Rome Oct. 13: Discovering the City

 

The weather was perfect and it’s not too crowded to truly enjoy the city. We began the day a little slowly, sleeping off the travel weariness. Had a quick breakfast in our hotel and then out on the streets, logging a little more than 9 miles of walking. That’s exactly how many miles we will walk on our first day of the hiking holiday in Umbria, but more on that later.

We first went to the Colosseum, which we toured in 2019, with a plan to tour the Roman Forum. No tickets for today, unfortunately. Typically, we would have planned ahead and had the tickets enhanced with “skip the line” and all the bells and whistles. But this time, we didn’t do much planning; it’s been a different kind of year. It turned out fine. It’s impossible to be disappointed on a beautiful day in Rome. On our way to the Forum (isn’t that the name of a play??), we walked by at least a dozen historic sites, filled with centuries-old columns, bricks and stones, many of which were being studied by archeologists. And much restorative work is under way, as tourism and climate change take their toll on these ancient structures.

For lunch we returned to a place we first visited in 2019: Barzilai. It’s such a great little spot run by two brothers and their parents, with the 80-something matriarch serving as the chef.

Again, I had cacio e pepe and it was even better than last night. Betsy had another of the four kings of pasta, Gricia, with artichokes added. It was superb.

We then set our route for the Jewish Ghetto and started walking. We learned, over and over, that Google Maps isn’t great for walking through Rome. We did eventually find the starting point for the Rick Steves audio tour. It was fantastic. The history of the Jewish Ghetto is filled with sadness but also the resilience of a people of such great strength. From the 16th through the 19th century, Rome’s Jewish population was forced to live in a cramped ghetto, thousands of people living in just seven acres. Over and over these people have been promised things, lied to, stolen from, arrested, tortured and killed, only to come back stronger. On Oct. 16, 1943, after having been promised by the Germans that they wouldn’t arrest the Jews if they managed to put together 133 pounds of gold — which they did, with the help of some Christian Romans — more than 3,000 of them were arrested and taken to the concentration camps of Germany, where most of them died. Only a few returned to Rome, where they once again rebuilt their lives, their neighborhood and their fortunes.

Then we made our way back to the hotel, slowly. As you walk through Rome, people are constantly calling out for you to eat at their restaurant, or enter their store, or to sell you some trinket or selfie stick or rose or a thousand other things. “No thank you” is our constant response.

But, the words “rooftop cocktails” pierced through the din. Betsy and I stopped in our tracks and looked at the man inviting us to enjoy the cocktail bar on the roof just across from the Trevi Fountain. Really? We were skeptical. But we followed Daniel,  through a side door, down an empty hall, onto an elevator and then up and down some steps and through an empty dining room. I was certain we were being duped by then. I was wrong. We stepped out onto a small rooftop area with a quaint bar and an incredible view of the Trevi Fountain. It felt like discovering a secret gem in the city.

Then, it was back to our hotel, and time for our siesta.

For dinner, we walked half a block from our hotel to a small restaurant complete with red and white checked tablecloths. We each ordered a salad and shared a perfect, thin crust mushroom pizza.

Nothing fancy about this restaurant. Our salad dressing of oil and vinegar came in little packets. We loved that.

Today, we’ll give the Forum another go. I bought self-guided mobile tickets from a tour company and am a little suspicious about the validity. We also plan to do a walking tour of Trastevere.

Off we go.

More scenes from our day: