Rome 2017 - Photo & Food Trip

Rome

Rome, one of the most romantic and inspiring cities. Of course, that's why I chose to go with my sister in law. We were just there for 2 nights - booked very last minute, and of course, it was dubbed "a photo trip". We woke up at 5 am to go for a Sunrise shoot - on the way back, we went to see the Colosseum (luckily we had already booked tickets) and were one of the first ones in there. A truly fantastic experience.

Photography

From photography side... the lighting was harsh, really harsh when we went to the Colosseum. At 9 am, the Sun was just peeping over the top of the Colosseum, leaving one half in the shade and the other half with really bright lighting. We dashed around for a while trying to get the best shot, of the Colosseum, but as more tourists came in it felt like we had lost the moment. I did have my tripod with me (for the Sunrise shot), but I was told off after a while by security guards.

For the sunrise shot, we went to Colle del Gianicolo, after following reviews from Tripadvisor. The Sunrise was indeed pretty, but it could have been in any city. I think next time I would choose to be closer to the Colosseum and see the sun peep over that instead.

In terms of lens choice... you really need a wide angle lens to capture the beautiful ancient architecture in Rome. I kept switching between my wide angle and 50mm but I think if I had just one I would go wide angle. Brings me back to when I went to Rome in 2010 and was all about the fish eye lens, hahaha, All my photos were effectively circles. Not a good look...

Food

My sister in law chose the places to dine, so I can't take much credit. The food was incredible though, I really wasn't disappointed. My only disappointment was that the most recommended ice cream place was Venchi, and we have a branch in Hampstead so it doesn't feel like we're having anything special.

1. Enoteca la Torre

Enoteca la Torre is a one-star Michelin star restaurant, so we decided to go for the taster menu and asked the sommelier to help us pick some wine. We had lots of small dishes, and we were stuffed by the end. Sadly, one month on, I don't remember much of the food - other than this green sponge. Perhaps I will have to go back and experience it again - I do remember leaving and thinking I would recommend it though.

2. Jardin le Russie 

We went to Jardin le Russie for a buffet brunch. My sister in law had stayed there before so we knew the food was going to be great. It was! The salad part of the buffet was actually nice - a variety of roasted veg, proper mozarella, tuna.... I actually went for seconds with salad (really not my style normally, I tend to stock up on meat and seafood). We sat in the garden, which backed onto a really high wall which was landscaped beautifully. To the side was a little fountain/pond with terrapins in too. I was as chuffed as the three-year-old next to us... 

Salad I went back for...

Praise indeed.