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VISIT #1:
MY 24TH BIRTHDAY
June 4, 2022
We boarded our flight from Newark to Rome yesterday at 8:35 PM. On our flight over, an air hostess asked us if we would switch with a family so that they could use the entire row we were sitting in, as they were currently sitting with an infant in their lap. I reluctantly agreed because it seemed like the right thing to do, but was instantly gutted as we were seated in the middle rows of the plane, because I'd paid extra for us to have the window and middle seats we'd just come from and loved looking out the window during takeoff and landing. Genuinely upset that I'd lost our good seats when I could've just said "no," I cried a bit, popped a melatonin, and Jarren cradled me with my legs on his lap until I fell asleep.
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We landed in Rome at 11 AM and, still sad over the loss of my window seat, I was relieved the flight was over. I couldn't wait to get off of the plane and have that part of our trip be over with. We deplaned, went through security, grabbed the Great Pink Suitcase, and walked toward the trains to Roma Termini.
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We arrived at the airport train station a hair too late and missed the express train into Rome right as we started buying tickets, so we decided to grab a coffee and wait for the next one. This was our first confusing experience in Italy, as the menu wasn't in English and we had no idea what kind of coffee was made at this small cafe. We ended up just getting two lattes and waited for 15 minutes until the next train arrived.
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When the train came, we boarded and took it to Termini, then walked to our hotel with the assistance of the map of Rome Jarren had downloaded onto Google Maps so that we could use it offline. After a sizable 20-ish minute walk lugging the suitcase down narrow sidewalks, cobblestone streets, and up a hefty flight of stairs, we finally made it to the hotel, only to not really know where it was. The map said we'd made it, but it was nowhere to be found. After a few minutes, we finally realized that the "hotel" was more like a private hostel/bnb situation located inside of an apartment complex and that's why there were no signs to find it. We rang the doorbell and were let in, then shown up to the third floor and to our room. We got situated, changed, Jarren got some homework done (taking online classes for the summer semester through Penn State's World Campus program), and then we decided to go on our first stroll in Rome for some lunch.
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Our hotel was conveniently right down the street from the Colosseum, so that was the first landmark we saw as we made our way down a few blocks. I thought that I'd be blown away by the size of it, or that I would feel something looking at it, but honestly, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. It wasn't as disappointing as the Eiffel Tower had been the first time I'd seen it, but I wasn't amazed at it like I figured I would be. I think what took away from it was the sheer amount of people on both sides of the street, some using it as an Instagram photo op. Regardless, it was still cool to finally see it in person.
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We journeyed onward in search of a good lunch, and stumbled upon Iari The Vino. We beat the line just in time as we sat down. I ordered a lasagna and my first Aperol spritz in Italy, Jarren ordered a carbonara. The Spritz was perfect and I immediately knew I'd be drinking these non-stop for the rest of the trip. The food itself was ok, but just like the Colosseum, I was underwhelmed. I'd built up the food in Rome in my head to be so far superior to any pasta I'd ever had before, so when my lasagna tasted like a cheap lasagna from home, to say I was disappointed was an understatement.
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When the line started to grow around the restaurant, I downed the rest of my spritz and we left so that someone else could have our table. We walked around and visited some ruins in the area.
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When night was beginning to fall, we stopped for dinner at Volare, which was the worst dinner experience I'd had in a long time. We were seated outdoors next to a lovely mother and daughter from Ireland who were also visiting Rome for the first time and didn't know what to expect. When the waiter came around to take our order, I ordered an Aperol spritz and pesto gnocchi, Jarren ordered fettuccine alfredo. When the spritz came, it was completely flat and clearly had too much Aperol in it and nothing else. I never normally ask for anything to be remade, I normally just stomach it, but Aperol spritzes were so common in Italy and I knew for a fact the drink was made completely wrong, and it was just bad, so I asked the waiter if someone could remake it. He was clearly irritated, but took it back, anyway. When our food arrived, the gnocchi was just... wrong. The pesto wasn't even green. I actually truly have no idea what was served to me, but it was crappy gnocchi with I don't even know what sauce. Jarren's alfredo was also made incorrectly and not good. When the waiter came back with my new spritz, it was basically all club soda and a drop of Aperol, which was the cherry on top of everything else. The daughter sitting beside us ordered a margherita pizza, and what was served to her was what looked like a really bad, burnt plain pie instead. Nothing like a margherita pizza at all. It told me everything I needed to know about this place and I knew we'd made one gigantic mistake stopping for dinner here, but food is food, so we ate as much of it as we could so as not to be wasteful of the food or our 46 Euros.
While we ate, a man on a bike came down our street, followed by a car, who ended up hitting him full-on in front of us. The man flew off of his bike, but ended up being ok after a few minutes of being down on the road, and ended up biking away despite the fact that there was clearly a dent in his frame.
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When we decided we couldn't be bothered with the food anymore, we paid the bill and walked back to our hotel. Once inside, Jarren finished up some homework, then we went to bed, finally getting our first real sleep since leaving home.
The flowers on our walk from Termini to our hotel were impeccable.
Bland and utterly forgettable to say the least.
Daily Details
Hotel: Black Rooms Colosseo
Via Labicana, 80, 00184 Roma
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Lunch: Iari The Vino
Via Frangipane, 27, 00184 Roma
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Dinner: Volare
Via di S. Giovanni in Laterano, 48, 00184 Roma
June 5, 2022
Another sweltering Italian day. There was a lot on the agenda for today, but the most important part of our morning was finding me an eyebrow pencil. Mine had completely run out yesterday, at the very start of our trip, and I absolutely cannot go out in public without perfected brows, so we needed to find a pencil, stat. Much to my surprise, Jarren didn't crack any jokes and was super supportive of helping me find an eyebrow pencil, even planning out our morning around stopping at a few places to find one.
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With this task at hand, we got ready and made our way out in the direction of Kiko Milano, a cosmetic store. On our walk, we stopped into a few pharmacies, but we quickly learned that these were not at all like the pharmacies we have at home in the States. All of the pharmacies were incredibly small and had one rack of cosmetics. None of them had brow products, so we kept moving.
We decided to stop for breakfast on our way, but one quick glance at the clock told us it was actually time for lunch, instead. We pulled over at Molino Roma as we were passing it, purely because we were getting hungry and it was right next to us. It also seemed fairly busy, so we assumed that meant the food was good. I'm on vacation, so of course I started my day with an Aperol spritz. Unlike last night, the spritz here was made perfectly, and after walking a few miles in the blazing heat, it took everything in me not to down it instantly and order another one.
