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Piazza Treasures: The Treasures of Trastevere

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Listening to music and enjoying the evening in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere
The piazzas in Rome are always a great place to relax, visit and pass the time.  In the main piazzas, you can usually find an endless array of street performers to keep you entertained.  Taking time out in one of the piazzas is one of my favorite things to do, and as you can tell by the photo above, I am not the only one who loves to take a break and enjoy the energy in the piazzas.  
 
I spend a lot of time in Trastevere, and Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere is one of my favorite spots to walk through and stop for a break in.  Below are photos of several street performers I spotted showcasing their talents around Trastevere’s main piazza.  Enjoy! 
 

A one man band – drums, guitar, harmonica and sing … he could do it all … and do it all at the same time.

Pompi: Dessert Heaven & The Perfect Pick Me Up

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The name Pompi kept coming up for places to head to for great desserts.  I even heard and read claims that they have THE BEST tiramisu in Rome.  I actually dismissed this claim.  I would say I am somewhat of a tiramisu connoisseur, and several tries of the dessert here in Rome failed my taste buds miserably.  I guess I should clarify that statement.  I don’t meet many sweets that I don’t like, and even some of the claimed tiramisu desserts tasted good, but they should have not been termed as being tiramisu.  One I tasted had a vanilla pudding type custard, and another had a cake crust, or bottom layer, instead of lady fingers.  To me, those are simply desserts, and shouldn’t make a claim to fame as being tiramisu.  
 
With that said, I set off to try Pompi.  I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, but I didn’t have overly high hopes for the tiramisu.     
 
Upon arrival there was a steady flow of customers entering and leaving, and all the cafe tables in front were filled.  A good sign!   
I was blown away as soon as I entered.  I was so excited to discover all the different types of desserts!  I immediately declared I wanted to try one of everything.  They had a variety of gelato, along with an array of sweets and baked goods.  They also not only had tiramisu, they had several kinds of tiramisu!  Who knew?  

They also had a refrigerator case full of beautifully decorated, drool-inducing cakes.    

After I snapped out of my dolce trance, I noticed the rest of the large refrigerator case was filled with prepared and packaged tiramisu.  At that moment, I knew this place meant business with their tiramisu if they had that many prepared to walk out the door.

In addition to the side walk tables in front, Pompi also has a large sitting area in the back.  As typical in Italy, sitting down comes with a charge.  Your dessert of choice will run you an extra few dollars if you decide to sit down and be served at a table.  It was a such a beautiful day, we decided to get ours to go and sat down to enjoy our (very tasty) treats in the park area near to the pastry shop.

We opted for a classic tiramisu, and another tiramisu with a twist.  I wanted to taste the traditional tiramisu, and just as I had read and heard before, it was delicious!  It was the best tasting tiramisu I have had in Rome so far!

We also shook things up a bit with a non-traditional tiramisu (something I did not know even existed).  Instead of the espresso and chocolate, it had hazelnuts and caramel.  I was a little leery of it at first since it was something I had never even heard of, but it was absolutely delicious!  It will definitely be ordered again.  In fact, Pompi also has several other flavors (strawberry, pistachio and banana & nutella), and I can’t wait to see if they are all equally as delicious.
Needless to say, I loved Pompi, and can’t wait to go back to try more of their delicious desserts!  It actually reminded me of my favorite 115-year old Italian pastry shop in New York, Venieros.  If something can transport me back to New York (my favorite city) and give me a taste of home, I’m definitely going back!   
 
Pompi is not far from the Metro A stop Re di Roma, and is open daily from 6:30 AM – 1:30 AM. They also have a smaller location (with the same great tiramisu) near Piazza di Spagna (Via della Croce, 82).  

Pompi
Via Albalonga, 7
+39 06 7000418

 

A Perfect Weekend Afternoon in Rome

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This past weekend I mentioned on Twitter the hubby and I were planning to go on a gelato date to my favorite gelateria.  Well, we did, and we ended up extending the date to the whole afternoon.  It was a great (and much needed) break!  It ended up being the perfect weekend afternoon in Rome with pizza, gelato and a visit to Rome’s rose garden.We started the afternoon at a great little pizzeria in Trastevere.  I’ll be telling you a little more about the place soon, so stay tuned. 🙂  We then made our way near Piazza Navona to stop for gelato at my favorite gelateria.  After we filled our bellies, we headed toward Circus Maximus where we spent some time in Rome’s rose garden enjoying all the beautiful, colorful roses.  Below is a glimpse of our day in photos.


At the pizzeria, we started with pear and gorgonzola bruschetta.  I love the flavor combinations with the sweetness of the pear paired with rich, savory cheese. So tasty!

I had the ‘Vegetariana’ … mushrooms, roasted bell peppers, and grilled zucchini and eggplant.  The hubby had the ‘Tonno’ … tuna with sauteed onions.  Tuna might seem like a surprising pizza topping, but it’s quite delicious!  


After lunch, we made our way near to my favorite gelateria … Frigidarium.  You can read more about Frigidarium here.  Disclaimer: I got caught up in the moment and too busy enjoying my gelato, I forgot to snap a photo.  This is a photo I previously took, but my gelato this weekend looked almost identical.  I stuck with my go to flavors here: pistachio, tiramisu and spagnola (vanilla with tart Amarena cherries).  All of those flavors smothered in a chocolate shell coating.  It seriously is divine!  

