When in Rome – Part 3

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The last day in Rome (Sunday) started with a metro ride straight to Colosseum where we thankfully didn’t have to stand in line for too long (the Roma Pass is really worth its money!) As you can see below this area is pretty busy during a sunny day like that. We strolled around the Colosseum for a little while, reading the nice info boards. I feel like you don’t necessarily need a tour, but I heard it’s very cool to go through the underground of the Colosseum which you will need a tour guide for.
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The view from the upper levels is nice as well. You can see the surrounding area including the Roman Forum.
IMG_9249…Which is where we went next. The ticket (or in our case the Roma Pass) is valid for the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. After we walked around the main area of the Roman Forum (there are also a lot of info boards) we made our way uphill on Palatine Hill to get an awesome view over the city including the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

IMG_9301The area on top of the hill is huge as well and you could easy spend an entire day just exploring the old housings located there. There is a beautiful garden with a lot of orange trees and some fountains. It’s just a beautiful place to spend such a sunny afternoon.
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After being lost on Palatine Hill for a good while we finally found the exit and went to the Circus Maximus which honestly – didn’t blow my mind. It was simply a huge oval park like pit. Maybe I’m a lowbrow by saying that, but I don’t really see the wow factor. The stories surrounding the tournaments in the Circus Maximus are though! ..Maybe I just was’t that impressed after having already seen the Colosseum and Roman Forum.

So we went on a little walk through the Testaccio district. Unfortunately the Testaccio market was already closed and the restaurant I wanted to go to (Flavio al Velavevodetto) wasn’t open yet. But I hear those are both some great places for people who enjoy good food and local culture.

We continued our journey upwards again to the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta where a very special keyhole is located. This keyhole which hosts a view of three different countries (namely Malta in the very front, Italy in the middle and the Vatican (St. Peters Basilica) in the far back) used to be an insider’s tip but is now indeed just another tourist attraction. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to pay for the view next time I’m there. But nonetheless its a beautiful view that you shouldn’t miss if you’ve got some extra time while in Rome. The photo doesn’t do it justice, believe me.

MaltaFinally we went took a metro back to the Spanish Steps to find somewhere to eat. Sadly we ended our trip to Rome with the most expensive and also wort food of all. The place was called Teichner at Piazza di Lorenzo and they offended against every single rule I told you about in the first part of this series – so my bad I guess. But the ice-cream right across the piazza at my beloved Ciampini made up for everything and made for the perfect ending for our short but lovely trip to Rome!

When in Rome – Part 2

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On day two in beautiful Roma, we started off at the Spanish Steps. After climbing the stairs we went left in the direction of the Villa Borghese, a huge peaceful park.

If you want to take a look at some of the incredible artwork hidden in the museums inside the park, remember to book them in advance as there is only a limited number of tickets available each day. After the day at the Vatican we were happy just strolling around the park. You can spend hours just walking in the park or you could even rent a bike. Or – what we decided to do was to Rent a rowboat for 3 Euros per 20 minutes per person. The renting place was owned by a an older man and his son and neither of them spoke any English, but we were able to communicate just fine never the less.

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I always think it’s nice not to expect everyone to speak your language when you’re traveling but rather to learn a few word in the native language yourself. The three words I found the most useful were „buongiorno“ (or in the evening: „buonasera“), „grazie“ and „per favore“.

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For a late lunch we had ice-cream at Fatamorgana, which was amazing and organic. There is a small shop in a side street next to the huge touristic „Corso“ that leads straight through the whole city center.

In the afternoon we decided to take the Metro back to the Vatican (station: Ottaviano) to see if we could go up the St. Peters dome, but since it was the week before Easter it was very crowded and the waiting time would have been unbearable. Still, I’m very sad I missed it because I heard great things about the view from up there.

After all we still wanted to see a nice view of the city so we went up the Castel St Angelo which was incredible. Again we could have spend a whole day just inside and on top of this castle. There are lots of special exhibitions and the view from the top is awesome. You can see everything, from the Vatican to the Pantheon and so on.

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As soon as the sun went down it got really chilly really fast and after a long day of walking again we were very tired, so we tried somewhere to eat pretty early for Italians (6 in the afternoon). I had found a cute little pizzeria in the Prati district while researching for the trip before hand so we tried our luck there. We were very lucky indeed and the owner who was there early to prepare for the evening gave us the last table for an hour later.

So we took our time strolling around the beautiful neighborhood and even went inside a church to take part in the mass for a little while. It was such a wonderful experience and everyone was so nice and welcoming.

At 7 pm. sharp we sat down on our table at the cute pizzeria called La Pratolina. We had our best and relatively cheapest dinner this night. The pizza was amazing and even just thinking about the Tiramisu afterwards… oh gosh! I thought my tiramisu was pretty good but oh, how wrong I was.

As you can see, there was nothing wrong with this day. Just the perfect sunny Italian day! The next part will also be the last part of the When in Rome series where we went to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

When in Rome – Part 1

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So I recently went to Rome for a few days and thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts on what was worth my money and time and what wasn’t.

All in all I really enjoyed Rome. It was very sunny while I was there and it is by far the most interesting city I’ve ever been to. You literally can’t walk for more then a few minutes without finding another little historic treasure. Weiterlesen →

Accepting your Limitations

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I was watching Dancing with the Stars the other night (don’t judge) and that there seems to be a common theory (especially in the US) that I find very dangerous: You can do anything if you work hard enough!

While this seems very affirming it is simply not true. Not to crush you aspirations, but some people can’t become president even if they tried their hardest and that guy on Dancing with the Stars who misses an arm and a leg won’t be able to dance technically perfectly.

I’m not trying to be mean. Actually I’m not only trying to be realistic but affirming that way. Here’s why: If the judges will keep on telling him he’ll do great if only he practices hard enough, he will fail terribly.

Don’t get me wrong I admire this guy for doing his thing on the show, for working (probably) so much harder than anyone else! What I’m trying to say is that he won’t ever be able to toss around his partner in the air safely like the other contestants.

Which is okay!

And that’s the affirmation in finding and accepting your limitations: Even though I might not be able to be president and the DWTS guy won’t be able to dance perfectly, that doesn’t lower my worth as a person.

It’s good to accept your limitations and realize that they don’t define you but your strengths and abilities do!

The real challenge is to realize which limits you have to push and which you’ll need to accept – still no answer for that, I guess.