OBSERVATIONS: A few reflections on how Rome struck me on this visit.
- More young people seen smoking on the street including high school students. A mix of cigarettes and vaping devices.
- More pedestrian-only zones which make Rome quieter and even more pleasant for walking from piazza to piazza. Other than getting into and out of the city upon arriving and departing, we walked everywhere! Didn’t take even one taxi.
- Rome is popular! This is early October, pre-Columbus Day, and the crowds everywhere are huge.
- Dress here is as casual as what you see in cities everywhere. Lots of jeans on all ages, and mostly pants on the women. Of course, we were focused on tourist attractions which probably accounts for some of this.
- Rome’s fountains and buildings all look cleaner and almost pristine; stanchions and signs are in evidence to deal with crowd management. Obviously, the government has invested in making the city more appealing.
- The Spanish Steps are as beautiful as ever, but you are no longer allowed to sit on them. Enforcement officers were around making individuals get up and move. I found this disappointing as I always liked sitting there and watching the world swirl around me.
- Vibrant restaurant scene with many options for Roman cuisine and also some very sophisticated creative fare.
CREATIVE ROMAN CUISINE
Again, thanks to Journy, we experienced a very sophisticated and innovative dinner menu at Per Me Guilio. It’s built around fish and seafood, particularly raw fish, and such Roman specialities as tripe. There are a couple tasting menu options, but you can also order a la carte which we did.
I had scampi carpaccio which was served with four tiny cubes of foie gras and bit of onion jelly followed by cuttlefish gnocchi with clams, celery and bottarga.
The Chief Penguin ordered the roast cuttlefish followed by scorpionfish with codfish tripe and beans.
Desserts were fancy, but more recognizable. And as is typical of very fine restaurants, there were lots of little extra tidbits along the way. Another superb dining adventure!
TRUFFLE FAVORITES
On our last night, we trekked through Piazza Navona, Pantheon square, past the Trevi Fountain, and on to the Spanish Steps before going over to Osteria Barberini for a dinner that featured truffles, both white and black. This is a very small restaurant, and we discovered, very popular! Our reservation was for 6:30 when they opened, but there were at least six other folks outside the door hoping to snag a table.
In addition to the regular menu, there’s a truffle menu. We love truffles, especially the pungent white ones. We ordered the bruschetta with white truffle and Parmesan (lovely), and then each had an order of the tagliolini with white truffle in a very light cream sauce. Sublime!
The Chief Penguin had his all time favorite, saltimbocca, which he said was the best ever. I ordered the veal strips with red bell peppers in a balsamic glaze which was good, but not exceptional. We shared an order of sautéed spinach with oil and lemon. Our waitress was an animated woman who added to our enjoyment of the evening. The chef also came out from the kitchen to see if we were happy with our dishes.
Note: Text and all photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).
