Following because…
Dropping my younger son off for a Fall semester abroad based in Rome. We’ll be there for about a week and plan on staying local. Maybe a side trip to Pompeii. Looking for hotel recs (one with a rooftop bar/restaurant, maybe a pool) and places to eat.
The Mercato Centrale at Termini is a really good food hall and a place to try traditional Roman food like Trapezino.
Other essential Roman dishes:
- Fried Artichoke (in the Jewish quarter)
- Cacio e Pepe (everywhere)
- Carbonara (everywhere)
Not sure how used to Europe you are...but Rome is relatively more dirty and there are more pickpockets looking for Americans. Naples is more dirty, but less pickpockets, if you're going to Pompeii. Naples food essentials: Pizza (duh), fried pizza, zeppole, struffoli, baba, sfogliatelle...and everything is very cheap and very, very good.
If you have never been to Rome, the coolest museum by far and away is the Vatican Museum (and one of the coolest in Europe IMO).
It's helpful to know a few phrases in Italian if you're off the tourist beaten path as many don't know English. And unless you're Roman people won't be interested in any Italian heritage you have...OTOH if you're like me and have a recognizable name from the Naples region, people will comment on it lol.
