ITALY Rome | Day 6

When in Rome... 

On our walk back from dinner

DAY 6: As per our usual routine by now, we started our day with our hotel breakfast.  We had reservations for the Borghese Museum at 9:00 and took at taxi to get to the Northern part of Rome.  There were no photos allowed in the gallery, but we did do a guided tour and I really liked learning more about the history of some of the works.  We saw some amazing sculptures by Bernini – Jake’s new favorite and we learned to appreciate the art. I really wish I had taken an art appreciation class in college, but if anything, this trip has made me want to read, learn and study more about these amazing artists, their times and the way of life.   

Borghese Gallery

Apollo and Daphne by Bernini, photo via wikipedia

Paolina Borghese as Venus Victrix, photo via wikipedia

 After the gallery, we walked to the Spanish Steps through the subway shortcut.  I liked the steps, but I wasn’t that impressed.  Maybe I need to read more about the history.  

Spanish Steps

We walked through the main shopping district and saw fancy drivers waiting for customers outside of Louis Vuitton and Chanel. That was cool to see.   

Shopping District

 We had lunch at a place called Enoteca Antiqua which was really tasty.  We also had some wine with our lunch {something I could really get used to}.   

Antica Enoteca - lunch spot!

Wine and water pitcher

Our pizza and pasta!

After lunch, we walked to the Trevi Fountain and threw in our coin for good luck that we someday will return to Rome.  We didn’t read the directions in the book carefully and ended up not throwing it over our shoulder. Oh well – hopefully it still works.  

The amazing, ginormous Trevi Fountain!

We made it!

The God of Ocean

Next, we got some amazing gelato right next to the fountain which I thought would be touristy but actually tasted really good. 

Gelato shop

yummy gelato!

Then, we took a taxi back to Hotel 47, napped and relaxed.  After that, we walked to a restaurant called Le Mani in Pasta in a neighborhood called Trastevere where we had a reservation for dinner.  We had coconut mojitos at a dive bar called The Hole on the way to dinner since we were a little early.  

Outside The Hole

We must have gotten there right as they opened because we were the first ones to sit down, but soon they were packed! We got the coveted table right next to the kitchen.  We were greeted with a welcome glass of prosecco {I like!}.  For our appetizer, we shared the raw seabass with truffles on toast. Delicious! Best thing I had in Italy up to that point.   

Seabass with truffles

We ordered a bottle of chardonnay.  For our first course, we shared ravioli.  For our second course, I got boiled Lobster and Jake had beef Carpaccio.  

First course: ravioli

Grilled lobster

Beef carpaccio

The chef and owner came to say thank you! Note the kitchen right next to us

Up to this point, we had been relying on trip advisor for what to order at the restaurant and everyone commented on the Carpaccio – I have to admit that neither of us knew what it was and when it came, we quickly discovered it was raw beef. We looked at each other: both of us whispered “can you even eat raw beef?” We didn’t have a clue. Sure, it was smothered with olive oil, spices and fresh parmesan, but come on, raw beef?  Our strategy has been to share each entrée we order, so Jake ate his half and passed the plate on to me. It tasted amazing, but it was really a mind over matter kind of thing. I had to really not think about what I was eating.  Ever since that night, throughout the rest of our travels, we had to laugh whenever we saw it on the menu.  We had some delicious chocolate dessert {we asked the waitress what her favorite one was, it was so cute, she told us what “mi favorita” was}.  

Amazing chocolate dessert!

We walked back to our hotel, hung out on our balcony for 20 minutes before we went to sleep. It was a fun way to end our stay in Rome. 

Goodnight, Rome!