Our goal on this trip was to try all the typical Italian staples and see how they fared against the American versions we'd come to know and love, so I got meatballs and Jarren got a pizza. He'd never had anchovies before, though, and decided now would be a good time to try it. Now, Jarren absolutely hated New York and couldn't wait to leave, but one of the only things he does give us is that we make the greatest pizza this planet has ever seen. As a born and raised New Yorker, I know what good pizza tastes like, so we both had high expectations going into this meal. Imagine our surprise (and horror) when the waiter brings out a pizza that is uncut and sets it down with a knife and fork. We couldn't believe it. This was a pizza crime. New Yorkers regularly make fun of politicians who eat pizza with cutlery when they stop to visit on the campaign trail, and here we were about to do the same thing. It was a pizza sin, but we did it, and came back with barely a reward to show for it. If you've never had NYC pizza, you'd think this was the greatest pizza on the planet. If you have had NYC pizza, then you know better. As a pizza, it was fine, it tasted good, but it was thin and the crust was chalky, much like a dollar slice's crust, except dollar slices on the whole are actually thicker and better. Anchovies, as Jarren learned, are incredibly salty, and he ended up taking them off of the pie. The pizza was good, but not better than what we had at home by any means.
The meatballs were great, but I ended up wishing I'd gone for a basic marinara sauce in the end, as the cheesy alfredo ended up being a little too rich for my liking after the first few meatballs. When the waiter came by to pick up our plates and ask if we wanted a tiramisu, I couldn't turn it down. The tiramisu was fabulous, I couldn't ask for more. All in all, this was a better experience than dinner last night, but I was still left wanting more out of the food in Rome.
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After we were done eating, we looked at the map and realized we were closer to a Sephora than Kiko, so we pivoted our plan and headed to Sephora, instead, which was located in an underground mall below Termini. Once the eyebrow pencil was secured (shoutout to Huda Beauty), we made our way out of the mall and started sightseeing again.
We walked over to the Colosseum, where we got on line to receive complimentary admission tickets (tickets are free on the first Sunday of every month). After getting our tickets, we went through a quick security line, then explored the Colosseum.
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I expected so much more from the Colosseum than what it gave me, but this was at no fault to the Colosseum itself. What really tarnished my experience was the number of Instagrammers crowding every direction I turned. It seemed like 30% of the people here were here for the same reason as me: to immerse myself in history and really take it all in, while the other 70% seemed to be here for a photoshoot. This could be the problem with visiting on a day when admission is free, and it made some part of me regret visiting today. No matter how I felt, we were already here, so I tried to make the best of it. I marveled at the staircases we were using that were very clearly original and had never been remodeled. I couldn't believe how much of the Colosseum wasn't roped off. I couldn't believe I could actually touch history. Looking out from what used to be seats at what used to be the arena floor, I tried to imagine what it must've been like in all it's glory. I couldn't quite grasp the full gravity of the Colosseum's audiences and the gladiators who died here, but I was still in awe of it all. All of this would've been so much more of a surreal and immersive experience, had I not constantly needed to wait for girls taking a million photos for Instagram to move out of view. I love social media, I do, but my God is it also one strong disease stopping people from living in the moment.
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After around an hour inside of the Colosseum, we were overheating and thirsty, so we left and went over to a gelato store, Ciuri Ciuri, for some gelato to cool down. The gelato was, y'know, just ice cream. Was it good? Yeah, I'd have it again. But was it special? Absolutely not. Once again, I'd met a food in Italy that was overhyped. We sat on a ledge across the street from the gelato place and ate our ice cream. When a significant portion had melted down my hand and arm, I finished and moved on with my life.
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With a bit of daylight left, we took to the streets to explore Rome. We saw the Pantheon on the map and headed in that direction, hoping to make it before they closed. We walked a little aimlessly at first and stumbled upon a coffee shop located inside a restaurant, and being the coffee addicts we are, we simply had to stop. Into Plebiscito we went, where we were greeted by a man around our age working behind the counter. He asked us what we'd like, to which I responded, "What can you make?" He said, "Coffee." This guy was a jokester, I liked him. He started pointing out the espresso machine that made this coffee shop one of the most popular spots to stop at for espresso in Rome. "Can that machine make me a vanilla latte?" I asked. "No, this isn't Starbucks, you're in Italy," he responded, and that absolutely took me out. Not knowing what to get, the barista recommended a single shot of espresso for Jarren and a cappuccino for me, since I'd come to love them so much. The single shot cost €1.20, the cap cost €1.70, and they were both worth way more than what we paid. They were impeccable. After our drinks, we thanked the barista and walked on.
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On our way over to the Pantheon, we passed a small church with a man outside singing opera. He was very talented, and we stopped to listen for a few seconds as we peered inside the dark church. We then continued down the street to the Pantheon, but quickly realized we were too late for admission, so we shrugged it off and walked around the corner. In the square right in front of the Panethon was a large crowd of people, some with white balloons, and some looking on from the other side of the square. We took a place near the fountain in the middle of the square and waited to see what would happen. As we stood listening to loud music play over a speaker system, we noticed that a lot of the people standing with balloons were crying. All of the signs surrounding them were in Italian, so we weren't able to understand why. We waited a few minutes more, trying to understand what was going on, when the crowd fell silent except for the music. At a certain point in the song, all of the balloons were released at the same time. Once the balloons were well into the air, the people below them began crying and hugging each other. After a quick Google search when we finally got signal, we realized that this was a gathering of family members and loved ones of those who have passed away from terminal illnesses. It broke my heart to think about, as a lot of the people releasing balloons were kids that maybe had just become teenagers. When the gathering was over and the crowd dispersed, we did as well.
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We walked on a little further, bought a little trinket Colosseum from a small gift shop that cost around €1, and a few blocks later accidentally stumbled upon the Trevi Fountain. At first glance I was like... this is it? But when I looked past the crowd in front of it, I was actually thoroughly impressed. The water was surprisingly blue, like Caribbean ocean blue, and it was bigger than I'd imagined. I patted myself down, but realized I didn't have any coins to toss in. If you don't already know, the lure to the Trevi is that, if you toss a coin in, you'll return to Rome one day. "Are you sure you even want to toss a coin in?" Jarren asked. "Maybe we should take more time to see if we actually want to come back here, first, before you go around tossing coins into fountains." He was right. With the experience I'd had so far, I wasn't yet convinced that I wanted to come back to Rome. The sun was beginning to set, so we figured it would be best to get back to our hotel and then go to dinner.
