Our flat near the Vatican and eating our way through Rome

We arrived in Rome by train from Florence. I really was dreading arriving at Roma Termini, Rome's Central Train Station, because I know from experience that this is the hunting ground of the gypsies looking for distracted travelers to rob. When we went to Rome 13 years ago, we saw a group of gypsies carrying a baby and a cardboard asking for alms, they would bump into travelers in business jackets, stick their cardboard inside the jacket because they are jostled by the crowd, then they'd bring it out already with the poor man's wallet with the victim none the wiser, probably because the gypsy was carrying a baby. We would warn the everyone in our group in our local language "Magnanakaw yan (She's a thief!)! Don't go near them."

It's a good thing arriving at Roma Termini this trip was pretty painless. As soon as we got off at the platform, we just walked straight for the taxi stand and we took two cabs to get to our apartment near the Vatican because we couldn't fit in one cab with all our luggage. The cabbie we got was very nice. He charged us 15euros (the website says that the approximate cab fare was around 12.5euros but we had to pay 1euro each for luggage), but the cabbie our other friends got ripped them off. They left earlier, arrived later and was charged 24euros even if their meter showed only 17euros. So beware, it's best to use the maps app of your phone if you have connection just to make sure you're not taken for a ride- literally. 

We were so happy with our flat.
Nice old building in a great location.

But the best thing was it came with a lift!!!

A Ferrari lift, no less.

I couldn't resist taking a picture in the lift.

This is our landlord Gian Carlo, with his friend and
their dog, trying to sort out the wifi.
The flat was still being cleaned when we arrived.

When you enter, there's a big hallway with a door on the left leading
to the living room, then there's a partitioned area with 1 bedroom
and 1 bathroom. I think you may be able to rent it separately.

The living room has a couch, this table and
a TV we never used.

It also has a great view.

The partitioned bedroom has a double bed and two extra beds.
The wooden slats of the extra beds were sort of falling apart.
You fall through the bed if you sit on one of the weak spots! 

The first door on the right leads to the kitchen.
It was quite big but we didn't really use it.

Then the second door leads to the Master's bedroom.
It was our turn to call dibs so Tim and I took this room.

The master's bedroom has it's own bathroom.
It was pretty basic but very welcome since we were
already a group of six, sharing one flat.

Once everything was settled, we decided to go down for the first order of business, we needed to get some food!

It was actually spring on our street! Yay!

We ate at the Pizzeria on the ground floor because it was recommended
by the previous tenant.

The crusty bread and bread sticks were yummy.

I ordered Mushroom and Truffle pasta.

The servings were so big, I could only eat half.

Tim had pasta and a steak as his second course.

Welcome to Italy, Jill!

Since we were so near the Vatican and it was Good Friday, we decided to do the Vatican first then catch the Papal Mass at 5:00pm afterwards.

Surprisingly, there was no line to enter the
Vatican Museum.

Since Tim and I have been before,
while the others were looking for the new Pope,
we were shopping for the new Pope.

I even uncovered the Rosary Scam.

Working in the FMCG industry, I know that any change in packaging, slight or otherwise, requires careful planning with what to do with our old packs, so that they don't become waste. I didn't realize that the same is true for religious articles as well. But in hindsight, I realized that there was no warning that Pope John Paul II would pass away, or that Pope Benedict would resign, so there was no way that the stores could prepare for the new Pope merchandise. There was more stock of Pope Benedict rosaries and prayer cards in the souvenir stores than of Pope Francis given that Pope Francis has just recently been appointed. Obviously, it's much easier and faster to produce paper merchandising than anything else because we already saw a lot of rosaries with the face of Pope Francis (see picture above). Some even have different price tiers claiming that the ones made in China are 1euro, but the one made in Italy costs much more. But wherever it's from, the suspicious thing is that all the rosary cases are sealed. Out of boredom and curiosity, I found a slightly open one that we looked at in detail, and we discovered that the medal on the rosary is the face of Pope Benedict. I think it's such a scam that they changed the face in the cover to the new pope to convince you to buy it (then they seal it), when you're actually buying a rosary with the old Pope. I even asked the Filipino staff in one of the souvenir stores if I could open it and she allowed me, then I played dumb and I asked, who's that on the rosary? Is it also Pope Francis? Turns out the one we opened was Pope John Paul II. Hahahaha. Scam scam scam!!! I guess they didn't manage to pass him off as Pope Benedict. So when I was shopping, I just made sure I didn't buy the rosaries with anyone's face on it.

