More on Rome....
So, as I already mentioned ROME was fabulous... just what we needed.
One of the benefits to living in one of the
I have to say I did very NO planning for this trip.
But, this was our friends trip, on which we were invited. (they had to cancel at the last min....)
& we were just going along for the ride...
The sun... the sites, the food.. the GELATO...
(despite walking about 50 miles in 4 days..i didn't lose a single pound thanks to the COCONUT GELATO...)
Having said Rome was fabulous...
the old Travel agent in me... thought I would compile list of the good & the not so good...
the old Travel agent in me... thought I would compile list of the good & the not so good...
( I can't say BAD... it was ROME after all..)
One of the benefits to living in one of the
worlds most EXPENSIVE countries (Norway)
anytime you travel out of the country, you can count on getting a good deal.... it is always cheaper to go out & eat & drink & shop... hotels....looks like
Rome is the exception...
I have to say I did very NO planning for this trip.
(Normally I am a FREAK when it comes to planning... I think it is FUN... to learn everything about the place I am going... & have everything planned out... with backup plans.... have I told you I used to be a KICK BUTT travel agent?)
But, this was our friends trip, on which we were invited. (they had to cancel at the last min....)
& we were just going along for the ride...
Our hotel was booked on the Spanish Steps... in the heart of the shopping district.... GUCCI, PRADA, FENDI... FABULOUS if you are a SHOPPER..which my friend is...
we however, are not.
I guess it is great to say you bought your GUCCI while in Italy... 
(a nice little story to tell behind the bag/shoes)
(a nice little story to tell behind the bag/shoes)
but price wise, you would probably get a better deal in the states.
If we could have a re-do.. with the hotel, we would have stayed closer to the historical sites or even better...we would have rented an apartment...
Restaurants...sor
ry to say, we didn't find one I can rave about... We ended up getting sucked into all of the tourist traps... expensive, & not particularly good food.... (I kept thinking of European Vacation the movie, with Clark Griswold in France... where they took frozen dinners & put French flags in it..)
ry to say, we didn't find one I can rave about... We ended up getting sucked into all of the tourist traps... expensive, & not particularly good food.... (I kept thinking of European Vacation the movie, with Clark Griswold in France... where they took frozen dinners & put French flags in it..) the first night we were sucked in by a man who looked very much like Pavarotti, who told us his wife made all of the pasta... so cute, such a charming man....
We planned on having a pasta... "Nooooo.. you take a salad & split it...No? "
"Um, OK, why not?" we ordered one salad...the waiter brought two... we ordered two
glasses of wine... they brought a bottle....
glasses of wine... they brought a bottle....We SHOULD have said NO, we ordered ONE salad... & 2 glasses of wine... but I guess we figured what the heck... how bad can it be?
Almost $100 later we realized how bad...
we had.... been had.
I like to consider myself pretty worldly... I have traveled most of the world.... however ,that polite...don't make a fool of myself ,DUMMY pops up every once in a while.... & I get suckered.
I like to consider myself pretty worldly... I have traveled most of the world.... however ,that polite...don't make a fool of myself ,DUMMY pops up every once in a while.... & I get suckered.
**Tips for eating out in Rome...
DON'T order anything without knowing in advance how much it cost.. in our case the "starter" ended up costing DOUBLE what the main courses were...
also most of the restaurants will charge you a "cover charge" (12% )- without telling you about it... & the waiters were pretty insistant about being "tipped.."
If you get outside of the tourist traps... you will find everything to be about 1/2 price...
Another DUMB thing I did...I brought ONE pair of shoes... with the idea that I was going to buy some super fabulous ITALIAN SHOES.....
While I LOVE my "Birthday Boots"... I think I was looking kind of silly climbing through the ruins in them....
Besides looking like a huge dork..instead of looking chic...
my feet were KILLING me....
So instead of buying some super awsome shoes that
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE forever....
I bought an EXPENSIVE pair of MOM shoes... which I am not loving sooo much,
however they were flat & my legs could BREATH .
however they were flat & my legs could BREATH .Note to everyone, trying to be CHIC & cool touring Europe... dress cute, but for goodness sakes where GOOD, COMFORTABLE SHOES!
Even the
UBER BEAUTIFUL ROMANS had
comfy shoes....
You have never seen such a selection of jeweled tennis shoes.... (maybe not so fab... but they still looked comfortable..)
Tomorrow... the things I LOVED about Rome & HIGHLY reccommend...
Comments
when will we learn?! LOL
Bummer about getting suckered. The food is so good in Italy! Maybe it'll be better on the next trip! (You'll just have to go back now won't you?)
The restaurant story reminded me of the restaurant across from the Vatican we ate at...I remember that we argued at the end of the meal about the tab and only leaving the fair portion and thinking that we were going to be arrested for leaving part of the bill unpaid!!
Can you tell I am not a big fan of Rome?!!! :)
At least you and Bjorn enjoyed the sites and had some enjoyable kid-free, adult-only time together!!
So totally agree on all of your pros and cons... especially about getting sucked in to eating in tourist traps. That happens to us wherever we vacation - though it's usually because we just go to the first restaurant that looks decent for kids!
I give you LOTS of credit for bringing only 1 pair of shoes - holy cow lady, you're brave. I don't even go to the swimming pool here w/o two pairs. :)
and i'll remember my comfy shoes!
Greetings from Germany :-)
I am a big fan of Rome, but we also were not so impressed by the food. Even at the "local" places. We much prefer some of the Italian places in Germany. But the Gelato.... Mmmmmm!
The only thing I didn't like was the gypsies. Ugh. I refused to ride the subway we walked that whole place!
Don't you hate it when that happens at a restaurant?! We once forgot to ask for a menu by the Vatican and order a coffee and tea and the bill was 15 euros - I could have bought the pot and the a kilogram of tea for that amount!