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When we got back to our hotel, I was exhausted. After all, we'd walked a total of 10 miles today alone. We took a break, then got ready and went to dinner. We walked over to Angelino ai Fiori because the reviews on Yelp were pretty good. They had outdoor courtyard seating, and upon nightfall, a street performer sat outside of the restaurant and serenaded us. The atmosphere was great and the food was even better. Jarren might say the margarita could've been better, but Jarren also says that about every margarita that he doesn't make. It was one of our first really great meals in Italy and we were glad we came.
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After dinner was over, we walked back to our hotel, got ready for bed, and fell into a deep sleep after the busy day we'd had today.
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Look at that uncut pizza.
Look at that uncut pizza.
Daily Details
Coffee: Plebiscito
Via del Plebiscito, 104, 00186 Roma
Lunch: Molino Roma
Via Merulana, 281, 00184 Roma
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Dinner: Angelino "ai Fori"
40 42 43, Largo Corrado Ricci, Via dei Fori Imperiali, 25, 00184 Roma
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Gelato: Ciuri Ciuri
Via Leonina, 18/20, 00184 Roma
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Points of Interest: The Colosseum
Piazza del Colosseo, 1, 00184 Roma
Piazza di Trevi, 00187 Roma
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June 6, 2022
The sun was out bright and early this morning, which was not what we were hoping for in terms of our agenda for today. The main plan today was to head to Vatican City and visit the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. Our qualm with the sun was this: we'd been told over and over again about how you needed to be covered up in order to visit, or you'd be turned away, so we knew we'd be dying under the sun's rays so long as it kept beating down on Rome all day. All visitors to the Vatican, men and women alike, were supposed to have their shoulders, upper arms, and knees covered. This meant that on this 90 degree summer day, Jarren would be in long pants and I would be in a long dress. Neither of us were happy about it, but rules are rules, so we were going to follow them.
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We got ready, then walked down to the end of our street street to this little corner cafe, Ciuri Ciuri Celio. We slipped in because it was the closest thing to our hotel and we needed to eat quickly so that we would be able to catch the metro on time. This place reminded me of a bodega, but not sketchy and more cafe-ish. We ordered two plain croissants, Jarren got a cappuccino, and I got a pear juice because I was so thirsty I couldn't bear to think of drinking something hot. We were told to sit and the food was brought to us before we'd even paid. Apparently, at places like this in Italy, you dine first and pay before you leave, a concept that would simply never work in NYC. After eating, Jarren went over the pay the bill, which totaled to around €6 and absolutely blew us away. We even asked to verify that, that was the right price and that he didn't forget anything on the bill. Talk about a steal of a deal. Not only was is super cheap, it was also delicious. Everything was good, nothing was the quality you'd expect a cheap, quick breakfast to be. On top of that, the cashier was super friendly. We told him we'd be back tomorrow and left to catch our train to the Vatican.
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We got on the (packed) train and stood pressed against one of the doors. As the train emptied out and we neared our stop, we heard an American girl in front of us start panicking. Someone had pickpocketed her and stole her wallet and phone from her fanny pack that she'd had in front of her, on her chest. No one had seen it happen. She started hyperventilating and was on the verge of tears. Her friends told her to take a deep breath and that they were going to figure it out as we were getting off of the train. I felt for her, because I'd also be panicking in that situation. I made a mental note to be much more aware of my things while I was on the trains here.
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We got off the train and began walking to the Vatican, which we learned was not at all close to the train station. 15 minutes later, we were sweating as we finally stepped onto the line to get into Vatican City. Around 10 minutes later, we were finally inside the walls. We followed the signs to get to the Sistine Chapel, but were confused when we met a long line and were herded like cattle down hot, stuffy, narrow hallways into large halls and back into narrow hallways again, all with signs saying we were "in" the Sistine Chapel, without actually being in the Sistine Chapel. What we realized was that the short entry into the Chapel had been blocked off, and we were all being forced to take the long way through a larger area of the museum in order to reach the Chapel. This would've been fine with us had the line not been inching along and had it not been so unbearably hot inside the building. In short, the journey to actually get into the Chapel was not enjoyable. When we finally descended down a few flights of stairs that were the hottest yet, we were met with more definitive signs stating that we were about to enter the Sistine Chapel. The signs stated that no phones, photography, or speaking was allowed inside the Chapel, as it is considered a sacred place.
When we finally entered the Chapel, I was (surprise, surprise) disappointed. Again. Italy was not letting me catch a break. Again, maybe this is all because I'd imagined everything to be so much grander in my head, but like... I was deflated at this point. I'd imagined a big, brightly lit room with high ceilings and vibrant colors, and was I was met with was basically the complete opposite. The room was small, packed with people (I'm talking shoulder-to-shoulder), and loud. All that signage saying you weren't allowed to speak here? In one ear and out the other. It wasn't being enforced, and for such a small space, it was a lot to listen to. What else wasn't being enforced, we noticed, was the dress code everyone said was strictly enforced. There were women with spaghetti strap dresses on and dresses above the knee, and men with shorts on. The Chapel was also pretty dark, but this was attributed to the fact that there were no lights inside the Chapel, which I can't be mad at because they're trying to keep it authentic. It was just lit by the sunlight from the windows on the walls. The frescoes were also not vibrant at all. I had to keep reminding myself of what I learned in school about Michelangelo painting all of this on his back in order to feel any sort of wonder. The Creation of Adam, the most famous fresco in here, was so small that Jarren actually didn't even see it. He missed the most iconic part. Combine all of this with the fact that we weren't even allowed to actually stop is what really did it in for me. We had to keep the flow of traffic going, so we barely got to take anything in, even after waiting over 45 minutes just to get into this room. It was ridiculous and beyond irritating. We walked out and headed over to St. Peter's Basilica to see if anything there could make up for the experience we'd just had.
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When we walked through the walls to St. Peter's Square, I was actually surprised. I hadn't formed any sort of idea of this space in my head, but somehow both this and the Basilica were bigger than I'd expected. We made our way into the Basilica and joked about running into the Pope on our way in. The inside of the Basilica was also something I didn't expect. It had the grandeur I'd expected from the Sistine Chapel. It was huge on the inside with high, towering ceilings. We stopped for a second to admire some of the art, then ducked down into the Vatican Grotto through a narrow staircase. Beneath the main area of the Basilica lay the bodies and coffins of all of the past Popes. This was honestly the best part of the day for me. I was heavily intrigued by everything in the Grotto, especially how old the majority of those coffins were.