I was very happy when we found medals with the
face of the new pope so that's what I bought
for some of my friends instead.

After shopping in every souvenir store from this
corner of the Vatican to St. Peter's Square,
we decided to rest and have coffee.

Our favorite thing to do on this trip,
was to sit in cafes and do nothing.

My nth cup of cappuccino.

For someone who says he doesn't drink coffee,
Tim sure drank a lot of espresso.

After our friends were done with the museum, we headed to St. Peter's Square.

When we arrived the Mass had already started. We weren't able to get
 tickets to the Papal Mass so we just watched from the square.

I just perched myself on one of the cement thingies.

This priest celebrating the mass was very handsome.

This was the closest I got to the Pope.

The Papal Mass was so long, they were turning
on the lights because it was starting to get dark.

It was hard to pay attention because the mass
was in Italian.

I am guessing this was offertory or communion.

Group picture before it got dark.

The final blessing.

When it started to get dark, it also became really cold.

The mass ended two hours after it started.

After the mass ended, we walked on via Ottaviano which was parallel to via Leone IV where our flat was located so we could find a place to eat.

We ended up at Vito e Dina's Osteria Pizzeria
which we found in one of the side streets.
It was family run with Vito in the Kitchen,
Dina at the front of house, and their kids serving.

I ordered this large steak because I couldn't eat any more carbs
and I was starving.

I didn't realize steak was really good with lemon,
which is how the serve it in Rome.

The other peculiar thing about Rome Restaurants is you get a
manual addition of your bill you can't really make heads or tails of.

When we left, we were already fast friends with
Vito.

If you find yourself in the area and want a hearty meal,
here are the directions to Vito and Dina.

The next day, the group wanted to go to the Colliseo, but since I've already been, wanted to look for the Nespresso store that I thought was just a block away, I decided to just meet up with them after. Kim and I didn't find the Nespresso store, but we discovered a really cozy cafe that the locals frequented instead.

We just stumbled on Forno Feliziani by coincidence
because it doesn't look like much from the street.

Inside it's a different story. All the fresh bead and cozy interior,
plus the hustle and bustle of the locals made us want to try it.

I was so overwhelmed by the options I
just ordered a palmier and a cappuccino.

Check out the long pizza the lady is handling.

If you want to eat at the cafe, you just show the cashier what you got.
then he'll tell you to just sit down because you can pay after you eat.

I chose to sit in this cozy nook with the clear table
and velvet chairs.
My breakfast was only 2 euros. 1 for the palmier
and 1 for the cappuccino. It was really good value.

Kim got this Panizza meets Panini that was also
really good. The interesting bit is like the bread,
they sell this by weight.
This chunk was 1.90euro. Also a steal!

The crust was so thin, inside there was thin slices of beef coldcuts,
arugula and what I think is Parmesan cheese.
I ate a third of this, and half the palmier and I was really full.

If you're visiting the Vatican, plan to have a meal at Forno Feliziani on Via Candia. It's just a block away from the Vatican's walls and the food is so much better (and cheaper) than the tourist trap snack carts strategically located where people are lining up to enter the Vatican Museum.

After breakfast, Kim and I decided to take the Metro to do our kind
of sightseeing.

We went directly to Piazza Spagna.

Beside it is the store where my love affair with
Furla started 13 years ago.
I swear, it was love at first sight.

Then we went directly to explore the sights
(fine! I mean Stores!) of Via dei Condotti

We didn't really buy anything,
so we just found a nice place to have lunch in instead.

at Osteria della Vite on Via della Vite 
very near Via dei Condotti and the Spanish Steps

Kim and I ordered Parma Ham and Melon salad to share

The combination is also good with arugula.

Then we also ordered an Anchovy Pizza.

Since there was no way I could eat half,
I focused on the slices with the biggest anchovy chunks. Yummy.

The meal was even better with Coke Zero!

And of course, Kim also had to try their tiramisu,
but I don't think it was anything special.

After lunch, it started to rain!!! It's a good thing by then, it was already time to meet our friends in Prada.

Waiting for the rain to stop in Prada.

Prada has one of the best views of the Spanish Steps.

Even the horses have raincoats.

The girls in front of the Spanish Steps.

