the natives can certainly pull it off, the ubiquitous American or British ladies always seem to be in a lot of pain (and usually quite drunk – you’d have to be) trying to do as the Romans and survive a night on the Roman cobblestones [called Sampietrini] in such fabulous scarpe (ok, we might have even experienced this once or twice first hand).

Here’s the truth, girls – no matter how amazing these shoes look, they are not comfortable in any way, especially when the heel is stuck between two paving stones. Italians are raised with them; trained from a very young age to handle the pain with what looks like grace, much like Chinese girls who used to have their feet bound. To the un-initiated however, the Italian shoe experience is not only excruciating, but can be downright dangerous (especially after you’ve downed several bellinis). And you do NOT want to find yourself in an Italian emergency room at 1:00 in the morning, and oh man, do we have stories…

In some ways though, the American version of the cardinal footwear sin is much worse: you may even be on of those enthusiastic travelers who believe they can traverse Rome (without any rational idea of how much ground there is to cover) in flip flops, crocs or any similar apparel as may be appropriate for the beach or local shopping mall. They will not get you through even half a day on Rome’s rough-and-tumble streets without serious pain at best or enduring injury at worse. On sunny summer days, you can stroll through Piazza Navona or St. Peter’s Square and hear the exclamations and indignations of the footwear damned, and remember their horrible cries.

If you think you are going to come to Rome without doing some major trekking, you are seriously deluded. Even the high-end traveler can only take a hired car so deep into these narrow streets –forget about the nine-plus miles through the Vatican Museum. So what to wear? If you look around Rome and spot someone walking long distances comfortably, it’s usually a nun. What do nuns wear? Ugly, comfy shoes – usually just the ticket to survive these streets for anything over an hour.

Forget about high fashion – and forget about trying to look Italian because even after years here, most Roman transplants can’t cultivate their look enough to blend the natives. Go with cushion and support. That means: good sneakers (trainers or runners for you Brits and Aussies out there); leather walking shoes; or in warmer months, sandals that offer a cushioned insole and some degree of ankle support such as Birkenstocks, Clark’s – you get the picture.

But what if you are already in Rome, reading this and thinking – boy, I wish I’d seen this website before I left home. Don’t panic! In recent years, Italy has discovered sneakers, and Foot Lockers are now located all over the city – you’ll notice the price is about three times what you’d pay at home, but hey, a few extra Euros is well spent to avoid those nasty blisters (or falls).

If sneakers are just not your style, there are several purveyors of other comfortable footwear in the city as well, and sometimes you can even catch a sale (especially in summer when comfy sandals are a must). A selection of stores is listed below: happy walking!!

Foot Locker stores in Rome’s center:

Via Del Corso, 40. Tel. 06 36.00.20.63 (South of Piazza del Popolo)

Via Ottaviano, 1. Tel. 06 39745729 (Prati, north of the Vatican)

Viale Guglielmo Marconi , 171 Tel. 06 55.36.34.88 (Near Trastevere Station)

Stores selling comfortable shoes:

Sabò. Via C. Battisti, 136. Tel. 06 67.83.460 (Piazza Venezia)

Mephisto Shop. Via Sistina, 135. Tel. 06 48.20.565 (Between Piazza Barberini and Spanish Steps)

NaturalLook. Via del Vantaggio, 21. Tel. 06 321.92.96

Sorropago. Viale Di Trastevere,38. Tel. 06 58.15.657 (Trastevere)

Calzatura Campo Marzio. Via Campo Marzio, 31. Tel 06 68.30.01.31 (Near Parliament)