As intrigued as I was, I was also famished, thirsty, and a bit tired, so we ended our time at the Vatican and made our way over to Ai Tre Scalini, a restaurant that seemed promising based on their Yelp reviews, but with the trip I'd been having, I was taking it with a grain of salt.
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The exterior of the restaurant was picturesque, covered with cascading vines and florals. I knew that, if anything, tourists were definitely coming here for the Instagram-able ambience. It took us a few minutes to get seated and a few more minutes to be served. I, of course, had to get a spritz, and for food we got ravioli and Italian wedding chicken. Let me tell you, I knew what was coming, but also didn't know what was coming. This meal was in a competition with Volare for worst meal of the trip so far. It might've actually won if the spritz wasn't so damn good. The chicken tasted like it was boiled; it was bland and colorless and drenched in an even blander sauce. The ravioli was also bland and it tasted like it was straight out of the Dollar Tree freezer. This was the kind of meal that I wish on people who drive slowly in the fast lane; just absolutely the worst kind of meal you can possibly have. It actually somehow made me angry. I'm mad just thinking about it. What a waste of our time and money. Jarren felt the same way I did, so I know I'm not overreacting because if you know us, you know that he is much, much more levelheaded than I am. I absolutely have nothing nice to say about this meal and don't want to waste a single second longer on it because Ai Tre Scalini does not deserve more of my time than they've already taken from me.
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After that crime of a meal, we went back to visit some more ruins in the area we'd checked out on our first day here. Once that was over, we decide we want to grab dinner, so Jarren and I look up a few places on Yelp. We find a spot called Trattoria Vecchia Roma, which had excellent reviews and came by recommendation from one of Jarren's friends. We strolled over and were met with a line down the street. I walked over and asked if anyone spoke English. Someone responded and I asked how long they'd waited on line, they said around 2 hours. I was taken aback, and because it was already late, we decided to eat somewhere else, instead. After dinner, we went to bed to get rested before our first long distance train travel of the trip, happening tomorrow.
Plain croissants, a cappuccino, and pear juice.
NOT Michelangelo's work, but a hallway leading up to it.
The only good part of this was the spritz.
Plain croissants, a cappuccino, and pear juice.
Daily Details
Breakfast: Ciuri Ciuri Celio
Via Labicana, 126/128, 00184 Roma
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Lunch: Ai Tre Scalini
Via Panisperna, 251, 00184 Roma
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Point of Interest: Museos Vaticanos
Vatican City
June 7, 2022
Pompeii day! After the past few days that we'd had here in Rome, I was beyond thrilled to be getting out of here for the day. The city of Pompeii and its history has been something that I'd been interested in since I first learned of it in middle school. I treasure history and see great value in being lucky enough to visit historical areas, so I was excited and desperately awaiting this day since I'd booked the train and entrance tickets a few months ago.
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We got out of bed bright and early, as our train was departing Termini for Naples at 11:55 AM. We kept our promise to the workers at the pastry shop around the corner and went back for breakfast again. Today, however, we switched it up just a little bit. We kept the croissants, but I also got a cappuccino today and we added a fresh cannoli. At first, I was skeptical about getting a cannoli, as I didn't remember liking them very much from past experiences, but man, was I glad we got one. I almost wanted us to get another so we wouldn't have to share. As expected based on yesterday's experience, the food was stellar, the coffee was superb, and the people were great. All of this combined with the fact that it cost less than €8 had made my morning, and I for the first time on this trip, I believed today was going to be a really great day. I wanted nothing more than to pack this place up and take it home with me.
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After eating, we walked a few blocks to the metro, got off at Termini, and then got on our ItaliaRail train to Napoli Centrale. As masks were still being enforced on ItaliaRail and we didn't have any, Jarren went over to the meal car to buy us two, and I sat watching the Italian countryside roll by. A bit further into our journey, our train was stopped on the tracks. I'd somehow brought my New York MTA bad luck with me to Italy, apparently, because we were diverted an extra 40 minutes out of our way. By the time we made it into the train station in Naples, we were extremely late and needed to change our return train back, or else we wouldn't have had any time to spend in Pompeii.
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We got on line at the train ticket booth and waited another 30 minutes before we were helped. We managed to push our return train back from 6:09 PM to 7:45 PM. No, this did not give us a whole lot of extra time, but it bought us a little bit more as we were supposed to be in Naples at 1:10, and it was currently around 3:00 PM.
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We got on the 3:25 circumvesuviana to Sorrento, which arrived at 3:35 PM. The train was packed and had no AC on this sweltering Italian day. We pushed through city to city at what must've been the slowest speed the train could possibly go. On our left sat two separate groups of Americans conversing: one group consisting of two college-aged girls from Buffalo who'd been backpacking through Italy for a few weeks, and the other, two married men from San Francisco who were both school teachers taking their summer vacation trip. They got to chatting and one of the Buffalo girls shared that she'd gotten pickpocketed and lost $100 USD sometime at the beginning of their trip. As we approached Pompei Scavi, one of the men pulled out €100 from his own pocket and handed it to her. She was shocked and tried to deny the money, but he insisted. "Happy Pride!" he said to her, as he and his husband got off the train with us. It was such a kind gesture, Jarren pointed it out and we ended up chatting with them shortly as we walked over to the entrance. We parted ways as they made their way inside. Good guys, those guys.
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When we walked over to the entrance line, I realized that I'd done something stupid: I didn't save the tickets as a PDF to my phone. I thought I'd screenshotted them earlier, but I didn't see it in my photo gallery. We asked the worker at the booth if they had wifi so that I could connect to it and access the tickets from my email. He said that they didn't have any, and left it at that. Not wanting to pay for a new pair of tickets, we walked back out to the street. I noticed that the restaurant in front of us had free wifi, so we went up to the host and explained the situation so that we could get the password. He kindly shared it with us, not expecting anything in return. I used it, got the tickets, and downloaded them onto my phone immediately. We noted that we would come back to eat here afterward because of their gesture and getting us out of a pickle.
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After scanning the tickets at the turnstyle, we were let into the ancient city, and I was immediately surprised at how open everything was. Much like the Colosseum, there wasn't much that was roped off. We truly had free roam to touch and walk through almost every inch of the city, and what was even better was that it was all perfectly preserved. None of it had been altered in any way; it was a genuine experience of the city as it was after the eruption. We walked through the remnants of what used to be families' homes, public gathering spaces, schools, larger estates. It was fascinating to walk through what used to be separate rooms of small houses, see what would've been a makeshift toilet, old flower pots, old tiles, walls ornate with familial depictions that were still in great shape to this day. What absolutely blew me away were the bodies covered in ash, perfectly mummified in the exact positions these people were in when the lava devoured them. They were so perfectly encapsulated, I could even make out light expressions of fear on some of their faces. Some were laid down with arms stretched out, like they were trying to crawl away from their fate. Others were in the fetal position. There were adults and, sadly, there were also children. Our whole experience at the archeological site so far exceeded my expectations and was hands down the best experience in Italy I'd had so far. I wish we'd had more time to spend here, but we were getting closer to our train time and needed to eat, so we walked out of the city and back to Hortus Pompei, the restaurant that had helped us out earlier.
