Day 14: Venice to Rome
It was a smooth 4 hour train ride from Venice's Marco Polo train station to Rome's central hub, Termini station. On a rare occasion, our train arrived at it's destination a few minutes earlier. Now we had to figure out how to buy a metro ticket to our airbnb. Here's a good tip when in Rome: carry cash or better, loose coins and small change. Kiosk machines don't accept credit, despite a card reader present. We were directed to go to the ticket office if paying by card. Although you're out of luck if the ticket office is closed. There are many shops and stands that sell tickets but most don't accept payment by card or with big bills. We learned the hard way and ended up walking 30 minutes to dinner the first night.
Single tickets cost 1.50 euro which is good for 100 minutes if transferring. You also have the option of buying a 24, 48 or 72 hour pass, however it's only worth it if you plan on taking the transit several times a day. You would have to take at least 7 separate journeys in order for a day pass to pay itself. Honestly, most of the time we walked. But it was nice to have a few tickets when commuting from one side of town to the other.
We didn't have much planned the first day, other than our dinner reservation at Roscioli at 9:30. On our way to the restaurant, we saw the Colosseum lit up just like how it's depicted in guide books and tv shows. Even though it appears a lot smaller in person, the beautiful orange and yellow glow in each arch way has a magical element that is very similar to the Eiffel tower when lit up at night. How can you pass a perfect selfie moment like that. We wonder if locals still find this monument charming or does it really just have an effect on tourists.
We arrived just in time for our dinner reservation. There were already a few tables eating, drinking and enjoying the young night. As we waited for our first round of drinks, we were amazed to see the number of people being turned down without reservations. Do yourself a favor when in big cities like Rome, Paris or Brussels, make a couple of dinner or lunch reservations ahead of time. If you procrastinated, try emailing them a few days before; or if you're really desperate try making a dinner reservation when they open at lunch. You never know. We got lucky on many occasions...so it doesn't hurt to ask!
Our table was right in front of the deli display, where you can observe chefs assemble appetizers and side dishes. The artichokes were unlike any ones we had in the past. It was simply cooked with olive oil, salt and pepper. Very moist, soft and tender....a dish worth recreating at home! Just as delicious was the eggplant caponata. It makes us very happy to see a city and even a culture treating vegetables with high respect and care. If you find excellent produce, you won't have to do much to highlight its qualities. Complement it with the right amount of seasoning, oil and even vinegar, and we would gladly eat veggies as entrees any day.
We finally tasted our first authentic roman pasta and it didn't disappoint one bit. The short pasta dish was tossed in a 3 tomato red sauce with a sprinkle of cheese and fresh basil. The other was the classic carbonara, long pasta in white cheese sauce with salty pieces of pork cheek and bursts of cracked black pepper. We passed the bowls to each other multiple times to switch between the red acidic gravy and white cheesy sauce. It may sound crazy but you can really eat a variety of dishes through the act of sharing.
Although we spent most of the day travelling, we can already check off roman pastas and the Colosseum at night on our to do list in Rome. On Sunday have a bunch of places we plan on eating at...many of them were featured in the Munchie's Pizza show and Giada's guide to Rome. Can't wait for some more good eats!