I’ve been here three times before, at the bookends of trips long and short. This time, Rome meets me somewhere in the middle of my journey abroad with no end date reserved, and it feels different.
I’m staying with my girlfriend right next to Termini station, a dingy neighborhood that reminds me of my home city, Portland, OR. People sleep on the streets barefoot, wrapped in blankets and cardboard. It’s not the ideal spot to stay, but on a budget, the location can’t be beat.
Our bnb is also a two minute walk from a fun food court with options for everybody, just inside the Termini station. It’s also an easy spot to get the famous Trapizzino.
Delecious pizza bread funnels.
If you’re hungry and don’t feel like walking, this is an amazing option. But just a few minutes away is my favoirte resturaunt in Rome.
(More on that later)
Rome is still the bustling, beautiful and gritty, passionate city it’s been for centuries. Yet in just a few years I’ve changed enough to see it differently. This place no longer unfamiliar. In contrast, heading out on our first, hot day, my girlfriend walked through its ancient streets with fresh eyes.
We cramed into the metro and headed to the Vatican. By my mistake, I didn’t reserve the Sistine Chapel, but we did climb the dome of St. Peter’s Bassilica. 
It’s a long, winding way up a spiral staircase and corridors curving with the dome. I enjoyed the climb more than the top, and the mozaic artwork on the lower level (not to mention seeing everybody crawl around small as ants below) was the main appeal of the dome’s access. To be fair, right now my girlfriend is laughing about how I enjoyed the dizzying staircase climb.
When I was here before, I was twenty two. Now, three years later, part of me feels like I’m fulfilling a dream I’ve had since I discovered my love for travel. An opposite part is telling me that I’ve outgrown that dream, that person, and that I now have new dreams to work on.
It’s selfish, but that part tells me I need more than an aimless adventure…
Nothing grounds an existential crisis better than an exquisite plate of pasta.
Another perk of staying by the Termini station is that only a couple blocks away is the charming Monti neighborhood. It has a handful of shops, bars, resturaunts, and hidden gems. Most importantly, it’s has what I think is the best pasta place in Rome, no questions asked. This is the kind of food that hits deep in your soul.
I’ve spent collectively nine months in Italy, mostly with Italian families, where I’ve eaten countless sauces cooked by Nonna. That said, the Gnocchi al Pomodoro at La Carbonara (Monti) is among the top three dishes I’ve had in Italy. More than that, the experience itself was great. The bread–great. Wine–great. Service–great. Atmosphere–authentic and again, great. If you’re here, eat at this place. Then, tell me about it. 🙂
During our last couple of days, we ate many a great thing and saw many a great sight.
To be fair, we also ate cereal in our bnb.
A lot of travel is chasing novelty–the new friends, things to see, stuff to do. It’s my fourth time here, so there’s no wonder that things are getting a little old. Still, Italy is a special place to me, and sharing its inevetable feelings of wonder with people I love has been incredibly rewarding.
Off feelings are inevetable in every trip, no matter how far flung the destination. They’re easy to fixate on, but letting them depress such a wonderful thing as travel isn’t in anybody’s best interest. I’m heading back up north next week to meet up with somebody, and to get something very special to me.
Hopefully, it’ll be a good story to tell (it’s shaping up to be). In any case, you’ll hear something from it soon. Thank you for reading. I hope one day you get to experience the bustling mix of ambition and passion that is The Eternal City. When you do, you may very well eventually return, again and again. Then, you will realize that all roads really do lead to Rome. 🙂
Live your way,
Noah
Follow my Journey
Rome seems to love you back, too
MMMMMMMmmmmmmm pasta, bread and gelato with people you love. Isn’t that what life is really about? Like countless souls, we leave a little of ourselves in Rome and in all the places we go. So lucky, so improbable that the dust of the universe formed itself in to you, your unique one of a kind self to experience this life right now. Take it in, you could be the dust of the mortar in some ancient church for a millennia, but instead you are here right now, living, breathing with all these thought and feelings. It’s incredible to be an adventurer, making new stories and having new experiences and insights. Thanks for sharing.
Ah, you’re great at putting stuff into perspective. Rome really does make life a little more magic. 🙂
I’m Loving the journey here Noah.
Both the inside and out <3