Roma. My First Love. Finale.

... Day 4 Continued

Prati! What a cool neighbourhood. Lots of local butcher shops, cheese shops, specialty shops and more.

Our food tour [see experience here] started off at a fabulous little specialty shop called La Nicchia Cafe where we started with the freshest mozzarella di buffalo from the Campagna region (we received it only 24 hours after it had been produced, SO fresh!). Not only was the food so incredible but it was paired with delicious local wines and an education on how to choose wines based on your meal.

The people with me on this tour were so friendly and as introductions were done and great food enjoyed together, we all became fast friends; sisters from New Jersey on the trip of a lifetime, a fun & energetic couple from Texas who just happened to end up in Rome after a trek through Iceland, a super friendly couple who were on a long weekend away from Belgium and many more. Making connections with fellow travelers is always so fun.

We moved on to a great little pizzaiolo called Bonci with the most creative pizzas by the famous chef Gabriele Bonci. Gabriele only uses the freshest, natural ingredients and prides himself on quality without compromise. Bonci looks at agriculture as culinary art.

From there we moved on to a great local, family-owned restaurant (I didn't remember to document the name of the restaurant) where the owner greeted us with delicious, freshly cured meats and other incredible specialties... and of course, wine. I wish I could remember the man's name who owned the restaurant but regardless he was so funny and loved having travelers experience his restaurant.

The final stop of the tour was at a stunning restaurant built around a garden in the center of the restaurant: Al Giardino del Gatto e la Volpe (at the garden of the cat and the fox). We ordered many delicious pasta dishes and many bottles of local delicious wines. Sitting around the table we all talked about life, travel and everything in between. We truly built a bond... so much so that my new friends from Belgium, Texas and I didn't want the night to end... so, it didn't!

The five of us hopped on the metro and went down to the Trevi fountain for gelato, which turned into drinks, which turned into getting into a very cool speakeasy in behind the Pantheon called Club Derriere. We weren't exactly sure how we were getting in but as we chatted up these people in front of us, I built a connection with one of them who was visiting from Sorrento, Italy; I told him how much I had loved visiting Sorrento on a previous trip and with that as he and his party got in, they made sure we did too. No phones allowed, in fact they didn't even work inside the dark bar. We all hung out, shared lots of stories, made friends with even more people and hung out until the sun was nearing to come up again.

I knew I had to get at least a little sleep because I had a big day ahead of me the next day.

Day 5

The most unforgettable day.

I love cooking. The planning, the act, the enjoyment... all of it. I knew I had to find an authentic cooking experience in Rome. With that, I found "Taste the real-R-home", a cooking experience by Fulvia. I especially loved that this was not a set menu cooking class, it was based off what was freshest that day in the large market in Rome.

Outside Trionfale market, near the Vatican city, Fulvia and her friend Eleanora met us and we began our journey through the market. Fish caught that morning, incredible fresh produce, freshly cured meats, fragrant/delicious cheeses, locally produced olive oils/balsamics and so much more. She would hand us fresh baked breads, have us try everything and talk to us about how to get only the best ingredients from these wonderful vendors. I can't even talk about how incredible the tomatoes were because unless you go to Italy, you'll never taste anything like it.

The other girls on this experience jumped in Fulvia's car and I traveled with Eleanora out to the exclusive area of Olgiata. We talked the whole way about her kids, how she met her friend Fulvia and how she was originally from Naples. I could cry thinking about how it felt walking around Fulvia's property on arrival. Her beautiful dogs, adorable cats, luscious gardens, incredible flowers, her bee farm, her chickens and most importantly her warm and inviting home.

Aprons on and it was time to get our hands dirty in the kitchen. I had a connection with this woman and I just felt so honoured to be in her kitchen alongside her. With the ingredients we got at the market, things from her garden and of course what she kept stocked in her kitchen we began: Artichoke souffle, homemade fettucine pasta, stuffed zucchini flowers and tiramisu. Fulvia and Eleanora got right in there with us and showed us the proper way to make everything, how to time everything and as much knowledge they could impart.

