La dolce vita

Our Italian vacation started on 19th April. Our flight to Rome was supposed to leave Zurich at 8:30 in the morning. We reached the Zurich airport 2 hours early. I like to be ahead of time to keep my travel anxiety at bay. None of the kiosks were open, so we sat at one of the cafes that was in the process of opening and I collected travel guides from a nearby stand to look at since there was nothing better to do. The flight to Rome was delayed. We reached Rome by 11.

First order of business was to reach Roma Termini, which we did in 30 mins. Our train to Florence was scheduled at 2 in the afternoon. We had a great lunch at Pizzeria Mino near Roma Termini waiting for the train. We boarded the train which was delayed by 10 mins, and reached Florence by 3:30pm. It was a complete change of vibes from our Swiss Week. If Switzerland was impeccable and punctual, Italy was rustic and relaxed. We started walking to our BnB as it was a 15 mins walk from the station. Our host, Rinaldo, spotted us as soon as we were close, showed us around the apartment, and gave us a quick run down of things to do around. Our apartment was divided on two floors – living room and kitchen on the first floor and the bedroom on the second. The windows opened on to a less busy street paved with cobblestones, and we could see the terrace garden of the apartment opposite to us. As I was starting to feel a bit feverish, I plopped on the bed as soon as we were alone. We rested for a while, and around 7:30 we took off for dinner.

We selected Gustapanino in Piazza Santo Spirito, as it had good ratings, was a short walk from our BnB and didn't require a reservation. We were met with a jolly and loud restaurant owner who offered us a seating in the terrace on the Piazza. We enjoyed the sunset while sipping wine in that lively atmosphere. The food arrived shortly and it was amazing - I had the best Arrabbiata pasta of my life. While we were enjoying our dinner, an Indian couple sat beside us, and started talking in Gujarati. Aishwarya and I smiled at each other. A few mins later they asked us for recommendations, and I replied in Gujarati. That prompted a pleasant chat between the 4 of us. They were also going for a holiday in Switzerland after their Italian trip, so we gave them suggestions for that as well. They informed us that as it was Easter Sunday the next day, and they were planning to attend Scoppio del carro to see the mechanical dove. I had only seen the mechanical dove in the TV series Da Vinci's Demons, and was really excited to see that in person, but as we had already booked tickets for Uffizi Gallery the next day we decided to skip it. By the time we were done with desserts, the sun had already set, we walked home all ready to fall asleep.

We started Sunday by grabbing a coffee from a place across the street and walked towards Uffizi gallery. We crossed one of the bridges on the Arno river and reached Uffizi, and we were greeted by a queue that would hold us there for the next 20 mins before the airport-level security screening to enter the gallery. For the next 3 hours we admired paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance masters and artists that were part of Europe's history. Da Vinci's The Annunciation, Botticelli's Spring and Andrea Commodi's The fall of the rebel Angels were the highlights of the gallery for me. We had a quick lunch on the terrace cafe of the gallery after that. I was also starting to feel a bit feverish at this point. We spent another 1.5 hours exploring the remaining pieces in the gallery, and then back to BnB it was. I hit the bed as soon as we got in, as my temperature was climbing, and woke up around 9pm. I didn't have any energy for leaving the bed, so we ordered in. I felt a little better after the dinner, so out we went to see the lights around the Arno river and Aishwarya had gelato.

Monday things took turn for the worse. My fever was persisting, Aishwarya had food-poisoning and Pope Francis had passed away. The only time we left the apartment that day was to visit the pharmacy. The last time we visited Italy, Aishwarya sprained her ankle really badly, and we had to turn majority of the vacation into a staycation, and this time my fever compelled us to do the same. Tuesday went a bit better, we were able to venture out. We walked around Piazza della Repubblica and were able to see Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore from the outside. As we were exploring Piazza della Signoria, my temperature spiked again, so we were back to the apartment from there. I realised my exhaustion was triggering my temperature - something to remember for the next euro-trip - plan one that lasts no longer than a week or improve my endurance before that. We just stayed at room & rested till we had to leave for Rome. It was a good decision. We reached Rome on 23rd afternoon, feeling quite healthy and refreshed. We had booked a BnB here as well. Our host, Paolo, had stacked the place with snacks and offered us bikes which we could use to explore Rome. We took rest of the Wednesday a bit easy, just walking around aimlessly around our block and having dinner at a nearby place.

Thursday was exciting. We started our day at 10:30. We covered the Colosseum, Baths of Trajan, Roman Forums and the ruins around them. We also saw a series of black cars escorted by police cars as we were leaving the Colosseum, which we assumed were part of preparations for the papal funeral based on the reactions of the people around. We wound up sight seeing by 8pm, and we went to Blackmarket Hall for dinner. The food was okay but the drinks and the live music was amazing. We returned to our BnB by 11pm. At 11:30 I had an urge to cycle to Colosseum. Aishwarya was tired, so I went alone. I am shit with directions, so was a little anxious, but had a grand time just bicycling in Rome at night. I got back by 12.

Friday we explored Trajan's Forum and the Forums of Augustus. We saw huge swaths of poppy flowers there, and amongst one of them we caught a glimpse of a baby seagull. It had wandered down from its nest on top of one of the columns, and mama seagull and papa seagull were circling around it, planning to get it back up to the nest. From there we went into one of the nearby churches to see the sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo. We wandered about the city till 5, and after resting for 2 hours we went for the best meal of the vacation – at Matermatuta. The vibe, the food, the service were PERFECT. We had had a meal there last time, and it was so good that I wanted to repeat it. We told our waiter that we remembered him from the last time we were there. The chef prepared some complimentary dishes for us. I repeated the anchovy butter and bread appetiser since I loved it the last time, and boy they know how to get the anchovy flavour just right. After having a 2 hour long dinner – oysters, wine and some delicious delicious food, we went back to our BnB with both our stomachs and hearts full.

Next day we were to head back to London. Our flight was at 6pm, so we were in no hurry to check out. We had breakfast at the apartment from the snacks stacked by our gracious host. Flicked through some channels on the TV. Just lazed around. Checked out at 12, and spent the next 2 hours at a book shop we visited on our last trip, and loved it – Libreria palazzo esposizioni. From there we went straight to Roma Termini, to Fiumicino, to Heathrow and back to our home in London where Holly expectantly awaited our return. 😊

Things I would definitely like to repeat in Rome – bicycle at night, have a dinner at Matermatuta, and find some new books to read at Libreria palazzo esposizioni!