HONEYMOON PART 2

For the second half of our honeymoon, we made our way to Italy to visit both Rome and Florence. I’ll be sharing about our time in Rome first.

I took a day trip to Rome when I studied abroad in Florence, but visiting was at the top of Zack’s bucket list, and I was excited to return and show him some of my favorite places, as well as discover new things together.

3 DAYS IN ROME

DAY 1
We left London bright and early for our flight to Rome. One plane, one train, and a few blocks of walking, and we had arrived at our hotel. With no specific plans for the evening, we decided to take a stroll towards the Colosseum. This was one of the top attractions Zack wanted to see, and we thought it would be the perfect start to our visit. It was beautiful to see it lit up at night.

Before we headed back to the hotel, we grab dinner at a little restaurant called Gallo Matto (sharing more details in my food guide below – but it was delish).

DAY 2
We headed back to the Colosseum for a self-guided tour through the inside, then made our way through the ruins of the Roman Forum.

At this point, it was lunch time, and we found the perfect spot to sit back and relax with a bottle of wine and some pasta – it was the cutest little table on a balcony above the street with the perfect view of the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II.

Once we were happy and full, we spent the afternoon wandering the streets to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and of course, made a stop for some gelato.

That evening we had a really unique dinner planned. We booked the experience through a company called Bonappetour where you basically go eat dinner at the home of a professional chef. It ended up being one of our favorite parts of the entire trip. (All the details are in my food guide below.)

DAY 3
On our final day, we visited the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica. The artwork and architecture is pretty amazing, but the cherry on top is definitely seeing the Sistine Chapel.

We spent the rest of our afternoon enjoying our last hours in the city: grabbed one more gelato, had a FANTASIC last meal, and even stopped by the Colosseum one more time (because it’s just so incredible).

FOOD GUIDE

Italian food calls to me. Pastas, pizzas, bruschetta, risotto, gelato, wine. . .what’s not to love? My biggest tip: ask the servers for their recommendations when it comes to the food and wine, and you won’t be disappointed. I think we did this at every meal. Highlighting some of our favorite meals and restaurants below:

Gallo Matto
We actually ended up eating here twice because we fell in love with the food and atmosphere. On our first night in Rome, we sat down here and shared a bottle of wine with bruschetta and a couple pizzas. We chose a traditional margherita pizza and went with a recommendation for the second. Capricciosa: tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, ham, artichoke, olives, and a boiled egg! We were a little skeptical about the egg but it was seriously one of our favorite dishes on the trip! Then for dessert we shared tiramisu.

We ate here again for our final meal and again, ordered a bottle of wine and bruschetta, but switched things up for the main course and shared a chicken ravioli dish as well as cheesy tortelinni (both by recommendation). And since it was out last night, we went BIG for dessert and ordered a lemon cake AND tiramisu. . .AND some limoncello. When in Rome. . .

Cin Cin Bar
We loved our lunch here. Situated on a little balcony overlooking the street below – another meal of wine, bruschetta, a capricciosa pizza, and a pasta dish with ricotta, pistachios, and pancetta.

Gelato
We had our fair share, despite the cold weather. Here are our faves:
• Della Palma // over 100 flavors to choose from
• Captain Cono // recommended by our Bonappetour hosts

Bonappetour
This was an unforgettable experience – It was a 5 course meal cooked by our host, Alessandro, and we pretty much gave him the freedom to cook us whatever meal he pleased.

First Course: Zuppa Toscana (a soup with black cabbage, beans, and pancetta)
Second Course: Pennette alla Vodka ( pasta in a homemade vodka sauce)
Third and Fourth Course: Pollo All’arancia and Insalata Finocchi E Arance (served together, this was a chicken dish paired with fennel + orange salad)
Fifth Course: Crostata Ricotta e Cioccocata (a ricotta tart with chocolate)

Plus, Alessandro is a wine sommelier so he had the perfect wine to go with our meal, AND we finished the night with a small glass of his homemade limoncello. One final shout out to our hosts, Alessandro and Elena. They were so welcoming, and we had an absolute blast.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I love Italy. . .all of it. It was great to have the opportunity to visit again, and I hope I’ll have many more visits in the future. The food (and wine) are just. . .too yummy. And the sights are pretty spectacular too.

HONEYMOON PART 1: LONDON
HONEYMOON PART 3: FLORENCE

– Courtney