Rome, Honestly? It's a Whole Thing.
okay, so rome. it’s…a lot. i just landed back home, smelling faintly of *espresso and regret (mostly regret about that second gelato). i’m a freelance photographer, and i was chasing light, trying to capture something real amidst the tourist hordes. it’s harder than it looks, let me tell you.
first off, the weather. i just glanced at the forecast and it’s…basically a permanent state of ‘slightly damp’ right now, with a side of ‘sun trying its best’. it’s eleven point nine four degrees, which feels like eleven point one seven, apparently. the air is thick enough to chew, seventy-six percent humidity, and everyone just seems to accept it. i swear, the pigeons are thriving.
my airbnb was in trastevere, which is cute, but also feels like a carefully curated instagram set. cobblestone streets, overflowing flower boxes, the whole shebang. the neighbors? well, they’re mostly other tourists, honestly. if you get restless, florence is just a quick train ride away, but honestly, i felt like i needed a vacation from my vacation after a day of battling crowds at the colosseum. you can find some good info on getting around on TripAdvisor.
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“don’t eat near the main attractions. seriously. it’s a trap.”
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that’s what old man giorgio, who runs a tiny leather shop near campo de’ fiori, told me. and he wasn’t wrong. i made the mistake of grabbing a pizza slice near the pantheon and it cost me like, a small fortune and tasted like cardboard. giorgio’s shop, though? amazing. he’s been making wallets for fifty years. you can find his shop on Yelp.
i spent a lot of time just wandering, getting lost in the side streets. that’s where the magic happens, i think. i stumbled upon this incredible little gelateria (obviously) that wasn’t listed anywhere online. the pistachio was…transcendent. someone told me that the best carbonara is actually found in a tiny, unmarked restaurant near the vatican, but you have to know the owner’s cousin to get a table. sounds legit.
i overheard a group of americans complaining about the pickpockets near the spanish steps. apparently, it’s a hotspot. i didn’t have any issues, but i was clutching my camera like my life depended on it. i also read on a local forum (Romeing) that the best time to visit the borghese gallery is first thing in the morning, before the tour buses arrive.
honestly, rome is exhausting. beautiful, chaotic, exhausting. the pressure is one thousand and twenty, the sea level is one thousand and twenty, and the ground level is one thousand and thirteen - i have no idea what that means, but it sounds important. i’m pretty sure i need a week of silence and strong tea to recover. but would i go back? probably. it’s a mess, but it’s their* mess, and it’s strangely captivating. check out more reviews on Lonely Planet.
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