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We were quickly seated and, thankfully, they had fans and light water spritzing the air in every corner of their outdoor, canopy covered dining area. Even sweating and thirsty, you know I had to get an Aperol spritz in for the day, so I got that and a water, and paired it with a lasagna. Jarren got a special pressed juice with a glass of water and an Italian sandwich. The food here was quite good and so were the drinks. Nothing to write home about, but definitely good enough to have again if I didn't want to risk disappointment by somewhere else. We ate quickly, as we needed to catch the circumvesuviana back to Naples in approximately 45 minutes.
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We finished up quickly and got our tickets for the train, where I was instructed by the worker to get the green express tickets for the next train, as the other tickets wouldn't be honored. That's what I understood, at least, as his English wasn't very good and my Italian was even worse. I took the tickets and met Jarren on the platform and we waited around 15 minutes for the train to arrive. When the train showed up on the platform, the doors opened, a conductor stepped out, and people began getting turned away from the doors. "They probably got the wrong tickets," I told Jarren as we walked up to the conductor. You can imagine the shock coursing through my system when the conductor handed my ticket back to me and said, "This isn't for this train." Instantly, I panicked. "I was told this was the correct ticket for this train," I said. "No," he responded. "We need to get on this train, this is the last train that will take us back to Naples in time," I said. "This is not the right ticket, you cannot board," he responded. "Please, we need to get back to Naples on this train or we'll miss our train back to Rome," I pleaded, but to no avail. The conductor boarded the train and left without us. I was on the verge of tears. I didn't know what to do. We spent close to $70 per person on that train back to Rome and there wasn't another train we could get on for the rest of the night, we absolutely couldn't miss it. "Let's try to take a cab," Jarren said, always the problem solver.
He'd noticed some cabs waiting outside of the station as we'd passed by to buy the tickets earlier, so we walked back to where they were sitting. Jarren went up to a white cab and explained the situation, that we absolutely needed to make it to our train. The driver said it would be a 30 minute drive, totaling around €75. "I only have €60 cash on me," I told the driver. Seeing how distraught I was, he agreed, saying he was only accepting because he lived in Naples and was on his way home for the day. We hopped in the cab and he took us on our way.
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On our drive over, both Jarren and I were antsy as we were cutting it close to our train leaving without us, but our driver was friendly and kept us distracted. He was from Naples and claimed his English was so good because married a Brit, lived in London for a few years, then got divorced and moved back to Italy. He was fun to talk to and made me feel less on edge about our current situation. When we finally got back to the area around the train station though, my stomach began to drop again. There was traffic. I'm talking Southern State Parkway at rush hour traffic. Our driver maneuvered us as best as he could, but in the end, he advised us to get out of the car and start running, so we did. I am by no means athletic, but I've been a subway Olympian my entire life due to the fact that I have an outstanding track record for being late to catch my trains. Beyond trains, I'm just late to everything, really. Anyway, I digress. We are r u n n i n g down the street, narrowly missing bystanders, cutting in and out of cars on the road. At one point, I look down at my phone and I see that we only have 5 minutes before our train is scheduled to depart the station. We are Usain Bolting down the street in pure panic when we finally see the train station up ahead. With 3 minutes left, we slow to a normal running pace. When we get into the train station, we beeline for our train, but need to scan our tickets with a guard first in order to pass. "You need to wear a mask on the train," he says. 1 minute left on the clock. "Ok, we will, we just need to get on that train right now," I say. "No, put it on now," he said. We reach into our pockets and start putting on our masks, "Ok, we're doing it, please, we need to get on that train right now, it's about to leave!" I say as I am wrapping the mask around my ears. "Finish putting it on first," he says. "Are you serious?!" Jarren screams as we both get our masks on at the same time. The guard steps aside and we bolt the 20-foot gap and onto the train. As soon as we board, the train doors close behind us. The train already begins moving as we search for our seats, huffing and trying to catch our breath. What an asshole that worker was. Had we taken a second longer to loop the mask around our ears, we would've missed this train and been stuck in Naples with no luggage and nowhere to stay. All because of one asshole. There's no shortage of those in this world, is there?
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Coming down from the intensity of the past 40-ish minutes, we spend our ride back mainly in silence. Jarren takes a nap, and I stare out the window, wondering how it's possible that I hadn't had one completely good day here yet. When we pull into Termini, I am more than ready to get off of the train and onto a different part of the day.
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We walk back to our hotel to unwind from the day a bit, then decide to head back over to Trattoria Vecchia Roma for dinner since it was still relatively early and we wanted to get seated today. When we round the corner, we see that there is still a line outside, but not as long as yesterday's. Just as I did yesterday, I ask how long the wait time is. The people at the front of the line say it was a 45 minute wait for them, so we go to the back of the line. It's early enough that we'd wait no matter how long the line was, because it seemed to be the spot in town. It also helped that we'd had snacks back at the hotel and weren't super hungry at all.
True to timing, we are at the front of the line within 45 minutes, and are seated shortly afterward. The restaurant is completely packed, and is alive with the joyous chatter of folks around us. As we begin to hear, most of the people here were speaking Italian, and we soon come to find out that the majority of them are locals. It was the first good sign of the night. What wasn't good, however, was that our waitress seemed to have forgotten about us. After bringing us a loaf of fresh bread and olive oil, she doesn't return for around 20 minutes. As annoying as that was, she was clearly busy, so we didn't say anything about it. She finally comes over to us to take our order and she instantly strikes me as kind and just overworked. Her English isn't perfect, but she's proficient. She recommends the fried meatballs as a starter, and takes our drink orders. Not too long afterward, she returns with the meatballs in hand, my Aperol spritz, and Jarren's large (€5) carafe of house wine. The meatballs? Exquisite. I'd never had anything like it. It was addicting. The texture and crunch of the breading with the soft meatball on the inside was to die for. We couldn't get enough and almost considered getting more when our entrees finally arrived. Jarren got cacio e pepe (€10) and I got gorgonzola & porcini gnocchi (€11). My eyes rolled back after my first bite. This was hands down the greatest gnocchi I'd ever had in my entire life. It was soft, warm, buttery, simply a joy to eat. My only disappointment was how quickly it filled me, because I so badly wished to sit and devour the entire plate. This was the experience I'd come to Italy for. Jarren felt the same way about his meal. After the entrees, I was stuffed, but I didn't want to stop eating because I was genuinely so happy and the food was so great, so I ordered a strawberry mousse cheesecake to share. It was divine. We finished Jarren's wine and stumbled out, bellies and hearts full.
