Back in Rome
Forgettable photos of the eternal city.
In a strange twist of events, the weekend getaway I planned with my wife in Sicily turned out to be a second visit to Rome. The first one went so well that we decided to come back this year too. And, spoiler alert, we may go next year as well. We just can’t get enough.
Photographically, the first visit went way better. This time I was too preoccupied with having a good time, and wasn’t really paying attention. So the million photos that follows will be a bit underwhelming. I heartily recommend you check out Sainty.Ltd’s reports from his visit in Rome and surrounding towns, because he clearly was more focused on photography than I was.
Day 1
We arrived in the morning, and took a train to Trastevere station. We figured that we would walk from there to Prati, because we had a couple of hours to burn before we could check in. It is a long walk, but very enjoyable, as any walk in Rome. First, we headed to Mercato do Testaccio, a market place with street food and groceries. Everything was off to a great start, but then -feeling brave and open to new culinary experiences - I ordered a lampredotto, it was a mistake.
After that culinary misadventure, we walked across Trastevere and Campo de’ Fiori and enjoyed the views.
Sadly, grocery salesman Leszek, whom we met on our previous visit, wasn’t at work that day.
After reaching our apartment in Prati, we left our bags and went to explore the city some more. Throughout the day we followed along quite a substantial section of the river, crossing many bridges there and back. There is a lot to photograph there.
Day 2
I will spare you the tourist views from the evening of our first day, and continue where I left off on day 1.
Our plan for day 2 was Villa Borghese, but on our way there I spotted some movement down below on the river bank and couldn’t resist not taking a photo.
The white and blue barges belong to Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Remo, which is rowing club that dates back to 1872.
Manuel, one of the club’s staffers, kindly let me in and shown around. The oldest boat they have in use is over a hundred years old, he told me.
After this short detour, we continued on our way to Villa Borghese. The park is absolutely outstanding.
At the Galeria Borghese museum we learned there were no tickets left for the day, but we managed to get some for the next day’s afternoon.
We headed back to Piazza di Spagna to look at the instagram crowds. On our way there, we did some window shopping on Via Francesco Crispi, which hosts a number of bespoke shoemaker establishments. Amazing stuff.
It was late lunch time, so we hurried past the famous landmarks, to our favourite trattoria, which is close to our apartment. We barely made it, but were so happy to return exactly one year, to the day, after our last visit. The place, run by Mario and Mimmo, has been family owned for decades.
After lunch we could barely move, so we very slowly walked to our apartment for a short nap. However, my curiosity was stronger than sleepiness, so I sneaked out for an hour to explore the river banks a bit more.
I scouted the river bank where there was more barge goodness.
After I got back, we headed out for some aperitivo in the evening.
Day 3
On our third day I woke up before dawn to go for a short photo walk to catch some touristy views.
After I got back, we went for an Italian breakfast, and then we jumped on the underground and metromare to Ostia.
The sea was turbulent, but beautiful still. I am sure in the high season this is a street photographer’s easy mode destination.
After we explored the seafront, we went for lunch, and headed back to Rome to Galeria Borghese. The exhibit was a but underwhelming, I am definitely more into more contemporary art. The Caravaggios and Berninis were pretty cool though.
We concluded the day with more aperitivo and night walks around Piazza del Popolo.
Day 4
This was our last day in Rome. We packed up and headed for breakfast. After that, we went to Museo dell’Ara Pacis, which currently holds a temporary exhibition of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters from the Detroit Institute of Arts. What an amazing show!
Next, we walked across the city to the Roman forum.
From there, we continued along the Palatine hill to Circo Massimo, and proceeded to climb the Aventine hill.
Here, we witnessed the famous 2h queue to the instagram keyhole.
We decided it was not worth our time, and headed for lunch. It was a good call, because I had the best carbonara in my life.
With our stomachs full, we continued on the last leg of our stroll that day. We went to see the pyramid, and visited the nearby Cimitero Acattolico per gli Stranieri di Roma where many famous non-Romans are buried. As an English major, I shed a small tear for John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley.
After that, we reached Trastevere station, and boarded a train to the airport. This wraps our second visit to Rome. Hope you enjoyed this small report.
Also, if you happen to be around Trastevere these days and see Harry, call his owners.
Till the next one!
Jakub
Piękna opowieść. Nie byłem jeszcze nigdy w Rzymie. Twoje zdjęcia zachęcają. Tak to dobra pora na odwiedzenie tego miasta.
nice shots 👏👏👏