Sunday, February 15, 2015

{Vacation Recap} Rome, Italy: Settling into Charming Travestere

I suppose intense heat (none of those lines yesterday were in the shade), physical exertion, and maaybeee too much vino caught up with us by time had to leave Florence, because we woke up with splitting headaches.

We also had no luck securing a cab to the train station, so had to rebook our tickets for a later time.  Luckily it worked out so that we still checked out of our flat on time and could still make it to our 1pm meet up in Rome.

I guess you could say we were definitely a bit worse for the wear by time we boarded the train :)

We made breakfast out of leftover cheese from Tuscany, biscotti from the flat for Tom, and fruit.  We also had a couple of espresso's and focused on staying hydrated. Luckily it was a fairly short ride!

 

However, our moods quickly changed as we cabbed it into Travestere the neighborhood we would be living in for the duration of our time in Rome - and found our flat.

We were instantly charmed:


The pink, ivy covered building on the tiny cobblestone street, was beyond adorable, and once you walked in, you found yourself inside a cute courtyard - even more charming!









After waiting for a few minutes, we met our host - another super stylish Italian guy - and got the low-down on our cozy accommodations.

We used another AirBnB rental, and flat out adored it.  While it was smaller than the last, it was incredibly comfortable and had everything thoughtfully laid out.  From the much appreciated Nespresso machine and pods (we were a bit "over" the Mokas at that point!), to every toiletry immaginable in the bathroom, we had everything we needed and then some.  We were also pleased that it had a washer so we could do a bit more laundry.

The pictures on AirBnB are much better than mine so here's a quick photo tour via the site photos.

We were charmed (sorry, I keep using that word, but trust me it's well earned!) by the loft style bed - it featured curtains that could be closed for more privacy.


The closet was under the loft, and we used the open space with the mirror to store our suitcases and unpack.  A"dressing room" of sorts.







Cozy bed - and look at those beams!




I loved the blue doors leading into the bright kitchen. It was very modern and updated.  It also came fully stocked: produce and OJ in the fridge, new jars of Nutella (yum!), and the basics like salt & pepper, olive oil, etc.

The washer was located near the window (not pictured) and the fridge is in the tall wood cabinetry right behind the blue door.


The shower was incredible...you have to appreciate an updated, clean bathroom!





I wish I could say that seeing our new digs envigorated us and we hit the ground running, but after the slow start we had that morning, we decided to unpack and just take it easy.

Later, Tom declared this flat his favorite even though it was a lot smaller than the last one. I am on the fence.  I think the fact that we did a bit more "hanging out" in this neighborhood made us feel more at home, whereas in Florence, we spent so much time outside of the neighborhood (Tuscany, our "free day" etc) so it's hard to compare. Both were places we would stay again in a heartbeat, but the charm factor in Travestere is incredibly high!

When our stomachs began to growl, we looked at our yelp bookmarks and realized there was a gluten free pizza place within walking distance.  It was early afternoon at that point, so we figured we could eat a pizza there for lunch, and then take one back to enjoy as dinner with wine back at the apartment.

It was a great walk, and after crossing the Tiber to get to Voglia Di Pizza , we settled in and enjoyed bites of two delish pizzas. While it was MUCH better than what I'm used to getting back home, it wasn't quite as fab as the Florence pizza.  That's not to say it wasn't good though!  Yum...




HUGE Bruchetta.



We boxed up what we couldn't finish, and headed back.  On our way we stopped by a gelato place, Fior di Luna which I had also bookmarked, in order to give it a try (hey, someone's got to do it right?).  It ended up being such a delicious find that we visited it one or twice more during our short stay. I really enjoyed a strattacella made with donkey milk of all things!  While in Rome...

(Pictures via Yelp since I forgot to snap some)




We took well needed naps after all of that, and woke up to live jazz playing in the streets. We threw open the windows to fully enjoy the music and decided it was the perfect time to break out a bottle of wine and leftover pizza.  The weather was gorgeous and the music was great!

Our "exciting" evening concluded with catching up on a couple of Luther episodes (gotta love the BBC)  before heading up to the loft for the night.

Honestly, sometimes simple nights in are exactly what the Doctor ordered and end up being THE BEST nights.

Despite not "doing" much, I wouldn't change a thing about our first day (well, we could have done without the headaches).  After a short introduction, we were rapidly falling in love with Rome!

Ciao!
Meg

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