Well hello there!
For anyone who doesn’t know, I went to Rome and Florence with 2 of my friends Adeline and Annie from St Andrews over our Reading Week during 1st Semester. Both Adeline and I had been to Italy before, but our wee Northern Irish gal was an Italy virgin, so we thought we would accompany her for a *smooth* time.
We stayed at the Smooth Hotel (if you didn’t already guess, the puns got old fast), which was located right by the main transportation hub, Termini Station. The hotel was ideal for walking to most tourist areas, and the proximity to Termini was magical in more ways than one.
Firstly we were able to get the train easily to anywhere that was too far to walk, but mainly we loved it because there was a Venchi gelateria which we visited too many times to admit within the 4 days we were there. I was beyond myself when I saw it, as I had been to a Venchi in Covent Garden in London last year and thought I’d never experience it again. If you are ever in Italy, you need to go to Venchi and try the dark chocolate sorbet called “Azteco”. It is life changing.
Aside from our multiple “Ad-venchi-s”, we visited the main tourist attractions that were at the top of our list whilst strategically stuffing ourselves with as much pasta and pizza as we possibly could.
Upon arriving at our hotel, Annie made a decision she would regret the rest of the trip. She decided to share a bed with the girl who brought a “nightgown” to sleep in which was definitely just a t-shirt. For her dignity, I won’t release the owner of the nightgown’s name.
We decided to explore the area, find food, and then head to the Trevi fountain. The walk there was surreal. We passed many beautiful buildings and Romanesque architecture. It was around this time that Annie’s hatred for my New York laissez-faire attitude towards crossing the street became evident.
It was incredibly warm compared to the Scottish autumn we has escaped, so we went into a cafe and had our first pizza experience. I failed at looking like I wasn’t a tourist by ordering a shot of espresso wrong so that was humbling.
The Trevi fountain itself was MASSIVE! Last time I went with my high school it was under restoration, so you could only look through glass. Seeing it in all of its glory was so incredible. We pushed our way to the front for a selfie and had a trustworthy-looking tourist get a photo for us before heading off to the Spanish Steps for our Audrey Hepburn moments.
Annie C., my friend from high school was on her semester abroad in Rome, so she met us at a wine bar at the top of the steps to watch the sunset and have a drink. It was so incredible to catch up with her an ocean (and a lifetime) away from our highs school days of kilts, knee socks and angst.
We were exhausted after the day of sightseeing so we went back to the hotel for a nap before dinner. This would not be our last nap.
The next day we were determined to see the colosseum and to determine if it truly could have functioned as a concert venue in The Lizzie McGuire Movie™. We bought tickets online which is the way to go, as you get to skip the queue to enter. It was pretty incredible to see such an iconic piece of architecture from inside; it almost felt like we were a part of something eternal. It also felt very hot. I think we probably thought a bit more about where we could get water bottles afterward than the fact that people used to watch other people kill even more people for entertainment there, but hey, ho.
Then it happened.
The frog. La rana.
We were queuing to go into the Roman Forum which was a part of the Colosseum ticket, when a street vendor pulled out a wooden frog and began to rub a wooden stick across divots in it’s back to make a noise that sounded like a frog croaking. That’s what it sounds like at first at least. Then it slowly wedges it’s way into your mind and makes you believe that there was never a time when that darn sound wasn’t in the background of your life. All of my childhood memories. Tainted.
Luckily Annie and Adeline failed to find another one on the trip to purchase.
The Roman Forum was incredible. I never knew quite what it was but the way it is built is truly astonishing. All of the important buildings in ancient Rome were randomly arranged and built in this one area over the years and the result is something you won’t see anywhere else. Back in the day it would have been the centre of life in Rome. We saw some spectacular temples alongside various ruins, and got a few photos for the folks back home.
The sun once again took it’s toll on our pale skin, so we decided to venture on to find somewhere for lunch. We stumbled upon the Altar of the Fatherland on our way to get food and were absolutely amazed that we hadn’t heard of it or been told to check it out! It’s honestly stunning and totally worth walking past to see – especially at night when it’s all lit up. We found a hidden restaurant on our way back to the hotel and I ordered a lot of prosciutto. It was a very good decision (See Figure A). We stopped for gelato next door and then took off back to our smooth, smooth beds for our nap of the day. And naturally we stopped at Venchi for a second gelato.
When we eventually awoke, I remembered that I wear the pants in our friendship and booked a nice restaurant called “Diana’s Place” that had caught our eye for dinner. When we got there we found out the app I had booked through had a promotion and that our whole meal would be 50% off. It was a wonderful surprise for our bodies, minds and hearts. We all had incredible pasta dishes and left full & happy. And then we got Venchi again. Not sorry.
Our third day we knew we had to visit Papa F before we left Rome. We took the metro to the Vatican Museum and were given directions by the second least creepy man we met on the trip. He called us beautiful but reassured us that his wife is also beautiful. Ahhh Italy.
The Vatican Museum was so much more incredible than I remembered. It is absolutely huge, so we definitely only visited a portion of it. But the abundance of statues brought out the immature 12 year old boys in us and we managed to not be kicked out so that’s a win! The Last Judgement was naturally mind-blowing. It is so hard to believe it took just over 4 years for Michelangelo to paint something we look at nearly 500 years later and it took me nearly 4 years to just about decide on my degree.
