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Sotto il cielo di Roma

A surprise trip to Rome

We left the house with Cassandre thinking that she would be dropped off at her godmother’s house for her trip, little did she know the big surprise that was planned for her. Sylvia and I knew what the surprise would be, but Maxence didn’t. During the car ride we took a picture altogether because it would be the ‘last time’ we would see Cassandre before she turned 18.

We had a little coffee and did ‘la galette de roi’, but no one got the little thing that is hidden inside the cake. The tradition is that whoever gets the piece of cake with the little things inside, then they get to be the king, hence the crown on the cake.

Sandrine opened up Christmas presents while we ate and visited.

After we left Sandrine’s house, we got in the car and pretended to drive off. This confused Maxence and he asked what we were doing. It was at this moment that he learned we would not be going back home. Then he found out we weren’t going home instead, we would be going with Cassandre on this trip!

We got to the airport and found a parking spot where we wouldn’t have to pay and would not be ticketed and then we walked to the airport.

When Cassandre and Sandrine arrived we made sure to be quiet so Cassandre wouldn’t hear our voices, even though she had music playing in her ears and was securely blindfolded.

It was very funny for all of us as we accompanied them through security and everything, all the while Cassandre having no clue she and Sandrine were not alone.

Once we got to our gate, we had a little bit of time to wait and relax. Norbert (their godfather) arrived a little bit after us but was still on time.

We got on the plane and Sylvia gave a little script that the flight attendants read right before take-off over the speakers. And it was then that Cassandre took off the blindfold and realized we were all there to celebrate her birthday with her!

We arrived at the Aéroport Léonard-de-Vinci de Rome Fiumicino around 8 pm. We had a little difficulty finding our taxi driver but eventually found him. The ride took about 30 minutes to get to the place where we were staying. The taxi driver was Italian, but he spoke French really well!

We stayed at the Guesthouse Rome’s Heart located very close to the Vatican. There were three rooms, with a place to make coffee in each! The couple that hosted us gave us lots of information which was very sweet. They talked for a while, and we were really hungry and a little tired from the traveling.

So right after they left, we went to get supper. We walked to a pizza place that the taxi driver had recommended to us. My first impression of Rome was from how it looked at night. In a lot of ways the buildings reminded me of Paris, but with a slightly different touch.

When we arrived at the restaurant there was a little bit of a wait, but it wasn’t too long. This gave us ample time to look at the menu.

The name of the restaurant is Hosteria pizzeria Dino e Tony, located at via leone IV, 60 (I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who goes to Rome).

My first impression of the restaurant was the atmosphere. Everyone was so alive and animated. It is really true that Italians use their hands to talk. The people who ran the restaurant were very expressive, warm, and welcoming. Being in the restaurant reminded me of earlier during this year when I did not know any French and how I felt lost and confused a fair amount of the time.

The grandfather of the two men who ran the restaurant was sitting at our table, and he was very kind to us. He didn’t speak French or English and we didn’t speak Italian, nonetheless, he kept having them bring food over. We ate all of it because we were quite hungry. At the end he even had them bring over an Italian digestive for us to try (this is very strong alcohol). I unknowingly swallowed it in one gulp and I felt my ears immediately turn very warm.

For some reason, this Italian restaurant really resonated deep inside with me and this little experience made me want to learn Italian.

When we were done eating all of the delicious food, we went back to the Airbnb to get a good night’s sleep.

A little side note, during my time on this trip I found out my nephew Finn was born on January 2nd, 2019! I am looking forward to meeting him!

The second day in Rome (our first full day), we walked 19 kilometers! Sandrine kept track of how much we walked each day. We walked the most this day.

We started our day with breakfast at the Airbnb. Our host made us delicious cappuccinos and we had a variety of food to choose from.

After breakfast, we began our day by going to see the Vatican. We did not go inside because the lines were extremely long and considering how we only had four days, we wanted to see as much as we could and not waste time. I hope to go back there one day so I can see the fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling

Then we walked to the Castel San Angelo and ponte san angelo located on the banks of the Tiber (the name of the small river that passes through Rome). There are 10 statues of angels that adorn this bridge made by Bernini and his students.

We then did a lot of walking and exploring the city as we made our way to the next monument. Simply just walking around the city was a lot of fun for me. By the second day, I was remembering certain aspects of the city and felt like I had really grown an appreciation for the things here. The only thing that would have made it better if I knew a little bit of Italian.

We reached an open plaza with several fountains. Piazza Navona with its fountain of 4 rivers or “Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi” symbolizing the Nile, the Ganges, the Danube, and the Rio de la Plata.

We then visited the church of St Louis des Francais, an opulent baroque church which from the outside goes unnoticed. It contains the superb cycle of Sant Matthieu Caravaggio: the vocation of St. Matthew, the martyrdom of St. Matthew and St. Matthew and the angel.

We walked a little more and reached the Pantheon. This building was built a little less than 2000 years ago!

The central oculus in the Pantheon is open to the sky, 9 meters in diameter (it symbolizes the link between the temple and the gods).

Holes were made in the marble floor of the Pantheon in order to evacuate the rainwater. The Pantheon also contains the tomb of Raphael, an Italian painter and architect.

