Visiting Rome (during Covid)

"All roads lead to Rome." "Rome wasn't built in a day." "When in Rome, do as the Romans."

This was my fourth visit to Rome. One of the frustrating things about being your own travel agent is that it takes time to learn how to visit a place. When you travel somewhere for the first time, you often make typical tourist mistakes. Eat at mediocre places. Stay in a suboptimal neighborhood. Blunder about timidly.

My first couple visits to Rome were filled with all those rookie mistakes of not knowing how to eat well or even how to spot authentically homemade gelato. After four visits, though, I no longer feel like a novice. Not only am I starting to understand the layout of the city, I am appreciating its rhythms. I am finally beginning to see why the Eternal City is so appealing and so magical.

Of course, it helps to do your homework. Submerging myself in Mary Beard's SPQR and absorbing a variety of other writings and TV shows, I have been learning about the many layers of Roman life and history. My uncle Dean, an Italophile who has spent many months living in Italy, is of the opinion that Rome gives one a glimpse of the real Italy. Cities like Florence and Venice, by contrast, have morphed into Disneyesque tourist sites—beautiful but hardly authentic. While tourism is a major industry in Rome, it's also a busy city filled with hundreds of thousands of ordinary Italians just going about their lives.

If you are someone who likes group tours or cruise-ship excursions, then Rome is the kind of city you can just pop into and check off the famous sites. Colosseum? Check. Sistene Chapel? Check. Spanish Steps? Check. But to truly appreciate and experience Rome, you need to give it more than a fleeting glance.

I'm not sure why I used to be unenthusiastic about Rome, but it wasn't high on my list of places to visit. Perhaps I heard too many stories about pickpockets and "bands of gypsies" who will rob you blind. Or maybe I read stories about the mafia's influence, or city buses that catch fire, or overall tourist traps. Whatever the reasons, I didn't set foot in Rome until 2013. But I have seen the light. Rome is amazing.

In a nutshell, what do I enjoy about Rome? (I'll talk about food & drink and the Vatican in another post.)

What about pillars, buildings and monuments that are 2,000 years old?

Or paintings by Caravaggio visible for free in a church building near the Pantheon?

Regular folks gathering to support various civic groups in support of local elections?

Maybe people walking their dogs?

How about random street scenes?

Or unexpected national gatherings near the Colosseum to celebrate some kind of national guard?

I'm just scratching the surface. In case you're curious, here are a couple miscellaneous observations. This was my first time to stay in the neighborhood of Trastevere. I spent a little time there on my last visit and thought it might make a great location for lodging. And what a great choice! Trastevere makes the city so much more walkable. This little pocket of Rome is filled with great restaurants, shops and wonderful street scenes.

I also discovered Uber as a great help in Rome. Taxis are also handy, too, but Ubers are pretty comforting for non-Italian-speakers like me since you know the exact cost ahead of time. Ubers don't operate all over Italy, and they are heavily regulated where they do. Roman Uber drivers are all professionals who operate at least Uber XL quality of vehicles. It's a bit more expensive than in the States, but the service is outstanding. I prefer walking for most activities, but Ubers are wonderful for longer trips or transporting luggage.

A SoFi debit card is a great tool for traveling. You can withdraw your cash in Rome (or anywhere) at any bank ATM, and SoFi will reimburse out-of-network bank fees for the ATM withdrawal. Just be careful that you use ATMS attached to actual banks as opposed to stand-alone cash machines. I've drawn foreign cash with a debit card for years, and the SoFi card is the best I've used.