Design & Lifestyle Blog

During July I got the chance to visit one of the most charming cities of the world, Rome in Italy. Although many people take it as more of a religious/ historical city, I found it amusing and rich in every way, street, and aspect. This is not the first time I’ve been there, yet it was the first time I had the chance to actually explore it and enjoy its food and architecture, not to mention the great shopping. Since I was snapping photos of almost everything with my iPhone, I found it hard to upload every single one, that’s why I compiled collages to summarize my trip. The collage above has photos of St. Peter’s, The Vatican, the famous Trevi fountain, I had to insert a photo of the tastiest gelato I ever had, it was from San Pietro next to the Vatican.

Blanko was the first place we tried in Rome, it was actually my first meal there. Out of my whole Italy trip, they had the best pasta dish, the Ravioli was so fresh and light I loved it.

The above collage is of the shopping areas, the Spanish steps, where all the famous brands have shops. I went there almost everyday to make sure I didn’t miss out on anything, loved the shopping there!

I found the imitation bags very funny, they were everywhere, the cool thing is that you can spot the difference from a 10 meter distance, they have nothing to do with the originals, the monograms are actually of stars.

You might wonder what is a thick juicy fillet doing in the center of the collage, well it was the best meal I had during my entire trip, not that there was anything I didn’t like. I actually consider myself lucky that I didn’t have any bad experiences. That veal fillet (with wild berries served with cherry vinegar and sour asparagus), my friends, is by chef Gaetano Costa who owns a restaurant on via Sicilia, I actually went to the place after great reviews I found on tripadvisor. The décor looks so out of place, every restaurant in Rome has some history in it, this place however was extremely modern and housed a lot of artwork, apparently part of the function of the restaurant. It’s not huge and houses around 55 people. My take was that it was too open, meaning everyone was looking at everyone else, which was a bit inconvenient. The service was amazing, the best part, was although we just ordered the fillet, the chef smothered us with mini surprises whether appetizers, biscotti, and various treats to try out, all were amazing. I definitely recommend it if you want a “non-Rome” experience yet amazing food in Rome.

One of the “Must-go-to”  places in Rome is the Trastevere area. This area resembles to a great degree “Gemayze” in Lebanon. It’s a pedestrian only area with cafes, restaurants, and pubs everywhere. Good food, nice atmosphere, its also a nice walk if the weather is nice. It lies on the west bank of the Tiber, and is known for its nightlife. We were looking for a specific restaurant we saw reviews of but to our luck they close on Tuesdays (who would have guessed?), instead we headed to one of the most crowded pizzerias: Margherita. Its not any fancy place, on the contrary very down to earth full of people from all ages and walk of life. Good food, not –so-good wine, but we were starving. The Nutella pizza was a good finish especially after we walked for so long before we decided where to dine.

Above is a glimpse of the shops found at Via Dei Condotti which is at the Spanish steps, luxury at its best.And I won’t keep anything from you, but I did my part of shopping

I was never an icecream person till I visited Italy this summer. The Gelato is addictive, the flavors are amazing, the photos can explain it all.

The images in this photo are of various cultural places, churches, and museums which are a must when visiting Rome.

La Scala was the closest place to our hotel, for one reason or the other we kept putting off going there until we had our last meal in Rome there. I seriously don’t know if it was the overall ambience, or the food was that good, I can only say it was a great meal, good service, nice setting, private, and the weather that evening was beautiful after suffering from the heat during our first few days.

Rome was beautiful and I would definitely go again and again, the people were very friendly and helpful, the food was great and made from the finest and freshest ingredients, allover lovely experience away from everyday stresses. The last collage is of the views on our way from Rome to Milan. Milan is different, more realistic, expect a post on Milan soon.

Before leaving you with this post, I thought I’d take you on a breathtaking, jaw-dropping tour of Rome  with this video that will leave you speechless, a video for the Lamborghini Aventador… you can thank me later, enjoy Rome…