It's a good thing the rain stopped, so we were able
to walk to Fontana di Trevi.

I couldn't not have a picture with Jill! :)

I think Lysch and I were the most kuripot.

I was only willing to throw in my smallest (ie 1) centimes.

There were so many people, I was a bit scared of getting pick-pocketed
just because I wanted to give my two cents - pardon the pun. 

In front of the fountain with Diana.

It's so much less stressful to get your picture taken
from the top.

After taking all our touristy photos by the fontana, we made our way to the Berberini Metro stop, keeping our eyes open for somewhere to eat because by this time, our friends who have only had one meal were already starving.

Unfortunately, we made the mistake of choosing the most over-priced tourist trap with the worst food in the entire country! I swear, I didn't think bad food in Italy was possible, but this place really proved me wrong.

Learn from our mistake and don't go to Ristorante La Tavernetta on
Via Sistina 147 (very near the Berberini Metro).

Don't be fooled by articles like this.

At first I thought their dessert selection looked promising.

They even had a leg of ham.

But things got really suspicious when the first thing they served was the risotto and the pasta. Even before they served the Tomato and Mozarella salad. Tim and Lysch said their food was so bad it was obviously reheated.

I ordered this cake (by pointing it from the picture on my camera).
They tried to serve me something else (I bet it was pricier).
Anyway, they still got the better of me because when the bill came,
they charged me 10euros for this - with all the wilted strawberries!!!
When the most expensive dessert on the menu was only 7euros.

The last thing served was my Cappuccino.
It was telling when they waiter said "Here's you FRESH Cappuccino"
I am assuming he just confirmed everything else wasn't!

Even if my friends were starving. They left all their food.
It was that bad. Not even hunger could make it better.

At least we were able to celebrate Jem's birthday!

In addition to the place being more expensive per dish, they also charge you a cover charge (standard in most of the restaurants that serve bread, there normally is no cover charge if you have to order the bread), and on top of that they also charge you 10% for service charge (not standard at all. normally, other restaurants include this in the price of the dishes!). Can you imagine I paid close to 20 euros for Jem's birthday cake that I ate and my cappuccino? The strawberries were so pale, it was highway robbery!!!

Don't just take my work for it. Check out their reviews on TripAdvisor here.

We wanted to have better food for dinner so we attempted to go back to Forno Feliziani since it was just a block away from where we lived. Unfortunately, the're closed for dinner so we just went to the restaurant across the street with a line and a TripAdvisor sticker.

We ended up on Il Bersagliere also on Via Candia

While waiting in line, we could see the artichokes.

Fresh Mozzarella

I think I reached the point of our trip where I could no longer eat any, pizza, pasta, risotto or steak.

We ordered one fried artichoke since it's a specialty of Rome,
just so everyone could try it. It was very good.

It's a good think I wasn't hungry because I just ordered Bruschetta.
 Something I haven't ordered yet this trip. Yummy.

The others ordered Pizza and Pasta to share.
This one with arugula, parma ham and shaved Parmesan looks good.

We left very early the next day because the rest of my friends had to catch an earlier flight to Switzerland, and we caught the changeover to Daylight Savings Time so we left at 6:30am (which was really just 5:30am if no change happened). 

One of the things I am most thankful for on this trip
was really the lift! Thank you, God!

This is the ever responsible Tim, checking to see
if he left his passport before we locked ourselves out.

Since I arrived early at the airport, I attempted to do the stamping for the Tax Refund from all my shopping. However, they won't stamp your forms until you've actually checked in to the flight and have your boarding pass so I had to kill more time.

I had this Espresso with Whipped Cream
concoction at the airport and it was pretty good.
Not quite Affogato but close.

Then I ordered another Happy Meal from McDonald's
with a McToasty so Sofia could have the toy.

I flew home on Easter Sunday, so we all got a chocolate Easter egg.

So this post ends my Easter Holiday trilogy. You can read the first part on Paris here, the bonus chapter on Pisa here, and the second part on Florence here. Now, if only I earned more money I could do this more often, I have already admitted that spending less is not something I can do. When I was travelling all I could think of was how unsustainable this type of lifestyle is to do on a yearly basis (hahaha, I know, I can dream!) - and to think I didn't even bring Sofia, or buy the bag that's the same price as a car. It just means that I should really move to Paris, so going to Italy would just be like going to Baguio, and Europe would be our playground. just saying.