Both of us have friends who have either lived in or visited Rome, and who seem to love and to know the city well. To help in our journey toward world domination, Brendan Fung and Reed Tsuda wrote down some pointers -- mostly "do's," with a couple of "don't's" -- that may guide us during our semester abroad.
Brendan’s Comprehensive Guide to Living Well in Europe
1.
YOLO. Yeah, the phrase is obnoxious as shit and well past it’s
prime, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Do anything and everything you
want while abroad, cause it’s probably never going to happen again.
2.
Mo money mo fun. Expect to come back to the United
States with $0 in your bank account. Saving money and being an old fart can
wait another couple years. For now, splurge on that delicious meal in Barcelona
instead of McDonalds and buy that ticket to see Avicii tear up Rome, or you’ll
regret it.
3.
Plan your trips ASAP. Sit down in the first few weeks and
map out the semester. Buy plane/train/bus tickets with a roommate and people
will follow. This way, the cost is significantly less and guarantees that you
won’t flake out on a cool experience.
*Cheap airlines are RyanAir and EasyJet. A piece of advice:
when you think the plane is going down, relax. That’s part of their business
model.
With that being said, I was given the opportunity to see so
many cities and countries over the spring semester in Rome and summer in
London. Here’s what I gotta say:
1. Rome aka Roma aka City of fucking champs
aka number 1 son
Ok, maybe I’m biased on this one, but this city is unlike
any other in the world. It has immense amounts of history, art, food,
and partying shoved into cobblestone street corners, sprawling parks, and seven
famous hills.
Things to do:
Colosseum, Roman Forum, Capitoline Hill and Museum –
classic must see
Vatican City, Saint Peter’s Basilica (climb to the top), and
Vatican Museum – again, must see
Pantheon - definitely go here around evening
when the piazza is filled with young people drinking wine and messing around
Trevi Fountain – The best time to go here is at night
when no one is around and the fountain is lit
Spanish Steps – PASS.
These are steps and that is all. No history, just a lot of gypsies
Villa Borghese – hands down my favorite museum (it’s
actually a personal collection) in all of Europe. Look into getting tickets in
advance, because they only let in 400 people per day
Gianicolo Hill - Climb to the top and get the best
view of Rome. Bottles of wine and paninis encouraged.
Villa Doria Pamphili – explore back to
front. It’s the largest public park in Italy and was our favorite place to hang
out on a sunny day (Sam, this is the place to go running). I think I undersold
this place, but go and get incredibly overwhelmed with awesomeness.
Capuchin Crypt – if you have time, visit this old
crypt made out of the bones of dead monks. It’s really eerie but cool.
*Side note: from here on out I will refer to a place called
Trastevere. It is an area of Rome south of the river, on the same side as the
Vatican. It is BY FAR the best place to explore Rome outside of the main
attractions and has the best food and bars. GO THERE OFTEN.
Food:
This is about as self-explanatory as it gets. Food anywhere
in Rome is going to be insanely good and you probably won’t go wrong. But,
these were my all time favorites.
Toni’s Ristorante in Trastevere – absolutely
my number one favorite. I went here probably close to 20 times while abroad,
taking friends who were visiting and even the Fung clan. Tony is the man, loves
American college students and will more likely than not give you free bottles
of wine at dinner.
Pizzeria Ai Marmi on Via Trastevere –
wood fired pizza, cheap wine, awesome atmosphere...this place is the bomb.com
and my favorite zza in Rome. The place is always packed but they move you in
and out quickly so getting a table is no problem. Also, there is no name on the
door of the restaurant so it’s easy to miss, but don’t give up looking.
La Boccaccia – this is your literal whole in the
wall-mouth watering-I jizzed-pizza place. Again located in Trastevere, it can
only be found by its signature glass door and is great for grabbing a slice and
walking around Trastevere. Find it and enjoy around 12 different varieties of
incredible flatbread pizza. I took Papa John here and he went back for thirds.