After we left the Pantheon, we did a little more walking through the streets of Rome.

We took a little pause at the Venchi store to get a little snack for everyone. We got hot chocolates to try. These hot chocolates were not like the normal kind of chocolate; it seemed to simply be pure melted chocolate in a cup. Regardless to say, it was so delicious!

We were lucky enough to sit on the only bench in the store while we enjoyed our little snack.

After we were energized with our hot chocolate, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain! There were a lot of people here, even though the weather was very cold the four days we were there.

We each made a wish at the Trevi Fountain.

After a little more walking and taking pictures of the beautiful architecture on can find in Rome, we arrived at the Roman imperial forum. It is located at the heart of ancient Rome, a field of ruins.

We continued walking and made our way to the Colosseum.

The Colosseum: the impressive ancient Roman amphitheater emblematic of Rome! The arena where the gladiators clashed and where the condemned were thrown to the wild animals.

A little break for lunch in the afternoon, we stopped at a pizza place and order several pizzas.

After we ate, we stopped and looked around in an Italian bookstore. Then we went to la Piazza Venezia.

We went up to the rooftop of the monument of Victor Emmanuel II to admire the sunset over Rome 360 ​​degrees! The views were absolutely breathtaking.

It started to get very cold while we were on the rooftop of the monument of Victor Emmanuel II so we started heading back to the Airbnb. For supper that night, we were deciding between two restaurants, the first one “La Pratolina” had too many people and so we fell back on “Soffitta renovatio” with the first taste of a spritz in its pretty little room adorned with autographed pizza boards.

We walked (only) 15 kilometers this day. We had breakfast at the Airbnb again and then started out walking again!

Our first stop was Plaza di Spagna.

“Plaza di Spagna” or the Spanish Steps with the boat “La Barcaccia” (a fountain depicting a boat taking the water made by the father of Bernini, Pietro Bernini) and its staircase “La Scalinata” 138 steps that connect to the church of the Trinity of the Mountains. That church remains one of the five French churches of Rome. From the top of the forecourt, it offers a splendid view of the rooftops of the district. We walked along the villa Medici Institution, which allows about twenty artists to practice their art (painting, sculpture, cooking, etc.).

I had a theory about why there are still so many payphones in Rome because other larger cities nowadays don’t have a lot of working headphones. My idea was that it might be so the Mafia can call each other without getting traced or tracked.

We then went to the Point of view the Pincio, it is a hilltop perched above the place of the people. It is not one of the seven mythical hills of Rome but still offers a panorama of the city. It was not very well maintained.

We then went to Plaza del Popollo or oval-shaped people’s square. Here we saw bubbles, musicians, and even a marriage proposal one night! The marriage proposal happened when two musicians were playing the song “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. It was so sweet and romantic.

We also went to Church Santa Maria del Popolo to admire in particular, “The crucifixion of St Peter” and “the conversion of Saint Paul” painted by Caravaggio. (I didn’t take pictures inside this church).

Then we went to have lunch at Caffe Greco with improved spritz and paninis! This is the oldest café in Rome, and it opened in 1760. It was in a beautiful setting, with a beautiful presentation of the trays and beautiful glasses.

After lunch, we headed over to the Borghese Gallery and Museum. We only had two hours here because so many people go to this museum that they have to limit the visiting time so it does not become overcrowded. We were not allowed to take pictures at all in the museum.

The Borghese Gallery and Museum is the most beautiful Italian private collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese art buff. It is a showcase of Roman Baroque pieces. It includes sculptures such as Apollo and Daphne, the abduction of Proserpine, David, Pauline on his canopy and more.

We then walked backed to the center of the city.

It was this night that we witnessed a marriage proposal in the center of Rome (pretty romantic).

We were a little hungry, and so we stopped to get roasted chestnuts. I had never tasted them before and Sandrine promised at the beginning of the trip that she would get some for me to try.

We went into GAP at one point just to look around, but we were a little tired already.

Then we made a little stop at Magnum to get ice cream and coffee.

Our last night in Rome, we had supper at the same restaurant that we ate at the first night. Although, this time we arrived just as it opened and so the grandfather had not arrived yet (he ended up coming in later). On the plus side, we got our food rather quickly.

I made sure I took pictures of the food this time because I wanted to remember how good it tasted, even if one can’t taste something through a photograph.

We went back to the Airbnb a little earlier this day because we were all fairly tired from all of the walking we had done.

On our last morning in Rome, we had our last cappuccinos (they were truly very delicious) and went out walking again.

We did a little shopping this day too, but we did not buy a lot because it would all have to be packed into the carry-on.

We went to the market at “Campo de Fiori” or the place of the field of flowers, We discovered a new vegetable “la puntarella” or chicory of Catalonia.

I was also on the hunt for international stamps so I could mail my postcards from Rome. I finally found some stamps for the postcards I had written, but I think the postcards will take a while to reach their destinations.

We went back to the Airbnb, got all of our things together, and headed to the airport.

When we arrived back home, I was a little tired. So I took this night to recharge, in order to be ready for the next day (Cassandre’s birthday!!).

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