Sabbatikos

We awoke to a bustling and busy Rome, a city already teeming with activity by mid-morning. Our day began with a rendezvous with a private guide who met us at our hotel to lead us on a half-day tour of the ancient archaeological core of Imperial Rome. Though we had walked these sites before, this time we were not wandering aimlessly; we were touring with a knowledgeable guide who brought ancient Rome back to life for us.

Our guide knew a little-used entrance to the Roman Forum, so we got in quickly and early before the crowds. The Forum unfolded before us like the Appian Way, nestled in the valley framed by three of Rome’s legendary seven hills: Palatine, Quirinale, and Capitolium. With our guide’s narration, the ruins rose from remnants to their former glory. We strolled past the pulpit where Mark Antony once spoke over Caesar’s lifeless body, saw the modest ruins marking Caesar’s burial site, the House of the Vestal Virgins (dutiful in keeping Vesta’s sacred fires lit and remaining chaste, lest they be buried alive!) and the Miliarium Aureum, from which all distances in the Roman Empire were once measured, making it the center of the world.

Just up and over the hill, down the Via Sacra, the Colosseum awaited. We had been before, but it is one thing to visit a site of history and quite another to be guided through its story. With our questions poised and answered, we explored the layers of history within this awe-inspiring UNESCO site. I had just watched Gladiator II on the flight over to get excited for our Colosseum encounter, but nothing compares to stepping onto the Colosseum’s edge and imagining the roar of 80,000 spectators, pining for spectacle, while emperors gave them “panem et circenses” (bread and circuses) to keep their population pacified (tickets to the Colosseum were free to citizens and slaves alike). The crowd was thick and heavy, a mass of tourists, no doubt heightened by the Jubilee year and the transition within the papacy.

In the afternoon, we paused back at our hotel to recharge before seeking out lunch in Trastevere. We returned to where we had kicked off our visit with a food tour a few nights earlier. At Tonnarello Castilo (a Roman classic since 1876!) we dug into heaping bowls of pasta, pizza, and drinks that somehow still felt like a spontaneous and new restaurant discovery, despite the crowds and waiting in line across the street for a table. The food was great and that focaccia was unforgettable!

Fueled by carbs and curiosity, we popped into Radiation Records where we snagged a dozen Italian ‘45s from the ‘70s for our jukebox back home. Gelato followed at the same spot as before, Otaleg. Then we took a leisurely sun-dappled stroll from Trastevere to Piazza Navona. On the way we stumbled upon Gran Café Marcel (recently anointed by a TikTok influencer, a line out the door now to meet Marcel and his quaint paintings of cats and Roman alleyways and piazzas). We visited another Santa Maria Novella and after further sniffing Clara chose her fragrance. We stopped at every church we passed to check out the interior along the way to Piazza Navona and saw Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers and Neptune’s Fountain.

We took a quiet drink on a cobbled side street that gave us a moment of calm before the skies let fall a few drops on us, ushering us into back-alley boutiques, antique stores and oddball shops.

As evening approached, we wandered to Castel Sant’Angelo. Rays of “Jesus light” like angelic spotlights came through the clouds on St. Peter’s Basilica and the golden light reflected off the Tiber, and onto the fortress and bridge of statues. It was a beautiful evening.

Dinner brought us full circle to a decade ago, during the last Rome riots, when Osteria del Pegno ignored alcohol bans and anti-smoking laws and served us like we were family. Today, there were prominent no-smoking signs in the dinning room, and better cameras for dim lighting, so we could get pictures this time. While the staff was largely the same, it seemed younger family members were helping out, preparing to carry on this dining tradition for the next generation .The charm, and the gnocchi, was even better than we remembered. We’ll be back again ten years from now.

Stuffed with food and memories, both new and old, we set off on foot from Piazza Navona, dragging a newly purchased suitcase I had picked up after dinner (a necessity thanks to our souvenir spree) past the Trevi Fountain. Tonight, the iconic monument pulsed with light from a full-blown laser show and thumping party music, part Jubilee, part disco, and seemingly sponsored by the 2025 Italian Open, which was taking place during our visit. We elbowed our way through the crowd, coins in hand, ready to toss them into the fountain to guarantee our return to Rome one day. One may have bounced off the fountain, another off someone’s head, but ultimately, we secured our prophetic return.

Our feet were aching. We had walked nearly six miles from Trastevere to Piazza Navona, to the Trevi Fountain, and finally back to our hotel. That didn’t even include the miles we covered earlier exploring the Forum and the Colosseum. By the end of the day, we had logged over 22,000 steps!

We were more than ready for a break from walking, and thankfully, tomorrow we’d be trading cobblestones for coastline as we traveled to Dubrovnik, Croatia.

But tonight we had Rome. Eternal in our hearts, and definitely in our feet.