[ROME, ITALY] — The Pantheon, one of the great wonders of the world and certainly my favorite building of all time. Every time I come back to Rome, the first thing I have to do is to go and see and touch this magical place. I’ve been inside The Pantheon at least fifty times and it never gets old. Even though… you know… it’s really old. Started by my friend Emperor Augustus and rebuilt after a fire by Big Builder Hadrian in 126AD. Most other big domes are actually made of stacked stone, using gravity to hold them in place, like on a Roman bridge, or supported by metal or other reinforcements. This is like poured concrete, way ahead of its time and continues to
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[ROME] — Walking by the skinny crowded sidewalks and fancy shopping around Piazza del Popolo, you’d never know this magical garden hides behind the understated entrance. A private Eden all to itself, 3,000 square metres of palm tree gardens climb up the steep hillside. (The same hill that leads up to Villa Borghese Gardens in my previous post) Rome is known for having small, cramped hotel rooms, but the Hotel de Russie doesn’t suffer from that. The rooms are modern, airy and elegant, with awesome bathrooms. Ask to have one facing the courtyard, otherwise you’re missing out. Don’t scrimp on the view, otherwise you could be anywhere else in Roma. This is the place you want to splurge. If you’re ready to ratchet it up a
[ROME, ITALY] — When you get sick of all the tour buses and streets clogged with tourist groups, head up to the top of the Via Venato to the Villa Borghese Gardens, one of the most tranquil parts of Rome. Vast, sprawling acres of grass, trees and cool little features, like a picture perfect rowing lake…. with its own temple of course. And because it’s high up, great views of the city and Piazza del Popolo. Few people visiting Rome really know about, or think of visiting, Villa Borghese Gardens. People totally overlook that big green blob in the upper left of their Roma map and head with the hoards to the old stuff. But when you’re hot and sweaty and tired of the bus tour
[ROMA] — There are fancier places to stay in Rome, but one of my favorites is the Albergo del Senato, directly across from my favorite building in the world, The Pantheon. It is small, Old School, but delightful. You can’t beat the location, smack in the heart of everything good. And right around the corner from the best gelato in Rome, Giolitti. If you can’t get a guarantee from the hotel for a Pantheon view or don’t want to by extra, then there are other hotels I’d choose. (I once had a broom closet of a room once that wasn’t and it looked out onto a blind alley.) But if you can secure a room that overlooks the Pantheon, there is no place better to stay