rome

i spent 3 days and 3 nights in rome and completely fell for that city. our time there was just long enough to see the major sights (st. peters, sistine chapel, colosseum, spanish steps, trevi fountain, campo di fiori) at a rapid pace but not nearly long enough to explore all the hidden corners and see everything i wanted to see.

i kept thinking about the book Eat, Pray, Love the entire time i was there because i instantly loved the sound of italian (is it just me or does everything sound better in italian?), i didn't go to a single museum (not in rome nor in any other city in italy), ate gelato 2-3 times a day (which is probably why i didn't make it to a single museum) and significantly increased the size of my gut.

going to italy right now sucked because the dollar is so low and the prices of food and lodging are generally pretty high. i guess if you want to deprive yourself of the joys of eating 3 courses at every meal, you can get away with cheap eats but cheap lodging was pretty hard to find.

thoughts on lodging, food, random stuff about rome:
- last february i had made a reservation at a B&B in rome called B&B Maggiore. when we arrived, our host said that the building's exterior was being renovated and he wanted to spare us from dealing with the paint fumes and noises. since our enjoyment was such a priority, they had

 booked us a room at a nicer place "around the corner" and arranged for us to be taken there. and, of course, the other place cost more but they would pay the difference. "around the corner" ended up being 20 mins away in the wrong direction. i'm not sure if the whole thing was a scam or not but stay away from B&B Maggiore. we ended up finding a place in the travel book we had - ACCESS Rome - called Hotel Parliment for 130 Euros a night, including breakfast. it was small and lacked amenities but it was spotless and conveniently located with very helpful staff.

- go to the restaurants recommended by my friend ema. he knows me well enough to recommend places that are all about good food, reasonably priced and has lots of charm.

eat lots of gelato everywhere but make sure not to miss the Sardinian honey gelato at Il Gelato di San Crispino (the best gelato i had in italy), which is very close to the Trevi Fountain. Also, the espresso granita with whipped cream at the various cafes (including La Casa del Caffe Tazza d'Oro) is awesome and a strong jolt of caffeine.

- the Wallpaper City Guide to rome was a good alternative for people who want to get info on quirky cool things to see and do in big cities and have graduated from the Lonely Planet style of traveling. i'm not knocking the LP and I still use it religiously for certain types of trips - backpacker-style, low-budget traveling - but when i go to places like rome, i need a travel guide that will give me info on the really good places to eat and drink, which don't usually make it into the LP since they don't usually cater to the teva-wearing crowd.   in big, cosmopolitan euro cities, LP isn't the best guide for the kind of foodie experience i want.