la dolce vita

My first ever blog post was from Rome. It was the first piece of writing that made me feel like maybe I shouldn’t just keep all of this to myself. The people, the food, the vibes, the architecture, the culture, it all inspired me in a way I had never felt before. Now, 3 years later, I found that same feeling again and boy am I blessed to say those words.

Ever since that first trip, I have been obsessed with the way they live life. I quickly became addicted with, not the way they lived life, but how they described it.

I have had a lengthy list of Italian phrases stored away in my notes app (a terrifyingly detailed place) and read them whenever I needed the reminder since that first trip to Rome.

The first one is, “lupus in fábula.” Now, I speak not a lick of Italian so I have no idea how to say these words. But, directly, they mean “the wolf in the fairytale.” To the Italians though, it is telling us that there is always an unexpected obstacle, plan for the risk and let it go. After the last few days, we felt this more than ever before. Coming into rome, we needed some sunshine, delicious food, and a few days without a chaotic disaster.

We landed in Roma and got the first bags off the belt, an instant win in my book. We took an uber from a man named Mario, classic, and enjoyed a trip with the windows down and some good Italian music. I should’ve asked Mario for his playlist honestly, missed opportunity.

We got changed after getting into our perfect airbnb steps away from Piazza Navona and walked over for an aperol spritz and charcuterie. Both? 10/10. They ran out of ice for our drinks and RODE A BIKE to the store to hand deliver some to us. I mean talk about the customer service here 👏👏👏👏

After always being in a rush, arriving here immediately flooded us with calm. “Fare una passeggiata,” go for a walk. To the Italians, the best way to clear the mind, reduce stress and anxiety, and connect with your surroundings is by taking a walk. Luckily, we couldn’t agree more. We spent the next few hours roaming around (heheh) and enjoying the small streets of Campo de Fiori, the chaos and people watching in Piazza Navona, and the madness of Trevi

Fountain. The last time I was here, my dad and found a hidden gem, the Manusco cannoli. I seriously cannot do this dessert justice with a description. Having hyped this up so much to Iz, we walked over and enjoyed the pistachio coated shell with pistachio and original ricotta filling that was loaded with chocolate chips. If EVER in rome, do me a favor and eat this cannoli. Thank me later ;)

From here, we wandered over to Charlie’s Rooftop Bar for a spritz, or two, and the sunset. This place was absolutely amazing. The fancy waiters, the velvet chairs, the gorgeous flowers, it only made the sunset look more beautiful. What wasn’t beautiful? Oh, just the fact that each drink was TWENTY DOLLARS?! Who did we think we were? So, after a brief panic and workout for the cards, we ran away and decided to get the cheapest dinner we could find.

“Anni, amori, e bicchieri de vino”- years, lovers, and glasses of wine, these should never be counted. Life is way too short to live it to the fullest. Drink the $20 aperol spritz and laugh at yourself the whole way home. Enjoy the love in your friendships and every little mistake that will turn into the funniest memory.

Speaking of memories, this “cheap bowl of pasta” turned out to be so good, we went back for seconds. Maccehroni is a hole-in-the-wall Italian joint in an alley serving up the best carbonara known to man. I will never forget that bowl of perfection and am determined to remake the pear, Parmesan, arugula salad we doused in balsamic vinegar. This was the perfect way to end our first night.

The next day was, arguably, even better. We woke up and headed straight to Vatican City. Love is the cutest pastry and coffee shop about 2 minutes over that was the perfect pick me up we needed after our morning HGW (hot girl walk, duh.) I got the yummiest little ham and cheese croissant and an ICED coffee. (It’s really the little things like ice at this point you all). I slurped this down and we headed for the Vatican museum. Get the audio tour and enjoy going at your own pace for this one.

Unlike the Louvre, this was a more enjoyable experience, maybe it was the lack of a hangover though. Not only is it breathtaking, but every piece seemed to make perfect sense and have it’s own special story. We walked for hours through statues, paintings, and finally got to see the infamous Sistine Chapel. If you get to do anything involving art, I pray it is coming here. Somehow, it was even more amazing than I remembered. My neck hurt after the fact because I simply could not stop admiring something that seemed so intangible in my mind.