Apertivo – This isn’t a restaurant but more of
a concept that a lot of bars take advantage of. Around 4 or 5 pm, bars and
restaurants will have apertivo (essentially, appetizers or ‘tapas’), which is 5
euro buffet style all you can eat and usually a free or very cheap drink. Definitely
an inexpensive and delicious way to get a wide variety of food.
Did I already mention Toni’s? Ok, just driving the point
home.
Going
out:
-As I already said, Trastevere is definitely the best place
to go out at night. It has very authentic Italian bars with great locals. But,
there are alternatives.
G-Bar – where to begin with G-bar. This was
my local watering hole while abroad and encompasses a little bar and a little
club action. It’s small and located in the heart of Trastevere and is usually
packed with American college students. (disclaimer: things can get weird
here...so go)
Harry Potter Bar – This isn’t actually the real name of
the bar, but it is right next door to G-Bar and will be a great reprise from
the crowd or just a place to get shot wasted before going out. Try the “Harry
Potter” shot and make a friend take the “Dragon’s Breath” or “Ron Weasley”
shot. Also available, “Hermoine Granger,” “Voldemort,” and “Hagrid.” Accio wasted.
Piazza Campo de Fiori – This is
essentially your main American college hangout. About 6 or 7 bars surround a
piazza that is packed with young people circulating the bars. It always fun, so
if you are an out-of-towner, definitely go here for a night. If you are living
in Rome, don’t get your hopes up because ‘it gets old’ is an understatement.
A general warning about clubs: you must be able to make large tradeoffs for the night to work.
Number one rule, get absolutely smashed before going because a) the drinks cost
a ton of money and b) you will want to be blackout to let the griminess go
unnoticed. With that being said, club nights have been some of the most entertaining
and fun nights of my life.
No one club is “better” than the other. Where you go will
depend mostly on the night of the week.
La Maison – mostly Italians, but also my most frequently
visited
Shari Vari – mostly Americans and has a “guest
list” so contact a club promoter beforehand to get on the list. I only went a
few times and it was a blast...but it was also Paige’s favorite club so that
has to say something.
Gilda – eh, but popular for some
Testaccio - this is an area with a bunch of clubs.
I was never a fan, but again popular for a lot of people I knew
I miss this place like crazy, so take advantage of what it
has to offer.
2. Florence aka Firenze aka a lesser Rome
This was my first trip out of Rome, so I had little
experience in the ways of wanderlust.
Where
I stayed:
Eurostudent Home: DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOSTEL. It was owned by
a crackhead. Or I guess, do stay here if you want that “living on the edge...of
literal life” vibe.
Things
to do:
Duomo – a lot of people climb to the top of
this, but I didn’t think anything special of it. For a better view, which
includes the Duomo, go to Piazza Michelangelo
Piazza Michelangelo – this is a hike, but is absolutely
worth it. Buy some wine and snacks and head to the top, where you will
undoubtedly get the best panorama of Florence.
Michelangelo’s David – if you haven’t
seen this before, I GUESS you should go. I was immeasurably underwhelmed by the
statue and thought it was a waste of time and money.
Ponte Vecchio - the famous covered bridge. And
that’s it.
Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens –
we skipped the palace and just went to the gardens, which were very cool. They
are huge and intricate with smaller “summer homes” and drip castle sand caves.
Food:
I don’t know, but it’s not as good as Rome.
Going
out:
Well there are like 5 bars in all of Florence, so try those.
The only place I can remember by name is a club called Space. It was
ridiculous: gogo dancers, three floors, a drink card that costs 50 euros if you
lose it, etc. (so don’t lose the drink card).