With full bellies, we made our way to Rome’s rose garden.  As you can see, many had the same idea, and were out enjoying the lovely day and admiring the beautiful flowers, too. To learn more about Rome’s rose garden or to view opening times, click here.  

The bees were also enjoying the flowers.  

After touring through the garden, we made our way to the top, sat on a bench, exhaled and enjoyed the view and the lovely afternoon.  

© copyright 2013 – All rights reserved

Why Rome?

May Flowers Bloom in Rome

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Spring is here, and in full effect with a beautiful array of colorful flowers blooming all throughout the city.  Even in the heart of the busy city, pops of color stand out and delicate, sweet aromas drift by.  It’s lovely here!

If you would like to enjoy Rome in all its flower glory, below are a few places where you can do just that.  Ancient city + historical ruins + lots of lovely flowers = recipe for swooning!  At least in my book it does. 😉

 
Rome’s Rose Garden


Rome’s Rose Garden, Il Roseto Comunale di Roma, is located on the Aventine Hill across from Circus Maximus, and has been open to the public since 1931.  It is truly a beautiful place, and a quiet oasis in the heart of the city. 

The garden contains more than 1,200 different varieties of roses.  It features two sections … upper and lower.  The upper section contains the permanent collection with classic specimens, and is currently open to the public.  The lower section showcases the competition entries from the international floral competition of ‘Premio Roma’, an annual competition among international floriculturists.  The 70th edition of the Premio Roma competition will be held on May 19th.  After the prize ceremony, the lower garden will be open to the public for viewing until June 24th.

 
Entrance to the garden is free.  It is open from May throughout the summer months from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM, although the best time to visit the garden is during the May/June flowering season.  The garden is located at Via di Valle Murcia, 6.  For additional information, or to schedule a free guided tour of the garden, email premioroma@comune.roma.it, or call +39 06 574 6810.
 
Flowers on the Spanish Steps

Each day thousands of people pass by the Spanish Steps in the heart of the city.  The grand staircase is the perfect place to stop and rest, visit with friends, relax, people watch and watch the world go by.  Now throughout the month of May, you can do all that amongst flowers.  Each year the city decorates the steps with an abundance of pink azaleas.  Below is a short video on the yearly blooming event.
 
 
Flowers on the Palatine Hill 

When visiting the Palatine Hill from now until October 14th, you will be able to step back in time and visit the ancient area in all its glory.  New flower gardens have been added in an attempt to recreate the vibrant gardens the area held 2,000 years ago.  The exhibit features a variety of vegetation such as, flowers, plants, trees and fresh produce.  The chosen vegetation derives from years of study by Italian archaeologists.  You will be able to walk in the path of emperors, and experience the Palatine Hill almost as they did 2,000 years ago.

Tickets to the Palatine Hill are €12.  Tickets also include admission to the Coliseum and Roman Forum.

 
 

 

A Birthday Weekend Filled With Strikes

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Buon Compleanno, bella Roma!

This Saturday, April 21st, Rome will celebrate its 2,765th birthday.  (Can you imagine being around that many years?!)  This is based on the legendary founding of Rome by Romulus in 753 BC.

 
In case you’re not familiar with the legend, here is a brief overview.  Romulus and Remus were twins.  Their mother, Rhea, was a Vestal Virgin, and their father was a god (Mars, the god of war).  Before they were born, male descendants in the family were killed by their Grandfather’s brother.  When the twins were born, they were left to die.  However, a she-wolf came along and nursed them.  The boys grew up to become natural leaders.  They decided to found a new city, but couldn’t agree on the exact location.  The two quarrelled, and Remus was killed in the end.  Romulus then founded the new city on the Palatine Hill, and named it after himself … Rome.To celebrate Rome’s birthday, the city will have plenty of events taking place throughout the weekend … music, dancing, theatre performances and ceremonies.  For further information on the events taking place, you can check here (in English) or here (in Italian).Rome’s birthday will be celebrated with an extra bang this year.  The bang will come to the people of Rome in the form of strikes!  Strikes for buses, trains and flights. The scheduled sciopero (strike) details for each day are below.

Friday, April 20th – ATAC, Rome’s public transportation company, is scheduled to strike from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM, then from 8:00 PM to end of service.  This will include all buses, metro lines and light rail trains.  
 
Saturday, April 21st & Sunday, April 22nd – Trenitalia is scheduled to have a 24-hour train strike from 9:00 PM Saturday to 9:00 PM Sunday.Monday, April 23rd – The personnel of Alitalia, Italy’s largest airline, will be on strike for four hours … from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM.  If you have a flight to/from Italy on Monday, it would be a good idea to check with the airline to make sure your flight plans will not be affected.  Click here to access their website.Here’s to hoping the scheduled strikes don’t impact your travel plans or birthday celebrations too much.

Tanti Auguri e Buon Compleanno, Roma!  Just in case you’re wondering, that translates to Happy birthday and many good wishes. 🙂

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Why Rome?