What do you do when you meet up with friends?

Drink, eat, chat, and bounce from one sidewalk cafe to another, as the hours disappear along with the sun.  And repeat!

We met up with our good friends John and Jess and for the next four days took fair advantage of aperitivo, the northern Italian version of a cocktail hour where drinks would be served with free snacks, as often as we could.

Followed by amazing wood-fired pizza with fat blistered crusts.

We filled our bellies with pasta, including of course Rome’s most famous dish, Pasta alla Carbonara, from a restaurant established since 1906.

One morning John and Jess took us on a surprise ‘sightseeing’ day they had organised in advance.  Rising to the early wake-up call we had the whole Spanish Steps to ourselves.

Their surprise turned out to be our own personal tour guide in the form of our good friend Matt!

He had organised tour tickets of Vatican City and the Colosseum for us, and having visited them before, was able to give us a bunch of extra historical anecdotes and funny stories.

There was a quick stop into the Pantheon, to gaze in awe at the light beaming straight down through the oculus.

And requisite gelato stops, naturally.  With the boys photobombing their own photo, naturally.

Finishing with an in-depth tour of Rome’s most famous monument, the striking and imposing greatness of the Colosseum.

Huge thanks to John, Jess and Matt for organising the sightseeing adventures/food deliciousness!

Stamp of Approval:

For pizza:
Da Poeta: www.darpoeta.com

For pasta:
La Carbonara: www.lacarbonara.it
Flavio al Velavevodetto www.ristorantevelavevodetto.it

For gelato:
Il Gelato di San Crispino: www.ilgelatodisancrispino.com 
Verde Pistacchio Lab: www.verdepistacchiolab.it
Frigidarium: www.frigidarium-gelateria.com