Visiting Rome: Delicious Food & Iconic Sights (Staying in Charming Trastevere)

With everything Rome has to offer, I'm so glad we spent a full five days exploring this historical and impressive city. Our stay in the charming Trastevere neighborhood gave us the perfect mix of local vibes and easy access to incredible restaurants, bars and iconic landmarks. During our time here, we not only ate great food and experienced some of the city's rich history, but also picked up some valuable tips and tricks that I'll be sharing with you in this video. When arriving at our centrally located hotel, we left our luggage in this beautiful and spacious room before walking out in the streets of Trastevere for some lunch. We stopped at Trapezino, a spot famous for its delicious traditional Roman street food. We began with something called supli, a seasoned ball of risotto rice that is breaded and deep fried. Okay, I'm gonna try one. Okay, I think this is the classic one. This is with mozzarella. Yeah, it looks really nice. Like tomato sauce. Oh my god. The classic version filled with tomato sauce and mozzarella was especially impressive. We followed up by sharing three different kinds of Trapezino, which are essentially crispy pizza pockets filled with various Roman stews. And they were all delicious. A 20-minute walk then led us to Piazza Venezia, one of Rome's most iconic squares, celebrated for its stunning architecture and rich historical significance. Whether you're interested in history or simply looking for a breathtaking view, I highly recommend a visit here. After a bit of walking around in the bustling streets of central Rome, I must say it was a relief to return to the tranquil charm of where we could unwind and enjoy a relaxing aperitivo. The wine and food here were delicious and the cozy atmosphere added to the overall experience. Oh my god. It's good. It's like a dessert. This is really nice. So the food and wine here was very good. But I don't know if they're like understaffed because we have been waiting for what feels like an hour to pay. And there's like a lot of people. So that's very frustrating. And too bad because everything else was really good. We finished our first day with some tasty fried lasagna and beer to go. About eight o'clock the next morning we headed off to Colosseum, starting off with the Roman Forum. This feels like a dream. God. An ancient site in the heart of Rome that served as the center of public life during the Roman Empire. The best time to visit the Roman Forum and Colosseum is either early in the morning when it first opens or late in the afternoon around closing time. Also weekdays are generally preferred over weekends. Additionally, buying skip the line tickets in advance or booking a guided tour will save you time and enhance your visit. I don't think you can go any higher than this. But you can go like in the underground part. I think you're welcome to have a special ticket. In time for lunch we walked back to Trastevere for some pasta at popular Tonarello. Le olive! This is so good! How is it? Damn, you have to try this. It's really good. Oh my god. Is it good? I've never tasted pasta with sauce like this. I want to try it too. Damn, it's creamy. I'll have to try it too. What? It was actually really good. You saw that? Yeah. You know, it also tastes perfectly much like coffee. It tastes perfectly much like coffee. It's not too much of a spritz taste. Probably the best tiramisu I've ever had. Yes, the best tiramisu ever. After finishing eating we visited the Aventine Keyhole. A mysterious keyhole located in the Priory of the Knights of Malta on Aventine Hill. Peering through it reveals a perfectly framed view of St. Peter's Basilica. Beautifully aligned through a lush garden. While I couldn't capture it on camera, I highly recommend experiencing it for yourself. Besides this unexpected sight, the surrounding parks offer beautiful panoramas of Rome that are well worth the visit. Is it good? After enjoying some Italian delicacies we ended the day with a beer to go in the evening sun before heading back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. Our third day began with a visit to the Verkan Museum. Thankfully we had bought skip-the-line tickets in advance, which made our entry quick and easy. The museum is among the most visited in the world, offering a glimpse into the rich cultural and religious heritage of the Catholic Church. It's nice to be a little quiet. I was expecting to walk in a big clump of people. And then, oh, it's me. Last supper. When finished at the museum we went for a quick lunch that was tasty, but not overly impressive. However, the real highlight came next, with a stop for some delicious tiramisu at this popular spot. Good? We tried both the classic and the pistachio one, with the pistachio being my favorite. We spent the afternoon back in our favorite neighborhood for some drinks in the sun. In time for aperitivo we went back to Trapizzino to try some more soup. It's good. The day ended with some football at an Irish pub, followed up by the crispiest and most delicious pizza I've ever had. My favorite being the classic Margherita, which I was too busy enjoying to capture on video. We're on our way now to eat some sort of sandwich with mortadella, I think it is. It looks very tasty on the pictures I've seen. And then hopefully we're going to visit a pantheon. I'm hoping the queue won't be too bad. The queue isn't too bad, I think. It keeps on going inside. But I expected worse. While waiting in line for tickets, I noticed this sign offering the option to scan a QR code and purchase tickets online. Allowing us to skip the line entirely. Let's just say you need to see this in person to truly grasp how impressive it is. La Paradiso. Favolosa. Oh my god. You have sarsaparilla. It's really good, yeah. It's good. Nice. This is so good. Can I have some? It's good. This is so good, but yours was way better. Want a taste? Yeah, mine's better. In walking distance we found Fontana de Trevi. Which was stunning, but hard to enjoy due to all the people. So for a quieter experience you probably shouldn't go here in the middle of the day. Our next stop was the Spanish Steps, which offered a beautiful view in the heart of the city. Just remember not to sit on the steps since this is not allowed and can result in fines. From the top of the Spanish Steps we continued our walk, enjoying breathtaking views of the city before arriving at the pittoresque Villa Borghese Park. After taking a breather in the park and refreshing ourselves with some clean cool water from one of Rome's many public fountains. We stumbled upon this charming little lake. Here you could rent a boat and peacefully take in the beautiful surroundings for a while. This is so much fun. Yeah, because I'm driving. Look, a turtle. Oh my god. Film it. There it goes. Oh my god, it's so good. By dinner time we were back in Trastevere for a meal at Nanarella. Only to quickly realize that the menu was likely identical to the one at Tonarello, where we had ate one of the days before. Nevertheless, we decided to take the chance and try something new of the menu. Starting strong with the crispy Roman artichoke. And while the pasta was good, it didn't quite live up to the experience we had at Tonarello. When we went here last time it was like 9 in the morning and the line was way over there somewhere. Now it's like 7 in the morning. So a lot better. Besides getting here as early as possible, ideally when it opens at 7 am, another recommendation is to avoid visiting St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesdays if possible. On this day the Pope holds his papal audience in St. Peter's Square, which attracts large crowds and can cause delays or limited access to the basilica during the morning hours. After admiring the majestic church, you can pay a visit to the top of St. Peter's Basilica, called the dome or cupola. You can either take an elevator part way up, or climb the full 551 steps to reach the top. Having a bit of claustrophobic issues I took the elevator and then walked the remaining steps, which was more than enough in my case. Once at the top the view was incredibly impressive, with St. Peter's Square laid out below and a sweeping panorama of Rome's skyline stretching out in every direction. When we reached the top it was 8 am and as you can see the line to get inside is already starting to grow longer. After finishing at the Vatican we headed to the charming Campania Amica farmers market for a quick visit and to pick up some souvenirs. This Italian initiative connects consumers with local farmers, highlighting fresh locally produced food. So this is like a boiled artichoke with herb. Good? Yes. Do you want to try? We would like to try. Can you switch it back up? Thank you. It's really good. Let's see if we can get something to drink here. Yes. Do you? Yes, why not. For our final dinner before heading home early the next morning we dined at Roma's Barita, a restaurant famously recommended by Anthony Bourdain, who particularly praised their renowned Cacio e Pepe. It smells so good. That's Anthony Bourdain's father. It tastes so good. It's really good. Thank you for watching. I hope you found this video useful or enjoyable in some way. And until next time, take care.