cparris

We spent 8 nights in Rome(late April/early May) renting an apartment through sleep in Italy called the Via Brunetti. The apartment was a 4th floor walk up one block from Piazza del Popolo. For the two of us the apartment cost 110 Euros/night which was reasonable for the size. It had two bedrooms and two small bathrooms, a good size living room with balcony, and a small kitchen. The stairs got to be a joke by the end. We were walking at least 6-8 hours a day and some days facing the steps after all that walking was challenging. I did like the apartment and the area. The rental went very smoothly. I would recommend anyone who rents an apartment to make a copy of their passports?the apartment owners wanted a copy and luckily there was a copy machine just down the block.
Favorite sights: I highly recommend going to the Galleria Borghese. We didn?t have a reservation (its better to get one ahead of time) and had read that the crowds were lighter at the 9 am time slot. They let in a limited amount of people every 2 hours starting at 9. Even someone who does not appreciate art would enjoy this gallery. The Bernini sculptures were amazing. I am also particularly fond of Caravaggio. The rooms were beautiful in themselves. Surrounding the villa are gardens making for a wonderful setting. It is nice to walk around the park. There is a restaurant in the middle La Casina dell?Orologio which had nice sandwiches?We took ours to go and had a picnic.

The Museo Nazionale Romano is worth a visit. Besides some wonderful sculptures, the frescoes and mosaics are fantastic. The Musei Capitolini is also nice with a great view from the roof of the city.

Of course the Vatican Museum was wonderful. The lines were enormous the day we went so we visited St. Peters first. We heard part of a mass from some visiting US cardinals. I enjoyed the treasury inside St. Peters. After St. Peters the lines were shorter and we waited only long enough to enjoy a gelato. I purchased a book detailing the most famous works of art which was helpful.

I loved the Pantheon, and luckily when we were there they had a free concert. It was one of a series of 6 free classical music concerts held during April and May.

I love ancient ruins so the forum, colosseum and Palatine hill were great to see. We didn?t take a tour but self guided ourselves using a book. I also liked the Largo di Torre Argentina.

I think we averaged 5 churches a day at least. My favorites were Santa Maria del Popolo(Michelangelo Risen Christ) San Luigi dei Francesi has Caravaggios, St Ignazio Gesu ..very ornate. We went to see San Giovani in Laterano on May day. Outside of the Church every year is a free concert. We stayed awhile to listen. I think we saw a good percentage of the teenagers in Rome. Santo Maria Maggiore has mosaics and the tomb of Bernini. We saw a wedding just ending at Santa Cecilia in Trastevere?another nice church. San Francesco a Ripa has a 'infamous' Bernini sculpture.

Another nice view was from the ramparts of Castel Sant?Angelo.
What we really enjoyed was to just pick a section of the city and walk and walk and walk. Rome is really a great walking city.

Restaurants: We ate well but fairly inexpensively. Two restaurants in Trastevere that we liked were San Michele?we ate outside?good pasta and grilled food (Lungotevere Ripa 7). My favorite pasta of the trip was at Osteria Le mani in pasta (Via dei Genovesi, 37). We went there for lunch and it was full of Romans including the priest. The waiters were very friendly and I ate the best gnochichetti with fave beans and a great salad of wild greens. We ate twice at Da Gino?s. It is located on a small alley Vicola Rosini 4 close to Piazza d Parlamento. It gets crowded so we stopped by earlier in the day for reservations. It had a changing set menu which the waiter would rattle off. It was reasonably priced . We had good pizza at da Baffetto near navona and also right near out apartment on Via di Ripetta and Brunetti. There was also a good little place a few doors down (closer to the Piazza) which I can?t remember the name which had great pasta. Both were inexpensive and crowded. We cooked a couple of meals, buying food at the local grocery or in one of the outdoor markets. Of course everyday we had gelato. We ate really well needless to say.

I have to say I really liked Rome much more than I thought I would. We were nervous before we went(with all the stories of pickpocketers) and being two sisters?but it was great. People were friendly and the trip was wonderful.

turnercindy

Nice trip report!! Do you have a website or other info on the apartment? We're going to Rome in September, so it's great to read your highlights. Thanks!

cparris

The website in just sleepinitaly.com. You choose which one you are interested in, they all have pics and specifics, then email them. We also talked to Giulia on the phone, but mainly we emailed. The couple who owned the apartment were very nice. The wife wife spoke good english and it was very easy. I liked having the extra room and also it was good to be able to have fruit, drinks etc. in the refrig. http://www.sleepinitaly.com/files/apt_brunetti.html

ecat

cparris,

Welcome home thanks for your report. Sounds like we may have walked pass each other a time or two.

I was in Rome 5/3 -5/20 with my sisters too. We rented our apartment though the same sleep in italy, and also had the killer stairs! We ended up enjoying them and it became a race between us, we would try to make it up with out having to stop doubled over laughing.

Glad you had a great trip, ahhhhh Roma be still my heart...

Ciao ciao, Eileen

cparris

Eileen, What apartment did you rent? I have to say my legs were very strong by the end of the week.

ecat

I'm being somewhat lazy but below is the link with the apartments we rented, it includes my description of them.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34502557

cparris

That looks like a nice apartment and a great location. I think we still beat you with the number of steps.HA. It is fun traveling with my sister. We live several states away and really get to reconnect, and she likes shopping more than my husband too.

Grasshopper

What is it about Sleep in Italy and the stairs? I had 83 steps in my Governo Vecchio apartment in April. I agree with cparris, by the end of a long day they were daunting. I came dragging in one day only to have a lady fly past me, telling me that she was 80!

Joelleinitaly04

We rented our venice apartment from Sleepinitaly--Four flights of very steep stairs!

Joelle

ecat

i try to look at it as the more steps the more gelato i get.

i hope i will be that 80 year old grasshopper talked about flying past everyone.

cparris

Our apartment had 87 steps. I guess that is why the apartment was so reasonable. I loved having the extra room though. I would definately get an apartment again if I stayed a week in one place.

CollK

cparris, we have rented the Via Brunetti apt for October and had a couple questions for you. Do you remember how large the double bed is? There are three of us (all women) and we all want our own separate beds so thought this would be perfect (and a great price!) but now a fourth friend is considering coming with us. Could two people sleep comfortably in one of the beds. I'm hoping its a king size. Of course I could be worrying about nothing because chances are she won't be able to make it. Any other particulars about the apartment or the neighborhood you can share? How about walking distance from the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, etc.