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Despite the obvious chaotic mishaps of today, this truly had been the best day in Italy so far. We strolled back to our hotel under the cover of the moon, and when I finally laid my head in bed, I fell asleep thankful to have experienced today.
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Cannolis were added to our order today.
Mummified by lava that spewed from Mt. Vesuvius.
Cannolis were added to our order today.
Daily Details
Breakfast: Ciuri Ciuri Celio
Via Labicana, 126/128, 00184 Roma
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Lunch: Hortus Pompei
Piazza Esedra, 1, 80045 Pompei
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Dinner: Trattoria Vecchia Roma
Via Ferruccio, 12/b/c, 00185 Roma
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Point of Interest: Pompeii Archaeological Park
Via Villa dei Misteri, 2, 80045 Pompei
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Transportation: ItaliaRail
Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale (roundtrip)
$68.90 pp
: Circumvesuviana to Sorrento
Napoli Garibaldi to Pompei Scavi
€2.80 pp
June 8, 2022
My 24th birthday, but also, Venice day! Today, we'd be flying from Rome to Venice to celebrate my birthday with a special Michelin star dinner and a gondola ride. I'd written "ride a gondola in Venice" on my bucket list when I was 16, and if there was ever a day to get it crossed off of my list, it was today.
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This morning was a bit of a rush. More than a bit, actually. As we were staying in Venice for the night, we were checking out of our hotel here in Rome today. However, we weren't going to be flying with the Great Pink Suitcase today, as free military baggage perks did not exist on inter-European flights. The plan was to head over to our next hotel in Rome, drop off our luggage there, then head to the airport for our flight. Our flight was leaving FCO at 1:20 PM, so we needed to be there by around 12 to be safe. Knowing that I am always late to things, I knew this was going to be one heck of a morning.
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I scrambled and caused us to check out of Black Rooms so late that we didn't have time to stop at Ciuri Ciuri one last time for breakfast. We rushed over to the metro, then took the train over to our final Roman hotel: Penta Luxury House. We dropped the Great Pink Suitcase off, then ran out of the building and right back onto the metro to Termini.
At Termini, we had a few minutes before we needed to catch our train, so we grabbed McDonalds while we waited. I remembered the McDonalds in Paris having Heineken on their menu, so I was interested to see what was on the menu here in Rome. The menu did not disappoint. They had things like a McBacon, McToast, bacon cheese fries, Kit-Kat McFlurry, tiramisu, cheesecake, pear juice, and a literal stick of parmesan cheese. We wanted to be able to taste a difference in our normal orders, so despite all the cool stuff they had on the menu, we went with our regular McChicken, double cheeseburger, and a Sprite because Jarren is obsessed with how aggressive McDonalds' Sprite is. The food was good, but I think America's McDonalds is better. The Sprite was not nearly as angry as it is at home, and Jarren was a little disappointed in that. After eating, we boarded our train and went to the airport.
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Once at the airport, we waited longer than expected to board. When we finally did, we sat back and tried to get some sleep on the short flight. We were flying ITA Airways from Rome to Venice, a $134 roundtrip flight that would only take around 1 hour each way. I nodded off, and before I knew it, I was awake and starting at the Venetian canals below me.
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We landed, purchased bus tickets and then missed the first bus out of the airport to our hotel, so we got cappuccinos while we waited for the next bus to arrive. When we finally got on the bus, we took it a few stops too far by accident and had to walk back the way we came to get to our hotel.
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We got to our hotel, checked in, and then went to our room. The room was way bigger than I'd expected, and although this seemed to be a conference hotel and I could've spent a little more to book something inside Venice itself, I was glad with the choice I'd made. We changed into our dinner attire and then went out to catch our bus into the "city."
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One mid-sized walk and a short bus ride later, we were in front of the Venetian canals, something I'd always dreamed of. The streets were bustling with people as we got off of the bus and began to make our way over to one of the bridges. Jarren pulled up the directions to get to dinner, and we began our leisurely stroll under the cover of the Italian sun.
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We had plenty of time to get to Club del Doge, so we took advantage of it as we strolled through quiet alleyways, into bustling squares, across bridges short and long alike. On our walk, we stumbled upon what must be my new Mecca, an official Aperol bar. I was so unreasonably excited, we obviously had to stop. A waiter came over and took our order, which (duh) was just two Aperol spritzes. We waited for him to come back, and with every passing minute that he didn't, the excitement faded. When he did not return 20 minutes later, we up and left, deciding it wasn't worth the time or the frustration anymore. We got up and continued our walk over to dinner.
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We finally arrived at Club del Doge 15 minutes before our reservation time. As we were one of the first reservations of the night on the terrace, the host asked us to wait until service was beginning, so we did. The Gritti Terrace sat directly on the canal and a dock for direct access. As we waited, we watched as an American family came out from inside of the restaurant and hailed a boat for a ride. One quick glance at these folks could tell you they had money. I don't know how to describe it, you could just tell. Their clothing screamed quality, the women's hair and makeup were done to the nines, their jewelry, although simple, looked like it could cover the entirety of my student loans. Hell, they were standing in front of us talking about their Martha's Vineyard summer house while they waited for their private boat to pull over to the dock. It was like eavesdropping on a completely different world. Their boat came and they all hopped on board and left. In perfect timing, our table was ready as soon as they embarked, and we were whisked away by our host to be seated.
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I reserved Club del Doge not only because of the view, but also because it was a Michelin star. When you watch as much Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef as we do, you find yourself interested in upscale dining every now and then. Neither of us had ever been to a Michelin star, so when I was booking my Italian birthday dinner, I knew I just had to have a reservation here. We were seated next to the canal and our waiter brought us our menus, both different colors. I, being thrifty as all hell, instantly noticed something. "Isn't it weird that the menus don't have prices?" I asked Jarren. "They have prices, what are you talking about?" I flipped through each page. "Am I blind?" I asked as I handed it over to him. That's when we realized. I looked around at each of the tables near us to confirm. They hand the men a different color menu than the women. The men's menus have prices on them, the women's do not. It was clear that it was the man's responsibility to pay and the woman's responsibility to just run the bill up here. We'd never seen that before, and we couldn't stop chuckling about it.