Anyhow, after the Vatican we made our way to a restaurant we randomly selected from Yelp. And what a wonderful random selection it was. Upon entry we were greeted by smiling faces asking us where we were from and how we were. After eating the bread they gave us, they brought out more. The waiter simply placed it on the table and said “present” and then walked away. That would not be our last present.
With our food, the same interaction occurred, but this time with a random sausage concoction. After we finished, some freshly picked oranges showed up in a basket. And finally, with the bill, an entire bottle of limocello. What a “present” indeed. We are still unsure whether they treat all their customers this kindly, or if they were simply afraid of Annie and her strong Belfast accent.
We then headed back to the most smooth of all hotels in Italia for our nap of the day. We passed our best friend from the restaurant from across the street who never actually managed to intrigue us enough with his advertising for the restaurant. After a nap, Annie and Adeline decided to give in to my begging for the infamous Cacio e Pepe dish that had evaded us at every restaurant we went to. When we realised it was a 50 minute walk, there was some hesitance. Naturally I said it was okay and that we didn’t have to go. But alas, they would not hear such nonsense from the girl who hadn’t uttered a sentence without the words “cacio e pepe” in 3 days. The walk was actually lovely and once we got to Trastevere (the area where the restaurant was) the hustle and bustle of city streets gave way to small alleys full of live music and lights. My friend from home had said we needed to come to Trastevere, and I echo her sentiment. It is truly an Oasis in the midst of Rome. The restaurant we were going to was actually called Cacio e Pepe, so there was no way they couldn’t have the dish on the menu. Thank goodness. We walked up and the man at the door was very confused by my name. He asked if I was Norwegian and when I said I was from the states, he exclaimed, “OH! MAAHHHH-KEHHHHN-ZAAYYY!” which naturally brought us a lot of joy. We found out his name was Daniel, and that we were indeed in for a treat with him as out waiter. Daniel is what I consider the official least creepy man we met in Italy. One of the highlights of the meal, aside from the glorious pasta and the best ricotta cheese of my life, was Daniel’s wonderful stories. At one point, he asked a passing waiter to get our wine and then turned back to us with a glimmer in his eye. He explained that that waiter was sad because his dog had died. This began a 10 minute explanation in broken English of how he had just moved into a new apartment and the dog jumped from an 8 story window. Obviously, this is not a funny story. But the mix of us and Daniel trying to understand each other and Daniel’s drawing of an 8 story building on our table cloth to articulate the height of the building resulted in some of the most ab-chiseling laughter any of us had ever experienced. This poor man who had just lost his dog passed us multiple times throughout the night while we suppressed giggles. We got dessert, the bill and a picture with our beloved new friend. When Adeline signed the bill, he then asked me a question and I thought he was telling me to also sign it, but then he asked me to write my “WhatsApp”. Alas, I did not. And that was our time with Daniel, who you will have heard us talk about too many times already if you have talked to any of us about Rome.
The next day was our last. We got up early to get our asses on a train to Florence for a change of scenery. We explored the cobbled streets and ended up at the Cathedral with THAT dome. It was breath-taking.
We popped into a really beautiful shop next to the cathedral that sold amazing wood carvings and adorable postcards. We also met a kind man who sat on the street and painted beautiful landscapes of Florence bursting with flowers and colour. He used wood prints to make the scenes which he had carved, and painted around them. He even hand painted us each business cards. We were pretty amazed with the raw talent of this man who we bumped into on our way to find gelato. We ended up at a gelateria that was called “one of the top gelatarias in the world” by someone on google.
It was indeed incredible. There were a variety of unusual flavours which were made with all natural ingredients. I got lavender and green tea and I was VERY pleased with my decision. I think Adeline got sesame or something and I have no idea what Annie got. Oops.
We ended up in Palazzo Vecchio and ate our gelato while admiring the sculptures. Very violent sculptures, at that.
We walked to Ponte Vecchio to see what all the hype is about, and the view was truly beautiful.
We then trekked over to Piazzale Michelangelo, which we were told had the most beautiful view of the city. The walk up to the Piazza was intense due to a disturbing amount of steep steps, but we made it eventually. The view was incredible, and we got to see a bride getting some wedding photos and some extravagantly dressed Italian men. We were there just before sunset, but I would definitely recommend making your way there for the actual sunset.
On the way to dinner, we passed an Italian man singing “Chasing Cars” in front of a carousel. That was pretty magical. Almost as magical as the pear ravioli that I got at dinner.
It came very close to beating out the cacio e pepe as my favourite pasta dish of the trip. Our dinner entertainment that night was a couple—well, really just half of a couple— who had come from the states for a wine tour. The husband had his back turned to us the whole time while his wife explained to us what she was doing in Italy. The conversation started when the waiter asked them where they were from, and she responded, “Daytona Beach – but no wet t-shirt contests! These girls know what I mean!”. Safe to say the conversation that ensued was thoroughly enjoyable.
We took a late train back to Rome after stopping for our final Venchi in the Florence train station. You bet we slept like babies after our first nap-less day.
We woke up bright and early to fly home to St Andrews the next day. It was so hard to leave Rome, but even harder to leave Venchi. The holiday was so incredible because we all were very flexible with the schedule, and we were all in agreement that food came first. I don’t know if I could ask for two better people to go on an advenchi with, and I can’t wait to see where we go next! Any suggestions?
Mackenzie Elizabeth. Personally. 