Gelato at the Trevi
After throwing our coins into the fountain, we decided to go get something to eat. We found a cute little trattoria which was about a 3 minute walk from the fountain. It was called Trattoria Scavolino (highly recommend, very authentic). I ordered fettuccine with mushrooms and a cream sauce, and Jocelyn ordered a margarita pizza. The noodles were for sure the best I've ever had in my life. I also ordered a glass of white wine which was HUGE (and this was on top of the two shots of limoncello I had on the walk to the fountain oops). While we were eating, a man was serenading us with his accordion and was playing some beautiful song, it was truly a Roman experience.
Afterwards we hit up a gelato place and ate our cones on stairs which were directly across from the Trevi Fountain. We just sat there eating our gelato, talking, laughing, people watching, you know, the works. When we were done we decided to take a walk around, not having a particular destination, just exploring the streets. We, unintentionally, ended up at the Pantheon, which is old and majestic (like everything in Rome). Something that stuck out to me about the inside of the Pantheon was the huge coffins which contained the dead bodies of kings. Also there is a huge hole in the roof? I'm sure it was intentionally put there by architects but I don't know why, probably for some symbolic reason. Because of this huge hole, there are a bunch of drains on the floor for when it rains.
We finally made our way back to our hotel later that evening and got ready to go back out for dinner. We went to a restaurant called Da Trani. When we arrived we were told that there was no available outside seating so we went to the bar while we waited for a table. When we got there, we met the bartender who's name was Constantino. He didn't speak the best English but we still carried on a conversation with him, and he paid for the glass of prosecco he served me. I love Italian men, I swear. Once we were seated, we ordered pasta with bolognese sauce, pasta carbonara, and a salad. Afterwards, we said ciao to Constantino and ended our day.
A couple lessons I learned this day
1. Don't eat breakfast in Italy. Save room for the carbo-loading you're going to do at lunch/dinner. But, if you must, I suggest hitting up a fruit stand, or even, dare I say it, McDonalds (it's actually a lot nicer, but also more pricey, than in the States) for a quick, light, and less expensive breakfast.
2. Water is not free
3. When you ask for water at restaurants, make sure you tell them that you want "minerale," "naturale," or "water without bubbles," otherwise, the waiters will give you sparkling water or, "acqua frizzante."
4. The water tastes like crap (I now have a better appreciation for the water here in California after experiencing the water in Italy. Smart water would thrive over there, I'm telling you)
5. Water fountains are pretty hard to find (at least in my experience), so make sure to drink/fill up as much as you can when you do find one.
6. On hot summer days, Prosecco>Wine
7. I'll give the limoncello a 3 star rating
8. If you smile at one of the vendors/musicians on the street, they're going to beg you for money every time. Avoid eye contact.
9. The waiters who stand outside of restaurants are pretty aggressive, also try to avoid eye contact.
10. The pick pocketing situation wasn't as big of a problem as I had thought it would be, but be extra cautious around the big tourist sites. Big crowds=lots of wallets.
& Some Pics...
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| Peach gelato |
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| A Lizzie McGuire monument |
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| The Pantheon |
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| Lunch!! |
