A four hour drive from a great visit from Tammy, Val and Leslie in Camaiore, Italy brings us to the amazing city of Rome and the Hotel Artimede (https://www.hotelartemide.it/en/). The Artimede is in a great location – very centrally located – and is a nice “city” business hotel. And a pretty decent price for Rome, which is generally very expensive. Manevering the car through the busy streets of Rome to return the rental car at the Roma Termini train station was crazy, but Shawn handled it like a champion.
After getting checked in, we made our way to a great restaurant called Il Fellini (https://www.ilfellini.com). Medium price – for Rome – great service and delicious food. A great way to finish off a long day.
The next day we had a Vespa tour of Rome that our marvelous travel agent, Tammy Cane had highly recommended and booked for us (http://www.theartoftravelbytammycane.com). So, so fun. Though not for the faint of heart, this is a fantastic and super fun way to experience the sights, smells and streets of this city in full Italian style.
After getting us oriented to scootering through the very busy Roman streets, our guide Michele took us to the ruins of one of the Roman public baths – the Caracalla – which was named after the cape worn by Emperor Marcus Aurelius (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Garden,_Rome).
At the height of the Roman Empire, almost everyone went to a bath house daily. This particular bath house was large enough to serve over 20,000 citizens at a time. And it was very egalitarian – when wearing “bath” clothes, no one could tell who was rich, poor or powerful.
Our next stop was the “Orange Garden” on Aventine Hill (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Garden,_Rome). From this oasis in the middle of one of Rome’s nicest residential areas, there is an amazing view of St. Peter’s Cathedral and many of the great sights of Rome. Totally recommended on a nice sunny day!
Afterwards we headed to the historic meat-packing district – which is now a music school – and the famous terra-cotta hill. A giant hill made from the remains of terra cotta pots which had been discarded over many centuries (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Testaccio)
Then, after a coffee and some delicious authentic pastries, we drove back through Rome to the scooter rental shop. This was the best part of the trip as we really got to see Rome like Romans. Was so cool to see neighborhoods full of artisan shops and cool looking restaurants. It made us want to spend much more time in Rome.
That evening we went to the rooftop bar at the swanky Hotel Eden. This place is five star plus. Super nice. If you can go for sunset – which we did – it’s quite spectacular.
Now – off to Santorini and Mykonos for a week in the Greek islands!