(Sept 5)
We arrived in Rome and . . . stood in line. I’ve said it before and it remains true: FCO is the worst for passport control. It took about 90 mins and there was no ‘global entry’ or ‘fast’ way through that we could buy into. Grumpy making.We arrived in Rome and . . . stood in line. I’ve said it before and it remains true: FCO is the worst for passport control. It took about 90 mins and there was no ‘global entry’ or ‘fast’ way through that we could buy into. Grumpy making.
On the other side, our luggage was waiting and we were quick to get on the train and into Rome itself. (The Leonardo Da Vinci express is 7eu each and leaves every 20 mins. Definitely the best inexpensive way to get into Rome from the airport.
Once at Termini station we paused to get a sim card for the phone . . . and that was a much longer process than we expected. About 2 hours. We’d dropped our bags at the deposit (6eu/ bag for 4 hours. A lot of people were using the service, unlike 3 years ago when we were almost the only ones.
So we bagged our plans and took a taxi to our neighborhood and had lunch at La Soffitta Renovatio, a quaint place popular with visitors to Rome. Excellent pizza (I like a simple mushroom and cheese concoction); J. enjoyed his Amatriciana (spaghetti like pasta w/ a tomato sauce that includes guanciale and pecorino cheese). Then I met our hostess and J. went back to get our luggage.
Our AirB&B was great! Lovely terrace with umbrella overlooking a busy pedestrian-only street. Lots of neighborhood restaurants and (J’s favorite) a gelato store next door. Tiny kitchen, but everything we needed was there. We were pleased, and happily settled in until dinner. (Too early, but we got later as the week progressed. Italians like to eat at 8pm, or later.)
Dinner was at Il Sorpasso. A ‘wine bar’ with a lovely selection of tagliere — cut meats. The menu was a little hard to navigate (lots of unfamiliar words) but we ended up with a platter of cut meats and another of cheeses and happily munched away.