Feeling like the best tour guide and planner ever, we got some yummy focaccia pizza and walked up for a tour into St. Peter’s Basilica. Turns out, those museum tickets did NOT

include St. Peter’s…… I was livid. Not at the tickets, of course, but at myself. Iz, being her awesome self, reassured me that it was okay and there was nothing we could do at this point in time. (We sure as hell weren’t waiting in the 3 hour line).

“Festina lente”, make haste, slowly. The Italians say that it is better to take small steps in the right direction than leaps in the wrong one. In this moment, we decided to head back to the room for a regroup. Rather than letting myself ruin the day with being mad, or wasting hours in the line, I went home, took a fat and steamy shower, and bought tickets for tomorrow morning.

We turned on our favorite playlist, did our makeup and curled our hair (feeling pretty is truly half the battle). We walked over to Travestere and had no idea we were about to have the best night ever. Stopping at the first sign of a spritz, we enjoyed a FREE drink just for following their Instagram (god bless the age of social media), and a little appetizer of prosciutto and burrata. We laughed at my, now passed, mood and headed next door for dinner at Mimi e Coco.

We enjoyed some more spritz’s, who is shocked? One Hugo for me, and another Aperol for Iz. Our waiter reeked of B.O but the caprese salad and pasta alla’ amatriciana made up for it. We sat and talked for hours (I simply do not know how we still have things to talk about), and ended our meal with complimentary limoncello. From here, the night got weird, in the best way.

We headed to a bar suggested by our friends who had been abroad but ended up next door due to the coolest bartender and waiter who sucked us in for a drink. Fati loved nothing more than the fact that we were American and laughed at our accents, people always think Izzy’s accent is more American than mine and it is beyond funny.

We ended up bar-hopping around Travestere. I mean, you all, it was for science. We had no choice but to figure out where the best aperol spritz in Travestere was. Luckily, I don’t have a firm answer so you should bar crawl too. We met girls from Australia going to NYU in the fall and a set of best friends in their late 20s who wanted to be our age again. I wish we caught their names, but at 1:30 am, it was time to call it a night. Making new friends is literally the easiest and coolest thing ever here, I love it.

On our last full day in Rome, we rolled out of bed (maybe a little bit later than I would like to admit on here) and went to the cutest brunch spot. Coromandel gave me two glorious cappuccinos, a yogurt bowl and some scrambled eggs. I am all here for the whole “pretending to be a local” scheme but nothing hits quite like this basic white girl breakfast, and I needed it. We debated buying a set of pjs the waiters wore and ended up just heading over to the Roman Forum.

The day was hot, and what better place to be hot and sweaty than in some ancient ruins? We geeked over just how old everything we were walking through was and the fact that we were getting some UV rays on our shoulders.

We snacked on some yummy sandwiches as we prepped for the Colosseum. Pictures never do anything justice, but especially not this. We googled fun facts and took Gladiator pictures for my dad.

The rest of the day was spent with a trip back to Maccheroni because we needed that meal just one more time, a Giolitti gelato (pistachio of course), and a sunset on the Spanish Steps. We laughed at the tourists who fell for the rose trap, because we are so local now that we would never fall for it (jokes). I called my mommy because if there is anything she loves in life, it is a Spanish Steps sunset. It is one of those moments that reminds you of all the people you love. Maybe sunsets just do it to me, but there is something about them that makes me want to share that kind of beauty with every person I find beauty in. Hence the call to mom and dad.

“La vita e bella,” life is beautiful. You don’t need life-changing milestones to experience joy. Notice the little things, the Italian know how to savor every moment. Maybe that means driving to a spot in your hometown to witness a sunset (wherever you may be), taking a friend you haven’t seen in awhile out to ice cream, calling a person you love, or feeling sunshine on your skin. There is always some kind of beauty you can find wherever you are, you just have to open your eyes and be ready for it.

It is hard to believe that life could be anything but beautiful in Rome, but take the lesson with you wherever you go. I know I will.

Xoxo, P