While the hosts finished up the meal, they allowed us to go wander around the property and I was just in awe.

When the meal was ready, we sat around her large harvest table outside in her garden. Fulvia and Eleanora served us everything we had made that day and it was absolutely delicious.

After dinner they took us to the local train station, bought our tickets to go back to the city and bid us farewell.

When I arrived back in Rome, I went back to my apartment to get cleaned up and the couple I had made friends with from Texas the night before were texting me to join them for dinner down in Trastevere. I was exhausted but I figured... when in Rome!

Nannarella was a modest restaurant but with delicious food and sidewalk seating. We laughed, talked and shared some absolutely devine food & wine. Our server was hilarious and was probably one of the best service experiences I had in my visits to Rome. After dinner we found a tiny, little coffee bar and I showed them the proper way to order coffee and we sat to enjoy. There was a drunk man with his dog being excessively loud, people cheering at soccer on the TV and others who were also clearly tourists.

After dinner we just strolled through Trastevere on our way home and of course had to stop by a fortune teller in the street along the way.

I got back to my apartment and crashed so hard.

Day 6

The dreaded Covid-19 test.

From Rome I was travelling on to Lisbon, Portugal. At that time, Portugal still required a negative Covid-19 test in order to come into the country. With guidance from my AirBNB host, I popped down to a pharmacy near the Pantheon to have my test done.

Scarily enough, not long before I left on this trip I had recovered from Covid-19 so I was terrified that my test may still pull a positive result as sometimes they did for people long after recovery. I explained all this to the lady taking my information at the pharmacy and she gave me a deadpan look and said 22€ for a test, 40€ if you want it negative. As much as I didn't want to take a risk of not getting into Portugal, I am too honest... after all, I am Canadian haha. Thankfully, even with taking the honest route, I had negative results so I was free to travel to Lisbon.

As I was making my way back to my apartment, I decided to grab breakfast in Piazza della Rotonda just outside the Pantheon. After I finished breakfast, I did a little shopping and then started my walk again... until I saw some of my family members. I guess even in Rome, you can't escape the Nickersons hahaha.

Rome is huge! How on earth did this happen!? My cousin Craig, his wife Rosalyn, his daughter Isabelle and his sister-in-law Nancy. I knew they were in Rome and we had actually made plans to meet up later that day for lunch but this was just too freaky! We all laughed about and went to a cafe for coffee and to catch up. What a small world. My little cousin Lucy, Craig & Rosalyn's youngest daughter, was living just outside Rome as an au pair for a family and they were there to visit her. I had plans that afternoon so running into them early ended up being much more convenient for me in the end. It was only a quick visit but what a crazy cosmic coincidence.

Then it was time to head to Tivoli! Remember the experience I had to reschedule because of my luggage delivery? This was it! I had become well versed in navigating the trains at Roma Termini in previous trips, which is good because it can be very confusing and you do have to be careful of the pick pockets in the train station.
*fun fact, a lot of scenes from the Lizzie McGuire movie were shot in Tivoli... Yes, I'm looking at you millenials.

I had arrived in Tivoli early so I headed to Parco Villa Gregoriana to hike the beautiful trails and take in the stunning waterfalls. The park, located at the feet of the city's ancient acropolis, was commissioned by Pope Gregory XVI in 1835 to rebuild the bed of the Aniene River, which had been damaged by the flood of 1826. I was fortunate to have the time to hike along the paths, take in the grottoes, enjoy the beautiful vegetation and just completely relax to the roar of the waterfalls.

After exploring Villa Gregoriana, I climbed back to the top and met with my guide my experience through Tivoli: Francesco. Francesco is native to Tivoli and is a certified environmental hiking guide. He spends a lot of time exploring nature and has built quite the business as a hiking guide. Follow him on Instagram at @sound_trekking.

