Monday 26 October 2009

Rome v Lazio - the local Derby

If you live in Rome you already be aware of the prominence of the local Derby between AS Roma and Lazio for what is called calcio in Roma and football around Europe (soccer for Americans).

This year for 2009, 6th November is the day to be in Rome (or not to be if you are not a football fan) and if you can get tickets then this is one of the most competitive games in the Italian Seria A calendar. Other games perhaps of the same level in terms of competitiveness are:
  • Inter Milan v AC Milan (in Milano)
  • Palermo v Catania (in Sicily)
To try and get tickets for the Roma v Mazio game at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome two avenues to try are 1) The official Roma site Rome v Lazioand 2) the main tickets site TicketOne.

Monday 31 August 2009

Best restaurants in Rome, Italy

I have been busy with business and friends visiting me in Rome, Italy lately and for that reason I have been easting out a lot lately. This has resulted in the discovery of some excellent restaurants Rome restaurantsthat I had not got around to trying before.

San Lorenzo - The area of San Lorenzo is one of my favourites because of its vibrancy. 'Il Pommidoro' on Piazza dei Sanniti was excellent and served quality food at affordable prices. Quite a classy place, do not be put off by the pink table cloths!

Piazza Novana - 'Tre Scalini' was the restaurant I tried and took friends to and everyone ended the night quite impressed. The food is not necessarily cheap but this is Italian food at its best and this place is great for a special occasion.

Pantheon area - 'Terra Di Siena' on Piazza Pasquino was another restaurant which offered excellent food. Real Italian cooking, good service and nice venue.

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Best Rome Guide Books

There are a number of excellent guide books out there for most major cities these days and Rome Italy is no exception. I have been checking out the various choices and my Top 3 Rome travel guides are as below:

1. Rome Lonely Planet travel guide - in my opinion is about as good as it gets. This guide is compact and thus easily fits in a handbag or small backpack and it is jammed with up-to-date and spot on information. This is my favourite.

2. Rome Top 10 Eyewitness Guide - if you go to any city worldwide then try and get the Eyewitness Top 10 guide. this book literally fits into your trouser pockets (if you wear jeans) and is a quick fire look at the top 10 of everything in a city. This guide pays for itself with the handy tips and information it holds.

3. Time Out Rome - is set out quite a bit differently from the two guides above but is a close alternative if you are not a Lonely Planet or Eyewitness series fan.

Monday 5 January 2009

New Year in Rome

New Year in Rome or "La Festa di San Silvestro" is a fabulous way to experience this city. Rome offers wide-ranging restaurants to a variety of religious and cultural activities to celebrate the New Year. In the past, the Romans celebrated New Year by eating traditional food like fish and pasta. Over the years this has changed and now Rome new yearRome has exploded to be an exciting way to see in the New Year including dancing, eating, drinking and party hard with friends and family. Rome is lit up by fireworks with hundreds of people in the streets celebrating with each other.

The main piazza where people head to is Piazza del Popolo where there's fireworks and live music well into the night. On New Year's day, children are entertained in the square by performers and acrobats.

Recently the celebrations are also being held at the piazza in front of the Quirinale off Via Nazionale where you can see concerts playing Classical music followed by fireworks. If you're lucky, you might see the Italian President and other important members of the Italian government attend to this event. The main event the next day is the New Year Parade procession. Thousands of people wait anxiously to receive the Pope's blessings in Rome. The parade passes through the historic Castel Sant' Angelo then down Via della Conciliazione and ends in St. Peter's Square.