Arrival in Rome!

Hello!

Catching up on blog posts now - on Sunday (7/2) we checked out of our cute spot in Riomaggiore after an easygoing morning of watching the world go by from our window. We were both pretty sad to be leaving and took it pretty slow. We stopped for breakfast at Bar Stazione near the train station on our way out to claim our included breakfast, then took the train to La Spezia pretty early so we’d be there in time to catch our next train. (We’d noticed most of the trains were 5-10 minutes delayed and our original schedule didn’t leave a ton of room for error there.)

Once in La Spezia, we stopped at Ciao, Baby for cappuccinos to pass the time while waiting for our train. It was a pleasant outdoor patio with various groups doing the same thing we were! We went to C’est Bon across the street to grab a sandwich to-go for the train next.

Our train ride to Rome took about 4 hours, then we caught the bus to our hotel (another 10 minutes or so). The train ride took us through Tuscany and we even passed through the Pisa Centrale station (though we did not go see the leaning tower this time). I thought the prettiest views were of the big sunflower fields and the vineyards we passed along the way.

We checked into our hotel and headed out for a little bit of Rome exploration, even stopping at the Pantheon. Because it was the first Sunday of the month, and some museums are free on that day, we were able to avoid the newly implemented 5 euro fee to visit!

On our way out of the hotel, we asked the receptionist for a dinner recommendation. We went to Osteria Pietra and absolutely loved our meal. (Retroactively writing this post allows me to share that this has been our best meal in Rome so far!) Ray got the Cacio e Pepe with Zucchini Florets and I got the Amatriciana pasta. Both were fantastic! Then, we stopped for dessert at Giolitti. After getting to the window with the gelatos, we remembered we had to pay first. It was a bit chaotic in there! We got hazelnut and strawberry and enjoyed our cone just outside the restaurant in Piazza Colonna.

I was really excited to see the Trevi Fountain on full display on our walk back - when I visited in 2014, it was covered by scaffolding. It’s quite impressive!

We caught some nice views on our way back after a great dinner/brief exploration! 

It’s good to be back!Amy