Rome

Turn any street corner in Rome and you will stumble across an architectural wonder from ancient history, and something just as amazing to eat or drink.  Just some of our suggestions are:

• Eat breakfast like a Roman, and start the day with a coffee and a sweet pastry.  Join locals at a neighbourhood cafe bar, where you can stand at the counter and down an espresso or cappuccino and a maritozzo (a traditional Italian pastry, made of a sweet brioche bun typically filled with fresh whipped cream).  A couple of our favourites are Caffè Trastevere and Giselda Bakery (located next to each other in Trastevere).
• There are thousands and thousands of restaurants and pizzerias in Rome, and foodies can be spoilt for choice.  And like any big city, some of them are great, and some are decidedly average.  Given the sheer number of attractions in Rome, and the number of tourists that frequent them, one tip to finding a good meal in Rome is to walk two or three streets away from the attraction with the lengthy queue outside it (and the restaurants in its near vicinity).  Once a few blocks away, there is a good chance you will find a better, less expensive meal.
• Get lost in the neighbourhood of Trastevere, on the left bank of the River Tiber.  Quaint restaurants and cozy wine bars abound in this neighbourhood, and a pleasant evening can be had wandering from wine bars to trattorias to dessert bars.  A couple of our favourite spots for a glass of good Italian wine are Cambio Trastevere (open from breakfast through to lunch, dinner and late night drinks), and Vin Allegro Wine Bar (who offer over 500 wines from Italy and around the world).
• On the right bank of the River Tiber is the Nuovo Mercato di Testaccio food market.  There are around a hundred stalls, ranging from butchers, fishmongers, fruit and vegetable produce sellers, and street food vendors.  This glass-roofed architectural wonder sits on the site of an ancient trading place from the 1st century and visitors can still view the remains of the broken testae amphorae (clay vessels).  Enhance your visit by taking a guided tour of the market and surrounding neighbourhood.
• Partake in one of the numerous cooking classes available in Rome, and discover the secrets of Italy’s Slow Food movement.  Learn how to make authentic delicious pizza, perfect pasta, gorgeous gelato, and tasty tiramisu from a local expert.  Classes are available in local homes, restaurants, and in the surrounding countryside outside Rome’s city limits.  And at the end of the lesson, feast on your delicious creations.
• No meal in Rome is complete without finishing off with a fresh gelato afterwards.  There are gelaterias in almost every piazza and street in Rome.  The trick to picking a good gelato is finding a shop that sells them from metal tubs (not plastic), and to avoid the brightly coloured flavours that overflow above the containers.  A good gelato is made fresh daily, from in-season ingredients, and should be faded in colour, as the processing oxidises the fruit slightly.  So a lemon gelato should be white, not yellow.  A couple of our favourites are; Giolittli, one of the oldest (since 1890) and most famous gelaterias in Rome (located at Via Uffici del Vicario, moments’ walk from the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain); and Il Gelato di Santa Maria (located at Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere).
• Spend the day visiting one of the Italian wine regions outside Rome.  You can enjoy a day tour to Frascati, or even Montepulciano and Montalcino in Tuscany.  Most tours will include a food tasting or lunch, since most Italian wines are crafted to be paired with food.  Saluti!