Francesco and I drove to the Monte Catillo Nature Reserve where we proceeded to start our hike. Had I done this experience the day I had originally scheduled I would have been joined by other travelers but because I had to reschedule it was just he & I. As we climbed up the hillside trail, Francesco pointed out things like the wild asparagus (which he picked along the way to make a salad with later), the vegetation native to the area and had the most passion about his stunning surroundings. He talked to me about the wild boar/cows in the hillside and how the year before vandals had set fire to the area which destroyed much of the natural elements. When we reached the top of the trail, we looked over the picturesque town of Tivoli: the waterfalls that were created to divert water away from the farm land, where Villa d'Este/Hadrian's Villa were and amazingly the stunning bloomed Cercis Siliquastrum which had the most stunning fuschia-violet tones. Cercis Siliquastrum are also known as the Judas tree, which in Tivoli only bloomed for about 10 days in early spring... how fitting that I was seeing them in full bloom the day before Good Friday.
* They are called the Judas tree because it is reputed that Judas Iscariot (Jesus' traitor) had hung himself from one. These trees are native originally to Israel.

Once we had made our way back down from the hike we walked over to Maneggio Quintillo Primo riding school. I was greeted by crazy geese and an adorable big white dog that kept them in line while Francesco went to grab the owner of the school. Delio was the owner and his son Fabio worked with him at the riding school (I felt like Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun being introduced to these handsome Italian men). They showed me around the grounds and we chatted as much as we could as they struggled to understand my English and me with their Italian. After spending a bit of time around the rustic grounds, they introduced me to my horse that I would ride through the mountain trails and to Sarah (who thankfully spoke English) who would be my riding guide.

On horseback, Sarah led me up the dusty trails and taught me how to maneuver my handsome steed. It was a challenge at first but I eventually got the hang of things. As we rode through the hills Sarah elaborated more to me about the devastating fire that happened just the year before and how Delio, the 74 year old native of Tivoli, worked hard to preserve the area to the best of his ability. Surrounded by wild boar, wild cows and blackened trees, the scenery from atop the horse was incredible. I remembered to let go and allow myself to just be in the moment with this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I was so fortunate to have my own private guide and to meet such warm, inviting people who were so proud of their home here in Tivoli.

Once we made our way back to the riding school after a long journey through the hills, Francesco & his friends greeted me with some wine before taking me back to the train station to go home.

I fell asleep on the train on the way back into Rome after such an adventure filled day and thankfully a woman sitting across from me heard me say something earlier about going to Rome, otherwise I would have been waking up in Naples! haha.

I decided to take it easy and just find a restaurant near my apartment for dinner. Osteria Nuvolari. This ended up being my favorite restaurant in Rome. It was directly across the tiny street from my apartment and I had noticed it every night when walking home. It was modest and not pretentious but was always packed when I would go by. This family-run, rustic-chic trattoria was incredible. The owner would stop by everyone's table being sure everything was enjoyable, his family serving you course after course of delicious food and always open to suggest more for you to eat/drink. I dined on fried artichoke, rigatoni all'amatriciana, saltimbocca alla romana and the most delicious dessert of affogato.

Day 7

This was my final day in Rome so I decided to just keep it easy. On a previous trip to Italy I had gotten a recommendation to a tattoo artist who I went to and got a great tattoo of a compass on my inner forearm so I decided I'd pay him a visit again. Gianluca Luzi is such a nice guy and runs a very clean, small tattoo shop (Ink of Rome Tattoo Shop) not too far from the Vatican. He was so excited that I had returned and patted himself on the back that my previous tattoo aged so well. This time he did a great tattoo down the outer part of my other forearm of my birth date in Roman numerals: XIII III MCMLXXXIX.

From Ink of Rome, I popped over to Machete Capelli & Barba which is a great little barbershop in the same neighbourhood to get my hair cleaned up before I departed for Lisbon.

The rest of this day was just spent picking up last minute souvenirs, a little shopping for myself and getting everything ready for the next leg of my trip.


I'll always love Rome and I know I will be back again & again, because it totally has my heart. Vini, vidi, vici.