As vacation destinations go, Italy is up there with the very best. I never tire of this beautiful country, its friendly people, its great food and wine, its music and culture, its fascinating history. Experience the place just once, and you are clamoring to go back for more.
Recently I had the opportunity to go back for
more as a Wimco agent charged with meeting some of our local European
contacts and viewing villas in Tuscany. Of course, my personal
list of things to do was well-padded with restaurants and cuisine. This trip
occurred during the latter two weeks of April.
Off to Italy
I boarded an Alitalia jumbo jet at Boston’s Logan airport bound for Rome by
way of a connection through Milan. The flight was smooth and upon my arrival
I enjoyed a 40-minute taxi ride to the
Hotel Condotti just one street from
the Spanish Steps. Fellow Wimco employee Nathalie and I would stay at the
Condotti for the next two nights, savoring Rome while paying visits to the
Hotel Sofitel and a selection of apartments.
The Condotti is a splendid small hotel with a cozy lobby and clean, comfortable accommodations. A number of rooms open up onto balconies that overlook adjacent rooftops and back streets. For a weary traveler, it is a welcome place to decompress after a lengthy trip, and if your appetite is up, it is within striking distance of some really memorable eating spots.
In a recent edition of Bon Appétit magazine I had read about a pizzeria called Dar Poeta on Vicolo del Bologna in the Trastevere district of Rome. Trastevere is a picturesque medieval borough located on the west bank of the Tiber. Dar Poeta happens to be a local favorite, and I can understand why. We ordered the four-cheese, salmon and arugala pizza and followed it with tiramisu, arguably the best tiramisu of our trip!
The next day we toured the Coliseum before going
to the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica. Given the passing of Pope John Paul
II only two weeks before, the place was packed and naturally very solemn.
The cardinals were there for the selection of the new Pope, and music filled
the air. The scene was moving.
Following a lunch of salmon penne and linguine carbonara at La Locanda del
Borgo five minutes from the Vatican, we went to the Forum for a look, then
to Piazza Navona—a lively place surrounded by open-air cafés—and finally
back to the Condotti. We made the most of the evening without having to
venture more than a block or two from the hotel. First we took in a cocktail
at Shaks, a trendy little café two doors down, and then we walked over to
Ristorante 34 adjacent to the Condotti, a busy restaurant in the classic
Roman style with fabulous food and a terrific dose of local atmosphere. The
garlic mushroom polenta is beyond description.
Continued
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