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We ordered and the waiter brought over my Aperol spritz and Jarren's margarita and we sipped away until our appetizer was brought over: steak tartare. [Disclaimer: I was raised in a Hindu household (Hindus don't eat beef), so I know my family reading this is getting a real gut punch but y'know, life is too short to not try all the things, so you're all just gonna have to live with it. Sorry, I love you guys.] We ordered this purely because of all the times we'd seen it made on Hell's Kitchen. It has to be good if Gordon Ramsey is going to go to war over it, right? Well, the answer to that is hell yeah it is. Raw ground beef and raw egg was such a weird concept to me, I actually Googled it to make sure it was safe before I started eating it. It was such an array of flavors in textures, I felt like I was in that one scene of Ratatouille where Remy is tasting cheese and fruit together and there are fireworks in the background. Yeah, it was that good. It was appetizer, of course, so it was small, and by the end of it we both had to stop ourselves from ordering another.
Immediately following, the chef gave us a complimentary pea soup, which was also phenomenal and did not have nearly enough in the bowl to satisfy me. That's the true tragedy of fine dining: they give you too little of food that is absolutely too good. It's heartbreaking, really.
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After the soup, we were on to our entrees. Jarren ordered the Chilean sea bass, another Hell's Kitchen classic we'd been dying to try, and I ordered the duck linguine. Both meals were heavenly and solicit nothing but praise. For dessert, Jarren ordered an orange souffle that took 20 minutes to bake in the oven, and I (of course) got a tiramisu. Best tiramisu I've ever had, hands down. Jarren's souffle was also moist and warm and just... there aren't enough good words to describe how decadent this was. Of all the meals we'd had in Italy, this was one of the best. Of all the meals I've had in my life, this was the best. Truly an experience worth paying €180 for.
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When I was 16, I wrote "ride a gondola" on my bucket list. Today, on my 24th birthday, it was finally time to cross that baby off. We left dinner and walked around the corner of the building, down a short side street, and were met with a few gondoliers waiting for tourists. We walked up to one who said he would do a 40 minute ride for us, so we got in. In Venice, the price of gondola rides is regulated by the local government. Before 7 PM, daytime rides are €80. After 7 PM (the time we arrived), all gondolas charge €100 in cash for a ride. It's steep, yes, but the only place in the world to have a genuine experience doing this is here. It's no Venetian in Vegas, this shit's the real deal, so yeah, we paid it.
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We (clumsily) hopped on board and sat down on the small bench directly in front of the gondolier, our backs turned to him. He began to paddle and at first, there was no sound beyond that of the paddles gently cutting through the water below us. It was peaceful and quiet. After a few turns though some narrow "back alleys," he began to sing softly. It was like being on a Disney World ride; it didn't feel real. We sat in comfortable silence, listening to him sing, watching the water lap against the buildings as we floated by, sailing beneath small bridges and walkways. On one occasion, we came fairly close to another gondola, and both gondoliers maneuvered their boats with ease around each other, without even the slightest of issues. Twilight fell upon us as we began to ask our gondolier questions. He'd been a gondolier his whole life, as was his father and grandfather. The gondola we were in was actually passed down in his family from generation to generation. His grandfather taught his father, his father taught him, and now he was teaching his son, all in the same boat. Hearing this made our ride feel extra special. The sky was dark as we pulled onto the Grand Canal for our last few minutes. Once we neared his docking spot, we watched as the gondolier and his son maneuvered the boat into place, then tied it off with a rope. We hopped off and thanked him for a memorable experience.
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Fully immersed in nightfall, we decided to head back to the hotel for the night. We walked back to the bus, passing by groups of teenagers outside of small bars, parents and their kids getting a scoop of gelato to end the night. When we got over to the bus stand to figure out which bus we needed to take back, the attendant told us we'd missed the last one for the night and instructed us on how to take another line and where to get off. We boarded the next bus going in our direction, waited around 20 minutes for it to depart, then got off at the stop we were told to and walked the rest of the way. Luckily for us, lots of people on the bus seemed to have also missed the previous one, and we had a fair amount of company on our walk back for a bit.
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We went to our room, got our things packed and ready to go for tomorrow's flight back to Rome, and dozed off. A happy birthday, indeed.
Daily Details
Hotel: NH Venezia Laguna Palace
Viale Ancona 2, 30172 Mestre
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Dinner: Club del Doge
Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, 2467, 30124 Venezia
June 9, 2022
Good morning, Venice! We're up at a decent hour today. I don't feel rushed, I don't feel exhausted. Feels like a good day, but I don't want to jinx it. We get ready and then check out of our hotel. We're looking for breakfast locations when it starts downpouring outside the hotel lobby. Should I have looked at the weather forecast? Yes. Did I do that before we came here? No, so here we are. No umbrella, no jacket, freshly checked out with nowhere to stay. Great. We leave the hotel lobby and try to walk under the cover of the hotel awning for as long as we can, run across the uncovered street, and seek protection under some new business awnings. This was no longer the morning to walk to a cafe, so we decide to stop at a pizza place since it looked relatively empty and we were already right outside of it.
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We step inside to seek refuge and are met with a space that is far bigger than what I'd expected. As I quickly come to learn, this is a brewery. We're seated at the back of the brewery and are handed menus that are written completely in Italian. There isn't a hint of English to be found on there. I start squinting when I'm reading it for some reason, like that's somehow supposed to help me understand it better? I feel dumb, and when a waiter comes over to us to try to explain the menu in as best English as he can muster, I feel like an inconvenience on top of that. He very kindly and patiently describes the menu and beer selections, we order, and he disappears into the kitchen. The brewery slowly begins to fill as our orders are being prepared and we realize that we are probably the only tourists in here. It was fantastic. We'd found a locals-only gem, which told us it had to be good.
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Imagine our surprise when, just like in Rome, we're brought two pizzas that aren't sliced again. We're baffled, but this place has wifi, so we look it up because we need to know what the reasoning behind unsliced pizza is. The reasoning is actually not half bad. Apparently, slicing it as you go preserves the heat, keeping the crust soft and somehow preserving the flavor as well. This crust was super soft and flaky, so it seemed like the Italians knew what they were talking about here. We sat with our pizzas and our beer, both really good, far better than any of the lunches we'd had in Rome, and people watched for a bit. When the rain stopped, the brewery got so packed that there was a line out the door to be seated, so we finished up our last few bites and went on our way.