***Places
Brendan Visited***
Spring
Semester:
Florence, Italy
Krakow, Poland
Paris, France
Prague, Czech Republic
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Barcelona, Spain
Brussels, Belgium
Morocco
Sorrento, Italy
Cinque Terre, Italy
Munich, Germany
Summer:
London, England
Dublin, Ireland
Edinburgh, Scotland
Barce, Spain (again)
Rhodes, Greece
Reed Tsuda (Almost like Yoda) Says:
Please just message me whenever you have any questions about
traveling in Italy; whether it's what to see, where to eat, where to go etc.
This is just a short guide so I don't overwhelm you all at once.
ROME
Restaurants:
Restaurant "433" - is a great cuz of
it's lunch and wine specials! Located near Piazza Navona, some of the best
arrabbiata i've ever had (but you don't like spicy so you should order
something else haha)
Trastevere
-
This is a neighborhood where Italians live. Go across the Tiber river (il
Tevere) west-bound and you'll immediately hit the neighborhood. The BEST
AUTHENTIC RESTAURANTS are in this area, not in the city center (il centro).
I'll list some restaurants in Trastevere I really liked
·
"Pizzeria ai Marmi"
in Trastevere is some of the best pizza i've had. The venue is loud, always
crowded, very local, very casual, always busy. Go during dinner time, I'm not
sure if it's open for lunch...
·
"Buchetto"
in Trastevere has the best gnocchi I've EVER HAD and really good vodka sauce
pasta. Small, homely restaurant with a really kind owner
·
"Augusto"
in Trastevere is another very local restaurant (when I say that, I mean that
you usually won't find foreigners). The owner is a hilarious man! When you go
here, you'll try to order something from the menu, but he'll tell you to order
something else. Food is delicious and the menu changes depending on the season!
Of course, food in Italy is just delicious in general, these
are just some of my favorite restaurants in Italy that are well priced and well
worth it.
Gelato:
In Rome, the famous Gelateria is called “Giolitti,”
located north of the Pantheon and west of the Trevi fountain (you’ll get used
to navigating the city by its landmarks) It’s one of the better ones, but my
personal favorite is “Frigidarium,” which is near Piazza Navona. At
Frigidarium, you can dip your gelato in dark or while chocolate so that it’s
coated; molto delizioso!
Nightlife:
Nightlife starts at 1 a.m. so don’t go out before then!
·
“Testaccio” is an area where it’s just
a row of 20 or so clubs and bars. That place gets crazy.
·
“La Maison,”
also near Piazza Navona, is another place I really like, a little more classy
than Testaccio.
·
“Scholars”
is the Irish pub that all the Americans go to…so if you miss Americans, they
are here haha. There’s karaoke there
For drinks in general, try a caipiroska or caipirinha;
they’re really good! You can also order absinthe shots lol, but those don’t
taste good…
Sites:
…there are too many in Rome. It’s overwhelmingly beautiful.
Of course you’ll go to the main ones like the:
·
Colosseum,
·
Trevi fountain,
·
Spanish Steps,
·
Pantheon,
·
Roman Forum,
·
St. Peter’s,
·
The Vatican Museums.
But be sure to visit the smaller sites too.
Some of my favorite smaller ones are:
·
Il Gesu
(the most beautiful church minus St. Peter’s),
·
Piazza Navona,
·
Villa Borghese
(it’s like central park, there’s also one of the best museums there that you
should book in advance),
·
San Luigi dei Francesi,
·
The Jewish Ghettos,
·
Piazza del Popolo,
·
Palazzo Barnerini,
·
San Carlo Alla Quattro Fontane,
·
Sant’Ignazio,
·
Santa Maria della Vittoria.
There are so much more to see. Just wandering around in
Rome, you’re bound to find something interesting.
If you have time, you should also go to Ostia from
Rome. It’s very nearby, you take a train from the station near the pyramid of cestius
and you get off at Ostia, which is the beach area near Rome. There is an
ancient preserved city there that is in better shape the Pompeii.
That is my shortened (but actually kinda long) guide for
Rome. I have more stuff about other cities, but I’ll keep it to this for now
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