The Hotel Pulitzer is situated a few minutes away from the Marconi Metro stop and whilst it was a lovely hotel, the road leading from the Metro to the hotel is actually an avenue for prostitutes! We never felt unsafe, but it was a surprise getting an eyeful of boobs and bum upon exiting the station on our first evening.
Getting around the Eternal City is easy; there are two Metro lines, as well as
buses, trains and cabs. Again, we lucked
out when stepping off the train at Termini, the main station, as two
tourists who were leaving Rome gave us their weekly travel cards. I think
we must have racked up some serious karma points for what we suffered
in Florence!A daily ticket on the Metro costs €6, but you can also get a single journey (€1.50), three-day (€16.50) or weekly (€24) ticket. Watch out for pickpockets though; we spotted a loud and large gang of young teenage girls push through the carriage, get off at the next stop, which is when one of the women they pushed by realised her bag was open. Keep an eye on your things and you'll be fine.
Food-wise, we didn't really find any amazing gems like we did in Florence, but these restaurants were definitely the best ones we ate at. Da Vito e Dina is near Vatican City, and we enjoyed a nice lunch there for €31. This was the first restaurant I spotted in Rome were you could order focaccia, and it didn't disappoint. The pasta was pretty yummy, though their portions are massive.
Loste Ria was near our hotel (Marconi area), and is definitely more of a local place. They give you the most amazing home-made potato chips when you arrive, and their steak is pretty awesome.
The staff at Ristorante Dal Carbonaro were super lovely. I ordered a delicious sea bass dish with an intricate potato crust for my main, but they accidentally brought me a sea bass with an aubergine crust. They realised before I did, were most apologetic, and they sorted out my replacement dish quickly. The restaurant is in Trastevere, which is a great neighbourhood to explore if you have time - it's about a twenty minute walk from the Circo Massimo Metro stop.
Finally, La Nuova Piazetta, near the Colosseum, gave us tasty pizza and pasta with a dessert, sparkling water and a litre of house wine for about €30 - a bargain price for dinner in Rome! They even gave us a limoncello shot. Whilst it is the norm to receive a free shot in Florence and Milan, they don't tend to dish them out in Rome - this was the only place we found that did. Oh, and you'll probably have to chase down oil and balsamic vinegar for your bread in Rome as they only seem to give it to the locals. (Booooooo!)
Finally, I need to tell you about an awesome dress shop called Love-Life on Via Ottaviano. I bought two dresses from there back in July 2011, and bought another dress this time round. The manager/owner is still as rude as ever: your money is fake; stand over there; take this dress; do this! But, in the end, I got an awesome dress for €15. Via Ottaviano is on your way to Vatican City (if you get off at Ottaviano, the nearest Metro stop to Vatican City), and there is also Oysho a few doors down. Oysho is another July 2011 find, and they have awesome pyjama bottoms. (Nowadays though, ASOS stocks their stuff!)
Just like in Florence, we had a busy time in Rome and definitely needed a rest after all that sightseeing! We grabbed a taxi from our hotel - around €40 - and headed to Fiumicino to catch our flight to Sicily. Internal flights to Palermo take around 45 minutes from Rome and can be quite cheap. Our flight was about £40 each, with luggage checked in. x
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