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It began to drizzle again as we stood waiting at the bus stop. The bus finally arrived 10 minutes later, saving us from a soaking. We took it all the way back to the airport where we boarded our short flight back to Rome.
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Once back in Rome, we had the duty of getting covid testing done, as it was a mandatory requirement in order to board any flight back to the USA. We made our way to departures and got our tests done, then took the train back to Termini.
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It was almost 6 PM by the time we began walking out of Termini, so we decided to head straight to Vecchia Roma for our last dinner in Italy, where we knew the food was stellar and wouldn't be disappointed. We got there shortly before they opened, and got on line behind 3 other couples. After a few minutes of waiting, we were ushered in, and coincidentally, seated in the same area as the last time with the same server. She even remembered us, greeting us and asking if we wanted the same drinks as last time when she came over to take our order.
I was still daydreaming of the meatballs from the previous day, but knew I needed to try other things on the menu today as it would be our last time here, so we got a meat and cheese board as an appetizer instead. The menu made it seem like this was a plate for one person, but it was clearly made for multiple people. We were genuinely surprised by all the meat on the platter when she sat it on the table in front of us. It was all thick, quality cuts of meat and cheese, and I had to stop myself from filling up on this app alone before our entrees came.
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The meal as a whole was just as great as our first meal here, and I topped it all off with a €5 tiramisu at the end. For a total of €60, we had the best meal in Rome for our last dinner. When it was over, we took the metro back to our hotel, I popped a melatonin, and we drifted off to sleep.
Daily Details
Hotel: Penta Luxury House
Via Paolo Emilio, 32, 00192 Roma
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Lunch: Fabbrica In Pedavena Mestre
Viale Ancona, 18, 30172 Venezia
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Dinner: Trattoria Vecchia Roma
Via Ferruccio, 12/b/c, 00185 Roma
June 10, 2022
"I'm back! Back in the New York groove!" was the first thought that came to mind when I woke up this morning. This was the day I'd been waiting for; my soul was itching to get home. Back to my dogs, my family, my own bed, my own shower, good food. With all of this anticipation, you'd think I'd be up and ready on time, right? Wrong. So, so wrong. The cause of my downfall? Taking that goddamned melatonin the night before. Waking up? Really hard. Getting the rest of my stuff together after that? Very unpleasant. Regardless of the fact that I felt like a walking zombie, I was still very excited as we rushed out of the hotel and ran (not an exaggeration, we ran) down the cobblestone streets to the metro station. Big shoutout to Jarren for doing that with The Great Pink Suitcase because, man, was that not an easy distance for me. I hate running.
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Anyway, according to Jarren, we needed to make the 7:24 train, or else we wouldn't make it to Termini in time and we'd miss the last train to the airport on time. I had no energy left in my body but I ran on, and when we finally got down into the station and pulled out our tickets to scan, it was 7:23 and I knew I'd screwed us over. The train pulled into the station as we were scanning our tickets and, by the time we got down to the tracks, it departed the station. My heart sank. I didn't know what to do. Jarren, on the other hand, was fine. Big surprise: he lied about the time to get me out of the hotel early. He knew if he told me the exact train time we needed, that we'd be late and miss it, so he gave me a time that was 15 minutes earlier than needed. He knows me a little too well. That tricky bastard.
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We wait for the next train to arrive, board it, sit like eagle-eyed hawks watching our stuff to make sure we didn't end up like the girl on the train a few days ago. When we finally get to Terimini, we have a few extra minutes, but need to print tickets back to Fiumicino. We stand on line, with some time left to spare, and wait behind the world's slowest people to print tickets. We're getting close to the train departure time for the train we really needed to get on, and now we're panicking. We split up, trying to get tickets at different booths. After some serious sweat and stress, we finally get tickets and run over to get them scanned. Very reminiscent of Naples if you ask me. By some miracle, we make it onto the train on time.
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When we get to the airport, we get on line to check our bags. Yes, we were rushing to be able to check our bag on time this whole time. The line for baggage check at every airline was astronomical. We stood in line for what must've been one whole hour. It was so bad that there were attendants coming over to comfort passengers by saying that their flight would not leave without them if they were on line to check baggage. I was thankful we had wiggle room once our bag was checked.
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One hour later, we check our bag and are free to proceed. We go through airport security, then get breakfast at the Kimbo cafe closest to our gate. Once ready to go, we boarded our flight back to Newark, where no one tried to take our seats from us and we got to watch Harry Potter in peace the entire flight. I couldn't wait to get home. Good riddance, Italia.
General
Tips and
Reviews
Cost to Travel:
Honestly, this trip was pretty expensive. We flew roundtrip from EWR to FCO with United Airlines for $803.77 per person. A 7 day trip in June from NYC to FCO usually costs between $680 on the very low end, to $890 per person. June tends to be the most popular time of year for travel, thus allowing airlines to charge prices like this. I don't recommend flying to Rome for prices like this, though. I think any time of year that does a $500 or less fare is a good deal.
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Black Rooms Colosseo Review:
Cost: $380.00
Length: 4 nights
Room: Standard King Room
I'd give this place a strong 7/10 recommendation. The location is great, just blocks away from both the metro and the Colosseum, the staff are friendly, but the room itself is pretty small. It's a good value for the price. I'd consider going back here again if I were to visit Rome again, but I'd look at other places first.
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NH Venezia Laguna Palace:
Cost: $148.00
Length: 1 night
Room: Superior Double with Darsena View
I really enjoyed our short stay here. Granted, this isn't necessarily located in "Venice" itself and warrants a walk to the bus, then a bus ride over to Venice, but it's still in a good location and has lots of places to eat around it. Our room was large and so was the bathroom, and everything was clean. The staff also spoke perfect English, which is a plus when you barely know any Italian. 9/10 stars.
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Penta Luxury House:
Cost: $84.00
Length: 1 night
Room: Double Room
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This hotel is much like Black Rooms Colosseo, except it's on the Vatican side of town. I do quit like this hotel. For the price, it's a steal. I do find it far away from most things in Rome, but the room is spacious and clean and is easy to access. 7.5/10 stars.
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Things I'd Like To Do Next Time:
I don't foresee myself going back to Italy, but if I ever do, I'd like to make it down to the Amalfi Coast. I'd also like to hike Mount Vesuvius, which is something we would've done on this trip if we'd had more time. If I could do something differently next time, it would be to shorten my stay per city. I think part of the reason I didn't love Italy was because I spent too much time in Rome and I got bored very quickly. Had I used my time more wisely, I would've been able to visit Amalfi and I may have disliked it less.
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